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Prose and Context
Hosted by Lexington Christian Academy English Department · EN
The podcast for life giving teaching.
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Episode 27 – Farewell Episode
May 21, 201900:08:06Tap to summarizeThere is no transcript available for this episode.
Transcribe →Episode 26 – Bringing Journalism into the Middle School Classroom
May 6, 201900:05:54Tap to summarizeTranscript not available for this episode.
Transcribe →Episode 25 – Dangerously Immersed in Ourselves: Chopin’s “The Awakening”
Apr 23, 201900:24:34Tap to summarizeKate Chopin’s The Awakening—“Dangerously Immersed in Ourselves” By Karen E.B. Elliott   I remember the first time I read this book. It was back in college was I was earning my B.A. at a liberal arts, secular school. I loved the novel. It intrigued me. Perhaps it was because I identified with the main character as much as I could at the time; however, I certainly wasn’t married yet. I had not been pregnant nor had children to care for. As a woman I was allowed to vote and express basically any opinion I had as a woman. But exactly like the main character, I was white; I was raised with privilege in zipcodes my parents chose carefully in which to live in order to guarantee me of sustaining that privilege. So in that case, I complete “got” Kate Chopin’s main character. I can recall my male professor’s interpretation of the ending (which I quickly came to learn is mostly everyone’s interpretation), and it just didn’t sit well with me. Even though I really liked him, I felt he was trying too hard—to please the women in the room—as if to say, “Hey ladies, I’m with you on this one.” He, like many of my professors, whether male or female, were self-proclaimed feminists. I, too, was a self-proclaimed feminist, but as a Christian. And that’s a hard one to explain or justify to the secular cynic or faithful Christ-follower. The interpretation of Edna’s apparent suicide (spoiler alert!) at the novel’s end appears to be read out of context in a frightening post-modern analysis of literature—where our feelings about the text (or any text) determine its meaning. This approach raises serious questions, and any self-proclaimed intellectual would raise his or her eyebrows when anyone looks at a text in this manner. Interestingly enough, however, this is exactly what Edna does with her own life. Although Chopin wrote this at the turn of the 20th century, her main character is incredibly post-modern, and more accurately, Edna is the post-modern middle to upper class American. Whether Christian or secular, Edna represents the typical American who already has it all—everything’s going for her—but she wants more. Despite her education and wealth, she is trapped, but not by the very oppressive, anti-woman Louisiana society in which she lives—she is trapped by her inability to bow down to anyone or anything larger than herself. It is evident as the reader travels through her consciousness that she has an acute sense of God and His presence; in fact, she admits that “the Holy Ghost [has] vouchsafed wisdom” within her youthful mind and soul, but she is seduced by her own desires to do whatever she wants, no matter who it hurts (13). Kate Chopin’s craft and technique is nothing short of inspiring. On the surface she appears to be a transcendentalist as Edna goes to the water and within nature to find herself—to find the answers of life—but she does no transcending of any kind; in fact, Chopin turns on her reader in not-so-subtle ways. Although at first, nature seems to “speak to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace,” and yet, when Edna enters the ocean with the intent to transcend, Chopin reminds the reader that the sea is not Edna’s native element; she had “attempted all summer to learn to swim. She had received instructions from both the men and women; in some instances even the children…A certain ungovernable dread hung about her when in the water, unless there was a hand nearby that might reach out and reassure her” (13; 27). Chopin furthers the futility of Edna’s efforts with her strong description of the ocean, and she intentionally recycles phrases—reuses them—particularly at the novel’s end so that her reader will be reminded of what’s really happening to her character. Like the natural elements, Chopin seduces her reader and invites them to look at nature’s veneer. She describes the sea as swelling “lazily in broad billows,” but then as the waves ascend onto “the beach, [the] little foamy crests…coiled back like slow, white serpents” (27). Biblically, serpent imagery only means one thing, and it’s not enlightenment; as a result of nature’s deception and therefore Edna’s self-deception, Edna gains ill-gotten confidence and “swam out alone…[and] as she swam she seemed to be reaching out for the unlimited in which to lose herself. Once she turned and looked toward the shore, toward the people she had left there. She had not gone any great distance—this is, what would have been a great distance…But to her unaccustomed vision the stretch of water behind her assumed the aspect of a barrier which her unaided strength would