Topic Research

Artemis- I've always been a fan of Artemis. I'd say she's probably my favorite Greek Goddess, with the possible exception of Persephone. I'd be interested in doing something along the lines of the story of Artemis and Iphigeneia. The version of the story I'd read before didn't include the part where Artemis intervened and made Iphingeneia  one of her immortal companions, which she apparently did pretty often and I think is a cool aspect of her character.

                                                   

                                                                   (Artemis)

Inanna- I'm not as familiar with Inanna/Ishtar as I am with Artemis, but I like the idea of doing something with such an ancient goddess. I really like the story of her descent into the underworld, because I'm a sucker for underworld myths. To be perfectly honest, I'm almost more intrigued by Asu-shu-namir than Inanna herself, and might focus the story on them rather than her. I mean, how cool is an ancient non-binary deity?

                                                         

                                                                           (Inanna)

Kali- I'm almost reluctant to include Kali since, unlike the other two goddesses I mentioned, she is still widely worshiped by people today. But I just think she's so cool, especially the story of her defeating Raktabija. 

                                                      

                                                                               (Kali)

Feedback Strategies

How To Give Students Specific Feedback That Actually Helps Them Learn by Justin Chando- This article really spoke to some frustrations I've had with feedback in the past. I've always hated when teachers just marked a problem wrong without saying what was wrong with it or, worse, handed back a paper with just a letter grade and not included any commentary. I had a teacher in high school who would underline parts of my essays, but not write anything by the underlined sections. I never knew if he was pointing out problems or things I did well, so I had no idea what to do when he wanted us to revise.

How to Craft Constructive Feedback- This was interesting, because I had never really thought about how different types of feedback might be needed depending on the purpose of a work or reason for showing it to someone until recently. I work in the writing center, and when I was telling one of my coworkers about the plot I'm thinking of for my novel writing class this semester, she kicked into writing assistant mode. The thing is, we work mostly on analytical paper in the writing center, and so her suggestions and questions weren't really helpful, and were just kind of annoying.

                                                             
                                                    (How to Craft Constructive Feedback)

Week 3 Story: The Golem

She had no name. This didn't really matter, she got along perfectly fine without one. It was easy enough to tell when the Rabbi was talking to her by the way he spoke. The other people had no trouble talking about her with out a name to use. After all, she was the only golem they had ever met.

She really didn't need a name, but sometimes she thought it might be nice to have one.

The Rabbi might give her one if she asked. He had never been unkind to her, for all that he knew she wasn't a real person. He had created her, all those weeks ago, so she didn't see why he should have a problem with giving her a name. But she couldn't ask for one. She had been created to follow instructions, not have conversations, and she hadn't worked out how to speak at all.

She really didn't mind doing chores for the Rabbi, but she preferred the times when he was gone and the neighborhood children would come by. They didn't seem to mind that she wasn't a real person. They would smile and wave and make faces at her, and, she found, they were always delighted when she waved and made faces back.

One day the children asked her to come outside and play with them. She had never done this before, but they sounded so eager for her to join them that she decided to climb out the window and walk with them through the streets.

When the children said they were cold and asked for a fire, the golem didn't hesitate to build one. She tended the Rabbi's fire every Sabbath, so it was no trouble for her to do the same for her new friends. The children pulled her with them into dancing around the fire, all laughing and singing together.

Seeing how happy the fire had made them, the golem decided to add more fuel and build it up even bigger. But then it did something the Rabbi's fire never had. It spread, burning the houses around it.

The children screamed and ran away. The golem was going to follow them, but she heard a noise from inside of one of the houses that was burning. It sounded like a child screaming.

The golem easily broke down the door to the house. Inside, a small boy was hiding under a table, too terrified of the flames to run away. The golem went and pulled him out from under the table. She had nearly led him out the door when one of her legs gave out and she collapsed.

                                        

Looking down, the golem saw that her leg had caught fire and burned away. It didn't hurt, as she had not been built to feel pain, but the fire was spreading quickly to the rest of her body. Using the last of her strength, she pushed the child out the door, and watched him run away from the blaze her body burned away, leaving nothing but a piece of paper with the name of God written on it.

Author's Note: This story is based on The Rabbi's Bogey-Man. the original story is focused more on the Rabbi, and tells of how he decided to make this golem, and then another one that turned against him and had to be destroyed.

Image Information: Staring Eyes Brown Clay Golem Fx Makeup 

Week 3 Reading Notes: Jewish Fairy Tales Part B

The Rabbi's Bogey Man- The pov for this story is closest to third person, without any true viewpoint character. Rabbi Lion is definitely the main character and focus of most of the story, but it isn't really told from his perspective. Rather than write what the rabbi is thinking, the story has him speak out loud to an empty room so an outside observer would be able to overhear. The first indication of emotion is that he looks troubled, not that he is troubled, and when the story does state how he feels there isn't any attempt to convey those emotions. During the scene with the king, the reader has just as much insight into how he feels as they do the rabbi.

I think it would be interesting to rewrite this story from the viewpoint of the first golem. It seems like she's capable of thinking, even if she has to obey orders, but since she's less rebellious than the second golem the reader never knows what she might be thinking.

                                                       
                                                             (The Rabbi's Bogey Man)

Week 3 Reading Notes:Jewish Fairy Tales Part A

The Quarrel of the Cat and Dog

I thought it was interesting how the story started with the two animals being friends, and that it made it almost sad when they ended up as enemies at the end. However, I don't think it really makes sense how they became enemies. I don't get why the cat wanted them to never see each other again, or why she was so angry when the dog accidentally showed up again, especially since there was enough room and food for both of them.

I also thought it was cool how the dog was shown fulfilling some of the jobs humans train dogs to do for other animals. He acted as a guard dog for the wolf, hearing approaching danger and going out to chase it away, (although the wolf probably would have been better suited to fighting off wild animals) and he warned the sheep when the wolves were coming like a sheep dog.

                                         
                                                         (Etching by Hendrik Hondius)