G23
Go To The Text.
That is the message of that day here at Topham's Attic. It applies not only in essays but in discussions as well, which is why in E3H and E2H right now we are stressing the idea of primary source support for in-class discussion as well as for the posts on the board.
Of course you may participate without primary source references, when you have ideas that further the discussion and the texts are not handy or the specific citation is not easy to find. But what we are trying to remember is that the text is the focus of the discussion and we should always go to the text when we can.
Another aspect of our current unit is the notion that, though we can always discuss--and should, when we do not understand--what is going on in a specific scene of a book or play, we also need to examine aspects of the bigger picture: How does the issue relate to Shakespearean tragedy? How does Holden's judgmental nature relate to his maturation? Is Shakespeare showing signs in these plays of misogyny...or feminism? Is Holden's constant falling important in understanding his inability to move on with his life? There are a million questions and no class could even begin to cover them all, but what we do cover we must cover in a scholarly fashion. And that begins with more focused conversation.
Multi-tasking: You are teenagers. My teenage daughters always tell me, when I complain about their trying to do two or three (or more) things simultaneously: "Oh, Mom, I'm a teenager. We multitask!" To have truly successful conversations, that is exactly what you must learn to do: multitask during them. You must listen, first and foremost, both to avoid the embarrassment of repeating what someone just said and to develop the topic in any kind of coherent way. But simultaneously you much be thinking about your book: where are the quotations within it that you might use to further this discussion? to support what is being said? to refute it? to shift its focus to something you have more to say about?
Of course, there is a third element of multi-tasking during discussions as well: note-taking. But that, I fear, is a problem for another day. One issue at a time. :-)
E3H: Good conversations today. Informal "scoresheet": P2 wins on breadth but P5 wins on depth. In P2 we had more people involved in the conversation, but the conversational topic (feminism in Shakespeare) dug deeper and became more scholarly in P5. A virtual tie. Post online tonight to get ready for more discussion tomorrow!
E2H: Much better today, guys! In your posts tonight, keep the discussion of the nuns and the ducks going, along with any elements connected to either of them either directly or thematically. Use the posts as a way to springboard into tomorrow's conversation!
Drama: Sorry I'm lecturing so much this week. We'll try to do some exercises tomorrow (or at least watfch a video or something to break up the monotony). Tonight: List seven (7) given circumstances (facts) that would be very important to know if someone were to play:
- you
- a person you dislike intensely
- a famous person you admire
j: forever
music: eternal flame--susanna hoffs
--kt
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