(Mr. Wright' stunt double.)
Embedded Files
This is the classroom website of Mr. Wright for 2012 with links to several years before that and other stuff.
Robert Wright--as the Internal Revenue Service likes to call him--violated the terms of the Witness Protection Program and he was forced to leave his teaching position at Morrill Middle School in San Jose in June of 2012. .
So he became a hobo.
2012 Summer Notes:
Don't forget to turn in your summer homework to Mrs. M.
Gaby did a fine job on her composition.
I hope Andrew takes good care of my piano before I come by and pick it up, which I'll do once I find 20 third graders to lift it and put it onto Mr. Palla's truck.
Naomi is unforgettable. But why did she sit so near the door?Lawrence is lucky enough to still have Mr. Palla as a teacher. Pretty neat.
Oh, and say hi to Broomella and Mr. Stick for me. They decided to remain at Morrill but Ingrid tells me they're gone. Where did they go?
Congratulations to Audrey on her STAR results! Vanessa misses the Jolly Ranchers.
And where are the goats that used to be in the science center?
Time to "walk the Earth like Caine in Kung Fu. Meet people, have adventures. That kind of thing." (Pulp Fiction but so right on.)
My My Space Space: http://www.myspace.com/meanoldteacher
His pathetic tumblr: TheMrWrightMailbag.tumblr.com
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Mr. Wright's email address is the first three letters of his first name followed by a T for trouble followed by his last name. Then you add the "at" symbol and then AOL and then a dot and then com.
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Thursday, June 7, 2012 The Last Day
Today we read the poems "I, Too, Sing America" and "Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes.
Your homework is to write a three paragraph composition on how you spent the 4th of July.
It may be fiction, nonfiction, or a combination of both.
Turn it in the first week of school to your 8th grade English teacher.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Today in class we watched the video Poetic License about the poetry slam movement which is sometimes called Spoken Word.
Your homework tonight is again to write a poem and prepare to present it in class tomorrow. No limericks or haikus, please.
Work on it for at least an hour.
15 points for the poem
Double credit if presented.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Today we read the poems Purple, Pool Players, Motto, and An Easy Decision.
Your homework tonight is to write a poem and prepare to present it in class tomorrow. No limericks or haikus, please.
Work on it for at least an hour.
Khuyen and the Rhythm Jesters--Morrill's Finest Rock Band
Room C6 earlier in the 2011-2012 year
Room C6 in the glorious year of 2010-2011
Room C6 in 2010-2011 in the second trimester or something
Room C6 in 2010-2011 in the first trimester
Room C6 in the good old days of 2009-2010
Room C6 2008-2009. Includes Mr. Wright's relationship to Obama.
An Alien Woman who ran for president.
Barriers will soon be obsolete. Mark my words.
Some stories to listen to from The Moth.
Mr. Wright's Broken Wrist which might give you nightmares.
The Tenth Street Fountain Downtown
The Children's Story by James Clavell.
Morrill Grammar aka, the Fun House of Online Games.
AN EASY DECISION
I had finished my dinner
Gone for a walk
It was fine
Out and I started whistling
It wasn't long before
I met a
Man and his wife riding on
A pony with seven
Kids running along beside them
I said hello and
Went on
Pretty soon I met another
Couple
This time with nineteen
Kids and all of them
Riding on
A big smiling hippopotamus
I invited them home
Monday, June 4, 2012
Santa Cruz trip.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Today we read Hunger by Richard Wright and The Storyteller by H. H. Monroe.
Your homework is to write you opinion about the wisdom of Richard Wright's mother's decision to make him fight.
Also due Monday will be your reading log and the Green Grammar assignments if you haven't yet turned them in.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Today we read from My Name is Aram. Your homework is the sheet of paper on direct and indirect objects.
Here are some free answers:
1. "wheellbarrow" -- D
4. "me" -- I
5 "shells" --D
6. "him" --I
11 "husband" -- I
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Today we finished Of Missing Persons by Jack Finney..
Your homework is to answer the 15 questions.
Remember, you can turn in the Green Grammar on Thursday, Friday or Monday. You may borrow the books after school
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Today we read Of Missing Persons by Jack Finney.
Your homework is your subject/predicate take-home test.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Memorial Day. No school.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Today we further discussed A Children's Story, we saw the Van Doren discussion of Bartleby and we saw The Lottery.
Click here to see the video of The Lottery.
Click here to see the video of the Bartleby discussion.
Your homework is to answer 5 more questions from the list of A Children's Story questions and to complete your reading log.
