“Words are, in my not-so-humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic. Capable of both inflicting injury, and remedying it.” – Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling (2007)

In June 1990, Joanne Kathleen Rowling was on her way from Manchester to London by train when an idea came to her mind, which created the magical universe of The Boy Who Lived in Number 4 Private Drive. Her most successful story, published in a series of seven novels and translated in more than 80 languages, was adapted and commercialised as audiobooks, movies, games, theme park attractions, a sequel play, in-universe books and several other products – including chocolate frogs, Bertie Bott’s Beans and butterbeer. There is no doubt that the Harry Potter brand is one of the most influential media franchises in the world.

On Saturday, the 31st of July, when the author of the series turns 56, she will most probably receive good wishes and congratulations – but also critique from her fans. Last June, she had responded on Twitter to an article on “Creating a more equal post-COVID-19 world for people who menstruate”. Rowling’s tweet caused a shit storm on social media accusing her of not regarding trans women as ‘actual’ women. Other tweets by her also indicated proximity to the arguments of trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs) and were perceived by the queer community as ignorant, intolerant and transphobic. Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliff and many others denounced her statements and stated that transgender women are women. In an essay, Rowling later emotionally pointed out that her intention was never to discriminate against trans people. “I stand alongside the brave women and men, gay, straight and trans, who’re standing up for freedom of speech and thought […].”

However, Rowling also argued in the same essay that people should use the bathroom of the sex they were assigned at birth. “When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman — and, as I’ve said, gender confirmation certificates may now be granted without any need for surgery or hormones — then you open the door to any and all men who wish to come inside.” This statement neglects that trans people are statistically more likely to experience hostility, violence and discrimination in a bathroom setting.

Words, as the initial quote indicates, have the power to heal, but the resonance on social media clearly shows that in this case, they were offensive and hurtful. One year after her controversial tweet, Rowling stated that she still receives threatening messages and comments. Recently, when talking to a good friend of mine about the Twitter scandal, he suggested detaching Rowling’s literary work from her intentions and statements when analysing and interpreting her novels – since we live in postmodern times and assume the ‘death of the author’.

If you are looking for empowering literature and media, which creates awareness for trans rights please check out the topic cluster trans rights on Lit4School.

Kind regards,

Simon

“One believes things because one has been conditioned to believe them.” – Aldous Huxley

A month ago, I wrote about George Orwell and his works, praising his writings for being uncomfortable and making us reflect on society‘s past, present, and future. And I thought, talking about another equally famous author of the same genre might be obsolete. However, I came to the conclusion that, especially, Orwell’s 1984 (1949) and Huxley’s Brave New World (1932) kind of complement each other in addressing a similar topic while being so different. It’s also nice to know that Huxley was Orwell‘s French teacher at Eton and actually wrote a letter to his former student regarding 1984 praising and also criticising the novel.

Huxley believed his version of government rule to be longer-lasting and more efficient as it doesn’t use fear and violence to make people obedient but conditioning and happy drugs causing citizens to love their state. Moreover, unorthodox thinkers are not broken in Brave New World but given the choice of either becoming rulers themselves or leaving society suggesting relative freedom.

In his letter to Orwell Huxley writes: “I believe that the world’s rulers will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging and kicking them into obedience. […]The change will be brought about as a result of a felt need for increased efficiency.”

Comparing and contrasting both novels and simultaneously looking at the present was highly interesting for me. Both draw on people’s fears of being controlled by the government and worst-case scenarios can be good means to discuss and reflect about our contemporary and future society in the EFL classroom.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALDOUS!

Sarah-Sophia

On July 21^st, Hemingway would have turned 122 years, and of course, this date is often used as an excellent occasion to remind people of the genius he was.

Yet, Lit4School likes to take the opportunity to remember Martha Gellhorn, Hemingway’s third wife and one of the most adventurous women. She was the only woman who experienced the D-Day on the spot and attended the liberation of Dachau. She founded and renovated her and Hemingway’s home in Cuba, the Watchtower Farm, after their stay in Spain as war correspondents during the Civil War. Her braveness and continuous outstanding journalistic work are honoured in the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism. It is awarded annually for journalists writing in the style of Martha Gellhorn, which she understood herself as a “view from the ground”: Capturing human stories that, on the one hand, shake up official news reported in magazines and newspapers, and on the other hand, reveal humanity in places and times on which the world refuses to look closer at.

