back again

I can't believe they still have this space up, but my log-in worked, so maybe I will write again. I have moved across the state since the last post 1 1/2 years ago. This past year I taught all ninth grade geography at a south suburban Dallas district. My students were 85% African-American, with the remainder mostly Latino. I had 1 Anglo and 1 Korean exchange student.
Amazingly enough they wern't a lot different than the small-town kids. They all watch MTV and think they're going to be rap stars; they all wear baggy pants (when they can get away with it). The Af-Amer kids were louder, the Latino small-town more passive, but overall they do the same things.
I did have trouble with the African-American boys, especially. They really did not want to mind - be quiet, do their work, etc. It took most of the first semester to get a handle on them
Parents here are not much help - anybody that gives their kid an iPod even when he fails every class is a lousy parent, and we had lots of them. More who don't have phones, or move often, or change phones and don't give the school the new number. You try to get hold of them but it's a losing cause.
No technology access for the students here, either. 2 computer labs for 4000 students. No projectors for the teachers, altho we did have old laptops for attendance and grades.
I interviewed for a 6th grade position northeast of Houston last Friday. I am not sure how it went, so we'll see if they call me.
happy 4th, and enjoy Wimbledon