Cover & Introduction

The Cover and Introduction

Looking at the Cover:

Question: Do you think the title is true or not?  What do you agree or disagree with?

Question: What meaning or message do you think the author is trying to convey with a dunce cap filled with roses?

Note: Many students do not know what a dunce hat is, so you may find the following explanation useful:

A dunce cap is a conical hat marked with the word 'dunce', which is synonymous with stupid or idiot.  A student who broke a rule, fell asleep, or didn't know the answer to a question could be made to stand in the corner wearing a dunce cap, sometimes for up to half an hour.  The idea was to humiliate the student by publicly showing that he or she was stupid.  The fear of being embarrassed would hopefully keep students on their best behavior and paying attention.  Dunce caps may seen their beginnings as far back as the 1600's, and were still in use in the early 1900's, and have therefore become an icon of stupidity even though they are no longer used in schools.

After Reading the Introduction:

Question:  What are you looking for in a relationship?

Suggestion: Instead of having a discussion or writing an essay, you could have students write single words of what they want and what they don't want in a relationship.  You could assign them to write 5-10 words from each category.  If students need some prompting, you could provide them the following word list:

abuse

activity

affection

approval

belittlement

boredom

calm

caring

change

closeness

comfort

companionship

compliments

condemnation

confusion

control

conversation

criticism

degradation

dependence

distance

encouragement

excitement

fear

freedom

friendship

fun

gifts

happiness

honesty

independence

infatuation

inspiration

intimacy

jealousy

laughter

loneliness

love

lust

money

motivation

neglect

openness

pain

permanence

pleasure

possessiveness

power

prestige

pretense

privacy

protection

respect

romance

routine

sacrifice

sadness

secrecy

security

selfishness

sex

stress

submissiveness

tears

transportation

trust

understanding

validation

work

Followup Question:  What are you will to give in a relationship?