Adjunct Riot

Wouldn't it be just my luck that the last Book Discussion Friday of the term would be the best Book Discussion Friday of the term? After SEVEN Fridays, I finally found the formula that worked! We watched a clip of Paulo Coehlo talking about the meaning of life , and debated about 1) if Santiago found the meaning of his life, and 2) what that meaning was. There was serious conversation happening in the groups this morning. We didn't have a formal questionnaire, didn't have to write out our ideas. We just had open, creative time to talk and think together. All four discussion groups had different answers to the questions and, better yet, had evidence to back up their decisions. It gives a whole new meaning to, "Give 'em an inch..." Also, one of my students suggested today that "the guy from Prince of Persia " would be perfect to play Santiago in a film version of The Alchemist . "That guy" just happens to be...Jake Gyllenhaal. Le sigh.  ...

Ah, yes. "Lady in Red," brought to you by forgetful students who neglected to bring their own set of lyrics into class for the day's grammar activity. I gave them fair warning: "If you forget your own lyrics, I will be happy to provide you with some , and you will not like it ." (But of course--I secretly love this song!)

Letter to Dead People, Edward Said

My brilliant plan for next term? Blogs instead of journals. That sounds great, right? Students could interact with each other's work, respond to audio, videos, photographs, search the web for content, TYPE ON THE COMPUTER, as I've been led to believe is the center of their lives. Wrong. For their journals this week, I asked my students to consider their personal pros and cons of writing in a journal or switching to blogging. Here are a few considerations they had, summed up wonderfully in one student's entry: "I would prefer to write in a notebook and not a blog for a few reasons. First, I don't even know what a blog is, but it is on the computer, which means I could be distracted by other things by working on it. Plus, if I had spell check, I would just be editing my words and not learning to spell them correctly. Also I would not be as open and honest in a blog because it is more open for people that I do not want to read it. Overall, I would prefer to ...

" Does she need a dose of love?" -Baseball and Company, on a Homonyms and Similar Words Worksheet. 

" The vision that Santiago sees is a good omen for hum because it gives him a chance to make more friends." -My student whose nickname used to be Baseball...

GPOY, as the colloquial expression goes.

"Is he going to die? He can't die there is still too much book to be reading were my thoughts." -A Wise Student in his Alchemist Reading Response

Fridays are the best days ever. Energy levels are way up. Reading discussion on Fridays work like a charm. Visual art connections keep the students engaged. They can't wait to share their ideas with the class. I wish every day was a Reading Discussion Friday.