I think that most teachers underestimate the power of humor. Just a couple of jokes here and there can turn a mind-numbing lecture into a lively discussion. Mr. Allen demonstrated the power of laughter with his sparknotes joke, which made the whole class crack up. That day was really stressful for me what with all the pruebas and noticias going on and having to worry about social studies and english tests the following Monday and Tuesday. Just that little bit of humor brightened my day a little bit and relieved some of the stress. I definitely think that teachers should be more willing to joke around with their students. Not only would that make class more enjoyable, but it would also make the students like the teacher more, which is always a good thing.
Not only would more humor be a positive thing in the classroom, but it would help to relieve anxiety in any situation. For example, a couple of years ago my dad turned 50 and had to go in for a prostate exam, which involves, among other things, the doctor sticking his finger up your butt. Needless to say, he wasn't thrilled about it and was a little nervous. When he got into the examining room, the doctor told him a joke (in the interest of keeping this post PG-rated, I probably shouldn't repeat it), which my dad said made him feel a lot more relaxed.
In conclusion, though it seems kind of silly, my Best of the Week wasn't an insightful King Lear insight or a really good comment pertaining to Artful Sentences. Rather, it was a brief moment of laughter, an occurrence that doesn't happen nearly enough during the school day.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Connection: King Lear and My Dad
Before you get the wrong idea about the connection I'm going to make, you should know that I'm not referring to my dad in real life. Rather, I am referring to the similarities between Lear and the character he's playing in a show that he's doing right now. The play is called "Drinking Alone" and it's about a dysfunctional family that's getting together for the first time in five years. It's mainly a comedy, but there are some very serious moments that made me think of King Lear.
In the play, my dad is the father, Ivan, who is estranged from his kids. When he comes to visit them, they kind of ignore him and, though his son Joe lets Ivan stay in his house, it is very grudgingly and he's not very nice to him. Throughout the play Ivan struggles as he realizes how much his kids hate him and, as the story progresses, the audience realizes that he has been largely misunderstood and that, while he is a jerk, he doesn't really deserve the harsh treatment he has gotten from his kids. This relates to King Lear because the audience/reader has mixed emotions about the character. On one hand, they were mean, unreasonable, and foolish toward the beginning of the story, so the scorn from their sons/daughters is not entirely undeserved. On the other hand, though, you really feel for them and hope that they are able to reconcile with their family. In "Drinking Alone", the reconciliation does eventually come at the end of the story. Somehow, I doubt it will be that neat and tidy in King Lear.
In the play, my dad is the father, Ivan, who is estranged from his kids. When he comes to visit them, they kind of ignore him and, though his son Joe lets Ivan stay in his house, it is very grudgingly and he's not very nice to him. Throughout the play Ivan struggles as he realizes how much his kids hate him and, as the story progresses, the audience realizes that he has been largely misunderstood and that, while he is a jerk, he doesn't really deserve the harsh treatment he has gotten from his kids. This relates to King Lear because the audience/reader has mixed emotions about the character. On one hand, they were mean, unreasonable, and foolish toward the beginning of the story, so the scorn from their sons/daughters is not entirely undeserved. On the other hand, though, you really feel for them and hope that they are able to reconcile with their family. In "Drinking Alone", the reconciliation does eventually come at the end of the story. Somehow, I doubt it will be that neat and tidy in King Lear.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
TED Presentations
When I found out that we were doing the TED project again this year, I had mixed feelings. On one hand, I thought that it was a cool idea last year when we did it, and enjoyed watching the TED videos. On the other hand, I knew that some significant changes would have to be made to motivate some of the juniors and seniors to actually work on the project.
When the project started, I was a little nervous because it seemed like only one or two people were working on the project. After the day that we got to meet with our group face-to-face (an important addition from last year), I felt like we were able to get everything figured out and figure out who was doing what. As time went on, I figured out that I had a really good group. No one was too domineering (like that girl in Margot's group) and no one completely slacked off (like a lot of other groups' juniors and seniors). Whereas last year I was having to nag people to work and sometimes just doing their parts for them, this year everyone worked together and did their fair share of the work. This was relaxing for me because I knew exactly how much work I had left to do and I didn't have to stress about possibly having to take on other people's tasks in addition to mine. Plus, the final product was better because more people contributed and instead of one or two people's ideas, we had eight people's ideas.
All in all, I think this year's TED project was way better than last year's. Though there were still some flaws that could be corrected if we were to do it again next year (i.e. certain teachers actually giving us less homework and not just adding "work on TED" to our regular work load), it was by and large a good project to do. I would definitely be open to doing it again next year.
When the project started, I was a little nervous because it seemed like only one or two people were working on the project. After the day that we got to meet with our group face-to-face (an important addition from last year), I felt like we were able to get everything figured out and figure out who was doing what. As time went on, I figured out that I had a really good group. No one was too domineering (like that girl in Margot's group) and no one completely slacked off (like a lot of other groups' juniors and seniors). Whereas last year I was having to nag people to work and sometimes just doing their parts for them, this year everyone worked together and did their fair share of the work. This was relaxing for me because I knew exactly how much work I had left to do and I didn't have to stress about possibly having to take on other people's tasks in addition to mine. Plus, the final product was better because more people contributed and instead of one or two people's ideas, we had eight people's ideas.
All in all, I think this year's TED project was way better than last year's. Though there were still some flaws that could be corrected if we were to do it again next year (i.e. certain teachers actually giving us less homework and not just adding "work on TED" to our regular work load), it was by and large a good project to do. I would definitely be open to doing it again next year.
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