dwalker

I am down here in New Jersey visiting Will, and those of you know him know how bonkers he is about all things tech. He is a proudly self-professed geek. Being around him is a little intoxicating. I get swept up in things I just barely wrap my head around; it’s a fingernail kind of thing!? But it is captivating. When I got here, he said, “Hey, I’ll interview on you on weblogg-ed tv!!” “Huh? Ah, no thanks!” Spoken like a true unbeliever. A couple of hours later, of course, we were sitting in front of his little mac laptop, talking about how we might use ustream and twitter in the classroom. Admittedly this is new technology, and much of the conversation was about making this video conversation a bit more interactive. One of the really interesting things about it was the number of people who joined the conversation. There were those interested in ustream, those who are looking for other schools with whom to partner on web-based projects, those talking about using literature to encourage authentic voice in writing. The energy and excitement were palpable, and typical of my early blogging experience, I was fascinated and not holding my own. I got lost early with the terms and technology Will was using, but what I do know is that this experience is all about the doing. Last year at this time I teaching other teachers how to go onto edublogs and start blogging, but they were apprehensive, partially because there is a natural reticence that occurs in this medium. We think of journaling as personal. We’re not supposed to share it with the rest of the world. Ironically, this journaling is probably our most authentic writing. My students prove it time and again. So the greatest challenge is to get teachers writing personal blogs to see how they feel, what it is like to publish. With the publishing comes the possibility of an audience, which for me was probably the scariest part. Several years ago I the invitational institute through the Connecticut Writing Project. It was a month long intensive where we explored teaching writing. The cornerstone of the program was our own writing. Just about immediately, I got it. I understood what it felt like to be a student again – the uncertainty, the second-guessing, the exposure, the sharing with others. It was hard. It was also the most amazing educational experience I had ever had. I discovered that I am a writer, that I write all the time, in many different ways. I am a writer in the same way I am a husband and a father and a friend and a son and a brother and a teacher. I write assignments and lists and reflections and poetry and stories and many more assignments. And because I do write, with all its uncertainties, I try to blog. Blogging reminds me what writing is like for my students. And blogging, in addition to being shanghaied by Will, reminds me that there is more out there to try. I need to cultivate the same sort of restlessness that is my teaching – always looking for a more effective, engaging way to do the work-in my use of what is out there on the web.

I have been tagged by Jeff. I’ll give it a go.

First, the Rules:

1) Post these rules before you give your facts

2) List 8 random facts about yourself

3) At the end of your post, choose (tag) 8 people and list their names, linking to them

4) Leave a comment on their blog, letting them know they’ve been tagged.

Now to the randomness:

1) I am crazy about babies, particularly 10-18 mo.s.

2) I have a 1967 Gibson J40.

3) When my wife and I were in China in 1982 (we weren’t married yet) she had a wicked case of the hiccups. I turned to her and said , “I love you”, and hiccups vanished!

4) I love getting my hands dirty in the garden.

5) I just learned how to make really good granola.

6) Everyone in my family loves books.

7) I am still working on a machine into which I can feed my students’ essays, and they will come out assessed. Then I plug it into my brain and it downloads all the pertinent stuff I need to have conferences. It’s nearly finished. I’ll let you know.

8)  The History Boys has really got me thinking about what makes for good education.

It’s another CAPT week, so our schedule is a bit odd. We meet Monday and then Thursday and Friday. Characterization is going to be very important as we begin our reading of Animal Farm. Napoleon, Snowball, and Squealer are central. Be aware of what sets them apart from the other animals and from each other. The author, George Orwell, is careful to be succinct. He uses carefully chosen words to make his point, and he is also suggestive rather than direct. Napoleon, for example, has a reputation for getting what he wants. What does this mean? Keep your eyes open for other suggestions of character as you read. Molly, Boxer, Clover, and Benjamin will be important too.

Now, here is what the week looks like:

Mon. 3/12

1. Read ch. 3 in Animal Farm. Don’t forget to read the considerations before you begin.

2. Please complete the vocabulary for ch. 3.

We drop Tuesday and Wednesday we drop.

