The American Sentence Goes to High School (On-line)

Poster sheet 1 of 3 on which one class created their American sentence
chain by posting their individual lines based on a shared-environment
free write. (4/21/15)

In years past, I would have students work with analyzing and writing a number of different poetic forms during National Poetry Month. A very standard task for schools, I know, but neither this particular school year (COVID-19!) nor the poetic structure are "traditional." So, we adjust. The unfortunate reality is that by the time I receive students in my classroom as juniors, much of the communal joy around poetry, in general, seems to have been driven from them. Most mentions of "poetry" elicit groans from classes. That doesn't mean you don't attempt to fan what small flames of affection for poetry remain. This year, what was taught and produced in our classroom over two days will now be attempted via Google Classroom. Whereas the process describe in the following (revised over last 9 school years) results in an accurate picture of a singular shared space: our classroom; this year our work will be linked by a shared experience: social distancing in our individual homes.

I like to have classes work first with that form with which they are most familiar (at least in terms of its superficial structure) and one that they especially seem to disdain, the traditional (Western) haiku. The next logical step, and one that provides as many opportunities for the meaningful application of imagistic writing skills, is the introduction of a personal favorite form, the American sentence.

The American sentence is a fairly modern poetic form initiated by Allen Ginsberg (Howl) as a means of compressing (“Maximum information, minimum number of syllables”) Western language in a style similar to that of the Eastern haiku. The key comes from a Ginsberg notion that poets are "people who notice what they notice." Ginsberg felt that divvying syllables into three 5-7-5 lines makes the poetic process an exercise in counting, not feeling. American Sentences are haiku-length poems that Allen suggested be limited to 17 syllables, like haiku in Japanese.

By using a free write centered on our classroom, at the time a common point in time and location, the class's first experience playing with this poetic form can also ultimately be used as an opportunity to collaboratively prepare an extended American sentence chain. (As the teacher, I also model the entire process from free-write to "publishing", on the computer and SMART board.) The idea that each student opening their individual awareness of a moment (or four minutes of "moments") can yield similar superficial observation filtered through varying perspectives can be powerful. The collection of sensual notes and observations taken during the free write always seem to result in enough brain fodder for students to pull two images with which to play and build their introductory American sentences.


Reviewing with class the potential contributing elements to an American sentence also creates the opportunity to review several concepts that are valuable in their analysis on literature (fiction and non-fiction) in a context that is easily accessible. For Regents-level students, the American sentence also is an excellent way to review and practice the use of figurative language. In a broad sense there is not much "new" here; students play with common literary elements in a new and open manner, by extending the but the application within the context of a modern form (an insight that some lack anyway: that understanding that forms and language do change and evolve).

Four applicable strategies in particular are especially fun to re-frame for classes:

• Imagistic: a style of poetry that employs free verse and the patterns and rhythms of common speech. 
• Found poetry: Found poetry is a type of poetry created by taking words, phrases, and sometimes whole passages from other sources (written or oral) and reframing them as poetry by making changes in spacing and/or lines (and consequently meaning), or by altering the text by additions and/or deletions. The resulting poem can be defined as either treated: changed in a profound and systematic manner; or untreated: virtually unchanged from the order, syntax and meaning of the original. 
• Busted syntax: poorly worded, incorrect syntax perhaps to illustrate a point 
• Demotic speech = of or pertaining to the ordinary, everyday, current form of a language; vernacular: a poet with a keen ear for demotic rhythms.

While one of my classes has already completed the activity (with part of the final results posted above), two more will be working through the format over the next few classes. Sadly one of the skills standardized test don't currently assess are creativity or the use by students of figurative language. This is unfortunate as this is where the majority of students excel despite the limited opportunities to develop a unique authorial voice outside the academic one favored by the exams.

Materials for 2020 American Sentence project using poetry generated by 2015 classes.

Given that the topic of the American Sentence Chain above is our classroom, occasionally the lines students' choose as their personal favorites to contribute do not reflect what I think of as a fairly productive learning environment. In addition being of the proper syllable count and imagistic, some lines evoke feedback that is personally and professionally helpful.It is always insightful to see the work of students' reflect their inner lives (at least the little of which I am aware) in writing. The American sentence is just one of the poetic forms that provide a wonderful vehicle for reflection.

The significant shift in focus in the time of COVID-19 may elicit some even more interesting insight. To be written via Google Classroom over the next few "classes", this year's individual and collaborative "products" should (fingers crossed!) reflect the diversity of our shared social distancing (oxymoron!) experience through the lens of the American sentence. This seems a perfectly natural outcome given the range of students and experience present in classes, which I miss dearly.

Sources:
Paul E. Nelson's Blog
Allen Ginsberg's American Sentences by Bob Holman and Margery Snyder

Spring Break Reading: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane**

Prior to saying goodbye to my eleventh graders before our ten day Spring Beak, I suggested that they find a book or two to read during our time apart. Though more than a few groaned, a few asked for suggestions to which I replied a number of titles from high school cannon, such as I know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, and even a classic from middle school that most had not, surprisingly,  even heard of, The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. At this point a couple of students began reminiscing about titles they had (shock of shocks) enjoyed reading that I had not heard of. One young lady mentioned her affection for a book read in middle school entitled The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. As she began describing the book as being about a "rabbit doll that gets lost," I scribbled the title in my notebook for future reference. Maybe it was the promise of a rabbit protagonist or the recollection of my own prior devouring of the wonderful The Sage of Waterloo by Leona Francombe, also about rabbits.  These factors along with the student's passion for a book read years ago moved it to the front of my spring break reading list.

Right to the top of the pile.

A longtime high school teacher, I have often searched for "lighter" fiction for sharing with students, and as a reader I, too, struggle with finding meaningful books with slightly less angst. I continue wishing for lighter literary entres to consume. Given both these factors, in addition to considering myself a reasonably "well read" person, I am embarrassed to share that I had not heard of writer, and Newbery medalist, Kate DiCamillo previously. If The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is any indication, I have been missing out by having not picked up any her many titles before. My student was telling the truth, and showing a pretty good memory in giving me a short synopsis; the book is indeed about a somewhat snooty, China rabbit (not a "doll" as he reminds us at every turn, though something he'll need to come to terms with) who goes missing. During a decades long journey, Edward comes to learn the value of loving and being loved.

