Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
A true story
The tears came quickly. Streams running down my face.
I tried to suck them back before;
Dad could see
"Are you crying?"
"No" wiping tears from my eyes
"Then what's that?"
"I hit
Myself
In the face
With
The steering wheel!"
I tried to suck them back before;
Dad could see
"Are you crying?"
"No" wiping tears from my eyes
"Then what's that?"
"I hit
Myself
In the face
With
The steering wheel!"
Friday, March 6, 2009
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Right...and poems HAVE to rhyme!
So I was listneing to the CBC's "Canada Reads". This is a contest where they take 5 works of Canadian literature and debate on which of the five all of Canada should read, with five famous and not so famous Canadians defending one of the titles. I was only half listening really, while I did the dishes. That is until the woman who was defending a book that had just been removed from the competition made one of the oddest comments I think I've ever heard. She said "I don't think literature should be enjoyable"........I'm sorry, what? Did I miss something? Are people at local bookstores telling their customer's "you need to read this book. It's tedious and long with no redeeming qualities to speak of!"
News flash: People don't read things they don't find enjoyable! People read "literature" for the challenge, to explore the human experience, learn, escape, understand and so on for as many different reasons as there are people, or books to be read. All of that comes under the heading of enjoyment. How can she expect the average Canadian to read this book while also telling them literature isn't enjoyable? What a sales pitch! Sign me up! I missed the trudgery of high school and now I think I'll spend my precious free time not enjoying a book! Just like the good ol' days!
It took me a long time to find my way into books and topics that kept me reading. It didn't come as easily to me as it did for my sisters. If my parents had taken the kind of attitude that I feel is prevalent at least on the surface of that statement, maybe I'd end up a functional illiterate like so many of the jocks I went to high school with. Maybe she didn't mean that exactly how it sounded. I don't know. I do know, however, if my kids have trouble reading, that is not a tactic I'll be taking to encourage them to carry on.
News flash: People don't read things they don't find enjoyable! People read "literature" for the challenge, to explore the human experience, learn, escape, understand and so on for as many different reasons as there are people, or books to be read. All of that comes under the heading of enjoyment. How can she expect the average Canadian to read this book while also telling them literature isn't enjoyable? What a sales pitch! Sign me up! I missed the trudgery of high school and now I think I'll spend my precious free time not enjoying a book! Just like the good ol' days!
It took me a long time to find my way into books and topics that kept me reading. It didn't come as easily to me as it did for my sisters. If my parents had taken the kind of attitude that I feel is prevalent at least on the surface of that statement, maybe I'd end up a functional illiterate like so many of the jocks I went to high school with. Maybe she didn't mean that exactly how it sounded. I don't know. I do know, however, if my kids have trouble reading, that is not a tactic I'll be taking to encourage them to carry on.
Monday, March 2, 2009
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