Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

Archive for the tag “education”

20 Sep 2013
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The Morphing of the Omni Narrator


Right now we are toughing out poetry with my freshmen. *sigh* “We study poetry because oral storytelling came before the written language came into existence, plus many of the elements we study in poetry exist in fiction–you know, like imagery, diction, syntax, metaphors, analogies–so get to know poetry and you’ll understand and enjoy fiction that much more.”  And the question? (Jeopardy music, please)

Why do we study poetry?

Returning to the anticipated second quarter…(quick, quick, I’m losing them)

Once I get to short stories in the curriculum it’s pretty easy sailing, since my students are versed in plot, characters, setting, and such. Theme sometimes throws them; however, point-of-view gets them pondering. For instance, trying to explain the omniscient narrator is tricky these days. Back when, I used to say, “The Omniscient narrator is a lot like God–you know, everywhere and knowing everything about everybody.” I’m getting less comfortable about using that analogy in such a forthright manner.  I still believe it’s a valid analogy, yet don’t want to offend any of my students.  Let alone get the ACLU or other NSA types coming after me.

Cover of "The Long Winter"

Cover of The Long Winter

Another problem with trying to explain the omniscient narrator is that the old-fashioned version of the narrator filling into the details has changed into something quite different. For instance, I recently reread The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder (don’t snicker, it’s a great read, besides it’s for research–really) and Wilder includes in the story what’s happening to the town’s people and to Almanzo and Cap who are all caught up in a grueling blizzard, in an inclusive fluid manner.  I rarely come across this type of narrative style today. As Bob Dylan once said, “Times they are achanging.”

In the last few years I have noticed a trend where the omni narrative is now designated as separate chapters.  This at first proved quite annoying because the point-of-view kept changing. One chapter would be one character, the next a completely different one.  I felt like I was juggling characters to the point of wanting to run an Excel sheet to keep it all straight.

The last few novels I’ve read have run this narrative style, and every new book I’m pulling from my suggestion list and review newspapers seem to be pandering this new style. I keep checking them out though.  I’m either getting used to this new kaleidoscopic style of story-telling or I’m so starved to read I’m willing to put up with it.

Here are some examples of recent titles with the switch-hit character changing technique. Enjoyable reads all, but fret and nuisance, doesn’t anyone write in the old-time omni narrative style anymore?

http://www.goodreads.com

http://www.tumblr.com

http://www.tumblr.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any thoughts, Book Boosters?

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Posted in Books, Literature, Reading, Reflections, reviews, Writing and tagged , , , , , ,
10 Sep 2013

An Encounter of the Stein Kind


Celebrity spotting can be fun and definitely livens up conversations as people trade their “I saw —- at —–,” quips and crows.  Spotting is one thing, encounters are another.

Encounters are where you actually get to have a conversation, or spend some time with the person of celebre status. For instance, I’ve spotted Viggo Mortenson signing autographs at an art gallery showing (promoting his North American photo art), the Portland Blazers at the airport (wow–they are tall), Ralph Nader giving a speech, but never conversed with them, hence no encounter checkmark.

Ralph Nader, speaking at BYU's Alternate Comme...

Ralph Nader (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Fotografía de Viggo Mortensen en la presentaci...

Viggo Mortensen (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This summer while vacationing, The MEPA and I were walking in a park and I tend to get annoyed when the people in front of me are moving too slow.  I would not be a good candidate for Disneyland action in summer. I am about to pass this older gentleman in front of me, when I hear The MEPA speak up, “Would that be the famous Ben Stein?” and I do a double-take when I hear, “Yes, it is.” And it IS Ben Stein! I think, “Cool, Ben Stein,” and begin to give him his space, because it must get tedious to have the public pester you just because you are famous. But then he starts talking to us and not wanting to be rude we match stride with him and before you know it I’m walking next to Ben Stein around the park.  Here’s what I basically remember:

Ben: And what do you do for a living?

Me: I’m a teacher (this is where he got interested)

Ben: Really? What do you teach?

Me: Freshmen English and Senior AP Literature (then he got really interested)

Ben: I would love to come to an AP English class. Could I come to your class? What would I have to do? (he was serious!)

