Decisions

On the advice of a current Graduate student, I have decided to forgo the learnin' of po-etry, for now. I figure I can find plenty of books and books on tape about the subject to learn myself it.

Blogs here, blogs there, blogs everywhere

I've decided to blog here and for a class blog here, too.

Enjoy

To Blog or not to blog

If I have to keep this blog for school or career, then, yes, I will blog.

Canterbury has lost its shine

Oh, how disappointed I was! However, I don't know the correct placement of that disappointment - should it be on the Old English (OE) Modern English (ME*) mixture that I read; or should it be on myself for idealizing the Canterbury Tales (or Chaucer himself)? I do not know. Perhaps I will decide by the end of this writing/post.

I read part of the General Prologue (insert number of lines here). I knew I did not need to read the entire Prologue in order to get information about my tale of focus, the Wife of Bath. I did, however, read the entire (quite long) Wife Prologue and her tale. Tiring, these readings were. This is why I think the OE/ME mixture interfered with my enjoyment of the reading and created the disappointment (perhaps I am using the incorrect word...I shall see).

I will also admit to using Spark Notes. With the back and forth from OE to ME to footnotes to just notes..I lost a lot of the story idea. After reading SN, I think I missed much more than I realized.

The General Prologue

I wonder if Chaucer picked 29 travelers for a reason, or was it just a number he pulled out of the air. If he had lived long enough to finish all 29 stories, we'd have quite the book to read! I also wonder why he chose to write the stories of people in the order he did - that is, the book gives us 7 stories; why did he write these first, especially if he intended to write other tales to intermingle with these 7?

Spring is the time when all comes anew. Spring cleaning is a very old tradition - sweep away all the bad vibes that have collected while the house has been closed to the winter weather. Spring flowers and awakening of trees are likened to new or young love - we feel free-er and wish to enjoy time outside in the fields. Taking a pilgrimage at this time seems apropos.

As Chaucer becomes one of the people in the pilgrimage and recites the tales from memory, he becomes the unreliable narrator. Not that he lies or embellishes; but we know that by including himself with the travelers, he is influenced by the people on a 24/7 basis which leads him to prejudice of the people and the tales. However, he does give each person near equal time and place to tell their stories, even though they come from different social classes. Perhaps a kind of equality based on the fact that one person is no better than another.

The Wife of Bath

The humor of this story was lost on me the first time I read it (again, the back and forth). So, after reading SN, the second reading was quite fun, but also sad. I can see the feminist aspect - the Wife has not held back her wants, needs, desires, or truth. Yet, this is written from a man's point of view and, if we are to believe one of the interpretations, she uses cunning and deceit to get what she wants - which gives women a bad reputation.

But, let's consider for a minute that she felt she had to be cunning and deceitful to assert herself and get what she wanted. Considering there were so few choices for women in the 14th century - not only how they live their lives (with or without a husband) but how to survive in a male-dominated world. Her use of King Arthur's wife as the decider in the tale is the Wife's way of asserting the premise that women DO rule the world, if by cunning and deceit, so be it. After all, men will not listen (usually) directly to women - we (as women) must trick men's minds. That is, we convince our husbands that, it was not our (wife's) idea to put up shutters, but the man's idea; after all, what know we of shutters?


*I realize that ME usually stands for Middle English. Because I am not referring to Middle English in this writing, I am taking liberties and using ME as shorthand for Modern English.

Sir Gwaing, Finally

I had to force myself to stop reading "Sir Gwain & The Green Knight" after Part 1. Why? Well, as fun as it is to read, I knew I had much more reading to do. I'll go back to Sir Gwain to find out how he (or if?) defeats the Green Knight. I'm also hoping the story will tell me why the Knight is green. (note to B - I don't know if it has any reference to the Green Man...would be cool, thought).

Alliteration - one of my most favorite ways to write. Sir Gwain is full of alliteration! This style adds to the bounce and enjoyment of the piece. It also makes the writing memorable and recall particularly easy; "Bold boys bred there, in broils delighting" is easier to remember than "Courageous men grew up there", wouldn't you say? As well, the alliteration and tempo of the piece make it easy to become engrossed in the action. It becomes more than just a Fairy Tale - the piece comes to life, you are in the action, you become Sir Gwain (or the Knight). Fascinating work!

