A Sense of Humor

For a friend recovering after having her wisdom teeth removed.

To cut teeth, or gain one's permanent teeth, measures aging and implies the gaining of knowledge. With the removal of wisdom teeth as one continues to grow, knowledge is not lost with the teeth but indeed something else may be gained from the experience...

"In Heaven," from David Lynch's Eraserhead

After Having Thoroughly Reflected on Student Evaluations and the Past School Year: My Hypothetical Plan for Day 1, Next Year's School Term

I think one of the most frustrating things about teaching high school is the limitations on frankness that one encounters. This isn't to say that one cannot be sincere, but one can rarely be as blunt as perhaps one ought. Having only been on earth for little more than twenty years, I am not qualified to say whether or not pedagogical expectations and practices have actually changed a great deal in this regard over the last several decades, but I do believe that much of the expectation surrounding the classroom and schools today is that teachers handle students with the proverbial kid gloves, which isn't to say that teachers shouldn't be sensitive and caring but shouldn't also be expected to shy away from breaking down the walls and the building insulation that keeps one warm, cozy, and deaf to the world outside of presumption and limited experience.

Part of this insulation stems from the entitlement to opinion. I am entitled to my opinion. Since when did we put such a premium on the value of opinion. Of course you're entitled to it. If you breathe, oxygen is supplied to the brain, synapses fire, and typically some thought is produced...even it's something as banal as I should probably keep breathing--that's opinion of course. Another natural product of the daily course of life is human waste--carbon dioxide, dead skin cells shed, urine...stool. Like thought, these byproducts too have some value. Our breathe assists plants and algae in the process of photosynthesis. Dead skin cells may assist in reducing ozone and, at the very least, reminds us that it is time to clean and organize things every once in a while. Urine and stool can be utilized as effective plant fertilizers. Though we would hardly examine the waste in our toilet and see much value there--crap and all its other forms has a decidedly negative connotation in the public lexicon--it seems more often that of the two human products, opinion and dung, the latter is the more substantive and inherently valuable.

Opinion is only given meaning and value through the evidence presented in support. That is one thing that I tried to drive home in classes this year, not only to reinforce the extrinsic motivation and mechanical skills of producing "good" schoolwork and papers for a grade but to also produce that most basic of human products--thought, rooted in experience and evidence, watered with consideration.

In considering the hypothetical beginning of next term, set in a hypothetical universe in which I would not be immediately fired or berated with phone calls and emails, I would begin my classes in the following manner--each with a blunt, straightforward assessment of things from the particular perspective and worldview of George Carlin. Opinion independent of all else is inherently worthless but that is not to say that certain opinions do not hold value in certain cases, such as this, being used to challenge thought, create discussion about opinion and seemingly extremist views, and remove the kiddy gloves that are doing little service to young people in this country who are becoming increasingly disconnected and disengaged from the people and world around them.

In this hypothetical, alternative universe, which finds itself still rooted in some reality in the fact that the state has continued to cut school financing, I find that I have received an email from my principal informing me that due to cuts in the budget this summer, I will be returning in late August to teach 8 periods (my two preparation periods have been eliminated) and a homeroom. To ease students back into the school rhythm after summer, before we take off at break neck speed for the following nine months, I am beginning each class with a short video. Here goes.

A1 American History

A2 English

A3 Consumer Education

A4 Homeroom

A5 Journalism

B1 Social Issues

B2 Driver's Education

B3 Health

B4 Homeroom

B5 Civics

Of course, at the end of each video, as good pedagogical theory and general, good practice dictates, we will have a discussion of opinion, theory, evidence, perspective, context, and most importantly values.

Time for Celebration

Because I am leaving town on Saturday and will be away for a week with limited computer access, I would like to wish a happy first wedding anniversary to two great friends and wonderful people, Hank Chinaski and Baker Baby. It is hard to believe that in only four days it will have been one year since y'all got hitched. And now, a baby might pop out at any second.

In addition to simply wishing them the best and thanking them for wonderful years of friendship in words, I would like to offer the following as a sort of commemoration of all the good times.

