Part of what? I'm not sure I'm following the train of thought. I may need more coffee. But yes, of course one can be too young/immature to appreciate a book, regardless of how (or if) it's taught. For 9th graders, White Fang shouldn't be a problem. It usually gets presented as a story about a doggie and the gold rush with some good vocabulary words, and if nobody asks kids to look for anything more than that, most of them won't. And then they'll forget all about it it as soon as the test's over, because it was meaningless.

And I understand why that happens; I'm not blaming the teachers. It's just a shame that it happens so often.

Yeah, I found a 131 page unit plan for it, and was all excited -- till I read it. All vocab words, and who said this and who is this character. I'll use some of it, but it's all FACTS and no WHY.

I like WHY. I like HOW. WHAT is necessary, but it's not the end-all and be-all...and I think that WHAT is the main focus of my mentor teacher, and I want my students to think about WHYand WHAT IF...and MAYBE.

Gud, I'm glad you had a hash-out. And I feel for your wife; I know how fucking HARD it is to explain depression, and how badly it affects everything.

Deb, I'm very sorry.

Canterbury Catherdral...oh, my, yes. We went there on a blue and gorgeous day, and the sun came in streaming through all the stained glass, and turned the shiny smooth grey stones into watery mosaics. I know how slippery those old, old stones underfoot are, because I feel down them, and landed on my ass in front of the tomb of Edward The Black Prince. I was absurdly charmed my my aching knee for a day.

It was a HISTORICAL aching knee, and I have a crazy fondness for Ed TBP because of it.

And we played hide and seek in Dover Castle! We were the only tour group there that day. It was also the very first time I'd seen the ocean. It was a frigid grey shipping lane with a beach made of rocks the size of my fist. I ran over them barefoot and played in the cold water. I have pictures.

All my English history is bizarrely tied up to my leg and foot pain.

St. Patrick's Cathedral ate my messenger bag.

Really?! Did it give it indigestion?

And we played hide and seek in Dover Castle! We were the only tour group there that day. It was also the very first time I'd seen the ocean. It was a frigid grey shipping lane with a beach made of rocks the size of my fist. I ran over them barefoot and played in the cold water. I have pictures.

My affection for Dover Castle stems primarily from the great picnic lunch I had there, outside the castle overlooking the channel. What a great day that was (with nice weather, even). Good castle too. Roman bits, secret WW2 chambers, dungeons. What else do you need for a fun day?

I've been to the Hardian Wall, we ran around on it. Then there was a place on the border with a big stone that says Scotland on one side and England on the other and everyone (pretty much) in my tour group took pictures on both sides.

Bath was fantastic. I think we went to York, but I can't remember. the best thing was seeing a Shakespeare play at Stratford on Avon, the tour guide and I were the only ones who went and afterwards we stood on a bridge and talked and watched the swans get swept down stream by the fast current. Although some were trying vainly to get upstream most of them failed.

Oh and there was the Tattoo at Edinburgh and the boat we took on Loch Lomand where it was freezing and I went down and chatted with the guy selling refreshments and got asked out. But we were getting off the boat and on the coach and going to another town and I was very disappointed.

The day we were at Westminster Cathedral was the day of the eclipse so we were rather rushed through the tour and we stood right outside the Catherdal and watched the ecplipse. Very neat.

Bath was fantastic. I think we went to York, but I can't remember. the best thing was seeing a Shakespeare play at Stratford on Avon, the tour guide and I were the only ones who went and afterwards we stood on a bridge and talked and watched the swans get swept down stream by the fast current.

I liked Bath a lot. The combo of Roman and English just fascinated me, and I have a cool picture of me standing in front of this roman mouth with yellow, hot water streaming out of it. And I saw Kenneth Branaugh in Hamlet at SuA! It was so cool. I snuck into a closer seat in a box and just watched.

I have to go Out into the cold and submit my background check. I will do it at 4. I don't want to go out. It's really freakin' cold out. Luckily, the university is only 5 minutes away.

More coffee for me. (I had horrible insomnia last night, and didn't get to sleep till 6 am, and just woke up at 2:30 to Gimlet staring owlishly at me, then thumping over the length of my body to twitch ominously at the squirrel outside the bedroom window.)

SA has a new tag.

And since I'm here, so does beathen, the saucy minx.

Someday, I will make it to the UK.

I'm hoping my parents go this year while mother's cousins are still spry enough to bustle them about, though with a new grandchild on the way, they'll probably put it off.

re: Jack London.

I love To Build A Fire. We read that in 7th grade English and I loved it. Mom had an old textobook at home with the story in it and I would sit there and read it over and over. That and A Rose for Emily.

REcently I went and bought a collection of Jack London's short stories but it was hard to read them because he was very much a product of his times and it's hard to get past some of his descriptions.

Hardian Wall

OK, I love this. I think you're talking about Hadrian's Wall, yes? But honestly, I like Hardian a whole lot better.