june 3

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Take notes on the presentations that will enable you to connect the dots and prepare for your final.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Masterpiece presentations

June 1
3
Esme
Christian

7

masterpiece academy question

When the last presentation has been given, this is the question I'll ask you to write on for your final reflection.  Please feel free to start a post or notes that will help you remember what's important.
______________________________________________________________________________

For the last two weeks the Masterpiece Academy has been your showcase.  As you reflect on this experience, and your overall experience in this course throughout the year, please address the following questions in a traditional MLA-style essay.  Then post about it to your blog in any medium (music, pictures, video, animation, [?]) that brings your thesis to life.  (You may embed the original paper if you can't think of a better way to communicate.)

Please Note: Everything on the traditional paper assignment counts.  Please proofread and/or ask a friend or relative to help with organization, flow, and mechanics (capitalization, punctuation, spelling, grammar, MLA style, e.g.)


Masterpiece Academy Question

Montaigne ended his essay "Of The Education of Children" this way:

To return to my subject, there is nothing like alluring the appetite and affections; otherwise you make nothing but so many asses laden with books; by dint of the lash, you give them their pocketful of learning to keep; whereas, to do well you should not only lodge it with them, but make them espouse it. (1580)

The word espouse originally meant "to marry" and took on connotations like "embrace," "love," and "advocate."  Have you espoused learning?  Explain your growth in this course via a narrative that portrays you as the dynamic protagonist in your own Bildungsroman.  Please include the following elements.

ELEMENT 1: You have been treated as colleagues and you have been given a great deal of choice in this course; this represents a high level of trust.  Did you and the others deserve it?  Earn it?  Honor it? 

ELEMENT 2: Fiction has been called "the lie that tells the truth."  Which works, authors, or characters did you read this year that rang true enough to make you feel like they described parts of you and/or your journey? (Please mention at least three.  It makes them sad when we forget them.)

ELEMENT 3: Have you re/connected with a passion that drives you?  If so, how will you continue your learning?  If not, how will you proceed?

ELEMENT 4: [Something about literature or this course that made you laugh out loud.]

ELEMENT 5: [A unifying theme that runs through a minimum of five (5) presentations; a quality of the content, or the speakers, or their communication techniques that strikes you as something important that we have in common.]  Please illustrate/support your point with specific examples from the presentations.

ELEMENT 6: Evaluate whether you completed the hero's journey.  Are you a hero?  To what extent did you respond to the call of adventure?  Did you find a mentor, conquer a challenge, and return enlightened?

ELEMENT 7: For old time's sake, sneak in a literary technique.  Don't make a big deal out of it.  I'll know it's there.

orientation for next year's students tomorrow at lunch in 608

If you are interested in co-facilitating a brief lunch meeting tomorrow in 608 for next year's students, please let me know.  And if you know a junior who is planning to take the course next year, please let him/her know.

june 1

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Take notes on the presentations that will enable you to connect the dots and prepare for your final.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Masterpiece presentations

June 1
3
Ashley
Morgan

7
Mollee
 

may 29

JOURNAL TOPIC:  Please take notes that help you connect the dots and prepare for your final.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Masterpiece presentations


3
Justin
Christina
Emilio


(Brigette if time)

7
*Follow up on Jared's work
*Quiz

1: Who is the main character? 

2: What is the event that scars the main character? Why does it affect him 

so deeply, meaning, why does he almost shut everyone out?

3: What happened to the main characters mother when he and his brother 

were young? 

4: Who is Catherine and how is she effected by the same event, and why?

5: Who is Amon, and whose orders is he following? 

6: Who and what is Ragnarok? Why does he serve the main character?

7: What age was the main character taken captive, and what was the group 

that did it?

8: Who is Hina? What does she do in the coils, and what is her special 

ability?

9: Who shows up after Archer is revealed to be alive? Do you personally 

trust him?

10: Who is Lord Dreadwyrm? What is his real name? What really happened to 

the main character's mother, and what is the out come of the epic battle? 

may 28

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Take notes on the masterpiece presentations that will help you connect the dots and write on the final. 

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Masterpiece presentations

3
Isaiah

7

may 27

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Take notes on the masterpiece presentations that will help you connect the dots and write on the final.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Masterpieces:

Period 3
Jonatan
Ronaldo
Brigette

Period 7
Rachel
Christine

may 26

For presentations: please use the classroom computer and projector, and please take notes according to the questions we've discussed. Presenters, please email Dr. Preston your presentation file or a link to your Prezi, etc.