never be able to overcome” (28). Unlike some, she is not able to journey through life alone, and she senses it here but does not heed her conscience. Also, the last part of that particular passage predicts what happens in the end—Edna dies trying to find answers within nature; and remember, this novel was written the height of Darwin’s naturalistic theories, as they were beginning to be taken seriously in culture, and moreover, this means that if we’re merely natural beings, then what Edna is doing is not merely trying to find God or reason within nature as Emerson or Thoreau might have done; Edna is going to the next humanistic and Darwinian level, and she is attempting to turn her being into her own natural state—her own godliness, and she is, therefore, her own savior. Chopin, however, challenges this attempts, but also disguises it within the Creole, Louisiana culture, which is not by any means in tune with women either. It’s frustrating that Wyoming, which wasn’t even a state yet, just mere territory, had already given women the right to vote; whereas, Louisiana equated women with the mentally ill in regards to contracts or business dealings, not to mention that women, upon marriage, were literally property of their husbands—like his favorite cigar or the chair where he smoked it. Of course, these are serious issues which cannot be overlooked and play into Edna’s awareness that she is oppressed; however, unlike Mademoiselle Reisz or even Adele Ratignolle, who have managed to find their own voices in their own ways by working within the boundaries of the law, Edna frustrates many of my students. Only a few are willing to pity poor Edna as the narrative progresses. Although they feel that the laws are unfair, they see her as the so-called oppressed rich white woman who lives the aristocratic high-life in New Orleans, eats bons bons regularly, and get to go to the very-nice vacation island (not house) for the summer. True, her husband is unfeeling and a little too old for her, but in a characteristically Darwinian, naturalistic manner, Edna allows her instincts (and privilege), not reason, dictate her actions, choices, and consequently, her fate. Chopin claims that Edna “fancied there was a sympathy of thought and taste between [she and her husband] in which fancy she was mistaken. Add to this the violent opposition of her father and her sister…to the marriage of a Catholic, and we seek no further for the motives which led her to accept Monsieur Pontellier for her husband” (18). Here, it is evident that Edna allowed her human drive and instinct to dictate her marriage acceptance, and note the diction and syntax—it’s hard to detest Leonce, and pity Edna; after all, it was her choice, and it is clear that she had a chance to get out of the engagement. This was no arranged marriage, and Edna, being an educated young woman, knew after she took her vows that “as the devoted wife of a man who worshipped her, she felt she would take her place with a certain dignity in the world of reality, closing the portals forever behind her upon the realm of romance and dreams” (18). But as she grows to realize where her choice got her, she turns to self-idolatry. She knows she made a decision which she does not want to take responsibility for. Edna begins to blame-shift and starts down a path of entitlement which eventually destroys, not liberates, her. As a Christian, and from most faith-based worldviews, this can only lead to one place, and it’s not within the walls of a sanctuary, temple, or a state of nirvana; in fact, once Edna decides that she is going to live solely for herself, and herself only, she cannot even exist in a spiritual setting. Chopin claims that when Edna and her almost-lover Robert attend Sunday services, “a feeling of oppression and drowsiness overcame” her (35). Consequently, she indiscreetly walks out, and when Robert went to see if she was well, he “was full of solicitude [great concern or anxiety]”…as they stood outside “in the shadow of the church” (35). What’s interesting here is all the connotation and symbolism. Robert feels as Edna should, but Edna—note the spelling of her name—is trying to recreate her own Eden, but it’s obscure. She feels drowsy (not only because it’s incredibly hot in Louisiana when they hadn’t installed air conditioning, and she is wearing long sleeves over her corset), but because she’s not open to the Holy Ghost, who she claimed earlier might have given her some kind of wisdom or reason. Now, she is on her own, but interestingly enough, her almost-lover is not. Robert senses the path they might be headed toward, and it’s not in the Light; yes, he is definitely attracted to her, as she is to him; however, Robert knows that he must be responsible; he must live within the society in which he was born, whether he likes it or not. He also knows that Edna is not up-for-grabs—she is married, he continually reminds her. He resists his desire to be with her three times: the first is right after the aforementioned scene outside of the church; second, Robert leaves to gone on an extended business trip to Mexico so distance will help ease his temptations; and third, near the novel’s end, after h...