Thurs. 3/15

1. Please read ch. 4 in Animal Farm

2. Please do the vocabulary for ch. 4.

Friday 3/16

1. Please read ch. 5 in Animal Farm.

2. Please do ch. 5 vocabulary.

Holden shows us pretty clearly that he has a particular set of beliefs that are really important to him. He believes that movies are rubbish. He believes that phoney people are annoying. He believes in books. And he believes that the young and the innocent need the protection of the strong and determined. His most crucial moments come when he is sticking up for what he believes – his fights with Stradlater and Maurice, his decision not to leave so that he can be sure that Phoebe remains safe.

As you are revising your crucial moment, ask yourself if your story shows reveals something in which you believe. Sticking up for what you believe in makes a really good story. We’ll talk more about this on Thurs.

Antigone is another character in literature who is determined to stick by what she believes, no matter what the consequences. As we read and watch the film, try to put yourself in her shoes. Would you do what she does in breaking the law and standing up to Creon? What are your reasons for standing up to authority figures? Is your defiance worth it, as Antigone believes hers is? As you can see, there are many questions. Let’s take a look at how the week will shape up.

Monday 1/29:

1. In class writing: How do you define independence? In what ways have you acted independently?

2. Revision work with your crucial moment – what needs development? what can be removed? what surprised you? what part do you like most?

3. introduction to Antigone.

hmwk: the second draft of your crucial moment is due Thurs. 2/1

Tuesday 1/30:

1. In class writing: how do you define truth? What are your most important truths?

2. revision practice: start your crucial moment at the end. When you do your revision, perhaps you would like to use this as your lead.

3. continue introduction to Antigone

hmwk: remember that your revision is due on Thurs.

Wednesday 1/31:

We drop.

Thursday 2/1:

1. in class writing – what is justice? do you see yourself as a just person? how so?

2. peer editing conference – paragraphs, commas, dialogue

3. introduction to Antigone completed; we begin reading.

hmwk: crucial moment is due Monday 2/5.

Friday 2/2:

You guys have no school!!!

Usually when I begin “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” I am struck, sometimes literally I think, by the first three lines. “The evening is spread out against the sky” is beautiful, lyrical. In the next breath I am thunderstruck by the comparison to an etherized patient. Despite the rhythm of the line, the sky is numb, unconscious, grey and colorless, perhaps even opaque.  I am still reeling by the end of the stanza and miss quite a bit of the rest of it. When we read in class, however, I heard words and phrases that I had missed before. I was struck by “half-deserted streets”. Places that are deserted are places that are undesireable. People have cleared out if they had the chance. Only the destitute remain. It’s the kind of place you want to avoid, yet it is precisely where Prufrocl wants to take you. He has to to get you to where the visit will begin. I next noticed “muttering retreats”. A retreat is a safe place, a place of respite and rejuvenation. Here it mutters, disaffected, even unbalanced. It is a “one night cheap hotel”. There is no relief here; it is angry, maybe a little crazy (it is angry people and mad people mutter). Prufrock brings us into a “restless” night, agitated and overwhelmed. He is anxious, uneasy, perhaps because wants to tell you and at the same time keep secrets. One street after another is “tedious” with argument, perhaps malcontent, and, again, that disaffection is everywhere. This is how Prufrock sets the scene – restless, vulnerable, threatening. And, rather than telling us what this world is like, he must show us. He must use images because they are more emotional than language, perhaps more eloquent. It is as though he believes that he cannot adequately explain. But, ironically, it will be a visit rather than a tour.

 You may find that you read the first stanza of the poem quite differently. Very good! The trick in you explication is to explain how you are reading, what meaning you make with the words and phrases. Kat’s group had a very different take on “muttering retreats”. They interpretted retreat as leaving, as running away. Prufrock cannot face his life and so retreats, muttering. Does their take work? Does mine? You must find your answers in the poem.

It is English 122. You are officially second semester freshmen. It’s a big deal to make it through the first semester of high school. Congratulations!! So here is the plan. We will finish The Catcher in the Rye this week and begin writing your first personal narrative about a crucial moment you have had in your life. We will talk! Take a look.

