Seamus Heaney

This page commemorating Heaney’s Nobel Prize has links to a biography, his Nobel lecture, some poems by Heaney in etext, and other relevant Internet resources.

Here is a good detailed biography of Heaney, with several links to poems in etext.

Here are four excerpts of interviews with Heaney conducted by BBC Four Radio in 1988 and 1998. Topics include “formative years,” “doing English at University,” “the impact of the troubles” on his work, and on “naming a collection of poems.”

Ibiblio.org has posted this collection of nine poems by Heaney, and a couple other relevant links. Pick one of the poems, study it and compare/contrast it to “Mid-term Break.”

Imagine (or recall, if you’ve actually heard him) how Heaney might read his poetry aloud. Now read this review of a reading he gave at Princeton. Are there any differences between what you imagined and what the reviewer describes?

“Mid-term” might bring to mind a number of possible research topics, including the practice of giving grades in school. Study the information presented on the sites de-scribed below and think about these various approaches to grading. Where do your ideas fit in in this regard? How are your grades lately? How might the second question here affect the first?

Click here to read a chapter called "Grading Practices" from a book called Tools for Teachers, which include functions, strategies, and tips for minimizing student complaints.

This is an essay against the idea of abolishing grades entitled “Abolish Grades? I Don’t Think So,” which was written by a teacher at Cal State Fullerton.

And here are some thoughts about alternative means of student assessment, which include written records, “authentic tasks,” conferences, and contracts.