Transcribe →Episode 24 – Celebrating National Library Week with our Local Library
Apr 18, 201900:15:17Tap to summarizeTranscript unavailable for this episode.
Transcribe →Episode 23 – The Single-Point Rubric
Apr 9, 201900:09:44Tap to summarizeTranscript unavailable for this episode. Danah Hashem’s Edutopia article on the single point rubric can be accessed here.
Transcribe →Episode 22 – Cultivating Character in the Classroom
Apr 3, 201900:10:14Tap to summarizeCultivating Character in the Classroom. My name is Renée LaRoche. I am currently teaching Academic English at Lexington Christian Academy. I graduated from LCA in 1992 and it’s wonderful to be back home. For the past fifteen years, I’ve taught in public charter, traditional public, and private schools. I’ve had 3rd, 4th, 7th, and 8th grade classrooms independently, and when my children were young, I substituted for students in Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade. Regardless of what grade, setting, or role I have found myself, I’ve noticed how important it is for me to cultivate character in my classroom. It is with that energy and passion that I find myself sharing with you today. Wherever you are, it is my hope that you’ll be able to take whatever works for you and leave the rest. Whether you’re a teacher, a colleague, friend, family member, or if somehow you just happened to find this podcast.. I hope that it speaks to you in some way. Before I begin, so that you have some background understanding, I am currently teaching seven students who are enrolled in our Academic English and Cultural Immersion Program here at LCA, Each of them are in eighth grade and are in their first or second year here in The States. A main focus of our program is to “develop fluency in English before moving on to Upper School.” My students take Academic English, American Studies, STEM, Arts, Music, and Physical Education. The goal is to prepare them for success in an English-speaking college preparatory school. LCA is focused on cultivating one’s heart, mind, body, and soul. The first unit of each school-year for me, in my classroom, concentrates on identifying, supporting, and communicating just that. I begin my year by ensuring that my classroom is designed for an optimal learning environment I know that this might mean different things to each person who hears this… For some, it might mean that a classroom library includes all genres. To others, it might mean that flexible seating is available. Whatever systems or physical environments feel right to you, I support that. I, personally, love color, comfort, and order. Therefore, my classrooms have always included brightness, organization, and flexible seating options. A tool that I’ve used to create sacred learning spaces for me is the book, “Creating the Peaceable Classroom” by Sandy Bothmer. Even if you’re not into Feng Shui or don’t find value in integrating music or movement into your daily routine, as a teacher. I think that we can all agree upon the importance of setting a serene environment. I perceive that it’s a goal for all educators! 🙂 I feel confident that you might find some strategies or advice that could yield amazing results, wherever you find yourself. After initial icebreaker activities are over, my students’ first academic creation is to write I AM poems in where they share who they are and who they wish to be with their class. The website, “Read/Write/Think” has fantastic exemplars, which I’ve used over the years. That being said, being that this type of activity is so common for “back to school” or “get to know you” activities, a simple Google search would yield similar templates. In the first week of school, after the routines are reviewed, I find that the most impactful area of focus is on character. Having that as a baseline is truly foundational. Within a week of getting to know my students, I give them a list of 143 Character Trait Vocabulary Words. If you teach, you might revise this list, according to your students. Being that my students are English Language Learners, when they receive this list, it’s overwhelming as their vocabulary is several grade levels behind native English Language students’. I use Marzano’s six-step process to learn vocabulary as I have found that it promotes better retention and application. Therefore, I provide a description, explanation, or