The Yagotta List

First day of spring semester. It's off to a good start. In fact, I didn't make my traditional mistake during class. Almost every first class starts with some sort of goof -- and to my knowledge that did not happen. 

On Mondays and Wednesdays, I'll be teaching a 10am class... And that's it until the late start class begins in March. 

When I teach English 1B I have my students do an ice breaker activity. I call it the Yagotta List. 

It's a list of things "you got to" experience, more specifcally a list of things that you love, that you don't feel has gotten enough exposure, and you want other people to experience and celebrate it.

Here are the categories:

Yagotta Watch:

Yagotta Read:

Yagotta Hear: 

And Yagotta Visit:

I encourage students to choose subjects that are on the more obscure side. It's pointless for me to answer with Star Wars or the Beatles, since those are already incredibly popular. 

However, I might say... 

Yagotta Watch a film from the 1980s called Birdy, directed by Alan Parker -- nobody talks about it in critical circles today, but for me it was groundbreaking, weird and beautiful, haunting and sometimes even hilarious. 

Yagotta Read a book called The River Why, it's about a young fly fisherman who longs to be by himself, doing nothing but fishing in solitude... And then something terrible happens, his wish is granted. Be careful what you fish for. 

Yagotta Hear a podcast called Welcome to Nightvale.... This is incredibly popular in podcast circles, and probably doesn't need any help. Yet, since there are many people unfamiliar with this strange new genre of storytelling, it seems like I could use the Yagotta list to continue to get the word out. 

Yagotta Visit a place in England called the Chatsworth House... It's the world of Pride and Prejudice come to life. We went there back in 2008, and we went into a frickin' hedge maze for the first time in our lives -- and we survived! 

So, what's on your Yagotta List?

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