Nolan’s Odyssey keeps the Cyclops and drops the one word that makes the episode work. Here’s what that word holds, what the episode loses without it, and how to bring a Greek pun alive for students who will never read Greek.
What’s in a Name: Teaching the “Nobody” Trick That Nolan Left Out Read Post »
Once a cycle, a student asks me why I became a teacher. My honest answer runs through my favorite film. Here’s the case for Les Choristes — the movie I show when a class needs to remember what it’s here for.
The Teacher I Want to Become: Why I Show My Students Les Choristes Read Post »
Panic, narcissism, chaos: students say these words every day, without suspecting each is a Greek myth in disguise. Here is how I use the myths hidden in everyday words to teach etymology as close reading — and to show my students that the ancient world is still alive under their tongue.
The Myths Hiding in Our Words: Etymology as Close Reading Read Post »
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey — one of the most talked-about releases of the year — takes enormous liberties with Homer, so does it belong in a serious unit on the poem? The real question, I think, isn’t whether to show it, but why. Here’s the case for what this beautiful, unfaithful film can do in the classroom.
Teaching Nolan’s The Odyssey: Not Whether to Show It, but Why Read Post »
Beyond its themes and its place in the canon, To Kill a Mockingbird teaches something rarer: how to truly know another person — by first being willing to love them. A literature teacher’s case for why the novel is still worth reading, and worth teaching, and how to give it the depth it deserves.
Why Teach To Kill a Mockingbird: A Novel About Learning to See Each Other Read Post »
We tend to rush students toward the trial in To Kill a Mockingbird. But the slow first half is where the novel does its quietest work — teaching us to misjudge Boo Radley before we’re asked to judge Tom Robinson. A teacher’s reading of waiting, with ideas for the classroom.
