When I need a laugh break, I like to visit LOLcats and I can has Cheezburger. Today’s pun comes from the latter site, but both are good for a few minutes of stress reduction!

I laugh — sometimes out loud — when I read Mark Twain. My students find him boring. I put together a WebQuest to help them appreciate different kinds of humor, and it was modestly successful. (They grudgingly acknowledged that he was SUPPOSED to be funny.)

I got to thinking, though, that it wouldn’t be that hard to expand it into a unit on American humor in general. We could start with Benjamin Franklin, who wrote some wonderfully satiric pieces. There would be a dead zone through much of the early 1800s, but once we hit Twain and O. Henry and move into the 20th century, we have Saroyan and The Human Comedy, teaching a new definition of the word comedy. We have Thurber. We have the Marx Brothers (Imagine watching Duck Soup as part of a lesson!). And we have Bob Hope, whose career spanned most of the 20th century.

Students can research Bob Hope’s career at the Library of Congress site, “Bob Hope and American Variety.” The exhibit includes biography, an overview of his career, and samples from his joke files.

By the time the unit gets into contemporary comedians, both copyright and inappropriate language makes things problematic. (Jeff Foxworthy is the only one I can think of whose humor could come into the classroom without very careful clip selection.)

Students could present an analysis of 3 humorists from 3 different decades and show how the changes in their work parallels changes in American society. This might lend itself well to a multi-genre presentation.

Now, I’ll need to come up with some guidelines and a rubric …

If you teach a unit on mythology — or even if you don’t — you have GOT to visit Zak Hamby’s Nixa Mythology site and click on Teacher Resources. This is a terrific example of what happens when you get out of the way and let a creative teacher explore the possibilities!

My personal favorite — based on sheer creativity — is the Trojan Find-it. Think “the Iliad meets Where’s Waldo?” Mythological Barbie is a very close second, though.

I suggested to Mr. Hamby that his obvious talent could earn him some extra gas money if he were to offer these resources at a reasonable price. He responded, “My intent is … to make those resources available for free. Since I worked so hard on them, I just want them to be used!”

Give the man his wish — visit the site, bookmark it, add it to your Del.icio.us collection, and spread the word. Summer school is coming for some of us, and August is just 9 weeks away for the rest of us.

Did you go somewhere over the long weekend, or did you save money and stay home? A recent CNN poll suggests that gas prices affected the travel plans of as many as 44% of Americans over the Memorial Day weekend. (CNN is careful to say that the poll is not scientific.)

More people may opt for “staycations” this year, an experience the Urban Dictionary defines as a vacation “spent at one’s home enjoying all that home and one’s home environs have to offer.” This neologism already has 44,500 hits on Google (though quite a few appear to be copies of the same AP stories), with tips on how to plan a successful one and at least one blog claiming the name. One site claims the word dates back to at least 2006, but it appears to have catapulted to possible Word of the Year status with this spring’s ongoing gas price hikes and the approaching summer.

Other summer neologisms include momcation and, my favorite, voluntourist.

Have you heard any other new words that bespeak our times — other nominees for Word of the Year?

The Library of Congress presents the Veterans History Project, a repository of personal narratives, correspondence, and other visual materials (photographs, drawings, scrapbooks).

On Memorial Day, as we honor the memory of those who gave their lives in the service of our country, this might be a good site to visit.

Next fall, when we are looking for a project that will engage students in research, interviewing, editing, and community service, we might want to visit again.

A colleague posted to the Talkie listserv:

I have taught freshmen English for eleven years; I love my freshmen, but I am ready for a change and a new challenge. Consequently, I have asked to teach senior English next year.

I well know the needs, fears, and desires of freshmen. Help me prepare for seniors by giving me your impressions of their needs, desires, and fears.

My response:

• Freshmen fear seeming childish.
• Seniors are confident enough to reclaim childhood every once in a while.

• Freshmen need a lot of direction and guidance.
• Seniors like you to show them the big picture and let them figure out the
  rest.

