Research Journal #4

It is definitely difficult to find resources on writing a eulogy. I can find a ton of examples of traditional eulogies, but are there any nontraditional examples? Am I going to be able to write this thing in the traditional form?

I need to go back to the basics. How to Write a Eulogy or Remembrance Speech provides some insight into how to write a traditional eulogy. This website sites that "a eulogy recalls special qualities about the deceased that enhance the existing emotional and spiritual connections between the person who died and the living, thereby focusing and increasing a listener's appreciation of the life lost" (Morrow). Now thinking about how to integrate my ideas into a eulogy, maybe I can recall what was initially great about education, and how we have swayed from it. That way, I can establish what I think was great about education, how those aspects 'died' in a sense, and how I wish to remain connected to those components. Let's hope that works for being cohesive in ideas and genre.

The article then goes on to describe characteristics of a eulogy (is it an eulogy? ... grammatically it makes sense, but it doesn't sound right). A eulogy is typically five minutes long (625-750 words), and includes all of these components:

• A compressed life history, including personal interests, achievements, hobbies, work life, etc

• Details about familial relationships and friendships

• Your favorite moments of the person

• Any songs, poems, Bible verses, quotes that may be relevant.

The author also describes the writing process: "Recall Your Memories, Gather Information About the Deceased, Organize Your Info/Memories, Write, Review and Revise, Rehearse and Finalize" (Murrow).

Now, although I already started my rough draft, I can make a plan in writing my eulogy. I will remember my memories of being in school as a student, and my memories in school now as a preservice teacher. Anecdotes are important in remembrance speeches, and I want to be sure to provide my own genuine ones. I will gather information and history on the education system. For this, I will do research on what the purpose of the educations system was and what it is now. I will do this by consulting Why We Teach Now. Then, I will organize all of the information I gathered in a way best suited to convey my argument. I will write and write, revise and revise, and finally, rehearse and finalize. While I have already started writing a portion of my UGP, I will still follow this process.

And what will I include in my education eulogy? Well, everything in the prior list, just tweaked a tad. There will be a compressed history of education through the ages, details and stories about how education has impacted others, the good parts of education. Who knows, maybe I will include quotes from a song as well? We'll see.