Dangerous Neighbors: The Teacher's Guide
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
It comes full circle, at one point—the reading and research one does, the teaching one loves, the books one writes. Dangerous Neighbors may be my twelfth book, but it is the first book for which I've ever created a teacher's guide. The behind-the-scenes history of the Centennial can be found in these pages. So can the irreducible Mrs. Gillespie and perhaps my favorite Philadelphian of all, George Childs. But mostly this teacher's guide offers a range of classroom exercises—from team projects to personal essays to broad discussions about community, innovation, media, even classified ads. I hope that this guide opens doors for both teachers and students who recognize that the past—its lessons, its influences, its legacies—is alive in the right now.
The guide can be found here.
Thanks to Egmont USA's Elizabeth Law, Mary Albi, Katie Halata, Nico Medina, Greg Ferguson, and Rob Guzman, who cheered this guide on, and made it better. Thank you to Stacey Swigart for paying close attention. Thank you to the original William for teaching me a dash of In Design. And thanks to Elizabeth Mosier, for saying, Why don't you....
8 comments:
Glad to help! You are my hero!
xo
How, oh how did you get this guide completed so fast? I wish I could get things done so quickly.
I think that explains why I only have one book published and you have twelve.
Maybe you could tell us some time your secret to being so disciplined.
Also: I loved the team classroom project you wote in the "Vanishing Cities" section of the guide: Imagine your community 135 years from now—the same interval in time between the present day and the Centennial. What will exist? What will vanish?
Very cool.
That Thomas Keels book you mentioned on lost architecture in Philadelphia is fascinating. I cannot believe so many wonderful buildings were allowed to disappear.
So lovely, Beth! Wish I were teaching American Lit so I could really do this proud!
Kathy Barham
Wow! This is wonderful, Beth!
Ms. Kephart,
I have just finished reading Dangerous Neighbors, which I purchased because an online site led me to believe your favorite Philadelphian, George W. Childs, was a character. Of course, he isn't, but you say wonderful things about him in your afterward. I am presently writing Childs's biography, which incredibly has never been done. I have written about 60,000 words so far and have discovered much new information about him. If you are still interested in Childs, I would much enjoy discussing him with you.
Bill McCarter
Dear George,
Childs is one of my very favorite Philadelphians — lyricized briefly in FLOW, mentioned in the acknowledgments of DANGEROUS NEIGHBORS, and a shadow character in DR. RADWAY'S SARSAPARILLA RESOLVENT. A great man, a great idea for a biography, and I look forward to reading what you write. I suspect we've been through the same materials at Drexel. Great project. Beth
I am new to blogging and thought I sent you a slightly different version. Anyway, yes I have been to the Drexel archives. And I forgot to mention, my full name is George William Childs McCarter. I will definitely check out your other two books to see what they say about him.
Well, there you go. What a fascinating name you have. I once wrote a piece about Childs and why he will always be my favorite Philadelphian. I am not sure if I can find it on line. But it is there. It is true. And no need to buy the other books. Just know that in RADWAY, one of the young men is working for Childs and has a great ambition to have one of those famous sessions with him. The LEDGER itself is a primary character in that story. IN FLOW, a book about a river, it is a single page, imagining Drexel and Childs walking over the Schuylkill.
Post a Comment