If you ever find yourself in a position where you are writing case studies for students to use, please for the love of whatever you hold dear, DO NOT give a ridiculous word-for-word account of every conversation of stilted dialogue that your two imaginary characters have ever had....
...And then top it off with ham-fisted attempts at purple prose. That prose is now purple only because you bludgeoned it into submission.
Highlights (paraphrased):
"She watched the janitor below and envied his uncomplicated life."
"[rambling paragraph of unrealistic internal monologue filled with overly specific references to obscure management techniques and theories] she meditated as she watched the sun dip below the horizon."
-_- Are you kidding me right now?
However, even the most hated things can hold a lesson! At one point in her over-theoretical ruminations, this particular character wonders if the employee giving her trouble has psychiatric issues, and wonders if she should recommend him to a psychiatrist, or if maybe bibliotherapy would help.
"Bibliotherapy? That sounds cool, is that actually a thing?" I mused thoughtfully. I could kind of guess at what it suggested, but I wanted to be sure. "To Wikipedia!" my internal monologue cried out as I grasped my iPad...
See what I did there? ...I think that case study melted my brain...
Lesson 89: The Ancient Greeks inscribed signs above their libraries, "stating them to be healing places for the soul"[1].
How poetic! I think I'd like to make a sign like that for my future, and inevitable, home library. Maybe I'll learn to cross-stitch just to make a sampler that says that...
Bibliotherapy: definitely what I thought it was, and definitely cool. And definitely added to my topics to read about list.
In other news, yesterday's post has been delayed because I'm waiting till I can add a couple pictures, as I largely discuss my Toronto adventure. So it'll be worth the wait; a lovely illustrated post.
[1]Sullivan, A. K., & Strang, H. R. (2003). Bibliotherapy in the classroom. Childhood Education, 79(2), 74-80. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/210384283?accountid=12339
"she meditated as she watched the sun dip below the horizon." Is what killed me. HOW LONG WAS SHE STANDING THERE?
ReplyDeleteWell did you see how long and detailed that internal monologue was?
Delete"If he's theory X, does that make me theory Y?" "Maybe I should try the MBO approach!" ...
She was probably there for ages! I'm half-shocked it didn't end with "as she watched spring turn to summer, turn to fall, to winter and finally to spring once more"...
I have a nice paper about bibliotherapy. I reference the one you noted above :-)
ReplyDeleteI'd love to read it if you're willing to share!
Deletehttp://journals.cec.sped.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&context=tecplus&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ca%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3Dmaich%2520bibliotherapy%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D3%26ved%3D0CC4QFjAC%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fjournals.cec.sped.org%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D1061%2526context%253Dtecplus%26ei%3DeIxjT5mYLO-80QHD3cibCA%26usg%3DAFQjCNFOTGvWfyzTRAWhtEGCadQPLonDrw#search=%22maich%20bibliotherapy%22
ReplyDelete