september 30

Since yesterday was Nik day, today we're using yesterday's agenda today.

nkdidthat

Check out Nik Koyama's (RHS Class of 2013) "Get This Kid Out of Here" (his website is here).

september 29

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Use >5 of last week's vocabulary words to describe the tone of Fahrenheit 451.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Vocab quiz
3. Return papers
4. Discuss Fahrenheit 451 and our approach over next 1-2 weeks

HW:
1. Post a list of 10 vocabulary words (unfamiliar words or familiar words used in unfamiliar ways) from Fahrenheit 451 to your course blog. Title: FAHRENHEIT 451 VOCAB1

to avoid any (further) confusion

Please post the Fahrenheit 451 questions to your blog by Sunday night.  We will be discussing in class Monday, and I will be scrolling through the blogs on screen.

Please make sure you're ready for the vocab quiz by Monday.

Have a great day & weekend.

september 25-26

JOURNAL TOPICS:
(Choose any 2 of the following.)
What is the significance of the salamander symbol in Fahrenheit 451?  If you don't know, guess. 

What is the inciting incident of the story?  If you're not sure, choose an event and explain why you think it qualifies.

Describe Montag at the beginning of the novel.  Do you think he's a hero?  Why/not?

Describe Bradbury's tone.  What is his attitude toward the characters, the topics, and the audience?  How can you tell?

Describe Bradbury's diction and syntax.  Does he use formal, sophisticated terms or does his prose sound like he's in the room talking to you?  Do his sentences vary in length or are they all about the same?  How do Bradbury's choices create description, characters, action, and meaning?  (Note: There is no hidden "right" answer to that last part, it's open to your interpretation.)

AGENDA:
(both days)

Working by yourself, or in groups, or as a class, discuss your answers to these and complete the set by the end of Friday.

(Friday only)
vocab quiz

HW:
1. Study vocab
2. Post your answers to the questions above on your course blog.  Due Monday, September 29

september 24

JOURNAL TOPIC:

They say you can't tell a book by its cover, but you can definitely get some clues. Based on the cover, what do you predict will happen in Fahrenheit 451? What do you think the theme/main message of the book will be?

AGENDA:

1. Journal

2. Vocab review (list on blog)

3. Read chapter 1 (reader's choice: quietly or with class) 

4. Summarize the plot and describe (with examples you can remember) how Bradbury changes his syntax when he's describing scenery, Montag, or dialogue.

5. Character analysis: list each character in the book as you meet him/her. Make three columns and take notes in each of these categories 

HW:

1. Complete notes and post to your course blog (title: FAHRENHEIT 451 FIRST IMPRESSIONS)

2. Study vocab for 15 minutes

september 23

JOURNAL TOPIC: ["Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett; "Strength, Courage & Wisdom" by India Arie]

Former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden observed, "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."  Briefly describe your character and your reputation.  What differences do you see between the two?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Discuss vocab
3. Collaborative essay: how does Fahrenheit 451's epigraph ("If they give you lined paper, write the other way") provide foreshadowing and/or a sense of the book's theme?

vocabulary: fall list 5

 adroit
 amicable
 averse
 belligerent
 benevolent
 cursory
 duplicity
 extol
 feasible
 grimace
 holocaust
 impervious
 impetus
 jeopardy
 meticulous
 nostalgia
 quintessence
 retrogress
 scrutinize
 tepid

september 22

JOURNAL TOPIC: ["Walking in L.A." by Missing Persons; "Walk on the Wild Side" by Lou Reed; "Walk On" by U2]

Taking a walk.  It seems like such a simple, normal, everyday (dare I say banal?) thing to do.  But in stories it can take on all the meaning of our inner feelings and perceptions.  A walk can be a head-clearing, healthy thing; it can also be an act of rebellion.  The way we walk, the time of day we walk, the contexts we walk in and out of, they all become important when we're trying to get a message across.  Think about your walking life.  Describe a walk you took that was important to you.  If you can't think of one, then describe your walk to this class in as much detail as you can remember.  If you can't remember detail, first ask yourself why the &*!! not (it was only two minutes ago!) and then reinvent your walk as a fictional vignette.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Reading quiz: your American novel
3. "The Pedestrian" (text after the jump) & introduction to Fahrenheit 451
4. Go to library and check out your copy of Fahrenheit 451