• Freshmen mix multiple comma splices and run-on sentences in with their
  fragments.
• Seniors do, too, but when you point it out, they say, “Oh, yeah, I’m bad
  about that.”

• Freshmen have to be taught how to ask for help.
• Seniors have to reminded that they can ask for help.

• Freshmen, given a creative project, will say, “EXACTLY what do you want?”
• Seniors, given a creative project, will say, “Can you make this due on a
  Monday instead of a Friday?”

• Freshmen love compliments.
• Seniors do, too; but they won’t let you see it.

• Freshmen fall asleep in class because they were up late gaming.
• Seniors fall asleep in class because they were up late working (or
  parenting).

• Freshmen don’t want you to contact their folks when they’re in trouble.
• Seniors don’t care if you contact their folks; it’s been done before.

• After Spring Break, most freshmen turn into very interesting young adults.
• After Spring Break, most seniors shut down.

• You spend a lot of time helping freshmen with the transition to high school.
• You spend a lot of time helping seniors with the transition to the multiple
  unknowns of life.

As I drove toward the vet clinic last week, I was pretty sure I knew what was going to happen. At 14, my cat was old, and now she was so sick she had trouble walking. At the stoplight I dug in my purse for a Kleenex.

Dr. Jim, a former student, listened to her heartbeat, checked her eyes, and turned to me. We’d had a long talk the last time she was sick. He explained that treatment would be very expensive, and he couldn’t promise a successful outcome. “I think it’s time to make the tough call.” There was a long pause. I nodded.

It didn’t take long, but I went through several more Kleenex. Leah the technician, also a former student, wrapped her in a thick towel and gently put her back in her carrier for me. Dr. Jim said a few kind words and left.

Leah offered to carry Kitty out to the car with me. As I gathered my things, she said, “I want you to know something. You are the reason I love Jane Austen novels.”

It was so sweet of her that I started crying all over again. I gave her a hug and we headed out the door.

As I drove home, I thought about what it means to be part of a community. Years ago, they were the ones who needed my help. Now I needed theirs. When I wonder about my legacy as a teacher, I can point to moments like that.

Because the saying is true — it takes a whole village, not just to raise a child, but also to affirm a lifetime of choosing again, every fall, to return to the work we love. I’ll remember that every time I look at the condolence card that arrived today, signed by everyone at the clinic.

One good way to learn the essential elements of a genre is to write a parody. The Onion offers one based on the classic To Kill a Mockingbird:

I Would Say To Kill A Mockingbird Captured The Most Interesting Part Of Our Lives

By Atticus Finch

As I get older and reflect on my life, my mind always drifts back to the time I defended handyman Tom Robinson against those trumped-up, racially motivated charges of rape. What a time it was. So much happened in that year and a half. Lessons were learned, innocence was lost, and a child put her fear of people different from herself behind her. There’s no denying it was a narratively gripping time.

We were fortunate that an important American novelist about to make her debut was around to take it all down as my daughter, Scout, told it. At the time, it never occurred to us that those events would make for a compelling look at race and class in the United States—perhaps even a fable for our times, playing out in an insignificant Southern town but with wide-ranging thematic implications for the deeper issues of prejudice and civil rights during a period of intense social upheaval, and all that.

Honestly, if this book had been written at almost any other time, it would have been pretty damn boring.

After old Bob Ewell closed that chapter in our lives by falling on his knife, the kids settled into their schoolwork and joined glee club. Jem played baseball for a while, but he didn’t really like it. Sometimes they’d drop in at the Radley place to pay their regards to Arthur. They even stopped calling him Boo. After a couple years he died of pneumonia. Or was it diabetes? I suppose I was saddened that he didn’t live to see another adventure—but then again, how many chances does one reclusive idiot man-child usually get to stand up for justice in the face of small-minded ignorance, and change the course of a community forever?