As I was reading the stanzas, and came to the "bob & wheel" I found myself almost stopping and reading those lines as slow and dramatic .... I suppose ending of one section, melting to the beginning of the next. I'm having difficulty explaining this. Perhaps it is the Shakespearean drama reviving itself in my head. The alliterative and expository stanzas which tell the story are "cut" with dramatic pauses to (1) transition to the next part of the narrative; or (2) reiterate the main idea in the previous stanza; or (3) offer more perspective on the story as a whole.

Enough studious stuff...Some words and phrases I found interesting:

Line 44: "For the feast was in force full fifteen days," Why fifteen? Fourteen is alliterative, too - is it because of the 'rule of 3'?

Line 53: "comeliest king" I am hoping that at the time, to be a comely king was a compliment, and not as the word is used now - to be plain.

Lines 115 thru 129: I had the impression of a Dinner and a Show (humour)

Line 297: "twelvemonth and a day" In many Pagan (quite a bit in Wiccan & Druid) religions, schooling of the religion is said to take (require) a year and a day. I don't know if there is any relation here; it would be interesting to find out.

These are my thoughts and insights on Sir Gwain. Next up, Wife of Bath from Canterbury Tales!

Cheers!

Sir Gwain...Almost

After 2 weeks of the flu, and now almost myself again, I figured I'd post to let you all know that I haven't forgotten my school work!

I read Part 1 of Sir Gwain & the Green Knight.
I've now moved onto the Prologue to Canterbury Tales.
I plan to move to The Bath Wife Tale tomorrow.

Yes, I will write about all of these marvelous things in due time.

Patience.

This has nothing to do with School - or does it?

Coming up...The Canterbury Tales - well one of them, anyway.

Until then, I found this fascinating. Not the facts - I always suspected the conclusion, I just wasn't smart enough to figure out how to prove it. I'm so very happy someone has figured out how to prove it!

By the way LabSpaces is a very interesting site.

Beowulf - new words

One reason I love to read British Literature is (are?) the new words I learn. If I ever have the time, I want to learn either Old or Middle English so I can learn even more. Until then, this is what I've learned from Beowulf.

• mead-benches - A seat or bench at a Germanic feast; from Old English medusetl. So, this is interesting. It reminds me (us) that the British Isles were just as much of a melting pot and the US was in the early 1900's. The use of a German(ic) word to describe where 14th Century English warriors sat.
• march-stepper - This is a description of Grendel; boundary-land walker, a walker in outlands or desolate places. I had the vision of Grendel walking as Germans did in the films from marches for Hitler. Perhaps, then, when Australians are on walk-abouts they, too, are march-steppers?
• the giver of rings - The lord of a won battle. As I read, I kept having visions of either a dream or something I had seen on television - men who won a joust were given large rings over their joust-posts by either the king, queen, or maiden princess. After doing some further research I find that this makes sense. I'm still wondering why it is the King - or whomever - would give rings of gold or other precious metal and not something more useful, such as better chain mail or better swords.
• suffer much of weal and woe - This one was a bit confusing; it is an antonym to itself. Woe is sorrowfulness so, it would follow that weal would be a raised mark on the skin produced by a blow; from Old English walu, meaning ridge. However, it also has the definition of prosperity or wellbeing. Knowing the definition of woe, I know it is the former which is correct here. But, it is one of those curious words from "way back" that makes me ponder why "we" selected only certain OE and ME words to use and only certain definitions.
• fen - bog
• gannet's bath - Considering the gannett is a large sea bird and a large body of water may be considered a bath, I'm suppose this is a large body of water over which a gannett flies. Nothing exciting there, either.
• geurdon - To reward. I would think that a better definition would be a reward for hand-to-hand combat fighting (such as guerilla). What I found most intriguing was this: Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin widerdnum, alteration (influenced by Latin dnum, gift) of Old High German widarln : widar, back, against; see wi- in Indo-European roots + ln, reward; see lau- in Indo-European roots. Wow!
• battle-targes - eh, battle shield. Deserves a more impressive definition.

Final Words on Beowulf

There are many more ideas and concepts I have learned from reading Beowulf; there are also more questions about why this was told/written and what its influence was on people of the 13th, 14th, and perhaps even up to 19th centuries. To write of them all, I'd have my own book the breadth of Beowulf.

