I am writing this entry at the risk of my friend Jennifer telling me I sound like an old lady - again- but I just can't resist.
I enjoy a wide variety of music, from oldies to pop to rock to some hip-hop and rap. I have been known to bust out some old school rap for my students from time to time, given the right inspiration. In my repetoire: "Nothing but a G Thang" Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg; "Baby Got Back" Sir Mix-A-Lot; "Whoomp, There It Is" Tag Team, some classic Jay-Z. Today, I must say that the genre of music my students listen to has gone over the edge! It's just too darn much!
I have a student in class, D. I have him two periods in a row, for two different classes, journalism and creative writing. So today, D, who knows about my wide variety of musical tastes through my creative writing Song of the Week, asks if I want to listen to this song on his mp3. I say sure, and he holds his headphone up to my ear. Here are the lyrics to the chorus:
She be dancin' with no panties on,
She bow-legged,
She bow-legged.
Me: Who sings this song?
D: Haitian Fresh and Pleasure P (I can only guess what the P stands for)
I am confused. Is this supposed to be an attractive image? 'Cause it's not! Generally, adults who are bow-legged don't fall into the super-model category nor are they very rhythmic or graceful. That being the case, why would anyone want to see her dancing sans underwear?!!
Okay, so "Baby Got Back" is all about Sir Mix-A-Lot's admiration of bodacious booties, but the song has a sense of humor. This "No Panties" song (yes, that is the actual title - I looked it up) is an R & B song. The kind that uses the newly popular synthesized vocals, so synthesized that it is, in fact, hard to tell what is being sung. But it is serious! I didn't listen to the whole thing (and maybe I should have first before I began my rant) but it definitely wasn't a black Al Yankovic spoof.
There are a lot of new songs out there that I DO like, so I don't think I'm "old" because I think this song is ridiculous. This song just IS ridiculous!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
On Your Mark . . Get Set . . . Lactate!
This is a story I couldn't resist. One of my colleagues, C, told me this one in the English office this week. It was too good not to share, and I am posting it with her blessing.
C teaches a Speech class in the evenings for a group of students who are taking it as an independent study since they didn't have room in their schedules. During class C was telling her students about a time in the past when some women from La Leche League came to speak in one of her classes (I think it had something to do with living different lifestyles). She asked the students if they knew what La Leche League was. They had no idea.
C: Okay. Some of you speak Spanish. What does it sound like it might be?
Student 1: Well, leche means milk.
C: Right. So La Leche League is a group of women that breast feed.
Student 2: So, you mean, like, it's a competition?
Speech text: $50. . . Extra pay for teaching a class at night, $0. . . Hysterical student comments- PRICELESS!
C teaches a Speech class in the evenings for a group of students who are taking it as an independent study since they didn't have room in their schedules. During class C was telling her students about a time in the past when some women from La Leche League came to speak in one of her classes (I think it had something to do with living different lifestyles). She asked the students if they knew what La Leche League was. They had no idea.
C: Okay. Some of you speak Spanish. What does it sound like it might be?
Student 1: Well, leche means milk.
C: Right. So La Leche League is a group of women that breast feed.
Student 2: So, you mean, like, it's a competition?
Speech text: $50. . . Extra pay for teaching a class at night, $0. . . Hysterical student comments- PRICELESS!
Johann Sebastian Batch
Here's another story from my 10th hour Writer's Workshop class. It shows how out of touch our young people are today when it comes to cultural trivia.
So we're reading a poem, "Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes. The students read it once on their own. Then I ask them if there are any words they didn't know and we clarify. In terms of the language, this is pretty straightforward poem but I ask all the same.
Me: Are there any words you're not familiar with?
T: Yeah, what's batch?
Me: Batch?
T: Yeah.
Me: (Thinking "I don't remember reading that word in this poem and shouldn't a senior know
what batch means?") Where is that word? What line?
T: (He reads the line) Bessie, bop, Batch (In the poem, Hughes was referring to the types of records he likes to
receive as Christmas gifts).
Me: Oh, that's Bach. It's pronounced Baa -k. He's a composer. You've all
heard of Bach haven't you? (Blank stares) You know, like Mozart or Beethoven?
Class: Oh.
I left it at that. Hopefully they know what a composer is, or they'll think Bach was St. Bernard like the one in the Beethoven movie.
So we're reading a poem, "Theme for English B" by Langston Hughes. The students read it once on their own. Then I ask them if there are any words they didn't know and we clarify. In terms of the language, this is pretty straightforward poem but I ask all the same.
Me: Are there any words you're not familiar with?
T: Yeah, what's batch?
Me: Batch?
T: Yeah.
Me: (Thinking "I don't remember reading that word in this poem and shouldn't a senior know
what batch means?") Where is that word? What line?
T: (He reads the line) Bessie, bop, Batch (In the poem, Hughes was referring to the types of records he likes to
receive as Christmas gifts).
Me: Oh, that's Bach. It's pronounced Baa -k. He's a composer. You've all
heard of Bach haven't you? (Blank stares) You know, like Mozart or Beethoven?
Class: Oh.
I left it at that. Hopefully they know what a composer is, or they'll think Bach was St. Bernard like the one in the Beethoven movie.
A Lusty Lesson
This term I am teaching one section of Writer's Workshop at the end of the day. It's really a lot of fun and despite the one kid who sleeps every day, I have some really great kids in there. We listen to a "Song of the Week" every Friday and I am trying to make sure each song is a representation of a literary element, so we learn through entertainment (and writing). So far we heard "Hungry like the Wolf" (simile), "Hotel California" (imagery) and today, we heard two songs for irony, "Ironic" by Alanis Morrisette, which I think does not really explain irony at all, ironically, and "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" to show what irony really means.