"A history of a life friendship, in pictures"

'Hank, before meeting me'

(Tagged: Hank Chinaski, his immense ignorance)

'Me, listening to that little voice before meeting Hank'

(Tagged: Hairy Asscot, that little voice)

'Us, in college'

(Tagged: Baker Baby, Hairy Asscot, Hank Chinaski)

'Us, when Baker Baby wasn't around'

(Tagged: Hank C and me)

'Baker B and Hank C, now'

(Tagged: Baker Baby's adulthood, Hank C's continued adolescence)

'Baker B and Hank C, when I'm not around'
(Tagged: Baker Baby, Hank C, Stink'ems the cat)

'Hank and Baker B, after I've visited and left'

(Tagged: Hank C, Baker B)

'Me, upon visiting a second time, meeting Boy Chinaski and finding he's literate'

(Tagged: Boy Chinaski, Uncle Hairy)

'Hank and boy, as overbearing father and indignant son'

(Tagged: Little Sport Chinaski, Henry Chinaski)

'Mother and Son'
(Tagged: Sport, Mama BB, 2+2=5 lesson from 1984 (on board), Sport's only male example in the home (also on chalkboard))

'Sport, when we're not around'

(Tagged: Little Hellraiser Hank, Boy Chinaski, the evidence)

'Us, when Hank realizes it's time for Sport to go off to college'

(Tagged: Old Pal Hairy, That SOB Hank, Hank's humility, the extent of my talents (hanging on the wall), Sport's college fund (the patches on Hank C's pants))

'Me, when Hank C and BB aren't around'

(Tagged: Me, BB (in the photo), Hank's correspondence thanking me for contributions to the college fund (in the waste basket))

'Us, in twenty years'

(Tagged: Hank, Me, Hank's pretentions, Sport's thesis titled On my homelife as a youth for his BFA in finger painting)

'Us, in forty years'

(Tagged: Hairy Asscot, Hank Chinaski, The Chair (Sport's first piece that's sold, which I bought))

'Us, upon retirement'

(Tagged: Hank C, Hairy, Hank's plan to quit smoking cigarettes (pipe in hand), Hank's lifelong impact on me (cigarette in hand), Hank's bullshit (floating above our heads), My shit (in gaseous form, emanating from and wafting above my ass))

'Us, in hell'

(Tagged: Hank C, Me, our only friend at this point)

To Hank C and Baker Baby, Happy Anniversary. You guys are going to make great parents.

Being relevant

Most film reviews are published several days before the reviewed film is released, and many people do not care to read a review if it refers to the thing projected onto the screen as a "film" rather than a "movie"--some consider that pretentious.

While I do not have access to films prior to theatrical release, prefer to use the term "film" when discussing a "movie," and usually wait to see "new" movies weeks after their releases at the discounted drive-in or smaller art theaters, I think I can offer some relevant and practical advice to those who wish to learn something about film/movies in general and possibly Ridley Scott's new film Prometheus in particular (I plan to see Prometheus in the undefined "near future.").

It appears that Prometheus occupies the same world as Scott's early sci-fi hit, Alien (1979), though Roger Ebert doesn't go so far as to deem the film a prequel, something that Scott has denied. Regardless of the technical definitions, the film seems to be very close to Alien in its design, themes, and even storyline.

If you plan on going to see Prometheus or any other movie for that matter, here's a tip for reading the film through the mise en scene, which means "putting into the scene," or everything that appears within the frame (and on the screen). Each scene in a movie typically begins with (an) "establishing shot(s)" or the uninterrupted running of the camera ("shot") in which the place, characters, and spatial relationship among the characters, objects and setting is made clear--this is often times done through distant framing, i.e. the sweeping landscape in a Western, or in Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), the multiple shots of Phoenix, Arizona that take the viewer from an aerial view of the city, into the city between the building, to an apartment window, and finally into the protagonist's apartment bedroom and an intimate scene with her lover.

The very beginning of a film also has its establishing shots, which may or may not be part of the film's narrative (warning SPOILERS for Alien and Blade Runner). In the opening of Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982), another popular sci fi, Scott begins the film with a series of shots that cut between futuristic Los Angeles and the close-up of an eye. In this sequence, Scott physically locates the viewer in the city of Los Angeles but also psychologically prepares the viewer for the rest of the film. In addition to establishing the setting in the establishing shots at the opening of the film, the director will often establish a context for viewing and understanding the film. Of course, the eye in Blade Runner can be interpreted to mean many different things, but it, at the very least, signifies the importance that eyes will play in the film, i.e. the fact that replicants are tested by examining pupil dilation and other physical responses to the Voight-Kampff machine. It also possibly suggests that the presentation of the film is coming from a particular viewpoint as the film follows Deckard (Harrison Ford) and includes his narrating of events. In the end, one questions if Deckard is a reliable narrator as the chance of his being a replicant, unaware of this himself, seems more and more likely.

In the case of Scott's Alien, even the title sequence, which slowly reveals the word "ALIEN" is telling and establishes a certain context in which to view the film. At first, each letter appears on the screen as a single bold line. Little by little, additional lines materialize on the screen and connect with the originals to form each individual letter in non sequential order until the complete word is finally spelled out. This is perhaps a simple analysis but, interestingly enough, Scott has indicated to a savvy viewer several of the film's important themes before anything has actually taken place on screen or in the story's narrative--the superficiality of initial, surface appearances; the constantly shifting and changing shape of things; and reversals of order.

