Searching for info on Invisible Man, for which I am to lead a class ( AMLIT college course ) discussion soon, I came across your site. What an excellent idea for engaging young students. The content is a valuable resource. Even four years later! Ahhh. Where are they now?
Andrew W. - October 12, 2002
What a wonderful web site! It is well-written and chock full of information. I wondered if you had a written outline of the assignment(s) that you would be
willing to share? I am teaching Advanced Placement English Language and would love to do this as an end of the year project. Thank you very much for your time!
Kristine W. - March 28, 2002
May I have permission to link to your students' web site on Ellison. It is a valuable tool for the study of Ellison and, although I teach at a university (Siena Heights University--Adrian, Michigan), the web site is excellent for college students to do some research on Ellison and the Invisible Man. Congratulations to the students for an excellent presentation.
Frank R. - March 27, 2002
I was extremely impressed with the quality and thoroughness of the student web pages for Ellison's novel designed under your tutelage--could you possibly share with me the requirements for the assignment? I will be teaching the novel to my 11th-12th grade Lit/Comp classes and I love the idea of something other than the standard assignments--something that would tie in to their interest in technology and challenge their creativity as well as their intellect.
Thanks.
Dr. Nancy B. - September 17, 2001
Dear Students, I just wanted to thank you and congratulate you on the success of your web site. It has been very useful for myself as well as many other students on the understanding of the Invisible Man. Your summaries have become a habit for me to read after I have finished a chapter to gain a better understanding of it. Good luck with your site and continue the great work.
Catherine - September 10, 2001
I'm a college student on the west coast, entering my junior year at UCLA in the fall. I stumbled on the web sites that your students created for
Ellison's Invisible Man, and I'm greatly humbled by what I found. Your
students created a thorough, insightful, informative and, most importantly,
caring source for one of the greatest literary works of the 20th century.
I am terribly impressed. Thank you for all you do to help students create
such outstanding work as can be found in the Ellison pages. Truly. Yours is
the noblest profession in the world, and you're a fine representation of its
best.
Kate M. - May 2, 2001
Susan, I have no idea if you are still teaching or not, but here goes.
My name is Howard, a member of the Athenaeum, a Senior Learning Center at RIT in Rochester, NY. Members of the Athenaeum develop courses to present to other members. This spring a colleague of mine and I are going to present "Jazz, Ken Burns and the Internet." Our course content will follow somewhat the PBS series on Jazz. There is a web site in connection with the program in which lesson plans are presented. Those lesson plans are very comprehensive but include various sections that can be applied in our endeavour. For example there is a plan that delves into Ellison's writing and its connection to Jazz.
I found your 1997-98 class work in a search and found it to be top notch. Have you had an opprtunity to try it with other students?
Howard D. - March 27, 2001
I just wanted to commend you and your classes on the great job that has been done. I came across the site while doing research for a professor and couldn't help but drop you line of appreciation. You have done a truly imaginative and professional job that demonstrates good teaching and intelligent students. I am studying to become a facilitator in a literature class, and I have book marked your page as a reminder to me in the coming year of what is possible.
I hope all is well with you, and that this note finds you reading.
Kristopher H. - March 7, 2001
I am from Venezuela. I needed to get info about Battle Royal, the first chapter of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. I have been searching about this for almost two hours. Finally, I found your site. I wanted to congratulate you because I think it is really good. It is precise, complete, easy to understand, etc. Keep up the good work, and congratulations again.
Adriana C. - June 16, 2000
I found your web page on Invisible Man really helpful. I'm a student at York University, in York, England. I have a tutorial on the book in about six hours, and, thanks to you, I have lots of points to raise. I really appreciate your help! Thanks again!
Peter S. - June 13, 2000
I thought I should send ya'll a message to let you know that I found your webpage very useful. I knew that Ellison used jazz to protray the environment of the invisible man, but I didn't think to compare jazz to the "Great Migration." Thanks...
Jynelle - May 8, 2000
I just want to thank you and your classes for helping me with my term paper.
I have been sitting on the internet for the past 4 hours trying to help me
relate Invisible Man to real life experiences of the time.
Then I found your website. I think your classes did an amazing job.
