Greetings fellow classmates, bloggers, and random creepers who happen upon this page by fortuitous opportunity. My name is Shane Conrad, and I aspire among many things to either be the first Cross-Desert Skier, it’s very tricky and involves a lot of falling, or a teacher with a shiny master’s degree on his wall. I have an undergraduate degree to teach secondary English from Indiana University of PA. I spent a year and a half doing several long term sub tenures ranging from three weeks to 6 months, but sadly I found myself back at the bottom of the barrel. Like that last apple on the tree that was not picked I decided not to simply fall from the lowly branch I had come to rest upon but to climb to the top of the tree for all to see!
If you are still reading I am really not as much of a drone as my over exaggerated writing may present. I am actually a pretty chill guy. I teach fitness at a gym, work in an office for a bank (substitute teaching unfortunately was not a reliable source of income nor a particularly large one) I have a cute albeit overpriced apartment in Shadyside (part of the reason I can’t afford to substitute teach), and I love my Cat Maximus the Brave (he named himself, I was gunning for Clive Owen Jr).
More to the subject matter of this particular course, I love reading anything although I am particularly drawn to Young Adult literature. I was extra excited to see the reading list for this class as a number of the titles are fantastic; Monster and Part Time Diary are two of my favorite grabs. They are easy to devour and yet have a poetic depth unlike any genre I have involved myself in. My goals are to further my knowledge of literature like this and find even more ways to bring them into the classroom. Often times I find students barely surviving through the hackneyed canon of literature we have been forcing upon them for years. I want to find ways to teach the same lessons those old books offer with new literature.
That’s all for now fellow earthlings and any otherworldly beings peeking in. Have a happy Tuesday.
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