These conclusions are based on the numerous exterior shots of the Nostromo ship, which appears different at almost every angle, especially since there is only one brief shot in which the entire ship is shown in a single frame, and the altered purpose of the ship and its mission--originally, hauling mineral ore; later, exploring a planet and securing an alien organism; and finally battling the alien. The revelation that Ash (Ian Holm) is a robot upon his dismemberment and the famous scene with the alien bursting from Kane's (John Hurt) chest--the alien will also appear different in multiple scenes as it continually grows and more of its body is shown in the frame--illustrate the inadequacies of our initial perceptions and external perspectives. Ripley's (Sigourney Weaver) ability to survive, combat, and ultimately defeat the alien while all others parish places a female character in the position of a historically Hollywood male role is compounded by the alien's seemingly reversed anatomies with the initial alien organism (appearing more vaginal) impregnating Kane (who is later shot out of the ship into space, his all white suit and body flying through black space and resembling sperm) and the birthed organism appearing phallic as it bursts out of Kane's chest. The evidence here is brief as there is more to say, but the point is that the establishing shots (even the title sequence in this case) has provided the viewer a road map for watching the rest of the film.

Although, I have not seen Prometheus yet, I suspect Scott directs viewers to watch the film in a certain way by giving them a road map to follow early on.

If you go to see Prometheus or any other movie in the near future, keep these things in mind and see if the director is trying to show us something other than a sci-fi horror with special effects and things that jump out of the shadows and through people's chests. Chances are, he or she is, if he or she is a worthwhile director.

Battles of Attrition, Pyrrhic Victories & the Confusion of War: Student Evaluations After a First Year Attempt at Teaching Part IV

I have a Bachelor's Degree in Creative Writing/Rhetoric as well as History and a minor in Secondary Education, which certified me to teach fifth through twelfth grade in the state of Illinois. These "papers" translated into teaching classes in American History, Social Issues in History, a Juniors' English class, and Journalism.

At the awards ceremony that our school held in late April, I stood at the podium and introduced myself before I announced recipients of awards for "Outstanding Editor" in Journalism and "Outstanding Student in Journalism." As I was introducing myself and explaining the class and awards, I mentioned how I had never taught a Journalism class before this year and had never taken a Journalism class in high school or college. I paused and turned to look at my principal, forgot to mention that I had majored in Rhetoric, and proceeded to present the awards. At the end of the night, my principal thanked me for that.

However, I did mention how this year was the first that The Pigeonhole student newspaper became available online and the paper copy layout was updated for the first time in at least ten or more years. I imagine a fair estimate of student writing in Journalism this year would be between one hundred and two hundred original pages per student--the number grows exponentially when considering editing, revising, and redrafting articles, stories, essays, stream of consciousness prompts, journals, etc.

At the beginning of the year, a Journalism student attempted to popularize "The Resurrection" as my nickname because I apparently resembled the Resurrected Christ to this young man. About midway through the year and until the end, the B5 Journalism was consistently referring to me as the Devil and my classroom as Hell. I laughingly related a version of "The Devil and Tom Walker" in which I sat at my desk and whittled down pencils with student names embossed upon them in an electric pencil sharpener.

Journalism I/II:

-Student expecting A with "Much" interest in subject
Overall Comments: W--- thinks Mr. S was a good instructor and very knowledgeable. Though the classes were fun, I think Mr. S would make a better archaeologist kind of like Indiana Jones, only Mr. S's biggest fear would be mice/rats instead of snakes.

-Student expecting A with "Much" interest in subject
Course Strengths: FUN! EXCITING!
Course Weaknesses: NONE!
Instructor Strengths: AWESOME!
Instructor Weaknesses: Devil! JK
Overall Comments: Thanks for this class! I enjoyed it! YOLO ;)

-Student expecting B with "Much" interest in subject
Course Strengths: help with reading & writing skills
Course Weaknesses: off topic at times
Instructor Strengths: could relate any thing to class
Instructor Weaknesses: off topic

-Student expecting A with "Some" interest in subject
Course Weaknesses: Learned a great deal about writing and reading, not so much on the actual Journalism subject.
Instructor Weaknesses: Gets off subject, but always finds a way to get back on track.
Overall Comments: Having Mr. S as my teacher made my senior year a lot easier to deal with. He taught me to view situations and things from other perspectives.

-Student expecting A with "Much" interest in subject
Course Strengths: helped improve: reading, writing, cognitive skills; related to life & made us think about alot
Overall Comments: I enjoyed this class compared to all my others. I feel I'll take a lot away from it, and I'm glad I took it. The instructor was one of the best teachers I've ever had and I think the class helped the majority of students both inside the classroom & in life.