HW:
1. Choose a novel if you haven't yet & bring it to class tomorrow
2. Vocab list 5 definitions & sentences on your blog tonight and/or in your hand tomorrow

september 19

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What did you do yesterday in this class?  Did it help you?  What did you learn?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Vocab quiz
3. Blog audit/one-on-one meetings (if time)

HW:
1. Literature Analysis work.  NOTE: deadlines will be announced Monday.  Don't delay.  If you haven't started reading yet, next week is gonna hurt.

september 18

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Make a plan.  What will you do in this class over the next grading period?  What's your goal?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Study/practice vocab-- quiz tomorrow
3. Work on Literature Analysis (#1 or 2)

HW:
1. Study vocab for quiz tomorrow

september 17

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "A-Team" by Mike Post; "Winning" by Santana; "We Are the Champions" by Queen]

Would you rather be a minor player on a great team*, or a star on a so-so team? (*Think not only sports, but projects, organizations, etc.)

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Literature Analysis: question analysis & next steps
3. Vocab/lit work & one-to-one meetings

HW:
1. Study vocab for Friday (15-30 minutes)
2. Set a Literature Analysis goal and meet it

september 16

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Are You Real" by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers]

Last week we talked about how we see reality and distinguish it from dreaming.  As you think about characters in stories and people you know, what gives you the sense that someone is real?  Why do you think the phrase "keeping it real" became popular?  What does the word "real" mean when we use it to describe how people act in their communication/relationships with others?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Evaluation questionnaire & discussion
3. Vocab work/begin one-to-one performance reviews & planning conversations

HW:
1. Review the Literature Analysis questions and prepare to get help tomorrow

vocabulary: fall list 4

I got these from "Young Goodman Brown."

melancholy
exemplary
peculiar
dread
bough
pious
communion
auditor
multitude
eloquence
despair
hoary

screen shot solutions

How are you taking your screen shots, saving them, and emailing them as attachments?  (I use Skitch.)  Describe the tools/commands you're using in a comment below.  These conversations are becoming especially important for those of us who are using phones for most of our work, and some are also using tablets, so please feel free to include ideas for different devices.

september 15

JOURNAL TOPIC:
(please write AFTER the essay or for HW.)

How well did you understand the prompt?  How well did you organize your thoughts?  How well did you write?  Where do you want to improve most for the next essay we write?


AGENDA:
1. Month 1 Final Exam (Part II)

HW:
1. Journal/catch-up work
2. Please Note: The first grading period ends this Friday, 9.19

september 12

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Black Friday" by Steely Dan; "Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA" by Devo]

Do you consider yourself smart?  Do you consider yourself prepared for today's test?  Estimate how long you prepared for it outside of class this week, describe how you studied, and predict how well you'll do.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Final Exam

HW:
1. Prepare for YGB essay on Monday 9.15
2. Reminder: Literature Analysis #1 due by Monday 9.15

who do you want to be tomorrow?

Be this guy.

Not this guy.

September 11

JOURNAL TOPIC: (today's tunes: "Under Pressure" by David Bowie & Queen; "Back in the High Life Again" by Steve Winwood)

Sometimes pressure seems like a bad thing; other times it can bring out our competitive instinct and give us the opportunity to be great.  (Think about it-- if there wasn't a clutch moment at the end of the big game, no one would have the chance to be a hero.)  How will you approach tomorrow's exam and what do you hope/expect to achieve?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Press Conference: "Young Goodman Brown" & "White Buffalo Calf Woman"
3. Final Exam Review
4. Last-minute vocab questions

HW:
1. Study your notes
2. Get ready to rock

september 10

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "These Dreams of You" by Van Morrison; "Laverne & Shirley (Making Our Dreams Come True)"/TV Theme by Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox; "Street of Dreams" by Sarah Vaughan).