Right now we are working on a poetry unit. The kids wrote "Personal Poetry", to start with, poems that require students to write about themselves within a given format. Those were all excellent. Next, we started reading some classic British and American poetry, beginning with "To his Coy Mistress." For those who haven't read this poem, it is about a young man, frustrated with his girlfriend not putting out, so he explains that "if we had both world enough and time" he could wait forever. Then he goes on to say that death is approaching and there's no lovin' when you're dead. The last stanza is all about the advantages of gettin' busy while you're still young.
Of course, this was written in the 1600's so the language is quite verbose. I have the students read it once on their own, then ask me about any words they didn't know. Then we it again together. After the second reading, they still didn't get it. Once I explained it a little, they really got into it. As I read line by line, I'd ask them, "How would you say this now?" Their suggestions were hysterical and one student said, "We should re-write the whole thing." I thought that was an excellent idea, so we did. It was hysterical. Here are some examples of some choice lines:
Original: Thou by the Indian Ganges' sideShouldst rubies find: I by the tideOf Humber would complain.
Ours: You could shop at the mall all day; and I would carry all your bags and complain.
Original: "Two hundred [years] to adore each breast"
Ours: "All the Simpsons re-runs to admire your chi-chis."
Original: For lady you deserve this state, Nor would I love at lower rate
Ours: Girl, you're worth putting on layaway.
Original: Now let us sport us while we may, And now, like amorous birds of prey,
Ours: Let's get busy, like two dogs in heat
Original: Thus, though we cannot make our sun Stand still, yet we will make him run.
Ours: So let's rock it till the wheels fall off.
You get the picture. It was a lot of fun, we had a lot of laughs and proved that lust is an important theme that withstands the test of time.
Right now we are working on a poetry unit. The kids wrote "Personal Poetry", to start with, poems that require students to write about themselves within a given format. Those were all excellent. Next, we started reading some classic British and American poetry, beginning with "To his Coy Mistress." For those who haven't read this poem, it is about a young man, frustrated with his girlfriend not putting out, so he explains that "if we had both world enough and time" he could wait forever. Then he goes on to say that death is approaching and there's no lovin' when you're dead. The last stanza is all about the advantages of gettin' busy while you're still young.
Of course, this was written in the 1600's so the language is quite verbose. I have the students read it once on their own, then ask me about any words they didn't know. Then we it again together. After the second reading, they still didn't get it. Once I explained it a little, they really got into it. As I read line by line, I'd ask them, "How would you say this now?" Their suggestions were hysterical and one student said, "We should re-write the whole thing." I thought that was an excellent idea, so we did. It was hysterical. Here are some examples of some choice lines:
Original: Thou by the Indian Ganges' sideShouldst rubies find: I by the tideOf Humber would complain.
Ours: You could shop at the mall all day; and I would carry all your bags and complain.
Original: "Two hundred [years] to adore each breast"
Ours: "All the Simpsons re-runs to admire your chi-chis."
Original: For lady you deserve this state, Nor would I love at lower rate
Ours: Girl, you're worth putting on layaway.
Original: Now let us sport us while we may, And now, like amorous birds of prey,
Ours: Let's get busy, like two dogs in heat
Original: Thus, though we cannot make our sun Stand still, yet we will make him run.
Ours: So let's rock it till the wheels fall off.
You get the picture. It was a lot of fun, we had a lot of laughs and proved that lust is an important theme that withstands the test of time.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
The Language of Childhood
Though my boys make me crazy with their wild and obnoxious behavior at times, they can be very sweet and do some cute things, too. One thing I absolutely love is the cute language they use while they are little. Here are some of my favorites.
When Mario was younger, breakfast was pronounced "bref-sticks." This was one of the few words he could not pronounce correctly. He had a pretty large vocabulary at a really young age and his pronunciation was right on. The only other issue he had, and still has, is pronouncing his "th"s as "f"s. Frankie does this, too. As in "I fink it's time for lunch." At 3:30, they'd say, "It's free-firty." Mario's teacher said this is normal, so I'm just waiting for this stage to pass.
Frankie has many cute mispronunciations. Here are some of my favorites:
cupcake = pupcake or puckcake
beat = beep; as in "My heart is beeping really fast."
am not = amn't; he created a brand new contraction all by himself
fast = speed; as in "I ran really speed."
rated = rated of; as in, "Mommy, what is this movie rated of?"
One of my faves, that I always correct, but love to hear him say incorrectly, is when he says, "Gimme _____" and I ask him to ask politely and he says, "Can I may please have________?"
These are just a few of the cute little childhood things I'll miss that I hope to remember when they are grown up so we can have a good laugh together.
When Mario was younger, breakfast was pronounced "bref-sticks." This was one of the few words he could not pronounce correctly. He had a pretty large vocabulary at a really young age and his pronunciation was right on. The only other issue he had, and still has, is pronouncing his "th"s as "f"s. Frankie does this, too. As in "I fink it's time for lunch." At 3:30, they'd say, "It's free-firty." Mario's teacher said this is normal, so I'm just waiting for this stage to pass.
Frankie has many cute mispronunciations. Here are some of my favorites:
cupcake = pupcake or puckcake
beat = beep; as in "My heart is beeping really fast."
am not = amn't; he created a brand new contraction all by himself
fast = speed; as in "I ran really speed."
rated = rated of; as in, "Mommy, what is this movie rated of?"
One of my faves, that I always correct, but love to hear him say incorrectly, is when he says, "Gimme _____" and I ask him to ask politely and he says, "Can I may please have________?"
These are just a few of the cute little childhood things I'll miss that I hope to remember when they are grown up so we can have a good laugh together.
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