Scout’s gone through some changes of her own. All fairly standard. Back when I was arguing that case, she was so young and spirited. Always fighting for what she thought was right, bless her heart. I thought she’d go to college and get a degree in journalism, like she talked about, but she dropped out of Tulane after a year and moved back to Maycomb and became a waitress.

Read the rest of the parody.

I have to admire a piece that can skewer a novel, book reviews, study guide summaries, and memoirs, all at the same time.

Stop Cyberbullying –
An International Conference to Address Cyberbullying, Solutions and Industry Best Practices

At the world’s first conference dedicated entirely to the issue of cyberbullying, all stakeholders will learn everything they need to know about this digital epidemic and explore solutions. Hosted by the world’s largest and oldest cybersafety group together with Pace University and Westchester County, all aspects of cyberbullying, risk management in schools and best practices in the industry will be explored.

The entire program is broken into two very different days, each of which offers rich opportunities to address cyberbullying. Both are open to members of the general public, parents, students, educators and school administrators, mental health professionals, technology and Internet industry members, law enforcement, community groups, media representatives and governmental agencies.

On the first day a massive town meeting format will be used to bring together students, parents, teachers, librarians, school and technology administrators, governmental representatives, law enforcement, members of the media, Internet and digital technology industry members, mental health experts, community groups and safety advocates. They will work “UN expert meeting” style, to learn about cyberbullying and determine what each of these groups expects from government, education, the media and the industry.

The second day brings the industry, government, media and other important stakeholders to the table to join the others. The facilitators for the first day will report the results to the second day plenary and four panels of experts and influencers will address the questions framed for them. They will also describe their current efforts to address the problem of cyberbullying. Beginning with students and victims and their families, the heart-wrenching stories will be shared, compelling action. Then panels of Internet industry leaders will address the questions posed for them by first day participants. They will share their perspective and the role they believe they should play in framing solutions.

Awards for Excellence in Awareness will be given to a select group of outstanding non-profits and programs that are playing an important role in stopping cyberbullying.

Students are welcome, accompanied by parents or teachers, and must be 10 or older to attend. The registration is free for pre-registered participants. Any participants seeking to join us, not having pre-registered, will be required to pay a $149 admission fee for both days, or $99 for either day. The admission fee includes the box lunch provided. The box lunch is made available to all other participants for a $12 per lunch donation to the Teenangels program. The programs may be webcast and will be recorded, along with audience participation and scans.

The conference will be held June 2, 2008, in White Plains, NY and June 3, 2008 in New York City.

For more information or to pre-register online visit WiredSafety.org or StopCyberbullying.org.

Special thanks to Art Wolinksy, OEO 3DWriting.com and Educational Technology Director - WiredSafety.org!

Wikipedia, the upstart Internet encyclopedia that most universities forbid students to use, has suddenly become a teaching tool for professors.

Recently, university teachers have swapped student term papers for assignments to write entries for the free online encyclopedia.

Wikipedia is an “open-source” web site, which means that entries can be started or edited by anyone in the world with an Internet connection.

Writing for Wikipedia “seems like a much larger stage, more of a challenge,” than a term paper, said professor Jon Beasley-Murray, who teaches Latin American literature at the University of British Columbia in this western Canadian city.

“The vast majority of Wikipedia entries aren’t very good,” said Beasley-Murray, but said the site aims to be academically sound.

To reach its goal of academic standards, said Wikipedia’s web site, it set up an assessment scale on its English-language site. The best encyclopedia entries are ranked as “Featured Articles,” and run each day on the home page at www.wikipedia.com.

To be ranked as a “Featured Article,” Wikipedia said an entry must “provide thorough, well-written coverage of their topic, supported by many references to peer-reviewed publications.”

Of more than 10 million articles in 253 languages, only about 2,000 have reached “Featured Article” status, it said.

As an experiment, last January Beasley-Murray promised his students a rare A+ grade if they got their projects for his literature course, called “Murder, Madness and Mayhem,” accepted as a Wikipedia Featured Article.”

Read the entire article.