May 26
 
3
Morgan

7
Cody

may 21

JOURNAL TOPIC:

(period 3) Take notes on Caitlin's presentation and add your own thoughts.

(period 7) What are you doing in/about this course this week?

AGENDA:
(period 3) Caitlin's Masterpiece

(period 7) Check-in/ MGOTM

masterpiece academy final question

may 20

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Read Caitlin's post and write a response.

AGENDA:

3
Ethan 's presentation

7
MGOTM

may 19

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Invent a magic spell.  Explain what it does, why you wrote it, and how it makes the world a better place.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. MGOTM/Masterpiece Academy

We are giving up

Towards the end of the school year each student starts to either give up because they know they are going to pass or go into a panic because they are going to fail a class. We all have this fear that if we fail then we are just going to fail at everything.Well that's not the case. While I was reading over the past few days I realized something. Each student has a different mindset and within those mindsets we have a fate. Fate isn't something that you just know, it is something that you feel. Our fate for the rest of this school year doesn't lie in our teachers hands, it lies in ours. We are the only holder of our fate and for that very reason we must take a step back from the chaos we call High School and take a breath. You must first see want you want and realize what you need before you can step forward in life. From only then will you know the feeling of success. You will know what is it like to achieve something that you have always wanted to. You must not fight against what is going on and rather embrace the problems. We only have a few weeks left in school. Lets get our butts into gear and show that we have learned something. It may have seemed like we all gave up but when in all reality we sat, we learned, and we will teach.

may 18

JOURNAL TOPIC:

Wave your mental magic wand and imagine the next three weeks as valuable, unforgettable learning.  What do you expect from the Masterpiece Academy and how can you contribute to making it the experience you envision?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. I reinjured my shoulder and I'm aiming to be back in class tomorrow (Tuesday).  Please use the short period to consider the journal topic and-- most importantly-- sign up for a presentation slot if you haven't already.  Thanks.

HW:

Applied Self-determination Theory, as expressed through your masterpiece work and/or literary exploration.

may 15

*COMPUTER LAB*
1. Blogs
2. Masterpieces

may 14

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Please watch the following and write a response.  Thanks to Allyson (RHS '14) for sharing this!




AGENDA:
1. Journal/discussion
2. MGOTM & complete individual interviews

HW:
Please read the post on Masterpiece Academy Presentations and get yours ready.  The Academy begins next Monday, May 18.

mike wallace interviews aldous huxley

Here is the interview with Mike Wallace (of eventual "60 Minutes" fame) and Aldous Huxley.

masterpiece presentations

Now it's time for the inmates will take over the asylum as students show how they've become the masters.  Each of you will teach the rest of us:

• How you decided what you're passionate about;
• The value your topic/field/skill has for us;
• How you learned more about the topic/field/skill by:
• Finding resources
• Becoming fluent in the language of the practitioner
• Seeking out a mentor 
• Collaborating and getting feedback from peers/blog followers
• How this has enriched your life and your experience in this course.

Per our conversations in class, your presentation should include:

• Visuals and/or hands-on experiences that bring the audience into your world
• Enough craft so as to convince us you didn't just throw something together for a grade
• Handouts or main points you think we should remember.

Please note that there will be a final essay exam based on the curriculum you create, so be sure-- as both presenter and audience member-- that you are getting the maximum understanding and value from everyone's presentations. 

masterpiece academy lineup

Thanks to everyone who requested dates via comments.  Below is the first draft schedule (with presenters' time estimates in parentheses).  If you haven't yet requested a date, please do so by Friday (May 15).  Apart from Matthew's period 4 presentation tomorrow (May 13) I have this scheduled as a working week, but don't let that stop you-- if you're ready please let me know.  I look forward to taking your micro-courses!


May 18
3

7

May 19
3

7

May 20
3
Ethan

7

May 21
3
Caitlin

7


May 26
3
Morgan

7


May 27
3
Jonatan
Ronaldo
Brigette

7
Rachel


May 28
3
Isaiah

7



May 29

3
Justin
Christina
Emilio

7

June 1
3
Ashley
Morgan

7
Mollee

June 2
3
Leandro
Maddi
Grant


7

June 3
3
Esme
Carlos
Sabrina, Rayann, & Hunter

7

June 4
3
Robert
Edwin
Kyra

7
Erica

June 5
3
Megan
Mahmoud

7

may 13

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Today professional cyclists are riding from Pismo to Avila-- by way of Guad and Santa Maria.  What's the boldest physical task you've ever undertaken?  How did it make you feel?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Brave New World: wrap-up discussion

HW:
1. Watch this interview with Aldous Huxley & explain how it helped you understand the book
2. Sign up for Masterpiece Academy

may 12

JOURNAL:
(Please do the journal after your essay.)

