The Odyssey​ Seminar 1. ​ The New York Times​ , “SOAPBOX: An Odyssey” ''GRANT me, Pallas Athena, the wisdom to lead 11-year-olds safely through the ruins of Troy and home to Ithaca,'' I muttered before reciting the invocation to the Muse that begins ''The Odyssey.'' The works of Homer are required reading for the sixth grade students in the Gifted Language Arts Program at the school where I teach. The academic abilities that brought them to my classroom insure that my 11 students will understand ''who ate and otherwise killed who,'' according to Katy's synopsis of ''The Iliad'' and ''The Odyssey.''These students don't need me to teach the facts of the war at Troy and Odysseus' trip home; the Cliff's Notes that many of them hide unsuccessfully in their binders will explain clearly who are mortals and who are deities. What my bright students need to learn is good leadership. School playgrounds are patrolled by small armies of children; the leaders of these are my students. When their classmates threaten to mutiny, the children I teach reveal that their will to lead is unmatched by their skill. For example, when Katy's leadership is challenged, she rants and sometimes cries. Or Brian withdraws from the group altogether and disparages those who remain.With my students in mind, I wonder how Odysseus maintained his leadership all the way home to Ithaca without a mutiny of his men. They had been conscripts in the war, eager to go home without the detours and dangers Odysseus courts. ''Imagine you're Odysseus, standing on the shore of Cyclops's island,'' I told my students. ''The ship is ready but you need your men to sail it home. They have seen you scorn Poseidon and dally with Circe for a full year. Now you must convince them that you are the leader they can trust with their lives. If you can persuade your classmates to join you at the front of the room, you will have succeeded.'' The students thought, wrote, and consulted Homer. Then Dean began. ''I am your king,'' said Dean in his most stentorian manner. ''You must follow me to Ithaca. I will arrest you if you do not follow the king's orders.'' The students shook their heads decisively. No one was willing to sign on to Dean's ship. David's promises were almost enough to lure a crew. ''If you come with me,'' he told the class as suavely as a three-star maitre'd, ''I will divide my share of the Trojan gold with you. I will also do most of the rowing. When we get back to Ithaca you can come over for dinner at the palace anytime you want.'' ''I'm there!'' exclaimed Stephen, but he was David's only oarsman. The ship remained grounded on the island's shore. Finally, Jennifer rose to speak. She spoke softly to her classmates. ''Look, I know that I haven't been the greatest leader so far, but I'm going to learn from my mistakes. If we meet another monster like Cyclops, I'll try to talk to him as an equal instead of going for violence. Then maybe the gods will help us get home.'' ''I'm also going to ask for help from Athena and Zeus,'' she said, as if making a concession. ''I will also listen to what all of you say about which way we should try to go home.'' Ashley had stopped doodling. ''I know that you want to see your families. I want to get back to Penelope and Telemachus,'' Jennifer said. ''So, I promise that we'll sail straight home with Athena's guidance.'' Jennifer leaned against the chalkboard. She watched her classmates rise from their seats to join her at the front of the classroom. Her ship was filled; she led her crew home to Ithaca. Especially during the hard part of ''The Iliad,'' Katy often asked, ''Why do we have to read Homer?'' I replied -- probably unhelpfully -- by quoting Xenophon, who wrote in his ''Symposium'' that ''My father, wanting me to be a good man, had me read the works of Homer.'' I like to think that Xenophon's father knew that students learn large lessons in small increments. The children who sit before me saw in Homer's hero that one person can be both powerful and foolish, equally full of influence and errors. When my students learn to see this in themselves, they will become -- at last -- good leaders. On your own paper, create a graph or Venn diagram that compares and contrasts the leadership styles of the children with what you know of the leadership of Odysseus.

