Is this a blogger which I see before me? (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog) The other day I read a kid’s version of Macbeth to my son (age 7). It’s William Shakespeare’s Macbeth (retold by Bruce Coville / pictures by Gary Kelley). A couple nights later, instead of the science-fiction paperback we’ve been ploughing through for weeks, my…
I therefore formulate and offer to the world the following Principles for Quotations, two for quoters and two for readers, which, if universally followed, would make an immense improvement to the reliability of the information available on the world wide web. Principle 1 (for readers) Whenever you see a quotation given with an author but…
At the grave yard Hamlet does not manifest any feelings towards his late father who according to the traditional interpretation, must have been buried there only a couple of months before that. Hamlet’s behavior remains the same even when the grave-digger mentions king Hamlet. There appears an impression as if Hamlet had two different fathers:…
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…
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…
“Just think about it,” I would tell them with as straight a face as I could muster, “next Tuesday the Royal Shakespeare Company will be on campus to give their rendition of King Lear.” I left time for that news to sink in, and then added: “I’m told that their production is absolutely world class.”…
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…
Many students having difficulty understanding Shakespeare would be surprised to learn that he wrote in modern English. But, as can be seen in the earlier example of the Lord’s Prayer, Elizabethan English has much more in common with our language today than it does with the language of Chaucer. Many familiar words and phrases were…
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…
Long ago, I realized that computer labs aren’t designed for students writing English lit papers. You may have heard about a revolutionary new development in communications technology. [N]o wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It’s so easy to use even a child can operate it. Just lift its…
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…
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).…
“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…
A scheduled quiz on As You Like It sprang And caught some students unprepar’d today. Soft-hearted me! I bargained with them thus: They’ll blog in verse (as Shakespeare would have done), And I will grant them an exten-si-on.
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…
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…
Play the part of the famous lovers with this customized version of the classic Shakespearean drama. Relive the thrill of classic lines with you in them. “Oh Brad, Brad. Wherefore art thou Brad?”“But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Helen is the sun.” What’s more, if you choose the…
“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)