Tag Archives: philosophy/religion

Cultural Literacy: Zeus

Moving right along this morning, here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Zeus. This is a full-page document with a reading of three sentences and a parenthetical element, and four comprehension questions. This is one of a series of new Cultural Literacy materials I developed this summer, and I’m trying out some new strategies in composing the questions. As almost always on this blog (but for a few PDFs floating around), this document is formatted in Microsoft Word, so you can manipulate it to suit the needs of your classroom.

If you find typos in these documents, 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.

Concepts in Sociology: Altruism

Here is a worksheet on the concept of altruism that I developed on the fly last spring. This is a full-page worksheet with a three-sentence reading and three comprehension questions. I ended up not using this, because if I had I probably would have adapted it some: the reading contains some terms of art from sociology that require amplification and explanation. Also, I think there are some critical questions to ask about altruism–how does it benefit society? for starters–that I didn’t get around to writing.

This is more of a skeleton than a fully fleshed-out worksheet. Like almost everything on this website, however, it is formatted in Microsoft Word. You can, therefore, adapt it to your classroom’s needs.

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.

Immanuel Kant

Here is a reading on Immanuel Kant along with its attendant vocabulary-building and comprehension worksheet. Over the years, I’ve published a number of documents posts on various figures in western philosophy; at my first posting in New York City, at a school in the South Bronx, I found myself in the company of a student who had improbably–but certainly not implausibly, as he demonstrated with the skill and enthusiasm with which he dealt with these materials–conceived an interest in the major figures in continental philosophy.

In other words, I used these documents once, with one student. It was worth it. But I am under no illusions about the level of demand for this material, which will be low if it exists at all.

If you find typos in these documents, 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.

Cultural Literacy: Yoga

Here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on yoga. This is a half-page worksheet with a one-sentence reading and one comprehension question. The sparest, which is not to say ineffective, introduction to this regimen of physical culture.

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.

George Bernard Shaw on Art

“Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.”

George Bernard Shaw

Excerpted from: Winokur, Jon, ed. The Portable Curmudgeon. New York: Plume, 1992.

Cultural Literacy: Zeno’s Paradox

Moving right along this morning, here is a Cultural Literacy worksheet on Zeno’s paradox. This is a half-page document with a three-sentence reading and three comprehension questions. The first sentence of the reading does a nice job of defining paradox; however, beware the third sentence, which in forty-nine words (!) explains Zeno’s paradox of the arrow.

If I were a betting man, I would wager that emergent readers and learners of English of a new language will experience some challenges with either the turgid length of this sentence, or the relatively complicated ideas within it. In other words, caveat emptor, and get your editing pencil ready to prepare a shorter and more comprehensible version of this final sentence. I think you will probably end up with at least two, and possibly three sentences.

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.

Gordian Knot

“Gordian Knot: An intricate problem. Gordias, a peasant, was chosen king of Phyrgia, and dedicated his wagon to Zeus. The wagon yoke was fastened to a pole so cleverly that it was said that whoever undid the knot would reign over the empire or Asia. Alexander cut the know with a single stroke of his sword. Cutting the Gordian knot became proverbial for the decisive, bold completion of a complicated action.”

Excerpted from: Murphy, Bruce, ed. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.

Theodore Sizer on the Message Kids Get

“Unchallenged kids get the message. If adults expect little of them, expect that they must be reminded, hectored, hassled, expect them to be goof-offs, then they will goof off. Of course, some people will goof off no matter what expectations are set. But teachers should assume the highest standard of performance until they are shown that it is not forthcoming. This is the proper start for each young person’s education. If that standard is substantial and persuasive–if it symbolizes the dignity of a demanding expectation–more often than not, adolescents rise to the occasion.”

Excerpted from: Sizer, Theodore. Horace’s Hope. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1996.

The Doubter’s Companion: Autobiography

“Autobiography

  1. A by-product of fiction which combines the dramatic methods of the romance novel with those of the adolescent adventure story.
  2. A product of Heroic mythology usually written by a false hero.
  3. A celebration of the author’s moral weakness.
  4. Exhibitionism by someone too old to take his clothes off in public.
  5. An obscuring of the author’s actions behind his emotions and subjective state.
  6. A plea by the author to be accepted as he is; that is, an excuse for his actions; that is, an attack on ethics.”

Excerpted from: Saul, John Ralston. The Doubter’s Companion. New York: The Free Press, 1994.

Montesquieu on Authors

“A fool who, not content with having bored those who lived with him, insists on tormenting the generations to come.”

Baron de Montesquieu

Excerpted from: Winokur, Jon, ed. The Big Curmudgeon. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2007.