example for each of the words, breaking them up into manageable chunks, of course, and have students provide their own descriptions, explanations, and examples. I also have them make a picture or symbol to represent the vocabulary word. Sometimes we use Four Squares, just to mix it up a little bit. Throughout the next several days, as we’re learning the vocabulary words, we play games, such as BINGO, MEMORY, Pictionary, Charades, or use tools on Quizlet or Vocabulary.com to comprehend and synthesize the meaning of these words, often new or unfamiliar to my students. Additionally, I use the Connect Two strategy to encourage students to draw connections between words and to be able to share their understandings. The literature I use to apply this new vocabulary and to promote application of understanding is Kate DiCamillo’s Because of Winn Dixie. I use the gradual release model to support students’ growing independence in reading and analyzing text. For the first several chapters, in addition to selecting several vocabulary words in the text itself, students are encouraged to identify character traits for each of the characters represented in the chapters. We create anchor charts, which will be drawn upon later, and students practice speaking and listening skills as they are required to describe the character trait represented and their rationale for categorizing them as such. Because we were also establishing classroom agreements and personal boundaries, I found the strategies, activities, and practices from Sura Hart’s “The Compassionate Classroom,” Ross Greene’s work with “Collaborative and Proactive Solutions,” and “The Virtues Project” to be areas of focus during Advising time or during times of conflict or disagreement. (If you’re unfamiliar with any of these, I highly recommend checking them out!) I perceive that with an increased focus on building community, my students are always more open to the idea of listening to others’ realities or perceptions. Owning and advocating for themselves, their own feelings and needs, are real as building a community of respect and understanding is an explicit focus of mine. An added activity has included taking a Color Personality test which encouraged us to understand and appreciate ourselves and one another as well. Throughout this process, I found many opportunities to embed grammar practice, too. This year, in particular, adjectives, nouns, conjunctions, articles, plurals/possession, adverbs, pronouns, verb tenses, and subject/verb agreement These arose naturally: I was able to introduce, have students practice and be assessed in these areas without additional or artificial materials or measures. In addition to interpreting words and phrases, we were also able to really focus on what drove a character or a story. We practiced identifying themes, motivations, points of view and purpose. Students demonstrated comprehension and collaboration, reasoning and reflection. Several posters were created that represented each of the characters in Because of Winn-Dixie. When we had finished reading the novel, I had students write a five-paragraph Character Trait essay which showcased the top three traits exemplified by a character of their choosing. It was at that point that I used a variety of picture books to present and practice the 6 plus 1 Writing Traits, from Education Northwest. Students had opportunities to work through the Writing Process to revise, edit, and publish their ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions. I was amazed by the depth and insight of their final drafts (and feel proud of my students along this process)! I perceive that beginning each school year with a focus on cultivating character sets a tone which promotes and fosters connection, calm, and content. There are several things that I’d like to add to this unit of study. That being said, I also appreciate everything that it has done to promote an atmosphere of integrity and understanding that I am able to appreciate each and every day.  
Transcribe →Episode 21 – Teaching Setting Through Shakespeare – an example using “Othello”
Mar 26, 201900:16:49Tap to summarizeTranscript not available for this episode.
Transcribe →Episode 20 – A Rationale for Podcasting as Teachers of Writing
Mar 21, 201900:09:05Tap to summarizeTranscript not available for this episode.
