Showing posts with label world lit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world lit. Show all posts

Thursday, November 5, 2009

GANG OF FIVE: WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW......



Well, it is time for the Gang of Five to wax eloquent on a topic of my choosing. I mentioned several times during first quarter that what we are reading in World Lit is "stuff" you need to know. How Gilgamesh saw himself as a king, how Socrates sought to teach Glaucon about knowledge, how Pushkin turned a cliched perception about autumn on its ear, how each of these writers revealed themselves as they wrote--all these examples can only add to your personal life database. Is life all about adapting, about making choices? And how do you make good choices without information? You don't. Hence World Lit and the opportunity to add to the hard drive called your brain.
So.....I recently came across a list of "things you need to know" on a teacher's blog.(See here. Read it. No need to read the comments unless you find  them interesting.) It occurred to me that though the list seemed like a useful one to me, also a teacher, you might not have the same reaction. Is your education providing you with the tools you need? I'd like to hear which items on this list are indeed essential for you and your peers as you assume leadership of your future. More importantly, what items do you think may be missing from the list? I would like a short discussion of those ideas you like along with a description of what may be missing from this article (and your education). Aim for 250-300 words, and I will not complain if you write more. Make sure to see what the others are thinking--it may inform your choices for the list. Your entry should be posted no later than November 25, 2009. Humble me! pic:www.alistairsmyth.com/.../Tree-ofKnowledge.jpg

Saturday, September 19, 2009

THINGS FALL APART (Skeeter Vs, Supertroopers)



The District Commissioner reveals something about himself in the last scene of Things Fall Apart: he is planning to write a book about his experiences with the Ibo. As he orders his men to cut down Okwonko's dead body, he daydreams that "one could almost write a whole chapter on Okonkwo (sic)..." There is dramatic void between his intellectual assessment of the situation and the passion extinguished by the violent end to Okwonko's life. What do you think the Commissioner would include about Okwonko in his book? Write me a hypothetical paragraph in the Commissioner's. Consider his interest in the episode and his perspective on its meaning. Due September 25.
UPDATE: REVIEW THE ENTRIES BELOW FOR STYLE, POV, CONTENT. CHOOSE THE ONE YOU FEEL IS BEST. CUT AND PASTE IT INTO A WORD DOCUMENT, AND COMMENT ON WHY YOU JUDGE IT SO HIGHLY. MLA FORMAT. PRINT IT OUT. DUE AT THE END OF CLASS TODAY. IF YOU CHOOSE YOUR OWN, IT HAD BETTER BE GOOD.