Jen Hair - Writing Portfolio

                        The word grammar has always brought with it personal angst and anxiety. I feel that I am not alone in my fear of grammar and all that it encompasses. A movie reel of tweed clothed English teachers wearing horned rimmed glasses, judging everything I write or say, often plays in my mind when I’m faced with a situation where I must be careful of my grammar adherence. Recently I began teaching at a classical academy. Whilst I initially felt my blood pressure rise each time someone referred to the students between the primary and the secondary grades as being grammar students, picturing hundreds of tweed clothed, horned rimmed glasses wearing, children standing in judgment of anything I might utter or write on a whiteboard, I learned that the word grammar was nothing to fear. Grammar has origins beginning with Greek (gramma), moving to Latin (grammatica), then to Old French (gramarie), then and finally to English (grammar) (Grammar (n.)). Our text defines grammar

Does the Canon Need an Overhaul? Introduction “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” - Dr. Seuss Reading is one of the great pleasures in life.  Seuss, concisely and in rhyme, summarized its importance, reading opens your mind beyond yourself, broadens your knowledge and your understanding of the world.  Educators are often tasked with selecting literature to use in their classrooms which meet state guidelines, while engaging students in meaningful ways. Many do this by selecting works from a commonly accepted list known as a literary canon. Generations of students have read literary canon works as part of their required curriculum.  Jordan Bates defines  literary canon  as “a body of books, narratives and other texts considered to be the most important and influential of a particular time, period, or place”.  The subject of the literary canon is a polarizing topic among literature educators and scholars.  Conservati

Authority  “I have entered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude.  And I don’t have anyone to sit with.  I am an outcast” – Melinda (4). The adults throughout the book  Speak  range from supportive to indifferent to abysmal in their interactions with Melinda and the other students. We meet Melinda as she is on the way to her first day of high school.  She feels ill-prepared physically for school – she doesn’t have the right clothes (wearing a skirt she hates) nor does she have the right hairstyle.  She feels alone and alludes to a recent traumatic event which seems to be the catalyst for lost friendships and anticipated bullying at school. Her day goes from bad to worse as Mr. Neck, “gray jock buzz cut, whistle around the neck thicker than his head” (9), seems to have it out for Melinda from the beginning of the first day. Mr. Neck is a jerk to Melinda in almost every interaction he has with her. He gets downright hostile with other students throughout