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Graduate Credit: ENG 3604
PDPs/CEUs: ENG 5904
Participants: English Teachers, grades 5–12
Dates/Times: July 7 - 11, 2008; 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: Northeastern University, Boston Campus
Cost/Credit: 68 PDPs/6.8 CEUs, $500; 4 q.h. graduate credits, $820
From an insider’s look at the world of poetry, participants in this class will take part in what the instructor calls “the high-toned soap opera of the writing life.” How best to begin? How much to criticize? How much “theory” versus how much unfettered “playing around”? What to expect from high school students? Of what are they capable, poetically? How do you know what they write is any good? Do you as teacher have to write, too? Poetry? So what? Who cares?
“Lives of the Poem”, the main text of this course, is one creative writing teacher’s answer to the call for more vigorous and accessible teaching of poetry made in Dana Gioia’s seminal Atlantic Monthly essay, “Can Poetry Matter?” Hear accounts of how to deliberately create prompts that call good work from students, how to seize impromptus out of thin air and make poems that really fly. See prize-winning student poems, hear students speak themselves of how they created their poems, witness creativity first hand as you write poems in a friendly classroom environment.
Instructor: Richard Hague has taught creative writing, literature, and interdisciplinary studies at Purcell Marian High School in Cincinnati, Ohio since 1969. The writing program he designed and administered won First Place in the US for Excellence in English from the English-Speaking Union in 1994. His latest book is Lives of the Poem: Community & Connection in a Writing Life.
From Socrates to Salinger: Using the Great Ideas of Western Philosophy to Teach Literature and Film View Syllabus>>
Graduate Credit: ENG 3602
PDPs/CEUs: ENG 5902
Participants: English Teachers, grades 5–12
Dates/Times: July 7 - 11, 2008; 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: Barnstable High School, Barnstable, MA
Cost/Credit: 68 PDPs/6.8 CEUs, $500; 4 q.h. graduate credits, $820
Participants: English Teachers, grades 5–12
Dates/Times: July 14 - 18, 2008; 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: Northeastern University, Boston Campus
Cost/Credit: 68 PDPs/6.8 CEUs, $500; 4 q.h. graduate credits, $820
The purpose of this course is to provide English teachers with a new and exciting approach to teaching literature and film using the great ideas of Western philosophy to unlock the meaning and discover the insight into the secondary school canon. In the hands of good teachers, students of all skill levels will be able to identify themes in literature and films and engage in intelligent discussions of ideas and characters found within our existing curriculums.
Participants will read short selections, view classic films, and explore core ideas from Western philosophy in roundtable discussion. An understanding of ideas such as human nature, ethics, friendship and love, moral character, happiness, justice, equality, knowledge, duty, and freedom will be explored. Participants will be able to enrich their own literature lessons while enriching the lives of their students and themselves.
Instructor: Tom Gotsill taught literature, philosophy, and humanities over a 40-year career in both public and private schools. He is currently Director of The New Enlightenment Institute for the Preservation and Advancement of Civil Democracy.
Graduate Credit: ENG 3607
PDPs/CEUs: ENG 5907
PARTICIPANTS: Middle and High School Teachers, grades 5–12
DATES/TIMES: July 21 - 25, 2008; 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
LOCATION: Northeastern University, Boston Campus
COST/CREDIT: 68 PDPs/6.8 CEUs, $500; 4 q.h. graduate credits, $820
Is there a place for a writer's voice in expository (informational) writing? What models and strategies of informational writing help writers express their voice? This class is designed for secondary school teachers - English teachers as well as teachers of other subjects - who plan to develop and refine information writing in content subjects. The course is a toolkit for teaching informational writing with a focus on argument models including Classical Argument. We will explore the elements of exposition, read argument and prepare an expository guidebook/teacher reference toolkit for classroom usage.
Instructor: Dr. Dan Holder, Assistant Superintendent of Schools, Smithfield, RI, Public Schools. Dr. Holder teaches college-level expository classes. He is a journal reviewer for IRA and NCTE, has published expository writing and taught middle/high school English.
The Hero Journey: Using Eastern Philosophy to Teach Literature and Film View Syllabus>>
Graduate Credit: ENG 3605
PDPs/CEUs: ENG 5905
Participants: English Teachers, grades 9–12
Dates/Times: July 28 - August 1, 2008; 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: Northeastern University, Boston Campus
Cost/Credits: 68 PDPs/6.8 CEUs, $500; 4 q.h. graduate credits, $820
This English course will help teachers understand the origins and structure of the most common paradigm in world literature – the hero journey or monomyth. We will begin by learning the basic principles of Vedanta, the ancient
Eastern philosophy which has profoundly influenced world culture through religions like Hinduism and Taoism and philosophies like American transcendentalism.
Central to our study will be the concept of the hero journey, the archetypal tale of the dangerous adventure heroes take in search of the key to unlocking mystery and meaning. We will trace the mileposts on this universal trek using standard high school texts, studying classic American films, and exploring the work of Joseph Campbell.
As part of our class, participants will have an opportunity to design and share lesson plans and activities that connect these great ideas to their own favorite books and films.
Instructor: Tom Gotsill taught literature, philosophy, and humanities over a 40-year career in both public and private schools. He is currently Director of The New Enlightenment Institute for the Preservation and Advancement of Civil Democracy.
(Also known as Writing and Teaching Memoir with Middle and High School Students)
Graduate Credit: ENG 3606
PDPs/CEUs: ENG 5906
Participants: English Teachers, grades 5–12
Dates/Times: August 4 - 8, 2008; 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Location: Northeastern University, Boston Campus
Cost/Credits: 68 PDPs/6.8 CEUs, $500; 4 q.h. graduate credits, $820
Adolescents are often pre-occupied with self. Drawing on that interest is a way to get them involved in reading and writing, reflecting on their lives and learning from the contexts in which they live. By reading work from a variety of memoirists and writing short pieces in class, we will use a variety of techniques including group discussion, peer review, writing to prompts and doing exercises that could be used by participants with their own students.
Readings will illustrate the work of writers from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, as well as key ideas from psychology, cultural anthropology and sociology. We will also consider reasons for caution and what is appropriate for students of different ages. As a final project, participants will prepare a lesson plan using the techniques and strategies learned in class to share with each other and use in their teaching.
Instructor: Barbara Lawrence is a writer and researcher whose own memoir, Bitter Ice, was published in 1999. A former high school teacher, she has taught writing and research methods at Lesley University since 2000 and written extensively about small schools and other topics in education.
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