Ra Reading Group
9:00p.m. Wednesday.
If anyone has arrived at this blog looking for wet teeshirts, or folk sitting on their heads, you want to go here. This is RaBlissBlog. If you read the right bits, you'll find out how to get your head stuck in ra bliss!
Time. Got plenty of it coming up! Don't go back to work till Tuesday and then the kids aren't back to school till Wednesday. I'm back off Wednesday about noon. It's almost a week's holiday. Wish I had the money to go down to the Samye Ling. But I'm trying to set my mind on being dead productive right here.
The reading group has started in a bit of a shambles, partly because I'm never at the school, and partly because I was too anxious to get it going. I put a poster up outside the library door and hustled kids who seemed to be good readers to tell other kids. I said chocolate biscuits would be provided.
Managed to get a first meeting organised for last Monday. The first kid who showed up and wanted to join couldn't read at all. You can tell the kid is maybe not quite playing with the full deck, but you don't want to put him off. I gave him a copy of Wind Singer, but managed to get it back off him by last Wednesday. The other kid who showed up was there because everyone has got to be somewhere and she might get a chocolate biscuit. So I quizzed the kid about reading. And she exaggerated her prowess somewhat. A quarter of first year kids in Scottish schools haven't enough reading skills to follow the curriculum properly, so you've got to watch who you're asking to read what. Wind Singer is a fat book for a twelve year old.
Eventually, I got three other kids. One kid gobbled the book up and handed it to me on Monday. The other two didn't show up at the meeting today. The kid who was there for the biscuits loudly demanded a biscuit. In ten days she'd read about an eighth of the book. But that was probably quite good for her. Gave her a biscuit. The kid who can't read at all comes to the library at break time and lunch time now. He'd be eaten up in the playground.
But it doesn't really have to be a group. As long as I can get kids to read the books consecutively and put them in some kind of merit order. I'm half way through Wind Singer. It's a good book. It hasn't got a chance. I'll have to be patient. Kids are split up into six sections in first year English at my school and I only see two sections. One has the kid who can't read. They're streamed. When you see a group of kids like that, you realise you have to live in a society where people are looking after each other because some people just aren't going to make it otherwise.
Beef McDuck emailed me last week and said he was half way through Bomber and 'thoroughly enjoying it.' I have a nagging doubt about that book.
I've revived the writing group I set up last term. Three very smart kids. One there maybe because everyone's got to be somewhere, but he's getting plenty out of it. There's a girl just gone into third year so she may be fourteen. She reads and reads and is probably far smarter than I ever was. Last year, she showed me a notebook she'd filled with this story and shamed me into starting this writing group. She knows I've had books published. She wanted to read one of them. I couldn't give her Are You Boys Cyclists? because it's full of graphic sex scenes.
Are you wet teeshirt searchers still with us? That's the book for you, you panty sniffing pervert. I suppose now all the panty sniffing perverts will land on this blog. What a way to get traffic!
I gave her a copy of City Whitelight yesterday. I saw her this morning. She said it was 'brilliant'. She'd read half of it. The wide eyes and big smiley open face. Kids are a great audience if they really like something. I told her to email Rosemary Canter, the agent from PFD who recommended the two books for the book contest, and tell her.
I feel really tired this evening. Thank God I don't have to go to work tomorrow!
If anyone has arrived at this blog looking for wet teeshirts, or folk sitting on their heads, you want to go here. This is RaBlissBlog. If you read the right bits, you'll find out how to get your head stuck in ra bliss!
Time. Got plenty of it coming up! Don't go back to work till Tuesday and then the kids aren't back to school till Wednesday. I'm back off Wednesday about noon. It's almost a week's holiday. Wish I had the money to go down to the Samye Ling. But I'm trying to set my mind on being dead productive right here.
The reading group has started in a bit of a shambles, partly because I'm never at the school, and partly because I was too anxious to get it going. I put a poster up outside the library door and hustled kids who seemed to be good readers to tell other kids. I said chocolate biscuits would be provided.
Managed to get a first meeting organised for last Monday. The first kid who showed up and wanted to join couldn't read at all. You can tell the kid is maybe not quite playing with the full deck, but you don't want to put him off. I gave him a copy of Wind Singer, but managed to get it back off him by last Wednesday. The other kid who showed up was there because everyone has got to be somewhere and she might get a chocolate biscuit. So I quizzed the kid about reading. And she exaggerated her prowess somewhat. A quarter of first year kids in Scottish schools haven't enough reading skills to follow the curriculum properly, so you've got to watch who you're asking to read what. Wind Singer is a fat book for a twelve year old.
Eventually, I got three other kids. One kid gobbled the book up and handed it to me on Monday. The other two didn't show up at the meeting today. The kid who was there for the biscuits loudly demanded a biscuit. In ten days she'd read about an eighth of the book. But that was probably quite good for her. Gave her a biscuit. The kid who can't read at all comes to the library at break time and lunch time now. He'd be eaten up in the playground.
