Stuff We Are Reading
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This week, I’m having my students design and develop their writing blogs. I often regret that I didn’t have the same opportunity when I was their age. I was so shy. I didn’t talk very much. Late at night, I often put my thoughts down in a notebook but I certainly didn’t share them with…
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I discourage my students from beginning their essays with a quotation. They’ve learned to write with a hook to grab the reader’s attention. They go to BrainyQuote or something like that is quick and easy, but I say something, like, “Your first words are copied from someone else?” Why? It’s your name at the top…
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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,…