On a personal note, I am a 31 year old mother of two who has just gone back
to college. My dream has always been to teach. I just wanted to commend
you on what a great job you are doing. These kids did a great job which you
can tell took a lot of time and effort.
Thank you and keep up the good work.
A Grateful Student - April 27, 2000
What a fantastic site you and your students have created. I'm truly impressed.
I'm currently working with 40 New York City public high school teachers on integrating technology (specifically student web page design and internet research) with interdisciplinary (English language arts with a second discipline) curriculum design. I'll be sure to lead them to your
site.
I'd love to know if you have gotten any feedback from these students recently. Are they now in college? Do they feel this type of pedagogy helped prepare them for college? That info would be fascinating.
Keep up the great work.
Mike F.
Office of High School Programs
NYC Technical College of the City University of New York - April 12, 2000
I must thank you very much for your Internet site regarding Ellison's Invisible Man, and the wonderful critical analysis by your students. I am a
new high school English 12 and 11 Honors teacher (I previously taught 7th grade, a whole different world). I am currently teaching in Maryland in Howard County (I see you're in Virginia).
This is my first time teaching Invisible Man, and I wanted to do a performance assessment similar to yours (without the Internet, at least this year). I love your ideas about how to evaluate the chapters, and am wondering if it's at all possible to get a copy (email cut-and-paste is, of course, fine!) of this lesson? Honestly, I am feeling overwhelmed by it all
(and if this comes with a time/date posting, you'll notice it's 4:49 a.m., and with all in my head, I'm not sleeping :)
Anyway, if it's possible to find time in your busy schedule, I'd surely appreciate it.
March 8, 2000
Your web site is outstanding and has aided me very much in my research. Have you any Idea were I could find out about color imagery on Ralph Ellision's
Invisible Man elsewhere on the Internet? Jeffrey N. - March 1, 2000
My compliments to your students for an outstanding web site on Invisible Man. I'm a college student in CA and was looking for chapter summaries on the Internet to review for a term paper I was writing. Although we covered the text in much more detail and complexity of ideas, my thanks for a welcome review. Having read the text about a month ago, reading the summaries helped refresh some of the details. Reading other aspects of your curriculum, it seems you have an interesting thing going on. Know you are giving your students an incredible advantage, exposing them to HTML and webpage design, while still in high school. Here in Silicon Valley especially, it seems everyone here knows at least basic computer science and java. Your students will thank you for your work, as do I.
Dan - December 6, 1999
Hi, I am a college student from Detroit. Well, I just want to
congratulate the students who made the web page on Invisible Man. My term paper for my college literature course was a 15 page research report. Your web page has helped me so much in my research that I really don't know how I would have finished it without reading about your opinions about Invisible Man. However I have a few different views about the novel. For example I think Booker T. Washington represents The Founder and that Marcus Garvey represents Ras the Exhorter. These few different views about the novel don't change the excellent opinion I have about your web page. Thank you so much for helping me out on my research report.!!!!!!!!!
Mayra - December 4, 1999
...I am a junior at New York University. I am
studying to be a high school English teacher. While doing a search on the
web, I came across your site on Invisible Man. It is absolutely amazing.
This is one of my favorite books and you all did a great job of discussing
it. Thanks and keep up the good work.
Janine - November 10, 1999
I think your web page is very accurate and insightful. I am a sophomore at Ohio University, and I'm writing a paper on Invisible Man and your chapter summaries helped me understand the material better. Good luck on any upcoming web pages!
Amy - November 1, 1999
I was so impressed with your high school students' web site that I just had to write and tell you. I am a 45-year-old college student, [and high school student (I need four more credits to get a diploma)] from Washington State, and I have been studying English Fiction 112 for a month now. We are given one or two short stories a day to read and analyze each story and author I look up on the web for background material. I have to tell you that your students web site had the best information I've seen to date. It is simple, complete, and much appreciated. A big high five and a thanks from.....Diane, class of 2000 PS: In my real life I am an Engineer, I just got a lucky break, that's why I am back in school. Tell your kids to get a diploma, other wise they will be taken advantage of like I was. Employers will exploit this fact, pay you less than others doing the same thing. They feel they don't have to treat you with any respect, no matter how smart you really are or how well you do....! Stay in school kids, because a diploma " is " worth its weight in gold, literally. Good Luck in the future...!
