20 years since the war in Bosnia

CBC radio's Ideas is marking twenty years since the war in Bosnia. Tito is mentioned often. He saw ethnic nationalism as a problem to be eradicated. But when he died in 1980, ethnic nationalism came back. The war was the result of what had been released upon Tito's death. On Tuesday, on CBC radio's The Current, they talked to the widows made by the Serbs. They also talked to the women who were raped by Serbs. Because the women were living in a war zone, they were not able to get the hospital for an abortion. (The same radio program revealed that the Croats had built an underground tunnel because the city of Sarajevo was completely sealed off.) They ended up having children that had been created by rape. One mother didn't want to see the baby she gave birth to. Another kept the daughter that rape had given her. But, naturally, the mother didn't want to tell her daughter that she was not her father's daughter. (Her father had not been murdered by the Serbs.) Someone at her church asked her why she said she was Croat when everyone else knew that she wasn't her father's daughter.

Katherine Boo

Boo was just on the radio talking about her book on a slum in Mumbai. It sounds painful and beautiful. I want to read it and read it to my grade 11 classes since we are reading "Slumdog Millionaire". Slumdog Millionaire has its share of reality, but fictionalized versions of how hard life is in India cannot match a good journalist's following around a garbage collector for four years. I'll get ready to cry.

My grade 11 College English class read act one of the play, "Marty." On Monday, we will have a quiz on it. Piraveen was a star reader today. He even did a bit of acting. I thank Elham for the sound effects that I never would have thought of the play had. Hopefully, it isn't true what Chris Anderson said about Taija since we have an agreement that she must not use electronics in my class- or anywhere.

My grade 10 Academic English class worked hard to find three examples from "Macbeth" of paradox, similes, personification, etc.

My grade nine Academic English class wrote their final quiz on act five of "Romeo and Juliet". And then we continued to watch the 1960's version of the movie. They should be practicing the memorization exercise for homework.

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

Half day today, students, so that the teachers can have professional activity in the afternoon. Classes are 45 minutes long and begin, as usual, at 8:45 sharp with "O Canada" followed by the announcements.

Not much for P.E.T.A....

...because I'm not a vegetarian and I don't think farm animals should have as many rights as a baby boy. Still I can't help thinking they are right about dolphins. I have no idea how it could be done- that dolphins be given the same rights as human beings- but I'm in favor of it. I love dolphins. As Douglas Adams said in "A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe," when the dolphins left and went back to their own planet (they were the superior beings): "so long and thanks for all the fish!"

West Hill Collegiate Institute is a high school in the Toronto District School Board. It is located in the east end of Scarborough. We are not far from Lake Ontario and the view from the foot of Morningside Avenue is gorgeous, but Laurier is way closer to the lake. W.H.C.I. is a school of 1,100 students.
In my grade ten English Applied level courses, we are reading are Mark Haddon's "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time." By the time we get halfway through, I'm going to have them write a news report on what they've read so far. The Ontario literacy test in on March 29th and one of the tasks they have to do is write a news report.
In my grade eleven English College level course, we are reading "Marty" by Paddy Chayevsky. It's so great. Quiz next day on act one, students.

Remember students: late start today at 10:05 so that we can have a staff meeting.

My grade 11 College English students are to complete a piece of writing for homework where they say whether they preferred Lorraine Hansberry's play, "A Raisin in the Sun", or the movie. Usually they hate black-and-white movies, but they were riveted. I think they like the scene when Mama hits Walter after he loses her insurance money to a con man.
My grade 10 Academic English students are studying "Macbeth" and today we looked at the aspects of tragedy as Shakespeare understood and used them. I also taught them literary terms that they need to know for better understanding of the play.
My grade 9 Academic English students watched Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet." It's my favourite film. I think it's much better than the one with Leonardo DiCaprio although the students like it better because it's been modernized in so many ways.

I didn't see "In Darkness". Instead I watched a Frontline episode called "The Interrupters". It was awesome. It can be viewed online. It is worth watching. Let me know what you think.

In Darkness

A new movie getting a lot of Oscar buzz is "In Darkness." It was featured on the radio last night. "The hero is no Oscar Schindler and the victims are not angels," the screenwriter said. They are flawed people and the man who saves them from the Nazis is flawed too. I have plans to see it today. I hope things work out and I can.

Friday February 17, 2012

Professional activity day across the board in Toronto. I went to a professional activity session on the involvement of parents in education. This blog is a suggestion I heard at the session. I hope parents will get something from it. In the afternoon, I went to a session on Asperger's syndrome and learned a lot.