W00t!

As our universe expands, so does our language.

My cyber buddy, Cathy, asked who would be the first to blog about the addition of "w00t" to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. The term is, in fact, the Word of the Year for 2007.

So my answer to Cathy is: Me!

Global Literacy

In 1987, E. D. Hirsch's "Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know" became a surprise best-seller, and drew charges of "cultural elitism" for attempting to list a core knowledge that informed citizens should possess.

Twenty years later, in the July 2-9 issue of Newsweek, John Meacham introduces a Special Report entitled What You Need to Know Now in order to "start a conversation about what we are calling Global Literacy—facts and insights about the world (some objective, some subjective) that we think are worth knowing." The accompanying 130 question Global IQ quiz covers 13 subject areas ranging from Art to Faith, Politics, and Technology.

First tag in my revamped del.ici.ous bookmarks: LP-culturalliteracy (Lesson Plan - cultural literacy). This quiz should spark some interesting current events discussions! (and I wonder if I can figure out how to make one of those globes covered with pictures...maybe Jane Austen's portrait could link to the different settings of her stories; there might be a trailer from a movie adaptation of her works; an audio clip from an Austen classic...)