Beowulf - Confusing spots

Reading Beowulf I realized that this poem was written in flashback form; generally a style I find interesting as it gives me time to draw conclusions, based on the evidence, to what may have occurred, only to find out the 'reality' of what happened. However, the use of the author's flashbacks was confusing; there were no clear transitions stating "OK, now my I will tell you about something that happened previously, so please don't think this is any reflection on what is happening now." Instead, a character would break into rhetoric and, through use of deduction on the part of the reader, you have to figure out if he is talking about the present or past. Yes, sometimes it was blatant, "We accomplished that heroic deed" spoke Beowulf - you know that is in the past tense referring to his battle with Grendel. Other times, we aren't so lucky.

Throughout the piece, I waited for the explanation of when the author no longer spoke of Beowulf I and moved onto Beowulf II. I could not find that transition. I have re-read many parts of the piece looking for such a break, but, cannot find it. Would anyone be kind enough to share their knowledge with me?

In Chapter XIII, I became confused on who actually killed Grendel. Was it Beowulf's sword that did the deed, or did his men perpetrate the final blow? Perhaps this is part of the myth in the epic - a leader's men do go to battle with him and all join to overtake the foe. What matters most is that Beowulf was the one who started the charge at Grendel, continued to fight, and took congratulations for having such a wealth of good men.

In Chapter XXXII, the author speaks of "he" but I cannot find a reference to the person - is it Beowulf, is it one of his men, is it the person who found the Dragon's treasure and in doing so made him angry? I understand the need for this chapter/passage, as it directly addresses the Dragon's lair, treasure, and fury. And, perhaps it doesn't matter to the story who the "he" is. However, is it not possible that the "he" could have been a foe of Beowulf II, out to do him in by picking a fight with the Dragon? That would add to the story, even make the Dragon incident make better sense. It seems odd to me that the author would be thinking, "Well, Beowulf needs something to do. I'll find some random guy who decides to steal gold from a Dragon. The Dragon gets angry and attacks the place Beowulf just happens to be staying. Which gives Beowulf a chance to fight a great and evil thing." There just has to be more to it than that!

I have not researched this next idea, but, I will.

The last sentence in Chapter XXXIX leads me to believe that this epic is an explanation of some tragedy which befell people in (their) recent history. As with the Creation Myth, this sentence "explains" why there are so many 'tribes' throughout the world who do not speak one another's languages, "Every man of the people shall wander". Further, it explains an invasion (Roman? Norman?) which (shall) took place because of their "inglorious act." Or perhaps I'm reading too much into this.

Next post - new words and ideas.

Beowulf

I had first read a bit of Beowulf when I was in high school. A boy was trying to impress me by telling me he could read the "original English" that Beowulf was written (in). I was so naive at the time, I believed him. I didn't understand a word he read to me - except Beowulf - but was intrigued by "old" writings that I picked up an English Literature book in the library and began to read. I found it not to my liking. The passages were long, written in poem "form" but did not rhyme. And it seemed to take f-o-r-e-v-e-r for the writer to get his point across. I put it down and decided to wait until I was more "experienced" before I read it again.

As a Sophomore in College, I picked up a slight paperback of Beowulf. This one was much different than the first reading; it was written in story form in modern English. After a few pages, I was bored. With the use of modern English and modern terms, it didn't seem right to read. I put it down, again.

Now, I've read Beowulf again - in story form, and paragraphs first, then the "poem" form. Reading this epic I am sad I did not grasp its importance 30 years ago.

I will admit to being a bit apprehensive to reading another "epic poem". The Illiad and the Odyssey were difficult reading (I believe it is because it was a rushed read and the fun in the stories was overshadowed by the professor's picking apart each line for discussion..but, I digress). So, epics were not something I was not sure I would enjoy again and I thought would be difficult to wade through. I was pleased to read Beowulf - and look forward to more epics.

More about why I liked it, what I learned, and what I questioned in further posts.

Re-Emerging

Long time no write, eh? Well, I've decided to make some use of this blog. Don't know that anyone will read it, but, that doesn't matter either.

I'm considering blogging for my Brit Lit 1 class. Why? Well, I have to write at least 15 pages of "stuff" for the class, based on what I read. I've got lots of ideas on how to write about what I read, but not really sure how to get it all out. Thought maybe here, I could work on that.

If any one reads, please comment!