This 211 page book is a joy, and like most good books, defies being placed into a box. I found this book in the children's area of my local bookstore, and after reading am going to share it with my mother who, like I, is beyond the publisher's target audience. Edward's travels take him through multiple relationships and a variety of lifetimes, but never loses a sense of the timeless. DiCamillo's narrative is further enhanced through the inclusion of illustrations by Bagram Ibatoulline. Beautifully rendered in black and white, Ibatoulline's illustrations avoid anchoring the story and character in a specific time period, and do nothing to mitigate the reader's ability to imagine the events as taking place right now. Perhaps it was my nostalgia but I found the drawing reminiscent of Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit art (my son's nursery had a border of the characters).

As a middle-aged high school teacher, I was impressed by DiCamillo's willingness to avoid writing down to her audience. There are heavy questions posed and big themes explored throughout, such as love, death, regret a nd patience. Lines such as "How does a China rabbit die?" (page 47), seem perfectly at home in DiCamillo's world of China rabbits and hobos. Vocabulary such as "ennui" (page 3), "discerning" (65) and "contrarian" (194), suggest an excellent opportunity for readers of all ages to add valuable words to their working vocabulary.

I am grateful for the quick conversation with one of my student's for leading me to this beautiful book. I strongly recommend The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo with illustrations by Bagram Ibatoulline to readers of all ages looking for a powerful complex read disguised as a children's book about a China rabbit!

**Originally posted March 13, 2018

Our Class Norms Development Journey

The first week of the new calendar year, and the first of classes following a two week Winter Recess, provided a tremendous opportunity to reset classroom norms and expectations for the second half of the school year. On the Monday we returned, I began the process with my students, 110 total in five sections, of collecting feedback as a means of collaborating on expectations to which we (my students and I ) could both agree moving forward. While not an earth shattering revelation that this kind of norms development is a beneficial activity, it required some risk on both stakeholder' parts to share the information and allow for the sharing of different points of development. It did feel good to embrace the risk.

Due to our staggered instructional schedule, this was not a process that could easily be accomplished in one or two consecutive classes. I planned to keep every class at relatively the same steps in the development process so that each class, and therefore students, would have their opinion honored and included. This did create the additional challenge of keeping the activity, and ultimately its final product, relevant and timely. Students can have short attention spans and any activity which goes too long loses its freshness--a reality which holds true for this adult in the classroom too.

In total the process took about 90 minutes of class time over three 55 minutes classes and culminated with each of us agreeing to shared classroom norms.

Step 1
I began the first day of our return to school from break by sharing my own frustration with elements of the first half of the school year--much of which I confessed was the product of my own responses to behavior and class progress. I suggested to students that we could be successful moving forward and that the creation of expectations and norms to which we both could agree would help us to do this.

I asked students to first identify three qualities of "Good Teachers" and challenged them to also brainstorm observable behaviors that revealed the teacher's possession of that quality. Students were placed in groups of 2-4 for discussion purposes. I was incredibly impressed by how honest the dialogue was between students as they collaboratively worked through their own experiences to identify those traits which they felt best fit the idea of a "Good Teacher".

Most expected the next step to be brainstorming qualities of a "Bad Teacher", but instead we then worked through the same process but from a personal or peer level perspective: what did they think a "Good Student" is and what behaviors would those individuals demonstrate? Again, the conversation was thoughtful and reflective, requiring many to admit their own success, and possession of positive traits as good students (even if the social indicator, grades, did not necessarily reflect that).

Step 2
Students then reviewed the qualities/traits they had identified and tied behaviors to with the purpose of winnowing them down to only three which are demonstrated by BOTH stakeholders. While some ("Be to class on time, prepared to work," for example) were clearly applicable to both. Other norms, such as "Being entertaining" were clearly intended for the individual in the teacher's role. As a means of making this dialogue around ideas, groups were asked to craft a graphic organizer articulating the three traits possessed by both students and teachers, as well as two behaviors demonstrated by each individual possessing that quality within the context of their specific classroom role. After each group in each class completed their posters, I collected them with the goal of combining all the information into an initial draft of norms.

Step 3
The evening prior to next class, I collected the combined qualities/traits along with the corresponding observable behaviors. After reviewing each graphic organizer, I also went back to each group's original "Good Teacher/Students" Charts for any additional information that had not found its way through to the "next round," but might offer some additional insight into the groups' thinking processes. There, I found quite a number of interesting bits of good teacher suggestions that seemed to be veiled suggestions for my own improvement. Though not explicitly requested, it was noted and appreciated.

I also picked up on a common "Good Student" quality that many saw as lacking among their peers: involvement with the school community, and idea did that ultimately find it's way into the final draft. The initial data collected yielded about fifteen distinct qualities/traits that could be easily winnowed down to three: Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Positive. "Positivity" as a quality was the only variation from a previously used building-wide set of norms (replacing "Productive"), and its inclusion was solely due to student suggestion. In their original groups of three, students reviewed each of the three qualities and students generated norms for each. As they read and discussed with one another, they offered suggestions for revision, addition, or exclusion and overall thoughts regarding acceptability. The overwhelmingly consensus was on agreement with 5-8 behaviors with each quality. This became the final draft that was to be shared the next class.

Step 4
Though there were two classes where no work was done toward finalizing our class (and, again, by this I mean all five of my eleventh grade course comprised of Regents and Advanced Placement course) norms, we did revisit our progress in the overall process. On the sixth day, I shared a poster I had put together with gold lettering declaring "Our Class Norms", signed it, and asked each student to do the same as an expression of their agreement. Though this activity took time away from regular instruction, the conversation evoked regarding good students and teachers, as well as the impact each has has on their individual success was both fruitful and informative. I played little role other than scribe, facilitator and wordsmith, and am very proud of the set of norms we came up with together.

My sense in observing the classroom during the activities was that students took the process seriously and thoughtfully reflected on the qualities and behaviors they found worthy to move forward. Some defended their ideas that others felt unnecessary and were willing to compromise over the inclusion of some they may had dismissed originally.

