Visiting Hartford, Connecticut

I am currently in Hartford, Connecticut, attending a seminar at the Mark Twain House. Yesterday we heard from Dr. Kerry Driscoll from the University of Saint Joseph and Dr. Steven Railton from the University of Virginia about The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Dr. Driscoll introduced the book contextually and offered suggestions about how to do the same in our classrooms. Dr. Railton focused on the performance aspects of both the novel and of Twain himself.

Sunday, when I first arrived in Hartford, I visited The Wadsworth Atheneum. This is one of the oldest museums in America and I was very impressed with the collection. There were four Pablo Picasso paintings, a Jackson Pollock, a Norman Rockwell, a Salvador Dali, and a desk by Frank Lloyd Wright. One of my favorite things was in the Avery Court where a classic style sculpture is positioned in a fountain and then, way up hanging from the ceiling, is a sculpture of a man on a trapeze. The juxtaposition of the two pieces made me smile.

So far, I have been impressed with my trip, and I hope the rest of the week is just as great!

Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms

I just taught this novel for the first time this year. I can't wait to share this tidbit with other students in the future, especially when they are complaining about how many times I make them rework their writing.

ABC World News Tweet

Hello

Welcome to my blog. I hope to use this space to share some of the wonderful things that make life easier for me as a teacher and crafter. I hope that you will find my postings helpful!