Peace

Bits

1. Do all teachers and students get some sort of cold or flu or intestinal illness within the first 4 weeks of classes? I didn't realize I'd have to take stock in Thera-Flu and Airborne!
2. What is the best way to teach when you are ill? Do you give worksheets and say, "Quiet"; or are you active to keep your mind off your illness?
3. Perhaps I will do R&J. Otherwise, I have no idea which way to turn. Is it possible to over-do something?
4. Sleep, perchance, to dream...
   

To Midsummer or 12 Orange Hamunaptras?

The title is a complete inside joke that only one - maybe 2 - reader(s) will get. On with it...

I have to pick a play. To be more precise, I have to pick one of the 9 plays we are reading in Teaching Shakespeare. Considering I'm still not "getting" his plays (I think it is the word choice of his) .. the assignment is to create a 10-1 hour lesson plan, er, lesson based on one of the plays, using the teaching suggestions from our text.

I do apologize, I'm coming down with a cold and I'm wore-out.

I thought if I picked a comedy, I'd enjoy the assignment more. However, I'm missing the humour in Midsummer and 12th Night. I don't want to pick R&J because, well, everyone does. But, I could use it in some ultra-inventive way that no one has thought of...

Ideas????

So much time, so little to do

Several points to make today:

1. Apparently, I'm some sort of "celebrity". I will have to look into this and let you know what I find out.
2. I have found with my classes this semester professors expect we students to have a full repetroire of literature and vocabulary not previously "required" in other classes. For example, Prof. M of "Shakespeare for Teachers" inquired in our last class as to the poetic form used by Shakespeare in one of his plays. If i had not just read someting in the Keats book (on loan from Dali Peabody), I would not have known 'iambic pentameter'. Needless to say, Prof. M was dissillusioned by the fact that most of us had no inkling as to what '-bic' or '-meter' for other parts of this play. My question is: Is Prof. M's expectation something to get ragged about?
3. I had hoped my Linguistics class was going to be geared more towards the English language, not language in general. However, with the retirement of an English professor (whose love of Chaucer would be a delight to experience) our 'only' alternative is the 'basic' linguistics class. I haven't quite decided if I like it or not. My question is: Do you have to like a class that is a basis for your profession for you to be successful in the profession? How many doctors really like slicing up cadavers *chills*.
4. Lit Crit is fun only because of the great Prof. RW. She is an absolute delight! I wish it would be possible to know her in a social way; she would be a hoot at parties!
5. My only Education course this year is Developmental Reading in the Middle School - or as I call it Dev Red. No book - less reading! Apparently Prof. S is THE professor in the Ed dept. Unfortunately, this is his last "on campus" semester. I do like his approach and the lessons we have had to this point. Odd thing: he said Pedagogy is an important base for his class, but he does not have kind words about the "current" state of Ped at the University. So, he must teach us some Ped along the way. My question is: If teaching students did not get a good base of Ped, how will that gap be filled? If it is not, will we fail as teachers?

My new part-time job is currently taking up too much of my time. My blog, my hobbies, my Spiritualness, and my family are suffering. Once I get a better routine, I hope to blog more. I also hope that, somewhere out there, someone is reading this and will be willing to "discuss" what I've brought up.

Thank you & Goodnight

Read..oh, and Read...btw, Write, too

First week of classes and I'm excited! Well, as excited as I can be with a part-time job that is about 8 hours more than "part", tiredness, and that bothersome migraine thingy...

I love being in school! I love to learn and I love to anthropolizes (yes, I made up yet another word :) people and instructors and classes. Just look at the lovely bevy of learning potential I have this semester:

• Teaching Shakespeare or Read a play a week and get a sheepskin!
• Linguistics or How come I speak English this like?
• Literary Criticism or What some dead guys thought about other dead guys stuff.
• Developmental Reading for the Middle School or Are you sure you want to teach hormones how to behave?

Not much happened so far this week. I'll give you the breakdown this week-end.

Ta-ta

Books, Books and more Books

Wow. Each semester I am amazed at the cost of books. One of my required texts was $75.00 - and it was less than 100 pages! I suppose the authors, publishers, shippers, and sellers need to make money. And for well written, later-to-use-as-reference text books, that is just fine.

Classes for me start in one week. I'll start pre-reading tonight. My daughter thinks I'm crazy(er) for doing so. I tell her that if I can do any type of pre-reading or research for my classes, it makes me a better student (well, better to state, it gives me a sense of being a better student). Unfortunately the "I like to go to school and be a student" trait did not pass on to her. I'm hoping that once she begins high school (in 2 weeks!) her love for learning will emerge.

