Creative English Teacher — Five Reasons To Teach Series

 Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift is a classic of British Literature, and in spite of its many sub-par adaptations (I’m looking at you, Jack Black), it remains a timeless tale full of lessons for modern readers. So here are five reasons to teach Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels.  Satire is a tricky art form, and its undisputed master is Jonathan Swift. I mean, he even has an adjective named for him: “swiftian” meaning "darkly humorous." Gulliver’s Travels, written in 1726, lampoons everything from religious infighting to political parties to the monarchy itself. Swift was an ordained Irish priest who did not...

The weather is cooling down, the leaves are changing colors–it’s the perfect time to harness this Halloween vibe and study one of history’s most haunting episodes:  The Salem Witch Trials. As an English teacher, I combine this with The Crucible for a double dose of toil and trouble for my students. I find the combo of real-life events and the fictional play to be a powerful teaching tool. That being said, here are five reasons to teach the Salem Witch Trials: The Salem Witch Trials are an example of real-life horror. I remember, as a youngster, when I first learned...