Her relationship with Hemingway started in Spain as clandestine love in the 1930s: Only a mile away from one of the fronts in the Spanish Civil War and always in danger of getting hit by shell attacks. Also, Hemingway was still married to his second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer, and they had two sons. Hemingway and Gellhorn had lived in an on-and-off relationship until they married in 1940. But their marriage was overshadowed by Hemingway’s seek for domestication, which he soon became bored of, and Gellhorn’s wish to continue reporting of struggles all over the world. Finally, in 1945, after unsteady years of marriage, she said that she has enough and divorced. Behind every successful man, there is a strong woman. Especially in the case of Ernest and Martha, it is exciting leaving the well-known paths of Hemingway and investigate the life and achievements of the woman who influenced his life and works.

Melanie

Recently, one of our students asked whether we could provide resources on the current legal rules for watching films in the classroom. Since our platform features a number of film suggestions and students easily engage with audio-visual material, we took this opportunity to navigate the muddy waters of screenings in schools in Germany.

There are uncontroversial cases of audio-visual content which teachers can show for educational purposes (no public advertising, no entrance fees) without issue according to both IPAU e.V., which represents the interests of the film industry, and German education authorities:

• Using a DVD or stream with a special screening license (as available in Landesbildstellen and Medienzentren)
• Working with selected scenes of up to 15% of any legal DVD or stream (cf. § 60a UrhG)
• Showing expressly educational materials by public broadcasters (cf. § 47 UrhG)
• Streaming documentaries provided with a special education license (cf. Netflix’s policy)
• Using films and clips with a Creative Commons license
• Attending a cinema screening
• Holding a written permission of the copyright holder allowing a screening

Interest groups such as IPAU e.V. will often attempt to convince teachers that screening any off-the-shelf DVD or stream without a special licence is not permitted in classrooms at all. This is not entirely true, however, since German copyright law is generally understood to provide the option for non-public screenings (nicht-öffentlich). This adds the following option in addition to the above:

• Using any legal DVD or stream as long as you are showing it to a particular group that regularly studies together (i.e. Klassen- or Kursverband in accordance with § 15 UrhG)

Any screening to students from more than one group (that regularly studies together) is not considered nicht-öffentlich any more and thus requires one of the more restrictive but uncontroversial options outlined above.

This outline is written up to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication, but it is not legally binding advice since we are not lawyers. Make sure you check the guidance provided by your education authority before you stream a video or show a film in your classroom.

Jonatan and Simon

“If the person you are talking to doesn’t appear to be listening, be patient. It may simply be that he has a small piece of fluff in his ear.” – Winnie the Pooh

Above are some very wise words from one of our most favourite bears of all time: Winnie the Pooh. And I know, Pooh and his friends loved having Picnics in the Hundred-Acre-Wood. As did I when I was quite a bit younger, maybe four or five. It was at this age when I got my favourite teddy bear up to this day and called him Puh-Sonnenbär. I imagined him to be a relative of Winnie the Pooh and I wouldn’t go far without him and my other favourite cuddly toy, they even had to come to the Samaria Gorge where they were carried by my poor father in the end. Also quite disastrous was the one time I thought it a good idea to take Puh-Sonnenbär into the pool with me (“The bear must sweat horribly with his thick fur”, I thought). I am sure, stories and memories like these are present in everyone’s mind and they are good ones. I guess many of you also had tea parties or picnics with your teddy bears or maybe also took them to more exciting adventures.

Here, I also want to present some of the loveliest bear stories I know. However, I am always open to suggestions!

• Winnie the Pooh: The adventures of the beloved bear who loves honey and his friends before anything else in the world is perfect for enoucarging tolerance and understanding for the little perks of people.
• Corduroy: This cute picture book may be for really young students but it still is a heartwarming story about a teddy bear and a little girl who find each other.
• Paddington: The bear who taught us to always bring a marmalade sandwich in case one gets hungry also shows us a great deal of how to act and behave with others respectfully.

Upon all this, I almost feel like taking my Puh-Sonnenbär for a Picnic myself today and I think the beloved companion is a wonderful source for imagination and of course comfort.

Have a lovely Teddy Bear’s Picnic Day!

