Category Archives: Reference

These are materials for teachers and parents, and you’ll find, in this category, teachers copies and answer keys for worksheets, quotes related to domain-specific knowledge in English Language Arts and social studies, and quotes on issues of professional concern. See the Taxonomies page for more about this category.

The Algonquin Wits: Franklin Pierce Adams on Confidentiality

“Ninety-two percent of the stuff told you in confidence you couldn’t get anyone else to listen to.”

Franklin Pierce Adams

Excerpted from: Drennan, Robert E., ed. The Algonquin Wits. New York: Kensington, 1985.

The Devil’s Dictionary: Corporation

“Corporation, n. An ingenious device for obtaining individual profit without individual responsibility.”

Excerpted from: Bierce, Ambrose. David E. Schultz and S.J. Joshi, eds. The Unabridged Devil’s Dictionary. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 2000. 

Term of Art: Achievement

achievement: The successful accomplishment of, or performance in, a socially defined task or goal. Talcott Parsons (in Social [sic] Theory and Modern Society, 1967) suggests that modern societies use indices of achievement–examination credentials or performance in role-based tasks–rather than ascriptive criteria to recruit, select, and evaluate individuals for particular roles, However, research demonstrates the continued influence of ascription in social stratification, notably according to such factors as race and sex. There is an interesting cross-disciplinary discussion of the concept and its interpretation of achievement, its relationship to creativity and innovation, and its role in explaining economic growth in England and Japan since the seventeenth century, in Penelope Gouk (ed.), Wellsprings of Achievement (1995).”

Excerpted from: Matthews, Gordon, ed. Oxford Dictionary of Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.

Term of Art: Achievement Motivation

achievement motivation: Defined as the need to perform well or the striving for success, and evidenced by persistence and effort in the face of difficulties, achievement motivation is regarded as a central human motivation. Psychologist David McClelland (The Achieving Society, 1961) measured it by analyzing respondent’s narratives; rather more controversially he hypothesized that was related to economic growth. Lack of achievement motivation was, for a period during the 1950s and 1960s, a fashionable explanation for lack of economic development in the Third World–notably among certain American modernization theorists. This thesis was much criticized by dependency theorists such as Andre Gunder Frank (Latin America: Underdevelopment or Revolution, 1969).”

Excerpted from: Matthews, Gordon, ed. Oxford Dictionary of Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.

Lacquer

“A resinous varnish that, when applied in several layers, attains a high polish. True lacquer comes from the Japanese lac tree. Characteristically oriental, lacquer work spread to Europe in the early 18th century. Usually decorated.”

Excerpted from: Diamond, David G. The Bulfinch Pocket Dictionary of Art Terms. Boston: Little Brown, 1992.

What’s Worth Fighting for Out There?

“Among the many purposes of schooling, four stand out to us as having special moral value: to love and care, to serve, to empower and, of course, to learn.”

Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan What’s Worth Fighting For Out There? (1998)

Excerpted from: Howe, Randy, ed. The Quotable Teacher. Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press, 2003.

Write It Right: Action for Act

“Action for Act. ‘In wrestling, a blow is a reprehensible action.’ A blow is not an action but an act. An action may consist of many acts.”

Excerpted from: Bierce, Ambrose. Write it Right: A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults. Mineola, NY: Dover, 2010.

Book of Answers: Who Eighty-Sixed Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald?

“What hotel threw out newlyweds F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda Sayre? The Biltmore Hotel in New York City, following their wedding on April 3, 1920. The management asked them to leave because of their unseemly behavior.”

Excerpted from: Corey, Melinda, and George Ochoa. Literature: The New York Public Library Book of Answers. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993.

Rotten Reviews: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

“The most insipid, ridiculous play that I ever saw in my life.”

 Samuel Pepys, Diary

Excerpted from: Barnard, Andre, and Bill Henderson, eds. Pushcart’s Complete Rotten Reviews and Rejections. Wainscott, NY: Pushcart Press, 1998. 

A Learning Support on Three Rhetorical Terms: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

Several years ago I became interested in the Trivium both as a concept and as a potential framework for a unit, in this case a unit on writing. I actually began developing the unit, put together the first three lessons, and offered it as a special institute class at the high school in which I was serving. Ultimately, alas, I was unable to bring the unit to fruition due to institutional disinterest.

When I arrived at the school in which I presently serve, I noticed that the English teachers required in writing assignments that students use the rhetorical moves of ethos, pathos, and logos to argue their case. Since rhetoric is one of the three subjects in the trivium–logic and grammar are the others–I found this interesting.

Which is why I developed this learning support on ethos, logos, and pathos in case the students in my literacy classroom needed it. Unfortunately, I was never able to use it.

If you find typos in this document, I would appreciate a notification. And, as always, if you find this material useful in your practice, I would be grateful to hear what you think of it. I seek your peer review.