Why I Use Julie Taymor's The Tempest in Class

Because it's visually incredible, for one! Take a look at the trailer:



I am perfectly well aware that many standards for 9th grade prescribe reading Romeo and Juliet when it comes to Shakespeare's work... but I just can't stand reading that anymore. It's been used in so many strange and twisted ways. This is what I want to show anyone who says that Romeo and Juliet is the most romantic love story they can think of:

Reading Rainbow is Coming Back!

Reading Rainbow was one of my favorite shows growing up. My folks encouraged my brother and I to watch all those public TV shows that got kids to indulge their curiosity and explore and, among all of them, Reading Rainbow was probably one of my favorite. Even though it took me a while to realize that LeVar Burton was also Geordi La Forge... Anyway, LeVar has put Reading Rainbow on Kickstarter, in order to bring it back for a new generation!



My geek is on overload right now, but nonetheless, I can be levelheaded enough to state that the idea LeVar is presenting is definitely one that I'm in support of.

But don't take my word for it; check it out in your local web browser.

8 Graphic Novels I Recommend to Everyone, Regardless of Age

I know how it goes. I say that I teach high school English and then I start talking about graphic novels and people start to ask why in the work I'm giving comic books to children. What I really ought to be doing is teaching the Classics. Blegh.

ONE, graphic novels and comic books are not the same thing. A comic book is, say, the long running Detective Comics of which you can find a new edition every week or every month. It's a series; the story comes out in installments. A graphic novel is one complete story in one binding (or, I guess, a finite number of bindings like Maus or Persepolis, which each have two parts). And, if you really want to get technical, these media are both distinct from trade paperbacks, which can take any number of comic books and republish them in one binding.

TWO, when the hell did you get an education degree or study any kind of pedagogy that didn't come from your favorite talking head, Ms. Armchair Commentator. Bugger off. What I know is that sometimes (most of the time) kids don't care about the Classics because you hand them a 700 page anthology and they go to sleep instantly. I'll admit that I cringe when I hear them ask "what, no pictures?" but graphic novels hit the best of both worlds and make all of us happy. Especially me. Graphic novels make me happy when I can pass them out to a class full of teenagers...

At any rate, I firmly believe that everyone, not just teenagers, should find a copy of these eight graphic novels. They're all authentic stories told in beautiful ways. But be aware, these ain't your daddy's comic books.

My Summer Reading List

So, despite the recommendations I gave in my last blog post, I have another reading list for myself this summer. It's not that I want to give the impression that I'm assigning you something, but to be fair, I've already read all those stories that I recommended. That doesn't mean I wouldn't want to discuss them with someone in an egregiously long comment thread, though.

Anyway, here are the books I'm reading this summer... listed in no particular order:

7 Books of Fiction You Need to Read

It's summertime! Time to kick back outside with a refreshing beverage and spend time between the cover of a book... or at least that's my idea of a good time. If you're looking for a good story to take you out of your time or world, look no further! Here are my top 7 picks for works of fiction (that I think you should read this summer).