PODCAST · education
Teacher Talk with Paul and Jay
by Paul Kelly
Paul and Jay discuss literature and ideas from the perspective of their years in the high school classroom. Teachers and students alike will learn a great deal from their lively and insightful discussions. Join us for the discussions as we work to grow a community readers, writers, and educators. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/paul-kelly05/support
Episodes
-
"Ozymandias" and the Romantic Vision
If you cover Romanticism in your English literature class, you should include Shelley in your discussions, and "Ozymandias" is a great place to start. Think through this short but powerful poem with us as we continue our examination of the Romantic movement.
-
The Hush of Nature: Learning Romanticism from Coleridge
As a busy teacher, we don't always put in the time to learn about authors and movements in the way that we should. A movement like British Romanticism is vast in its reach and complex in its identity. Nevertheless, reading its defining texts gives us and our students the opportunity to learn...
-
Preface to the Lyrical Ballads: Teaching Romanticism
If you teach British Romanticism to your high school students, you should work William Wordsworth's Preface to the Lyrical Ballads into your prep. Jay and Paul dig through the Preface and talk about its importance to teaching the Romantic Movement. Jay opens with a pitch perfect poem, Seamus...
-
How to Organize Your High School English Class
In this episode of "Paul Talks" from "Teacher talk with Paul & Jay", Paul lays out the bones of every humanities classroom: its rhetoric and dialectic all the way down. In practical terms, that means reading, writing and dialectic. Every day for every thing. #highschoolenglishteacher #classical...
-
How to Teach William Blake
If you are going to teach the Romantics, you should start with William Blake. Blake is the the first of the Romantic poets, the most outlandish and through and through Romantic in all aspects of his work. Paul suggests starting students with his astounding art; Jay begins with an immersive…
more -
Intro to the Romantics
Paul and Jay dive into the Romantic era, that great era of British literature with a review of the main ideas in the movement and two poems that they like best. This episode will help you think about teaching Romanticism -- and especially its poetry -- in your high school classroom. Jay opens the...
-
They're Not Listening, Because You're Talking
You might find real transformation in your classroom this week by trying something that sounds sophisticated -- "anagnorisis" -- but is in reality quite simple. What it boils down to is listening -- even when you don't really think it will make a difference. Check out all the details in this...
-
Teachers Talk Teaching: Christopher Westrate
Paul & Jay invite long time literature teacher, Christopher Westrate, to join them for a discussion about the methods and values he associates with teaching classics to high school and college students. This is one of those episodes where you learn a lot about how to think about teaching. Please...
-
How to Teach Poetry: The Suspension of Disbelief
Teaching poetry to high school students is not easy. If you to do it well, it will take work. Paul talks through crossing the first hurdle.#podcast #literature #poetry #secondaryeducation #pedagogy #highschoolenglish #highschoolenglishteacher #highschool #english #englishteaching #englishgrammar
-
The Odyssey Book 24: Order in Ithaca Through Piety & Strength
Odysseus wakes up to the final challenges to his household and to Ithaca. With the help of his son and his father, and conceding as always to Athena, he finds an unlikely resolution. We end our coverage of Homer's epic with this final episode. Thanks for listening and let us know what you think.
-
The Odyssey Book 23: The Intimacies of Love and Death
Follow along with Jay and Paul through one of the most satisfying episodes in Odysseus' journey. Back home, having faced down his mortal enemies, he finds himself face to face with the deepest test of all. Penelope removes herself from the narrative shroud and takes the stage, pushing Odysseus...
-
The Odyssey Book 22: The Dilatory Bloodbath
Well, it is finally here, and you probably saw it coming. The suitors get what's coming to them and they get it good and blood. Paul and Jay walk us through the satisfying chapter in which evil pays and justice is done. Jay opens, once again with and excellent set up poem. Join us in the comments...
-
Book 21: The Bow of Hospitality and Reconciliation
Paul and Jay talk about the significance of the test of the bow in this chapter of Homer's Odyssey. There are obvious ones, but there are subtle connections to both past evil and future goodness too. Listen along and consider how you may roll out this chapter with your students someday soon! Jay...
