Facebook Twitter LinkedIn RSS Feed

Christa Allan, author of not your usual Christian fiction

  • About Christa
  • Blog
  • Books
  • News and Events
  • Contact

April 29, 2011

Research papers + flat tire (-royal wedding) = Poetry

Filed under: Poetry — Tags: Billy Collins, poetry — Christa Allan @ 6:22 pm

Because my brain is gargling research papers, I came to this blog hoping for a wee bit of a reprieve. It didn’t come, like many events in my life, in the way I expected.

My husband called…he has a flat tire. I may need to meet him somewhere. Or not. We’re both waiting for the rescue service to save the day. In this case, night.

So, I went on a search for Billy Collins‘ poetry and linked it to the Royal Family because if anyone would have something about the wedding today, Billy would.

Well, he didn’t…BUT…I found THIS. It’s Billy Collins’ Action Poetry. It’s great fun, and worth the clicks, and not nearly as expensive as attending the wedding.


Comments (0)

April 27, 2011

Christopher Walken finally goes to the birds…

Filed under: Writing — Christa Allan @ 3:32 pm

Since I still can’t figure out why I am not able to embed a YouTube video, you’ll need to click the link to see Walken read Edgar Allan Poe’s, “The Raven.”

The Raven


Comments (0)

April 25, 2011

How write u r

Filed under: Education,Writing — Tags: teens, writing — Christa Allan @ 2:31 am

NOTE FROM CHRISTA: I’m driving Sarah back to The Mustard Seed today, so while I’m on my road trip, I leave this blog post from my archives for your reading…

A recent survey showed that two-thirds of today’s teens use “nonstandard elements” in their school writing assignments.

This is news? OMG.

I’m LOL with my BFF who’s a real QT.

“Half of the teens surveyed say they sometimes fail to use proper capitalization and punctuation in assignments, while 38 percent have carried over the shortcuts typical in instant messaging or e-mail messages, such as “LOL” for “laughing out loud.” A quarter of teens have used :) and other emoticons.”

Can you say “text messaging”? Get a stopwatch, grab a teen, and see who can read the following faster:

Romeo and Juliet – Text Messaging Version

Act 1

Login: Romeo : R u awake? Want 2 chat?
Juliet: O Rom. Where4 art thou?
Romeo: Outside yr window.
Juliet: Stalker!
Romeo: Had 2 come. feeling jiggy.
Juliet: B careful. My family h8 u.
Romeo: Tell me about it. What about u?
Juliet: ‘m up for marriage f u are.. Is tht a bit fwd?
Romeo: No. Yes. No. Oh, dsnt mat-r, 2moro @ 9?
Juliet: Luv U xxxx
Romeo: CU then xxxx

Act 2

Friar: Do u?
Juliet: I do
Romeo: I do

Act 3

Juliet: Come bck 2 bed. It’s the nightingale not the lark.
Romeo: OK
Juliet: !!! I ws wrong !!!. It’s the lark. U gotta go. Or die.
Romeo: Damn. I shouldn’t hv wasted Tybalt & gt banished.
Juliet: When CU again?
Romeo: Soon. Promise. Dry sorrow drinks our blood. Adieu.
Juliet: Miss u big time.

Act 4

Nurse: Yr mum says u have 2 marry Paris!!
Juliet: No way. Yuk yuk yuk. n-e-way, am mard 2 Rom.

Act 5

Friar: Really? O no. U wl have 2 take potion that makes u look ded.
Juliet: Gr8

Act 6

Romeo: J-why r u not returning my texts?
Romeo: RUOK? Am abroad but phone still works.
Romeo: TEXT ME!
Batty: Bad news. J dead. Sorry l8

Act 7

Romeo: J-wish u wr able 2 read this…am now poisoning & and climbing in yr grave. LUV U Ju xxxx

Act 8

Juliet: R-got yr text! Am alive! Ws faking it! Whr RU? Oh…
Friar: Vry bad situation.
Juliet: Nightmare. LUVU2. Always. Dagger. Ow!!! Logout

by cartoonist Roz Chast, first published in the New Yorker

Honestly, using text language in writing isn’t so much an issue with my students. But, please, oh please,tell me who in the educational food chain abdicated the teaching of CURSIVE?

