… it’s just been such a given in my life that I’m the tallest person in the room, I’ve basically built it into my classroom management philosophy. So what a wreck I turn into when this kid who’s three inches taller than me and outweighs me by about a truck crashes through my door. Lucky for me he’s nice, good tempered, or I’d, like, actually have to start working at this class management thing.

I had a boy in the same height range. It always made me laugh (internally) when I had to correct him, because I’d be looking waaaay up as I talked to him. I know what you mean in #3. When an eighth grader is a couple inches taller, you just realize they’re growing. When they’re a foot or more taller in sixth grade, it’s just interesting.

BTW, you’re too brilliant of a teacher to be just doing this 0.8 FTE. Next time somebody wants you to only be in their building 80% of the time, give me a jingle.

Finally I figured it out. They were Charleston style houses. Only I didn’t live in Charleston, SC. I lived in east Tennessee.

When most houses in Charleston were being developed, property taxes were assessed based on the linear footage of the front of the house, defined as the side facing the street. So some brilliant planners decided to turn their houses sideways. That combined with the population per acre of an urban area created a uniquely recognizable architecture.

But none of those constraints existed in the subdivision in question. The builder was simply co-opting a design that had proven successful in another place and another time. It proved a spectacular failure, in my book.

I imagine that to some extent, lesson plans are similar, and must suffer through yearly redesign. What worked brilliantly one year with certain students/textbooks/teaching styles may not be right for the same teacher just one year later. Maybe that’s the source of #5.

I dunno. I’ve just finished composing a slide I’m really proud of, one which is gonna make adding w/ negatives much clearer than it’s ever been in my classes. I’m annoyed I’ll be at this until early evening PST but I really enjoy the work.