One More Year To Remember

Dan Lukiv, M.Ed.

Chapter 12

december 1

such a long silence
replaces the screams
of a distant cat

december 2

hoarfrost
beneath the full-moon
drips

december 3

i stop walking:
diamonds atop snow
stop dancing

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Quibils and Quirks

Dan Lukiv, ME.d

Dedication

for Julie, Kimberly, Christine, Melissa, and Heather
*
Many thanks to Paul Bagdon
for his belief in me
and in Quibils and Quirks

*****

Forward

by Paul Bagdon
(author of 24 published novels, 14 for children)

Dan Lukiv must be a kid. Dusty and cranky old adults like the rest of us who worry about bills and the new noise in the car and what the boss will think of the latest project simply don’t have the sensibilities—the spark—to realize that creatures who smell strange are funny to young people, and that time travel, teachers named Miss Snapdragon, and idiosyncratic species called Quirks and Quibils are the very stuff of laughter, adventure, drama—and fun.

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When Grammar Competence Mirrors Career Opportunities: The Case of Italian Schools

Emanuela Gutkowski

Note: This article was previously published in the ATEG Journal, vol. 22, no. 3 (2007), and is published here with permission of the ATEG Journal.

It seems quite difficult, in a moment when the efforts of many foreign language textbooks concentrate on a communicative approach to the subject, to find the right place and function of grammar, traditionally conceived, within the activity of teaching English as a foreign language. This is particularly evident if we consider that even textbooks of the pupils’ mother tongue present it in a way which is extremely different from what current teachers were used to when they were students.

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Further Reflections on First-Year Teaching in the College Classroom

Elizabeth Haller

November 20, 2002

            My class had its first group work day of the semester, and it was an absolute disaster.  Is there a book that teaches how to effectively organize groups?  I am sure there must be, so why wasn’t it a required text in my “teacher prep” course?  I have always been uncomfortable with group work, perhaps because, as a teacher, I’ve never learned how to organize it effectively and, as an undergrad, I absolutely despised small groups because I was inevitably always stuck doing all the work.  As a teacher, however, I believe that group work is highly influential in furthering a student’s understanding of a particular concept.  Interaction among peers stimulates something within them as learners that cannot wholly be accomplished through listening to a teacher.  It is similar to being a teenager and having your mother tell you it’s cold outside, so you should wear a sweater.  You proceed to explain to her that you are not a child, and you don’t think you need a sweater, so you’re not going to wear one.  And then your friend says, “Hey, it is cold.  You should really wear a sweater,” and you say, “Okay.”  Even though your mother is simply looking out for your best interests, you are perhaps more inclined to listen to a peer instead, believing they are somewhat less impartial than a parent.

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