Edgar Allan Poe wrote, "All that I see or seem/Is but a dream within a dream."  Can you prove you're not dreaming right now?  How?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Vocab
3. Finish "Young Goodman Brown"
4. Is Young Goodman Brown dreaming, or is his walk in the woods for real?

HW:
1. Study vocab
2. Review "White Buffalo Calf Woman" and bring questions for discussion
3. Reminder: Literature Analysis #1 due on blog or hard copy by Monday, September 15

september 9

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Lo Que Dice" by Ozomatli; "Words (Between the Lines of Age)" by Neil Young]

Adults say it to toddlers all the time: "Use your words."  What do you mean, my words?  We know that fiction authors use dialogue for the purpose of indirect characterization-- as you write the story of your life each day, how do the words you choose create an impression of who you are?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Vocab
3. Young Goodman Brown
4. Meaning, Signs & Symbols

HW:
1. Study vocab
2. Post an "AHA!" to your blog (the title is AHA!  the content is anything you've learned in this course about storytelling)

vocabulary: fall list 3

coherent
belabor
eschew
acquisitive
emulate
banal
excoriation
congeal
carping
substantiate
temporize
largesse
tenable
insatiable
reconnaissance
germane
ramify
intransigent
taciturn
 

september 8

JOURNAL TOPIC:
(Today's journal topic is HW.  Please reflect on today's class.)

AGENDA:
1. "Two Dogs" post
2. Plan for this week and next
3. "Young Goodman Brown"

HW:
1. Journal
2. Vocab #3: definitions & sentences on blog (or hard copy) for tomorrow, Tuesday, 9.9
3. Read/work on Literature Analysis #1 (due by Monday, 9/15)

two dogs & the human nature of stories

Young Goodman Brown decides to go for a walk.  He thinks that the enemy is the devil.  But he ventures out at sunset to meet him.  He thinks his wife-- his Faith--is the force of good in his life.  But he leaves her at home.  He thinks he's in charge every time he chooses whether to go on or to stop.

This guy clearly doesn't have a handle on his situation.

Story isn't about action, or theme, or love, or death, or good and evil.  It's about conflict.  Young Goodman Brown's character is only interesting to us because of his strange circumstances and the choices he makes in dealing with them.  When was the last time anyone got interested or even heard of a story about a nice person who had a nice day, went to sleep, woke up the next day early and refreshed, and did it all over again?  Our lives are filled with obstacles, both real and perceived, and what makes stories compelling to us is how characters deal with the challenges they encounter.  For generations English teachers the world over have categorized those conflicts: man v. himself, man v. man, man v. nature, etc.  (Stunningly, we've managed to take the most interesting element of story and make it multiple-choice boring.)

Conflict is entertaining.  Every "Reality TV" show ever made depends on conflict for its success.  This is not an exaggeration: every single one of those shows, in every single genre, for every kind of audience, goes out of its way to manufacture conflict because that's what attracts viewers.

Marshall McLuhan was one of the most insightful commentators on media and communication in the 20th century.  He's the guy who famously observed that, "The medium is the message."  More importantly for us, he noted:

Anyone who tries to make a distinction between education and entertainment doesn't know the first thing about either.

We have learned a great deal so far this semester.  Some of what we've learned has come from the traditional American Literature curriculum: diction, syntax, tone, mood, theme, allusion, symbol, genre, etc.  Most of what we've learned has to do with our individual styles and our learning community.  I've learned that some of you still think you're passive consumers of a teacher's curriculum, or worse, the entertaining conflict of "student v. school."

McLuhan also said: There are no passengers on spaceship Earth.  We are all crew.

