my teaching style (required blog)

In my mind, my classroom demeanor is akin to Furious Styles from Boyz in the Hood (upper right hand corner of the blog).  Tough and demanding, I set firm boundaries of what's expected of my students, ultimately forcing them to raise their own personal standards and face their greatest fear (that they are more powerful beyond measure).

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Butforealtho, I'm a relatively decent teacher.   My kids know that I care.  I don't miss days ("Mr. Bland, don't you ever get sick?  Cause we sick of you").  I don't do many write-ups, though I will hold after school detentions and/or phone calls home.  My assignments are generally thought provoking, if not straight off the wall ("On monday you need to bring a poster board, half an avocado, a yard of electrical wire, and a baby picture").  I get off track a lot and go into tangents about things that have nothing to related to the material.  I suffer fools.  I don't get grades back in a timely fashion.

I'm pretty sure my kids think I've come from some far off planet where black men don't have a southern drawl or a razor precise line.  The most common analogue is "Mr. Bland you like a fake Will Smith".  I struggle to relate my own experience with the world of West Jackson that my students know.  Bridging the gap between what I know of the world and what they believe is real has proven to be the greatest difficulty.

I'm slowly incorporating more technology into my lessons.  My fellow teachers think I'm a wunderkind because I know how to use powerpoint but my principal is ready to have my head on a plate because I don't check my JPS email address.

If I were to stay on for a third year,  I would shave my head, grow a Rick Ross Beard (c), and speak strictly in aphorisms. 

In retrospect, I should have thrown something across the room and walked out on the first day to set the tone for the year.