I then explained about security measures, about how he would have to let the high school knowing he is coming and how he would have to sign in, and at this point I’m thinking “Do I really want Ben Stein watch me teach?” It’s a bit intimidating, if you think about it.  Here is one of the most famed teachers (at least of popular culture) asking to drop in on my class:

As we continued to walk Ben expressed his concerns about students and literature:

Ben: I don’t think kids today read enough. Do you teach The Great Gatsby?

Me: Actually, that’s taught at the junior level.

Ben: Do the kids like it?

Me: I think they like it better since Leonardo di Caprio is in the new movie.

Ben: Have you seen the movie?

I replied I hadn’t, explaining it looked a bit too hipped up for my taste, and considering I didn’t like  Baz Luhrman’s version of Romeo and Juliet I didn’t think I would be seeing his version of Gatsby anytime soon.  Ben agreed he didn’t care for Luhrman’s R&J either, but floored me by saying he’s seen The Great Gatsby thirteen times! Thirteen times! I didn’t even watch Star Wars more than five times when it came out in the theaters (yes, my age is showing again, darn it).

Our walk ended because we were continuing on and he wanted to return and walk back to the park entrance. Since that encounter I wonder if I will ever get a phone call from our principal saying Ben Stein is in the office and says he is ready to be my guest for the day.  I’ve decided to create a Ben Stein lesson plan should the event arise.

First of all, I can’t resist attendance. I go by class seating not alphabet.

“Bronson, Taylor, Reynolds–oh, Stein. Yes, you must be new. Welcome to class.”

Of course, there would be introductions: “Class, this is Ben Stein. He is interested in AP Literature. Mr. Stein, I believe you were a teacher once?”

Maybe I would turn the class over to him.  As long as he didn’t talk about economics, I think my students would be interested in what he had to say.  Maybe he would talk about The Great Gatsby. This could actually have possibilities.

So, if you are walking in the park and have an encounter with Ben Stein, could you please tell him I’ve got the lesson plan ready?

English: Ben Stein speaking at Miami Universit...

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16 Aug 2013
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Understanding and Using English


One of those Tome Treasures I own is an old grammar handbook: Understanding and Using English. It’s publish date is 1949 and it is by the Birks, Newman B and Genevieve B, respectively. I am always curious and interested in browsing old grammar books because grammar used to have more active precedence in prior years, especially in English courses.  Now, it’s more about writing, but how can one write well without knowing how to put words together?  It’s like requiring a person to cook without showing them where the spices are in the rack.

Usually old grammar books are a snore and a half.  I was proved wrong. The first chapter “Language and Meaning” introduction floored me with its eloquence:

Modern man lives in a world of words, and the kind of world he lives in depends to a surprisingly large extent on the words that he uses and hears. Words can make or prevent wars, solemnize marriages or invalidate them, form constitutions or destroy them, sell shoddy or superior products or ideas, justify man’s worst actions or express his highest ideals. Because of the immense power of language, or even a few words, advertisers pay large sums for the best phrase or slogan or jingle, and no responsible statesman feels free to depart from the letter of his carefully prepared speech. Lawyers may spend hours in court trying to fix the meaning of a single word, and one of the chief functions of our Supreme Court is interpreting the words of the law of the land.

I am considering opening my initial grammar session with this.  Words and their meaning are so important.  How they are portrayed is essential, and so it is essential we know the rules of the road. More good stuff:

Since language is so important, it is strange that in our society more people have a reasonably accurate idea of how an automobile works and how to handle it than of how their native language works and how to handle it.  Even poor drivers know what the accelerator and the steering wheel and even the brake are for, and have some knowledge of the relationship between the cylinders and the gasoline and the spark. They can use road maps to drive a car from New York to San Francisco and can arrive at Sand Francisco without difficulty.

Okay, when this book was written  cars and traveling was probably simpler. However, the analogy remains that people can learn to navigate a car down the road better than they can constructing a sentence.  Why?

For one thing, [students] have often been led to accept and to follow uncritically a large number of rules for the writing of “correct” English. Suppose we look, for example, at some of these “rules.”

