Prologue, Henry V

O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention, A kingdom for a stage, princes to act And monarchs to behold the swelling scene! Then should the warlike Harry, like himself, Assume the port of Mars; and at his heels, Leash’d in like hounds, should famine, sword and fire Crouch…

Life After the Death of Theory

Professors, in general, have the luxury of appearing moderate and open to competing ideas, but insecure students often research the opinions of faculty members to ensure that they will be on the correct side of any apparently open dialogue. The powerless seize on small expressions of political opinion from the powerful and embrace these views…

Cops with Six Legs

Most biologists who have considered insect societies see them as models for studying altruism, with the workers looking out for the common good. But according to Wenseleers, the new work suggests that the more appropriate image is that of oppressed workers in a police state. —Susan Millius —Cops with Six Legs (Science News) While I spent…

Shakespeare vs. Teletubbies: Is There a Role for Pop Culture in the Classroom?

By teaching kids to become both media producers and media consumers, the Adams Avenue project promotes the reading, writing, and critical thinking skills necessary to succeed at the college level, Seiter says. That’s especially important for at-risk students, she adds, because while “they may know a lot about TV or movies or video games, kids…

Remix etc.

Here‘sthe dilemma and confusion. Asking students to conform to a print based logic in an electronic world is not teaching anyone to think on one‘sown. Indeed, this kind of pedagogy translates into a continual academic stubbornness, a refusal to recognize the communication shifts we have experienced and are experiencing currently. Telling students to write according…

Education Arcade, day 1

Henry shared the media that influenced him, including films like Operation Frontal Lobe and Isaasc Asimov sci-fi novels. He agued that every other pop culture medium has been involved in education, and games need to catch up. Even Hollywood markets films with education guides (e.g. The Alamo, which has one available on the official website).…

As You LIke It @ Seton Hill University

“Beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold.” — Rosalind, As You Like ItAs You LIke It @ Seton Hill UniversityJerz’s Literacy Weblog) I asked students in three of my classes to attend Seton Hill University’s production of As You Like It. I thought the casting was very well done. With her hair pulled back in a…

Canterbury Tales: A Quick Link Roundup

Canterbury Tales: A Quick Link RoundupLiteracy Weblog) Online Google searches for Chaucer typically point to watered-down “study guides.” There is a real need for good online material on Chaucer, and there are good sites online that attempt to more than serve the lowest common denominator. A student backed out of an oral presentation topic late…

Ignoring Good Advice

His voice was calm, but I could tell by his furrowed brow that what he truly wanted to say was, “Graduate school is a slow and unrelenting descent into hell. Save yourself while you still can.” | I felt the earth move under my feet. Grad school had been my last great hope. For most…

Guns and Roses

“Shakespeare was a hugely popular commercial writer who asked big questions about the world he lived in. The world has changed but the questions remain the same, and they still need asking.”  —Guns and Roses (Guardian) Similar:More than a million people die on roads every year. Meet the man determined to prevent the…Stapler jam during…