The Necedah Cardinals Voice: NHS Students Present Great World Texts Work to Peers from Around The State

Logan Myhre and Logan Plantz
carry their bookcase project through
the halls of NHS to load it on the bus.
-photo by Carney Lentz

by Carney Lentz

The autobiography of an 18th century composer and philosopher is not a common feature of high school curricula. Students in Necedah’s AP Literature and Composition, AP Language and Composition, and Global Literature were faced just that challenge this year.

The UW-Madison Humanities Council sponsors the Great World Texts program in order to encourage just such studies. Great World Texts includes training for teachers and a conference that all of the participating students attend.

The conference hall where students displayed
their work and answered questions from other students.
-photo by Carney Lentz

This year the focus text for the program was Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Confessions. This work by Rousseau is an autobiography that covers in great detail his life, loves, and work.

After reading from Confessions, students needed to complete a project that displayed their critical, analytical understanding of the text. Projects can take an endless variety of forms. There are the standard poster board and essay as well as the more unusual interpretive dance or musical performance.

Necedah sent 20 students to the conference on Wednesday, March 25. Their individual or group projects were shared in a display hall and one project, Kristin Darnell’s poem inspired by Rousseau, was shared during an assembly of all students taking part in the conference. Each school had the opportunity to highlight one project during these plenary sessions.

Olajuwon Cawthon from New Horizons Charter School
spent the day playing the part of
Jean-Jacques Rousseau as part of his project. Here
Danielle S. Allen asks "Rousseau" a question.
-photo by Carney Lentz

In addition to offering students a forum for sharing their work the conference included a keynote presentation and questions/answer session lead by Danielle S. Allen. Allen is a political scientist. She spoke to the students about her work on the Declaration of Independence.

Necedah High School Students attending the Great World Texts Conference:

Kristin Darnell

Breanne Housworth and Deneille Lessard wait
for the second plenary session to start.
-photo by Carney Lentz

Isaiah Dutscheck

Michaela Horak

Breanne Housworth

Anastasia Knapinski

Deneille Lessard

Sean McNally

Jessicah Murphy

Logan Myhre


Vanessa Zipperer (far left) and Olivia Nokovic (far right) were able to take part in an acting demonstration as part of the conference. -photo by Carney Lentz