Welcome Back (Again) John Greenleaf Whittier

A rather extraordinary individual, in addition to being a tremendous poet, John Greenleaf Whittier seems to have sadly disappeared from the public school curriculum. (Full disclosure: Though to be fair, I am unclear as to how significant a part of it he ever was.) Despite being beloved by a who's who of American poets (as evidenced by guest list of attendees at his seventieth birthday dinner in 1877: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Mark Twain, and Oliver Wendell Holmes), the poet's name draws only blank stares from students when asked about his works, though I would venture to guess in the New England region he is much more well-regarded (and remembered).

My introduction to the works of Whittier was through an assignment given to my students last year. Each student was assigned an American literary movement and genre. Along with general information such as relative dates, each student was also supplied with the names of relatively familiar representative authors. For those assigned the Fireside Poets, a Northeast regional sub-genre, Whittier was one of those suggested starting point for research. Wikipedia notes that while Whittier was "[H]ighly regarded in his lifetime and for a period thereafter, he is now remembered for his poem 'Snow-Bound'..." I vividly recall students' having a difficult time finding much background information that was not clearly form a single source. I had asked students to used resources from the library as well, and while our school librarians were more than willing to assist in digging through the meager collection of poetry books available ion site, the actual hard cover sources where limited to a dusty anthology which included a single poem.

Just as his spirit was briefly conjured in my upstate New York classroom a number of year's ago, Thanksgiving gives me an opportunity to all on John Greenleaf Whittier once again. Given the subject matter, Whittier's popular poem, "The Pumpkin," lacks the political bent of his more renowned abolitionist works, but through its simple, accessible images of comfirting pumpkin pie shares with "Snow-Bound" the purpose of showing how the idyllic past can be brought briefly to the present.


Sources:
Poets.org
Poemhunter.com
Wikipedia

Summer Reading: Your Black Friend

From My Black Friend, page 2, panels 1-2.

After seeing the extended collection of Ben Passmore's online comic strips, Your Black Friend and Other Strangers, recommended in the past few weekends' New York Times Book Review, I took the small step toward reading the entire collection by first ordering the single issue version online, Your Black Friend. The choice of the shorter, 11 page version was two-fold. First, I was looking to read with an eye toward sharing with my junior and senior high school students this coming school year (and as such it might be more affordable for their purchase). Secondly, given the subject matter and that first purpose, a direct succinct delivery of the message might serve more useful and accessible.

More a graphic-essay than novel, what we comic book collectors might call a "one-shot", Your Black friend is best described as "sharp, informed social commentary in the form of an open letter on race and being black in America." (Goodreads) Indie publisher Silver Sprocket, in a formal description picked up by other online sources, tells us that this is Passmore‘s "necessary contribution to the dialogue around race in the United States, Your Black Friend is a letter from your black friend to you about race, racism, friendship and alienation."

Perhaps not surprisingly, despite it's brevity, Your Black Friend is very challenging reading, and experience that is very likely to be shaped by one's own background and openness to facing difficult realities. Both Passmore's contemporary, colorful and engaging art, as well as a natural, organic, writing styles combine to craft a dialogue that resonates for the reader looking to engage. At the risk of sounding like that white friend that Passmore astutely suggests "express their undying enthusiasm for 'Black Lives Matter," Passmore objectively illustrates (in words and pictures) the self-defeating thoughts by many sides of the conversation that result in meaningful communication failing before it begins.

As a 49 year-old, white male reader auditing my own experience, Passmore has me pegged. In doing so he has my attention. The missteps Passmore presents, I think, are not intended to further deepen the white guilt that he astutely notes as problematic, but rather to prompt these moments of genuine reflection. For example, as a high school teacher of a primarily white student body with a (thankfully) growing level of diversity, I do find myself sliding into 'black' presentations thoughtlessly." This is a mistake, as Passmore notes I may have been "totally unaware of." I am now.

So where does this take us? As Passmore shows in the closing pages of his essay, which mirror the events in the open, often it seems to leave us as a community and culture right where we were in the first place. In between the framing device, Passmore opines insightfully, but the commentary appears to ultimately have little impact. At the end of the day, the "nicely dressed white woman" with the "Eat, Pray, Love vibe" and the white friend reading a Yoga Book remain peacefully blind (and mute).

Oddly this reminds me of my past experiences at school district opening days. Annually, teachers start the school year with a tremendous presentation preceded by "professional development" attended by a small group of administrators and select teacher-types. The entire district takes two hours before students arrive for the school year, to set the theme for the year to follows. Smaller building level trainings are sprinkled in for the whole body of teachers to participate in... and by June little is meaningfully changed within that system. Briefly though, maybe we feel better about ourselves...

I strongly recommend this graphic essay for all audiences, but especially white folks, well-intentioned or otherwise. I don't know about you, baby, there must be a better way. As the author notes in the panels above, "What white ppl fear most is making things awkward'" and perhaps the first step is accepting the invitation to be awkward.

Building a Running/Jumping/Throwing Reader

Despite having coached middle and high school sports for nearly ten years, or 20+ seasons, prior to each season I still habitually purchase a variety of texts related to the sport. While some are drill-based manuals, others are fiction and nonfiction narratives set in the world of track and field. Among running readers, or reading runners, there are some clear classics such as Born to Run by Christopher McDougall, Once a Runner by John L. Parker, Jr., or even Running with Buffaloes by Chris Lear. The overwhelming majority of these are bout distance running or endurance racing. There are also some obvious sport-based magazines that include relevant human-interest or historical essays, for example Runner's World, and others, like Outside, that regularly feature well-written pieces that touch on aspects of what could be called "the track and field lifestyle."

