.

Today I learned the valuable lesson "If you can't beat 'em...join 'em."  We were reading The Crucible this morning, and I was giving valuable instruction.  Then I notice some whispering, some snickering, and pages flipping.  What could possibly be so interesting in these ancient literature books?  Please see the image attached to this post.  THAT...is Gwendolyn Brooks, celebrated poet.  Note that Gwendolyn is a female.  Also note that Gwendolyn (in an even more masculine photo in the lit book) looks like our classmate Nate. 

Now in my first few years of teaching, I would have reprimanded the children for being off task and for making my job more difficult.  This year?  I asked them what page they were on, laughed hysterically, and proceeded to peruse, along with the class, other ridiculously out-of-date photos throughout the book for a good 5 minutes.   Were they off task?  Uh...yeah.  But did I win them over?  Absolutely. 

I'm currently watching a class of 40 kids view Gone With the Wind, 90% for the first time.  For those of you who don't know, I teach a film class on top of my regular and honors junior English classes.  (I know, what do I know about film?)  I show them a wide-variety of films, but I feel I would be remiss if I didn't show the great Scarlett/Rhett epic. The kids always whine, though so few have seen it I don't know why it warrants that reaction.  They only know it's 16,000 hours long and OLD.  They're just not used to movies with overatures and intermissions.     Kids these days.

hilarious to watch these Emo and skater kids try not to smile.  Who can keep from smiling when Rhett tells Scarlett she "needs to be kissed and often and by someone who knows how"? 

I want to taunt them:  "Don't smile little Emo kid..."  But then they'll realize someone actually knows they are watching...and maybe even enjoying it.

I have a friend who consistently asks me, "How does our future look?" instead of asking how teaching is going.  My answer usually depends on the day -- thus the blog.  One day particularly stands out.  We'll call him Doug.  Watch for Doug's future installments.

Doug was in my regular 11th grade a few years ago, but after a few days in, I began questioning this placement.  Here is Doug's essay on how "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" qualifies as a Romantic work.  I will type it as he wrote it, wishing only for a scanned version to further illustrate.  It's a good thing I showed them Disney's version (featuring the great Bing Crosby), or this kid would have had no hope at all: