Light Blogging

2 Comments

1. Dana-

   I check daily for posts and must admit disappointment when there is no new post, but the anticipation makes the reading of new posts better! I, too, am usually sporadic with posting around high stress times–END OF THE YEAR!

2. Yes, Dana, I agree that it is extremely difficult to keep my mouth shut during a seminar with my Honors sophomores. On many occasions, either students miss the key point in responding to a question. Or their comments become repetitive, and they seemingly do not know to move on to another point. Or silence reigns in the group, sometimes due to more taklative kids not be prepared or saying anything relevant topush the discourse further along. I've tried seminars in which I give students a series of questions to prepare or have students prepare their own critical htinking questions. With 1984 next week, I will take your idea and offer only a single question. In a class of 25 students, I usually have an inner and outer circle. For this novel, groups might prepare and discuss something like: what's wrong with this society? Or how does language work to control people in Oceania? Or what aspects of 1984 foreshadow modern day America? Or what is Orwell conveying about power? Or how to sustain human dignity in a conformist society? Or what does this novel want us to talk about in 2007? My question for you would be: What have you found to be the best way to form groups? It's like a Rubiks Cube in some classes, mixing and matching talkers and more reticent students. Any suggestions would be helpful.

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