Haiku-licious

smoothmoniker · 12-03-2007, 11:09 PM

On my midterm, I leave the back page of the exam blank. It's intended to be used as scratch paper, for students to work out the more difficult problems. But, every semester, I put the following in the center of that page:

You may use this space
To organize complex thoughts
Or for a haiku

About 1/8 of the students take the time to write an actual haiku in the space - most are silly, some are very clever, and a few are really beautiful. I've noticed over the past few years that the students who take time to write a haiku score about 10% better on the exam than those who don't.

Take time for poetry, and other creative activities. It does good things to your mind!

Mockingbird · 12-03-2007, 11:41 PM

Excellent idea. You don't happen to have any of the haikus left, do you?

ZenGum · 12-03-2007, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smoothmoniker

I've noticed over the past few years that the students who take time to write a haiku score about 10% better on the exam than those who don't.

Possibly because those who have time to write a haiku are those who have already breezed through the questions, and thus are more likely to score better.
But I also like haiku because they force you to condense your meaning into a very few words, thus forcing you to figure out exactly what it is you mean to say. This cuts waffling, a major peril in academia. Sherlock Holmes liked telegrams for the same reason.

LJ · 12-03-2007, 11:52 PM

the act of 'taking the time' is contrary to creativity, in my mind.

uhmm....like..... "i'm going to be spontaneous now" It just doesn't work that way for me, at least. I am most creative in the morning. Unfortunately, my daily routine sees me rushing through my shower and dressing ritual, and then into the car for an hour and a half, where I listen to a book. While I do consider myself a creative person, my stupid life is constantly interposing itself between the me and the muse. If I was going to take the time...it would have to be a big chunk so I could clear my mind and let it come. Most of my truly creative bits have been me noticing something by chance and pulling it out into the open...

so.....i'll say....keep your eyes and ears open so that you are able to notice your own creativity.

HungLikeJesus · 12-04-2007, 11:57 AM

LJ, you should get a small digital recorder. Instead of listening to a book while driving, you can record your thoughts. You can then use software like Dragon Naturally Speaking to convert the recording to text.

LJ · 12-04-2007, 12:10 PM

ah....i'd just make a bunch of fart noises.

ZenGum · 12-04-2007, 12:12 PM

Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz!
Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz!
Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz!

Beautiful.

ZenGum · 12-04-2007, 12:14 PM

My secret trumpet
lets my dinner gas escape
I feign ignorance

LJ · 12-04-2007, 01:32 PM

My lover hears it
And although I am busted
There is no flavor

Undertoad · 12-04-2007, 03:18 PM

My woman's embrace
My dog's snuggle and my gas
Three warm spots in bed

regular.joe · 12-05-2007, 02:34 PM

A burst of spring air?
It smells like rose and lemon,
Wife says different.

Sundae · 12-05-2007, 02:37 PM

A seasonal breeze;
Is that garlic I can smell?
Yesterday's dinner.

LJ · 12-05-2007, 03:00 PM

a nice thread devolves
spiraling down the toilet
i apologize

Clodfobble · 12-05-2007, 10:19 PM

He says he's sorry
But chortles behind his hand
He doesn't mean it

ZenGum · 12-05-2007, 10:28 PM

juvenile minds
upon the bandwagon leap.
truly, smart asses.

