This I Believe Audio
Posted by Tom Fasano on June 1, 2010 – 10:52 pm -I plan to share the following This I Believe essays from National Public Radio (NPR) with my seniors. It’s all part of their final project, but it’s more than that. This is something I have to do before sending them off into the adult world. It’s funny because I have no set of guidelines, no rubric, nothing but the beauty of these heartfelt essays to listen to and reflect upon. I believe they are all I need to instruct my students.
They are simple.
They are brutally honest.
They are profound.
Creative Solutions To Life’s Challenges
Frank X Walker, March 27, 2006
Poet Frank X Walker believes artists aren’t the only creative people. He says barbers, cooks, janitors and kids enrich the world with their creativity as much as the painters, sculptors and writers.
The People Who Love You When No One Else Will
Cecile Gilmer, March 6, 2006
When her biological family fell apart, Cecile Gilmer found a new family. She believes the love and kindness these chosen “relatives” gave her allowed her to become an open and loving person.
Tomorrow Will Be A Better Dayl
Josh Rittenberg, February 27, 2006
What kind of world are we leaving younger generations? Manhattan teenager Josh Rittenberg says all parents worry about their children’s futures. But he believes he and his peers will see a better world.
The Power Of Mysteries
Alan Lightman, January 2, 2006
Childhood wonder at the stars fueled Alan Lightman’s interest in science. Now an astrophysicist and novelist, Lightman believes our greatest creativity, in science and art, comes from awe at the unknown.
There Is No Job More Important Than Parenting
Benjamin Carson, October 10, 2005
Even as a child, Benjamin Carson wanted to be a doctor. Now a renowned pediatric neurosurgeon, Carson believes he owes his success to his mother, a domestic who received only a third-grade education.
Numbers Don’t Lie
Martha Stark, May 15, 2006
New York City Finance Commissioner Martha Stark believes in numbers. Whether they are lotto tickets, school grades or municipal tax revenues, she says numbers shape our lives more than we realize.
I Will Take My Voice Back
Quique Aviles, July 31, 2006
For years, Quique Aviles was two people: one who was a successful poet, and one who was a crack addict. Now he believes his art and the connections it gives him to other people can help save his life.
A Duty to Family, Heritage and Country
Ying Ying Yu, July 17, 2006
Ying Ying Yu has a maturity beyond her years. The 13-year old immigrant from China believes she has a duty to honor the sacrifices made by her parents, her ancestors, her teachers and her homeland.
Tags: Senior Project, This I Believe
Posted in Audio, Lessons | No Comments »
F. Scott Fitzgerald – This Side of Paradise
Posted by Tom Fasano on March 14, 2010 – 11:07 am -
Listen to the entire book by clicking the player below. To advance to the next chapter, click the double right arrow.
This Side of Paradise is the debut novel of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Published in 1920, and taking its title from a line of the Rupert Brooke poem Tiare Tahiti, the book examines the lives and morality of post-World War I youth. Its protagonist, Amory Blaine, is a wealthy and attractive Princeton University student who dabbles in literature and has a series of romances that eventually lead to his disillusionment. In his later novels, Fitzgerald would further develop the book’s theme of love warped by greed and status-seeking.
Amory Blaine grows up in a wealthy family and is given an Ivy League education. Without a need to learn a profession, he chiefly dabbles in literature and partying. His school chums are of the same ilk, and they act as foils for their ideas as Amory begins to think of himself as a character in the aforementioned Rupert Brooke poem.
World War I intervenes in this happy fog and brings focus to some, doubt to others.
In the rapidly changing technology of the war era, the financial underpinnings of the Blaine fortune begin to fall apart. The deaths of Amory’s parents leave the finances without a rudder and as Amory’s situation deteriorates he comes to realize he has only his interest in literature to fall back upon.
Meanwhile, a series of young women traipse through his life, attracted to his handsome face and bright wit like moths to a candle. But Amory can never master the role of being a real person… and, one by one, the young women traipse out.
Tags: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Posted in American Fiction, Audio | No Comments »
How Much Land Does a Man Need – Audio
Posted by Tom Fasano on November 12, 2009 – 9:33 pm -
Leo Tolstoy, the Russian author of War and Peace and How Much Land Does a Man Need.
What follows is an audio recording of “How Much Land Does a Man Need.” The audio is provided by LibriVox and is in the public domain.
Here the link the the text of the story.
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Tags: Short Stories, Tolstoy
Posted in Audio, Literature, This Day in History | No Comments »
Jack London
Posted by Tom Fasano on March 1, 2009 – 9:42 pm -
In this story of Man vs. Nature, there are essentially three characters: the man, the dog, and nature, which is portrayed as the antagonist in the story. However, nature doesn’t act deliberately; it is simply a passive force against which the man and the dog struggle for survival.
“To Build a Fire” is often cited as an example of American Naturalism and is frequently taught along with Stephen Crane’s “The Open Boat.”
The most famous version of the story is London’s revised manuscript of 1908. In the original story of 1902, the protagonist survives.
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The Break-Up
Posted by Tom Fasano on August 26, 2008 – 9:49 pm -This American Life can be a little corny at times, but Ira Glass has a real talent for getting moving stories out of everyday people.
I discovered this absolutely compelling piece about Phil Collins (Against All Odds) and one of his biggest fans. Even if you are NOT a Phil Collins fan, check out this piece with him on the show.
It’s extraordinary radio. The episode starts with a simple premise — girl with a broken heart wants to talk to Phil about heartbreak, and then it evolves into something quite different. By the end, barriers come down, and its turns into one of the most personal and affecting interviews about loss I think I’ve ever heard.
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Tags: Audio, Humanity
Posted in Audio, Humanity | No Comments »
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