english12postcolonial

Welcome to Wonderland! This group is about using Mimio lessons to explore form, content, and context in a way that encourages interpretation but not misreading. So what's so new about that? Nothing, maybe, but try putting it on Mimio. If the standard student interpretation of the canon of English Literature is that it is intended to brainwash, can Mimio lessons redirect them? If the standard student interpretation of anti-canonical postcolonial writers is that they are angry, negative and jealous of the achievements of empire, Mimio lessons can help show where those writers are coming from. The whole point is that success in the 21st century will likely turn out to be not about taking sides but about grasping nuanced views; being able to go down the rabbit hole and come back with useful knowledge.

This group is for English and history teachers who wish to share lessons that present nuanced views of English literature and that set up connections to historical and sociological contexts.

This group would not be a forum for ideological rants, but lessons should be able to ask whether Hamlet is an exegesis on a suicidal existential introvert, or an exploration of the concept of monarchy as the reign of Elizabeth draws to a close, or whatever. Or whether Charlotte Bronte was a Tory and explore what that means. Or whether Mary Shelley meant the creature to stand for women or native peoples of the Empire, or science run wild or whatever... I.e., the group's Mimio lessons should set up triangulating the clarity and ambiguity of works with their contexts. Or anything else that forces students to think.

In short, this collaborative Mimio group is about starting from scratch and abandoning received ideas, and is intended to help students use literature and writing to develop a critical thinking worthy of the complexities of the 21st century. Please please join!!