- History helps us solve our problems. I have problems in my personal life for which I might find solutions. Our school, community, nation, society, and global world also has problems that can be enlightened by examining the past.
- The past is prologue. Where we are today is a result of where we have come from. One of the most important things we can do is figure out where we really are NOW. How can we possibly do that without knowing about where we are coming from? Imagine you are in a shopping mall trying to get to Aeropostal. How do you get there? It doesn't matter until you know where you are right NOW. You need to locate the "You are here" star on the mall map. Where is your "You are here" star?
- History helps us deal with change. The world is changing very quickly; just look at what is happening with the price of gas and food, with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with global warming, with natural disasters--like the earthquake in China, Hurricane Katrina, and the tsunami in Southeast Asia. How can we know how to respond to change? One way is to look at how humanity has responded to change in the past. How do churches, governments, schools, families, and other groups respond to change? What have the consequences been?
- The flattening of the world. There is a book called The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman that explains how the world is becoming a level playing field where all nations can compete economically. You can see this happening--just think about the historic opening of China signaled by the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Not only is China changing, but so is India. Remember the old idea that people thought the world was flat until someone came along and told them it was round? This required a major shift in the way people thought about themselves. Well, guess what, now that the world is getting flat, metaphorically, we have to learn to shift our thinking again. History will enable us to do that.
- History is stories about people. Not only are stories just plain fun, they also help us understand ourselves better. They help us look in the mirror and see what we value and what we think.
Why bother with literature?
- Literature makes you less selfish. Every person has a story. By learning to recognize this fact, you will become more patient, kind, and aware of the needs of other people. You will withhold judgment because you will know there are some stories that get hidden deep. Just think about someone who made judgments about you without knowing your story. Literature will help you be a better friend, sibling, son/daughter, etc.
- Literature is a time machine. Literature takes you places you could never go in this life. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to travel the world? How about travel through time? Literature written by REAL people living in foreign circumstances lets you go there.
- Literature is a window into what people care about. Think about the stories you read as a child. What values were they intended to teach? For example, what values does the story "The Little Red Hen" teach? More mature literature does not always have "a moral to the story." Some of the best literature raises questions and helps you think about what you value. Thus literature is not only a window but also a mirror.
Why bother with language arts (reading, writing, speaking, listening)?
- If you can't write, you can't think. If you can't think, then other people will do your thinking for you.
- I write because I don't know what I think until I read what I say (--Flannery O'Connor).
- You need these skills to get a good job. What do you "want to be when you grow up"? I bet you can't do it well without reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
- You need these skills to
- Writing unleashes the imagination. Do you remember playing "make-believe" as a kid. Guess what? If you write, you can keep doing it as an adult.
- Geography is like the setting of a story. Just think how the setting influences what happens in a story. What if Harry Potter was set in Washington DC instead of Hogwarts? How would that change the story? How would your life be different if you lived in Egypt?
- If the world is flattening, you could be doing business with someone in Kyrgyzstan in 5-10 years. Do you know where Kyrgyzstan is? Do you understand the culture of Kyrgyzstan to know how to advertise there? Do you know how to avoid offending someone there?
- Places help make us who we are. Places include climate, ecosystem, landforms, language, government, religion, and way of life. Studying geography will help us become more aware of who we are.
22 comments:
Mr. Dye you are SO smart . . . I wish I were as smart as you! I didn't leave nearly as much as you did on my blog and now I feel very insignificant. OH WELL. I totally agree with you on everything though and I even put some of the same thoughts on my blog in response to these questions . . . GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE . . . right? Giggle just kidding. But your response made me think alot more and expanded my idea on the subject which I am greatful for. THANK YOU! :D
ps- I feel very special being the first one to leave a comment :D
There, I fixed my post. I liked what you said about how important it is to study literature, and totally agree with it. Reading a book written a long time ago is so amazing because you are suddenly connected with the characters and culture of that time.
Also, what you said about history, I had never thought about before. It was kind of an idea in my head, but I didn't know how to word it. Reading your thoughts about studying history and literature helped me learn more about my thoughts and ideas.
I must say, my "Why bother with socratic seminar was a LOT shorter. Because of that, you explained it a LOT better than me. But you gave a couple of ideas i would never have thought of, like Literature making you think of what people care about. Now that I see it, it is true, but I would have never thought of that on my own. Way to be a good example and put some time and thought into it!
I must say your blog is really impressive. I don't know how you do it. You really know how to put ideas into words. What you said expanded my perspective on socratic seminar much more. You're a really thoughtful and awesome teacher.
