Cold Days

I forgot to mention that we had two days off from school this week. The temperatures were down to -11 in some places, and it was a surprise to see schools close from Michigan to Maine. I didn't lose a single day because I posted all my classes materials on my course website. I am sure the kids loved it.

"Writers on Writing" is a particular treasure. So many of the authors have gone into detail about what they do and how they do it. One that struck a nerve was an essay by Annie Proulx. She talks about her shovels of metaphorical work... lovely image... one metaphor after another. I haven't read much by her, but I have a collection of short stories "Heart Songs" that I might get to soon.

My mother sent me $20 for my birthday. I felt embarrassed, of course, since I am the one who helps her out now and it shouldn't be the other way around. I wanted to send the money back, but she told me over the phone to spend it on something nice. So I bought "What I Loved" by Siri Hustvedt. I read a bad review on her book "A Plea for Eros" and was interested to see what else she has written. It also helps my intriguing the fact that she is married to Paul Auster. I can't fit the new book in but I will try for it perhaps next year.

The Good Soldier

I have my hands full with a difficult book. Ford writes exquisitely, but the constant metaphoric and simile elements make it a hard going on following the plot. Right now, the Ashburnhams just met the Dowells. The action shifts from 1904 to 1915 almost constantly, so one has to be concerned with the technique that Ford employs and this leaves little space for actual enjoyment of the rhythm and other nuances of language. I only read about 50 pages last night, but I wasn't feeling well after a tough day so I went to bed.

The administration at the school just approved a course I designed for next year. The course is "Popular Culture and Media Studies," and it is promising to make waves all around. The course will concentrate on viewing and listening to popular films, television programs, songs, etc., with a constant awareness of the intended message and audience in mind. This is all critical thinking. I just wrote an outline of what the 18 week semester would look like; now I have to design it day by day. Lots of work for this coming summer!

Frankenstein is Dead

We've all been there. Or have we? At least I can count myself of those who have experienced a classroom full of 11th graders trying to get excited about Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Confessionally I may add that it is my first time reading the story. It was hard--it still remains hard--to find a student whose idea of Frankenstein has not been polluted by popular culture images of the creature. I understood from the beginning that what we were reading was literature, not entertainment. They, unfortunately, did not. During discussion students still aim to give their comments the "I-saw-the-movie-once" twist. I made the decision not to show the film once we are done with the book. Why? Because despite the fact that with every other book I do show the film as an enrichment activity, this one has already been accessed so much by their imaginations, recollections, delusions, etc., it is not worth watching and hear them complain it was not entertaining enough. What about the intricate value of the story itself... the higher art of it all, the ethical questions that arise from the experiment, the relationship between Elizabeth and Victor, the humanity of the creature (which by the way it is much more than that of his creator)? What about all these things? They would simply vanished if I showed the film. I don't want to sound like a prude but something is going to have to give when it comes to a generation who is totally averse to reading to enrich their lives. Those who do nowadays are in the simple minority.