But it doesn't really have to be a group. As long as I can get kids to read the books consecutively and put them in some kind of merit order. I'm half way through Wind Singer. It's a good book. It hasn't got a chance. I'll have to be patient. Kids are split up into six sections in first year English at my school and I only see two sections. One has the kid who can't read. They're streamed. When you see a group of kids like that, you realise you have to live in a society where people are looking after each other because some people just aren't going to make it otherwise.
Beef McDuck emailed me last week and said he was half way through Bomber and 'thoroughly enjoying it.' I have a nagging doubt about that book.
I've revived the writing group I set up last term. Three very smart kids. One there maybe because everyone's got to be somewhere, but he's getting plenty out of it. There's a girl just gone into third year so she may be fourteen. She reads and reads and is probably far smarter than I ever was. Last year, she showed me a notebook she'd filled with this story and shamed me into starting this writing group. She knows I've had books published. She wanted to read one of them. I couldn't give her Are You Boys Cyclists? because it's full of graphic sex scenes.
Are you wet teeshirt searchers still with us? That's the book for you, you panty sniffing pervert. I suppose now all the panty sniffing perverts will land on this blog. What a way to get traffic!
I gave her a copy of City Whitelight yesterday. I saw her this morning. She said it was 'brilliant'. She'd read half of it. The wide eyes and big smiley open face. Kids are a great audience if they really like something. I told her to email Rosemary Canter, the agent from PFD who recommended the two books for the book contest, and tell her.
I feel really tired this evening. Thank God I don't have to go to work tomorrow!
posted by Hotboy at 8:56 PM
9 Comments:
Sounds like your work is very rewarding. What is a chocolate biscuit? (Is it like a doughnut?)
About reading skills: many of my students (I've just realised that professional ethics prevents me from saying any more). Let's just say I have a friend, who teaches programming skills to students who cannot really read and write. So my job, I mean his job, is to turn them into geniuses at programming languages. It's not going very well. Allegedly.
About Wind Singer: the reviews say that it's a "highly imaginative" book. That means it's yet another concoction of silly names like Aramanth, Mumpo, Haths, Raka of Baraka, Miko Mimilith. Tolkien and Rowling have a lot to answer for.
Lord of the Rings was bad enough, do these people imagine readers have nothing better to do than commit anagrams and gibberish to memory? Well yes they're right, but that's a sad state of affairs. I would rather visit the dentist, or read the bible, or even meditate, than have my time wasted and intelligence insulted. If you are interested, I can recommend some more useful pursuits like sudoku, crosswords, masturbation and blogging.
I hope this helps.
LA - do they really not have chocolate biscuits where you live?
Lee Ann: A chocolate biscuit is a circular, flat confection with wheaten biscuit on the bottom and dark chocolate on top. They are made by McVities in this case. Scottish confectionary. Do they have Tunnock's Caramel Wafers in Birmingham Alabama? They'll have them somewhere. There will be tartan wallpaper, so if you go there wear shades.
Adolf: The agent of this book so aptly described by you is called rcanter@pfd.com, as advertised on the site EVERYONE WHO IS ANYONE ....
Just tell her what you think. She has to ask herself, did they make money? Probably not. I gave it to the kids and I think they all ran away ... the librarian is mad!!
Adolf: Cure the dog! Throw it in the sea. The scabies will die in the brine. It's a nice dog. If it drowns , remember the Pet Bereavement Counselling. Half price to the first customer.(For practise)
Adolf: Blogging as therapy? You've got to do more of the dad thing. Did he meditate? Did he get ra bliss? I hope this one helps! Dearie me. Hotboy
Heil! Okay, Adolf, what's soduko, or sukumo? Whatever. Does it land you right in ra bliss? But it sounds funny so it's probably good. Hope this jogs yours. Hotboy
I say, chocolate biscuits are not often available in the shops hereabouts (they'd melt too quickly), but I'll ask Doviko if he has a recipe for them.
MM III
HB - Sudoku is a numbered square game, published daily in most newspapers, alongside the crosswords. It's more an addiction than a bliss method. I'm surprised you haven't heard about it. Ask the kids, they'll know.
I notice you didn't need to ask me to explain the uses of masturbation.
Sumo, I'm sure you know. I went to see the top-ranking Japanese wrestlers at the Albert Hall in 1989. Oh dear, I feel a MMIII moment coming on. All the Yokozuna were there, like Hokotoumi, but sadly Chiyonofuji had just retired. The culture clash was almost psychedelic.
Should you explain jaffa cakes while you're at it?
Re reading groups. Did you see the TV series called something like the Book Group? The guy in the wheel chair was the fiance of the daughter of my oldest friend. Top that! Of course they've split up now. Nothing lasts. Except bliss and pain.
ummm....chocolate biscuits sound wonderful. I have never seen the caramel wafers either! Hope your reading group goes well.
Post a Comment
<< Home