To read The Lottery, click here.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Your homework is to answer any ten of the following questions on A Children's Story.
1. What would it be like if another country conquered the U.S.?
2. What would they do with our country?
3. How would they control everybody?
4. How would they get people to cooperate?
5. Why do people pledge allegiance to the flag?
6. Why do we say the pledge every day instead of just once like marriage vows?
7. The new teacher said, "The principal just wants to talk to you." Who did she say that to? Was it true?
8. Why does the old teacher call the enemy monsters?
9. Describe their regular teacher.
10. Why did they put young, pretty teachers in the new classes?
11. Why did the first teacher call Johnny "Tommy?"
12. Why wouldn't the second teacher mistake one of the children's names?
13. What do the children think about the teacher knowing all their names?
14. Why did the new teacher memorize all the students' names?
15. The new teacher says it's not right for students to have memorize long words they don't understand. Do you agree? Why or why not? What are a couple of those long words?
16. One of the boys refers to "our real teacher." (Our real teacher Mrs. Warden didn't say anything about it.) The new teacher rephrases his question by using the words, "your old teacher." Why doesn't she just say, "I'm your real teacher?"
17. The new teacher asks, "How can a flag be more important than a real live person?" How would you answer that question?
18. And she says, "But we don't need a sign to remember we love our country." How would you respond to that statement?
19. She says, "Yes, it's a very pretty flag. I wish I could have a piece of it. If it's so important, I think we should all have a piece of it." Explain why she says this and how it isn't logical.
20. One of the students objects and says, "I don't think we should cut up the flag." What is the very next thing the new teacher says?
21. Who is selected to be the first person to cut the flag? How and why was that selection made?
22. How does the new teacher make destroying the flag a fun activity?
23. The new teacher said, "You can ask me anything you like" but she won't say what her name is. Why?
24. The new teacher said, "She was crying because she needed a rest. She's going to have a long rest....We think teachers should be young." What's going to happen to the old teacher?
25. When a student asks who won the war, what is her answer?
26. She says, "Your dad is at school for having wrong thoughts. He'll have a vacation soon. Everyone who goes to school has a vacation. That's fair?" What do you think is truth about his dad?
27. What do you think those wrong thoughts could have been?
28. She says, "I have a lovely surprise. You're all going to stay overnight with us. You'll be in lovely room and we'll tell stories." Why are they keeping them overnight?
29. How does she get the children to like Our Leader more than God?
30. How does she explain why she put the candy on the desks instead of Our Leader?
31. If she put the candy on the desks instead of Our Leader, then why does one of the girls still call it "Our Leader's candy?"
32. How does she get Johnny on her side?
33. How does she get Fitz on her side?
34. How does she get Leslie on her side?
35. How does she get the students to start distrusting things their parents tell them?
36. Do you think she intended to get caught putting the candy on the table? Do you think she was trained to say what she said if she got caught?
37. Why does she tell the children they can still pray if their parents want them to? Why doesn't she say, "Don't pray. It's stupid. There is no God?"
38. In your opinion, what is realistic about this story? And, what is not realistic?
39. In your opinion, what is the author trying to tell us by writing this story?
40. Why do we say the Pledge in school? What's the purpose?
Click here to see previous assignments
and information from 2011-2012.
Scroll down further to see links to stuff even before that.
This space intentionally left blank--> <------.
Some sites to see:
Alice's Garbage with 8x10 glossies.
Callista, too, might not be from here. You decide.
Mr. Wright's Funhouse Adventureland of Grammar Games
Ms. Wagner's poem, Pondering, and a grammar half-sheet
Lincoln High School String Orchestra
Guitar Club performance May 20, 2011
Love and Friendship --landf2a
Hall Monitor -- A7 Productions
Daydream II --A7 Productions
Barbie Bungee Jumping -- A7 Productions
Goat Treatment -- A7 Productions
Spring Rolls at the Pirate Cafe
Piano playing in the classroom with Victoria's hair.
When Mr. Stick disciplined Trayvon
Hand Torture as Physical Therapy Blues
The Ballad of the Princess of Pain
Eva Lucien. Still missing.
The Jejune Institute where I got my Ed.D.
Very Important Information Regarding Cyber Safety
Goats For Peace. Almost to Goat Number Five.
Mr. Alvarado on Valentine's Day
Seward St. Slide in San Francisco
Classroom Talent Show -- Dec. 2008
Thumb Dancing -- 2008
B-Boxing -- 2008
What if I found a dead horse in my classroom?
