I don’t share many articles on Facebook. I don’t really read many when people share them either, but when articles come out that compare 1984 and Brave New World, then I’m in. My honors classes will read both books–oh, wait, let’s write that again. My honors students might check out either of those books from the library and have them in their possession at one time or another. Hope that cleared things up.
But the article was cool. You can read it yourself if you CLICK HERE. I loved the idea that people are wrong that Trump has created the world of Winston Smith and Orwell. Instead, it’s the world of Huxley, of our world becoming “a technology-sedating, consumption-engorging, instant-gratifying bubble.” A few old-timers get it, especially those of us still in teaching, otherwise known as the battle between content and content. Wasn’t I clever there? The first “content” is what we try to teach; the second one is the “content” our students have in doing little.
We’re reading 1984 right now. The first part is hard–I have told them such, but today, while asking questions on a quiz they turned in online, the student cone of silence reared its ugly head. The quiz was five questions of Chapter One of Part One, around 20 pages. There were some ugly, tumbleweeds-floating-though-the-class moments when I tried to get a discussion of the same questions they turned in online. Does a student forget so quickly? They must have, for they just stared at me like I was speaking a foreign language. Not much to tell me that wasn’t supreme, surface-level stuff. Booooooo! to not reading.
But they were nice enough to tell me that MATHBOT3000 will be ready for business next week. It’s coming to Torrance, so you never know when it might be coming to a town near you.
On a positive note, we hit the 90/90 today. 90 days down with 90 to go. I can do that in my sleep, though I’m not sure some of my colleagues can. Wait, positive note here. I have 90 days to make a positive impact with my students, one that will stay with them forever.
Oh, and Sequoia is this weekend. So, yeah, APN in the trees and snow. I’ll read some Whitman on the bus, something most have never heard. Some have never been over the Grapevine. Some have never seen snow. Everything is teachable. Well, unless you ask students to read. Crap, there goes the positive moment.