Unprepared For Class

I am an English Teacher in Indianapolis.

[fishingboatproceeds]

Some people have asked to read the commencement address I delivered this morning to the 2013 graduates of Butler University. So here it is.

My own commencement speaker, who shall remain nameless, began with a lame joke about how these speeches only come in two varieties: Short and bad. This...

[fishingboatproceeds]

Celebrating International Tabletop Gaming Day.

[unpreparedforclass]

John Green advertising Huddles FroYo on 86th street, I wonder what the flavor was? Good taste, man.

[agent--natasha]

I am going to force myself to get back into poetry again this spring.

[thecrashcourse]

How and Why We Read: Crash Course English Literature #1

In which John Green kicks off the Crash Course Literature mini series with a reasonable set of questions. Why do we read? What’s the point of reading critically? John will argue that reading is about effectively communicating with other people. Unlike a direct communication though, the writer has to communicate with a stranger, through time and space, with only “dry dead words on a page.” So how’s that going to work? Find out with Crash Course Literature! Also, readers are empowered during the open letter, so that’s pretty cool.

[penmaron-deactivated20120904]

This book changed my life, all those years ago, and I’m only now beginning to see it. I don’t read it often, because it hurts - but when I do, I can only wonder about the power of the written word, and the fragility of human life. Every character, every story, every word is so beautiful and so raw and so real in its humanity that I can barely breathe. 

This book taught me what a story should be. 

[unpreparedforclass]

Harry Potter Wand Holder

My friends (read: 3 VERY SINGLE nerdy white girls) and I went to Harry Potter World in April and got wands. It has been sitting on my dresser ever since. 

I made these for one of my friends and I:

(Mine: The last sentence of the HP series)

(Made for a friend)

I simply coffee dyed pages from the HP book (google it) and decoupaged them onto a foam board (although I would suggest a thin board as the foam curled up). Then I took 1.99 standard hooks and screwed them in after I painted the words on it. 

Pretty simple. Cost: Under $10 for both!

[withacaralarmheart-deactivated2]

“The job of reading is not to understand the author’s intent. The job of reading is a way into seeing other people as we see ourselves and when we do that we can look out at the world and see a giant endless set of beautiful variations… of pizzas.” I LOVE JOHN GREEN. And the vlogbrothers youtube channel.  Why is it that all the male authors I fall in love with are either dead or married? sigh. 

[cookiesunnyside]

I know how to answer this question for people now.

[unpreparedforclass]

#bookthief

[365posters-blog]

[teachingliteracy]

365posters

[paintmewingssetmefree-blog]

[skyofamillionvoices]

I hate the idea that when it comes to books and learning, hard is often seen as the opposite of fun. It’s strange to me that we should be so quick to give up on a book or a math problem when we are so willing to grapple, for centuries if necessary, on a single level of angry birds. When I was a student, why was I so willing to work hard, much much too hard, to make people like me, and so unwilling to work hard to read great novels or comprehend the edgelessness of the universe?

John Green (via skyofamillionvoices)

[metatfios]

“The day of existentially-fraught free throws was coincidentally also my last day of dual leggedness” (Green 31).

Existentialism is a complex and involved philosophy, and it has been the focus of countless works of literature and art (especially in the 20th century). In brief,...

[unpreparedforclass]

He explains in one paragraph what I struggled with teaching my students in 2 weeks! ARG!!!! Why didn't you post this two weeks ago!!! 

[date-a-girl-who-reads]

Girls Who Read by Mark Grist — A Poem Reading

[notafox]

[date-a-girl-who-reads]

[heygirlteacher]