Mercury News, Aug. 15, 2011
You know the once tribal, now viral, wisdom of the Dakota Indians:
"When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is
to dismount."
And you know what government would do:
1. Buy a stronger whip.
2. Appoint a committee to study the horse.
3. Reclassify the dead horse as living-impaired.
4. Do a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the
dead horse's performance.
5. Declare that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is
less costly, carries lower overhead and therefore contributes substantially
more to the bottom line of the economy than do some other horses.
6. Promote the dead horse to a supervisory position.
That's government. But what about a school?
If I had a dead horse in my classroom, it would have an IEP.
I would be expected to "differentiate" instruction.
And if we had several of them, our school would get a Program Improvement classification due to the requirements of No Horse Left Behind.
--Robert Wright
Morrill Middle School
San Jose, CA
Students who don't care about school get lower test scores
Little boy shoots home intruder
DNA evidence frees convicted man
Ryan's Cube -- brought to you by Happy Spoon
Mr. Wright's Ninja Past -- before he entered The Witness Protection Program
Soul Food -- Mighty Mike McGee
ABC by Robert Pinsky
Boring Video of Boring Homework Assignment
Boring Video of Reading Log reminder
Morrill charged with racial discrimination by EEOC
Morrill's first black principal fired
More problems with the firing of Morrill's first black principal
Your homework is "Literature p. 329, #1-5, 7-9"
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Your homework tonight is "Literature p. 276, #2-5; p. 277, #1-5"
Monday, May 21, 2012
Today we took a district test.
Tomorrow you will turn in two assignments, "15 Bartleby Questions" and "12 Bartleby Questions."
Friday, May 18, 2012
J. A. Day!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Your weekend homework is to answer 15 of the 34 questions about Bartleby (and, of course, complete your reading log.)
34 Bartleby Questions
1. Describe the two main characters and one minor character.
2. Summarize the plot.
3. Describe the setting.
4. What's wrong with Bartleby's eyes? Is he blind or is the boss blind?
5. How does the boss treat Bartleby? Is he concerned about Bartleby or mostly concerned about money? What do you base your opinion on?
6. How does the grubman treat Bartleby? What does he say to him? Why?
7. How is Bartleby's job like his previous one?
8. Why didn't Bartleby accept the boss's offer to come home with him?
9. Did the boss really care about Bartleby or did just try to get rid of a problem?
10. How is the grubman different from the boss?
11. How is the grubman like the boss?
11.5 . How could the boss have treated Bartleby better?
12. What does the the setting have to tell us about the story?
13. What is the significance of the characters' names?
14. What hasty conclusions did the boss make about Bartleby?
15. What is a scrivener?
16. Who wrote this story?
17. What is the writer most famous for?
18. Where was the office located and why is this significant?
19. What was the color of the the screen that Bartleby worked behind and why is this signifcant?
20. What did the policeman think about the boss? Why did he think that? And why was that a part of the story?
21. What was wrong with Bartleby's eyes?
22. When Bartleby first comes to apply for the job, what does the boss talk about?
23. What does the grubman say to the boss?
24. What does the boss say to Bartleby when he visits him in prison and how does this show that the boss doesn't understand Bartleby?
25. List the hasty conclusions that the boss makes about Bartleby.
26. The boss tells Bartleby he is a friend. Isn't a friend a good listener? Did the boss listen to Bartleby or did he put words in his mouth? When does the boss talk to Bartleby as a child and when does he talk to him as an adult? When did he raise his voice? When was he sarcastic? Does a friend talk to another friend this way?
27. What are two reasons that the boss's job is better than Bartleby's job?
28. What are Bartleby's co-workers names and why does this matter?
29. Why does the boss quote the Bible and the commandment that we are to love one another? What practical reason does he offer for following this commandment?
30. Did Bartleby flat out refuse to go home and live with the boss or did he just say he didn't want to do it right at the moment? What did the boss do or say to Bartleby right before the invitation? In light of that, was it reasonable or unreasonable for Bartleby to decline immediate acceptance of the offer?
31. Who is blind? Bartleby or the boss? Why?
32. List all the walls that appear in the story. Which ones are significant?
33. Does Bartleby refuse to do anything?
34. Does Bartleby's co-workers express any preferences? Why?
Op-ed: Peter Yarrow said to call him anytime.
Mercury News, January 10, 2025
By Robert Wright
I have two numbers in my iPhone. “Peter1” and “Peter2.” Peter Yarrow told me if I couldn’t reach him with the first number, to try the second.
