Well, so much for writing more often. Happy mid-October! It is no longer back-to-school time, we have settled into a nice routine that consists of "I think I already turned that in..." and "oh, here it is, it was in the bottom of my backpack!" The joys of daily interaction with adolescents. This year, I have the unique pleasure of teaching 9th grade (that means 14 and 15-year-olds to those of you who are confused) all day long! God bless them, they are their own breed, and I can honestly say that I have never been bored at work.
The onset of October brought an introduction to the classical dramatic theories of the one and only Aristotle for my honors students. Though it is a review for me, I am always amazed at the influence the Greeks have had on Western Civilization--the introduction of performance literature among the many mind-blowing concepts they came up with. We just finished reading Oedipus the King (you know--killed his dad, married his mom, all in an effort to avoid fulfilling a prophecy that he would do just this), and are into Antigone right now. What an amazing woman! She was truly a feminist at heart, choosing to do what she knew was right in the face of powerful men who told her to back down. I admire her, and Sophocles for painting a picture (2500 years ago) of a female protagonist who is not crazy or weepy, but instead is strong and independent.
If you have never had the pleasure of meeting these wild and crazy Greeks for yourself, October is the month to do so. See if you can find them at your local library--or better yet, look them up on Sparknotes and read the summaries, then have intelligent conversations about them at dinner parties and never admit that you didn't read the actual Greek translation.
Carry on!
The onset of October brought an introduction to the classical dramatic theories of the one and only Aristotle for my honors students. Though it is a review for me, I am always amazed at the influence the Greeks have had on Western Civilization--the introduction of performance literature among the many mind-blowing concepts they came up with. We just finished reading Oedipus the King (you know--killed his dad, married his mom, all in an effort to avoid fulfilling a prophecy that he would do just this), and are into Antigone right now. What an amazing woman! She was truly a feminist at heart, choosing to do what she knew was right in the face of powerful men who told her to back down. I admire her, and Sophocles for painting a picture (2500 years ago) of a female protagonist who is not crazy or weepy, but instead is strong and independent.
If you have never had the pleasure of meeting these wild and crazy Greeks for yourself, October is the month to do so. See if you can find them at your local library--or better yet, look them up on Sparknotes and read the summaries, then have intelligent conversations about them at dinner parties and never admit that you didn't read the actual Greek translation.
Carry on!
0 comments:
Post a Comment