All Play and No Work?

Well, it is the 5th week and we are halfway through the quarter. My students turned in the first draft of their second essay, a critique of textualism according to Justice Antonin Scalia. In case you are dying to know, textualism (in a nutshell) is the idea that...wait, you aren't dying to know, are you?

I had my discussion section this morning. I spent nearly the entire time talking about sentence structure and grammar. Students seem to think that longer sentences are better sentences, but this is not so. Many of them commit what I like to call "sentence sprawl" and "comma abuse." As they write, students like to just keep going with their thoughts and go on and on and on, because they get on a roll, and then they don't want to lose their train of thought, and they assume that they are being perfectly clear even though they are not, and then they just sprinkle commas throughout their super long sentence. As you can see, I have given you an example. From their essays, I pulled out some examples of sentence sprawl, comma abuse, and good comma use to make a handout for the students. Together we practiced "fixing" bad sentences.

I decided that today was the day to tell my students about my pet fish, Justice O'Connor. Below is a photo:

I got Justice O'Connor last December. My roommates and I decided to have a White Elephant Gift Exchange, and my gift was a betta fish. Well, I decided that I wanted to have my own fish, so I purchased a red betta fish. To pay homage to the first female Supreme Court Justice, I named my fish Justice O'Connor. At the gift exchange, my friend took home my gift and he named his fish John Roberts (after the current Chief Justice).

Sometimes TAs dread going to their discussion section too early because they don't want to have to make small talk with the students. Some may think that they will lose authority if they seem too much like a friend. Most are simply so incredibly socially awkward that small talk probably freaks them out. I, however, love getting set up for class and making small talk before my discussion sections. (And no, I don't have any authority problems.) Anyway, before section today, I told the students about trick-or-treating in the cold and (sometimes) snow in Minnesota. It was an unfathomable concept to them. Then I proceeded to tell them about Justice O'Connor and how he (it's a male betta fish) almost died last week. Hilarity ensued. I explained how I found Justice O'Connor fluttering about near the surface of the water. I was afraid that he was going to die because the bowl was only 2/3 full of water. I dumped more water into the bowl, along with some food. He was still fluttering about, sideways. I started to yell at Justice O'Connor, telling him not to die. It must have worked because Justice O'Connor is still alive. Anyway, I met some friends for dinner after JOC's near death experience and told them that I feared that a fish funeral was imminent. My students laughed at my story- a lot. They also suggested that I need to have more fish to name after Supreme Court Justices. I think one is enough.

Since it was Halloween today, I baked sugar cookies for my students. I also baked some cookies for Danielle (my roommate) to take to her chemistry lab. Tonight I realized that I had forgotten to bake for my Political Participation class that meets tomorrow afternoon. Since last winter quarter, I have gotten into the fairly consistent habit of picking one of my classes (in which I am a student) and baking for seminar each week. I enjoy baking, but I can't eat all the treats by myself! Tonight I made orange pumpkins and leaves with pink frosting. It looks strange, but pink is all I had left.

I have started a new knitting project. You see, Heidi and Katie have a super comfortable blue couch in their office. When I need a break, I like to go lay down and relax for a few minutes. It is heavenly, but the only thing that is missing is a pillow. So, I decided to knit them a pillow cushion. Also, notice the brand new bamboo knitting needles. I got them in this gigantic set of 17 pairs. They are quiet and super smooth. Best of all, they're not super slippery like the aluminum needles, so I don't have to worry about dropping stitches.

I have finished the scarf!