How did you do on the essay?  Describe your strong points and your weak points.

AGENDA:
1. In-class essay
2. Journal (for HW if no time in class)

may 11

JOURNAL TOPIC:
How does the book end?  Why do you think it ends this way?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Please turn in your essay to the substitute
3. Find 5 things in Brave New World worth asking or even disagreeing about
4. Ask someone near you a question or start a friendly argument
5. EXIT TICKET: for every conversation, please list the participants and the questions/ideas you want to follow up on Tuesday in the Socratic Seminar.  We're going to start with the ending, and the rest of the topics will be up to you.

may 8

I'm back!  Today we're in the computer lab.  Please turn in your journals before we go.

This weekend you'll be writing an essay (on paper, in blue or black ink) on Brave New World.  It's due Monday.  No late work will be accepted.

Please choose from the following topics (borrowed with gratitude from http://www.arrowheadschools.org/faculty/freeburg/BNW_essay_topics.pdf):

Exile

Palestinian American literary theorist and cultural critic Edward Said has written that “Exile is strangely compelling to think about but terrible to experience. It is the unhealable rift forced between a human being and a native place, between the self and its true home: its essential sadness can never be surmounted.” Yet Said has also said that exile can become “a potent, even enriching” experience.
Using Brave New World, consider how a character experiences such a rift and becomes cut off from “home,” whether that home is the character’s birthplace, family, homeland, or other special place. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the character’s experience with exile is both alienating and enriching, and how this experience illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. 

Freedom 

How do each of the following characters—The Savage, Bernard Marx, and Helmholtz Watson— understand freedom?
Write an essay in which you analyze how The Savage, Bernard Marx, and Helmholtz Watson understand freedom. Explain how this experience illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. 

Soma 

Write an essay in which you analyze the purpose that soma serves presenting the theme of the novel. Avoid mere plot summary.
Shakespeare and the Bible
The Savage often quotes Shakespeare within the novel. Write an essay in which you analyze how Huxley uses other literature to enhance the conflict in Brave New World. 

Consumption 

Write an essay examining the ways in which the ideas of the happiness in Brave New World are associated with consumption and how this society is attempting to create a consumer utopia. What does Huxley say about the interface between happiness and consumption? 

Happiness 

“Happiness is a hard master—particularly other people’s happiness. A much harder master, if one isn’t conditioned to accept it unquestioningly, than truth.”
Write an essay discussing the meaning of this quote in relation to the novel as well as to the theme offered by Huxley.

Society 

In the first line of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, the reader learns the tri-partite pillars upon which World State is allegedly built: “Community, Identity, Stability.” The processes by which these three qualities are achieved and maintained, however, seem completely paradoxical. Using examples from the text, examine each pillar and how Huxley develops his message or warning about how society should be structured. 

Conformity 

One of the problematic elements of World State is that each person plays a role in propping up the state’s maladaptive values through their complicity with its rules and systems, and the more people conform, the fewer are likely to rebel. Analyzing specific characters in Brave New World, to illustrate precisely how complicity functions in a domino effect. Although almost all of the major characters have some physical or personality trait that makes them unconventional, most of them do not emphasize or exercise their difference in a way that challenges the reigning order.
Write an essay analyzing how the citizens of World State serve to perpetuate the very conditions that cause them distress.

great class today!

Thanks to Caitlin for lighting a fire, and to those of you who gave us a preview on your Masterpieces!

may 5

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What is the history of Cinco de Mayo?  Why do Americans celebrate it?  Does the history and the culture matter, or is it just another excuse for companies to sell stuff and people to party?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Brave New World Chapter 12
3. Caitlin sez Masterpiece & we agree

HW:
1. Read Chapter 13
2. Masterpiece Masterpiece Masterpiece

may 4

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Look back through your journal.  What was your favorite topic?  Why?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Brave New World
3. Masterpiece work

HW:
Post to your course blog.

may 1

PERIOD 3
Socratic Seminar: Brave New World

PERIOD 7
Please continue your reading & working on the Chapter discussion questions.  We'll have our Socratic Seminar next week.

questions for brave new world chapts 4 & 5

Thanks Alex!