1. “Never end a sentence with a preposition.” Must we always say, “On which chair do you wish me sit?” and never “Which chair do you want me to sit on?” Of course not.

2. “Don’t use contractions.” Many English teachers have written this as a comment on themes. Are the teachers using incorrect English?

3. “Avoid slang.” Does this mean that a sports writer or a person writing on jazz must avoid all use of slang?

4. “Never begin a sentence with but or and.” Never? But we are doing it at this very moment.

5. “Always use a comma between two independent clauses joined by and, but, for, or, nor.” In “I was there and he wasn’t,” what good would a comma after “there” do? Probably none at all.
6.”Every sentence must have a subject and a predicate.” If this is always true, why do so many able writers–Steinbeck, Dos Passos, Thomas Wolfe, to name just a few–frequently write sentences that are incomplete, and why do such sentences into English texts as models of style?

That came out of 1949!  I so applaud how the Birks poke at the conventions of stuffiness. My students come up with the above observations all the time! Here is one of the stellar gems of reflection:

Language has been called “the dress of thought”; like dress it needs to be appropriate. Formality and a certain type of correctness are sometimes necessary and desirable, but for everyday expression (written and spoken) a less formal language is usually appropriate, and a different and less formal standard of correctness apples.

All I can say is: Exactly!

The rest of the book is divided up sections of use: Conventions and Meaning; Exercising Intelligent Choice; Developing an Effective Style; Good Paragraphs; Language in Action plus Some Everyday Uses of English.

I think I will settle in with this as my primer for returning to school.  This fall begins the focus on Common Core Standards and last year as I piloted the ninth grade curriculum it became more than apparent that students didn’t give much credence to grammar and were often perplexed by it.  Maybe I can stretch out that car analogy since many of my freshmen will be driving by the end of the year *I always tell them to warn me when they get their permits-jk, jk*: “Hey kiddos, if you can read and memorize the driver’s ed manual in order to pass your test, I know you can do the same with grammar!”

Wait–I know. I will morph the sagacity of this little grammar tome with the unequivocal wisdom of The Beatles:

Grammar police

Grammar police (Photo credit: the_munificent_sasquatch)

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Yeah. Put your pedal to the metal as you commit to your commas.

Then again, maybe I’ll just fall back on the help of Schoolhouse Rocky because, as you know, Knowledge is Power:

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13 Jul 2013
13 Comments

From SparkNotes to Sparky Sweet, PhD


Read the Sparknotes

Read the Sparknotes (Photo credit: kevin dooley)

There are two basic reasons for reading classics:
1. Pressure
2. Enjoyment

Reason One:

Pressure comes from teachers assigning novels that no one wants to read, but students must read in order to complete the course. Mark Twain hit that one spot on:

Classic–a book which people praise and don’t read- Pudd’nhead Wilson’s New
Calendar

I am THAT teacher who literally pressures students into reading. Granted, I get my own pressure from the curriculum powers that be. Certain novels must be taught, which means I must find ways to entice students to read them. Over the years I have gathered up sources I point out to students so that they may better understand the stories, poems, and novels I toss out to them. Some teachers promote the erroneous idea that to utilize a resource like Sparknotes is cheating. Huh? That’s like me handing out To Kill a Mockingbird to my ninth graders, instructing them to sit down in a closet, and I shut the door. They might as well read in the dark if they don’t understand what they are reading. I know some students who never read assigned books and only Sparknote them (an AP student admitted this to his teacher, tsk 2 honesty 1). My thoughts on this are: a)it’s not like Sparknotes are contraband or are damaging to young minds b)at least he is familiar with the novel now. Some reading, even if it’s through summary, is better than no reading.

The other kind of pressure comes after we have left school and feel the need to fill in the holes of our education by reading all those classics we weren’t assigned or assigned and didn’t read. The Picture of Dorian Gray, Crime and Punishment, Robinson Crusoe, the list goes on. Just because we are in college or are college graduated, older, smarter, more aware, yada yada, that doesn’t mean we understand Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, any better. We can also get by with a little help from our friends, those marvelous lit aide sites:

Sparknotes.com–the go-to site for understanding a novel. It covers content, facts, chapter summary, characters, theme, major quotes, all the biggies. There are even quizzes to test comprehension plus videos (major spoilers though).