-
Book 20: Omens, Provocations & Doom
Paul and Jay close in on the end of Homer's Epic, The Odyssey with their review of book 20 -- the obvious and essential, the subtle but crucial and what amazes or confounds them still about the chapter. Listen closely for ideas about how to engage your students in this amazing text. As always…
more -
Book 19: Recognition In a Dream
From this episode, book 19, the end of Homer's great epic is in view. Paul and Jay walk you through all that is obvious, subtle and amazing in the unforgettable reunion of Odysseus and Penelope, albeit in disguise. Paul argues that both are disguised in this scene. Jay reads a beautiful poem by...
-
Book 18: The Ethos of Ithaca
Teacher Talk is a podcast for teachers that offers deep dives into great literature from the perspective of the high school classroom. Join the camaraderie with Paul & Jay and develop with us a simple but substantive classroom pedagogy of reading, writing, and Socratic discussions. In this…
more -
Odyssey Book 17: A Beggar Among Thieves
Teacher Talk is a podcast for teachers that offers deep dives into great literature from the perspective of the high school classroom. Join the camaraderie with Paul & Jay and develop with us a simple but substantive classroom pedagogy of reading, writing, and Socratic discussions. Follow as Paul...
-
Book 16: Recognition & Reality, Meeting Again for the First Time
Teacher Talk is a podcast for teachers that offers deep dives into great literature from the perspective of the high school classroom. Join the camaraderie with Paul & Jay and develop with us a simple but substantive classroom pedagogy of reading, writing, and Socratic discussions. Book 16 of the...
-
Homer's Plot Mastery: Odyssey Book 15
In book fifteen, Homer begins to weave back together the threads of family and home and order that have been frayed in Ithaca for a long long time. Follow as Paul & Jay detail the teaching of this key chapters. Paul opens the episode with a poem by Bruce Weigl, "My Autumn" leaves....
-
Odyssey Book 14: The Noble Slave and A Humbled King
Paul and Jay continue their review of The Odyssey detailing the essential, the subtle and the lingering in book 14. Jay opens with a poem about homelessness, "Homeless" by Juliet Kono. #theodyssey #odyssey #odysseus #bookreview #highschoolenglish #highschool #classics #homer #books #booksummary...
-
Poetry at Teacher Talk: "The Homecoming"
Jay reads a brilliant poem by Barbara Howes. It comes from her collection In the Cold Country, published in 1954. Howes' collected works were published in 1990 and nominated for the National Book Award.
-
The Obvious but Essential from Book 13
Get the basics of book 13 before you dig into the reading. Paul and Jay lay them out for you quickly and simply. Teacher or student, this episode will give you the essentials that you need to know.
-
Odyssey Book 13: A Stranger in His Own Land
Paul and Jay cover book 13 of Homer's Odyssey, working their way through the entire epic. Book 13 marks a little more than the half way point, Odysseus has only just set foot on homeland, with 11 books left to go. Follow along as Paul and Jay detail the obvious, the subtle and the mystifying…
more -
The Problems of Diversity and Inclusion: Lessons from Zadie Smith's Defense of Fiction
Over a discussion of Zadie Smith's essay "Fascinated to Presume: In Defense of Fiction" (New York Review of Books, 2019), Paul and Jay discuss diversity, multiculturalism, inclusion and representation in high school English. The movement to correct real and perceived oversights of inclusion has...
-
Reading with Jane Austen
In Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen illustrates four types of reading: 1. Reading as confirmation bias 2. Reading as performance art 3. Reading as escape 4. Reading as transformation Which sort of reader are you?
-
Book 12: Reality, Destiny & Character
Join Paul and Jay for book 12, the half way mark in Homer's Odyssey. The episode looks closely at Odysseus' character in some of the strangest events and spectacles in the book. Jay opens with a poem titled "Scylla and Charybdis" by Megan Fernandez.