One point of yours that I liked was the idea of using the past as a guide to avoiding mistakes,fixing mistakes, and making good decisions in our changing world today.
It's great being your student!
Hey Mr. Dye! You're making some pretty good points about history and all that. I never thought of it as a prolouge. That's an excellent metephor. But the question is, if history's the prolouge, what's the story? And when do we get to it? If the story's now, how do we know?
Anyways, I've got my blog good to go. Just click on my link and check it out!
Thanks,
Alex
Concerning the flattening of the world, it IS a small world, after all, you know.
I really agree with you on the literature part! How literature is a time maching, it takes you places that you never imagined! Thank you for making that point!
Mr. Dye you have explained those questions so well. I have always knew that those subjects were important, but know, WOW - I really can give them some back up! Thank you for helping me understand those subjects so SO much more!!
Hey Mr. Die! lol Just kidding! You're really thoughtful and I really like what you said about how the past is a prolouge. It was really deep and stuff. I thought it was really inspirational too because if the past is a prolouge( ok I know I don't know how to spell that) That means that the real story hasn't started yet. If you don't like the prolouge you can always seek to make your story a little better then the one before it.
Mr. Dye, you brought up many good points that never even crossed my mind. I like what you said about all the ways we can connect to characters and their experiences and relate them to our lives today.
I enjoyed all the thought and depth you put into your responses.
by the way I don't know anything about Kyrgyzstan but I do know a little about Kazakhstan... VERY NICE, HIGH FIVE.
hey! I thought that it was very
interesting how you said that geography was like the setting of a story. I never thought about that before but that is very true. It’s so fascinating that where things take place is one of the most important things in writing a story or a poem or something. Thanks for that!=)
one thing that's really cool to do is read a really peculiar book that's full of really weird ideas and things just before you go to bed, and then you have insane dreams that are awesome!!!!!!
Hey Mr. Dye your blog is cool and has so much info on it. I think that the thing's you wrote were so inspiring and now I want to wright more and maybe even wright one of my story's down if I do I'll definitely let you read them if you want and give me some ideas to improve them.
Hey Mr. Dye, I agree with you about how history helps us solve are problems and helps us respond to change and the world around us. Also I like how you said that its important to study literature and that it will make you less judgemental and work as a time machine for you. By the way your blog is really cool.
Mr. Dye I think that you have some good ideas I liked how you gave the example of harry potter if it took place in washington DC or anywhere different than Hogwarts it would change a lot of things. I think that geography is very important it teaches you about the religion the people and many other things. I am so glad that you had us do this its fun to read every body elses blogs and to see their opinions on these subjects. thanks Mr. Dye your a great teacher I am very excited for this year.
I love the first bullet point under literature. I never thought of literature in the sense that every one has their own background and that we need to be aware of that before we start beating down on someone because of some social flaw, physical flaw, etc. I think that if we were to know everyone's literature, we'd have more friends than foes, better communications w/ each other, and, yeah! Also, I like how you put bullet marks to show your different points under one term.
i like what you said about literature and connecting with the characters and auther of long ago, i totally feel and see the same.
I think that it is very interesting what you have stated about why to bother with socratic seminar? i agree also with what you said, and it prompted my other ideas to continue in more advanced directions. Being able to connect to characters in all parts of socratic seminar is a great thing. Thanks for your "words of wisdom."
-Bronte'
I started reading your responses to the questions before I started mine. However seeing how long and well thought out yours were I decided to do my answers before I lost all confidence in them.:)
I like how you related literature to a mirror. When you read about a character that is so much like you its really like looking at yourself. Seeing them go through certain things and perfect certain things makes you want to be a better person.
I was looking for something that I could argue about and, darn. you didn't leave little flaws sticking out for us to grab.
So, I guess I'll leave my two cents about what I liked on your blog.I like how it explains things with analogies that we can relate to.
The part that grabbed my attention was the language arts. if you look at mine, sorry but all I talk about is grammar. i thought reading was under literature.
When you say "If you can't write, you can't think. If you can't think, then other people will do your thinking for you". That's true (obviously). But when you say "if you can't write you can't think?" that kind of baffles me. Everyone can think. We all think on different levels in different ways. so by the writing part do you mean that it organizes your thoughts? When you speak, if you've written it down, then you can give your message more clearly?
or do you mean that their thinking is of no value if they can't write? I know you don't think that. Or do you mean someone who can't write (literally can't) therefore cannot think? or are you using the method where it is "open to interpretation"? I must go finish other homework. ttfn =)-Jacq
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