Saline High Greek Tragedy?

In response to my slide on Aristotle's components for Greek Tragedy a student said, "Hey, we should make our own tragedy!" Really?

Aristotle wrote that tragedy included plot, characters, thought, diction, spectacle, and melody. My initial thought was, Ugh...High School Musical. Zach Efron, saccharin smiles, and bubbly enthusiasm are just not my speed.

But now I'm thinking, Humm...High School Musical with class, style, depth...tragedy. I used to joke with parents at open house that there was no more perfect piece of literature for 9th grade than Shakespeare's, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. But a real contemporary tragedy could be perfect for 12th graders in AP Lit.

Can we create hamartia, hubris, and catharsis of our own? Suggestions for spectacle and melody sparked great discussion, but could we pull it off? How long would it take? Would it really work? We may not know until we try.

We're Up and Blogging!

Nothing we do with technology is easy. And I really don't like using technology for technology's sake. So, I was a bit concerned about this class blog assignment. Would the blogs provide something new? Would there be any real or meaningful connection between students through the comments? Would this give Foster's assertions more meaning? I figured it was worth a try...

Now that the blogs are rolling in, I'm pretty impressed!

• The blogs illicit real writers' voices! I can hear students in their posts. I get sarcasm and humor. The tone is comforting, and the syntax is concise. It makes the intellectual kernels pop.
• The connections to movies are solid! Clearly, the students can identify terms and patterns in literature with that of other media. Mr. Hill would be so proud...There are great examples of his Film in Literature at work.
• Popular fiction eclipses "the classics"! Of course Harry Potter shows up. But so do many, many other popular fiction characters. I love the contemporary connections and the fact that students are reading for fun. Their ability to analyze the new heroes on the scene makes it even better.
  
• Required school readings still make the cut! Animal Farm. The Great Gatsby. They may not illicit cheers in class, but they continue to make an impact on readers.
• The blogs are beautiful! This allows me chance to see each student's style, format, appearance, and organization preferences. Some of the choices are thematically linked. Other choices appear to represent the student. I love the differentiation.