Too bad we're at the tail end of the school year, because I wish I could use some of the stories I've run across today to teach irony (yes, I typed that with a straight face and an ironic grin). Here are some of the news items that caught my eye:- A woman who was mistakenly thought dead woke up at her own funeral and dropped dead from fright.
- The woman with the world's largest natural breasts is named "Stitz".
- Mayor Bloomberg today claimed that most of the $600 million in cost increases in the CityTime project were legitimate, even as prosecutors claimed almost all of the money was fraudulently obtained.
I'd review those three situations with my students, and then give them a quiz to assess their understanding. Students would then be required to read about today's failed negotiations to avert teacher layoffs, and choose a statement to support in paragraph form:
Talks to avert teacher layoffs in NYC broke down today. Which statement about this situation is most ironic?
- The city already has a 3.2 billion dollar surplus and there is no need for layoffs in the first place.
- The city cut off negotiations because the unions wanted to use 110 million of the same health care fund that the city was stealing from to actually help their members get health care.
- The city wants more money from the fund than is actually required to avert layoffs.
- The UFT has not yet learned that any agreement with the city would be almost immediately violated.
And don't even pretend you didn't click on the link about the big breasts.
1 comment:
I pick #5...bring on Rod Blagojevich
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