October's Title Swap

Secrets of a Buccaneer - Scholar by James Marcus Back
Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson
Sense and Sensibly - DVD with Emma Thompson
Hatfields and McCoys on the History Channel
How Children Learn by John Holt
Raising Up a Family to the Lord by Gene R. Cook
Girls on the Edge by Leonard Sax
Courageous, the Movie

If Juliet Had a Mentor

Marianne: “Can the soul really be satisfied with such polite affections? To love is to burn like Juliet or Guinevere, or Eloise!”

Mrs. Dashwood: “They came to rather pathetic ends, dearest.”

Marianne: “To die for love? What could be more glorious!”

-Emma Thompson, film adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility”

 

 

Marianne envied Juliet! She wanted so badly to feel a mutual passionate love for someone. Willoughby was her Romeo. Yet her end was so different. What was it that changed her mindset? She had a level-headed mentor, her sister Eleanor. Eleanor taught her sense and selflessness and forgiveness. What did Juliet have? A none-too-bright, rather crass and selfish nurse. Whilst Juliet dies for “love”, Marianne settles in with her “polite affections” and poignant love for Colonel Brandon. Had Juliet been a more sensible girl, with a decent mentor, perhaps she too could have found another love... one that would last?

Posted by Genevieve Kopping

Strageties For Learning

Approaching a classic can be overwhelming and intimidating, to say the least  -especially if you were educated in a traditional school.  There are so many different ways to learn about a new classic that can ease this process and make it more meaningful and enjoyable.  The following is a list of recommend strategies to approach learning:

Read a book.
Find a children's version or cliff notes of the story.
Use different forms of media - movie, audio CD, soundtracks...
Take notes about your thoughts as you study.
Look up vocabulary that you come across that you don't understand.
Research about the time period that the classic is set in. (Cultural Literacy)
Research at the library.
Discuss the classic with a group that meets regularly.
Do a project.
Seek help from a mentor.
Seek out a quiet, private place to think.
Take a class.
Give a presentation.
Build a model.
Memorization.

The most important  part of studying a classic is being patient and consistent.  To absorb a classic is a lost art.  It is difficult - but truly worth the process.  When you come face to face with the greatness that is found in these works, you can not help but become GREAT yourself.  Happy Studying!