Crunch time for me!
Not only are there mountains of papers to grade and semester grades to calculate, but also my husband and I are traveling to Kansas this weekend for our nephew's confirmation in the Lutheran Church. My mind is spinning as I am trying to finish the grading for the three on-campus classes I teach, so that after I return on Monday, I can focus on the two online courses.
Bittersweet time of year for sure. I just read Jessica's post about the end of the semester, graduating, reaching for one's dreams, not giving up.
This semester has been fulfilling for me. So many of my students have expressed to me how much they have learned in my classes, how much they have enjoyed my classes, and how much they will remember from my classes. One student even complimented me on 'setting the bar high' for my students. She truly believed she achieved so much more because I did, and she didn't want to disappoint me. Seeing my students improve their skills in writing makes me happy. Watching my students walk across the stage makes me feel like I have helped them achieve their dreams--for a career, for a better life for themselves, for an easier life for their families.
But the end of the semester is also sad. I enjoy getting to know many of my students. We share stories. They tell me about their lives. They listen to me share stories about my daughters and my grandchildren. They understand when I am nervous about my daughter and her husband and the little girl they have in foster care. I listen when a student tells me her husband just told her he was filing for divorce so her focus might be off for the evening. When classes end, so do our conversations.
Such is the journey we are on called life. Full of encounters and experiences. Full of new friendships.
I wouldn't trade it for any other profession in the world.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Monday, April 27, 2015
Orphan Train
I have been trying to read a little each night before falling asleep. This has been going on since Spring Break time, and it started as a way to blend my regular routine with trying to finish a book I had started while we were at Myrtle Beach.
The most recent book I read is Orphan Train. This had been recommended by a friend, then another friend, and I finally broke down and bought a copy at Target. I could stick it in my bag and carry it around with me, rather than depending on my iPad for reading purposes. Currently I am on a 'real book' kick, and I like to turn the pages and feel the book in my hands rather then just tap the corner of a screen for the page to turn.
Anyway, as I started to read Orphan Train I had expectations. I was a little afraid because my grandson was a Safe Haven baby and was left at a hospital for someone to find and for him to be placed with a family who would love him and care for him. I suppose for a little while he could have been termed an 'orphan' because he really had no parents. Frequently we hear in the news about circumstances where two parents are killed, leaving behind young children with no one to care for them. This just happened to a friend who teaches in the North Judson Elementary School. One of her students just lost both of his parents when a truck hit the motorcycle they were riding, killing them outright.
However, as I read, I knew that these situations were quite different than those featured in the novel. The closest similarity was between a girl who was still in foster care today but at the age of 17. Even though the children had no parents to care for them and were in the foster care system, the circumstances and the time periods were much different.
The contemporary character was so used to being labeled as 'odd' and 'strange' whenever she enrolled in a new school. She was shunned by the groups of girls and the classmates she encountered. It hurt. It stung. So she decided that if she were to be labeled as 'odd' or 'strange,' she might as well be that way, so she died her hair black and added a white streak down the middle. She pierced her ears several times and added a piercing to her nose and her lip. She decorated her eyes with black make-up. She wore unconventional clothing and jewelry. By doing this she knew that when others thought she was 'odd' or 'strange' it was because of her clothing, hairstyle, and make up, not because of 'her.' Gradually as she became accepted by others who saw through her façade, those attributes dropped away.
How often do we judge people by the exterior presentation? How often are those with multiple tattoos or piercings thought to be weird and strange? And by the same token, how often are young girls who wear longer skirts and their hair up, and no make up adoring their faces thought to be equally as 'strange' and 'odd'? How many times was I told that I must have a fiery temper because of my red hair?
Reading Orphan Train was an experience, and I really enjoyed the novel. However, I didn't like the ending. I wanted more. I needed to know more about what happens to these characters. The last few pages seemed to me to be rushed, like someone was telling the author to 'hurry up and finish that book' so she could do something else.
If you have a chance to read it, please do. The chapters are short, the style is easy to follow, and you will learn something. It will make you think.
The most recent book I read is Orphan Train. This had been recommended by a friend, then another friend, and I finally broke down and bought a copy at Target. I could stick it in my bag and carry it around with me, rather than depending on my iPad for reading purposes. Currently I am on a 'real book' kick, and I like to turn the pages and feel the book in my hands rather then just tap the corner of a screen for the page to turn.