-Student expecting A with "Some" interest in subject
Instructor Weaknesses: Does not know how to write someone up.
Overall Comments: I did not leave early, That write up was bull shit (Just kidding). Other than that were boys.

-Student expecting A+ with "Some" interest in subject
Course Weaknesses: not the most interesting
Instructor Strengths: smart, ability to mind-fuck
Instructor Weaknesses: overanalyzed a lot
Overall Comments: fun class, good time to relax and write

-Student expecting A- (Does not indicate level of interest in subject)
Instructor Weaknesses: not to good at telling time

-Student expecting A (Does not indicate level of interest in subject)
Instructor Weaknesses: new teacher
Overall Comments: I liked that it was a very open class and students were able to express themselves

-Student expecting A (Does not indicate level of interest in subject)
Course Strengths: improved writing skills
Course Weaknesses: somewhat unorganized
Instructor Strengths: gives creative projects
Instructor Weaknesses: Unexperienced
Overall Comments: I really liked being apart of this class. I had fun doing some of the projects, and I was able to freely express my opinion.

-Student expecting 89.48% (Does not indicate level of interest in subject and is probably annoyed that I did not round is 89.48% from 4th quarter up to an A to make him exempt from the Semester Exam)
Course Strengths: learn how to write better
Course Weaknesses: Didn't do to hot on placement test
Instructor Strengths: A Great speaking voice, I payed attention
Overall Comments: I learned more about english and writing in this one class then all four years of hs

-Student expecting A+++++ with "Some" interest in subject
Course Strengths: Overall I enjoyed the class. The assignments and reading was interesting.
Course Weaknesses: The Final is 4 pages too long.

-Student who does not indicate expected grade or level of interest in subject
Course Strengths: Writing a lot helped expand writing skills. Opened up to different types of different techniques.
Course Weaknesses: Hard to concentrate, disiplinary actions seemed to be based of favortism.
Instructor Strengths: Knowledgable, caring, helping, new ideas
Instructor Weaknesses: ranting, favortism towards D-Bags
Overall Comments: Great class, very interesting, never knew what to expect when entering class, learned more than I thought I would though--Have a good life!

-Student expecting A with "Much" interest in subject
Course Strengths: -made us have critical thinking when it comes to reading & writing
Course Weaknesses: -learned very little about journalism--focused more on creative writing, which isn't the course I signed up for
Instructor Strengths: -can relate to the students through conversation & by which projects he chose to assign
Instructor Weaknesses: -was a 1st yr teacher (seemed unprepared & didn't know much about journalism)
Overall Comments: -I'm disappointed in how little I was taught about journalism
                                -would have liked to open the book more
                                -Almost feel like it was a class wasted b/c of the little work I did/learned

-Student expecting A (Does not indicate level of interest in subject)
Course Strengths: Utilized unique content through original stories
Course Weaknesses: not enough time to learn everything
Instructor Strengths: knew a lot and cared about the students heavily
Overall Comments: I learned a lot and saw a teacher who truly cared about his students and did not let censorship hinder course

-Student expecting A with "Much" interest in subject
Course Strengths: I believe this class did a good job enhancing people's writing skills and literature analysis skills.
Instructor Strengths: Found a unique way to present meaningful concepts of both literature and real life.
Overall Comments: I ended up enjoying this class a lot and I think you did a great job making your lessons meaningful & applicable to life, instead of just going through a superficial lesson plan like a lot of teachers do.

-Student expecting A++ (Does not indicate level of interest in subject)
Course Strengths: lots of group activities & participation
Course Weaknesses: actual writing
Instructor Strengths: knew material and tried to make activities interesting
Instructor Weaknesses: DEVIL

Overall Comments: I enjoyed annoying you and calling you the devil.

Battles of Atrittion, Pyrrhic Victories & the Confusion of War: Student Evaluations at the End of a First Year Attempt at Teaching Part III

Below is the course description for the Social Issues I/II class at my high school:

SOCIAL ISSUES IN HISTORY I & II Credit: ½ unit per semester Weight: 4/4 Course Open To: Grade 11 & 12; This course will be offered every other year. Students may register for this course in the 2011-2012 school year. Social Issues Course Description: Social Issues is a performance-based class. Students will learn research skills, and critical evaluation of evidence. Students will be required to produce projects, write papers, and give presentations. We will engage in an intensive study of local, national, and global issues.

Objectives:

1. Students will develop research skills and learn to evaluate sources.

2. Students will develop critical thinking skills, as they learn to collect and evaluate
evidence for accuracy and bias.

3. Students will build their reading, writing, evaluation, and discussion skills.


When I was hired in late July to teach this class, the above is all that I was given--no materials, no book(s) of any kind--in addition to some verbal suggestions from my principal. Over the course of the year, in which some students dropped the class after the first semester, others remained for both semesters, and several picked up the class second semester, we studied a number of different issues, beginning with the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a definition of a "social issue." This proved important as many students entering the class believed it was simply "Current Events" or a sort of self-help, talk-therapy class dealing with their "social issues" at school.

