Aimless Paragraphs
I am attempting to lesson plan for the seventh grade class I'm working with right now, and it's very difficult. I'm praying that when I have my own classroom, I'll be able to pick whatever curriculum I damn-well please, 'cause attempting to teach a text I dislike is just not fun.
We're reading Othello, and I hate the story. I find that the characters are so extreme they become two-dimensional and boring, and Iago's flippant manipulation of every character reinforces how pathetic they all are. Truthfully, I have an aversion to almost all the "great love stories" we encounter in the American canon. I don't know why. Or, I may know why, but I haven't found any way to put it into coherent words yet. The point is, Othello sucks.
But I still have to teach it. What's worse is we're doing the "Plain English Version" because it's seventh grade, and our goal in teaching is to show Freytag's pyramid of plotline-- exposition, rising action, climax, etc. Seriously, it takes all of whatever-is-left-of-the-fun out of it to not investigate the language. It's truly more fun to say "I am the one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs" than "The kind that tells you the Moor is having sex with your daughter right now." BORING! Why not teach some other, NOT Shakespear play, or actually take the time to do the translations for the students so they can actually appreciate what we're reading? Arghghghg
I'm much happier about teaching eighth grade. We're reading To Kill a Mockingbird, and it's so awesome. That is all I need to say. If you haven't read it in recent years, I command you do eet. Now.
I just got back from Fuente this year... where I was quite sick for most of it. Sucks, but I decided if I was gonna be sick, I was gonna be sick in a hot tub, under a swishing tree, in the sharp moonlight of a remote palm canyon in Mexico, and not in my bed in Santa Monica. It was a mildly diffiult trip. Most of my usual suspects were gone, and i felt isolated and lonely a lot of the time. I felt as if I lacked the community I was so used to, even though I was aware that I was completely surrounded by community. This made a saddening impression on me. I am determined to not feel that way again. I realize I have to create my community around me, no matter who I'm with or where I am. To do this, I have plans. Many plans. They involved yogurt and fruit and honey.
Or, I could just kidnap you all and make sure you're surrounding me at all times. Flights from Israel aren't that expensive, and SLO really is only three hours away. All I need is my own helicopter and mind control skills. I'll work on those.
We're reading Othello, and I hate the story. I find that the characters are so extreme they become two-dimensional and boring, and Iago's flippant manipulation of every character reinforces how pathetic they all are. Truthfully, I have an aversion to almost all the "great love stories" we encounter in the American canon. I don't know why. Or, I may know why, but I haven't found any way to put it into coherent words yet. The point is, Othello sucks.
But I still have to teach it. What's worse is we're doing the "Plain English Version" because it's seventh grade, and our goal in teaching is to show Freytag's pyramid of plotline-- exposition, rising action, climax, etc. Seriously, it takes all of whatever-is-left-of-the-fun out of it to not investigate the language. It's truly more fun to say "I am the one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs" than "The kind that tells you the Moor is having sex with your daughter right now." BORING! Why not teach some other, NOT Shakespear play, or actually take the time to do the translations for the students so they can actually appreciate what we're reading? Arghghghg
I'm much happier about teaching eighth grade. We're reading To Kill a Mockingbird, and it's so awesome. That is all I need to say. If you haven't read it in recent years, I command you do eet. Now.
I just got back from Fuente this year... where I was quite sick for most of it. Sucks, but I decided if I was gonna be sick, I was gonna be sick in a hot tub, under a swishing tree, in the sharp moonlight of a remote palm canyon in Mexico, and not in my bed in Santa Monica. It was a mildly diffiult trip. Most of my usual suspects were gone, and i felt isolated and lonely a lot of the time. I felt as if I lacked the community I was so used to, even though I was aware that I was completely surrounded by community. This made a saddening impression on me. I am determined to not feel that way again. I realize I have to create my community around me, no matter who I'm with or where I am. To do this, I have plans. Many plans. They involved yogurt and fruit and honey.
Or, I could just kidnap you all and make sure you're surrounding me at all times. Flights from Israel aren't that expensive, and SLO really is only three hours away. All I need is my own helicopter and mind control skills. I'll work on those.