In my giddiest daydream about how my teaching can affect students, I dream that they see writing as fun and not something they are incapable of. In addition to that, I dream that they find a book, an author, that they look forward to reading every day or every week. In that goosebump-induced dream, I don't even care if they only like to write erotic poetry or read about serial killers or research anarchy. The dream doesn't even include them putting down the Crackberry or logging off Facebook; it's just an addition to their lives. They read The Onion, perhaps, via Facebook and laugh. They read from a slang dictionary to their friends over lunch. It doesn't have to be boring, and it doesn't have to be appropriate. Language and books and writing spans too many genres and generations to limit what I want them to do, love, and learn.

Just writing that made my day start off ... on a lighter note.

Ode to my bug
who got me through the pre-blizzard last Thursday
Ode to my bug
who is a trooper through yet another winter, her tenth or eleventh
Ode to my bug
who since I started talking about getting an SUV, has turned over without a flinch
Ode to my bug
who has mostly cosmetic issues at this point in time
... the fog light cover crack, the pigeon-smashed side mirror, the side hole in the driver's seat, the plastic peeling inside
Ode to my bug
who gets snowhawks and pulls herself through small drifts
Ode to my bug
who will be mine forever.

Okay, so I don't know if I'll "go wild" the ways that wildness pops up in life, but I do plan to blog more this year personally, fashion-ally, and teacherly. And I plan to make up words. And read more books. And add more to my life in general, I guess. I didn't really make resolutions, but I do have a few goals bouncing around in my head. I don't think putting pressure on a person mid-vacation is a grand idea, anyhow. Plus, one can always add resolutions later, right? Right. These are my first recorded thoughts of this year. Hmmm...

1. take a poem I've written OR one that I love by, say, e.e.cummings.
2. place on a massive document. like Word = 2feet x 2feet sheet of paper.
3. send to Copy Center.
4. have them laminate it.
5. place on light yellow office wall & take down other goofy things, except for SATC poster and Einstein poster.
)

a scratch to the head
tornado of unkempt hair
emerges from the muggy life

a yawn of past molecules
escapes, recaptures momentum
and turns into a deep sigh

an anticipation of a workload
the new schedule of routine
students open and close to my words

far off is the end again
the sun shoves me to release and learn
I'll pick seconds to remember

So, I'm hitting a semi-writer's block (well, sort of), as I told Ashley in a response to her frantic email this morning. My 'block' is that I know I who/what I want to write about. My characters. Yet, how do I start? I have too many starts in mind... but I do have a main idea of what I want to accomplish. I will write from the p.o.v. of the character who encompasses a few women I've known in the past... then, the antagonist will be a woman who encompasses me to a point. They will have their conflicts, separate motives, and some resolution after some climax. Do they fight over a guy? Na. Do they go their separate ways, both thinking they were 'right'? Probably. No one wins, which is typical in life, right? Right.

I'm hoping to be able to really describe these two characters well. And the oddball situations (like talking to toliets to get them to flush, massive pigeons hitting cars after making eye contact with humans, preteens harassing adults... things I've witnessed.). Making them seem REAL and BELIEVABLE will be tough. And I've noticed that going from writing poetry to writing fiction was a weird transition; I'm trying to write fiction in a poetic manner. Whoopsie.

Write write write. Revise revise revise.

{p.s. Happy Valentine's Day!}

A possible problem: Do I want both characters to be lovable? Do I want the readers to like both of them? Perhaps I should just focus on the protagonist? Make the readers want to see karma 'get her back' for her motives? I'm unsure. I may have to just write and see where these two lead me...

An idea "stolen" from Ronda: Having students write memoirs (or letters, etc) from the perspective of another person... Paris Hilton, one of the people from the Beat Generation, their grandparents, etc... simply an interesting possibility. And I simply like the idea of placing a mini-Beat Generation module in my English 110 instead of the Poetry Unit (that, actually, could be combined).

A presenter just said that "all students know how to use technology." Not ALL the students at NDSCS (or any community/technical college, probably)... perhaps at the university, but then one is overlooking older-than-average students, etc.

These "What Works For Me" sections in the TETYC (Teaching English in the Two-Year College) are wonderful. I've only read two (from two editions), and, already, I have a handful of ideas to use! Even with my writing conferences coming up next week!

> Apostrophobia: This will be an extra Geeky Knowledge Lesson handout & activity.
> First Days: Instead of having the students introduce themselves and then I stumble through the syllabus, this idea combines those activities by having students get in groups right away and come up with 5 of their own questions (less talking for me!)
> Conference Tickets: "Leading up to the days we have conferences I make the requirement clear to my students: you must bring a completed conference ticket in order to meet with me. Failure to complete the ticket - a preprinted sheet of paper distributed in class - results in a cancelled conference."
> Student Excuses: Essentially, students have to write up a narrative about their excuse and the class has to be persuaded to let them make up missed work.
> Grammar Games: Yet another extra GKL using the Eight Parts of Speech (put so many words of each part on the board - the group with the most sentences made out of those words wins).
> Parody & Poetry: Students take a poem (or song) and create a parody of it, using, as closely as possible, the same form.

Feels like a Friday.
Looks like late fall.
Sounds like cold season.
Tastes like coffee.
Smells like teen spirit.

It was an okay morning until The Rolling Stones popped onto my radio. "I Can't Get No Satisfaction." Ah, yes. All it takes is some rock-n-roll. Pick up a hairbrush and sing along now.

computer labs
hum students' brains
into play

SO many things to do today; I feel a bit overwhelmed.

Continuing on with Poetry in English 110. I think I am going to just have a discussion on haiku, get them writing about the differences between their lyrics, their poem, and the haiku, and then... conduct some basic peer review of their Paper 3s (I think I might ditch the Speed Peer Review), and before they leave, I'll ask them to sign up for Writing Conferences (to take place F,M,W).

The English 105 class is finishing up their Project 3s (The Job Packet) by the end of class time; I may delete the Memo Exercises I had planned and just move right into Project 4 tomorrow... I haven't decided yet.

Last year, I tested out the 50 minute time slot (since at NDSU I taught T/R with 75 min periods), and now this year, I have crammed too much stuff into certain class periods. Sheesh. Need to balance it out!