I know I'm going a little blog crazy today, but being the English major that I am, I have a lot to say. Plus, this is a great tool, along with Facebook, to distract me from getting my work done during finals week! Speaking of Facebook, I found another addicting site at www.goodreads.com. My English Education teacher at Wright State suggested this site to all of us in class, so I decided to start an account. On your profile, you list all the books you have read and rate them on a 1-5 star rating. You can even write your own reviews about the books. It contains book summaries and book reviews. Similar to Facebook, you have friends on this site and can comment on what they are reading. This could be a great tool for the English classroom. The teacher could require students to make their own profiles and post reviews on the books they have read.
Right now I am reading Jeannette Walls's memoir, The Glass Castle. I don't usually read a lot of memoirs and biographies, but this one really has me captivated. In the beginning of the book, Jeannette is looking out the window of her cab in the middle of a traffic jam, on her way to a party in New York City. She sees a homeless woman rooting through a dumpster and realizes it's her mother. Scared that her mother will recognize her and shout out to her, Jeannette tells the cab driver to turn around and take her home. The next chapter begins to tell the story of her childhood. Jeannette, along with her two sisters and brother were brought up by a drunken, inventive father and an eccentric, artistic mother. Time and time again, these parents uproot their children to avoid taking responsibility for their actions. At times, this family lives in cars, run-down shacks, cardboard boxes, and relatives' homes. Although the reader gets the sense that these parents really do love their children, their irresponsible and sometimes insensitive actions do not always show this. I'm about half way through the book right now and still cannot decide whether or not I understand Jeannette's parents. It's been a great read so far, and I recommend it to everyone!
Nice description of The Glass Castle. You make me interested in checking it out. That's exactly what a reading/English teacher should do, inspire others to want to read!
ReplyDeleteI'll keep checking in to see what other great suggestions you have. I also think it will be interesting to hear of your experiences with your student participations, or whatever they're called these days, and student teaching.
Have fun with your blog. :-)
Christi