They print EVERYTHING. Sometimes using all upper case letters, some using all lower case, and sometimes using an arbitrary combination of the two, but contrary to the standard rules of punctuation. Every year there’s the token bubble letter kid, the one who dots everything with a puffy heart, and one year I had someone use a star as a dot. Every paper sparkled. Then, inevitably, there’s the dreaded ant scrawler. S/he’s the one whose handwriting is so microscopic, the Constitution would take up less than half of a looseleaf page.

A few of them must confuse “margin” with ‘margARinE” because their sentences spread out all over the paper. Early in the year, I have to introduce “Mr. Paragraph” to those who’ve yet to learn the fine art of indenting.

I suppose I digressed. But to bring it back around, the survey about teens using informal language in school was conducted by–wait for it–telephone.

The delicious irony.

TAFN


Comments (0)

April 21, 2011

Just another manic Monday on the way to funday

Filed under: Education — Tags: high school, juniors, ring ceremony — Christa Allan @ 1:47 am

I’m going to attempt to finish my Monday saga…

Before the technology grinch stole my post, I was starting my school day…

The first four hours were consumed with scheduling students for the next school year. That meant discussing such riveting topics as the Core Four Curriculum and requirements for TOPS (Tuition Opportunity Program). And fielding such questions as: “I need nine more classes to graduate, but I only have space for seven. Will that work?”

Lunch followed. Well, let’s say the thirty minutes generally allotted for our leisurely meal. I spent the time gathering information for the afternoon’s Faculty Selection Committee for the National Honor Society (of which I am the sponsor) and dashing out to the mall to check the sales of the Gay-Straight Alliance’s Easter Egg for Some Bunny Special fundraiser (of which I am also the sponsor).

Two students were sitting at the table with our sign, but they weren’t GSA members. They said they just needed a place to sit, and they promised they weren’t taking money from anyone. Okay…

During my next hour “planning” period, I’m back to gathering information and copy-making for the afternoon meeting. Then one more class to review scheduling information with and walking them through their state-mandate Individual Graduation Plans. Don’t ask. It’s the high school version of the long form 1040 wherein you follow instructions, complete all the info to the best of your ability, but can’t pacify that nagging feeling that you left something out that’s going to bite you a year or two later.

Fifteen minutes after that class ends, we corral all the juniors into the gym to practice for the Ring Ceremony.

The closing bell rings and I dash to make copies for the NHS Selection Committee meeting.  As soon as that meeting ends, Michelle (the other sponsor of the Junior Class with me…really I just do whatever she tells me..she’s masterful at things that terrify me. Like bow-tying and filling out purchase orders) and I take the four dozen silver and black balloons and decorate the stage and the gym lobby.

I return to my classroom to enter grades into our online program because Progress Reports are being distributed on Thursday. I have less than thirty minutes before the deadline. I review grades for my 9th grade class and discover someone has submitted an online test with no name. I cannot recognize students by their fonts.  Someone will have a zero. Maybe that will out the culprit.

I finish in time to return to the gym so Michelle and I can set up the tables and the goodies for the pre-ceremony reception. At 6:30, the ceremony begins; it’s over within thirty minutes.

After the parents and students take a few photos and mingle, we clean up. I head home…

…because Tuesday night is the Faculty Talent Show (I use the word “talent” loosely here), we also begin selling prom tickets at lunch, and we have to meet the photographer after school…

And, with that, I sleep.


Comments (0)

April 18, 2011

Mama said they’d be days like this…

Filed under: Education — Christa Allan @ 11:10 pm

NOTE: I spent over an hour composing a long post with lots of photos…it’s lost…what you see here is all that’s left…

and that, my friend, has been my Monday

This was my Monday:

It’s not yet 4:00-in the morning-and I am jolted out of sleep by a crash so loud I think the roof must have fallen…and very near my head. No. My husband, who power walks everywhere, slammed himself into the den door (which, in his defense, is half glass) on his way to the kitchen. He thought I left it open the night before (which, in my defense, is a mystery to me as to why he’d think this).