Anyway, as I started to read Orphan Train I had expectations. I was a little afraid because my grandson was a Safe Haven baby and was left at a hospital for someone to find and for him to be placed with a family who would love him and care for him. I suppose for a little while he could have been termed an 'orphan' because he really had no parents. Frequently we hear in the news about circumstances where two parents are killed, leaving behind young children with no one to care for them. This just happened to a friend who teaches in the North Judson Elementary School. One of her students just lost both of his parents when a truck hit the motorcycle they were riding, killing them outright.
However, as I read, I knew that these situations were quite different than those featured in the novel. The closest similarity was between a girl who was still in foster care today but at the age of 17. Even though the children had no parents to care for them and were in the foster care system, the circumstances and the time periods were much different.
The contemporary character was so used to being labeled as 'odd' and 'strange' whenever she enrolled in a new school. She was shunned by the groups of girls and the classmates she encountered. It hurt. It stung. So she decided that if she were to be labeled as 'odd' or 'strange,' she might as well be that way, so she died her hair black and added a white streak down the middle. She pierced her ears several times and added a piercing to her nose and her lip. She decorated her eyes with black make-up. She wore unconventional clothing and jewelry. By doing this she knew that when others thought she was 'odd' or 'strange' it was because of her clothing, hairstyle, and make up, not because of 'her.' Gradually as she became accepted by others who saw through her façade, those attributes dropped away.
How often do we judge people by the exterior presentation? How often are those with multiple tattoos or piercings thought to be weird and strange? And by the same token, how often are young girls who wear longer skirts and their hair up, and no make up adoring their faces thought to be equally as 'strange' and 'odd'? How many times was I told that I must have a fiery temper because of my red hair?
Reading Orphan Train was an experience, and I really enjoyed the novel. However, I didn't like the ending. I wanted more. I needed to know more about what happens to these characters. The last few pages seemed to me to be rushed, like someone was telling the author to 'hurry up and finish that book' so she could do something else.
If you have a chance to read it, please do. The chapters are short, the style is easy to follow, and you will learn something. It will make you think.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Gatsby
Isn't Facebook great? Ok...not so great sometimes, but great when I make a discovery.
My last student teacher before I left the halls of the high school now teaches in a private school in Seattle. One of her favorite novels is The Great Gatsby (I taught her well, right?). This morning I found this on my wall....
http://www.buzzfeed.com/krystieyandoli/the-most-beautiful-sentences-in-the-great-gatsby?bffb&utm_term=4ldqpgp#.thaVpXeVl
Check it out.
My last student teacher before I left the halls of the high school now teaches in a private school in Seattle. One of her favorite novels is The Great Gatsby (I taught her well, right?). This morning I found this on my wall....
http://www.buzzfeed.com/krystieyandoli/the-most-beautiful-sentences-in-the-great-gatsby?bffb&utm_term=4ldqpgp#.thaVpXeVl
Check it out.
Thursday, April 2, 2015
April is the cruelest month......
Several responses in Pod #4 focused on that line from T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland.
This is a line I have taught, discussed, pondered many times. I have asked for interpretations on short answer/essay tests for the juniors. It is an option for reflection in Pod #4.
Yesterday my husband and I were in Lafayette for a doctor's appointment (follow up on his February foot surgery), then stopping at Menards, Home Depot, and Lowe's in search of Hot Shot which is the only thing we can spray around our house to keep the ladybugs out!
At one point my husband asked if I wanted to buy some flowers (pansies specifically) to plant since it was such a beautiful day, warm and sunny. My answer? No. Why? Because April is the cruelest month.
There are many interpretations for this line and I am sure that if T. S. Eliot were to read them, he would probably shake his head and snicker at how all of us had missed his intent when penning those lines for the poem.
My feeling is that poetry is meant to be interpreted by the reader, bringing into that interpretation life's reflections, experiences, and events. How can one reader tell another that he/she is wrong in his/her interpretation? Unless one reader insists that William Carlos Williams was writing about abortion in the poem about cold plums in the refrigerator or some such thing, any interpretation would be valid and should be considered. Side note: that I why I always told my high school students that if an essay question asked for his/her interpretation of a quote or a passage, as long as it was answered and reflected on the passage or quote, the credit would be given. Only blank or way out there interpretations would be scrutinized for partial or no credit.
