I'm a teacher at Balboa high School in San Francisco. Balboa has had a reputation for the past dozen or so years as a powder keg ready to explode. And at times that was precisley (sp?) what it was. Today balboa is a pretty exceptional place to be a student and a teacher.
I teach Pre-Law (we have a Law Academy) and Media Literacy (my major in college, and a class I always wanted to teach). I can say I'm pretty lucky to be here. I'm also developing an Academy of Information Technology (AOIT) for next year. That and the fact that I live a 20 minute walk away is a pretty good clue how i feel about my job.
Of course being at a high school with a past reputation for teen violence also has its hurdles. For instance, some kids who are at heart really nice and sweet, think that since they're at Bal they need to be tough. There's enough testosterone in this school to stop a rampaging bull at times.
I'd like to make part of this blog a teaching journal so you can get a real sense what it's like to be a teacher in an urban school.
Gotta run for now. Check back soon.
Tune into Hell's Kitchen Radio, with John Hell, every Monday night 8-10PM (Pacific), on Radio Valencia (https://radiovalencia.fm) in San Francisco. You can find my playlists and links to the podcasts right here.
Friday, September 03, 2004
Friday, August 20, 2004
Links
I'm still feeling this thing out, but I really want to turn you all on to an excellent daily resource for news and information that you cannot find on through any of the major networks.
The site is http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/
The scour the Internet daily for the most important news of the day.
There is no "slow news day".
Enjoy.
jh
The site is http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/
The scour the Internet daily for the most important news of the day.
There is no "slow news day".
Enjoy.
jh
Thursday, August 19, 2004
Good lord, when in the hell am I ever going to find time to keep this thing up?
So I have decided to do a blog site? Good. However, I'm a teacher who's expecting a baby in the next two months. There is no way I am ever going to keep this thing going. Not only that, but if I want anyone to read this crap I need to promote it. WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF?