Relaxation

Although I enjoy the holidays, the older I get (which is not too old...yet) the more I find the holidays to be exhausting. There is the shopping, the cooking, the get togethers, the preparing for visits, the time management...I thought I was supposed to be on vacation.

Fortunately, the bulk of the all of the holiday hoopla is now over and I have finally found time to relax. One more week of vacation and I am going to enjoy every minute of it. I am well supplied with books, movies, even my new Nintendo DS (which I absolutely love!). I may not see the light of day for a bit but I am not too concerned about such things. Relaxation is my main goal.

I hope the rest of you are enjoying your time off. My guess is that you were not as bogged down with holiday hoopla (that will come later, if you are lucky) so the enjoyment level is high, as it should be.

Remember, don't do anything I wouldn't do...

Happy Holidays!

As you all embark on your most needed holiday break, remember to treat this time as it is supposed to be treated - a time of togetherness, giving, and love. Enjoy your break, catch up on your rest, and don't do anything I wouldn't do!

Now it is your turn...

During my last post I shared some poems that move me, now it is your turn to share a poem that you enjoy. Please post your choices, complete with explanations of why you enjoy the work as well as a link to the poem.

I am looking forward to reading some of your favorites!

Poetry

I often wish I had more time to study poetry in class. Poetry allows the brain and the heart to connect in a way that other literature does not always allow. Unfortunately, many students do not enjoy poetry because they find the art form to be difficult to understand and "useless" in their everyday lives.

In my attempt to promote appreciation for poetry I would love to share some of my favorite poems. Below is a list of the poems that I hold near and dear to my heart.

"The Stolen Child" by W.B. Yeats
"To Ireland in the Coming Times" by W.B. Yeats
"How Do I Love Thee?" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
"i carry your heart with me (i carry it in" by E.E. Cummings
"The Untold Want" by Walt Whitman
"Sick" by Shel Silverstein
"Forgetfulness" by Billy Collins
"Helen" by H.D.
"Greater Love" by Wilfred Owen
Sonnet 129 by William Shakespeare

Pavlov Anyone?

In class yesterday I had a flashback to my high school biology class unit on Pavlov and his dogs. I collected an assignment with an accompanying direction to NOT staple the work. My students were baffled. What are they to do without staples? I had students that literally asked what to do if they had more than one page. I also had students that I watched proceed to my desk to staple their papers anyway. It seemed that since stapling is what they have always done, it is what they should always do.

Normally a minor event such as this would simply entertain me and I would forget about it. But this particular day I found myself pondering just how many more things out there we are conditioned to do - usually without even thinking about it. When we see a line, we get in it. When the bell rings my students proceed to their next class. When the alarm goes off in the morning, we wake up. The list could go on and on.

I am not quite sure if being overtly conditioned is a bad thing. The rebel in me is only peeking her little head outside the hole so I guess I am more willing to accept this as a typical way of life. Although I can't help but wonder if we are all becoming mindless drones...

By the way...staples should be used less frequently anyways. The steel industry generates higher levels of stack emissions than waste incineration. There are new "stapleless" staples that do the same job.

The Winner!

The winner of the charity contest is the Touch a Heart Foundation. This group raises money for children in the South Florida area. So all donations will be directly help less fortunate children right in our own backyard.

I want to thank everyone who participated in this contest. All of your charity suggestions seemed fantastic and I would love to donate to each and every one - but alas, I am unable to. Hopefully each of you will take the time to give a donation to the charity that you recommended - even if it is just a couple of dollars! Every little bit helps.

I will be taking donations to the Touch a Heart Foundation all week during class. At the end of the week I will send off the combined donations from all classes in the name of "Mrs. Stoklosa's English Classes."

Thank you again!

Should I throw you a bone???

I am disappointed and dismayed by the measly amount of responses that I have received for the charity contest. Come on guys - get out there and learn about some great causes! I had a post last week that provides a website for a bunch of different charities - check it out.

I thought that perhaps I should take pity on those of you who have not posted yet. I have only posted once this week so that means you can only respond to one post. Should I throw you a bone and provide another post for responses...nawwwww...that would just be too easy!

A Contest!

An update on the contest...to answer some of your questions...all postings for the contest must be done here on my blog in the form on comments under the "contest" posting. I will authorize all comments as they come in. The class will vote on Friday, therefore all comments must be in by Thursday evening. Any real charity is okay. Remember, you must have a link to the the charity website in your post. Happy posting!

A Contest

In celebration of the holiday season, I am proposing a bit of a contest to my readers...

I would love to give a charitable donation in the name of my wonderful classes, but I am having trouble deciding on the charity. This is where you all come in - choose a charity, research it, and create a blog post that argues why readers should choose your charity (include a link to your charity in your blog post). As a class, we will read the arguments and vote on which charity will receive the donations. I will donate $1 for each argument offered (up to $50) and will ask for donations from the class to accompany my donation.

So, start arguing!