One of the first units we provide is essentially a short story unit. I am unsure how the district frames it, or rather if it’s accurate: I think they chose a random “essential question” and quilted many random stories that were out of copyright.
Whatever. I love a great short story.
The first one we’re launching into is Roald Dahl’s “Lamb to the Slaughter.” I am putting together a mini-unit on short stories for my GenEd and Honors 9 classes. It was SOOOOOO COOOOOL yesterday when students spontaneously looked up what a leg of lamb was, and gasped when they read what happened. We’ll discuss if Mary deserves jail time today, and watch the Hitchcock version.
More to follow on quick analyses paragraphs, and other projects.
Update:
A little over a week ago, I made a flippant comment on a Beige Cardigan/Instagram Post. A young woman laments over the damage feminism created.
So far, I’ve had 11,000K likes:
And of course, I’ve had about 100+ trolls. When I see a comment, I block. Sometimes I screenshot, because it’s like seeing a cryptid in the wild: I can’t believe my eyes that so many, mostly men, believe what they do.
Now, aside from this young woman’s intent: was she being satirical? Truly distraught? Displaying her privilege? Shrug. I don’t know. I can’t get through the first sentence.
Let’s analyze the theme of the comments:
- Did I want to get paid for being a housewife? Mom? Mum? (For the guy from New Zealand). Get paid to do a job I should be honored and grateful? Well, yes, I long for paid maternity leave in the US, for maternal and baby care, and to make sure that any time a parent cares for a child they are provided for via some kind of deposit in their account. The Child Tax Credit lifted thousands out of poverty, so of course our government decided to end it, or at least the appropriate and necessary expansion of it.
- Should I go to the kitchen and make them a sandwich? Sure. I’ll make you a sandwich, and then you can make me one tomorrow.
- I was also told that “many men” gave their wives the paycheck and the woman of the household used it to budget, pay the bills, etc. My dad and mom were one of these couples. And I also know a former admin (this was in the 2000s) who proudly said his wife wasn’t allowed near the checkbook or his finances. I guess seeing his phone texts to other women wasn’t allowed either.
- “Women’s probability of poverty after divorce nearly doubles.”
- Women do a lot of unpaid labor. Now, before you say, which one troll did, “By my logic, men do, too” the math ain’t mathing. Men’s leisure time is protected. Women’s is not.
https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js@thatdarnchat Replying to @fehadracqcb ♬ original sound – Laura Danger
I absolutely could go on. And on. And on.
And on.
But I want to drink more coffee and make some art. Do I think Mary should have been brought to justice for whacking her cheating spouse over the head with unseasoned meat? (We did decide one of the worst crimes was that she didn’t use any seasoning when she put the leg of lamb in the oven.) I don’t know. But in her ‘thin slicing’ of the moment she saw her and her baby’s bleak future and decided to take immediate action. I’d probably giggle, too, Mary.