Having books to reference while teaching will be a gianormous help. Though, I don't know how students in 2011 will react when I pull out my copy of Poe, printed in 1972!

I'm Ready for my Close-up, Mr. DeMille

Hello to my one reader! I'm looking forward to coming back at the end of this month!

To get a jump on things:

1. I had to go from 15 to 12 credits this semester. Why? I had to find a part-time job which meant sacrificing either 1 or 3 classes - I chose just one.
2. I won't know if I'll have another book crisis like I did this summer for another few weeks. It is difficult to perform assignments when the bookstore doesn't have your book until 2 weeks into the course!
3. I've changed my look (a bit) and my attitude (another bit). I don't know what it will translate into on this blog!

See you in a few weeks!

June?

So, where did Spring go? It went to my 5 papers and 2 group projects! Which made all the late snowfall not so bad. really.....

I have a summer class - self directed study - and hope that will give me an excuse to make more posts.

A propos

Wherever she went, including here, it was against her better judgment. Dorothy Parker

In preparation for my stint at teaching, I have signed up with Kelly Educational Staffing to perform substitute paraprofessional work. I have done my time as a food service worker, lunchroom supervisor, playground supervisor too. However, I prefer to work with the kids - one on one or just helping in the classroom. Today, I worked in a "remedial room" at an Elementary school. Most kids were there for only 15 to 20 minutes at a time to work on their weaker skills. All the kids were great; most were polite; few wouldn't say much; 2 of them claimed me as their new best buddy!

As fulfilling as it was, I am so glad I will not be certified to teach in the lower grades. The mental and physical energy it takes with the kids - not to mention learning how to talk, act, and react around little ones - I am amazed of the people who take on the challenge.!

Teachers writing with Students

Remember this post about teachers taking an active part in their student's learning? After some research and emails - and patience - I got a response!

Greetings,
Your email made its way to me. I was the lead researcher on this project and I'm glad you found it useful. The full citation and report information is listed below. I also wrote another small case study from these data.
Please let me know if I can help further.
Singer, N.R. & Scollay, D. (2006). Increasing student achievement in writing through teacher inquiry: An evaluation of professional development impact. University of California, Berkeley, National Writing Project, Berkeley, CA.
Nancy Robb Singer, Ph.D. Assistant Professor English Education UM-St. Louis

OK, I feel special! Here is my take on the report:

First, I want to say that, IMO, teachers need to do more than just be proctors in a school setting. Interacting with students does not just mean asking questions and relaying information. If a teacher expects students to perform an activity, teachers should perform the activity as well. Of course, writing full-blown research papers may not be feasible; but, teachers should have something in their "bag of tricks" to prove, yes, they have done this type of work and even notes on their experience while doing the work.

There is a lot of good base information in this study. That is, what the experiment entailed, how it was done, who was in charge, what standards they were using, a rubric and other assessment information, as well as detailed findings. This would be a good piece of resource for teachers - whether English/LA or Math/Statistics. Oh, not to forget the training for the teachers and school administrators agreeing to participate in the study!

This one line should be a wake-up call to School Boards, Parents, Governors, Educators - both K-12 and College - on a positive way to help students become achievers: "for every one of the
measured attributes of writing and in every site, the improvement of students taught by NWP
participating teachers exceeded that of students in classes whose teachers were not participants."

My last point: support for the reflective practitioner. My father told me that he would not send me to college to become a teacher because "anyone" can do that and it wasn't a "real profession". Yet, we have to live up to standards and codes and behaviour guidelines just as those in the legal or medical profession. And, we must continually hone and modify our lessons and approaches, as each student is different and the same student can be different from day to day! We must think about and consider the outcome of each and every class and lesson - plan and unit - we teach. If we do not at the very least, take responsibility for what we are trusted to do - i.e. educate children - we are no longer professionals nor do we deserve the respect. I have known my share of "professionals" and very few of them have taken the time to think about (reflect on) how they could have made better or what they can use from a successful "meeting".

Teaching, Educating, Teachers, Educators...we are continually under-respected, under-valued and under-paid. Perhaps if more people knew about this study - and it was presented in layman's terms - our value could rise.

Sorry for the editorial. Back to the article.

I think that for anyone currently in the profession or enrolled in classes to become an educator, this is a great study to read and take to heart!