A quiet morning - Thursday 8/25

It's been a while since I posted. Sorry about that.

This semester is shaping up to be fairly interesting. I have several sections of my Honors Program seminars. I'll write more on those a little later on, once I have a better sense of how they are going. Right now, I'll just say that they are going well, and they have given me a few surprises.

My composition class (it's a Comp I section - the first semester of college writing) is relatively subdued. It is an afternoon class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so that may account for the quietness thus far. Then again, it may be that it is still a little early for them to start opening up in class. I have given them their first writing assignment. They will be writing a literacy narrative. Basically, that means they will be writing an account of an event that was significant in their development of communication skills. The significance doesn't have to be positive, and that may prove to be fairly revealing. The introductory writing assignment (to get a baseline feel for what skills they bring with them) has shown that there may be some interesting writing to read this semester - in amongst the fairly common freshman writing that I normally get.

My other class, and in many ways my favorite class, is a section of British Literature I. The earliest 1000 years of British Literature offer a wide variety of literature and historical, social, and religious contexts. Of course, I start with Beowulf. I love to see their eyes when they begin to understand that there is so much more to this work of literature than the selections they read and talked about in high school. You see, most of them (though not all of them) have been dealing with literature in what I call "book report" style. That is, they have been reading and talking about what the material says on the surface - that is, what "happens." When we take that further, and I show them how to analyze a work of literature, and to make an effort to understand the context of that work of literature, they start to either get lost or get excited. The "why" of things can be difficult to figure out. That's especially true when so many of our students have lost that little voice in the back of their minds that always asks "why." I call that the inner two-year old. I'm not sure why our education system stifles the natural urge to ask questions, but it does - regrettably, often to the point that students have forgotten how to ask questions and just accept everything a face value. What a sad commentary on who we are as a culture and a society.

Well, I'll post more when I get a chance. I suspect that I will be posting a little more often, especially with regard to the literature class. I may even post audio snippets from my class discussions from time to time.

New Beginnings - Monday 8/15

I know how cliché it sounds to say that "Today is the first day of the rest of my life." Still, it is true. Anyway, today is the first class day of fall semester 2011 here at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. That alway holds a sense of expectation. It's also one of the reasons that I love teaching. No matter how bad the previous semester may have been (and it actually wasn't all that terrible), each new semester begins with a new mix of students and a new set of circumstances and challenges to be encountered and overcome.

I've decided to approach this semester with a new outlook as well. Paraphrasing a line from an older movie, "What's always the same about every semester I teach? Me!" With that in mind, I decided that perhaps the sameness of the last few semesters isn't a result of the students and courses. Perhaps it IS me. As a result, I've decided to approach things differently, freshly, this semester.

Having come off a very enjoyable and successful summer, I am looking forward to exploring new ways to engage my classes in the material that I present this semester. I have a British Literature I class, an English Composition I class, two sections of the Freshman Honors seminar, and one section of directed study Sophomore Honors seminar.

I will periodically post my musings about my successes and the unsuccessful choices. Of course, there will be other things besides classes and readings to discuss as I go along - and I'll share those as well.    

Calm before the storm - Friday 8/12

Today marks the last work day that I won't be dealing with students for the next 3 1/2 months. Work today consists of finishing up syllabuses, updating my instructor web page, and basically getting ready for first class meetings next Monday and Tuesday.

Other issues in my crazy existence have been and will be keeping me busy.

I have just restored my internet access from home after having lost my laptop's hard drive to a virus. Now I have a new desk top computer with basic bells and whistles.

I am planning on auditioning for the local community theatre's fall production, so if I am cast, I will be busy with that for a couple of months.

I have a couple of writing projects on the horizon, but more about those as they get into the works.

I have started rehearsals with the local community choir, the Tifton Choral Society. We have some interesting music to work on - a requiem by Saint Saens and a choral work by Bach. Both pieces are challenging, but when we get them prepared, they should be quite beautiful.

On Sunday, the college is having its Freshman Convocation. It interferes with rehearsal for the choral society, but that is not the only objectionable issue with its timing. However, I won't say anything more about academic politics here. That would get me off on a tangent that I don't think I want to follow in this blog.

Anyway, I suspect there will be more frequent updates to this blog, though perhaps not daily, once classes begin next week. This has become an interesting outlet for my ideas about what I am doing, so I intend to keep up with it. I will also try to post pictures from time to time as well. They make the blog so much nicer to look at.

Back to work - Tuesday 8/2

I am back at work. It's not full time yet, but I did drop in to the office to get a few things taken care of. Hey, it's a way to keep from mowing the grass.

We were supposed to be wrapping up the filming this week on the movie project I am involved with. However, with the daily threat of rain and the fact that our filming is outdoors for most of the remaining scenes, all added to the fact that this is a film about people dealing with a drought, and you'll see why the rain in the forecast isn't a good thing - for this project, that is. It's a great thing for the area, and especially the farmers, since we have been actually going through a drought!

Now that my travel to England is done, my postings will probably be few and far between. Then again, perhaps not too far between. I still have a lot of musings that may find their way in here. In addition, I am sure that I will be including things about the movie once the final scene schedule is announced.

So, if you are interested, you can still join me in the library (the background picture is of Sir Walter Scot's personal library at his home in Abbotsford, Scotland) for a review of what is happening. Who knows, I may have some more travel related postings in the future.