Stone Soup by Jan Eliot for February 01, 2011

Keep it up, Holly, and it won’t be Grandma who dies first.

I despair for this girl.

NABOQUDURIUZHUR—–I’ve been reading some of your comments recently and you are apparently quite intelligent. Just wondering about your age….and M or F………care to share? You seem to be a good looking Tabby Cat……………

@Kreole I think Nabby might have been around when people worshiped cats

Huh? What’s that? Some still do? you’re kidding, No, you’re not kidding. Well better than worshiping an imaginary friend, I guess.

Yes, her password is “yourenextholly”

I am inclined to agree with Nabuquduriuzhur, if a kid has to read a book, and then write a book report, that is the last thing thier going to want to do.

I like “The Hobbit”, every semester in my four years of high school some english class was reading this book, but mine. I wonder how I would have felt about it if I had been forced to read it. (I think I would still have liked it.)

Instead I got teachers who liked Hemingway, Driser (sp) and I remember a book about a guy who was working on a dam in China. (that one I kinda like)

I’m a sci-fi kinda guy, doubt you’ll find that in high school.

Peace and Long Life \\//_

With a girl like Holly in the house, the only secure password would be a combination of a retina scanner and a thumbprint scanner.

Now, things are good enough to have a copy of Jane Eyre on iPad, Kindle, Nook, or eReader.

From one member of POEM (Professional Organization of English Majors) to another: hang in tough, Granny!

I personally like one teacher in high school. We would have roughly 2 chapters a week and a CLASS discussion on them…if you didn’t read it but paid attention in class you were ok, for those that read it we just did a bit better on the tests. Of course this teacher put the final on the board for us to copy.

school is like real life. you don’t always do stuff you like. you have to sweat it a bit, Holly!

mplsstreetrwy: I’m wasn’t an Emglish major, and I agree with you. Teaching students to think won’t kill their love for literature; but if you don’t like reading, homework won’t help you learn to enjoy a good book.

Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside a dog, it’s too dark to read.

Ok, I guess I’m reading a few chapters to find out whose side I’m on.

Doing something that isn’t your choice of activity is necessary. Reading a book that isn’t your first–or even last–choice can introduce you to something really good: that’s how I first read To Kill a Mockingbird. It can also introduce you to something pretty ghastly: Sound and the Fury in high school, and George Meredith’s Egoist for my English major in college. (For those not familiar with Meredith, I read the book because they didn’t make Cliff’s Notes for it. Only time I tried to use them. And Meredith was a writer who prided himself on doing twenty pages a day, no matter what–even ih he was violently sea sick on a Channel crossing. Tells you something about his writing style!)

I hated math and science in school, does that mean I shouldn’t have been forced to do endless equations that did nothing to foster a love of math or science? No. Suck it up and read the book.

Signed,

Another Member of POEM

I was totally into sci-fi and fantasy in my HS days (graduated in 55) but I had already read all of Poe, HG Wells and some others that I don’t remember. I also liked Huxley and Orwell. It’s only now that I’m appreciating Chaucer. The copy I bought was marked up by one of those HS kids who must have been assigned to read the more popular pieces, but it was affordable and is supposed to be as complete as possible.

My kids had to read and do book reports. Assigned a list. My daughter didn’t care for some of the titles listed but read anyway. I’m also not an English major. Taking on-line course involving English. Getting a better understanding. For student’s in private or public school. Once you finish reading assignment. Choose what you want to read.

Now Holly why do you need grandma’s password to get Internet? Just choose friend. Even if there is a block, Internet will allow for child friendly books.

These last few days have been terrific!

J.Joyce is a different plain! Thank goodness. And at least not J. Austin! Dear Gran, take your password with you! Leave your hard drive for a sledge hammer!

Pass her a copy of Paradise Lost to gnaw on in her spare time?

I remember “The Red Headed League” and “The Murders In The Rue Morgue”in H.S. . I then went on to all the S.H. stories and all of Poe.

Note; The above was cica 1953 in Catholic H.S.

You’ll have to do it the old fashioned way, Holly – go to a book store and BUY the cheat sheets!

aircraft-engineer you can lock anyone off your computer? Don’t you have one were a visitor can get on?

joyce, saki ,niven, hemingway, wodehouse yes austen, auden, morrison and walker not so much guess which ones i was assigned

Reach For the Sky, the biography of WWII flying ace Douglas Bader, was the most boring book I had read up to that time (grade 8). But only for the first two chapters. I had to force myself to read that far, but then I was entranced, and couldn’t put it down.

For Chaucer fans, there are hip-hop versions of the first lines of Canterbury Tales on youtube. There’s one that’s very good. You’ll find it if you want to.

So, English class should include only books the students like? Should math class abandon algebra if no one likes it? Should U.S. History include only those parts that students like?

English class should be filled with beautiful, interesting, & well-written texts. Reading such texts increases one’s mental acuity, broadens one’s knowledge of our own & other cultures and of people, and sharpens one’s taste for beauty.

After high school, you can read anything that you want or, like most Americans, nothing at all.

Why would Holly just admit to cheating?!