Another Early Morning

I'm up early today. Too bad. A good night's sleep is a good thing. I'm excited about starting a new quarter at school tonight. No matter how old I get, I still look forward to learning new things. Yes, I said things. Tonight's class is "Studies in Drama." The professor is the resident Shakespeare guy--every university has one. The three plays that I know we're reading (because I paid big bucks for the books) are Titus Andronicus, The Taming of the Shrew, and Hamlet. I don't know anything about the first one, but I have taught the other two, and I am really interested in hearing a respected scholar's opinion on them. Something else that seems cool is that the books are all about teaching Shakespeare through performance. Students love this, so I'm hoping I'll get some new ideas for next year's journey with the AP kids through Othello.

Tomorrow night's class is called "Pedagogies of Reading." Pedagogy is a fancy word for a teaching method. I took a class in composition pedagogies last year and learned a lot that I was able to bring directly into my own classroom, so I'm sure this class will be the same. One of the books is about reading poetry. Hmmm--that one should help! Kids come to school with a lot of fears about poetry, which must be because of the way they have been "taught" it or maybe assessed over it. Pity. Another book is called Reading Don't Fix No Chevys. Great title. It's all about the irrelevance of reading to the lives of many of America's young men. This also makes me sad. Reading brings me so much joy, adds so much to my life, that I feel for people who don't have the time or the inclination to experience this.

We've had two great TOK presentations so far this week. Yesterday's group talked about the ways that women have suffered, throughout history, to be beautiful, including corset wearing and foot binding. Really interesting and eye-opening. I hope all the students who heard it were challenged by it--beautiful doesn't have to be defined by the media or commercial interests. And girls, men can't define your beauty unless you let them. Don't let them. Monday's group did a great job of presenting some of the complex arguments involved in the issue of undocumented immigrants. That was very timely considering the walkout that was staged on Monday as the House sent a risky and controversial immigration bill to the Senate. The right to peaceful protest is an important American freedom, but I think a lot of thought should first go into the planning of how to stage a protest so that people will become sympathetic to the cause. Clearly that did not happen on Monday. Too bad. It seems like a good thing to find ways to involve students in the political process--but walking out of class as an opportunity to miss English or algebra isn't it.

The First One

A new day...another chance to get it right. Whatever that means. I'm listening to the rain, which makes me think of Mr. Elder, who loves the rain. My hair? Not so much love for rain.

I'm very excited about my new web page. I'm also looking forward to this particular experiment. If you love talking about books, this is the place for you! I also want to address other issues, sometimes those in our reading, sometimes not--please share your thoughts as well. The interchange is what I'm most excited about.

Sirena sent me an email asking for my opinion on the idea that the United Nations is going to simplified Chinese as their official language. Having been raised to write the traditional Chinese characters, she feels a sense of loss. Even though I don't know Chinese, I do understand the way progress sometimes seems like moving backwards instead of forward. Aren't there some things we should take with us as we move full-force into the future? I think so. I do know that traditional Chinese is amazing, beautiful, that last week when we did some Chinese poetry in TOK, I was moved as I watched Eric and others write out the original characters for the words. It seemed to be the most lovely blending of language and art. And it definitely seems worth keeping.

Sometimes, even though "official" types, such as the UN, make poor choices, we as the people have to do otherwise. So Sirena, although a letter of protest seems to be in order (have you ever written to the secretary-general of the UN? that would be cool!), it might be up to you, and others like you, to keep your language alive. You must teach it to your children, and see that they do likewise. I think you will find, throughout life, that what seems like a small effort can actually have lasting impact. So start small.