In my primary professional role as a high school English Language Arts teacher, I relish the days when I come across books, chapters, articles or paragraphs that I sense might resonate with the student-athletes I coach--often because they do so with me. Getting high school student-athletes to actually read and reflect on such selections is not easy as not all athletes, or high-schoolers for that matter, are readers-for-pleasure. Just as in English class, motivating students to engage text is frequently a matter of trying to fit a square peg into a triangular hole. At the beginning, I did what my coaching-mentor modeled for me: attach 1-3 page articles with titles such as "You Are What You Think You Are" to weekly team updates of information and training tips. After doing so, he and I might refer to the concepts or ideas with individual students-athletes as the teachable moment presented itself. Most times there would be minimal practical impact on the team dynamic as a whole since the articles and the messages inherent in each would be lost to the sands of time.

BEWARE: Typos above!

Last week, in the two days of practice leading up to our school's ten day Spring Break, I tried something more ambitious. I assigned "homework" for the members of the Girls Track and Field team. Yes, homework that did not include self-directed fartleks or core workouts (though those would be great, too). In addition to "enjoying family time," I wanted them to read. For this reading, I selected a personally annotated 10 page chapter entitled "Probing Commitment" from the tremendous book Dirty Inspirations: Lessons from the Trenches of Extreme Endurance Sports by Terri Schneider. I first read Dirty Inspirations nearly two years ago and have waited for the right opportunity to try to use it with a team. With a relatively new squad of girls, and a solid group of returning trackletes, this year seemed the right time to go for it. With a few days prior to break, I assured that everyone on the roster had a copy and articulated the task on the weekly update posted above.

Teaching experience reminds me that simply assigning and hoping text will be read because "it is the right thing to do" is likely to lead to only the few most dedicated girls actually doing so. During our last pre-break team meeting, I let them know there would also be a test of the concepts such as "leaving your ego at the starting line gives your team its best shot" (page 61) at our next full practice upon returning from break. I also reiterated verbally that which I had written in the assignment: "If you ARE part of the TEAM and the coach asks you to READ a selection, how do YOU demonstrate your commitment?" I am confident that this current collection of jumpers, throwers and runners are up to the task of reading and learning, and ultimately acting on something new...

Organizing Titles: Sci-fi Books

After multiple moves and seasonal cleaning flings, what remains of my book collection are those with either a high level of re-readability or a personal connection. While some were gifts (my son bought me 10 Billion Days and 100 Billion Nights nearly six Christmases ago), others are titles acquired at different stages in my life (the original Dune series were given to me in a paper bag rescued by a co-worker cleaning her garage--and quickly devoured--during my divorce 17 years ago). It's not just the memories of each book's content, but the nostalgia provided via the tome's acquisition. It's true that even after being read and shelved and re-read, some titles continue to grow.

Remnants of fancies past still present themselves in the forms of duplicate copies of the same title by different publishers. Though this phenomena is occasionally the result of my repurchasing a title because I forget that I had it, or had lent it out when I really needed to read it, most are the product of collecting. Back when used book stores were more plentiful, I would come across editions with interesting covers or alternate forwards and pick them up for a dollar or two. The older I have grown, the less likely I am to do this, though multiple copies of Stranger in a Strange Land reveal that my forgetfulness is still a factor.

Not surprisingly, going back through titles also elicits a few pangs of regret. For example, at one point I had the complete Riverworld series by Philip Jose Farmer, where now only the first, To Your Scattered Bodies Go, remains. Fortunately, lost or misplaced titles are quickly replaced by new once as my affection for Science-Fiction as a literary genre only continues to grow...

Bookshelf Titles

• Asimov, Isaac. Foundation.
• Barlowe, Wayne. Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials.
• Bradbury, Ray. The Illustrated Man.
• Bradbury, Ray. The Martian Chronicles. 
• Burroughs, Edgar Rice. A Princess of Mars.
• Clarke, Arthur C. Childhood’s End.
• Clarke, Arthur C. Rendezvous with Rama.
• Dick, Philip K. Blade Runner (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?).
• Dick, Philip K. Ubik.
• Dick, Philip K. Valis.
• Eisler, Steven. Space Wars: Worlds and Weapons.
• Farmer, Philip Jose. To Your Scattered Bodies Go.
• Heinlein, Robert A. Stranger in a Strange Land. x2
• Herbert, Brian. Dreamer of Dune (Frank Herbert Biography).
• Herbert, Brian and Anderson, Kevin J. Dune: House Atreides.
• Herbert, Brian and Anderson, Kevin J. Dune: House Harkonnen.
• Herbert, Brian and Anderson, Kevin J. Dune: House Corrino.
• Herbert, Brian and Anderson, Kevin J. Dune: The Butlerian Jihad.
• Herbert, Brian and Anderson, Kevin J. Dune: The Machine Crusade.
• Herbert, Frank, Herbert, Brian and Anderson, Kevin J. The Road to Dune.
• Herbert, Frank, Herbert, Brian (Editor). The Notebooks of Frank Herbert’s Dune.
• Herbert, Frank. The Book of Frank Herbert.
• Herbert, Frank. Dune. x3
• Herbert, Frank. Dune Messiah. x3 
• Herbert, Frank. Children of Dune. x3
• Herbert, Frank. God Emperor of Dune. x3
• Herbert, Frank. Heretics of Dune. x2
• Herbert, Frank. Chapterhouse: Dune. x2 
• Herbert, Frank. The Worlds of Frank Herbert.
• Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World.
• Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World Revisited.
• Kirkman, Robert and Bonansinga, Jay. The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor.
• Kirkman, Robert and Bonansinga, Jay. The Walking Dead: Road to Woodbury.
• Le Guin, Ursula K. The Lathe of Heaven.
• Lem, Stanislaw. Solaris.
• Miller Jr., Walter M. A Canticle for Leibowitz.
• Moorcock, Michael. The Final Programme.
• Murakami, Haruki. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World.
• Mitsuse, Ryu. Smith, Alexander O. (Translator) 10 Billion Days and 100 Billion Nights.
• VanderMeer, Jeff. Annihilation (Southern Reach Trilogy Book 1). 
• VanderMeer, Jeff. Authority (Southern Reach Trilogy Book 2).

Inspired by Students... to Organize!

Blackbeard the cat taking a quick look at titles of zero interest to him. (11/11/17)

During class a few weeks ago, while talking with my students prior to teaching, in a segment I call "Housekeeping" on the agenda, our conversation turned to books. As this is an English Language and Composition class, I was happy, and pleasantly surprised to learn, that a number of my charges enjoy reading so much that they, like I, collect books. As one student so succinctly put it, "I like to own the books I read." I can relate.

