Another Mother of another Ben

I wished I'd read this before our class today -- here's a lovely story/reflection to use as a wrap-up for our semester: a reminder that when we're looking at/assessing/judging other mothers, we're always on the outside looking in. And the view from the inside can be radically different and quite empowering.
 http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/a-perfect-baby/

Why the "Research Paper" Isn't Working - Inside Higher Ed

We've been talking a bit in class about the research paper that's due in mid-May, and in that context, I found this piece quite interesting: Why the "Research Paper" Isn't Working - Inside Higher Ed

The Natural End of Schooling - Inside Higher Ed

Here's an interesting take on some of the angst surrounding (higher) education right now:
The Natural End of Schooling - Inside Higher Ed

Mommy Blogging

In class yesterday, we talked about the phenomenon of Mommy blogs -- and then mere hours later, Lisa Belkin, of The New York Times' Motherlode blog, posted about her article on Mommy blogs in last weekend's Magazine:
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/queens-of-the-mom-blog-kingdom/

And here's the article she wrote:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/magazine/27armstrong-t.html?_r=1

How did I manage to time yesterday's discussion so perfectly for this article?

#2 -- Things a professor likes to see -- and other pedagogical ruminations

I just wandered through my building and saw in several different nooks and crannies students of mine reading for our late afternoon class -- so fun to see their total absorption in the novel (Me Dying Trial)!

Which leads me to wonder again (as I did yesterday when I finished it) what they'll all think of the ending of the novel. I personally found the plot compelling and was totally sucked into Gwennie's perspective each time the narrative voice aligned with her. BUT... I found the ending a bit of a letdown: we got just enough of Peppy for me to be disappointed that we hadn't gotten more throughout the novel. It'll be really interesting to go into today's discussion with that reaction fresh in my mind.

As I explained to the class on Tuesday, in any literature-based course that I design and teach, I try to include 2-3 novels on the syllabus that are brand-new to me. I read a lot about them, to try to ensure they fit thematically, but I don't read them ahead of time. That way, when we discuss them in class, I can model for the students the experience of reading for the first time. I've read Frankenstein, for instance, a dozen times -- and I've read the 1818 edition, the 1831 one, the compendium of all the versions -- you get the picture. It's a novel I love, but I am far removed from the students who are experiencing it for the first time. And I think it's really important that there be moments when I literally don't have all of the answers for them, which this practice creates.

#1 -- In homage to Sara Ruddick

Today I will teach Sara Ruddick's Maternal Thinking to my "Monstrous Mothers of Literature" class -- though if the past week and a half of meetings has been any indication, they'll teach me as much as I teach them through the wonderful conversation I'm anticpating from them!
One of the assignments I've given them this semetser is to keep a blog as a site for them to react to and reflect on the readings we're doing. In solidarity, I'll be blogging, too :) And maybe this blog will help keep me accountable, as well, as I work on my current book project (tentative title: Daughterless Mothers: Complicating Images of Mother Ireland and Mother Africa).