November has been an interresting month. I completed the Shakespeare unit with my 10th graders and began Dickens. One of the major themes in A Tale of Two Cities is personal sacrifice. I decided to introduce this theme with a film produced by HBO that came out this year called Taking Chance.
The film is based on an essay written by Lt. Col. Mike Strobl U.S.M.C. (ret.). He volunteered in 2004 to escourt the remains of one PFC. Chance Phelps back to his home in Wyoming for burial. The essay dealt with all the people and support Strobl and Phelps received on the trip from Dover AFB. It showed the care and reverence people showed Phelps from the USAF Morgue at Dover to the drivers, to the airline staff, to common people on the highway as they made their last drive to his home.
I figured that with Marine Corps birthday on Nov. 10 and Veteran's Day on Nov. 11th, this would be the perfect time to teach the importance of personal sacrifice. I got far more than I had hoped for. In almost 14 years of teaching, I have never seen a moment where everyone of my students in the 10th grade were focused, alert, and emotional. Not one head was down, not one peep out of anyone. I got the same reaction from all four of my classes. Thank you HBO.
Semper Fi
Mr. Reilly
Monday, November 30, 2009
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