Transcribe →Episode 19 – A Good Woman is Hard to Find
Feb 26, 201900:16:27Tap to summarizeMargaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind—“A Good Woman is Hard to Find” By Karen E. B. Elliott, English Department Faculty February 26, 2019   Margaret Mitchell was once quoted as saying that “in a time of weakness, I wrote a novel.” Well, if writing one of the most read, translated, and published novels in the world was a weakness, I am sorry that she died so young that we’d never get to see her strengths. I decided to teach this novel a few years ago, and without a doubt, for most of my students, whether male or female, black or white, it’s their favorite. There are few novels whose characterization is so rich, even for the minor characters. At first, however, many of my students struggle—the novel is distinctly Southern—and for most of my beloved Northern, New England, so-called Progressive Massachusetts types, Mitchell dispels a lot of myths. She openly condemns Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and she attacks a couple of women from Maine in one particular scene (where they make racist remarks to Uncle Peter) that will make you want to change those coastal vacation plans. Mitchell shows that racism is not just a Southern problem, nor is it still. It’s a Northern one. And according to Mitchell, what makes the Northerners far worse than the Southerners is that behind their supposed intellect, their apparent logic, and progressive politics, you’ve got a region of hypocrites who wear anti-slavery superhero capes, but what they’re really after is money, profit, political support, and all for the building of a new economy based on the rise of industrialization. The heart of the matter is accurately expressed by the famous Rhett Butler who not only predicts the war’s outcome, but also accurately pegs (and despises) the root of most issues—it’s hypocrisy. He says to Scarlett, “It’s only hypocrites like you, my dear lady, just as black at heart but trying to hide it, who become enraged when called by their right names” (Mitchell 223). This definitely applies to all of us, as the American way is to wear your best façade to church, work, school, or on your college application. As Christians, then, it is easy to identify with Scarlett, despite what we feel for or about her. She does not stand for any cause which will actually cost her anything. She is truly ambivalent—we are attracted to her because we support her ability to survive and beat the odds, to play the world at their own game and seemingly win, but we are repulsed by some of her choices and what drives her to make them. I have found that characters my students struggle with the most are the ones we can most identify with. She is, as Rhett declared, a hypocrite. She feigns righteousness when she needs to get something, and her true nature arises when she is cornered like a cat. She can be vicious. And at the heart of it all, she doesn’t really care that much about what other people think—only if it means that it exempts her from the best parties. She covets another woman’s husband; she marries her sister’s fiancé, but she loves her home and will do anything to save it, even if it means offering herself physically. “I won’t let the Yankees [the world] lick [or take advantage of] me” she continually says, and don’t we all feel this way? She lives in a world that clearly doesn’t respect women—certainly does not acknowledge their intellect—and she knows that the world revolves around money, so she will do anything to get it, and all the time she rationalizes this acquisition. She does believe in God, but she does not trust that He has her best interests in mind; in fact, she doesn’t believe that anyone does. In many ways, she is the quintessential American woman, which is not flattering. Mitchell, however, does not allow her reader to laud her main character or rationalize her choices, much like we Christians like to do. Scarlett is contrasted by Melanie Hamilton Wilkes, who Rhett claims (and makes no other claim like it about any other woman in the novel) is “one of the very few kind, sincere, and unselfish persons I have ever known…And moreover, for all her youth, she is one of the few great ladies I have ever been privileged to know” (222). This is what our female students need to hear. Melanie is not fashionable; she is thin, but not so-called “good thin”; she is thin like a seventh grader who never made it to puberty. It’s noted on more than one occasion that she can’t pull off the current trend of evening gowns because she hasn’t got the bust to hoist for cleavage. She apparently has a sweet round face that is shaped like a heart. And although that might sound a bit cliché, her characterization is so strong that you realize she really is all heart—the self-proclaimed, brave Christian woman of the Pauline letters. Rhett acknowledges this bravery because he knows that Melly is sacrificial. She is not afraid to sacrifice her reputation, her life, her friendships, or even her husband for what is honorable and right. She is