Those of you who still operate under the illusion that the roles of "teacher" and "student" are separate are trapped in old ways of thinking and you're missing the point of Open Source Learning.  For all his talk of caring, poor Young Goodman Brown doesn't see the people in his life for who they really are as individuals.  He categorizes them according to simplistic labels like "good" and "evil."  As a result, he's heartbroken when their words and deeds don't fit his expectations.  When he sees the conversation between the devil and Goody Cloyse, Young Goodman Brown suffers a crisis of meaning-- but why should the private life of an old lady shake his own identity and everything he believes to be true?  In reality, people do both "good" and "bad" things in the world.  We hope they learn from the bad and use their learning to contribute to the good.  In fact, we hope that all of "them" eventually come to realize there really is no "them."  There is only us.  We want to be understood, and that begins with understanding ourselves.  The next time you want to know who's responsible for how you're feeling, grab a mirror.

The other day I had a conversation with Mahmoud about history.  Sometimes it's hard to connect the Founding Fathers or the Hawley-Smoot Tariff with what's happening today.  But whose job is it to connect the dots?  (Spoiler: it's yours.)  If you want to Learn, you have to stop settling for Being Taught.  I am not only giving you permission, I am demanding that you question the value of what we read and do.  Whenever it's not clear, ask me: WTF is the POINT?  I'll even go a step further: if what you find isn't motivating, let's talk about what else is out there, and let's do this now, because the world won't wait for you.  In fact, the more you read, the more you realize that other people have felt the same way as you and are waiting for you to show up and take your place in the conversation.  You also come to realize that the other 8 billion people on the planet have their own problems and they're not going to care very long if you sit on the sideline and sulk.  As Stephen Crane put it:

A man said to the universe:

“Sir, I exist!”

“However,” replied the universe,

“The fact has not created in me

A sense of obligation.”

       
Example: the few of you who read "White Buffalo Calf Woman" will be rewarded at the end of the week when we have an essay exam comparing the story with "Young Goodman Brown."  Since you were supposed to read it and take notes on it weeks ago, and since you're preparing for a life of independent learning, I'm not going to remind you again and I'm not going to review it in class-- unless you ask me to, in which case I'll drop everything after we finish "Young Goodman Brown" and do whatever it takes to make sure you understand the essentials.  If that causes you any sort of negative feeling, consider how willing I am to help you and how hard I've worked so far to prove it.  Then consider this gem of Native American wisdom, from Sitting Bull:

Inside of me there are two dogs.  One is mean and evil and the other is good.  Which one wins?  Whichever I feed the most. 

It's easy to feed the dog that seems like an old friend, and we are most sensitive to negative information.  Change is hard.  Overcoming obstacles is hard. Sometimes the fight for happiness actually feels more rewarding than actually experiencing happiness.  So ask yourself whether you're really taking steps to overcome conflicts or just sitting with the same old tapes that say, "I can't," or "I'm just not good at ____," or "That teacher doesn't like me," or "[insert your favorite/s here]."

We are all under a great deal of pressure.  Friday we only had 30 minutes, today we'll only have 30 minutes, there are 34+ people in a class, we're all constantly being told we suck at what we do or that we're not doing enough, 7th period is hot and tired.  The obstacles are out there.  We may not be able to control the obstacles (which will be an interesting question when we study Naturalism and return to "Richard Cory") but we can control how we respond to them.  You have more power than you think you do, so use this course to flex your questioning muscles.  Stop being a victim of your education and start putting it to work for you.  Ask yourself what kind of environment you want for 50 minutes and push your colleagues (including me) to help you create it.  Whether I'm in the room or not, if someone upsets the balance by clinging to their hurt, or their old stereotypes, or their need to be the center of attention, or whatever, find a way--with empathy, compassion, and critical thinking-- to bring attention to his/her choices and remind him/her that no one is putting that person in that box except him/her.

After we finish this week and I give a final exam on the first month of class, we're going straight to another story about a guy who went for a walk.  Taking a walk is a small journey that begins with one step-- this is an important metaphor for the work we're doing right now.  Ray Bradbury wrote "The Pedestrian" after he went for a late-night stroll and police started questioning him just because he was out.  That experience and that story led Bradbury (who once asked my grandmother out when they sat next to each other at Los Angeles High School) to write Fahrenheit 451.  Lots of people think that book is about censorship.  Partly, but it's really about self-determination.  We live in a world where it's hard to imagine that one person can make up her own mind, make her own way in the world, and in the process make a difference for others.  If you feel this way, spend some time with these words from expert-on-the-subject Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."  

