Classroom News
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In the first or second week of each semester, I share Sandra Cisneros’s “Only Daughter,” with my composition classes. My students often connect with Sandra’s background. She beat the obstacles of racism, sexism, and poverty in her world to become both an influential writer and activist. Sandra’s childhood experience of being “the only daughter” proved…
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Fig. 1. "Caleña," I asked. I turned around and she planted a couple of kisses on my cheeks in greeting. [This is Marlon talking, from the novel Paradise Travel, meeting up with a traveling partner in NYC.] Holding on to my hands, she took a step backward to look at me, and I noticed…
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This Summer 2025, I have assigned a novel with my classes I recently plucked off my shelf here in Mexicali. It's called Paradise Travel, and it is written by Jorge Franco. I'm not giving any spoiler alerts, but it focuses upon the American Dream – two teen-age lovers, Marlon and Reina from Medellín, Colombia,…
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They told her not to come, but she came anyway. That's Bobby Kennedy on the left. That's President Kennedy on the right. And you know who that is in the middle – That's Marilyn Monroe. She had flown to New York to sing "Happy Birthday" to the president on his 45th birthday at Madison…
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Rock stars come and go, but the Beatles appearance on Ed Sullivan television show in February 1964 changed the world forever. Before Ed Sullivan, few people in this country had ever seen or heard the Beatles. This was before the internet. Television at the time offered maybe three to four channels. Ed Sullivan was a…
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To introduce my SUMMER 2025 students to their assigned novel, Paradise Travel. I ask them to use their research skills to familiarize themselves with the setting of New York City. Of course, few of us will have little understanding for NYC, but that's why we want to dig in before we start the serious…
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Recently, I read a novel based on Ernest Hemingway's final days, Adios Hemingway by Cuban writer Leonardo Padura. Near the end, the famous writer suffered extreme bouts of depression. Back then, the doctors prescribed electroconvulsive therapy. This is 1961. I'm not sure if these sessions gave him any relief, but I believe they severely hampered…
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I know Doris Day from my mother. Doris Day began her career as a teen-age torch singer in front of a traveling orchestra. Later, in the fifties and sixties, she became a force on the big screen. My mother used to sing her big hit "Que Sera, Sera" around the house. When I was older, I…
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This semester we read a sixties novel and developed sixties research papers. I've asked my students to share their thoughts and experiences for their researching topics as diverse as the Women's Movement, the Black Panther Party, the Manson Murders, the Space Race, JFK, MLK, Marilyn Monroe, Muhammed Ali. At…
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Above: Jay's Practice Musical Annotation – David Bowie – "Changes" This week I provide my students with THREE annotation assignments. As they work with their text, I want them to consider all of the ways they can connect with what they are reading. Here are some suggestions that will help them with their annotations:…