Chapter 4

1. What is life like for the Epsilon-Minus Semi-Moron who runs the elevator?
2. How do the other Alphas relate to Bernard?
3. What does Lenina do on her date?
4. What does she think of the lower castes?
5. Why is Bernard the way he is? What does he really want?
6. Why is Helmholtz the way he is? What does he want? How is he different from Bernard?

Chapter 5

1. What do Lenina and Henry talk about on their way home? What happens at the crematorium?
2. Why are stars depressing?
3. What are the solidarity services like? What role do they play? How does Bernard fit?

april 30

JOURNAL TOPIC:
When do you seek others' counsel in making a big decision, and when do you take the plunge on your own?

AGENDA:
I have no idea who's going to be smarter, more balanced, or in class today as a result of testing, so we'll pick up where we need to when I see you.  Please continue reading in Brave New World and make sure-- at minimum-- that you've completed your Modernist Author components and answered the Brave New World chapter-by-chapter discussion questions.  We will have a Socratic Seminar on Brave New World tomorrow (Friday) -- and we will be listening for your contribution.

april 29

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Why are you tested so much/often?  What are adults trying to figure out?  Why can't they do it another way?

AGENDA:
I have no idea who's going to be smarter, more balanced, or in class today as a result of testing, so we'll pick up where we need to when I see you.  Please continue reading in Brave New World and make sure-- at minimum-- that you've completed your Modernist Author components and answered the Brave New World chapter-by-chapter discussion questions through Chapter 10.  For those intrepid souls who have already finished the reading/questions through Chapter 10, here are the questions for the remaining chapters (after the jump).

april 28

I have no idea who's going to be smarter, more balanced, or in class today as a result of testing, so we'll pick up where we need to when I see you.  Please continue reading in Brave New World and make sure-- at minimum-- that you've completed your Modernist Author components and answered the Brave New World chapter-by-chapter discussion questions through Chapter 10.

april 27

JOURNAL TOPIC:
How do you want to be remembered after you die?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Depending on how far you've read, answer the following questions about Brave New World (Chapters 6-10) and post to your course blog.  Please finish for homework & be ready to discuss Tuesday.

Chapter 6

1. Why is being alone a bad thing?
2. What do Lenina and Bernard do on their first date? Why is the ocean important? The moon?
3. What does Bernard say about freedom? What does he mean?
4. How does the date end?
5. What does it mean to be infantile in this society?
6. How does the director feel about Bernard? Why is he warning him?
7. What does his story mean? What does it show us about him?
8. How does Helmholtz feel about Bernard after he hears the story of the meeting with the director?
9. What do we learn from the Warden? What are the reservations like?
10. What does the word Malpais mean?

Chapter 7

1. How is the mesa like a ship?
2. Why doesn’t Lenina like their Indian guide?
3. What is the city itself like? What are the people like? How does Lenina respond? Bernard?
4. What ceremony do the witness? What does it mean? What does it seem like to Lenina?
5. What idols emerge from the ground?
6. How is John Savage different? What does he want? How does he respond to Lenina?
7. What is Linda’s story? What has her life been like here? How does Linda react to her?

Chapter 8

1. What was John’s upbringing like? His relationship with Linda? His education?
2. Why doesn’t linda want to be called a mother?
3. What social positions do Linda and John hold in Malpais?
4. What does John want in his life?
5. What does Linda tell him about the Other Place?
6. What does he learn from Shakespeare? How does he relate to Hamlet? The Tempest?
7. What does it mean to discover “Time and Death and God?”
8. What do John and Bernard have in common?
9. Why does Bernard want to take John to London?

Chapter 9

1, Why does Mustapha Mond agree to the plan?
2. What happens when John watches Lenina sleep? What does he think or feel?

Chapter 10

1. How and why was the DHC planing to make an example out of Bernard?
2. Why is unorthodoxy worse than murder?
3. How does Linda act in the hatchery? How does the DHC react? The spectators?

april 24

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What grade do you deserve at this point in the course?  Is this a function of effort, talent, understanding, or something else?  Please explain.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Work on Modernist Author Project and post to your course blog.

HW:
1. Make sure your blog and your Modernist Author Project work is up to date.

april 23

Please review the document and Prezi below for testing next week.