Diane - October 18, 1999
Excellent site! I am using it as one of my resources for Invisible Man, assigned reading for my sociology class at Ayer High School, Ayer Massachusetts. Kudos to you and your students.
Malcolm R. - October 14, 1999
I just wanted to thank all of you guys for your awesome website!!! We're reading Invisible Man in my AP Eng. class and the chapter summaries helped me out a lot!! Thanks again!!
Susan - October 7, 1999
My name is Ginny and I am a Basic Skills teacher from New Jersey. I just had to take this opportunity to congratulate you and your students for the magnificent feat they have accomplished in your classes. I was recently researching for some information on Ralph Ellison's book, Invisible Man, when I came across West Springfield High School's web page. Imagine my surprise when my eyes feasted on this excellent piece of student work. The chapter summaries, themes, motifs, character analyses, etc. were compiled with accuracy and proficiency. I was amazed at the mature insight expressed by these young people. My hat is off to you for instilling in your students such a wonderful enthusiasm and incredible creativity on this web site. Teachers like you make us all look good and I thank you. CONGRATULATIONS!
Ginny - September 19, 1999
Great web page about Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man!
I was very impressed!!!!
Angie K. - September 18, 1999
Hi, I am a junior in high school and I really needed some back up info. on this book. This site has really helped me out. This is a wonderful site which it seems like it has been constructed with a lot of time and effort. WELL DONE!
Alison - September 13, 1999
I came across your students' pages after doing a search on Ellison to help inform a discussion on Invisible Man with my book club members (an informal group of five women, including a nurse, a historian/psychologist, a psychiatrist, a clinical social worker and an advocate for livestock animals). I was very impressed with the amount of work your students did and with their generosity in sharing it with the general public. With over 10,000 hits on the site, many people have presumably benefited -- I know I have! My fellow clubees will be very impressed with all my *ancillary topic* knowledge. Thanks!
Jane F., LCSW - September 6, 1999
I've just read your site. Well done, it's fantastic. I also like your list of personal choices. I'm an English Teacher in the UK.
Kerry L. - June 2, 1999
Hello, my name is Frank W. and I am from Hillsboro High School. I am in an advanced level of English. ...by shear luck I found this fountain of knowledge that will surely shorten my stress level. I am in such a happy mood right now I could kiss all of you.
Frank W. - May 20, 1999
I'm a senior in high school in Denton Texas doing a project on Ellison and the Invisible Man. The websites of your classes have been very helpful in filling in the gaps of my own research and providing links and other sources that I can use for my project. Thank you.
Shannon H. - April 13, 1999
I would like to thank you and your classes very much for your remarkable Ellison web site. It has proved to be extremely useful to me and my students here at Texas A & M. My undergraduate ENGL 339 class is in the process of building a web site and will depend heavily upon your fine examples. When we finish, I am sure we will want to add links to your pages if you don't mind. Again, thanks and please keep up the good work.
Finnie C. - April 6, 1999
I have just visited your students' web pages. My students and I applaud you and yours! The depth of the work is incredible, and we are delighted to see that there are others with a passion for literature. My pre A/P English II class has just begun studying the Invisible Man, and your work has inspired us. We are hoping to complete a web-page project, but we intend to use our previous unit, Night, by Elie Wiesel for the content. We hope to draw some comparisons. Keep up the excellent work and give your kids a big Texas congratulations!
Nelda M. - March 24, 1999
Thanks so much for your website...who'd thought I'd ever need chapter summaries on Invisible Man...You guys wouldn't happen to be writing up summaries for Their Eyes Were Watching God?
Hannah - March 18, 1999
I'm a senior at Denbigh High School in Newport News, VA. We've been studying the Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison in my AP class. After reading the novel, I was able to use your web site to review the chapters and more clearly see the themes surrounding each chapter. I just wanted to say thanks for such a wonderful source of information!!
Leigh W. - February 28, 1999
...As a fan of Ellison, I appreciated such excellence and obvious dedication.