    Blood is dripping from the bridge of his nose, and he thinks he might have fractured his knee (he didn’t). We locate a band-aid. He eventually and carefully leaves for work.

    I arrive at school at 6:15 because I have to make copies Of Easter-Grams that the Gay-Straight Alliance club I sponsor is selling as a fundraiser this week to support The Trevor Project. But, before I go bond with the copying machine, I have to create flyers to hang up around the school advertising our 50 cents each or three for $1.00 candy-filled eggs delivered to your Some-Bunny special.

    I return to my classroom to find four students waiting with questions about their research papers due in two days that we’ve been working on for over six weeks. They still don’t understand why they have to do a Works Cited page AND Internal Citations. I still don’t understand why they don’t understand. With minutes to go before the starting bell rings, I finally tell them to do it because I said so and whatever they don’t understand, they can Google. I hear the words “stupid, dumb, ridiculous” float by as they leave. I don’t think they’re referring to their paper.


          Comments (1)

          April 16, 2011

          Boomeranging into the blogosphere

          Filed under: Issues — Tags: French Quarter Festival, Project Lazarus, research papers, school, The Trevor Project — Christa Allan @ 10:10 am

          I don’t know why the blog posts I’ve composed in my brain for the past few weeks haven’t appeared here. . .they’re clever and quippy, I promise.

          But, since I’ve been absent from the blogosphere by the 5.3 of you who are faithful followers, I want to provide the down and dirty details you’ve been missing.  Here’s a drive-by of the plethora of excitement that’s been my life. Try not to fall asleep:

          • Scott Lee, of the design firm by the same name, who created the fabulously artistic cover of my upcoming novel, , updated some pieces and parts of my website.
          • Ken and I went to the French Quarter Festival, spending the night with my brother and Ricky, and enjoyed yummy Mexican at Nacho Mama’s for dinner  and an amazing breakfast at Elizabeth’s Restaurant on Gallier Street. Praline bacon. French Toast stuffed with Strawberry Cream Cheese.

          • I’ve been editing The Edge of Grace, with help from a volunteer tribe of nitpickers: a student, my brother, my daughter, and friends. Twelve sets of eyes locate the most remarkable things…

        • A portion of my royalties from the novel will be donated to The Trevor Project and Project Lazarus of New Orleans. \”It Gets Better\”
            • The school year is careening to a close. Last week involved two days of the annual standardized test, which means for three hours I attempt to not jump out of my skin. While the students are taking the test, we must WATCH and be vigilant. Translation: do not grade papers, read anything, check email, look at a computer screen or anything that involves taking your eyes off the bubblers.  Good grief.

          • Next week is our first Ring Ceremony for the junior class and April is our first prom. I and my friend and fellow teacher Michelle are in charge of both. We’ve spent our last few days discussing uber-important matters such as: balloon colors, twinkle lights, table decorations, gossamer, and the size of the stars on the pockets of the prom-tee shirts. Frankly, if we can do all that and teach, I fail to understand why the House and the Senate can’t get their acts together. They should try putting on a prom with our budget, and maybe they’d stop their bickering.
          • On April 20, I’ll be collecting research papers from almost 100 students. Considering I’m still fielding questions like, “Whaddya mean the internal citations go inside the paper?” and “I’ve already put everything in my own words, why I gotta cite it?” and “Typed? You want it all typed?” …I’m anticipating an Easter vacation that will require an army of chocolate bunnies at standby.

          I’ll make a more conscientious effort to not abandon the bloggy part of my life. And if you ever miss me, don’t hesitate to let me know!

          Oh, and before I forget…for the next few days, my publisher, Abingdon Press, is offering FREE Kindle and Nook downloads of my debut novel, Walking on Broken Glass. Get yours while they last! You can start reading in less than a minute. (I wish I could say that about those research papers…)


          Comments (2)

          Subscribe to blog via email:

          Enter your email address:

          Delivered by FeedBurner



          Christa Allan Copyright © 2008 Christa Allan

          Design by Natalie Jost