Monday, October 18, 2010

What is your favorite book and Why?

I'm working hard to be a better teacher this year. I am pushing myself and surpassing last year. I feel good about what I'm doing and I know that I am pushing my students to excel.

I'm doing bellringers this year. If you don't understand a bellringer, here it is..., my students come into the class with a question posted on the board that they have just a few minutes to answer before we begin class activities.

My bellringer today was "What is your favorite book? Why? Who is the best character?"

I'm teaching high school kids. Should this be such a hard question?

I have a student on Friday say "Miss, what if you haven't ever read a book?" I have a sarcastic moment and say "And you admit this publicly?" and the child says "I don't care..." Mind you, this is a child who is NOT a senior and HAS already reproduced. I questioned her further and learned that she had read some Dr. Seuss back in the day and I told her she should apply that information to the bellringing question.

Today I have a girl ask the same question. I try to initiate a discussion and she tells me that books are boring. She thinks that TV is so much better.

I start seeing stars and my head is spinning and I believe that most TV is written for an 8th grade audience and I put the letter "L" (loser) sign up on my forehead and ask her if she truly wants to admit to being a Loser. She disagrees and says that TV is much more interesting than ANy book.... I ask her if she's seen Idiocracy and tell her that she better hope that some folks get smarter or she will be ABUSED when she's old. She rolls her eyes.

What is my favorite book? I have several.....I watched Fahrenheit 451 this weekend and if I got to pick WHO I could be in the stricture of that film....I would be Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and I would be Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead. As The Fountainhead is a VERY long book, I would refrain from taking on too many things. If I had to pick another it would be..... A Girl of the Limberlost.

Oh, I'm such a nerd, I care. DANG.