After determining that the class was not exclusively current events and most definitely was not a talk-therapy session, we proceeded from the UN and human rights to studies on globalization, consumerism, and production by examining the country of origin for our clothes ("What's In Your Closet?") and the history of colonization and labor practices in those manufacturing countries--we also watched the film What Would Jesus Buy?, which was difficult for many students to swallow due to Reverend Billy's antics. We examined the decades of the 1950s and 1960s in American History, studying issues of race, gender, class, politics, war, and various protest and social movements. We also briefly considered the memorialization of the Holocaust and its history of remembrance in those immediately succeeding decades by watching Nuit et brouillard (Night and Fog) and reading Sherman Alexie's "Somebody Else's Genocide." Much of the final quarter of the year was devoted to students selecting their own issues of interest and researching their topics.

In the course of the year, students gave presentations on the UN's human rights; wrote a research paper on two countries and two companies that produced their clothing and presented findings; completed a number of mini-projects on the "Radical Sixties," which included illustrating a LIFE magazine cover, composing lyrics or a poem, graffiti-ing a mock Berlin Wall, creating a political cartoon, and filming and editing a short movie; developed several research projects, which led to academic papers and physical products; and more (largely a project-based class with occasional daily work).

Here are student evaluations from Social Issues in History I/II

 Social Issues in History I/II:

-Student expecting B (Does not indicate level of interest in subject)
Course Strengths: interesting
Course Weaknesses: some stuff wasn't interesting
Instructor Strengths: knows a lot
Instructor Weaknesses: talks a lot
Overall Comments: n/a

-Student who does not indicate an expected grade or a level of interest in the subject
Course Strengths: Lots of reading & writing
Course Weaknesses: alot of online prompts.
Instructor Strengths: Good speaker
Instructor Weaknesses: Spekes too much

-Student expecting A+ with "Much" interest in subject
Course Strengths: Unique class/curriculum. Interesting topics, Great freedom in projects, not locked down
Course Weaknesses: Sporatic assignments earlier in the year, online prompts are sometimes hard to remember. Deadlines were hard to meet .
Instructor Strengths: quite profluent in social issues and topics, knows how classes function in college and applies it to this class.
Instructor Weaknesses: Not enough interesting attire. mellowed down the outfits towards the end of the year. I really liked the sweaters and I think you need more variety.
Overall Comments: I liked the class, its like a college humanities class. Pretty solid class. I think you're a good teacher.

-Student expecting A with "Much" interest in subject (signs evaluation With you always, The Earl of Springfield)
Course Strengths: The course was pretty enjoyable, and, although it was was engaging, it was not too difficult.
Course Weaknesses: Sometimes there was not really a sufficient amount of time to finish a project or just not enough class time.
Instructor Strengths: The Professor appeared to put effort into the class to teach us something.
Instructor Weaknesses: The instructor, you, failed to establish a consistent wardrobe.

-Student expecting B with "Much" interest in subject (signs evaluation The Serf)
Course Strengths: Instructer seemed dedicated to the course
Course Weaknesses: Sometimes the curriculum could meander (sp?) off in different directions
Instructor Strengths: Extremely educated in wide variety of topics
Instructor Weaknesses: Poor at putting together outfits and/or ensamble
Overall Comments: I thought it was a pretty solid class. Instructor seemed to know what he was talking about

-Student expecting A with "Some" interest in subject
Course Strengths: It was fun and easy to understand
Course Weaknesses: It was boring and unorganised
Instructor Strengths: Fun and lax
Instructor Weaknesses: Unorganized & confusing
Overall Comments: I didn't really learn anything I didnt already know

-Student expecting 100% with "Much" interest in subject
Course Strengths: Interesting material/extra material
Course Weaknesses: Lectures could be better explained sometimes--ex. "sexy holocaust"
Instructor Strengths: you really want to engage students
Instructor Weaknesses: Ability to explain opinions
Overall Comments: I learned a lot from you and this course--I wish you were continuing with teaching--you're good at it. (even though I don't always agree with you)

-Student expecting A++++++++ (JK. Just an "A") with "Much" interest in subject*
Course Strengths: Always prepared, Different materials used (books, videos, etc.)
Course Weaknesses: Research papers--could have had some different types of projects.
Instructor Strengths: Recomending books/movies if the student is interested in a certain topic. Relaxed in the classroom. Knowledge, perspective on topics
Instructor Weaknesses: A little confusing--goes off into a few rants
Overall Comments: 



*This evaluation was also turned in folded into a cootie catcher

Battles of Attrition, Pyrrhic Victories & the Confusion of War: Student Evaluations After a First Year Attempt at Teaching Part II

Most bills that pass are seldom read by even a majority of the legislators who vote on them. [...] Once one understands what the public expects of its legislators, it is no surprise that reading the legislation is of secondary importance to many of them.

