Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Nearest Book Meme

In essence, what I have learned from teacher research has made me breathe Eleanor Duckworth's (1996) question as a mantra:"What if it were otherwise?"



Rules:
* Get the book nearest to you. Right now.
* Go to page 56.
* Find the 5th sentence.
* Write this sentence - either here or on your blog.
* Copy these instructions as commentary of your sentence.
* Don't look for your favorite book or your coolest but really the nearest.

This was lying on my kitchen floor, waiting for me to get in my "to be read" pile. You Gotta' be the Book by Jeffrey Wilhelm, who will be coming to present in our district in February.

5 comments:

Ms C said...

"Rather than sparkling, they remained flat and impassive, like old dimes."

From David Sedaris, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim , "Monie Changes Everything"

Sharon Seslija said...

Fabulous line!

Benson Staff said...

"No man or woman alive, magical or not, has ever escaped some form of injury, whether physical, mental or emotional."

Taken from J.K.Rowling, "The Tales of Beedle The Bard". I just happened to be sitting beside my "to read" pile of recent purchases for my elementary school library. This new release of fairy tales from the creator of Harry Potter just arrived from Amazon.ca yesterday!

Paul C said...

In Peace Is Every Step: p. 56, 5th sentence:

"Many don't want to get rid of their painful feelings, but they do not want to get rid of their beliefs, the viewpoints that are the very roots of their feelings."

Sharon Seslija said...

Wow! These are the most comments Betty has had in awhile - and such lines! Mine might need a bit of context - in fact an email from Doug Johnson who started this meme (or he might have passed it on from someone) suggested that needed context - so here it is:
The line falls under the subtitle The Personal Importance of Teacher Research. In the preceding lines, Whilhelm talks (it's funny but when I tell about what someone has written, I refer to the person 'talking' not writing. I think that its because there is ALWAYS an author's voice in my head and its as if I am listening rather than reading) about how teacher research has helped him come to understand his students' needs and how to meet those needs in ways that required that he challenge his thinking in some way. That what precedes the line "In essence, what I have learned from teacher research has made me breathe Eleanor Duckworth's question as a mantra: "What if it were otherwise."" Hopefully this clarifies the sentence and gives some context (but quite frankly, I didn't get it the first time and I still don't get it now. The original citation in the references section of the book is "The Having of Wonderful Ideas" and other essays on teaching and learning by E. Duckworth (1996)New York: Teachers College Press.) I might have a better understanding once I actually read the whole chapter. Again this really underscores the need for prior knowledge and the activation of that knowledge before reading!