Today I revealed that I do not have a nephew named Dennis: I made him up in order to be sneaky and try and teach you how to write an literary essay. I am very bad for lying. Please, please forgive me.
Today we did our final Speak test. Most students did very well.
We also studied for our final exam which is on Tuesday morning.
Click HERE to see the KEY to the August 2007 exam.
I have enjoyed teaching this class this year. English 10, as I have said, is one of my favourite classes to teach (along with English 8 and 12 -- and German). When the end of my class approaches I always reflect back on what has transpired in my class. "Have I done well teaching the students? Did I have high enough standards? Was I able to manage behaviour? Was I able to inspire students to do better than they might otherwise have?" All these questions bounce around my melon.
However the one question that surfaces to the top, every time, is this: "Did I spend too much time trying to make the class enjoyable?" It's the constant balance that I struggle with for every course. The goofiness, the silly stories, laughing at myself (laughing at each other) . . . all that stuff -- I wonder if I spent too much time on that. I've been teaching for like 45 years so, if i wanted, I could have easily 'pushed' you guys to work harder, academically.
Come in, introduce class quickly, get down to work, vary activities, take in your work and then repeat the next day. THAT would have had you learning more, I think, but maybe not enjoying as much. So, it is a fine line that I always walk.
I'm proud of what you've learned as writers and readers. I can confidently say each of you is a much better writer -- especially when it comes to literary writing. Many of you were already good story writers, but most have also improved there too.
Next year, and if you enjoyed what we learned, you should consider enrolling in a course called Literature 12. Lit 12 is kind of like English on steroids. Also, if you are considering going to college or university, taking Lit 12 will be a HUGE help.