My childhood book shelf, now

in my son's old bedroom. (11/11/17)

Over that past 35 or so years, I have purchased and been given numerous titles, and though I have occasionally purged by shelves of those without emotional connection or with little likelihood of being shared or re-read, books cover much of the space I am afforded at home. This more a source of embarrassment than pride as 1) I rarely have people over to marvel at the spines and 2) I recognize the inherent wastefulness of hording books where no one can read them but me (or my largely disinterested family). During what became a wide-ranging discussion of reading for fun, I introduced my class to the Little Library phenomenon that has long take root in my urban community and off late had begun popping up in our suburban school district (most notable with an elementary school sponsoring one just outside its entrance).

While my wife has often suggested I donate the books to the public library or some other organization like the Salvation Army, I balk at that as I know the fate awaiting them: sitting on a 50 cent shelve until eventually being discarded like so many old shoes. I can't do that to my friends, even if our relationship has grown frosty over the years... On an old cell phone somewhere are images of sadly discarded books from my school library, secretly hidden in black plastic garbage bags awaiting a trip to the dumpster after hours. That fate just doesn't seem right.

So, with my cross-country season having drawn to a close and a desire not to spend every last free, moment gaming or grading, my students have inspired me to organize my collection. The ultimate hope being that I will find away to meaningfully disseminate them to interested readers, or at the very least purge the shelves of unwanted hangers-on...

One shelf in gaming room (daughter's old bedroom). (11/11/17)

One of four shelves in the attic; my default Sanctum Sanctorum. (11/11/17)

Second attic bookshelf. (11/11/17)

Also in my daughter's old bedroom. (11/11/17)

"Official" Summer Reading: How Dare the Sun Rise

Synopsis from Greece Athena Library school handout for one
summer reading option.

Our school's summer reading program (as part of a district wide expectation) is mixing things up with this year's assignment. Last summer we offered ice cream treats as the carrot for reading a single text during the summer months (a half-sheet with basic information needed to be submitted as evidence), and this year's final product will be participating in a book talk regarding the text read using notes kept on a more extensive work sheet depending on whether the text is fiction or non-fiction. Numerous staff members have also elected to read the same title will also be completing the task and participating in the conversation.

I signed up to read the recently published How Dare the Sun Rise by Sandra Uwiringiyimana with Abigail Pesta. The synopsis shared with students (above) prompted quite a bit of interest on the part of my current eleventh graders as well as my teaching colleagues. With my task clear, I picked up a copy from the local Barnes and Noble and very quickly made my way through it. (A quick check of the local library online card catalog informs that there are 38 copies within their system, too.)

How Dare the Sun Rise is an incredibly engaging and honest autobiography of Congolese refugee Sandra Uwiringiyimana and her family finding their way from a satisfying existence in Africa though a series of hellish events (thus the subtitle Memoirs of a War Child) until finding a purpose and sense of acceptance in the United States. A traditionally structured autobiography, it is the conversational tone and the manner in which Uwiringiyimana uses the differences between the two cultures to shed light on the strengths and weakness of our American culture that elevates the text. The journey Uwiringiyimana and her family take is powerful. Despite having read and taught numerous immigrant experience works ranging from Upton Sinclair's muckraking classic The Jungle to Francisco Jimenez's short story "The Circuit," How Dare the Sun Rise presents a compelling voice that is underrepresented among the genre. The first person perspective of the Congolese refugee experience is fresh and informative. While I have taught students in my classes who have themselves shared a similar set of circumstances, the trauma likely experienced precluded too much sharing. As many good reads do, however, it raises more questions as it answers others...

As interesting as Uwiringiyimana's odyssey to (and through) the United States is, I really found myself drawn into the unique perspective of the author's veiled social commentary on facets of American culture that most are frequently not meaningfully discussed in many classrooms.  Issues such as obesity, modern segregation in the American public education system, as well as subtle racism within the larger American black community are woven into her story. A clear emphasis on the significant power of education is key to the author's story. That this belief is ingrained in her by a feminist father (the author's words), who himself was a product of patriarchy, is in stark contrast to the apathy illustrated by some American students observed by Uwiringiyimana as a public school student here in America. Consistent with her articulated goal in sharing her story, the author clearly hopes to spark conversation among young people regarding these issues and others.

I look forward to discussing How Dare the Sun Rise by Sandra Uwiringiyimana with Abigail Pesta upon returning to class in September. My hope is that even those students and staff who had not previously signed up to read this title will do so in addition to the others: Highly recommended.

Processing My Process: Grades & Goals?

Like most teachers, I am a collector and recycler of ideas. Many of these remain locked up in a memory vault or notebook, while others coalesce around a singular purpose awaiting their moment to enter my practice. Over the past three weeks I have been returning to two ideas that, while not outside my realm of awareness, have by virtue of recently appearing on my Twitter feed prompted me to risk: grading student work without awarding a traditional grade and student goal setting. In the way our work has come together, I am going to use one (ungraded student work) to prompt another (student goal setting). While neither is revolutionary, I am hoping to have my feedback of their work have implications that reach beyond a returned paper set aside in a "portfolio" (translation: manila folder in a hanging folder in a cabinet to be "reflected upon" using a standardized template) or dispensed with disgust at an unfriendly number.

At this juncture (halfway through the school year), I really need for students to take to heart the feedback I have (repeatedly) shared with them, both individually and holistically as a grade level. Just as I am extremely confident I am not sharing anything new with them ("reduce clutter by revising out unnecessary clauses"), I am equally sure that many have ignored the advice from quality educators for the past 11 years of their schooling. I also know that our district (like many) has been sending professionals to training on subjects such as  SMART Goals and growth mindset, other than a passing nod to each in a department meeting, not much practical turn key training has been given. It may be that it has, but I, like the student who needs to be retaught what a metaphor is each year, the ideas have not been presented in a way that has clicked with me. This would likely be a fairer assessment of the situation as others (as you'll read) in my district, if not building, have.

