12th grade English. And they were assigned a book to read. The Andromeda Strain.
(My senior English teacher assigned us books like A Separate Peace and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Boo!)
Of course, they were not impressed. So, I started them off as best as I could, noting in the first couple pages that there was mention of the Vandenberg Air Force Base and the Mojave Desert. Both of which the students managed to mangle.
So, I asked the pertinent question. Did they know where this story took place?
A couple of them noted that in the first paragraph on the first page, we were told they were in Arizona. The rest?
I asked where the Mojave Desert was, and I got answers ranging from Asia to the Middle East to Africa. And they'd never heard of Vandenberg. (Although that's not surprising. It's 3 hours north of us.)
So, I asked the next logical question. Had any of them driven to Las Vegas? At least half the class raised their hands.
"You've all driven through the Mojave Desert."
Student: "That's that dry nothing?"
Yep, pretty much.
So, at least they learned something in class.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
4 comments:
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Dropping by from the A-Z list. I'm a fellow teacher, and this got me chuckling. The lack of geography knowledge never fails to amaze and concern me.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know, right?
DeleteI thought the Andromeda Strain was okay, but I absolutely hated A Separate Piece. What I wouldn't give to be one of your students.
ReplyDeleteThat dry nothing. Best description ever.
Hey, I liked A Separate Peace.
ReplyDeleteLOL. I love that. It's so great making connections with these young minds.