2. ​ The New York Times ​ “There Will Be A Quiz” by Joe Queenan Freelance writers are always looking for ways to scare up a few extra bucks, so recently I tried my hand at writing some of those “Questions for Discussion” that appear at the back of many paperbacks. I got the idea after reading Andrei Makine’s novel “The Crime of Olga Arbyelina,” . . . The novel’s story line isn’t all that hard to follow, so by the time I reached the end, I had a pretty clear idea that Olga hadn’t gotten a fair shake in life. Be that as it may, I was startled when I turned to the back of the book and encountered eight questions prepared for book clubs that might be interested in discussing the novel further. Question No. 5 ran like this: “Olga has been driven from her homeland by the Bolsheviks, abused by a soldier, abandoned by her husband, treated with indifference by her lover, and drugged by a man she trusts . . . Does the novel lay the blame for Olga’s fate on the shoulders of the men in her world? Would you?” At first, I thought this question might be a fluke or an oversight, but then I paged through a pile of other novels containing similar supplementary materials. Now it became clear to me that seemingly off-the-wall questions were a staple of the genre, deliberately included to shake up the musty old world of literature and force readers to think “outside the box.” So, I wrote some for T ​he Odyssey . . . 1. After the fall of Troy, it takes Odysseus 10 years to return home. Since Troy was only a hop, a skip and a jump from Greece, do you think Penelope should have been more skeptical about her husband’s explanation for the long delay — a cabal of one-eyed, man-eating giants; a troupe composed entirely of homicidal, aquatic chantoozies; a sorceress who can turn sailors into pigs? Isn’t the whole thing kind of sketchy? 2. In describing a woman who can effortlessly turn a man into a pig, is Homer criticizing men in general? Or only sailors? Do you personally know any women like that? Are they named Brandi? What time does her shift end? 3. If it took Odysseus 10 years to make a short trip across a microscopic body of water, why does everyone in “The Odyssey” keep insisting he’s so smart? Write 3-5 of your own “outside the box questions” about ​ The Odyssey.​ B ​e prepared to share them with the class.

Prepared notes on own paper

Both questions are answered completely(19)

Both questions are answered partially(17)

One question is answered (15)

Missing half or more (10)

Annotated Article

key points underlined, notes in margin (19)

some underlines not key, notes in margin (17)

mixed underlines (15)

scanty marks (10)

Seminar: Article 1

provides multiple examples (19)

provides an example (17)

make a relevant comment (15)

makes an irrelevant comment (10)

Seminar:Article 2

sees satire clearly (19)

sees satire nearly(17)

struggles to understand satire(15)

understands very little satire (10)

Discussion Skills

piggyback, Q&A, consensus building, direct quote (19)

demonstrate at least one skill (17)

participates on topic (15)

participates off topic (10)

Student demonstrates above and beyond research, connection creation, understanding. up to (+5 _____)

   

 

Seminar Notes: ​ The Odyssey First annotate “SOAPBOX: An Odyssey” carefully. ● Circle all the details in the first paragraph that characterize the speaker and her situation. ● Underline and label the thesis. ● Circle any words you don’t know, look up their definitions, and write those definitions in the margin. ● Box the name of any students, and draw a wavy line under what that student says or does. ● Underline the sentences that explain the central idea of the article and label them. ● Feel free to add in any other annotations that seem important or relevant to you. Wake up your brain! Ask your own questions, and write them in the margins. Now create a chart to show what each student thinks about leadership: Student Name

What the Student Does/Says

Katy

Brian

Dean

David

Stephen

Jennifer

Ashley

What does Odysseus believe about leadership?

What the Actions/Words Show About the Student’s Leadership Beliefs

What Odysseus Does/Says

What his Actions/Words Show About His Leadership Philosophy

Compare and contrast each student’s leadership beliefs with Odysseus’ leadership beliefs. Student Name

Same as Odysseus

Katy Brian Dean David Stephen Jennifer Ashley What is satire? Write a definition below.

Different from Odysseus

How are Joe Queenan’s questions satirical? Question #

What is Being Satirized

1

2

3

Write your own satirical questions below. Try to write three to five.

Teacher Questions for Seminar Day Article One: 1. 2. 3. 4. ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

What is the central idea/theme of the passage? How do you know? What is the thesis of the passage? How do you know? Does The Odyssey do a good job of teaching leadership? Why or why not? Match each student with a modern person that has a similar leadership style. Compare/contrast the person you choose with Odysseus. Katy Brian Dean David Stephen Jennifer Ashley

Article Two: 1. Each group member share one question. 2. What does each question satirize? How do you know? 3. Which question is the best example of a satirical question? Why?