Sophomore English Students Bring Homer’s “Odyssey” to Life

Story by Head of Academic Development Micah Gall

In the coming weeks, some of our sophomore English students will be using a modern and popular format to make an ancient text come to life. Mrs. LaBarre and Mrs. Thies have been leading their Literature of Western Civilization students through the difficult journey of reading Homer’s “Odyssey”.

Though composed during the 8th century BC, this classic text speaks to modern audiences in many powerful ways. In light of this, students have been tasked with developing an “ED Talk” (taken from the TED Talk format) to help their classmates connect with the text of the “Odyssey” on a deeper level. Potential themes include loneliness, pride, making difficult choices, overcoming struggles, and even bullying. In addition to the speech itself, students are required to develop a meaningful and useful visual aid as well as dress in business attire.

In a time when depth is foreign and many works of art and culture are erroneously dismissed as outdated and irrelevant, exercises like these allow our students to see the timelessness of truth and of the human experience while also providing them an opportunity to develop important and versatile skills like critical thinking, writing, and communication. Good luck to our students in this endeavor!

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