A Perfect Civilization

You have a friend who sees visions. One day she has a vision in which the greatness of the human spirit and intellect is fully unleashed and revealed. The vision suggests a whole new period of civilization and human endeavor. What is this golden age like? What is humankind capable of accomplishing when it puts all its resources into something good rather than into war and conflict?

Writing Something Important on Your Classroom Walls

There was a wonderful piece in the March 2, 2011 Wall Street Journal (”Erasing Signatures From History” by Jeffrey Zaslow) which talks about a high school English teacher who encouraged his students to write their most creative thoughts on the walls of his classroom. They covered ”those painted cinderblocks with original art, quotes from favorite books, and deep thoughts born from teenaged angst,” writes Zaslow. And many of the students looked to those walls for inspiration. I know I would have.

What a creative idea! A way of telling young people that their ideas and thoughts have value and should be shared by others.

I wonder what you might write on the walls of your own classroom. For me, I think the most important words are, ”Persist. Never take ‘no’ for an answer.” And, ”Be kind, there is so much pain in the world, be kind!”

But tell me, what would you write?

Sing the Song of Yourself

After reading his soaring poetry, you are encouraged by the great American poet Walt Whitman to write a ”song” of yourself. It celebrates all that is special about you, about your life and your unique consciousness. It may even include your dreams and hopes. What are some of the lines in your song or poem of yourself?

Writing about the year 3014

It is the year 3014. Civilization and its people have evolved, some things for the better, some things worse. People have devised new ways to communicate with one another. Their lives are strikingly different in some respects from ours today. One evening while watching television a time warp suddenly thrusts you into this new world.

Describe a day in the life of someone living in the future. Would they be living in a new dimension that we know nothing about?