From the earliest days of human history, we have been storytellers. Cultural norms have been created, reinforced, and transmitted to successive generations through stories. Before we began to use science to explain natural phenomenon, we used myths to make sense…
Currently my AP students are wrestling with the question: why is it important to read great literature? I asked them to come up with ideas on their own and then do an internet search to find what others are saying.…
Dear President Obama, I watched the 2012 Democratic National Convention. I listened as Michelle told of your ritual of reading letters from ordinary (perhaps extraordinary, too) Americans each night. She said that you believed these letters are a key to…
In my first years of teaching, I was still learning the ways of students whose veiled ulterior motives were not always obvious to me. However, as I listened to Pink Floyd’s Another Brick in The Wall yesterday on the radio,…
What follows is the text of my farewell speech, written as part of the final AP English Literature project. We all wrote farewell (valedictory speeches) and delivered them formally in the auditorium. It was a unique experience. See the Wordle…
