Tag: TeachingPage 1 of 2

That Day and that Professor

Several years ago, I was invited to teach a literary translation class at the college in my small town in Montana, something that was completely out of my…

Homeschooling & the Humanities

When shelter at home was enacted in Alachua County my daily routine changed instantly. Luckily, that has been the only major change to my life. Whereas I used…

The Inca Trail

Sure, I had studied the Incas in school. I knew about Machu Picchu or I thought that I did. “You cannot judge a man until you walk a…

Calming the Waters or Facing the Consequences

My Humanities Moment came earlier this year as I watched the news reporting on North Korea’s recent test launch of a ballistic missile coming on the heels of…

The Farewell: Teaching and Talking about Ethnocentrism as an Asian-American

The guiding question for my Humanities Moment pertains to the most recent film that I cannot stop talking about with my peers, friends, family and strangers. As a…

The Role of the Shield in Education

“Because a warrior carries helmet and breastplate for his own protection, but his shield for the safety of the whole line.” ― Steven Pressfield, Gates of Fire Like…

Saving the World May Just Mean Saving One Person’s World

My Humanities Moment starts off years before I became a teacher, but it culminated when I realized what my ultimately mission was as a teacher. When I grew…

Looking Beyond Manipulative Rhetoric Toward Deeper Understanding and Insight

Matt Smith is a nationally recognized musician, founder of Six String Ranch, and Music Studio Director of Phoenix Academy Austin, a youth residential drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility….

“Fern Hill”: The Fleeting, Eternal Magnificence of Innocence

I could do several Humanities Hours out of Humanities Moments – there are so many passages and ideas that have animated my imagination. I first find myself drawn…

How I Found Humanity in a Dark Cave

The most literal definition of the word humanities as always fascinated me. What could be cooler than getting to the very crux of what it means to be…

Historical Perspectives

I was born in Boston and raised in New England. I attended an elite, all-girls, private school in New England, which was established in 1854 with the mission…

An Epiphany over a Statue of Gandhi

In front of the Martin Luther King Center in Atlanta you’ll find this statue of Mohandas Gandhi. For years I have used a photograph of this statue to…

The Senselessness of Rambo and Other Things

It was the beginning of another morning session for Contested Territory and I was still circulating ideas in my mind about connections between Vietnam and the South Side…

Vietnamese Declaration of Independence

The introduction of the Vietnamese Declaration of Independence from the Nancy Gardner presentation was one of the high points of the week for me. Until that time I…

The Long History of Contested Freedom in Vietnam

“Vietnam” has been a contested idea for a long time. As an American History teacher, I tend to offer my students a compelling look at the American government’s…

The Emancipation Act of 1834 and Our Shared Freedom Story

“To be honest, I’m glad my family didn’t go to America. We ended slavery 30 years earlier. What were YOU guys thinking?” Our Bajan tour guide of St….

Top Secret Rosies

A high school math teacher discusses the documentary Top Secret Rosies: The Female “Computers” of WWII. Beyond the awe for these women who took part in American military…

Finding Freedom from the Familiar

In 1979, at age 16, Hollis Robbins found herself enrolled at John Hopkins University. Though she was there as part of a program for girls who excelled in…

Censoring ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’

In this excerpt of a talk given at the National Humanities Center, Robert D. Newman discusses an exemplary humanities moment, when Kurt Vonnegut responded to the banning and…

Inspirational Literature

In this video Marlene Daut describes how teaching literature to college students enables them to both understand their lives and history better, as well as be inspired regarding…