-Senator H.L. "Bill" Richardson, from What Makes You Think We Read the Bills, Caroline House Books/Green Hill Publishers, Inc., 1978

Below is the Course Description for English 331, which focuses on American Literature, at my High School:


ENGLISH 331 Credits: One unit per year Weight: 4/4 Course Open To: Grade 11

Prerequisite: English 231

This course is a chronological study of representative American literature. The student, through study, discussion, and analysis, will gain insight into American literature and the men and women who wrote it. The course will include the use of literary terminology and critical analysis as well as the development of vocabulary. There will be a review of English grammar, usage, and mechanics. Students will develop research and organizational skills by writing a research paper. Both written and oral reports on books the students have selected promote independent reading. As part of the school’s School-to-Work initiative, all juniors will participate in a job shadowing experience in a unit that incorporates the use of communication skills that are necessary in the workplace. In addition, this class, to meet the Illinois State Board of Education requirements as a "writing-intensive" course, incorporates the following activities into the curriculum:

1. Writing that is relevant to the subject matter of the course is used as a means to improve writing skills;
2. Writing assignments are given on a regular basis during the time period of the course;
3. Writing is evaluated and feedback is provided using expectations that are appropriate to either early or late high school students as indicated in the Illinois Learning Standards for English Language Arts;
4. Evaluation includes feedback to improve student writing in the following areas: Correct language usage, Organization of compositions, Communication of ideas for a variety of purposes, and Ability to locate, organize, evaluate and use information correctly; and
5. Students address and integrate the elements of the writing process and refine or apply research skills.

Perhaps you will notice that there is no mentioning of "joy of reading," or for that matter simply "reading" in the course description. (For a more in-depth consideration of the relationship between and problem with students and pleasurable reading and an enjoyable read itself, I recommend Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them.

Excerpt from my syllabus for English 331 this year:

Course Objectives & Goals

The primary focus of this class will be improving our reading and writing skills, i.e. our ability to read and form opinions about the literary aspects of the text, organize coherent and cohesive arguments about the text, and develop a unique writing style that illustrates a confident handling of language and grammar. We will be writing in a variety of styles and for varying purposes, and we will read from a wide selection of texts, which will include at least one book per quarter of your choosing. This class is intended to establish an environment in which you will freely find a life-long enjoyment in/from reading and writing.



Off the top of my head, this year, we read an excerpt from N. Scott Momaday's The Way to Rainy Mountain,  Jonathan Edwards's "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," William Bradford's "Of Plymouth Plantation," Arthur Miller's The Crucible, the chapter on "virtues" from Benjamin Franklin's autobiography, Washington Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker," Robert Hass's "A Story About the Body," Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants," Russell Banks's "Black Man and White Woman in Dark Green Rowboat," Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl," Valerie Martin's "Death Goes to a Party," Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and "Everything That Rises Must Converge," and Tobias Wolff's "A Bullet in the Brain."

English 331 Evaluations:

-Student who writes "12" for expected grade (Does not indicate level of interest in subject)
Course Strengths: Teacher was very easy to relate to & cares about the students, good teacher!
Course Weaknesses: The students weren't behaved and the learning suffered greatly for it.
Instructor Strengths: Knowledgable, relateable, smart, good basics, great first year teacher
Instructor Weaknesses: Being able to control the class
Overall Comments: Great teacher will be missed prepaired the class for the real world of college.

-Student expecting a C with "Some" interest in subject
Course Strengths: It really improved my reading & writing skills & creativity. I have a better understanding of grammar as well.
Course Weaknesses: I find grammar very confusing anyway, so that was kind of a struggle for me
Instructor Strengths: He did a good job with helping me look deeper into stories, write more creatively, & sound more mature in my writing.
Instructor Weaknesses: Have some more creativity with lessons. I got bored easily.*
Overall Comments: I learned a lot in this class and it will help me later in life

-Student expecting a B (Does not indicate level of interest in subject-writes "English 131" for course)
Course Weaknesses: wasnt hard 11th grade english
Instructor Weaknesses: your bad at keeping control of your class
Overall Comments: should have taught more on using (;) and (,) because most people cant use them properly.

