I'm always thinking about possible lessons I can use in the classroom these days, and today, for some reason, I was mulling over the idea of love songs and love poetry. After Sukkot, my juniors and seniors will be entering the Middle Ages, and we're going to spend a goodly amount of time on the Romantic ideal in relation to knights, their ladies, and the chivalric code.
I tend to blare my radio, windows down, singing off-key, on my way to pick Madeline up after school. I have a good 20 minutes in the car these days, so I get to listen to several songs. Today, one of the first songs I heard was "Promiscuous" by Nelly Furtado. Immediately after that, "You and Me," by Lifehouse, came on. I was struck by the irony of how similar and different these songs are at a glance. The former has a great beat and is perfect for dancing, working out, or making out; the latter, great for making out, but is closer to a ballad than Ms. Furtado's song. However, the underlying message is shocking similar: I like you, I am attracted to you and want to be with you. Each is effective in its own way, and each is useful, depending on how one is trying to woo a potential mate.
I KNOW I can use this in the classroom, though bringing in Furtado's version to play for the students *might* not be the best idea. I am, still, in search of the perfect love songs.
9.23.2008
9.11.2008
Why I Couldn't Put This Book Down
Recently, I was invited to become a part of a real book club. Ok, I invited myself, but that seems to be okay with these people. So anyway, I've always been a voracious reader but I've never belonged to a group who sits around and discusses books for fun. Books, wine, junk food. I am besotted.
This month, the book is "Twilight," by Stephenie Meyer. Not knowing much about the series but having a vague idea that it was written for teenaged girls, I turned my nose up slightly at the thought. I am, after all, in the middle of several other books, including Oliver Twist, a re-read of The Time Traveler's Wife, and whatever I happen to be reading in class with my students. Everything I've heard or read about this first book of the series has, heretofore, kept me at bay.
Well, the book club meets next Thursday night, and last night, I didn't have much school work to do, so I decided to go ahead and start reading. The book is 500 pages long, and I thought if I could just get a little bit into it, I'd be good. Whitney, a history teacher at MHAFYOS, warned me that I wouldn't be able to put the book down. Hmph. I sniffed as I began reading.
The first few chapters of this book are written exactly in the style of a teenaged girl. This, in my opinion, is NOT a compliment. There is a formula to the prose: noun, verb, adverb; noun, adjective, etc. I slogged through Bella's awkward reunion with her father, her first few days of school, her inane descriptions of each of her classes. Honey, I thought, I went to high school already. I don't need to relive it.
I already knew the premise of the story: girl meets boy, girl falls for boy, boy ends up being undead. Formulaic, boring. For an almost-thirty year old woman, I was really wondering how this novel ended up as a Book Club Pick.
Around page 100 or so of this tome, I began to notice the incredible tension that surrounds every exchange between Bella and Edward. Her other friends are not very well-developed (and alas, I have been told that they don't ever get more developed than that in the subsequent volumes); her relationship with her father seems to be on an even keel. The drama in each and every conversation: do they like each other? Does one hate the other? Why does Edward act the way he does upon Bella's arrival at the school? Why does he play with her mind? was getting tiring. But then, the explanations begin, and the conversations, though still fraught with high-school drama, are now rather intriguing.
I love, and I mean LOVE, the concept that seems to play out here: vampire with a conscience, a predator who hunts animals so he doesn't have to kill people. The reasons he gives Bella for needing and wanting to stay away from her, though they get repetitive and a bit tiresome, are also juxtaposed with the absolutely palpable tension and electricity in their exchanges, once they declare their feelings for one another.
And I think this is what is so completely disturbing and unnerving about this book for me: as an adult, reading the sexual and emotional tension between these two teenagers makes me itch. It physically makes me have to move around while reading the story, and because I am so visual, I have detailed scenes playing out in my head while I read.
The actual writing is terrible, but I love the concept. I began reading at around 9 and didn't stop reading until I'd finished the last page, at 2:30 in the morning. I NEVER, EVER do this. I don't know really how to put into words why I could not tear myself away from what I consider "junk food" in the literary world. This book should not win any awards. The author should be flogged for some of her prose. But her idea is just so alluring-- just like Edward Cullen's topaz eyes.
And for the record, I will NOT be seeing this movie. It makes me feel like a dirty old woman.
