Considering that it's hard to get the students to read anything, it becomes a real challenge to have them read Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. No, not some play version, and no, not a modern translation. We read the novel in its original, 19th-century verbosity. The novel, although extremely short, is painfully pompous and a bit pedantic, especially in Stave Three when Dickens takes Scrooge on a whimsical tour of the coastline and beyond, and when an unmarried couple gets ridiculously fresh with each other behind the drapes at Fred's house.
However, the story is woven quite beautifully and is a marvelous tale that is well-told and survives the test of time.
To keep myself entertained and to engage the students as we go along, I start a chalk drawing on a small board in the back of my room. At first, no one pays it any mind at all. By the time I am ready to add characters, the students start asking me if I'm drawing the novel. Considering that I am no artist, I take this as a tremendous compliment.
A few weeks later, both the reading and drawing have concluded. It may not be the best illustration, not entirely literal as per Charles, and certainly not accurate in its color, but it has kept us all entertained (me, most of all) while we slog through writings of an author who was paid by the word.
Merry Christmas, all, and God bless us every one.