-
Reflections on Multiculturalism
Teacher Talk is a podcast for teachers that offers deep dives into great literature from the perspective of the high school classroom. Join the camaraderie with Paul & Jay and develop with us a simple but substantive classroom pedagogy of reading, writing, and Socratic discussions. Paul and Jay...
-
Home by Way of Hades: Odyssey Book 11
Homer takes us into the depths of the underworld and gives a look around. Listen as Paul and Jay explain the landscape and comment on the scenery. Jay opens with two war poems, "The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke and Yusef Kulmenyakaa's "Grenade."
-
Hamlet Episode 4: To Be or...or...O' Forget It
Paul and Jay take on Hamlet's key soliloquy, the "To Be" speech. Hamlet does know "seems", though he says otherwise, which doesn't help us to unfold Hamlet's consciousness -- his mind (Hamlet's only field of battle) as we read. Instead we end up with more questions than answers. Mary Oliver is…
more -
Hamlet Episode 3: "Actors, The Opposite of People"
Every character is running some sort of scam in Hamlet, so it is tough to know exactly who is the real deal. Actors or people? This ambiguity is a nuclear weapon in Shakespeare's hand, making his inquiry into reality a deadly quest.
-
Book 10: Perplexities of the Witch: Circe's Power, Charm, and Demise
Paul and Jay walk through book 10 of The Odyssey, highlighting their favorite parts and the parts that mystify them too. Drugs, violence, seduction, death and a perilous jaunt to the underworld: book 10 has it all. Paul opens the episode with a poem that reflects insightfully on Circe herself,...
-
"Parable of the Hostages" by Louise Gluck
Jay reads poetry again in this episode.
-
Book 9: Everybody's Favorite Odyssey
Paul and Jay talk through the most highly anthologized book of The Odyssey (the one with the cyclopes in it), finding more reasons to love it than expected. Jay's poem at the opening of the episode proves that contemporary artists are not nearly beyond the reach of gods who inspired Homer. Poem...
-
Book 8: Tales of Thumos, Love and War
Paul and Jay cover book 8 of The Odyssey, a book not often taught in high school classes. But it is one that contributes uniquely to the distinct development of Odysseus' character. Jay opens with a pointed poem, "A Bar in Argos" by Doug Anderson (wow!).
-
Odyssey Book 7: The Temptations of Utopia
Paul and Jay continue to explore The Odyssey, highlighting the details from book seven that add color and depth to the main narrative. The episode demonstrate the value of not skipping chapters when teaching this book, making the case that if you want readers to understand the book at the end…
more -
Book 6: Nausicaa, Clean Laundry & True Judgements
Nausicaa is a stand out among the side characters in all of classic literature. If you don't know her, meet Nausicaa in this episode as Paul and Jay discuss what makes her revered throughout epic literature. More of Odysseus is revealed in this chapter, albeit subtly, as the next big section of…
more -
Short Takes: Jay's 5 Reasons
Jay gives his motivations for Teacher Talk Podcast. Hint: the joy in imaginative literature is key! Find Jay here on the Teacher Talk with Paul & Jay podcast, the same on youtube. And, find his many helpful videos for readers and teachers at https://www.youtube.com/@jaypawlyk3020
-
Book 5: Into the Nothingness of Storm & Noise
Out of the Telemachy, books 1 to 4, the story shifts to that man of woe, the "self-consumer of his woes", Odysseus himself. In book 5, the reader meets Odysseus before his own son does, and Paul &Jay guide through the initial glimpses of that hero, first seen in tears, crying on the beach. It is…
more -
Odyssey Book 4: End of Telemachy, Start of Weird
Book four leaves Telemachus in the capable hands of Menelaus and Helen, not to be heard from again for nearly 200 pages. Clear enough, but everything else in book four is about as weird as it can be. Stick with Paul and Jay as they walk through this labyrinthine chapter of curiosities. Jay opens...
-
Trailer: Why we record, read, talk
Paul and Jay describe why they do the podcast, and what they hope you will get out of listening, commenting and joining in.
