The Literate Teacher's Manifesto

Days 6-7 of this 30 day poetry challenge have run together for me. I started writing this piece yesterday, inspired by the moment in the morning when I arrive at school and enter the classroom, but it wasn't until today's prompt of writing about a superpower lit the spark of inspiration that this piece really came together. It's not really about a superhero, or even a superpower, just a woefully underfunded teacher facing a powerful foe. Once More Into the Breach So it begins, daily. Early morning light slanting across the ground illuminates yesterday's shrapnel, the detritus of our daily struggle. Across camp, weary officers stand on line at the canteen, armed with copies, checklists, and coffee. Back on the field, I inspect my armory and munitions. My weapons aren't the newest. Most of them, I bought myself. The Department insists we should "eliminate waste," fight more conservatively, ration our meager supplies. I don't think t...

I underwent a revelation in my teaching about four years ago, when I read a grammar text called The Magic Lens  by Michael Clay Thompson.  (That's right, I read grammar textbooks in my free time.  I'm that  nerdy.)  I never struggled with grammar.  It just made sense to me.  However, teaching grammar was another matter. It was an impossible task.  Insurmountable.  Completely unmanageable.  So, I never taught it.  First, it was hard.  Second, it wasn't tested.  Third, the kids didn't like it.  Looking back on this decision now, I realize that it was only the first reason that truly drove my resolution.  Testing has never really driven my personal teaching philosophy, and I've never hesitated to make my students do things they objected to.  But, this was my personal comfort level we were talking about!  I have a profound burden now for all of those students who missed out on grammar instruction, but I mus...

Today has been a frustrating day.  (Sorry, I realize this post is not strictly literature related, but it does apply.)   Yesterday my Social Studies classes began a close reading of the Declaration of Independence.  Just the first paragraph.  Really, just the most famous sentence in the first paragraph.  ("We hold these truths to be self-evident...") My intro to this has always been pretty effective, you know, that this is possibly the most important sentence in American history... that this sentence sums up the foundations of our government... that the idea that all people owned these rights was truly revolutionary , and in many ways still is! *insert crickets chirping here* Me:  Well, okay.  Let's look at the text here.  What rights did the authors believe all people have? *chirp chirp* Me:  Look at the text!  What rights are all people given by God? Random student: Uhhhhhh, the right to separate from the British? Me:  No! ...

1. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje 2. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell 3. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee 4. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo 5. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 6. Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton 7. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll 8. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott 9. The Life of Johnson by Boswell 10. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak What's your top ten list?