Emma Keith

A growth mindset cat. Courtesy of Laura Gibbs. Source: Growth Mindset Resources. As someone who's very oriented around both giving and receiving praise, these articles were very helpful to me. I love encouraging and praising others, but it's helpful to think about being constructive and being present when I do so, per these articles:  Presence, Not Praise: How to Cultivate a Healthy Relationship with Achievemen t From personal experience, as someone who's always been touted as "naturally creative" or "naturally smart," it's harmful to both sides to assume that these gifts are innate and not built by hard work and application. Those who aren't "born with it" may never try to develop skills they think they have no hope of learning, and those who are "born with it" will feel disappointed in themselves and like failures when their talents aren't quite enough. I also agree with this article's assertion that praisin...

This week, I dug into my topic brainstorm from last week on writing about the Greek Underworld .  As I mentioned last week, I'd like to have Hermes be the storyteller for this project, since he's the escort for the dead to the underworld. I think Charon, another Underworld psychopomp, would also be a fascinating storyteller (they've both seen all the dead in the Underworld). I'd like each section to be an obituary for one of the deceased souls that dwells in the underworld, but I also want each obit to have a personal flair/style from whoever's writing it (Hades, Charon, etc.). I also want each section of the project and each person memorialized to represent a different region of hell, like Tartarus and the Elysian Fields.  "Charon carries souls across the river Styx." By  Alexander Dmitrievich Litovchenko.  Source: Wikipedia Commons . Some of the stories I'd like to tell through this project are those of:  Tantalus Tantalus was a son of...

In a certain town in the American west, a well-respected and elderly man realized his time had come. He had but one son called Hanina who lived not far from him, and he called on his child to set his affairs in order. "My son, it's time for your mother and I to pass on," he told Hanina. "But I will care for you even when I am gone. After your week of mourning, I want you to go to the marketplace and buy the first item offered you. Your purchase will bring you great fortune." Hanina was deeply distressed by his father's request and his impending death, but was comforted with his father's command at their parting: "be at peace, my son." Days later, Hanina's father and mother passed within hours of one another. Hanina and his own wife buried them on a small plot outside town.  A week after his parents' passing, no longer dressed in black, Hanina woke early on a Saturday morning and walked to the market in the center of town.   Mo...

The second half of my Jewish fairy tale reading seemed significantly darker than the first half, and also shifted away from the more classically Biblical focus of part A. However, I really enjoyed several of these stories, and especially the ones below: King for Three Days I did enjoy this story as is, and especially the contrasting figures of Godfrey and Rashi. However, if I was rewriting, I think I'd gender flip the rabbi. I know women weren't rabbis, but the story could work with Godfrey consulting a wise and respected female teacher and having her prophecy come true.  The Rabbi's Bogey-Man The fairy frog. Courtesy of Laura Gibbs. Source:   Jewish Fairy Tales: The Fairy Frog . This fairy tale is really fascinating to me! I love the futuristic feel of the story and of the rabbi's invention, and I love the language shift in the middle of the story — the rabbi's invention is called "the machine woman" at first, then moves to "the bogey-ma...

For this week's reading, I chose the unit on Jewish fairy tales. I really enjoyed seeing some more magical or fantastic details added to several Bible stories and characters I already knew. Below are some of my favorites from Unit A of the section: The Giant of the Flood I love that this story contains a unicorn and I love the fantastic elements included (the unicorn is as big as a mountain, precious stones compose the ark's windows, etc). I also enjoy how this story works littler explanatory myths in, like the phoenix origin story. This story is different for me because I know one version of it well, but it works in a character I know from different Bible stories, Og. I like how several of these Jewish fairy tales tie together common Bible stories and people to be part of one another's narratives (Og, for example, goes on to interact with Abraham and Moses later in his life in this telling). David rides a deer to flee the lion. Image courtesy of Laura Gibbs. Sour...