My dog ate your homework...

"Meine Hundin hat eure Hausaufgaben gefressen." That's what I had to tell a few of my students recently after spending Easter weekend at home. I returned from some errands to discover that Demi had ransacked my "teacher bag," gouging out a chunk of the bag, shredding manila envelopes and old sandwich bags, unzipping pockets to devour my granola bar, and yes: nicking a few corners from student assignments. She looks so sweet and innocent, and she used to be (more or less)...maybe we can blame her recent turn for the destructive on a midlife crisis, since she's turning 10 this year.

In related news, teaching can be really really fun. There are days when I feel that I'm not getting anywhere, and that everything I learn is at the expense of my students' mental anguish. But there are also days when I just love it. Here are some recent highlights:

1. I asked my AP students to write essays mimicking NPR's "This I believe." And in so doing, I learned that my students believe in:
-Aliens
-Dancing barefoot in the rain
-Being mediocre
-Winking



2. My German IV students, as part of their fairy tale unit, had to write one of their own. (See above for our class illustration of Hänsel und Gretel, based on students' descriptions.) They got pretty creative while writing, incorporating everything from a compost heap with appendicitis to an army consisting entirely of toast. We're assembling a book with the entire collection to continue a longstanding German IV tradition.

3. We had a debate today on the Wehrdienst, or Germany's military/civil service requirement. Everyone took on a role, like Billy: "I'm the loving mother of three children," and Ben, who while discussing his lifelong dream of driving a tank, invented an excellent new word: "destroyuieren." That's up there with translating "cowgirl" as "Kuh-Mädchen. :-)

4. In German II, we've had fun looking at different texts. I came across a German quiz show ("Wetten, Dass) that's world-famous for its crazy stunts. We watched two fun examples, although my favorite (which involved throwing plungers) has since disappeared. We also had a chance to read dumb questions that Germans have been asked while in the USA. For example: "You guys have your own language? I thought you spoke English with an accent!" Or: "Are there problems with the German-Chinese border?"