Time to touch base after what has been an immensely unacceptable period of absence. My apology, dear reader. The university studies, a bout of Covid, and my first ever practicum placement have kept me busier than a one-armed fan dancer lately. I've also been doing some editing work for the business here, which is good because I have this odd quirk whereby I like to eat and pay my bills.
My practicum was a very enjoyable and positive experience. I taught a few levels of English and two creative writing classes. The Year Tens were studying Journey of the Magi by T S Eliot. I studied that poem at school and found it tedious in the extreme. Now I found myself briefed with engaging fifteen-year-olds with the poem, so I gritted my teeth and sought out the piece. I had a Damascene moment when I remembered my lessons at school had consisted of recordings of the poet Eliot reading his own work. Therein lay my problem: T S Eliot is the worst reader of his own work in all history! I sourced a recording of the actor Hugh Laurie reading the poem and I was enthralled. Admittedly, Hugh Laurie could read his shopping list and have the listener spellbound. I do believe my class enjoyed the reading and set to work analysing the poem with a pleasing level of diligence. One fun activity was playing Shout it out Loud by Kiss to demonstrate how trochaic words make a piece 'jump', which is a ploy used by T S Eliot in Magi.
Other highlights of the prac include:
Using the word 'deuteragonist' to describe the character Piggy in Lord of the Flies. It's a fabulous word and one not used often enough.
Teaching the Year Sevens to differentiate between 'thee' and 'thou' in Shakespearean insults to gain an understanding of archaic pronouns.
Hopefully disabusing the upcoming generation of the heinous habit of using 'of' for 'have'.
Well, I must be on my way now. I am vacillating between studying and putting on some washing. I think I will pick the latter option and tackle the study tomorrow.
Thank you for reading this post, and if you need some editing or writing services, drop me a line!
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