-
Book 3: Don't Skip it!
Paul and Jay talk through what students need to know from an often skipped book of the Odyssey. Listen for the details that, surprisingly, build out crucial context to the story and characters developed in later books. Paul opens with an interesting connection to E. E. Cummings and the American...
-
The Odyssey Book 1: Polytropos and a Call to Action
Paul and Jay kick off their take on the Odyssey with key moments from book one. Paul opens with a poem -- "Evening Hawk" by the great Robert Penn Warren. Grab your copy -- Emily Wilson translation? Fitzgerald translation? -- and join them both for guidance on the characters and events that appear...
-
The Odyssey Book 2: Wake up Telemachus!
Jay and Paul walk through book 2 of the Odyssey, pointing out key passages and the chapter highlights that make the story pop so early in this drama. Jay opens with at a poem that's fitting, but unusually so, "The Rookie" by January O'Neil. We recommend her collection Misery Islands especially.…
more -
Intro to the Odyssey with Paul and Jay
Teacher talk with Paul and Jay is back with one of the most important texts for high school students of all, Homer's Odyssey. If you have never taught it -- if you have always taught it, we hope that you will join us here in a book by book review of the text by two teachers who have learned it by...
-
Hamlet Episode 5: Half Century of Hamlet with John Klein
Paul and Jay welcome their first guest in this episode, the inimitable John Klein. John has been teaching Hamlet to high school seniors for over fifty years, and as you will quickly realize, his zeal for the play has not waned even a little. Listen for insight and inspiration to press on teaching...
-
Hamlet Episode 2: Too Much in the Son
Paul opens the episode with "Animals", that great poem by Frank O'Hara before he and Jay dig in on the topic of fathers and sons, which reverberates throughout the play. Hamlet alone has at least three fathers -- and that's not counting Yorick -- whom he attempts to manage while trying on the...
-
Hamlet Episode 1: Down the Rabbit Hole
Paul and Jay are back with a new series on Hamlet, that enigmatic and overwhelming Shakespeare play that starts as a ghost story. Jay and Paul explore the state of the state of Denmark, in a bold attempt to establish even one reliable point on the compass before descending into the labyrinth in...
-
Teaching in the Time of COVID
Paul and Jay take a break from covering 14th century drama to talk about the high school classroom drama (!) during COVID, AKA "Disembodied Teaching." The discussion offers serious insights and lots of humor, all of which is kicked off by Jay, with his reading of a poem by Billy Collins.
-
Three Questions and Ranging Reflections on Act 5 of Romeo and Juliet
Paul and Jay close out their series on Romeo and Juliet with a wide-ranging discussion of act five. They stick to their three questions -- mostly -- and add ranging reflections on the play that will be useful to teachers and students alike.
-
Stars are the Key to Act 4 of Romeo and Juliet
Paul opens with Robert Frost's short philosophical poem "Stars", which leads to a surprisingly substantive conversation about the shortest and least commented on scene in the play. You won't hear commentary like this anywhere else.
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
Paul and Jay discuss literature and ideas from the perspective of their years in the high school classroom. Teachers and students alike will learn a great deal from their lively and insightful discussions. Join us for the discussions as we work to grow a community readers, writers, and educators. Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/paul-kelly05/support
HOSTED BY
Paul Kelly
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Teacher Talk with Paul and Jay have?
Teacher Talk with Paul and Jay currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Teacher Talk with Paul and Jay about?
Paul and Jay discuss literature and ideas from the perspective of their years in the high school classroom. Teachers and students alike will learn a great deal from their lively and insightful discussions. Join us for the discussions as we work to grow a community readers, writers, and educators....
How often does Teacher Talk with Paul and Jay release new episodes?
Teacher Talk with Paul and Jay has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Teacher Talk with Paul and Jay?
You can listen to Teacher Talk with Paul and Jay on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Teacher Talk with Paul and Jay?
Teacher Talk with Paul and Jay is created and hosted by Paul Kelly.
URL copied to clipboard!