Sarah-Sophia

“We want hope, not racialism, Brotherhood, not ostracism, Black advance, not white ascendance: Make us equals, not dependants. […]” – Oodgerou Noonuccal, “Aboriginal Carter of Rights” (1962)

In 1931 Doris Pilkington’s mother Molly Craig escaped with two other Aboriginal girls from the Moore River Native Settlement, an internment camp for Aboriginal children in Western Australia. Walking more than 2.400 km along the rabbit-proof fence, they finally returned to their families in Jigalong after nine weeks. Molly Craig told the story later to her child Doris, who wrote the biographical novel Follow The Rabbit-Proof Fence (1996) in reflection of the victims of Australia’s racist child removal policy. Her novel became a great success, was adapted by Phillip Noyce as a movie (2002) and is read in EFL classrooms all around the world. Stolen Generations describes the brutal act of removing mixed-descent children (e.g. with an Aboriginal mother and a European Australian father) from their communities. Under the guise of education, the children were taken to Christian missions and state agencies that believed in ‘converting half-casts’ disconnecting them from their cultural heritage. The report “Bringing Them Home” (1997) concluded that approximately 250,000 children were forcefully removed and separated from their families. On 13. February 2008 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a formal apology to the native people of Australia, known as the “Apology to Australia’s IndiIndigenousples” Doris Pilkington, like her mother, was one of these children. She was taken from her family by Australia’s Department of Native Affairs against her will to Moor River and later Roelands Native Mission. Aged 18, Doris was able to leave the camp, received training at a nursing school, later studied journalism at Curtin University and became an award-winning author.

Apart from Doris Pilkington’s novel, Lit4School offers the play Stolen by Jane Harrison and a collection of poetry by Oodgerou Noonuccal on similar topics. Also, these myths, legends and stories by James Vance Marshall provide an authentic insight into the Aboriginal storytelling culture.

Kind regards and stay safe,

Simon

As you know, on Lit4School we aim to recommend literature and media relevant to current events, climate change being one of them! Therefore, the following project caught our eye: Climate Solidarities will offer five different workshops on Gather.town all about the various aspects of climate change. All workshops will be held in English and are suitable for students, adults and educators alike. In her presentation “Lit4School: Reading about and Discussing Current Affairs in the Classroom”, Sarah Clart will introduce ecocritical and socially engaged literature and media on our database.

Join the international youth congress CLIMATE SOLIDARITIES on the 15th and 16th of July 2021 during the Globe21 festival. Take a look at the trailer and register if you’re interested; admission is free!

In commemoration of America’s Declaration of Independence in 1776, the 4th of July is known for being one big party full of fireworks, barbecues, and baseball games. American media has a huge impact on the rest of the world, and the “American Dream” is a familiar concept to most. So, in honor of today we’d like to highlight some of our favorite American literature and media we feature on our platform!

• The Truman Show: This dystopian comedy movie explores the power of media, commercialism and simulated reality. Truman has spent his whole life in a town he thought was home, but now turns out to be reality TV show set. The film is a great starting point for discussions surrounding surveillance, reality TV, American stereotypes and the American Dream.
• Brooklyn: This Irish novel narrates the social difficulties in mid 20th century Ireland, emigration, and cultural identity, all wrapped up in an American Dream love story. The book follows Eilis Lacey, a young Irish woman who cannot find work. Thus, she decides to immigrate to the United States chasing the American Dream. After some initial difficulties, she falls in love with Tony, a young Italian, and they start planning a life together.
• American Pictures: A Personal Journey Through the American Underclass: This collection of approximately 22,000 photos shows the dark side of the “American Dream”, revealing racism, segregation, social hierarchies and white supremacy. The powerful pictures of Danish photographer Jacob Holdt were not taken with an artistic intention but rather to capture the hardship and brutal reality of America in the 1970s.

Enjoy the summer heat, and don’t forget…you don’t have to be in the US to have a barbecue get-together on the 4th of July! Happy Independence Day everybody!

Sarah

“I am what I am / And what I am needs no excuses.” – Gloria Gaynor, I Am What I Am (1984)

On June 28, 1969, police at the Stonewall Inn in New York led to a series of riots that would spark the fight for LGBTIQ+ rights. A year later, the first gay pride marches emerged, building the foundation for gay communities and activist groups throughout the states. Today, pride marches take place all around the world at the end of June, which is known as ‘Pride Month’, in commemoration of the Stonewall riots.

Studies, however, show that members of the LGBTIQ+ community still face discrimination on a regular basis. The report “The Istanbul Convention, Gender Politics and Beyond: Poland and Turkey”, published in June 2021, states that violent attacks against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people did increase in those countries. Recently, Hungary passed anti-minority reforms and a law banning LGBTIQ+ content from the school curriculum, advertising and TV for children. The UEFA’s refusal to light Munich’s stadium in rainbow colours, as a visible sign of solidarity with Hungary’s LGBTIQ+ community during the Euro Germany-Hungary match, lead to a shit storm on social media and a protest wave demanding for inclusion and diversity.