PinkMonkey.com–never mind the name, it delivers the same sort of information in a somewhat different style.

Cliffnotes.com–if you are as old as me then you remember those wonderful little yellow and black booklets (anyone else think they resembled bees?–and if a teacher caught you with them you got stung?) that helped shed light on Hamlet, Huckleberry Finn, etc. They are now adding videos to their venue. Mmm, I’d say the videos are at about middle school level in approach, although most of my ninth graders liked the silly humor.

Novelguide.com–I used to rely on this site for my insights when preparing a unit, but then I discovered…

Shmoop.com–a most excellent and diverse site for pulling in understanding for both contemporary (mainly prevalent bestsellers) and classics. Prepared by smartypants PhD students (so they say) there is a break down of overview, analysis, theme, essay questions, characters, and a roundup of the best of the net. Videos are often a part of the lineup which are designed to evoke discussion (great for Socratic seminars) and are crafted with cunning.

Cummingsstudyguide.net–another site when needing deeper analysis needs. While basic, it nevertheless provides great insights.

Thugnotes.com–new to the scene, it’s difficult to know what to do with this venue. Sparky Sweets, PhD, is an erudite street talking armchair lit critic. The paradox of foul-mouthed summary offset with finely constructed analysis makes this video series a conundrum. I know the students would appreciate how he brings literature to an understandable level, yet there is need for more beeps or I would be answering to the admin. For a bit of entertainment and enlightenment I present as a choice with caution to those who prefer to not have their classics fouled.

There are more sites out there, and I would appreciate hearing your faves.

Reason Two

If you read the classics for pleasure then you will still appreciate the above-mentioned sites as they add to the reading experience.

Read the classics, no matter if you have to or want to, for they are the foundation of all we read today!

"To be successful at reading comprehensio...

“To be successful at reading comprehension, students need to …” (Photo credit: Ken Whytock)

 

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01 Mar 2013

Reading Between the Lines


image: Walmart.com

I had no idea how wrong I was really reading until I read Thomas Foster’s book.  Okay, not so much as wrong, but unenlightened.  The catchy title hook of “a lively and entertaining guide to reading between the lines” is truly that.

Professor of English at the University of Michigan, Foster showcases his deep and wide literary knowledge through his delightful instructive on how to really read literature.  His style is as if you are sitting in on lecture due to its friendly, conversant tone. And yes–it is quite entertaining. If there were more literature professors like Foster we might have an overrun of English teachers in the population, then again, maybe the population would become more knowledgable about literature after taking his class.  However, if traveling to Michigan  is inconvenient, I suggest picking up this book.

Reading like a professor simply means gaining an understanding of  all those hidden nuances of that suddenly pop out in 3D once you know they are there.  Kind of like finding the Waldos in the picture once you know what he looks like.

Here is a smattering of chapters:

  • Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not)
  • Nice To Eat With You: Acts of Communion
  • If It’s Square, It’s a Sonnet
  • When in Doubt, It’s from Shakespeare…
  • ….Or from the Bible
  • It’s Greek to Me

Foster provides the literary basics (themes and motifs; models; and narrative devices)and utilizes a tremendous variety of examples of genres ranging from Homer to Shakespeare to Toni Morrison (Foster has an absolute thing for Beloved). Succinctly stated, Foster literally reduces the intimidation of reading literature.

You can even test your newly acquired knowledge on the included short story “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield.

For those of you who prefer novels to literature you can check out his companion book:

This is one of those books I wished had been available when I was struggling with Melville and the like in college.  Future AP students be forewarned: expect Foster’s book on the summer reading list. A much better choice than Moby Dick (which you will be able to read once having read Foster).

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14 Dec 2012
4 Comments

Getting Lively with Dead Poets


Poetry

Poetry (Photo credit: Kimli)

Tuesday marked the start of our AP Poetry Unit.  I am so excited we are finally onto poetry!! Poetry is the curry of prose.  It’s the sprinkles found in exposition.  It’s the center of the Tootsie Pop because it’s that delightful surprise unexpectedly found in the middle of the everyday. 

