Tuesday, May 5, 2009

The Old Curiousity Shop


The Old Curiousity Shop
Originally uploaded by Jp Corkery
Today's lesson plan focused on identifying moments of irony in the Orwell essay Shooting an Elephant however a moment at the beginning of class lead to a bit of irony of our own - how ironic, don't ya think?

In the essay, a young Orwell makes a decision based on his fear of embarrassment and as a result, commits a gruesome, murderous act.

In my classroom, I see kids make decisions based on curiosity, apathy, impulse, anger, ennui, fear, and so many more emotions.

What I would like to see my students base their decision making on is what I wish young Orwell would have based his on - logic.

I know it's not always easy to think logically in a heated situation but remember, control of oneself is the greatest power one can ever possess so exercise your logic and I guarantee you'll be happy with the results.

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