While reading The Grapes of Wrath with my class this month, I introduced the idea of pragmatism to the students. I used the two primary facets of this philosophy to help analyze the novel. These two characteristics of pragmatism are: 1) truth is mutable, and 2) things become true by verification (experience). If truth is relative [...]

According to a new study in a Washington Post article: At a time when more authors are writing more books for young people, fewer children are reading for pleasure. A recent study by the National Endowment for the Arts showed that the percentage of 13- to 17-year-olds who read daily for fun dropped from 31 percent [...]

I thought I’d post some updates on the goings on I’ve discussed previously. When my class created bulletin boards about the 1920s for The Great Gatsby, things did not go exactly as planned. Being literal-minded students, almost everyone basically created the exact same research piece–exactly as I had written up the assignment. A ...

Next week I’ll be using the following in preparation for The Great Gatsby in my College in the H.S. course: The Cotton Club clip Eight Men Out clip Izzy and Moe clip The History of Jazz clip “I’m a Fool” by Sherwood Anderson “Bernice Bobs Her Hair” by F. Scott Fitzgerald “Soldier’s Home” by ...

I have a fantastic week ahead. In my American Literature course we are finishing Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Raven.” Then the students get to finish their final projects, which they created for themselves. In my College in the H.S. class we are reviewing for next week’s final, and then these ...

This week we’re beginning two novels I enjoy teaching: The Red Badge of Courage and The Princess Bride. Plus, the kids can easily relate to these two tales, and here’s a very brief summary of how I teach them thematically. With Crane’s work we discuss the “loud” nature of the immature, vain, and glory-seeking ...

I’m thinking about giving my students a choice with their final novel projects. The students may compose a second literary analysis paper, or they may create an alternative project which incorporates an analysis and a visual. They will have to decide on the option and what they will create by Monday and get my [...]

I love tangents in class. Yes, you heard me correctly: I love tangents in class. Sometimes I learn more about my students in these situations than in any other, and sometimes we all learn a bit more about life than we could have done during the normal lesson. Today while discussing the scene in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn where some ...

My classes were awesome this week! American Literature: These kids have jumped right into The Crucible and explored the play wholeheartedly. They're asking the right questions and seem genuinely enthused to start each day. I think the groups I created are finally creating the collaboration I wanted to see. College in the High School: They love ...

Here are the books I'm teaching right now: American Literature: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain American Survey: Fools Crow by James Welch Mythology: Mythology by Edith Hamilton Sophomore Honors: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens We finish Twain, Welch, and Dickens this week. I just love when Carton mounts the steps to the ...