Snowbound - John Greenleaf Whittier

"Snowbound" is one of my favorite poems.  It is long, but it is well worth the read, especially at this time of year.

One lines that stick with me are these:

The wind blew east; we heard the roar

Of Ocean on his wintry shore,

And felt the strong pulse throbbing there

Beat with low rhythm our inland air.

"The wind blew east"  -  My grandmother always warned us to beware of storms that came out of the east.

Weather forecasters also emphasize an eastern wind or storm as being more severe, or colder, or more intense.

Yesterday a snowstorm hit us.  As Wednesday dawned and the snow began as I was driving to Logansport, I noticed that the snowflakes were blowing in from the ---- east.

When I came out of the building and traveled homeward, the wind and the snow were from the ----east.

Granted, the snowfall was not enough to set any records.  However, the snow on the roads as I traveled to Pulaski County and my home in the country were covered with slushy icy snow that resembled the bottom of a snow cone machine.  The cover seemed to suck the tires of my 4-wheel drive Ford Escape into its grasp, not wanting to relinquish the vehicle to any type of normal journey on the roadway.

As the afternoon progressed, so did the snowfall increase. The eastern wind continued to blow.  The snow began to drift.  As a result, classes were cancelled for today and our campus was closed.  

My juniors always read this poem in American Lit, and I always stressed these lines.  Invariably there would be a storm in the days following our discussion.   The weather people would always mention something about the wind shifting to the east or the storm coming out of the east and how that meant that it would be stronger, more intense, or capable of producing larger amounts snow or rain.  Several students would mention that they had watched the forecast and had heard those ominous words.  "From the east...."

I always hope that students will remember at least one thing that they learned in my classes, and sometimes that one thing may be something relating to life rather than to literature.  I wonder how many of them think of the line in "Snowbound' on a day like yesterday when the snow is blowing nearly parallel to the ground---from the east.

Blogs Not Appearing on the Blog List at the Right

Most of the blogs can be accessed by clicking on the links to the right in the Blog List.    However, there are a few that I just can't get to work!  Here they are:

Emma's Blog -

thetelltaleblog12.blogspot.com

Kynzee's Blog - 

neverlandsonbadliterature.blogspot.com

Cory's Blog -

 

cdlitwire.blogspot.com

Caleb's Blog - 

 csedam-american-liturature-2016.blogspot.com

Highlight and copy the links into your address bar and you should be able to access them.

 

Listening to the murmurs....

The ENGL 112 class is divided into 8 groups of 2, working on powerpoint presentations of their short stories.   Because several students have taken either ENGL 222 or ENGL 223 or both, I try to double up on the stories and allow them to select ones they have already read and studied (the 'double duty' thing I mentioned before).

This week they are reading and creating powerpoints on "To Build a Fire,"  "Desiree's Baby," "The Open Boat," and more.

Class today has focused on the partner work.  The groups are sitting together in the lab, working on slides, documentation, and formatting.  They have decided basically on content, I think, and now are focused on putting it all together.

We are working on time constraints also.  A major winter storm is predicted starting tomorrow, Wednesday, and lasting into Thursday early afternoon.  Several inches of snow is predicted, but even a worse prediction is the wind.  That can easily close roads with drifting snow, no matter how small the amount. They need to work hard today, together, because Thursday alternative arrangements may be in place.

It does my heart and soul good to listen to the students as they plan, prepare, and create.  I do enjoy seeing the light bulbs click on all over the road as the plan comes together and they 'see the light' about some of the elements they have chosen as those predominant in their short stories.

Before spring break, they will view other powerpoints, read a different story than the one they were assigned, and critique the process.  Those submissions are always enlightening as well.  

After spring break we will focus on novels, then extended literary analyis/argument which is always a fun project too.

Emma is Here!

Emma is in my office and we are working on her blog.  Even though I can't seem to add it to the list at the side, we CAN access it through the address.
 Here it is:


thetelltaleblog12.blogspot.com/

You can access it through the address above.  I hope I can include it in the Blog List soon, so it will be just one click away!

Stay tuned!