hills

I registered for the 5K yesterday. The lady behind the counter at the Y explained that the course was basically one hill after the other. Then she laughed manically.

Save me.

13 Replies to “hills”

  1. Putting one toe in the water

    While I am not sure if this is the correct means of communication, I am going to try this avenue. I was trying to find a way to allow my ninth grade students to communicate with you as they are reading your novel in class this semester. Is this idea possible? Is this the correct place for them to try? Any answers or suggestions would be appreciated. We have been reading your novel in my classes for the past six years, and I want to try something new with my students. Communicating with you would be a fantastic experience for them!

    Thanks,

    Teacher in Need

  2. That made me laugh out loud.

    If you saw me in the gym today, you would know where several scenes in that book comes from.

  3. classics vs contemporary

    I finished the audio book Prom yesterday. Could not determine if I liked it, or loved it. Could I actually play the audio book in class with the language/sexual content without being fired? Had to think about it. I teach American Lit (11th grade) and was looking for another contemporary work to teach between the “classics.” I introduced Speak last semester, and the students were mad at me because we did not spend enough time on it. THEY LOVED IT.
    I was trying to create lesson plans for Prom while I sat in my car waiting for my son, a rising freshman, to finish football practice. As I listened to “The Author Talks” interview with you, LHA, I overheard a conversation between a teenager and her mother in the car beside me. Our windows were down, it was dark, and they spoke as if no one else was around. The girl wanted a confidential relationship with her mom regarding her sex life. She was having trouble with her birth control patch, and her boyfriend…….blah blah blah .. and wanted her mom’s support. All mom kept saying was MF this, F You that, SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP. The mom was upset that she had not been told last spring when the events occurred. Basically, her feelings were hurt because she was not informed earlier and so she wanted nothing to do with the issues now. Too Late! Then it hit me.
    Hester and Pearl are too antiquated to be understood, Ashley and Mary Alice are real. The students can relate to the foul language, acceptance of premarital sexual behavior by some parents/society, etc……because they live it everyday!!!! DUH! It is what I try to teach my students daily. Society is shaped by literature as much as literature shapes society! That is why it is still important to understand why America has classics like The Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, To Kill a Mockingbird…….. which I teach, but in context with the history of the time period in which they were written .The Puritans would have died of a heart attack if they read The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants or Forged by Fire, and our students will die of boredom if they read Ethan Frome or Moby Dick. It’s just not their “reality.”
    Unfortunately, the majority of my students will not go on to a four year college, or even a community college. I just want them to understand that they are not limited, and that they have choices. That reading the book is much better than watching the movie. That they can break the vicious cycle in which society/fate has trapped them, if they choose to make the changes necessary, so they can become better than “normal”.
    I’ve decided I love Prom, and that I will begin the new school year with it! Thanks!

  4. Re: classics vs contemporary

    You just made my whole month with this post. I am close to tears.

    Thanks for caring about your students so much.

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