Matthew Crawley PortfolioI've been a social studies teacher at Millbrook High School in Raleigh, NC since 2002. I'm currently teaching American History and Sociology. My main interests are traveling, reading, and supporting Carolina sports teams. Outside of school, I love to spend my time exploring everything Raleigh has to offer with my wife and two children.
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Cultural Connections Project 1: Global Collaborative Project (Video Synopsis)
Cultural Connections Project 2: Scripted Duologue (GoAnimate)
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Cultural Collections Project 1: Swedish Culture Map (Google Maps)
- Training Map, NCSU, Wolves
- Sweden Map
Cultural Collections Project 2: Tour Guide (History Pin)
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Cultural Collections Project 3: Swedish History (MyHistro)
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Cultural Collections Project 4: Curated Collection of Objects (Voicethread)
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Cultural Reflections Project 1: The Last Word, Swedish education articles
"To ensure that students are internally motivated, life-long learners, the classroom and school environments must transform from autocracies that are strictly controlled by authoritative adults to more open, democratic settings that more resemble...organic, flexible structures..."
"To ensure that students are internally motivated, life-long learners, the classroom and school environments must transform from autocracies that are strictly controlled by authoritative adults to more open, democratic settings that more resemble...organic, flexible structures..."
Cultural Reflections Project 2: Swedish Book Club (GoodReads)
I really enjoyed Michael Booth’s The Almost Nearly Perfect People. I had been looking for a book that gave me a short historical background to Sweden, but this book provided me a much better alternative. Booth has a great style that mixes history, culture, and current events and effectively blends interviews and “expert” opinions in with his own observations. The result is an engaging read that gives a great overview to the entire Nordic region.
I would describe the The Almost Nearly Perfect People as cultural anthropology. As a high school sociology teacher, it allowed me to completely nerd out over this topic. I even pulled some excerpts out for my students to read as we studied Swedish culture. I will caution that the book contains some adult language and content, but those sections are few and far between.
I found the concept of this book really interesting. I liked how Booth outlined all the various accolades that have been attributed to the Nordic countries and then wondered why the region hasn’t been a major magnet for Western immigration or even tourism. Booth appears to rub some of the shine off those accomplishments, while also recognizing the regions’ legitimate merits. It felt like a balanced view that weighed both positives and negatives of each location—though the section on Sweden seemed to lean more negative than the other countries.
The sections on Denmark and Sweden were definitely the most developed, and Booth’s analysis provides a pretty full picture of those two countries. The sections on Norway, Finland, and Iceland, by contrast, felt a little light. It almost feels like Booth originally planned to just look at the Denmark and Sweden, but added the other three countries as an afterthought. The Norway section did really make me want to visit the country, however. I was also a little confused at some of the chapter titles, as many of the names had only a cursory connection to the topic covered. I realize that seems a little picky, but when you’re discussing the book with other readers it makes it a little challenging to remember which chapter that you’re studying.
Overall, I found The Almost Nearly Perfect People to be a great read. If you’re interested in culture, history, or politics—or if you just love to travel—I’d strongly recommend this book.
I really enjoyed Michael Booth’s The Almost Nearly Perfect People. I had been looking for a book that gave me a short historical background to Sweden, but this book provided me a much better alternative. Booth has a great style that mixes history, culture, and current events and effectively blends interviews and “expert” opinions in with his own observations. The result is an engaging read that gives a great overview to the entire Nordic region.
I would describe the The Almost Nearly Perfect People as cultural anthropology. As a high school sociology teacher, it allowed me to completely nerd out over this topic. I even pulled some excerpts out for my students to read as we studied Swedish culture. I will caution that the book contains some adult language and content, but those sections are few and far between.
I found the concept of this book really interesting. I liked how Booth outlined all the various accolades that have been attributed to the Nordic countries and then wondered why the region hasn’t been a major magnet for Western immigration or even tourism. Booth appears to rub some of the shine off those accomplishments, while also recognizing the regions’ legitimate merits. It felt like a balanced view that weighed both positives and negatives of each location—though the section on Sweden seemed to lean more negative than the other countries.
The sections on Denmark and Sweden were definitely the most developed, and Booth’s analysis provides a pretty full picture of those two countries. The sections on Norway, Finland, and Iceland, by contrast, felt a little light. It almost feels like Booth originally planned to just look at the Denmark and Sweden, but added the other three countries as an afterthought. The Norway section did really make me want to visit the country, however. I was also a little confused at some of the chapter titles, as many of the names had only a cursory connection to the topic covered. I realize that seems a little picky, but when you’re discussing the book with other readers it makes it a little challenging to remember which chapter that you’re studying.
Overall, I found The Almost Nearly Perfect People to be a great read. If you’re interested in culture, history, or politics—or if you just love to travel—I’d strongly recommend this book.
Cultural Reflections Project 3: Travel Writing (Blog)
docs.google.com/document/d/10iFyuvYlyLmvT5H1p-49m1kkuiVDyawlhZdjcw_RGgY
docs.google.com/document/d/10iFyuvYlyLmvT5H1p-49m1kkuiVDyawlhZdjcw_RGgY
Cultural Reflections Project 4: Writing Into The Day (Pixlr)
Cultural Reflections Project 5: Impressions of Sweden (Meme Generator)