#1) Lying by Sam Harris was published in November of 2013, and since then I've purchased four copies to share. It's actually not very well written, but it earns top billing on my list because the concept of living without any form of lying was key to my 2014 year. I could not stop talking about this slim, life-changing book. Read it. Then start watching how often you might be lying without consciously thinking about it. Living lie-free is challenging--and gloriously freeing.
#2) The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld was stunning. The story of death row is told through multiple characters: inmates, the fallen priest who serves in the prison, and the social worker whose investigations offer inmates their last chances to escape the death sentence. Denfeld accomplishes what I want in literature: she turns the pain of human experience into something beautiful. She is able to show the death-row inmates in their raw evil, yet still show us their humanity. Heart-rending and up-lifting: the ultimate combination.
#3) American Pastoral by Philip Roth - This wasn't a 2014 book, but it was one of the most engaging books I read all year. My neighbors growing up were the Evans family, parents of Linda Evans, Weatherman fugitive. I didn't understand what this meant as I delivered the Des Moines Register to their Ft. Dodge doorstop in the mornings. Philip Roth showed me.
#4) Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast. Oh my. If you are my age (54), you might be facing the aging-parents phase of your life. Chast is brilliant. Please share this with people with aging parents. Brutally honest and brutally funny.
#5) Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.: A Novel by Adelle Waldman - Books that made my list are ones that I found myself recommending or buying for other people. The 20-somethings in my life verified my sense that this hilarious and biting book is a dead-on reality dose.
#6) A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers - Written in 2001, the book finally made it to the top of my to-read pile. I understand some people have loved this book while others found it too crazy. Put me in the former category. I was enthralled with the way the stories spun out in roiling, manic voice.
#7) Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan - I chomp through a lot of YA books, but this one has lingered with me since I read it last spring. Just a dear book. I haven't felt compelled to foist it on a lot of my high-school readers (its protagonist is in junior high), but I've recommended it to my adult friends.
#8) Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes - Now this is a YA book that I've shared with several of my students--and with good results. I had some issues with the ending (one of the pleasures of being a reader is that you get to pass judgement on endings!), but overall I found it highly readable, honest, and funny.
#9) Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty - Oh this was fun! A mix of dead-on hilarious parenting commentary plus a murder (?) mystery and an examination of domestic abuse in wealthy households. One of those books I couldn't put down.
#10) All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy - Dipping back to 1993 for this one. I was on a kick this year to read some of the Pulitzers I'd missed and this was one I loved. It reminded me of Annie Proulx's "Brokeback Mountain" with is heartrending portrayal of doomed love. My Pulitzer chase also led me to The Goldfinch and Olive Kitteridge, both of which I found disappointing on several levels: the writing, the characterization, the predictability. I don't mean to end on that sour note; rather, I want to contrast those more recent Pulitzers to McCarthy's beautiful classic--a velvet look at human anguish.
What made YOUR top 10 list this year? I'd love to hear! Please share!
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Ask this question on every test:
What do you know/understand about __________ now that you didn't know/understand before our unit of study?
Last week I asked a variation of this question at the end of an assessment on my students' learning from our Journalism First-Amendment study. In a paragraph, explain how you understand an aspect of the first amendment better now than you did a week ago. Provide an example that shows your understanding.
Here are first three responses, which were fairly representative:
A week ago, I'm going to be honest, I didn't know anything about the First Amendment. I have learned so much, and I just answered every single question correctly on this quiz.
For one, I did not know that it was legal to burn a flag when in disagreeance with the government. I did not know that that was acceptable, but I do now.
A week ago, I also didn't know that a principal of a school can't say that something can't be published, like for eye of the needle because it's protected by this Bill of Rights.
I didn't know that teachers can actually teach about religions, they just can't lead a prayer in class. I did know this to some extent, but I didn't know all the rules that came along with Relgion in the First Amendment.
