Happy Halloween

My Advanced Writing class is struggling their way through their first of two novels that they must read for a major research paper they will begin writing in roughly five weeks. For many this is the first major novel they have ever read. Some are struggling mightily. I wanted to give them tests on them before the end of the quarter (next Thursday), but many don’t feel like they would get the novel read. I simply replied that they might have to switch to out of Advanced Writing and into Comp II if they can’t read their first novel in two weeks (given the fact that they have already had two weeks to begin reading). I know I’m being light there, but I should have started the first novel assignment earlier. So we will take the first novel test on the first Friday of second quarter. For some I think this is fair (I have one girl trudging through “Les Miserables” and another working her way through Toni Morrison’s “Paradise”), but for others, those reading “Of Mice and Men,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Huck Finn,” and “The Jungle,” getting it read shouldn’t take that long.

I visited with Lindsey who had just finished “Of Mice and Men,” which happened to be one of the first ‘real’ novels I had read. I was particularly interested in what she thought of Lennie’s death. She said that she almost started crying. Then we began to discuss what happened to George and Lennie that lead to George killing Lennie. When Lindsey explained the end, several students were in total shock. It was priceless.

This class is just too good to be true.

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A sample from a journal I kept while at my history class from last week -- “You’ve got to be a damned idiot to sit in the front row of a class and nod off. And this guy is a teacher! Now I can’t focus on the lecture because this guy’s plight to stay awake (and my need to criticize him) has now captured my imagination.” I am always amazed at how truly terrible students teachers can make. They often become the very type of students they hate to have in class. Why is this?

My sister, who works in conjunction with OSHA developing safety plans and regulations for schools, police departments, highway departments, and other departments, couldn’t agree more. She often meets teachers who sit in back and either read the paper or take a nap. Can you imagine? She said one of the most rude ‘students’ she ever had was a deputy from our hometown. He sat through the first presentation fiddling with his handcuffs. When it was Barb’s turn to present, she had to stop everything and ask the deputy to stop. Can you imagine?

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