-Student with "Some" interest in subject (Does not indicated expected grade for semester)
Course Strengths: we learned how to analyze stories & do good book reviews
Course Weaknesses: nobody actually taking the homework seriously

-Student expecting A (Does not indicate level of interest in subject)
Course Strengths: -group talk--this class made us all bounce ideas off each other.
                              -workshopping stories/Analyzing Everything
Course Weaknesses: we always seemed to be off doing our own thing (HW & stories & IRP [Independent Reading Projects]) than doing things as a class.
Instructor Strengths: Your passion for writing and reading inspired me. You taught us(me) to look at stories/writing in a different way. You knew your stuff! Also you treated us like adults; Not sugar coating everything as if we were little kids.
Overall Comments: The way you see English is unique, or maybe I have never been around that before. The way you take a (story/poem) what ever--And then over analyze it was flat out freaking awesome. In the past year of being your student I have gained so much. Not to be a kiss up, but you & your classes had the most impact on me and my life this year than in the past 2 years of High School. Your teaching methods are great but what got me was seeing that you loved what you were doing which made it enjoyable & interesting! Also your ability to talk for 80 minutes & make it sound like a planned speach, but its not! Also, Also, you gave a feel that you actually cared about what we/I was writing. The comments you left on Journals & papers...& stories were not short & simple. They showed that you actually took the time to read what I had to say & then make relative & some times funny comments. So basically, this class-(Not the students but the class course in general)-was the best I could have had this year. You most definitaly get teacher of the year. It makes me sad that you wont be teaching next year & for underclassmen to get to enjoy your class as I did. So in closing, just know that you made A HUGE impact on at least one student which is Normally every teachers goal...right? haha! But seriously thank you. You are a great teacher & you'll be missed.

-Student expecting A-/B+ with "Much" interest in subject
Course Weaknesses: NOT HAVING THE AMBITION TO READ & DO ASSIGNMENTS

-Student expecting A with "None" and "Some" interest in subject
Course Strengths: Writing was fun or helpful
Course Weaknesses: identifying parts of speech

-Student expecting B (Does not indicate level of interest in subject)
Course Strengths: grammar and writing skills, breakdown of stories
Course Weaknesses: boring*, uninteresting
Instructor Strengths: smart, knew the stuff, very knowledeable
Instructor Weaknesses: went on long rants

-Student who writes "11th" for expected grade with "Some" interest in subject
Course Strengths: got us all involved
Course Weaknesses: didnt learn too much about grammer stuff
Instructor Strengths: helped explain everything better

-Student who writes "11th" for expected grade with "Some" interest in subject
Course Strengths: grammar exercises, writing journals
Course Weaknesses: Reading
Instructor Strengths: Reading in class-stories
Instructor Weaknesses: patience
Overall Comments: I liked this class, it was fun.

-Student expecting B (Does not indicate level of interest in subject)
Course Strengths: learned how to write better, also understanding writing
Course Weaknesses: didn't become much better at writing
-Student expecting B with "Some" interest in subject
Course Strengths: This course got me ready for my ACT.
Course Weaknesses: This course was kinda boring*
Instructor Strengths: knew the information and was smart
Instructor Weaknesses: not great at explaining, got mad too easily.
Overall Comments: good course.

-Student expecting B+
Course Strengths: I learned a lot about writing and reading in this class. It helped me a lot with the ACT.
Course Weaknesses: I felt like we needed to work on grammar a little bit more, and sometimes the class is boring.*

*At a time in the Spring Semester, I really wanted to assign my English, Journalism, and Social Issues classes--the three classes that were required to write far more than the American History class--Wayne C. Booth's essay, "Boring From Within: The Art of the Freshman Essay." I thought better of it, imagining that the consequences of the subsequent reactions to reading--Mr. S called us boring and said our writing sucks--would overwhelm the possibility of the benefits of reading and understanding. Of course this all became moot in considering who would read the essay.

Battles of Attrition, Pyrrhic Victories & the Confusion of War: Student Evaluations After a First Year Attempt at Teaching Part I

The week before finals, I asked my students to complete an evaluation for my classes and instruction. In addition to asking students to rate the overall quality of the course and overall quality of the instructor, I asked students to rate the course in relevance to life outside the classroom, the benefit of assignments to learning, the course's level of interest and stimulation, as well as the students' expected grade at the end of the semester and the level of interest in the subject coming into the class.

I also provided space for written comments for assessing strengths and weaknesses of the course and instructor as well as overall comments and feedback. I promised students that I would not look at their anonymous evaluations until after school let out and final grades were posted...I also explained that this was the appropriate time and means of cursing and cussing me or singing my praise, if they felt so moved to either of the two extremes.

