National Poetry Month!

April is National Poetry Month, and in celebration of 30 days of verse, the American Academy of Poets has a variety of activities dedicated to the celebration of poems, poetry and poets.

I'm going to attempt a few celebrations of my own in the classroom and in the English wing of the school. Sadly, we'll be 10 days into the month by the time we return from break, so you'll have to start the celebration on your own :)

Here is a link to 30 ways to celebrate poetry throughout the month.
http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/94?utm_source=npm_newsletter_033111&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=npm&utm_term=30_ways

And for those of you on Twitter, 30 poets will be "tweeting" during each day of the month. Here is a link of the poets who will be participating.
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/22260

There's even a "Poem Flow" app for your iPhone!
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/21303

And mark your calendars....April 14 is Poem-In-Your-Pocket Day. I'll be printing poems to share if you don't have a favorite poem to keep in your pocket that day.

Happy spring break, happy reading!

MCC

1984 is here in 2011...

I was watching the news and they were talking about new traffic lights that had cameras mounted in them that could take pictures or live video of people commiting traffic violations. They also talked about special cameras in police cars that can scan your license plate and plug it into a database automatically and pull up any violations (any!) you might have on record. The newsman concluded with: "And remember folks, Big Brother is watching YOU!" and they faded out with an eye on the screen, roving about...is my TV a telescreen now too?!

Online Writing Lab

Click the title of this post for a link to the Online Writing Lab at Purdue University. This particular link shows you how to format short and long quotes from a novel or play. For the parenthetical citation for a play, see the back of the assignment rubric (green sheet).

We'll conference tomorrow in class. Be sure to bring your completed peer revision sheet and both copies of your rough draft (if you have more than one) I'd like to see the changes you have made following your peer revision session. Plus, if you have any questions about the themes, quotes, or format for the paper, we can discuss those during our conference tomorrow.

Happy writing!!

MCC

Out of Print Clothing

Check out this terrific website that sells literary T-shirts.
You may recognize a few of the titles. They are a bit
expensive, but that's the price you pay for witty fashion!
:-)

Two things.

FIRST. What I'd like to say first is that the mom is nuts for blaming the school for something like that. This girl is four! Not every preschool or kindergarten can teach a toddler Japanese, lady. I think a lot of parents expect WAY too much from their kids; this lady is exhibit A. I'm not a mom so I can't really know what goes through the mind of a mother, but one would think that while children are so young, the moms would let those four year olds be four year olds. Little kids are too dang cute to waste personalities! :)

SECOND. I CANNOT WAIT TO DISCUSS 1000 ACRES! This book has totally taken over my life. from reading what I was supposed to while I was gone (which I need help with questions by the way) it is all I can think about. My mind just keeps going back to the book! I absolutely love it :)

THIRD. I created a FB event for my graduation party! If anyone from this class didn't get an invitation by accident, YOU HAVE NOW BEEN OFFICIALLY INVITED. :)

A Thousand Pages?

Nope, just Acres.

If you have read up to page 250 (or are nearly there) you may disregard the next sentence.

For those of you that have not read that far, you need to make some serious progress this weekend.

Here's what the upcoming week holds:

We will be finishing King Lear on Wednesday and will begin discussing both works over Wednesday and Thursday's classes. The test over Lear will be Friday.

You are expected to have finished A Thousand Acres by Thursday, March 24. The reading logs are due on Friday before the test.

If there are questions, let me know.

Happy reading!

-MCC

Baby Einstein?

So that lady is not too bright.

Hey maybe she should sue the creators of Blues Clues because last night when she attempted to "skadoo" into her kid's picture she just ended up with a fat lip and a confused child. I mean were they physically strapping the children to tables and carving their brains out (that would be more than slightly creepy)? If they didn't then, honey, you've still got years to go before your child starts showing any signs of failure to get with the Ivy League league let alone acceptance into the schools. I wonder did she get into one of her prodigy schools? If not, she needs to sit down.

And whats happening to the kid? Did it find the cure for cancer while its mother was raping preschools of their money?

Ridiculous

This article, and the girl's mother, is absolutely crazy. First of all, who pays $19K a year to send their kid to PRESCHOOL? Rich people these days... But seriously, the girl is 4 years old and quite honestly should not have pressure on her to do well in school quite yet. It is preschool after all. I have never heard of any preschoolers working on test prep to get into an ELEMENTARY school. Seriously, I do not know how schools can test a child's intelligence at that young of an age anyway because they have had virtually no schooling other than what they learn at home. If the preschool was telling the mom that they could prepare her daughters for standardized tests, I do agree that was a scam. But honestly, when the school promised "age-appropriate curriculum" what did the mom think that was? Calculus and quantum physics? While learning shapes and colors may be a little basic for a four year old (I may be wrong, can't really remember what was "basic" when I was four :D ), it is preschool for crying out loud, where kids ARE dumped together regardless of their age (and ok what 2 year old goes to preschool?! Jeesh...) and where kids ARE taught basic knowledge so they have a good foundation for later on. The girl has her whole life to get into an Ivy League school, so this mother should realize that her daughter is just fine educationally and just drop the lawsuit (and the way-too-expensive school too...). I may not be a mom, but I do know this: the girl's mother should enjoy just spending time with her young child. That is really the most important thing to worry about when your child is four. She should steer her child to do well academically and can put her into a good school later on if she wants, but should also let her daughter have a choice. What if she doesn't want to go to an Ivy League school? Plain and simple, the daughter does not know what she wants at the age of four, so the mom needs to back off on the pressure she puts on her child and on the ridiculous lawsuit she is filing.