Still, LGBTIQ+ representation in the german curricula and literature for the EFL classroom remains sparse, leaving a lot of room for improvement. Finding characters students can identify within literature can make a huge difference in their motivation to read and facilitating discussions about relatable topics. A paradigm shift can fuel the understanding and appreciation of our students for a diverse and colourful society. Here are some of our new additions to our platform that aim to increase the representation of LGBTIQ+ characters in the EFL classroom:

• Asexual Love Poem: In this spoken word poem, the speaker conveys experiences of her sexuality being dismissed; wrapped up in the metaphor of “don’t worry the poem will get good“.

• I Wish You All the Best: Ben has finally gathered the courage to come out to their parents as nonbinary. But what should be the people who love them most in the world, refuse to accept Ben’s identity. This coming of age novel addresses themes like gender identity, anxiety and love, fueling open discourse in the classroom about mental health and interpersonal relationships.

• The Laramie Project: This alarming play about homophobia, discrimination and hate crime is based on the brutal murder of the gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard on October 6, 1998. The Laramie Project investigates the case and its aftermath capturing the voices, thoughts and feelings of more than 60 people of the town Laramie, Wyoming in short scenes.

• Julian Is a Mermaid: If you are looking for a story to teach diversity and gender-nonconformity in the elementary classroom, this text might be an option. The heart-warming picture book follows Julian, who is about to explore his passion for colourful dress. Will his grandmother ‘Nana’ reject his new identity, or will she show love and appreciation?

For more literature and media in this context check out our new topic cluster ‘trans rights‘. Also, we are looking forward to your suggestions in this field that you can share with the editors via email or the ‘Suggest and entry’ form.

Happy Pride Month, Everyone!

Sarah and Simon

“Sometimes you read a book so special that you want to carry it around with you for months after you’ve finished just to stay near it.” – Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

Today, we celebrate the birthday and literary heritage of award-winning author Marcus Zusak. After growing up in Sidney, Zusak studied English, History and Education at the University of New South Wales before he became an author. His greatest success The Book Thief (2005), which foregrounds the hope-giving power of reading during the darkest days of history, was translated into more than 40 languages and adapted as a film  (2013). Zusak’s writing is influenced by his parent’s biography, who experienced loss, destruction, hope and coming-of-age in Austria and Germany during WWII. Before his great success as an author, failure, humiliation and struggle have been parts of Zusak’s life. In his motivating TED Talk “The Failure” he reminds us to stay positive, motivated and to fail better when failing again. Today, Zusak lives in Sydney, working as an author and occasionally at a high school teaching English.

Kind rgeards and stay safe,

Simon

Whenever I need to escape reality for a bit, my go-tos are music and books. Unfortunately, it can be hard to make time for reading sometimes, whereas music always seems to be readily available. Did you know that teenagers listen to an average of around 2,5 hours of music per day? Music hugely impacts everyday life and shouldn’t be ignored in the classroom!

Just like poetry, songs offer a multitude of themes to discuss with students. They can be introduced with or without the lyrics or music video as an extra layer of difficulty. Songs can help view historical events and society in a critical light, but also help reflect on the future. John Lennon’s song “Imagine” encourages listeners to envision a world at peace. He describes how without the barriers of religion, nationality or material possessions, humans could finally live together harmoniously. Songs that are more closely related to students’ lives can also be wonderful discussion starters. The song “Hunger” by the English indie rock band Florence + the Machine contemplates a relation between eating disorders and youthful loneliness. “Zombie” by The Cranberries problematises the violent troubles in Northern Ireland and offers a critical perspective on the conflict between the loyalists and the republicans.

Visuals can be a helpful addition to listening to music, as can be found in films or musicals. Here, the songs can either be put into context by watching the whole film or analyzed separately. An example for this can be found in the film Annie. Based on the musical of the same name, this film is set in 1933 New York City, in the midst of the Great Depression. A song like It’s a Hard Knock Life could be analyzed by students in regards to its view of poverty in the US.

In honor of Music Day, take some time to explore some new artists… and of course we’d love for you to share your discoveries with us!

