Friday, January 23, 2009

To continue building knowledge about classical Greek theatre, today students read about Sophocles, a Greek playwright (see picture). They also worked on a free write about the concept of a reversal in fortune (ex: a person has always had great luck until...). Oedipus is the classic story of a tragic character who experiences a reversal in fortune: he thinks he escapes fate, saves Thebes from disaster, leads his people to prosperity, and thinks he is solving the crime of the century only to find out that he is the guilty one and his guilt goes beyond his wildest imagination. We see reversals like this all over in our world--in politics (scandal), finances (check your 401K lately?), relationships (betrayal)...but also in a good sense (think: random act of kindness or pay it forward).

Have a peaceful weekend!

MD

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Two photos from my recent trip to Greece and Turkey demonstrating the size of the Greek theater.

Today students learned about the origins of Greek theatre. We are getting ready to start reading Oedipus Rex on Monday and I think it is more fun if we can imagine what it might have been like "back then". At the end of the note taking, I asked students to write down two things that they learned and two questions that they still had. I was surprised by the inquisitive questions...such as "why were chorus members not payed?" and "how much would it cost to go to a play then?" and "how did they build the Greek theatres?" (And other less appropriate questions focusing on the dance/chant/fertility festivals held in honor of Dionysus) All good questions...hopefully students are fervently researching the questions and will report back to me tomorrow...

Wednesday, January 21, 2008

Today in class we began talking about what makes each of us an individual in preparation for reading the novel Anthem. We also began working on our first major writing assignment: the Individuality Paper. This writing assignment is due on Monday, February 2, 2009.

Two days ago I was circling around the block looking for a good place to park my car. There was obviously something going on in the neighborhood (I wasn't invited) and I couldn't find a spot. During this time, there was an interview with the outgoing chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts and American poet, Dana Gioia. Gioia referenced a 2007 study by the NEA stating that, "Nearly half of all Americans ages 18 to 24 read no books for pleasure[in 2002]" and the "percentage of 18- to 44-year-olds who read a book fell 7 points from 1992 to 2002". Scary, I know. I was excited to listen to him talk about the preliminary information from their newest study that shows the amount of time spent reading in 2007 improved in every age category (I couldn't find his source for this). Furthermore, he stated that this is the only gain of that nature recorded during the 20th and 21st centuries. Exciting! Check out the list of some of my favorite books coming soon to this site.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Today in class students took a survey about technology in their lives. I will use the results of this survey to inform my instruction and planning and begin looking at what areas our students need more emphasis on to be sucessful in an ever-changing world. Additionally, students composed a letter to me about thier experience in English classes thus far in their high-school career and what they need as learners.

Yesterday was the 200th birthday of American Poet Edgar Allen Poe. I should have invited my freinds over for a feast of raven and other such fare that would have been on tables circa 1809.

I am looking forward to a sucessful semester!