I have toyed with these ideas in class over the past 15 years with varying degrees of depth and success. Like many of the strategies I have refined with my classes, I continue to try and find ways to make their use meaningful enough that they become valued by the students and thereby gain a sort of power and credibility. Articles by Carol Dweck and graphic organizers about SMART goals, to this point, have promoted interesting discussion (and have returned to them in college at which point they express gratitude for having been given them in high school) but have served primarily as "one-offs" that have little real resonance for either teacher or student.

A few weeks ago I came across a tweet (pictured above, left) by another teacher in the same school district as I, regarding her efforts with goals setting with students. Following an exchange of e-mails, she shared some resources with me including a short explanatory video she sued with her classes. At that time, my students had just taken a multiple choice mid-term and I had been looking for a way to have them process the results. It occurred to me that they might benefit from developing some SMART goals around heir own skill deficits as a means of drawing some conclusion as to1) what they are and 2) how to address them. Like "the best laid plans of mice and men," dates and ideas did not line up well enough to follow thru, but I had made some preliminary copies and began to consider a discussion of growth mindset as a precursor activity. Not quite ready to go, I set aside the materials for another day.

In two of my classes, prior to our five-day Present's Week Recess, students submitted analysis essays based upon individual chapters of Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel, Persepolis: Book 1. My intention when assigning the task (as students were informed of on the assignment) was to follow my normal grading process: read twice, comment and use a generic Advanced Placement writing rubric to provide feedback. I might even invite them to develop some personal writing goals after first providing them the vocabulary with which to do so (see, I still had those copies on my desk which I really wanted to use). The latter part had yet to have actually taken place, but the thought was there.

After a quick review of some of the papers, I came to a familiar conclusion: some of the same mistakes were being made, and not just by those students who had (based on prior experience) written the hit "print" on the library computer five minutes before class. If I followed my past practice, in all likelihood, other than prompting some haggling for points, my x/y grade (x = 9-1 on 9-point rubric, y = 100-65%) would have the same amount of minimal impact. It was then I came across Mike's tweet (above right) and I began thinking of trying something different. What if I read twice, commented with some suggestions for improvement and did NOT give a grade?

As of this writing, after 6+ hours on a train ride to New York City and a third of the way back, I am about 2/3 of the way through the papers. While many of the comments are similar, I am also attempting to personalize them further, a process that takes a considerable amount of time. Too much time to do this in such great detail, very frequently. But... what if we use this as an opportunity to establish some baselines about our writing and with this baseline, and some guided reflection, each developed a SMART Goals for improvement?

With the kernel of an idea of a plan of action, as well a sense of purpose, I find it's time to review some of my notes, finish the papers, and remember where those copies were for class tomorrow... and risk again.

Simpler Poké-times

My stepson Gregory's Poké-binder from 2004 unearthed at last!

Recently, I came across my stepson Gregory's binder containing his Pokémon card collection. The front page consists of a handwritten Table of Contents on which he listed the organization of the cards (by "type" of course). It is in a protective plastic sleeve, as are all of the cards. When I first saw the binder, I thought to myself "Now, here's something to blog about" and began noodling through the possibilities of just what cards to scan and post. I had completely forgotten just how many types of Pokémon there are, and this was back in 2004. It is a very safe bet that the Poké-stable is even more extensive now.

Fire Pokémon circa 2004.

While at a high school graduation party for one of my former students last weekend, talk turned to PokemonGO. At a party of twenty recent high school grads, nearly everyone had an opinion, and most were either glowing in their support ("it's already made more people healthy than Michelle Obama!") or at the very least respectful ("pretty impressive... Pokémon has been out forever!"). For these students, that thinking is not just hyperbole, it is fact. Surprisingly, Pokémon has been a phenomenon for much longer than most suspect, having been part of our cultural zeitgeist since before most of the teens with whom I was celebrating that day were born.

Water Pokémon.

As a forty-seven year old comic book collector, I have had a fairly long association with Poké-stuff, having read translations of the original manga to the extremely fortunate twist-of-fate that had me taking my son and his friend to see Pokémon: The First Movie-Mewtwo Strikes Back (1998). My son's "friend", later became my stepson as I met and fell in love with his mother. (The boys were in pre-school together.) In a weird way, I suppose I owe a significant portion of my awesome life to the desires of two goofy boys to see the frist Pokémon movie on the day it opened (when that concept really meant something).

Grass Pokémon.

My appreciation of these goofy pocket monsters runs deep, but not so deep that I every actually took the time to learn how to "play" with them. For the most part, my kids and I bought the cards because of the cute pictures, shiny colors and the need to "Catch 'Em All". Even now, reviewing the plastic sleeves which speak of "Melting Power", "Energy Jumps", and "Form Changes", I marvel at the mythology these creations are part of (beyond even the Ash-centric television program) and at how little I really know about how these things engage in combat. At our house, Poké-cards rarely fought, just sparked imaginary adventures to be played out in the minds of my children.

Ground Pokémon.

It strikes me that in the not-too-distant future, today's young adults will talk about Pokémon cards the way my father talked about comicbooks. Growing up, he woudl frequently remind my brother and I that "I had the very first issue of Spider-man/Batman when I was in the Army... I wish I'd held onto it!" Some aging hipster will operate under the misconception that her son's college can be fully financed with a mint condition rare Cubone variant or "Special Collector's Item" foil Lugia. Truth is, it is likely at that point that she'll realize the value in the card is not in the monetary reward, but in the memories special one's may evoke.

Psychic Pokémon.

Image with various Pokemon that accompanied my Twitter post!

Run Reader: Toil and Trouble (2015)

The influence of the Fates is foreshadowed early in Toil and Trouble, 
written by Mairghread Scott featuring art by Kelly and Nichole Mathhews.