This month, the book is "Twilight," by Stephenie Meyer. Not knowing much about the series but having a vague idea that it was written for teenaged girls, I turned my nose up slightly at the thought. I am, after all, in the middle of several other books, including Oliver Twist, a re-read of The Time Traveler's Wife, and whatever I happen to be reading in class with my students. Everything I've heard or read about this first book of the series has, heretofore, kept me at bay.
Well, the book club meets next Thursday night, and last night, I didn't have much school work to do, so I decided to go ahead and start reading. The book is 500 pages long, and I thought if I could just get a little bit into it, I'd be good. Whitney, a history teacher at MHAFYOS, warned me that I wouldn't be able to put the book down. Hmph. I sniffed as I began reading.
The first few chapters of this book are written exactly in the style of a teenaged girl. This, in my opinion, is NOT a compliment. There is a formula to the prose: noun, verb, adverb; noun, adjective, etc. I slogged through Bella's awkward reunion with her father, her first few days of school, her inane descriptions of each of her classes. Honey, I thought, I went to high school already. I don't need to relive it.
I already knew the premise of the story: girl meets boy, girl falls for boy, boy ends up being undead. Formulaic, boring. For an almost-thirty year old woman, I was really wondering how this novel ended up as a Book Club Pick.
Around page 100 or so of this tome, I began to notice the incredible tension that surrounds every exchange between Bella and Edward. Her other friends are not very well-developed (and alas, I have been told that they don't ever get more developed than that in the subsequent volumes); her relationship with her father seems to be on an even keel. The drama in each and every conversation: do they like each other? Does one hate the other? Why does Edward act the way he does upon Bella's arrival at the school? Why does he play with her mind? was getting tiring. But then, the explanations begin, and the conversations, though still fraught with high-school drama, are now rather intriguing.
I love, and I mean LOVE, the concept that seems to play out here: vampire with a conscience, a predator who hunts animals so he doesn't have to kill people. The reasons he gives Bella for needing and wanting to stay away from her, though they get repetitive and a bit tiresome, are also juxtaposed with the absolutely palpable tension and electricity in their exchanges, once they declare their feelings for one another.
And I think this is what is so completely disturbing and unnerving about this book for me: as an adult, reading the sexual and emotional tension between these two teenagers makes me itch. It physically makes me have to move around while reading the story, and because I am so visual, I have detailed scenes playing out in my head while I read.
The actual writing is terrible, but I love the concept. I began reading at around 9 and didn't stop reading until I'd finished the last page, at 2:30 in the morning. I NEVER, EVER do this. I don't know really how to put into words why I could not tear myself away from what I consider "junk food" in the literary world. This book should not win any awards. The author should be flogged for some of her prose. But her idea is just so alluring-- just like Edward Cullen's topaz eyes.
And for the record, I will NOT be seeing this movie. It makes me feel like a dirty old woman.
9.08.2008
I Need You... to Help Me Feel Better
Ugh. Woke up this morning with the congested, achy head, sore throat, and stiffness in the neck that can only mean one thing: New School Year Funk. The ice-cold (blessedly) classroom, the new students with all their icky little germs, the fact that I can't work out as much as I'd like... these things all contribute to the generally crappy feeling that rolls around every fall semester when I'm exposed to a bunch of new people and germs.
I'm glad I've had my tonsils out (granted, that only happened summer '07), because otherwise I'd likely be out of school for a week with the funkiness. As it is, I'm hoping that I can keep it under control so I don't miss any school. We have several days off for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot (Jewish religious holidays, for the uninformed) and I need all the time with the kids I can get between now and then. Being sick would be BAD.
I'm appealing to my readers (all 2 of you) to bestow upon me your remedies for keeping the cooties at bay. I don't do flu shots but I'd be good for herbal, homeopathic or straight traditional medicine. Just help me. Quickly:)
I'm glad I've had my tonsils out (granted, that only happened summer '07), because otherwise I'd likely be out of school for a week with the funkiness. As it is, I'm hoping that I can keep it under control so I don't miss any school. We have several days off for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot (Jewish religious holidays, for the uninformed) and I need all the time with the kids I can get between now and then. Being sick would be BAD.
I'm appealing to my readers (all 2 of you) to bestow upon me your remedies for keeping the cooties at bay. I don't do flu shots but I'd be good for herbal, homeopathic or straight traditional medicine. Just help me. Quickly:)
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