Sarah

“We can all be refugees / Nobody is safe, / All it takes is a mad leader /Or no rain to bring forth food,

We can all be refugees / We can all be told to go, / We can be hated by someone / For being someone.” – Benjamin Zephaniah, “We Refugees”, 2003 Since June 20, 2020, UN’s World Refugee Day makes us aware of the fact that every day, people across the globe are forced to leave their home escaping war, conflicts and persecution. 

From our perspective, it might be hard to understand how tough, threatening, and traumatising migration can be and, most of us have probably only a vague idea of what it means to leave everything behind. Literature, however, can provide us, and our students with paradigm shifts. On Lit4School, you will find resources that tackle the topics of immigration, intercultural contact as well as war and trauma. 

The Arrival by Shaun Tan is a graphic novel in pictures, which tells a challenging story about hope, following a refugee leaving his home country, travelling to and finally arriving in an unknown city. 

“We Refugees” by Benjamin Zephaniah reflects that every one of us can become a refugee, and that “we all came here from somewhere”.

 Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse is a novel in letters, written by the Jewish girl Rifka, who documents her escape from Russia to the USA. 

Also, this short animated movie by the BBC tells the story of Iayd and his family escaping from Damascus and can serve as an introduction to a unit on migration. Another animated story by BBC learning following young Ali makes us aware of how utterly important it is to support, protect and include new neighbours.

Finally, this cartoon by Andy Singer can serve as a reason to discuss and rethink US immigration politics in class, as the founding fathers of the United States were European settlers (but not the first people on American ground). 

I hope, you find these suggestions helpful. However, if you know other resources for teaching migration in the EFL classroom, please, make a suggestion.

Kind regards and stay safe everyone,

Simon

“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” ― William Butler Yeats

Yeats was an incredibly versatile writer, producing poetry, prose, essays, and plays, and was the first Irishman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature: “for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation.” He was also co-founder and director of the Abbey Theatre, which would later become Ireland’s national theatre. Yeats was very interested in occultism, spiritualism, myths and legends of Ireland in particular. These served as inspiration for his works, as did English writers such as Shelley, Spenser, Blake, and Wilde, and his great, although unrequited, love Maud Gonne. Maud Gonne was a well-known Irish nationalist, suffragette, actress and model for Cathleen ni Houlihan – the protagonist in the play by the same name written by Yeats and Lady Gregory. As the play explores Irish nationalism and patriotism, Gonne fittingly played the role of Cathleen. However, Yeats never really stood behind the nationalistic ideals and even actively questioned his own play in one of his poems: “Did that play of mine send out | Certain men the English shot?” (Man and the Echo) Unlike many modernist poets, who wrote in free verse, Yeats kept to the more traditional style. His poem Down by the Salley Gardens (inspired by a song he heard an old woman sing) now belongs to Irish folk music and it is definitely worth listening to it.

So let’s lift our glasses and drink to this brilliant writer. HAPPY BIRTHDAY W.B.!

Sarah-Sophia

Happy World Environment Day! This year’s theme is Ecosystem Restoration. Not only does it focus on restoring our destroyed ecosystems, but conserving the intact ones as well.

Reading about climate change and nature in general can give us a better understanding of just how much our environment influences our lives. Whether it be natural disasters or climate change, in the end we’re all at the mercy of our planet. This becomes apparent in the novel Salvage the Bones, which follows a family living in poverty in the midst of Hurricane Katrina. In contrast to this very real event, the dystopian novel The Wall paints a picture of a future that could await us. In a world broken by climate change, a wall is all that separates an island of safety from the “Others” desperately trying to find a way in.

Speaking of sea levels rising…In honor of World Oceans Day on June 8th, let’s not forget the impact our oceans have on the environment! The documentary Seaspiracy sheds light on the many factors that play a role in the destruction of the marine ecosystem. The beautifully illustrated children’s book We Are Water Protectors tells the story of a young girl protecting her home from the “black snake”, which represents the oil pipelines threatening to poison her people’s water. Also, this animated short film, which has been adapted from the children’s book What Happened When We All Stopped by Tom Rivett-Carnac, reminds us how nature recovered during the COVID-19 pandemic and demands for a paradigm shift concerning mindful living on planet earth. The cartoon “Do What I Say, Not What I Do” by Patrick Chappatte illustrates the unwillingness of industrial countries to make a sustainable change in climate politics.

Stay safe and have an extra sunny weekend!