A little early for panic...

Ok, this lady is officially freaking out over something that is not that important. First off, her daughter is four and focusing on making friends, not eighteen and trying to apply to colleges. I understand how early education can be important, but too much pressure is being put on the child. Also, wait more than three weeks before yanking your child out of school and blaming them when you haven't even given them a chance. Perhaps the school hasn't been doing a good job teaching the children but with a pricetag of $19K per year for nursery school, I'm sure it's top notch. On a side note, some parents won't even pay that for their kids to go to college, let alone preschool!!! If you have that much money, you should be able to be appeased. I strongly dislike that people think that everything should be perfect in a not perfect world. Okay, I'm done ranting :)

Wow

Personally, I find this lady is a bit out of sorts. Her daughters only four. There's some essential things she still needs to learn obviously before she goes through a curriculum. Maybe she should have waited more than 3 weeks before she pulled her kid out. Or maybe it's just possible that her kid isn't ivy league material. Has she ever thought of that?! *annoyed fuming because people can spend that kind of money and just waste it*

Blame Schools

I don't believe that it's the school's fault. I agree with Chelsea that maybe the school was neglecting to teach the child certain things. However, it is also up to the parents to help teach their child too and make the child interested and excited about learning. It cannot be put up to the school entirely to put a thrill into learning because it should start at home with the child. Then it should continue with the good school.

Blame Schools?! What?!

I absolutely disagree with blaming schools for students not being prepared for college. Sure, there are some situations where schools neglect certain needs.

Other than that, though, I think parents should keep an eye on progress. It's easy to see early on if students are going to be ready, in my opinion. There are only so many things that schools can do. If a student refuses to learn or doesn't want to learn, there's a boundary that schools often can't break, no matter what.

Is School to Blame?

There's been a lot in the news lately about the teaching profession. Some feel that teachers are overpaid for their "part-time jobs" and that the perks teachers receive should be eliminated because workers in the private sector don't receive the same health, dental, and vision coverage. For those of you considering a career in education, this will be a topic of discussion in your classes in college next year.

You don't hear a lot about schools being blamed for not preparing students for the college; usually the blame is doled out on teachers. Click on the title of this post for an article about a mom in Manhattan suing the school her daughter attends because it's not doing an adequate job of preparing her for college.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. No, it's not related to King Lear or A Thousand Acres, but it's still discussion worthy. And while there is NEVER enough time in our daily class for discussion, it's always nice to get a little blog-chatter going.

Happy reading!

-MCC

Plagiarism and Politics

Click on the title of this post for an op-ed piece from the New York Times about politicians (and other grown-ups who should know better) and plagiarism. When adults do it, they don't just fail the assignment on the assignment. Check it out... 

Registering for the AP Exam

AP warriors-

A friendly reminder from your local AP English teacher that the registration fee for the Thursday, May 5 AP English Literature and Composition exam is due Wednesday, March 16th, to Ms. Cuthbert.

A check for $87 should be made payable to Lakeshore High School. Giving your check to Ms. Cuthbert automatically registers you for the exam. There are no additional forms you need to complete.

If you have questions about the day of the exam, please contact Melinda Grashius or Kim Klotz in the guidance office at Lakeshore High School at (269) 428-1579.

If you have questions or concerns about taking the exam and would like to discuss it with me further, please email me. You are not required to take the exam, but I certainly don't want anyone to feel that they shouldn't take it.


Click on the title of this post and you'll be directed to the link for AP credit policy search window. Type in the name of the prospective college or university you may be attending next fall (or transferring to later) and you will see what scores are accepted for credit on the AP Lit exam. Remember, there may be different scores for different AP exams.

It's the weekend. Hopefully you have some extra time to ask Mom or Dad for a check. Put it in an envelope, tuck it in your copy of King Lear or A Thousand Acres so you remember to bring it to school.

Happy reading!

-MCC

Autobiographical Statement

You'll be getting your autobiographical statements back from Wiz tomorrow. I have asked several of you to revise and re-submit your statement for Friday. There were some grammatical and diction problems that I brought to your attention for correction, and I want to see BOTH your rough draft (the one I corrected) and your revised final draft on Friday.

Some of you were NOT asked to re-submit for Friday, however, I found some kind of grammatical or diction issue in all of the statements I read. Please be sure to make the necessary corrections for your senior portfolio.

Once you have revised your statements, would you mind emailing a copy to me? I'm always looking for GOOD examples to show future senior English classes, and the ones I received this year were excellent!

Happy March!! Didn't I tell you this month would bring good things? The sun is shining, you didn't have to come to school today, it's Lena's birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LENA!), and all is right with the world!!

Stop by tomorrow afternoon if you have any questions. Don't forget - if you missed class on Monday, you need to see me tomorrow or Thursday to make up the Shakespeare video and notes.

Carry on, warriors.

-MCC