We get to walk a path that Young Goodman Brown hasn't yet discovered, a path where people aren't just "good" or "evil" or "teacher" or "student," but complex individuals trying to figure out who they are and where they fit in the world. 

Again I realize that an author has put it best, so the last word goes to Robert Frost:

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

september 5

JOURNAL TOPIC:  (today's tunes: "The End" by The Doors)

If you've read the rest of "Young Goodman Brown," summarize what happens when he goes deeper into the woods and describe his character at the end of the story.  If you haven't yet read it, use your imagine and do those same two things.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Vocab quiz

HW:
1. Get right with your blog and prepare for individual performance evaluation next week
2. Finish reading "Young Goodman Brown"

family/community mentorship

Whether you and/or your families can make it to Hack to School Night or not, everyone you know is an extension of our learning network. Any time they want to learn something from us or share an expertise with us they are welcome. 

This concept may be new to you because high school traditionally emphasizes subject-by-subject specialization in closed classrooms.  However, this practice is the norm in a world where collaboration and interdependence are essential factors for success.  For example, my daughter's elementary school just sent home this notice:

See you tonight!

september 4

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Symbol in My Driveway" by Jack Johnson; "Sympathy for the Devil" by The Rolling Stones]

Describe three symbols in your life that give people a clue as to who you really are.

[AND/OR]

Describe the symbolic clues to the old man's real identity from yesterday's reading of "Young Goodman Brown."

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. "Young Goodman Brown" continued
3.  Review vocab definitions & usage

HW:
1. Study for vocab quiz tomorrow
2. Plan your work so as to finish Literature Analysis #1 by Monday, September 15

**Looking forward to seeing you and meeting important people in your lives this evening.**

how do I post videos to my blog?

There are a variety of ways to embed videos on your blog, and-- since I am an expert in none of them-- here are two strategies I hope will help:

1. Find a blogger in the Member Blogs who has figured it out and ask him/her how;
or
2. If you are one of those people who has succeeded, please share your method in a comment below.

september 3

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: radio silence]

What song do you sing when there's nothing on the radio? What thoughts do you think when it's quiet and you have the chance to think about whatever you want?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Reading & code-breaking
3. Symbols & allusions in "Young Goodman Brown"
4. Essay topic/s

HW:
1. Study vocabulary #2

this sums it up

Today I asked what you learned last week when I was in London.  We learn all sorts of things from our environment when we're open to the experience, and often they're more important than what we get in a course curriculum.  For example: on the plane I took a break from reading and writing to watch the movie Chef, and got a powerful lesson in creative integrity and passion:

"I get to touch people's lives with what I do.  And it keeps me going and I love it.  And I think if you give it a shot you might love it too."

You could apply this to the pursuit of anything meaningful.  It sums up how I feel about teaching and learning.  It's good to be back.

vocabulary: fall list 2

Definitions & sentences due tomorrow (post to your blog or turn in hard copy).  Quiz on Friday, 9/5.

intercede
hackneyed
approbation
innuendo
coalition
elicit
hiatus
assuage
decadence
expostulate
simulate
jaded
umbrage
prerogative
lurid
transcend
provincial
petulant
unctuous
meritorious

september 2

This should be interesting.

JOURNAL TOPIC: (today's tunes: "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley)
This is a quick write: Describe what you learned in this course last week.  If you need inspiration, listen to the song and/or consider the picture.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. REBOOT
3. We are born learners
3. Next steps: essay topics, portfolios, & hack to school night

HW:
1. On a PIECE OF PAPER, please answer the following questions: a) What work have you produced so far in this course? b) What grade would you give yourself at this point? c) What do you need to succeed?
2. Post vocab definitions & sentences to your blog or write them on paper. Due Wed 9/3.