the only one who can save Rhett from despair when Bonnie dies, because as Mammy says, she’s the only person Rhett truly respects; and, she is “the only woman friend” Scarlett has (937). She even loves the memory of the dead Yankees—her enemies—with much controversy, as she proclaims social ostricization if she cannot mourn them as sons, men, and brothers. She is kind to Belle Watling, the prostitute; she treats Rhett with kindness and gratitude like the Samaritan when he has been expelled from Atlanta society; she honors her husband even though he is dishonorable. Melly is truly “patient, kind, does not envy, is not proud, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not easily angered, and [definitely] keeps no record of wrongs” even though the reader, whether Christian or not, wants her to do so; Melly’s integrity and strength “never fails” (1 Corinthians 13). And most importantly, she convicts those around her. Scarlett admits that she would “burst into tears at the thought of what would be in Melanie’s eyes” if she should think ill of her (877), and Rhett claims that Melly’s unfailing love for Scarlett will be Scarlett’s cross to bear, but it’s one that will, even though at the last minute, weigh Scarlett’s conscience and hopefully make her the woman we all knew she could be. Melanie Wilkes is essential for our students to study. She is the one woman by the end whom my male students vow they will marry someday, and this is good for my girls to hear; they are too swayed these days by so-called strong women, who are really just worldly. They need to hear why my boys dislike Scarlett and are not swayed by her apparent allure, beauty, intellect or gumption. They see her the way Rhett sees her—she is selfish, conceited, and although smart, doesn’t really care about being informed or well-read (because then she might have to think outside of her self-centered desires); whereas, Melly is what St. Paul describes in Ephesians, but moreover, her husband, as noted by Rhett, does not fulfill his part of the bargain as St. Paul declares in verses 25-33: “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her… .” This is what makes Rhett’s disparaging comments about Ashley Wilkes ring true. Rhett knows what Melly deserves—both on a secular and Biblical level—and Ashley Wilkes certainly does not deserve her. Even Scarlett notices this, but what keeps Ashley with Melly (and not Scarlett) are her Biblical attributes. By the novel’s end he proclaims that “If I’ve ever been strong, it was because she was behind me” (938). In the end it wasn’t a pretty face or sexual attraction which kept him by her side—it was because Melly lived her faith. She, unlike Scarlett, didn’t use God like a rabbit’s foot that she rubbed when she needed a material blessing. She sets the example of womanhood to the point where Rhett famously leaves Scarlett and honestly “doesn’t give a damn” about what will happen to her (957). Melanie sets the standard and it is high; however, for a thousand pages Mitchell illustrates through Melly that “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). And our female students need to have confidence that men aren’t going to settle for anything less. Melanie never allowed herself to be judged by anyone’s standards—societal, male, female, political, etc.—and while Scarlett “was too anxious to make money and too fond of bullying people,” “everyone who knew [Melanie] clung to her skirts” because of her honestly, sincerity, and goodness (892; 1000). This, ultimately, is what a man wants. Scarlett learned too late that love is not meant to be taken and held over people’s heads like a whip (1016). Too many of our so-called strong female celebrities teach this to our female students. Women today, Christian women included, are not seeking to be equal with men; we want dominance. Like Scarlett, we’ll use anything to accomplish this: we ironically enslave our appearance, our intellect, our bodies; we’ll even justify physical augmentation in the name of self-esteem; however, this gets Scarlett one thing, and one thing only—abandonment—and the novel’s very unsatisfying ending drives this reality home. (Even Mammy, her “mainstay,” and all the former slaves she loved and saved, leave her without looking back.) Originally, Mitchell’s title for the novel was “Tomorrow is another day”; however, she changed it. Scarlett’s self-centered and distrustful approach to life cost her everything, and if a novel’s title is supposed to frame a story’s meaning, then by living for the world and trusting not God but herself only then everything she had is quite literally “gone with the wind,” and she’s left only with herself, and “fear and remorse and the torment of a suddenly awakened conscience” (763). Consequently, the real question we should ask ourselves and our students is this: What...
Transcribe →Episode 18 – More Than a Grade
Feb 13, 201900:11:12Tap to summarizeThere is not a transcript available for this podcast, but, for more details on the content of this post, view Danah Hashem’s NCTE blog post here.
Transcribe →