I started at the beginning of my teaching career, based on my belief that students need exposure to the world of language outside of instruction and assessment. I got the idea from Billy Collins, who implemented a “poem-a-day” program in various public schools that involved a reading of a poem a day, without any required instructional connection whatsoever. Mere exposure for the sake of it being something in our language.
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Category Archives: Education
Momentum builds in Richmond for SOL reforms
Momentum builds in Richmond for SOL reforms
Momentum builds in Richmond for SOL reforms
Let’s hope reform happens. The current SOL testing is counterintuitive to the goals of educating children to be rational, functional citizens. The practice is unsustainable.
John Green Quotes
Author and complete nerd John Green has some pretty sweet quotes. So I found some “posterizations” of a few of them, then made a couple of my own. And I just might put some up in my classroom. I’ve also included a few others for your enjoyment.
Tree Shaker: Nelson Mandela Biography Open Response for English Teachers
Nelson Mandela passed away on December 5 of this year. It was around this time of year a year ago that I read a biography of his, Tree Shaker, by Bill Keller. I read this book in order to create a sample assessment for students.
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Fatherly Advice: Solomon Style; Proverbs of Solomon: Modern Father Style
I’ve already begun to think of the advice I will dispense to my son one day:
“Brush your teeth.”
“A penny saved is just a penny, just put it in the penny tray at the fill-r-up”
“A foolish man sets his heart on a McRib; he does not consider the consequences.”
“You start dancin with a girl like that, you’ll be makin some babies.”
“When in doubt, cut the blue wire.
“Don’t touch that.”
“Invest in computer companies.”
“Never talk on your cell phone in a drive-thru”
“I never said that.”
“Look, kid, just stay away from gangs, drugs, and cyberporn on the internet, and you could be the President some day. Well, even if you do those things, apparently.”
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Whitman and Twain-quoted in color
Recently, famous photographs in black and white have been colorized using computer technology. Now some of our favorite historical figures can be seen in “true color” for the first time. In honor of that, I decided to create color posters of two of my favorite writers, quotes included. They now cover my desk, covering up the hole where a previous teacher or student must have kicked the desk in anger.
Twain
Whitman
Twain looks about like you’d expect him to. Whitman looks like a cross between Tom Bombadil and Santa Clause.
An Open Letter to the Plaquemines Parish School Board
Plaquemines Parish School Board
Instructional Office
1484 Woodland Hwy
Belle Chasse, LA 70037
To the Plaquemines Parish School Board:
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Walking the Breath: A Sophomore Greek Tale
[In 10th grade my English teacher, Mrs. Carter, asked us to write a Greek-style story after reading The Odyssey. I held on to mine. The “vicious man-eater Humphries” was named after my 8th grade principal. If my memory serves me correctly, my companions were named after two friends in my youth group. In real life they would have surely made it. It was a pagan tale roughly told in the Greek tradition, assuredly, but I snuck a little Christology in.]
How Students Can Use Weebly With The Canterbury Tales
How Students Can Use Weebly With The Canterbury Tales
When my students read The Canterbury Tales, I didn’t want to tediously read through all of the characters with them. They wouldn’t remember all of the characters that way, and it would only serve to make it less interesting to the average high school student. So I had a plan.
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Introducing the Crucible with A Satire Blues Song
How do you introduce The Crucible to students? How do you cover McCarthyism and satire in a mini-lesson? How do you treat students to some good music in the process? I came up with a way to sneak a Bob Dylan song in.
I used “The Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues” to demonstrate satire, cover the flaws of McCarthyism, and pair with The Crucible.
CALEB COY 