TR - February 18, 1999
I just wanted to say thank you for making that page cause it extremely helped me in my research for Ralph Ellison.
Jim - February 14, 1999
...wart meine letzte rettung, super aufgebaut, thanks...
Markus - January 8, 1999
I am writing to comment on the superb job your students have done on your Invisible Man web page. It has helped me incredibly...
Marsala - January 8, 1999
This is a Great Web site--excellent work by your very talented students. I loved every bit of it. Great Work!!!!!!
December 18, 1998
I've thoroughly enjoyed reading all of your classes' web pages on the Invisible Man. I go to L. C. Bird High School in Chesterfield, VA. My AP Literature class just finished reading Invisible Man and we have to take the test tomorrow....Thanks so much for putting so much work into a site like this. They were all incredible. The pages look great and have wonderful information on them.
Tiffany G. - December 17, 1998
I do not know where to begin. I guess I will start with how I came upon finding your web site. I am currently enrolled at Manatee Community College in Bradenton Florida. Here one of the classes I am taking is American Literature. I needed to write an essay on Ralph Ellison and had come up short with good topics to discuss. I find most of my information in the Internet and went on a hunt to find the topics I needed. It was a great pleasure to happen across such a well-balanced, well-thought out, artistic and educational web page. I was very impressed with the knowledge of the students, the graphics chosen and the sound waves that were used throughout. I hope that my letter will give the students in your class the knowledge of accomplishment. Keep up the good work and pass it on.
Stacey L. - December 1, 1998
You've done an incredible job with your site! I'm in AP English in my senior year and in trying to review to an I.M. test I came upon your site. It has helped me a lot,...
Monica - November 15, 1998
Nice work. I would like to see more work on the connection between Ellison and Emerson.
Kyle K. - November 7, 1998
The reason why I'm writing you is that I'm currently reading THIS book which was a gift and a recommendation from a friend of mine from L.A. I can only imagine that it wasn't easy to discuss this outstanding piece of literature in class but to me your web site proves to be really helpful. I'm getting on all right with the book, but it's good to know about different aspects. It's not easy reading. Mind you, my mother tongue is German, I'm from Zurich/Switzerland, and reading this book means also coming to terms with American history/reality, understanding certain situations that might be clearer to you than to me. So I've bookmarked your page and will come back again.
Thomas M. - October 29, 1998
Thank you for the info on the Invisible Man. It helped me a lot. I used your notes on the chapters to understand the novel better. I wrote an essay on the themes and got a B but after using your notes on the themes, I rewrote my essay and received an A. I just wanted to thank you.
Jein1 - October 14, 1998
I really enjoyed reading your students' outline of the Invisible Man. Please congratulate them on their fine work and excellent presentation. I found myself reading the entire book. Thank you for taking me to your thoughts.
Karen L. - October 1, 1998
I just wanted to say that you web sites are absolutely wonderful. I am doing a project on Ralph Ellison and jazz and I have looked everywhere for information and your web site was so helpful. I am thrilled that you have high school students making the web pages. They are amazing. Thank you for your help.
Melanie W. - September 21, 1998
I just wanted to let you know that the web site that you have created on this literary classic is wonderful. I am in my junior year of college and read this book several years ago. Your class's ability to decipher the book so simply was wonderful. I applaud you and your students.
Lisa T. - September 15, 1998
I teach a primary multiage class in NH, am my school's tech person, and have just recently completed our school's first website. I found your students' Invisible Man site through USAToday. I just wanted you to know how impressed I am with what you and your kids have done. The work is well written, the page layouts are graphically interesting and appealing, and the concept fascinating. The information has so many layers--the book itself, the finding of themes, and info on the kids. This is a fine example not only of good teaching and learning but also of what we as educators can do with a tool like the WWW. Good for you for putting this out there for the rest of the world, educators or not to see. Please pass along my congratulations to your students. You have all done an outstanding job. I can't wait to see what they will do as seniors.
Christine H. - July 15, 1998
School is cool. At least at West Springfield High, where students created a Web site to display their research into the novel Invisible Man. Different classes came up with different ideas. Shows us what learning is about in cyberspace. USAToday - July 15, 1998.