tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25137929.post6445705438367285425..comments2023-08-26T02:27:21.897-07:00Comments on Frisbee: A Book Journal: The Wrong VenueFrisbeehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07394353185610393979noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25137929.post-74505946096634093042009-11-03T07:24:43.211-08:002009-11-03T07:24:43.211-08:00Ellen, this is excellent advice!
Have you ever n...Ellen, this is excellent advice! <br />Have you ever noticed how "the squeaky wheel gets the grease?Back to that old adage, "Don't smile till Christmas." <br /><br />I'm very glad your students didn't let you down. It's excellent for them to have chances to present material; I can imagine you're on tenterhooks worrying about who might not show up. <br /><br />Most of the students use flashcards, like Izzy. I told them to make their own, as the writing also helps them remember, and it is a pleasure to see them looking through these "antique" non-computer-generated tools before class.Kat at Thornfield Hall Reduxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14525125671217787722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25137929.post-64294829248645206092009-11-03T06:40:50.733-08:002009-11-03T06:40:50.733-08:00I forgot to say: memorization is a sine qua non. W...I forgot to say: memorization is a sine qua non. When Izzy was learning latin in high school, everywhere scattered in her room were 3x5 index cards with words and families of words. I began to learn Italian when my knee was broken in a car accident and I lie for hours memorizing. When one forgets a language, what is happening is loss of this vocabulary from the neurons of the brain.<br /><br />You need to say this and without qualification.<br /><br />E.Ellenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14979942382683140531noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25137929.post-32993363765195318782009-11-02T21:42:54.935-08:002009-11-02T21:42:54.935-08:00Well. I dreaded going to my classes today. Three o...Well. I dreaded going to my classes today. Three of the four people who were to give talks were the kind of students who don't do the work and capable of simply not showing up. Talks are central to the way I get through some of my classes. I ask all students to get up and give 10 minute talks on the texts set for reading over the term. I have to leave 30 minutes open for this and what do I do if they don't show?<br /><br />I don't have enough material for the term if I start using stuff up today as there's a limit to how much I can assign them. I hadn't finished grading all the exams; had four I hadn't done. But if I gave them back, I could use these to fill the gaps. It's not fair to give back exams to some and not all. <br /><br />In the event I panicked a little at the beginning of the first class, dithered a bit to use up time, gave back the exams, but then lo and behold both students had done reasonable and one had a longish talk (15 minutes). I had barely time to cover even part of what I'd prepared, and the class appeared interested in the history of children's literature and they liked Mason's Girl Sleuth.<br /><br />Buoyed up I went into the second class cheerful and the two people gave brilliant talks, especially the young man who I knew capable of this -- he taught me something. They stirred the class and wow we had real talk about ourselves, our identities for something like 15-20 minutes. I had to stop them to get a little of my lecture on Children's lit in. Then I began to laugh at what I was saying (joke about) and they laughed and the class was over. <br /><br />Two of my favorite students (love to read, very smart girls) came up to talk afterwards and walked away with me.<br /><br />The price of getting into the right venue is very high; the competition is stiff and keen, and there aren't many of them. So you'd have had to travel about after them. You need to be lucky (be in the right place at the right time). Right now it's necessary where I am not to have an Anglo name but men (any man) are being hired lest English become an (embarrassingly) female ghetto.<br /><br />I don't underestimate the difficulty of adult ed. I've never done it. I could not manage high school, let alone junior high.<br /><br />Advice nobody wants (remember Elizabeth Bennet's words on that): Somehow squash that bullying man and whatever it costs you in chits with the others make sure they know you won't take that again; you've had enough. It's late to start but you can still do it by being blunt. Many in the class have recognized what he is and what he is doing. You need to make it explicit and say you're not having it for your own and the class's sake. Then concentrate on the students who are earnest and mean it. Pay attention to them and try to shut the others out of your mind.<br /><br />Early on in a term I define what I mean is a good student and they hear that: the person who does the work. If someone complains to that guy you work for, smile and let whatever happens happen. You may weather it. If you are being kept it's not a result of what is going on in the classroom but politics outside it that has nothing at all to do with you. <br /><br />E.M.Ellenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14979942382683140531noreply@blogger.com