Poetry is not just rhyme.  It’s not just meter.  It’s not slavering on about metaphor and simile.  It’s bounce, giggles, shock, and awe.  Poetry is the dance of words.  Poetry is that note of praise found nestled in the staunch flow of sentences, paragraphs, and text.

It’s sing.

It’s song.

It’s the azure found in the sky.

It’s the You before I.

It’s older than the page before you.

It’s Homer before he became a Simpson.

And the Dead Poets are the best because their words formed the path for the rest.

Oh, hello Emily, Robert, William, Byron, Coleridge, Sylvia, Langston, Gwendolyn–I’d like you to meet my students.  I’ve been telling them about you.  I can’t wait for them to know you like I’ve gotten to know you.  And I can’t wait to learn more about you as I learn from my students.

Poetry. Word colors of our world.

when I said "I ate all your tootsie pops&...

when I said “I ate all your tootsie pops” (Photo credit: hmmlargeart)

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19 Nov 2012
3 Comments

R and R. Mmmhmmm


The "gravedigger scene" The Gravedig...

The “gravedigger scene” The Gravedigger Scene: Hamlet 5.1.1–205. (Artist: Eugène Delacroix 1839) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

After a couple of tough weeks of school there is nothing like a weekend getaway.  Grabbed a few foodstuffs, a couple of changes of clothes, and of course, school work.  But hey, at least I’d be doing lesson plans in a change of scenery.

 

First thing I did was nap.  Then I grabbed my Hamlet homework and dug in.  Even though I’ve taught Hamlet for the last three years, and really, really like the play, I know I have to up my game since I am know teaching it ala AP.  Deeper, richer, more insights–get some questions (try to know the answers).  I was delighted to find that my iPhone internet connection functioned which meant I didn’t have to pay the WiFi fee.  Heck, I didn’t even use my laptop this weekend.

 

I all kinds of Hamlet helps on the Internet.  One especially helpful site was called Shakespeare Navigators.  I drained my iPhone battery working the site so much and had to drive around to charge it up.  Gave me an excuse to go down to the Safeway (a good 40 minute drive) to stock up on essentials like Peppermint Bark Haagen Daz.  You know Christmas is around the corner when the Peppermint Bark comes out.  Fortunately MEPA met up with me on Saturday and brought my charger.  Whew.  A good personal assistant is more valuable than all the Haagen Daz in the freezer.

 

I tried to NaNo while R and R-ing and managed to get the posts up.  I didn’t manage to update my word count until I got home and looking at my statistics and posting three days worth of word count bloated my chart slightly.

 

Your Average Per Day: 1,934
Words Written Today: 4,967
Total Words Written: 34,827
Words Remaining: 15,173
At This Rate You Will Finish On: November 25, 2012
Words Per Day To Finish On Time: 1,168
There is no truth to the stat I wrote nearly 5,000 today.  Nope, didn’t happen.  I do like seeing I might finish early.  That would call for more Peppermint Bark.

 

 

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Posted in Blogging, Teachers, time management, travel, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged , , , ,
06 Nov 2012
6 Comments

DST and a Tough Week Ahead for Me


First page of Benjamin Franklin's anonymous le...

First page of Benjamin Franklin’s anonymous letter to the editors of the Journal de Paris, April 26, 1784. The letter is a satire proposing various methods to awaken Parisians early in the morning in order to save money on candles, and presages the idea of daylight saving time. The letter is untitled and appears in the “Économie” section of the journal. The original letter was in English but this, its first publication, is a French translation. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

No matter when I go to bed I automatically wake up around 5 am.  Good thing I’m a morning person.  This usually is not a problem for me because I actually enjoy getting up early and having the best part of the day to myself. I find myself embracing the cadence of morning. However, I do not embrace 4 am, which DST has reinstated since Sunday.  I can push the clock back an hour, not so easily my body clock.  Daylight Saving Time and I do not see eye to eye.

