Planet Mexicali
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This week my students hand in the first drafts of their community profiles. I’ve asked them to approach someone in their community with an important story to tell. We’re writing of teen-age pregnancies, gender issues, the threat of deportation “Put yourselves in someone else’s shoes,” I tell my students. We’re searching for a deeper understanding…
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It’s finals week, and I’m asking my students to muster all their critical thinking skills to respond to the texts we have read this semester. We just completed M. Butterfly! I’m a little bit nervous. Their exam includes questions about racial stereotypes and sexual fetishes. I’m also asking to them record and relate their experience…
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Maybe about a year back, I heard of a fellow English instructor’s plans to write a book during his sabbatical. I was both impressed and sad. I was happy for his opportunity, but when I thought about my own writing, I realized I had little to show for it. I mean, who has the time? …
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This week I encourage my students to take risks with their writing. They have all selected difficult topics for community profiles. They will use a profile of a person as a building block for a larger discussion. What does this person’s story say about social situations, trends or problems? I’ve asked them to be brave,…
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In a sentence building exercise in my composition class, we recently came across mention of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller Psycho. I was both surprised and joyful to hear the interest in my students voices pique in our discussion. Now that I think of it, Psycho may appeal to all of us who live along the…
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This week I encourage my students to extend their community profiles. Do they have an interesting story to tell? Will their writing explore important societal issues? “You have the privilege to write,” I tell them. Embrace the responsibility. Most of my students are the first in their families to reach college. If they are not…
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Culture matters. We need to establish a setting in our classrooms where students can freely exchange ideas about their backgrounds and traditions. This week alone, I charted how my Bar Mitzvah played a role in my becoming a teacher. There’s a cause and effect chain here. I had to quit my basketball team to study…
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This week we read a Joyce Carol Oates story inspired by a Bob Dylan song. Earlier, I went to my bookshelves here in Mexicali and re-read the memoirs of these two legendary artists. Joyce used to find her writing “spirit” in running long distances; that’s right, not in the presence of brilliant professors or authors,…
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This week we read a Joyce Carol Oates story inspired by a Bob Dylan song. Earlier, I went to my bookshelves here in Mexicali and re-read the memoirs of these two legendary artists. Joyce used to find her writing “spirit” in running long distances; that’s right, not in the presence of brilliant professors or authors,…
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For me, every English class should be a book club. I mean to really elevate our writing skills, we need to be reading consistently. Stephen King once famously said, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write.“ My goal is to push my students a little bit. I provide them…