I try to teach “A Modest Proposal” to every senior class I have. I love their reactions to the proposal itself. What really gets me is how few of the students understand that the entire proposal is a satirical piece, that he is being facetious.
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Category Archives: Books
13 Reasons Why I Recommend “13 Reasons Why” for Teen Readers
1. It’s a book. I recommend reading books.
2. It deals with a serious and relevant issue: teen suicide.
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Book Review: Bethlehem Road by Michael Whitworth
As his latest addition to a series that may eventually culminate in a commentary/guide to every book of the bible, Michael Whitworth has selected the love story told from the time of Judges in Israel’s history—the book of Ruth.
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Book Review: Created Equal by Joshua Berman
“All men are created equal.”
It’s one of the foundational beliefs of our country, one that nobody dares question. But some things we sometimes can’t help but question: What does it mean to be equal? If we are born different, how are we still equal? Where did we get the idea that all men [and women] are created equal? This question becomes important when we consider that when this phrase was written into the US Constitution, “men” was defined as white, land-owning males. So how we define equality and how we put it into practice are important questions. And for some reason, we have this idea that the idea of everyone being equal is new. Like, within the past 200 years new.
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Nerdy Bereans: Bullying Against Nerds (or anybody) Should Never Happen in Churches
“You’re such a nerd.”
I was one of those kids who was bullied from time to time in school, often because I fit the description of a nerd. And although I wish I could say otherwise, sometimes this bullying took place not just “in the world”, but in and among my own Christian friends.
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Ayn Rand’s Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone
Oh, the Places You’ll Scuttle: The Lovesong of Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea
Oh, the Places You’ll Scuttle:
The Lovesong of Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea
Blacksburgia webisode 24: Book Meditation Group
Book Meditation Group
A combination yoga meditation group/book club forms at a local coffee shop wherein attendees read from a “spiritual/non-religious” book and then meditate. It becomes problematic when members are trying to place themselves in difficult meditation postures and keep their books open to the page they are reading together at the same time. The group leader spends most of the meeting attempting to help everyone stay in their posture and keep their book open at the same time. Everyone grows frustrated, until they look around and see the relaxing posture of other patrons who are silently reading, legs curled up in a booth, with a cup of coffee, as if meditating.
“Heaven is for Real”; Fiction About Heaven Labeled Non-Fiction is Not
“Heaven is for Real”; Fiction About Heaven Labeled Non-Fiction is Not
David Platt talking on why “Heaven is For Real” and other books like it extort our hopes, waste our money, and devalue our scriptures—and thus should be ignored by Christians.
“The arts are not a way to make a living” -Kurt Vonnegut
“The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.” -Kurt Vonnegut
CALEB COY 