Cover to Toil and Trouble #1
by Kyla Vanderklugt

Despite being properly schooled in the works of William Shakespeare as an undergraduate at SUNY Brockport, as an educator, I am a little late-to-the-party with a passion for the Bard. While I have dutifully worked with required grade-level plays, it is only the last few years that I have grown convinced of its potential for opening intellectual doors for my lower-level readers. A re-read of The Tragedy of Macbeth, and some accompanying literary analysis was the initiating factor in this growth two summers ago. Much like one sees a certain make of car everywhere once they become familiar with it, it would seem as though Macbeth seems to be popping up more frequently, or at least my level of awareness has been raised. While comic book storylines have always reflected classic literary tropes, recently I re-read a recent miniseries that, more than just reflecting Shakespeare's plot points, made an effort to embellish them.

Yes, there are boiling
cauldrons, as seen here in
issue #2.

Based on important, though underdeveloped, characters created by William Shakespeare, Toil and Trouble fleshes out a potential backstory for the Weird Sisters, or witches, who put into motion, via prophesy and apparition, the events depicted in The Tragedy of Macbeth. Set in and around the familiar story points of the source, this six-issue mini-series from Boom! Studios/Archaia, in the spirit of Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, presents a slightly different take on the events of the play. Smartly re-purposed more fully as "Fates," rather than witches, by writer Mairghread Scott, the three fates, now named Riata, Cait, and Smertae, are presented as having always guided and protected Scotland unseen, indirectly controlling the line of kings according to the old religion. Macbeth's role is shifted to being that of a pawn (albeit a beloved one by protagonist Smertae) in a much more ancient conflict between the Fates.

In the interest of creating a circumstance during which the spoiled future king Malcolm can strengthen his military credentials, the sisters hatch a scheme led by alpha-Fate Riata, to place Malcolm in a battle that allows this growth. A key aspect of this plan, however, requires that brave Macbeth be cut down in his prime. Though recently returned from exile because of her own past indiscretions at the story's start, Smertae deviates from the plan when it is revealed that she has followed Macbeth since his birth and disagrees with the scheme as laid out. That is the initiating action that set's in motion the events of Toil and Trouble. These narrative nuances periodically dovetail into the more familiar plot, though by the series' final issue, titled "Act 6," an alternate conclusion of sorts reaches fruitiotn that ameliorates the tragic element of the The Tragedy of Macbeth.

While Lady Macbeth is once
again "unsexed" this time she
has a push from Fate in Issue #3. 

Though most readers already know how the story is supposed to end (SPOILER ALERT: it's Macbeth's tragedy, so take a guess), like many works of literature, it is the journey bridging the new with the familiar that creates the tension through all six issues. Because Scott develops Macbeth here as an even more honorable and brave soldier, and therefore a more sympathetic character, his pre-ordained fall in Shakespeare's play is even more tragic... and it is the expectation of that fall on the part of the reader with which Scott plays in revealing a different resolution to the story.

The deceptive actions of key characters throughout the story, most notable Lady Macbeth, is now attributed to the Fates possessing or taking on their appearance at key moments, thereby more actively guiding the chess pieces toward their ultimate station: first placing Macbeth on the throne and then correcting their error by setting up Malcolm as the successor. As the story unfolds there are significantly more allusions to the Scottish setting of the story, especially in developing the "old ways", as represented by the Fates, and their slow recession out of the culture.

The visuals, by Kelly and Nichole Mathhews, includes nods to our characters' Scottish background, and utilizes an appropriately earthy color palette. The figure-work and structure of pages is laid out in a clean style, suggesting an appreciation for mango on the part of the artists. The characters are especially expressive, suggesting an animated storyboard, but not so much that it negates the necessary tone of the books. Fortunately, the words and pictures mesh in a very complimentary fashion that evokes medieval Scotland in a way that is accessibility to modern comic book sensibilities. Of course, as one would expect, the comic book medium allows for more fantastic visuals than could have even been imagined in 1606 England, when Macbeth was written. Were this a movie, the "special effects" quotient would be significantly higher, which is why this medium is so wonderful at visualizing that would be cost prohibitive to produce in another.

In my own collecting of comics, I am much less married to the characters and continuity of the Big Two, so Toil and Trouble fit extremely well in my budget and, more importantly, my desire for well-crafted reading with a literary bent. (Let's face it, Marvel's Deadpool Killustrated from 2013 will only carry you so far.)  It also strikes as making a solid addition to a school library (it is available as a trade paperback). Valuable as both an secondary read, accompanying The Tragedy Macbeth, as well as providing hard evidence for suspicious minds of the vibrancy of Shakespeare's cultural relevance.

The Call of the Wild, Chapter 1

Yes, this is the same page as was tweeted--scroll down for another!

In the spirit of solidarity, just as I've assigned by eleventh graders to read (or re-read) and annotate Jack London's The Call of the Wild, I, too, have committed to doing the same. When I mentioned in class that I would tweet out my own annotations from the novella (doing what it was I was asking of them), one bright star said, "Does that mean we don't have to it ourselves?" Not quite. The hope is that by sharing what I saw it might spurn the student lacking the desire to be motivated to make their way through the book, too. And maybe even enjoy it in the process!

The edition I am using (and writing in) a Dover Thrift Classic which was purchased when another class of mine (many years ago) participated in The Big Read working with the same title. Most of my students are using old, hard cover copies from the mid-1980's and using post-it notes to make similar observations regarding writer's craft including syntax, diction, tone and figurative language, among others. I've read The Call of the Wild, and my annotations are by no means complete...

Accepting The Call For the First Time (Again)

The Call of the Wild begins with an unattributed epigraph:
the first stanza of "Atavism," a 1902 poem by John Myers O'Hara.

Two weeks ago, in anticipation of our impending seven-day break from classes, I asked my Advanced Placement students if any of them had a favorite book that they enjoyed re-reading for fun. The few that did, mentioned the titles that one might expect from normal eleventh graders: titles from any number of popular young adult franchises such as Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the like. It was then that I hinted at the possibility of my asking them to read (or in some case re-read) a short novel that I enjoyed revisiting during break that they too may have become familiar with from middle school, The Call of the Wild by Jack London.

Though I teach high school English, and the reality that The Call of the Wild is firmly ensconced as a middle school title in our (like most) school districts, it became apparent a few years ago that, for whatever reason, London's classic was no longer being taught. As a result, most students had no awareness of Jack London beyond, maybe, having been assigned (and consequently dreading the experience of) reading "To Build a Fire".

