The other thing I like about this little video is that it is a great exercise in compare/contrast, a skill my students have difficulty with.

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What if we took that idea and turned it into an analysis activity for literary characters. Instead of just listing the search returns, students would need to qualify each list item based on their understanding of the character.

For example, here’s my list for Scout Finch (the qualifiers follow in italics):

1. Scout needs community support to combat racism in Maycomb.

2. Scout needs to review with [her] parents or guardian the reasons why school is important after all.

3. Scout needs to understand that it is important to stand in someone else’s shoes, to see things from his or her point of view.

4. Scout needs help with [the] project she is working on for the fall pageant. Her ham costume is too constricting.

5. Scout needs a-bath! She is too much a tomboy, according to her Aunt Alexandra.

6. Scout needs communication with her cousin Francis; fighting never solves anything.

7. Scout needs division between herself and the Radleys. She needs to let them live in peace, without pestering them.

8. Scout needs to give Arthur gentle reminders that she has not forgotten him. She could bring him flowers on May Day or send him notes in the mail.

9. Scout needs help remembering that there is good in everyone, even Mrs. Dubose who called her ugly and Mr. Cunningham, who, as a member of the jury, held out for Tom as long as he could.

10. Scout needs to reach out on [her] own to become the strong, independent woman she has the potential to be.

Then of course, there is the 25 random things about me meme/tag game. This activity can also be used as a sort of character sketch. I love the randomness of the order, the quality of each list item. Just 25 things, randomly posted.

Here are 25 things about Atticus Finch:

1. I am a widower. My wife died when our son, Jeremy, was six and our daughter Jean Louise (Scout) was only two. I miss her.
2. I realize that being in one’s fifties means I can’t do everything I used to, like play touch football with Jem.
3. I have the most wonderful children who bring me joy even if they think I’m old. They don’t think I know what they’re up to half the time. Strip poker? Hmmm.
4. For the past three summers, a little guy named Dill has been a constant companion of our family. I think that boy is an imaginative little guy, and I like him quite a lot.
5. Our neighbors are wonderful, kind people. Although some seem intolerant.
6. I can shoot a gun, really, really well, but I have such an unfair advantage that I choose not to hunt.
7. I have no strong religious feelings one way or the other. My religion is that we should treat everyone fairly and justly, no matter their race.
8. I love roast beef and collards, but no syrup, please.
9. My family has lived in this area for a long time. Our oldest ancestor was Simon Finch, who came from England. Unfortunately, he owned slaves, something I’m not at all proud of.
10. I served the Alabama legislature for a time. I like working one on one with people more than trying to convince politicians to do the right thing.
11. My friend Judge Taylor and I play cards on the porch on summer evenings and talk about our concerns. We are worried about racism. It’s just not right and keeps people from being their best.
12. I read every night and love having Scout perched on my lap, though she’s getting a bit big for that.
13. My sister Alexandra still lives on our family homestead, though her husband doesn’t seem to care to keep it up. But I am so busy that I can’t complain.
14. I have an old, old watch that I am saving to hand down to my son Jeremy. He is my pride, so fierce, so inventive. He made a snowman once out of very little snow by building a dirt base first.
15. I rarely drive a car anywhere. My town is so small I can walk just about everywhere.
16. I don’t like criminal law, but prefer to help people with things like wills and entailments.
17. I have fond feelings for a neighbor woman whom I should ask out to dinner, but I am too shy.
18. I am so proud of my brother who is a doctor. He’s going to do important things with his life.
19. My job keeps me busy, but I am able to come home each noon for dinner and each night for supper.
20. I have a hard time teaching my daughter how to settle disputes with words instead of fists.
21. I believe in justice. The courts are the great levelers of our time.
22. I worry about my kids. They fight for my honor even when it is confusing for them.
23. I have a tough job ahead of me, to defend a negro who is clearly innocent of the absurd charges against him. I don’t know if a Maycomb jury can be blind to their prejudices.
24. I think change is coming. I’m not sure why, but I feel it coming soon. I wouldn’t be surprised if great things happen yet in my lifetime.
25. I am tired. I can’t think of one more thing interesting about me. I’m just not that special.

[The list in itself is interesting. There are various levels of understanding here: literal, inferential, even ironic].

Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?

By PATRICIA COHEN

Published: February 14, 2008

Susan Jacoby’s new book bemoans the state of American culture. Not only are citizens ignorant about essential knowledge, she says, but they also don’t think it matters.

It sounds like an intriguing book, but what is really interesting is reading the comments on the review. Some agree wholeheartedly with Jacoby’s premise. Some attempt to find blame (many jump on the “we’ve got a horrible educational system” bandwagon). Others say that Americans are no dumber overall than people in the rest of the world. Some clarify that while some Americans are dumb, others are not. There are many, many comments (978 at this publishing).

Article readers can read comments, recommend comments, and post a comment themselves. Comments can be searched in four ways: oldest to newest, newest to oldest, readers’ recommendations, and editors’ recommendations.

Reader recommended comments include the number of times the comment was recommended, which gives an idea of how many people have read and considered that comment.

Now while it would be best to read the whole book first in order to truly comment intelligently on its content, the fact remains that a discussion over the basic premise is in action, and I say, “hooray that the days of newsprint are almost gone. Where did this kind of interaction take place before Web 2.0? In coffee shops, among retired men whose wives swept them out of the house for awhile? At the water cooler? When the paper”boy” tossed that rolled up newspaper on the porch or under the arborvitae, mom or dad (maybe even the kids) read it. Perhaps they even talked about it.

But did they talk about it with 900 other people? There is an American dialogue among netizens. It is not always brilliant commentary (YouTube), but it is often engaging, thought-provoking, and even wise (New York Times). The Internet is often blamed for dumbing down the nation, but I just don’t see it. I find network television and “news” to be far more culpable in our collective lack of global awareness.

Here’s an insightful comment from dbsweden/Sweden about what passes for news in America.

The dialogue goes beyond the coffee shops and the dinner tables, beyond the borders of the United States, and beyond the one-way mass communication of the past, which is, of course, the power of Web 2.0