Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Old Man Essay Prompts

I've posted a copy of The Old Man and the Sea essay prompts on my English Teaching Resources page.
I'm hoping that students are able to use that page to access handouts and assignment sheets they might have accidentally misplaced.

In a nod toward our school's Environmental Club, I hope that by "going digital" I am able to conserve paper, as when a student asks for a copy of a document I already distributed, I can refer him or her to the blog. I envision in the not-so-distant future a time when assignments are posted solely online, and essays are submitted digitally without unnecessary use of paper.

By posting some of my handouts and assignments online, I allow other teachers to borrow, tailor, and build. I am grateful to teachers like Mrs. Huff who have posted their handouts for others to peruse.

It is extremely beneficial to see how others in the profession teach similar units and concepts. Exposure to others' lessons and ideas have shaped my own instruction by validating what is working and helping me to strengthen, tweak, or scrap things that aren't as effective as I might like them to be.

Thanks the blog, I'm able to commiserate and learn from colleagues I would otherwise never meet due to geographical constraints.

On a final note, the image to the left is a photograph I took of a painting on display at Ernest Hemingway's Key West, FL, home, where he lived for about 10 years.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mr. BG that would be crazy if you were on the verge of a new technological curriculum of English. I said it first, "Mr. BG a pioneer of a new age of English and literature."

Mr. B-G said...

Jeff,

It is my belief that within the next ten years, schools will begin phasing in digital texts to replace traditional paper-bound books.

All students will receive lightweight notebook computers capable of storing large amounts of digital text.

Instead of signing out a book, the text from that book will be downloaded to each student’s laptop.

Assignments will be submitted electronically, and students will all have published online anthologies.

Wireless Internet will eventually become free in major cities, and we will grow even more "connected."

I don't know what all the ramifications are regarding this shift in the way we interact. There are many positives, but there's also something that's lost.

Humans need face-to-face interaction with other humans. As more of our communication occurs via screens and monitors, an element essential to our well-being fades.

You - as a student - are just as much a pioneer as I. The question is, what exactly are we pioneering? Where will this all lead?