Therefore....my interpretation of that line is that April is cruel because it tempts us (as with the sunny warm weather yesterday) that spring has indeed arrived. It gives us the impression that we can wear shorts and flip flops and put away mittens, hats, and scarves plus every pair of boots we own for the summer. We can take all of our winter coats to the dry cleaners because their time is OVER! However, I remember on April 8, 1982, at my daughter's first birthday party. There was so much snow that my husband, his brother, and his dad had to push cars out of the snowdrifts in our drive. April! I remember being a chaperone on my second daughter's first grade field trip to Indiana Beach in 1990. One of the greatly anticipated events for the kids was a ride on the top level of the Shaffer Queen. That particular day in late April we were wearing heavy coats, hats, and gloves on that ride because it was so cold and blustery. The kids' teeth were chattering and they were freezing. The most beautiful blooming flowers can be covered with ice and snow during a brief sudden storm in April. Fruit tree blossoms can be frozen by a sudden dip in temperatures after being tricked into blooming by days of warmer weather.
Yes, April is the cruelest month. She tricks us, she tempts us, she teases us.
I still love April though. Both of our daughters were born in April. Some of my favorite flowers are those that bloom in late April and early May. The flowering trees in April/May are always gorgeous. Easter is usually in April. and that means family gatherings once again after a long winter's hibernation.
And with that.....Enjoy April! Happy Spring!
This is a line I have taught, discussed, pondered many times. I have asked for interpretations on short answer/essay tests for the juniors. It is an option for reflection in Pod #4.
Yesterday my husband and I were in Lafayette for a doctor's appointment (follow up on his February foot surgery), then stopping at Menards, Home Depot, and Lowe's in search of Hot Shot which is the only thing we can spray around our house to keep the ladybugs out!
At one point my husband asked if I wanted to buy some flowers (pansies specifically) to plant since it was such a beautiful day, warm and sunny. My answer? No. Why? Because April is the cruelest month.
There are many interpretations for this line and I am sure that if T. S. Eliot were to read them, he would probably shake his head and snicker at how all of us had missed his intent when penning those lines for the poem.
My feeling is that poetry is meant to be interpreted by the reader, bringing into that interpretation life's reflections, experiences, and events. How can one reader tell another that he/she is wrong in his/her interpretation? Unless one reader insists that William Carlos Williams was writing about abortion in the poem about cold plums in the refrigerator or some such thing, any interpretation would be valid and should be considered. Side note: that I why I always told my high school students that if an essay question asked for his/her interpretation of a quote or a passage, as long as it was answered and reflected on the passage or quote, the credit would be given. Only blank or way out there interpretations would be scrutinized for partial or no credit.
Therefore....my interpretation of that line is that April is cruel because it tempts us (as with the sunny warm weather yesterday) that spring has indeed arrived. It gives us the impression that we can wear shorts and flip flops and put away mittens, hats, and scarves plus every pair of boots we own for the summer. We can take all of our winter coats to the dry cleaners because their time is OVER! However, I remember on April 8, 1982, at my daughter's first birthday party. There was so much snow that my husband, his brother, and his dad had to push cars out of the snowdrifts in our drive. April! I remember being a chaperone on my second daughter's first grade field trip to Indiana Beach in 1990. One of the greatly anticipated events for the kids was a ride on the top level of the Shaffer Queen. That particular day in late April we were wearing heavy coats, hats, and gloves on that ride because it was so cold and blustery. The kids' teeth were chattering and they were freezing. The most beautiful blooming flowers can be covered with ice and snow during a brief sudden storm in April. Fruit tree blossoms can be frozen by a sudden dip in temperatures after being tricked into blooming by days of warmer weather.
Yes, April is the cruelest month. She tricks us, she tempts us, she teases us.
I still love April though. Both of our daughters were born in April. Some of my favorite flowers are those that bloom in late April and early May. The flowering trees in April/May are always gorgeous. Easter is usually in April. and that means family gatherings once again after a long winter's hibernation.
And with that.....Enjoy April! Happy Spring!
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