Lists

Most people come up with "to do" lists comprised of household tasks to take care of and errands to run. I am one of those weird people who turns everything into a list. My most recent list is a list of things to research/write about:

1. Work on fantasy story
2. Multi-Genre Medieval narrative
3. Nymphomania (I feel like this one needs explaining: I have a friend, who, at one point in time was very intrigued with prostitution in European countries. After hearing her talk about it, a lot, I thought it would be interested to look into it and see what it was like in the Victorian era. My interest also came from the fact that I have taken a Victorian literature class where we discussed prostitution and female repression. [Freud])
4. Art in Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse
5. The Lighthouse in Virginia Woolf's Too the Lighthouse
6. A lesson plan on Real Life Issues (cutting, bulimia, anorexia, etc.)
7. A lesson plan that includes video games (yes, video games)
8. Research on including video games in an English classroom (Thanks to Dr. Binns, video game scholar, I have a very long list of resources.)
8. Research on using television, movies, and graphic novels in an English classroom

This list should keep me busy for a while :-)

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

When you read this story, you begin by thinking "it's a ghost story." As the reader immerses him/herself into the story, he/she realizes that it is not just a ghost story. It is far more complex. The novella is full of ambiguities and leaves the reader wondering what the heck is going on. There are several conversations that are not clear, or full and several topics that are just left hanging there with no care as to whether or not the issue is resolved. Once you begin to really analyze the novella, in hopes to clarify a few things, you find yourself asking more and more questions. The book has two main arguments - are the ghosts real? or are the ghosts figments of the governess' imagination. Every piece of evidence that proves one also disproves the other, which is what makes this novella so fascinating. If you are one who cannot accept cliffhanger endings or needs closure, this is not a book for you; but if you enjoy the complex, the obscure, and the unknown, this is an excellent novella to read.

School Stuff: Watching T.V. in the English Classroom

To all parents out there - what would you do if your child came home from school and said "I have to watch T.V. for my homework" ?

I could see some parents saying "quit joking around and get your homework done." I could also see parents getting upset because their child is watching T.V. for homework instead of reading Shakespeare or The Great Gatsby.

Why not let students watch T.V. for homework? You can analyze T.V. in the same way that you analyze novels, poetry, and other literary forms. They already watch countless hours of T.V. daily, so why shouldn't we show them how to turn a brain numbing segment of their life into an exercise in critical thinking? The world of T.V. and other media forms could be so different for them.

I'm getting pretty excited about learning how to add media into the English classroom; currently I'm developing a lesson plan where the students will watch Gilligan's Island and compare it to Lord of the Flies. For homework they will watch a T.V. show, and fill out a worksheet that asks them to contemplate things like setting and what it accomplishes or doesn't accomplish for plot, stock characters, character development, and how the T.V. show they watched relates to any literature they have read for any English class.