Additional Post #1

OH NO! MY HEAD IS SPINNING! I MISSED THE METAPHOR! :)

Yes, I missed the metaphor on Blog Assignment #10. WHY, you ask? I think I missed the metaphor for the same reason a lot of other people missed it. I OVER THINK THINGS IN THIS CLASS! I admit it! This class makes me a little nervous (still) and I get so focused on the "assignment", "Did I do this? Did I do that? I need to finish this/that!" that I completely mess up all together! I've had to learn throughout this semester that... IT HAPPENS! So I took this "mess up" and used it as a learning experience, as Dr. Strange suggested.

Over the past few weeks I have been on the hunt for metaphors! Here are a couple that I heard or either said myself (Apparently I'm a huge fan of metaphors and use them in my life constantly. So the fact that I "missed the metaphor" is slightly embarrassing to me BUT it happens.):

“Keep your eyes peeled."

“My mind is cloudy at the moment.”

“It was like music to my ears.”

“You light up my life.”

“My head is spinning thanks to all the things that have happened this week."

“You’re a doll.”

“She has a heart made of gold.”

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

"I just froze."

"I could sleep for a week."

I COULD go on...but I won't.

So how as an educator, could I help my students better understand metaphors? Honestly, I'm not sure that I was ever thoroughly explained the concept of metaphors. Maybe metaphors are just something we as funny/sarcastic human beings are just supposed to know? Maybe I missed the memo? I'm not sure what happened but either way I think this is something that needs to be addressed from the time children start to really get into reading. If they don't know already, they need to be told that sometimes things don't always mean what it seems like they do. Some children may just be a little slower to catch on to things like metaphors (like me). Personally, I would give funny examples to the kids so that they would remember exactly what a metaphor means so that they could be on the "look out" for them. Also, I would give them stories filled with metaphors and have them circle/highlight the metaphor they find. This is coming from an "Elementary Major" point of view.

Lastly, why do we use metaphors? Personally, I think that I use metaphors to be funny or to have a way to say things that might be "uncomfortable" to say "normally". To me, metaphors are a way to dress up everyday speech and to have fun with what's being said. Obviously I need to take my own advice and be on the "look out" for metaphors from now on!