School's Out

Just a couple more sentences and some responses to this year's English 11E Year End Survey. As always, my comments are in (   ).

- Owning a gun comes with great responsibility because people can get hurt or seriously hurt from guns. (They're not deadly though, right?)
- The Red Badge of Courage and "In Another Country" are similar in many parts and different in others. (Insightful.)
...the emotions a soldier may indoor.
- Every novel and work of literature has a theme, some more than others. (I like books with more theme.)
- Each of these interpretations offers a new look and incite upon the play Hamlet.
- ...women are to be daunted upon.

What was your favorite work we read this year and why?
- Huck Finn, it's the only one I read completely. (Thanks for being in our advanced class.)

What was your least favorite work and why?
- Ethan From because you read a huge chapter and one thing happened.

What did you like the least about this class?
- I plead the 5th.

Did your teacher give you enough feedback on papers / tests / journals, etc?
- Yeah you helped me when I asked for it Mr. Chaffee. (Hey, he did ask for it.)
- Yeah, I mean he ripped them apart but explained how he ripped them apart. (Apparently "Yeah" is the new "Yes.")

Do you believe you improved as a writer this year? Explain.
- yes because... never mind. I don't know.

"Bonus:" Is there anything else you'd like to say on any topic whatsoever?
- parties rock (But not capital letters?)
- I like Bonuses!
- Peacocks are beautiful.

I only had ten students in 11E this year. Next year looks to be about the same. Three years ago I had twenty-one... Oh, well; Happy Summer.

J

Bigger Batch

It's the end of the year, but I will save you all the "end-of-the-year" rant. All my seniors have senior-itis, state tests are coming, blah blah blah... As always, these are from student work and my comments are in ( ).

- Georgiana was a woman of thirty who was not the most attractive woman before she got married. (And after? She became a fox!)

- Losing her beliefs of normal in her life really didn't settle well. (Existential nausea.)

- Through "The Unknown Citizen" the author portrays the use of imagery.

- The speaker is minding his own businesses. (He owns several, I guess.)

- In boys lacrosse a player is alloyed to hit another player with his stick.

- When you examine the lyrics of songs they give meaning and some feelings. 

- When it comes to opportunity people can learn from it when come to an education. (Sounds logical.)

- Guys are easier to please as well as not being very picky. (From the Department of Redundancy Department.)

- Every security guard has specific tasks; theft, substance abuse, employee theft, and white collar crimes. (That can't be right.)

- Wrestling can be easy if not difficult to some people.

- ...the images provoke emotion and meaning into the reader.

- Carving enables you to slow down as you gown a hill.

- A couple weeks after my injury I became depressed and just mopped around for months. (Floors must have been clean.)

- There are two men in... arm to arm combat.

- War is not all it's cracked out to be.

- Ever sense today's technology...

- The use of satire explains the love the characters felt for each other and how all there lies played a part in the situations. (This was the thesis...)

- Love is a feeling that can be felt by many throughout their life and is greatly published seriously, and with a comical side such as this book.

- (The poor) are too busy worrying about how to make end's meat. (Yes, but have you ever had really good end's meat? Succulent.)

Should be at least one more post before summer, or at least what we call summer here in New York, which starts about three months after everyone else is out of school. I leave you with this: a student who was in the In-School Suspension room (where I spend one period a day) asked about the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, "Is Scout a girl?" So, you didn't read that one. In an ironic twist he was completing a project on the website "fakebook," which allows students to create fake social media sites for literary characters. Oh technology, oh humanity.

J