Sarah

International Children’s Day is about cherishing and protecting children all around the world. Though celebrated on different dates throughout the world, the main purpose stays the same. This day aims to advocate for children’s rights; and raise awareness for global issues affecting children, from child labor to war, hunger and lack of education. Having access to a variety of literature is a luxury many children around the world don’t have. Reading can help children’s imaginations flourish, letting them discover whole new worlds outside of their own reality. And although not every child is destined to be a bookworm, anyone can benefit from a magical story or two.

For our future scientists: The Magic School Bus series is the perfect introduction to dozens of topics, ranging from the mechanics of the human body to computers. Kids can feel like they’re along for the ride in a magic school bus that can transform for every occasion, whether it’s shrinking to the size of an ant or shapeshifting into different animals. The occasional fun fact will be sure to surprise adults as well! In a different vein, cooking can be just as much of an exact science as working in a lab. But, even more fun, as you can taste-test your end product! The picture book Fry Bread combines beautiful illustrations with a touching story about the meaning of food in Native American culture – with your very own Fry Bread recipe at the end!

For our art enthusiasts: Beautiful illustrations can make a world of difference in a child’s reading experience. Illustrations can convey emotions, like in Up and Down, Grumpy Monkey or Buford the Little Bighorn. They can bring magical worlds to life, as can be seen in The Gruffalo or The Cat in the Hat. Not to mention all the fun that can be found in an activity book full of illustrations like Where’s Wally!

For those looking for a laugh: Comics can infuse some humor and ease into a potentially daunting task like reading. Calvin & Hobbes tells the story of an unusual 6-year-old boy full of imagination and wit – perfect to be enjoyed with your favorite stuffed animal by your side. Zits Comics bring a more “teenage perspective” to the table, relatable to both children and parents!

Take the day to snuggle up with a snack and revisit your favorite nostalgic children’s books! And, of course we’d love for you to share them with us! Stay safe,

Sarah

“Ending a novel is almost like putting a child to sleep – it can’t be done abruptly.” – Colm Tóibín

Colm Tóibín is one of the great contemporary Irish writers and explores Irish society and topic clusters, such as loss, living abroad and identity construction. He lives openly gay and dedicates his writings to minorities in different cultures, capturing diverse voices and discourses. As a journalist and essayist, Tóibín also published critical studies on historical and contemporary subjects. His meticulous and journalistic style of writing does not involve storytelling techniques but features deep and detailed investigations of cultural complexities and phenomena. Before writing this blog post, I didn’t know much about his life and writings except for his novel Brooklyn and its movie adaptation, which follows a young woman from Ireland to New York, full of hope to find her American Dream. So, I was surprised by how incredibly diverse his writings are. Apart from the novels, his non-fictional works are definitely worth looking into. Love in a Dark Time: Gay Lives from Wilde to Almodóva, for example, provides the reader with a collection of essays exploring various writers’ lives and the obstacles they had to face because of their sexuality. I do hope that my blog post gives an impulse to read some Tóibín in your EFL classrooms to encourage discussions and paradigm shifts. 

Today, Colm Tóibín clebrates his 66th birthday: CHEERS and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Colm!

Sarah-Sophia

“[…] a painter of rainbows is now travelling across the night sky […]” – Family statement, 27th of May 2021

Eric Carle, illustrator and award-winning author of children’s books, died today aged 91. Carle illustrated more than 70 books that are used in primary education up to the present day – among them everlasting tales such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (1967), The Grouchy Ladybug (1977) and Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me (1986). His popular picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1969) became a great success and was translated into more than 60 languages.

In silent mourning,

The Editors

“I can’t breath!” – Georg Floyd, dying in the streets of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, on May 25th 2020

One year ago today, George Perry Floyd Jr., a black American, was murdered by a white police officer, who knelt on Floyd’s back for more than 9 minutes after he was arrest on suspicion of using a counterfeit banknote. While facing the street, George Floyd himself, paramedics and people standing by repeatedly informed the officers that Floyd was not able to breathe, which the officers seemingly ignored. His outcry “I can’t breath!” became a slogan of global protests against police violence in general and racial motivated cruelties in particular, which demanded criminal justice reform and a trial against the responsible police officers. The brutal murder of George Floyd turned the spotlight on the international phenomenon of excessive, unregulated and inappropriate use of force by law enforcement, which is frequently motivated by racism, prejudice and stereotypes. On our platform, you will find relevant literature and media that you can use to discuss similar cases with your pupils under the topic clusters Black Lives Matter and Rassismus. We also recommend using the short film “Two Distant Strangers” (2020) in higher grades. 

Today, we commemorate George Floyd, brother of four siblings, father of five children, victim of police violence.

The Editors