Monday 1/22

In class: We need to do some binder organization, and we will consider where Holden has been since we last visited.

hmwk: Please read ch. 22-23 in The Catcher in the Rye

 Tues. 1/23

 In Class, we will talk about Holden as a tragic hero.

hmwk: read ch. 24-25 The Catcher in the Rye

Weds. 1/24

 In class we will read ch. 26 and discuss

 hmwk: none

Thurs. 1/25

We drop.

Friday 1/26

In class we will conclude our discussion of The Catcher in the Rye, and we will begin planning the first personal narrative, a Crucial moment.

hmwk: please write the first draft of your crucial moment.

BLOCK 7 EXAM IS ON THURSDAY 1/18 AT 9:45 IN RM. 117

BLOCK  8 EXAM IS ON FRIDAY 1/19 AT 9:45 IN RM. 117

 It’s hard to believe that we are at the end of the first semeseter. I must tell you that I am excited by your focus and attention in The Catcher in the Rye! Keep up the good work.

There are two things we must do this week. First, we must continue with the reading. Second, we  will prepare for the exam, for the most part in class. There is some work, however, that you must do  outside of class, primarily reviewing your notes on literary terms and the hero.  Here is what the week will look like.

Monday 1/8: We drop.

Tues 1/9:

In class, we will discuss the exam – what it will look like and what we will do to prepare.

hmwk: Please read chapters 18 & 19 in The Catcher in the Rye and review your notes on characterization. There may be a quiz tomorrow!!!???

Weds. 1/10:

In class we will discuss “The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry” and how it is illustrated in Of Mice and Men and The Catcher in the Rye.

hmwk: Please read ch. 20 and 21 in The Catcher in the Rye and review your notes on conflict and turning point

Thurs 1/11:

In class, we will talk about the hero’s journey in The Catcher in the Rye as well as the themes of friendship and sacrifice in both novels.

hmwk: Get ready for the exam. Good Luck!!!

Friday 12: We drop.

During this week we will see Holden lose it with Stradlater and decide to leave Pency early. We will also see him lie extravagently and begin to feel quite sad and alone. Here is what the week’s reading looks like.

Monday 12/18:

read ch. 6 & 7

Tuesday 12/19:

We drop

Wednesday 12/20:

read ch. 8 & 9

Thursday  12/21:

read 10 & 11

We are nearing the end of our work with Of Mice and Men. We are going to use our discussion of character to retell part of the story from a particular character’s point of view. We will also finish up our work with vocabulary. Here is what the week looks like:

Monday:

For homework:

Choose a character who interests you or that you like. You will imagine yourself as that character and retell part of the story from his or her point of view.

Tuesday:

In class we will talk about the vocabulary and begin working a plans for your story.

For homework:

1. Complete the story plan begun in class.

2. There is a vocabulary quiz on ch. 4 and 5 on Friday

Wednesday:

In class we will finish talking about vocabulary and begin writing the first draft in class. Get as much done as you can.

For homework:

1. Practice for the vocabulary quiz. Remember the usage of each word, and practice writing sentences that include context clues.

Thursday:

We drop

Friday:

In class, we will begin with the quiz and then finish writing the first draft.

For homework, please type the second draft of your story making any changes that you think will improve your story.

When Marlow eases that rattrap of a steamboat out onto the river away from the central station, he has already ready begun to give the legend of Kurtz credence. Marlow wants answers to questions he can barely articulate, and he believes Kurtz will answer them. In short Marlow has expectations, no matter how practical he is. When he meets Kurtz, his initial impression is shock and disappointment because Kurtz has been decimated by his own corrution. But Kurtz speaks, and it is his voice that alarms, unnerves, enthralls Marlow. And Marlow learns, to let go of expectations and when to the truth and when to keep it hidden so that he does not participate in the destruction of another, which certainly would have happened if Kurtz’s intended had known the truth.

A quick note or two:

As you are writing, you must stick to one idea. You can make a general statement, but if you do not open it up, explore and explain it, it will lose its effect.

Many of you are summarizing what we heard in class rather than doing the leg work of uncovering meaning. Be careful!

Remember what Strunk and White say: it is not our job to comment on the excellence or talent of the writer. We must concentrate on our own observations of the reading.