12-03-2007, 11:09 PM	#1
smoothmoniker to live and die in LA Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 2,090	Haiku-licious On my midterm, I leave the back page of the exam blank. It's intended to be used as scratch paper, for students to work out the more difficult problems. But, every semester, I put the following in the center of that page: You may use this space To organize complex thoughts Or for a haiku About 1/8 of the students take the time to write an actual haiku in the space - most are silly, some are very clever, and a few are really beautiful. I've noticed over the past few years that the students who take time to write a haiku score about 10% better on the exam than those who don't. Take time for poetry, and other creative activities. It does good things to your mind! __________________ to live and die in LA

12-03-2007, 11:41 PM	#2
Mockingbird Master of hand to mouth living Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Tulsa, Okla Posts: 189	Excellent idea. You don't happen to have any of the haikus left, do you? __________________ When you're low it's either wave that flag or stand there empty-handed. -- Achewood

12-03-2007, 11:52 PM	#4
LJ i am myself Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: via blackberry, maybe Posts: 750	the act of 'taking the time' is contrary to creativity, in my mind. uhmm....like..... "i'm going to be spontaneous now" It just doesn't work that way for me, at least. I am most creative in the morning. Unfortunately, my daily routine sees me rushing through my shower and dressing ritual, and then into the car for an hour and a half, where I listen to a book. While I do consider myself a creative person, my stupid life is constantly interposing itself between the me and the muse. If I was going to take the time...it would have to be a big chunk so I could clear my mind and let it come. Most of my truly creative bits have been me noticing something by chance and pulling it out into the open... so.....i'll say....keep your eyes and ears open so that you are able to notice your own creativity. __________________ Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show ... -C.Dickens

12-04-2007, 11:57 AM	#5
HungLikeJesus Only looks like a disaster tourist Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: above 7,000 feet Posts: 7,208	LJ, you should get a small digital recorder. Instead of listening to a book while driving, you can record your thoughts. You can then use software like Dragon Naturally Speaking to convert the recording to text. __________________ Keep Your Bodies Off My Lawn SteveDallas's Random Thread Picker.

12-04-2007, 12:10 PM	#6
LJ i am myself Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: via blackberry, maybe Posts: 750	ah....i'd just make a bunch of fart noises. __________________ Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show ... -C.Dickens

12-04-2007, 12:12 PM	#7
ZenGum Doctor Wtf Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Badelaide, Baustralia Posts: 12,861	Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Bthththzzzz! Beautiful. __________________ Shut up and hug. MoreThanPretty, Nov 5, 2008. Just because I'm nominally polite, does not make me a pussy. Sundae Girl.

12-04-2007, 12:14 PM	#8
ZenGum Doctor Wtf Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Badelaide, Baustralia Posts: 12,861	My secret trumpet lets my dinner gas escape I feign ignorance __________________ Shut up and hug. MoreThanPretty, Nov 5, 2008. Just because I'm nominally polite, does not make me a pussy. Sundae Girl.

12-04-2007, 01:32 PM	#9
LJ i am myself Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: via blackberry, maybe Posts: 750	My lover hears it And although I am busted There is no flavor __________________ Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show ... -C.Dickens

12-04-2007, 03:18 PM	#10
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	My woman's embrace My dog's snuggle and my gas Three warm spots in bed

12-05-2007, 02:34 PM	#11
regular.joe Старый сержант Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: NC, dreaming of large Russian women. Posts: 1,464	A burst of spring air? It smells like rose and lemon, Wife says different. __________________ Birth, wealth, and position are valueless during wartime. Man is only judged by his character --Soldier's Testament. Death, like birth, is a secret of Nature. - Marcus Aurelius.

12-05-2007, 02:37 PM	#12
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	A seasonal breeze; Is that garlic I can smell? Yesterday's dinner. __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac

12-05-2007, 03:00 PM	#13
LJ i am myself Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: via blackberry, maybe Posts: 750	a nice thread devolves spiraling down the toilet i apologize __________________ Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show ... -C.Dickens

12-05-2007, 10:19 PM	#14
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	He says he's sorry But chortles behind his hand He doesn't mean it

12-05-2007, 10:28 PM	#15
ZenGum Doctor Wtf Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Badelaide, Baustralia Posts: 12,861	juvenile minds upon the bandwagon leap. truly, smart asses. __________________ Shut up and hug. MoreThanPretty, Nov 5, 2008. Just because I'm nominally polite, does not make me a pussy. Sundae Girl.

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