Tasks: What is Success? by Bessie Anderson Stanley

Work in groups and discuss the following questions.

1. You have just read two versions of the poem Success. How do the two versions differ? What has been added or left out in the second version? Which version do you find most accessible, and why?
2. The first version is written by a woman. Why is she using the pronoun he? Would the poem change character if she had used she instead?

3. Before you read the poems, you were asked to write down your definition of success. How does this definition of success differ from the definition you find in the poem? Would you like to change your previous definition?

4. Make a list of six people you think of as very successful in the world today. Compare your answer with the rest of the group. Discuss and try to agree on six people that you all consider to be successful. Is it difficult to agree on a shared list of people? What criteria do you judge success by?

In the TedTalk The Good Life, Robert Waldinger talks about the Harvard study of adult development, a study that has been going on for 75 years. During this time they have followed 724 men to find out what has made them happy in life.

Watch the TedTalk and take notes while you're watching. In class, reflect on the findings of the study. Is there anything that surprises you? What can you do to make your life as happy and healthy as possible?

Pick one of the tasks and write a longer text.

1. Write a text where you discuss what you think constitutes a good life. You may use the information from Robert Walding's TedTalk and the poem, but you are also encouraged to find other sources that present different aspects of the issue. The text should also include your personal reflections.

2. Teenagers today put a lot of pressure on themselves to succeed. Write a text where you discuss what kind of success teenagers try to achieve, and what they can do to cope with the pressure they experience. Make sure you use relevant sources rather than relying only on personal experience.

3. The poem was written in 1904. Do you think being successful at the beginning of the 20th century was different from what we think of as success today? Write a text where you discuss if and how the idea or meaning of success has changed over time.

4. Write a text about a person you think of as successful, explain how they became successful, and discuss if the person is a good role model. Remember to include a source list for the sources you have used.