Thank You, Bethany!

[Natalie Maynor]

Or at least I think it was Bethany.  Somebody can set the record straight
if I'm thanking the wrong person for the great idea I stole here about six
months ago:  the adopt-a-word idea.  I tried it, or at least something
pretty close to it, in my HOTEL class this semester, and it worked great.
I required the students to start with the OED in the papers they wrote on
their words but not necessarily to report everything the OED said about
the word.  That was a good way to make sure they got to know the OED fairly
well.  Then they were to move on to their own observations in reading or
listening or thinking -- metaphorical uses, slang, etc.

One thing I've noticed is that the project seemed to catch the interest
of all kinds of students, from the weakest to the best.  I loved what one
student (a good student) told me after class this morning.  She said that
she got so excited about the historical relationship of "off" and "of"
that she called her mother to tell her about it.  Her mother's response was
"You need to get more sleep."
   --Natalie (maynor at ra.msstate.edu)