This I Believe....

This post considers a national communications project called "This I Believe."

From its website: "This I Believe is a national media project engaging people in writing, sharing, and discussing the core values and beliefs that guide their daily lives. NPR [National Public Radio] airs these three-minute essays on All Things Considered, Tell Me More and Weekend Edition Sunday. This I Believe is based on a 1950s radio program of the same name, hosted by acclaimed journalist Edward R. Murrow. In creating This I Believe, Murrow said the program sought 'to point to the common meeting grounds of beliefs, which is the essence of brotherhood and the floor of our civilization.'"


I've long listened to "This I Believe" essays on the radio driving into school each day (after all, one needs something to help pass the time in Houston traffic), and I occasionally check in at the This I Believe website to read what people have to say. Always, I find the essays, both written and spoken, interesting, noteworthy, and intriguing.


I don't always agree with what I hear or read, but I'm always eager to learn something new, to see how someone else views the world or to hear someone else's story.

For tonight's blog assignment, I'd like you to explore the This I Believe website (hyperlinked above), simply to see what's there. Then, find a more recent essay that you find intriguing. (As you will see, on each page there are multiple search options.)

Bring a hard copy to class. After reading, be prepared to discuss WHAT the essays are about and WHY you found the subject interesting or intriguing. This will provide a discussion context to work on your own "This I Believe" essay--which will be titled "This I Believe....is the most important event in modern European history (and why)."

Begin thinking about what event you think is the most important in the last 500 years of European history. Come up with at least 3 reasons why. You will write your essay in class on Friday 4/24 and Monday 4/27.