Here are some of the responses (as they appear on the evaluations--rather than include [sic] every time, you have my assurance that I will not make typographical errors), organized by class (I taught two classes of American History, one class of English 331, two classes of Journalism I/II, and one class of Social Issues in History):



American History

-Student expecting A with "Some" interest in subject
Course Strengths: I learned a lot and my questions were always answered
Course Weaknesses: The grading on test with all the decimals was weird. I didn't like receiving a 9.8 out of 10 on a test. Didn't make much sense to me

-Student expecting B with "None" interest in subject
Course Strengths: The [written] tests were good because we actually had to know what we were talking about & couldn't bs them like other classes
Course Weaknesses: Online prompts & journals were annoying & I always forgot to do them
Instructor Weaknesses: Took a long time to grade tests.

-Student expecting B with "Some" interest in subject
Course Strengths: I don't remember
Course Weaknesses: I don't remember half the class
Instructor Strengths: He knew a lot and had fun with the class
Instructor Weaknesses: you never gave A perfect 10 on a test I.D. Round it up, to a 10

-Student expecting A (does not indicate level of interest)
Course Strengths: The course covers how our nation came to be and what formed our country.
Course Weaknesses: It doesn't cover local history, it explains history that happened hundreds of miles away.

-Student expecting A- (does not indicate level of interest)
Instructor Strengths: Mr. S is really fucking smart. He isn't old and strict, although we have fun I believe we all respet him. He seem to be able to answer almost all Q's.

-Student expecting B (does not indicate level of interest)
Overall Comments: I thought you were very smart and knew the information and could answer any questions we had but we worked very slow and somethings were extremely boring. you gotta remember were required to take the class so you have to keep us interested which is hard to do with 17 year olds.

-Student expecting B+ with "Some" interest in subject
Overall Comments: A lot of times I think that you believe that we are really interested in this class, but you have to remember that we are 17 year-olds that are required to take the class.

-Student expecting C- with "Some" interest in subject
Instructor Weaknesses: Boring. No excitement, atitude stays the same all the time.
Overall Comments: I didn't like the class. to me history is a waist of time.

-Student expecting B with "Some" interest in subject
Course Strengths: Mr S knew what was going on
Course Weaknesses: The first semester was freaking stupid and I didn't need any of the stuff I learned. I need more 20th cent.
Instructor Strengths: you genuinely cared that we learned something. you tried to teach us in the best way
Instructor Weaknesses: you had to follow a cirriculum that didn't teach info we needed the second semester was getting closer to what we should learn
Overall Comments: good job Mr. S, bad job school

-Student expecting B+/A- (does not indicate level of interest)
Course Strengths: I will admit, this is the first history class that I have enjoyed. Things were taught in a way that seemed real and NOT as if they were just--History
Course Weaknesses: It's history, and it can be boring at times--sometimes I didn't understand certain Acts or Laws or ect just because I personally am not a history fan.
Instructor Strengths: Holy Cow! You know your stuff! You took information that I'd heard & made it NEW, refreshing, and enjoyable! You made it real & relatable. I can see your passion for history!
Instructor Weaknesses: Sometimes you seem to get flustered by students w/ their disrespect. Also, sometimes unclear of what you assign to us.
Overall Comments: I remember the very first class of the year--I thought it was going to Be boring when I walked in. When class was over, I had Never felt so bad & guilty before over something that Americans did years ago. You made history real! History was No longer "old stories" to me. They were life. You didn't make us memorize dates, peoples, places--you challenged us/me with the question WHY.

-Student expecting A (does not indicate level of interest)
Instructor Weaknesses: Shirts are too big. Could have used more worksheets for more people to have to read the book.

-Student expecting A (does not indicate level of interest and believes class is B1 [I taught A1/B2])
Course Strengths: We were pushed and made to study to do good on tests & improved a lot of our writing skills
Course Weaknesses: We didn't have a lot of assignments & we had to read outside of class which we didn't do

-Student expecting B+ (does not indicate level of interest and also believes class is B1)
Course Strengths: really had to study for tests
Course Weaknesses: we didn't really do a whole lot. We never really had homework. It was just to read which I never did.
Overall Comments: Bullshit--there's my cuss word.

-Student expecting C with "None" interest in subject
Overall Comments: good teacher, hard assignments which helped me learn more, enjoyed the class when I could stay awake

-Student expecting A with "Some" interest in subject
Overall Comments: class was good. I learned a great deal, but wish I learned more (20th century) I wish it had more structure and wasn't based a lot on writing. It's History, not English.

-Student expecting B (does not indicate level of interest)
Course Weaknesses: I thought that the weaknesses were the students

-Student expecting A with "Some" interest in subject
Course Strengths: Discussion--when the guys weren't acting like ignorant fucks
Course Weaknesses: The people in this class...

-Student expecting B (does not indicate level of interest)
Instructor Weaknesses: The homework was not always graded on time. He also went on rants and used many words to described us [difficult to decipher if this says "us" or "US" as in United States].