As was expected, many students balked at the idea of being assigned a book to read during this time (and more than one colleague suggested to me "it is break after all"), I reminded my charges that had I any faith that they might read anything during our time apart, I might feel differently. An ulterior motive I had for assigning this particular book was the hope that some had indeed read it in middle school, and could therefor come to the realization upon re-reading it that books returned to at different points in one's experience can reveal new layers of understanding that their younger selves may have missed. (I knew some had been assigned it in the past by virtue of their names having been scrawled in the covers by their younger selves), of those few who had, none remembered it.

The task required of students' while reading was non-threatening as it mirrored one they had recently completed: as each read, she or he would annotate using either post-it notes (in the school's book) or in-text notations identifying and explaining specific literary strategies employed by London in telling Buck's story. The course was, after all, Language and Composition so our shared emphasis would be on writer's craft. For my part, I would also be re-reading the text, albeit for the upteenth time, and share select pages of annotation with the via my Twitter feed and our class blog throughout the course of our break. (Full disclosure: I could not resist the urge to begin (again) so actually began reading and annotating prior to the start of break.)

As some of my students reluctantly accept "the call" for the first time, and others willingly embrace Buck's tale for a second, I look forward to sharing together with them after break our thoughts on the journey (and process)...

A Muster of Faux Classroom Crows

More than just someone to watch over our accolades and team pictures.  (10/11/13)

Over the past five(!) years, I have purchased an artificial crow/raven to adorn my classroom each year. (Yes, crows and raven are NOT the same, but as birds, the two possess enough superficial similarities that I use the names synonymously--fortunately I am not an ornithology teacher.) At the conclusion of each school year, I remove them from the shelves, screens and unused, ancient tech around the room until the following August at which time they will each return to (slightly) different locations.

The crow chick perched on the 

deer skull is a recent addition. When 

it's previous perch, this was taken, 

the mounted television was removed, 

the small crow moved around before 

settling there. (9/1/15)

The first faux crow found it's way into our classroom in the same way most English literature teachers acquire them, as a prop for an October reading of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven." In each successive year, however,  I have continued to acquire a new one during the Halloween decoration sales at local party supply stores. Nowadays, Halloween decorations are on sale in mid-August (along with Thanksgiving things!), hence this year's pre-school-purchase.

A morbid, and astute, reader may presuppose that the presence of a murder (or muster) suggests something "bad" is going to happen in this room. Though in Medieval time ravens would tend to congregate on the battlefield to feast on the corpses of the fallen, that depressing intention is not what's behind this style choice--at least not intentionally. Each new school year the presence of the artificial ravens in the classroom elicits a now familiar question from new students: "What's with all the birds/crows/ravens?"

As ours is an English classroom, I like to have some literature-based responses to the question of "why", ranging from the familiar to the esoteric (with secret hopes that during the course of our time together, the unusual will become more familiar). Just a few responses with a literary bent that I may offer during varying points int eh school year include:

As fate would have it, this freebie
poster was received in my school
mail today! (9/1/15)

• "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe: Most students are at least vaguely familiar with the poem if for no other reason than it's pop culture references in many a comedic television aside. For some, even those who've "read" it, the symbolism of the raven is often not so clear. Given the poem's close association with Halloween, they do understand it to be somehow dark or evil. Morbid, right?
• Did you know that good ol' Willy Shakes refers to the raven more often than to any other bird? In a number of William Shakespeare's works such as Othello and Macbeth (a play we will work with during the school year), the black bird makes an appearance. For example in Lady Macbeth's speech in Act I Scene V of Macbeth: "The Raven himself is hoarse/That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan/Under my battlements...".
• With any luck, we will be reading some excerpts from Keith Baines' translation of Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur this year, whcih allows for this connection: in Celtic mythology, ravens are often associated with warfare and the battleground (especially in Irish mythology). In Welsh mythology, ravens figure as the army of King Arthur's knight Owain. King Arthur's messianic return is an aspect of the legend of King Arthur, the mythical 6th-century British king. One recurrent aspect of Arthurian literature was the notion that he would one day return in the role of a messiah to save his people. Other less common concepts include the idea that Arthur was absent leading the Wild Hunt, or that he had been turned into a crow or raven.



Someone has to use the
ancient overhead--why not a
Raven? (10/11/13)

• A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin is the fourth of seven planned novels in the epic fantasy "A Song of Ice and Fire" series of novels. The words "crow" and "raven" play multiple roles throughout the series. The most obvious for those who have never read the books or seen the HBO show is the historical one suggested above: A Feast for Crows clearly suggests (though no surprise to fans) that this book will have a hefty headcount of dead to be eaten.  Also, in the Fire and Ice mythology, a "Crow" is the name given to those men who serve on the Wall, the immense ice structure which separates the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms from the lands beyond. Men of the Watch dress entirely in black, giving rise to the nickname "crows"--which is what the Free Folk commonly call them. Finally, characters uses ravens as messenger birds throughout the series. Additionally, the Three-eyed raven appears in Bran Stark's dreams to guide him on a quest. Interesting side note, I had not previously realized: The first name "Bram" is derived from a convergence of two separate etymological sources, one being an abbreviation of "Abraham", but the other being the Gaelic word "bran", meaning "raven". That Martin guy is clever!
• In the past my students and I have read and analyzed J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit (1937), a novel chock full of inetersting tidbits about archettypes and etymology. This was also news to me, but really cool: Roäc is the leader of the Ravens of the Lonely Mountain. Roäc was the son of Carc, and as such "a descendant of those [ravens] that had remained on the hill even after Smaug had driven out their old allies, the Dwarves". Roäc is likely an onomatopoeic name. (Source: Tolkien Gateway)

Like good literature, I like to allow for a number of possible interpretations. For this particular artificial classroom muster, I choose to leave just "what" they mean, ambiguous, though surely those students who fail to put forth energy and effort will see them as circling their the fading life of their individual grades, and others will see them as delivers of a message of growth and learning that will allow them to reach new heights.

A panoramic view of a classroom surrounded by faux crows circa October 2013.