No, I’m not in the music business. And no, I wasn’t a leader in the peace movement. There is nothing special about me.
All I did was write him a letter a few years ago after I heard him sing on the radio, along with Paul and Mary:
“Have you been to jail for justice? I’d like to shake your hand.”
I told him no, I’ve never been to jail for justice. Even when others were crossing the police line at the San Jose Hyatt where Henry Kissinger was speaking at a dentists’ convention, I was too afraid I’d lose my teaching job. But now that I was retired, maybe there was still some time left to get in some “good trouble.” And then maybe we could shake hands?
I told him we actually did shake hands once before, after a concert in 1970, when he gleefully broke federal law by defacing my draft card with his autograph. But I’d really like the honor to shake his hand again.
I also thanked him for how his music helped me make the difficult decision at age 18 to check the box on the last page of my draft registration papers that I could not in good conscious kill another human being. My decision was also difficult for my parents who grew up in time when there was such a thing as a good war.
I didn’t expect a response to my letter, but I got one. He addressed me as “Brother Robert” and told me to call him anytime.
But he had already given me a lot more time and attention than I deserved and the last thing I wanted to do was take advantage of his generous spirt.
I felt like I should be doing him a favor, not the other way around.
So I never called. And now I can’t even if I wanted to.
But I’m holding onto the numbers, and the memory, and the inspiration, and the desire to shake your hand if you’ve ever been to jail for justice, or even if you just gave it some serious thought.
C6filecabinet
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Your homework is to summarize the story of Bartleby.
If you are in B period, you are to do a 15 minute writing about the talent show.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Your homework is to summarize what you saw of Bartleby today.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Tonight's homework is to read the Springboards packet you got in class today. You are to summarize it and complete the assignment on the back page.
Shakespeare students are not required to do the regular homework this week. They are to use their time preparing for the Thursday performance.
Friday, May 11, 2012
In class today we read the following poems: Revenant by Billy Collins; First Cut by Ronald Ardissone and Muck by Stephen Fossett.
Your weekend homework is to complete your reading log.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Your homework is to complete the question sheet on "After You My Dear Alfonse."
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Your homework tonight is the new proofreading half-sheet. You must have all the clues written on the front of your paper.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Your homework tonight is proofreading half-sheet 33B.
Monday, May 7, 2012
For homework you are to complete the proofreading half-sheet 33A. As an alternative, you may email me the story you wrote last week.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Your homework is to complete your reading log.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Today in class we read the next chapter in Ulysses, The Cattle of the Sun.
Then we started working on the in-class grammar from the green paperback book.
For homework tonight, you are to write a story with the Husband, Wife, Lover, Assassin, and Boatman. The story is to have a river with a bridge and there needs to be a knife. Use the same characters and setting from the story in the Pigman, but you will be writing a completely different plot.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
For homework, please do a 15 minute writing on the book, The Big Box. What happened in the story and what does it mean? What is Toni Morrison trying to say by writing this story?
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
For homework, you may do a 15 minute writing on your A.R. book or on a newspaper you read in class.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Your homework tonight is to complete a 15 minute explaining who you thought was most at fault in the story I told today.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Your weekend homework is to complete your reading log.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
You have two choices for homework.
1. Attend the Culture Fair and write about your experience.
2. 20/20--Read your A.R. book for 20 minutes and then write for 20 minutes about what you read.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Your homework is to answer 8 questions about the Scope Magazine articles.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Today we read more in Ulysses--Scylla and Charybdis.
You have two choices for your homework:
1. Illustrate an idiom.
2. Answer any five questions from the list of 17 questions for the Scope Magazine.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Your have four choices for your homework today.
1. Write down 10 idioms which are not on the list you got today.
2 Summarize what we read in class today, The Wandering Rocks and The Sirens.
3. Illustrate one of the items.
4. Illustrate a scene from Ulysses from Circe through The Sirens.
Friday, April 20, 2012
Weekend homework is to complete your reading log. Also, you will be turning in the subject/predicate paper on Monday.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Today we watched a little of The Clash of the Titans.
The subject/predicate assignment that was due today will instead be turned in on Monday.
Tonight's homework is "20/20." Read your A. R. book for 20 minutes and then write about what your read for 20 minutes.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Today in class we read "The Land of the Dead."
Your homework is to write the simple subjects and predicates from the "Marsha Paper."
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Today in class we took a reading test and had a sheet of nouns and verbs for homework.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Today we finished Circe.
Tonight's homework is to read your A.R. for 30 minutes or more and have it documented in your reading log.
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