Stories, Art, Food, Teaching, Travel, and the other Loves of my Life

Stories, Art, Food, Teaching, Travel, and the other Loves of my Life
"Tell me, what is it you plan to do / With your one wild and precious life?" Mary Oliver, "The Summer Day"

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Thursday: Mad Chaucer Debate

Class was really fired up over the Wife of Bath debate we did today.

I just split them down the middle and called one side "The Optimists" and one side "The Pessimists" and asked them to answer the following questions as a team:

"Did the Knight really change? Or is he just 'gaming the system?' Is the woman actually a sovereign being, or does she end up perpetuating the cycle?"

They already knew the answers, based on what team they were on, but then they had to find evidence from the text.

At first, I was worried it wouldn't work because I "assigned" them a position, but I did it because I wanted them to think through both sides, not necessarily just form an opinion. And, much to my surprise and delight, they took OFF.

And now, a picture that warms my heart:

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