Which brings me to notion of how art imitates life.  Currently I am involved in NaNoWriMo and have even gone as far as inflicting sharing my daily NaNo entries with readers as a separate blog.  Consider this an invitation: www.veranano.wordpress.com.  The main character has many of my tendencies, dark chocolate breaks, being one of them.  “Vera” also dislikes DST as much as I do.  In fact, she turned her rant against Ben Franklin, the inventory of Daylight Saving Time, into a scathing persuasive essay called “Death to DST” (or words to that effect) as an English assignment.  I’m hoping she’ll get a good grade on it.

This week is a good week for that extra hour of sleep, although getting up earlier seems to nullify the bonus time. Yes, this week is the official beginnings of second quarter and with it comes Parent-Teacher conferences.  My school runs them two nights and gives teachers Friday off.  We are very much ready by then for a long weekend. We teach all day on Wednesday and then PT until 7 pm–basically a twelve hour day.  Thursday we meet as departments and then meet with parents from 3:30 until 7 pm once again.  It’s part of the job, yet it is grueling.  I actually like meeting with the parents and discussing their student, except there is usually a buffalo herd of moms and dads hanging out in the hall waiting their turn.  I try not to drink too much water because breaks are far and few between.

DST, NaNo, and PTs–it’s one of those weeks of sucking it up yet needing to find time to breathe.

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14 Sep 2012
6 Comments

The Wanders of Spillchick


Various flavours of gelato

Various flavours of gelato (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Second Friday of the new school new year.  And I’m  heading downtown for a gelato–not because I need the endorphin boost, it’s cause for celebration.  It’s basically two weeks into the new year and I’ve decided I still like teaching, even though I have five sections of freshmen instead of the usually two or three.

One thing that does amaze me is the first batch of papers I receive from my freshies.  I encourage them to type because 1) it’s easier to read and 2) they can plug in spell-check and grammar-check.  But do they?  Mmmm, not really.

Here are some true-life examples.

* Names have been withheld in case my students have figured out this is my blog and I end up as a Yahoo News item blurb.

Some of the activities I like do out side of school are skiing, golf, and lacrosse.

My biggest influence would be my dad. He has Ben that for years!

So I would have to say my favorite subject is Band or Jazz Band, it in cooperates gratis faction and challenges.

Shakespeare influenced me because of this plays, it helps me know that even people who started out as regular people can make history.

I don’t want to pick on them too much because I know they are still learning. And I know I make mistakes as well.  My AP students caught this doozy the other day.

Typing is NOT an option. Times Standard or Ariel, 12 font.

Okay, I meant “is not optional”–they gave me the sidewise eye on that one. (“You mean you don’t want the essays typed?”)

Here is the revision: “Typing is NOT an optional.”

Yes, it’s Friday. I need a gelato.

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03 Sep 2012
3 Comments

Back-to-School Reads for All Ages


http://www.commondreams.com

I have been going back to school for longer than I care to admit.  First it was as student (that’s 18 years), then more as a student (add on 6+ years), and then as I raised a family I watched them go back to school (another 18+ years), and here I am back at school, except I am on the other side of the desk (add on 12+ years).

Going back to school creates mixed feelings, doesn’t it?  It signifies the end of summer, yet it’s a new year. It’s finding old friends and making new ones. It’s reviewing old concepts while compiling new knowledge. It’s mix of the familiar and the unfamiliar.  It’s a good thing authors know all about these feelings and have provided books to help anyone through the September Struggles.

Here is a list of suggested reads from Amazon.com as a means of coping with all those changes, expectations, and palpitations as we all head back to school.  Even if you don’t have a child in school, school will always be a part of who we are as a culture and as a society.  Learning doesn’t stop once you get that diploma in your hand!

Going to School (Usborne First Experiences)This Is the Way We Go to School: A Book About Children Around the WorldPirates Go to SchoolEmily's First 100 Days of School

Amelia Bedelia's First Day of SchoolMiddle School, The Worst Years of My Life

Little Critter: First Day of SchoolA Smart Girl's Guide to Starting Middle School (American Girl) (American Girl Library)The Night Before Kindergarten

So Happy Back to School.  And if you are shining up that apple for the teacher I suggest saving it for your lunch and go for the Starbucks gift certificate.  Better yet, Dove dark chocolate.

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