The Sneaky Teacher

February 8th, 2010

Remember when The Sneaky Chef came out last year?  Another similar book came out around the same time, and the two authors took turns sniping at each other in the press, each implying the other had ripped her idea off. (Women!)

In my mailbox at school today was a postcard promoting these vocabulary books.  Excerpt:

Can you resist the allure of Edward’s myriad charms—his ocher eyes and tousled hair, the cadence of his speech, his chiseled alabaster skin, and his gratuitous charm? Will you hunt surreptitiously and tolerate the ceaseless deluge in Forks to evade the sun and uphold the facade? Join Edward and Bella as you learn more than 600 vocabulary words to improve your score on the *SAT, ACT®, GED®, and SSAT® exams!

I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry, so I followed the advice I give to my own students and made a pros and cons list:

Laugh:

  • Seriously?  Combining studying with pleasure reading?  We might as well try to slip butternut squash puree into their macaroni and cheese.
  • I’ve read all four books, and I don’t remember once running into a word I didn’t know.  If someone needs a vocabulary primer to help them understand Meyer’s language, I shudder to think of what they’d do with Fitzgerald or Whitman.
  • What makes charm gratuitous?  I think it’s more gratuitous to specify surreptitious hunting.  What would non-surreptitious hunting look like?  A trip to the grocery store?

Cry:

  • How are any of those words considered vocabulary for high-school juniors?
  • Most of my high school juniors probably couldn’t define those words without the accompanying crutch sentences.
  • Will we ever expect students to read challenging works on their own, picking up vocabulary naturally along the way?

The jury’s still out, but I’m taking votes.  I’m eminently practical, so who knows — maybe it will work, and if so, kudos to the author for capitalizing on the latest pop-lit franchise.  But I’m also kind of a snob, and . . . Twilight?  In the classroom?!  The thought makes me shift uncomfortably in my chair.

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Who Are You?

February 8th, 2010

You know I am not a football fan, but I did sit in front of the TV last night with a book and look up during commercials.  I also watched the halftime show, about which I mostly agree with Rod and others: clearly, The Who was not in its prime last night.  I was disappointed at their choice of a medley; for a band that excels at dynamic, nail-biting musical interludes, they could easily have rocked the house with one or two full tracks.  Their choice was predictable, too (we had guessed every one but the few bars of “See Me, Feel Me,”) which was a little disappointing.  The only song on our list that we didn’t hear, fittingly: “My Generation,” with its eerily applicable line, “I hope I die before I get old.”

I’m glad they didn’t, and I can forgive this display of mediocrity, but only because I know better.  Rob and I saw The Who live in 2002, a month after the original bassist died from a cocaine overdose.  (At 57.  These guys party hard.)  Daltrey’s voice was a little thinner than on their records, but the range was still there — he could perform most, if not all, of the vocal acrobatics for which he was known.  Townshend was as strong as ever, and both exuded an energy that sustained the crowd for a show that lasted more than two hours, with no breaks, and included every single hit we could remember.

The fun part: we brought my dad, who claims that at no time did “Who’s Next” ever cease to play on the record player in his college dormitory suite.  He knew all the songs by heart, of course, but was shocked that we did, too.  It was a little weird to be belting out power ballads (and occasionally smelling pot) with your dad, but my dad is comfortable with just about any crowd, so we all just enjoyed ourselves.  The memory of that concert is a lot bigger than the few pitiful minutes onscreen in Miami.

Unrelated rant about why else I hate football: at the end of the game, the Saints’ QB had his little baby on the field.  The child looked utterly bewildered and was wearing noise-canceling headphones, so undoubtedly missed this gem: one of the announcers said something like, “This is it.  This is THE most important and precious moment a father could possibly share with his son.”  Gales of laughter erupted from our living room at this, but I’m sure there were plenty of fans out there nodding in tearful agreement.  The same fans, I’m sure, who were touched by the earlier commercial in which the NFL thanked them for watching with open mouths and painted faces all season long.  People, please.  IT’S A GAME.

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The New Master’s Degree

February 7th, 2010

Turns out I was right in saying that it seems like grad school is more commonplace.  In fact, according to the New York Times, the number awarded has doubled since 1980, and programs are becoming increasingly diverse and specialized.  If I had to rethink my choice of an MAT (unlikely, since my school pays my tuition and will increase my salary when I’m through) I’d be tempted by one or two of the following:

Cultural Sustainability is offered at Goucher College, practically in my backyard; dedicated to preserving the native customs of communities threatened by modernization and globalization, an admirable aim for education if ever there were one.  Ishi in Two Worlds was one of the saddest books I’ve ever read — the story of an indigenous culture forced to normalize itself.

Construction Management is finally making it big as a more worldly and multifaceted alternative to “strict” architecture.  One of my good friends had a career in this field before starting to teach.  It’s pretty fascinating: a combination of business, design and psychology.

Education Leadership, the first new degree program at Harvard in 74 years, would probably be my top choice.  Charter schools are one of the most exciting new developments on the educational horizon, but I’ve heard just as many horror stories as success stories.  And what about non-charter schools that just, plainly, need a lot of help?

I’ll tell you what I would never, ever want to do: be a Cyber Ninja.  As cool as it would be to have any kind of ninja experience on my resume, I can’t stomach the thought of using PCs on a regular basis!

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Recycling, Elevated

February 6th, 2010

I understand that recycling should be automatic and done out of the goodness (and / or self-preservation instinct) of one’s own heart.

I understand that even if we all recycled, it still wouldn’t be enough — we need to drastically curb, if not stop, our consumption of one-time-use goods.

I understand that we should be moving toward beverages that come from rivers and fruit trees and herbs, not bottles and chemicals and processing plants.

But I can’t see something like this and not be encouraged.  An Austin architectural firm has found a way to make recycling entertaining, and to help concertgoers work together to create a temporary thing of beauty, all while calling attention to a problem most people just don’t want to think about — the incredible amount of trash we generate and the lack of options about what to do with it.

Cup City, you just made my day.

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The Superbowl Kahuna

February 6th, 2010

That’s what they’re calling it here, where they’ve accurately predicted every snowstorm this season, down to the 22 inches (and counting) outside at the moment.

In case you’ve been media-free for the last few days, we’re having some Weather here.   Here’s a shot of my parents’ front yard, including Rolling Road, which normally buzzes with activity:

Here’s their herb garden — the large lump is a bench and the small one is a birdbath:

Herb Garden

Yes, we’re staying with Mommy and Daddy, along with some friends and their two dogs.  We’re stuck here for now, though the guys did hike to the grocery store a few hours ago and brought back an amazing haul that I couldn’t possibly make up:

  • 6 loaves of bread
  • 5 pounds of brisket
  • 4 dozen eggs
  • 3 pounds of cheese
  • 2 frozen pizzas
  • 1 gallon of milk

Men become cavemen at the first sign of trouble, I guess.  It would be endearing if we didn’t have to use it all up before Lent begins next week.

And proof that there is beauty everywhere, including in the storm.

Snow on TreesIf we have to be snowed in, I’m glad I’m with people I love.

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