I also didn't know that so many things were actually protected by the First Amendment, I knew that most things were, but not as many as I do now. I didn't know you could say so many hurtful things and still count that as sticking within the First Amendment. However, even though you can mean things or bad things, this doesn't meant that consequences won't follow.
I learned more about the idea of religion in a school. When I was in Washington as a little kid, we said the Pledge of Allegiance every day, so I thought it was just a part of our daily lives. Then we stopped saying it, and I never knew why. Eventually I thought that religion was banned in schools, but now I know that it isn't banned, but it just cannot be promoted by school officials. Students can still follow their beliefs, but school officials and staff cannot promote it.
I didn't know or realize why we couldn't as a class do the things we can't do. Like praying, Pledge of Allegiance, or how the teachers can'r wear clothes supporting their religion or hang it up in their classroom. I don't feel that that is promoting the religion. I feel it's showing everyone you're proud of your religion. I understand why we can't force students to say the Pledge of Allegiance. People in our school district are different religions. I just found out today of a sophomore girl who is a religion who doesn't celebrate things. That reminded me of journalism due to not being able to do say the Pledge of Allegiance. My question is though, what if all of the students wish to say a gorup prayer? Don't sports teams before games send a prayer together to pray for a win and for everyone to be safe?
I loved how the third student revealed some misunderstanding that I needed to address and also boldly asked questions about subtleties in separation of church and state. I learned more about my students' understanding--and processing of their learning--from this one question that I did from the 19 other questions on the assessment.
The lesson? Don't forget to ask the students what they've learned.
Last week I asked a variation of this question at the end of an assessment on my students' learning from our Journalism First-Amendment study. In a paragraph, explain how you understand an aspect of the first amendment better now than you did a week ago. Provide an example that shows your understanding.
Here are first three responses, which were fairly representative:
A week ago, I'm going to be honest, I didn't know anything about the First Amendment. I have learned so much, and I just answered every single question correctly on this quiz.
For one, I did not know that it was legal to burn a flag when in disagreeance with the government. I did not know that that was acceptable, but I do now.
A week ago, I also didn't know that a principal of a school can't say that something can't be published, like for eye of the needle because it's protected by this Bill of Rights.
I didn't know that teachers can actually teach about religions, they just can't lead a prayer in class. I did know this to some extent, but I didn't know all the rules that came along with Relgion in the First Amendment.
I also didn't know that so many things were actually protected by the First Amendment, I knew that most things were, but not as many as I do now. I didn't know you could say so many hurtful things and still count that as sticking within the First Amendment. However, even though you can mean things or bad things, this doesn't meant that consequences won't follow.
I learned more about the idea of religion in a school. When I was in Washington as a little kid, we said the Pledge of Allegiance every day, so I thought it was just a part of our daily lives. Then we stopped saying it, and I never knew why. Eventually I thought that religion was banned in schools, but now I know that it isn't banned, but it just cannot be promoted by school officials. Students can still follow their beliefs, but school officials and staff cannot promote it.
I didn't know or realize why we couldn't as a class do the things we can't do. Like praying, Pledge of Allegiance, or how the teachers can'r wear clothes supporting their religion or hang it up in their classroom. I don't feel that that is promoting the religion. I feel it's showing everyone you're proud of your religion. I understand why we can't force students to say the Pledge of Allegiance. People in our school district are different religions. I just found out today of a sophomore girl who is a religion who doesn't celebrate things. That reminded me of journalism due to not being able to do say the Pledge of Allegiance. My question is though, what if all of the students wish to say a gorup prayer? Don't sports teams before games send a prayer together to pray for a win and for everyone to be safe?
I loved how the third student revealed some misunderstanding that I needed to address and also boldly asked questions about subtleties in separation of church and state. I learned more about my students' understanding--and processing of their learning--from this one question that I did from the 19 other questions on the assessment.
The lesson? Don't forget to ask the students what they've learned.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)