ELA Environmental-Awareness CA

online conference with connected learning

Thanks to everyone who participated in yesterday's webinar.  Here's the video and a slideshow they produced:

brigette's masterpiece

This just in from Brigette:

Please see her for more information.

april 22

JOURNAL TOPIC:
As you think about the modernist author you chose to research, can you imagine that person as a human being?  Someone who came home, kicked off his/her shoes, and sat down to write?  How would s/he want to be remembered?  Explain your answer.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Modernist Author Project
3. Return/review Brave New World exams
4. Chapter 5

HW:
1. Please review & begin work on your Modernist Author Project
2. Please finish reading Chapter 5 and summarize on your course blog

modernist author project

modernist author project

Here is the assignment the way I shared it on paper back in 2007-08.  HACK IT.

THE PROJECT

Part I: Individual Research

1. BIOGRAPHY/IDENTITY of the author
1. “I Am…” statements for your author (minimum 5)
2. Paragraph explaining how “I Am…” statements influence author’s worldview
3. Brief descriptions of 5-7 events in the author’s life that YOU (not some website from which you cut/paste) believed influenced his/her sense of self and writing style
4. 3 quotes from the author’s work that show how the author’s identity is evident in his/her writing

2. THE AUTHOR’S CREDO 
1. Use one quote from the author that you believe clearly states his/her philosophy on life or “words to live by” (If you can’t find one, write one for him/her and write a paragraph to explain why you wrote it the way you did.)
2. Paragraph explaining the quote
3. 3 quotes from the author’s work that support the credo

3. DESCRIPTION/ANALYSIS OF THE GENRE
1. In a brief essay (no more than two typewritten pages), describe the genre with which your author is associated and why
2. Select five (5) quotes from your author’s work that illustrate the elements of the genre.  For each one, include a brief explanation (2-3 sentences) of how the example illustrates the genre.

4. YOUR PRESSING QUESTION and the fifteen (15) answers/examples to which it led you in at least three (3) different works by your author. (see PRESSING QUESTION handout for more on this.)

5. SYNOPSES 
1. Brief (1-3 paragraphs) descriptions/summaries of each work you read by your author (remember that you need to read at least 3 works).

6. ARTWORK. Pictures or drawings that convey what you believe your author would look like today.

THE PROJECT

Page 2

7. ESSAY. A brief paper (2-4 pp.) which explicates the answer to your pressing question.

8. BIBLIOGRAPHY/WORK CITED SECTION.  Properly cite any work by your author or others that you quote or indirectly reference your essay.  We will discuss format in class.

9. RESEARCH LOG.  This is your record of the times and places you spent working on this project.  You must spend at least one hour in the RHS Library, a city library, a used bookstore, or a college/university library.

WRITING AND RESEARCHING

A

PRESSING QUESTION

What IS a pressing question, and how do we know what to ask?

As you begin to explore the work and life of the author you’ve chosen, you are bound to become curious about something.  For example, when I first read Mark Twain’s writing I stopped at some point and wondered: “How did this guy manage to make fun of everything that people took seriously, and not only get away with it but leave his readers begging for more?”

Now that you have done some “author shopping” and you have identified an author about whom you’d like to learn, it’s time to think about what you know and how you can use it to learn more.

When I write a pressing question, I first ask myself some questions to determine what I know.  Here are some examples:

1. When did the author live and write?
2. For what audience did the author write?  
3. In what form (poetry, short story, novel) did the author write?  Why?
4. Is the author identified with a particular genre?  Which one?  Why?
5. What was the author’s purpose for writing?  To inform?  Amuse?  Persuade?  Get something off of his/her chest?
6. What effect does reading the author’s work have on me?  When I read this author’s words, how do I feel?  What does it cause me to think about?

In answering these types of questions I find myself feeling more like a detective than an English teacher.  I have to search for evidence in the author’s writing, the author’s biography, and the general history of the author’s time.  I also have to use my own logic and imagination, because not every answer is spelled out on a page somewhere. 

Once I have answered some of my questions and I write down what I know, I think about what I’d like to discover.  For example, once I knew that Mark Twain was an iconoclast who used his sense of humor to question serious things, I wanted to know more about how he could do that without insulting his audience.  Another example is a very different author we’ve read, Edgar Allen Poe.  After I learned the tragic details of his personal life, I was motivated to search for examples of how he expressed his pain in his writing.

Now it’s your turn.  Use the following steps to write your own pressing question and begin your search into the life and writing of the author you’ve chosen.

1. Ask yourself what you know about the author (you can use the sample questions above as a starting point) and write it all down.

2. Ask yourself what the author’s goal in writing was (Note: I promise it was NOT to make money or entertain, so really put yourself in your author’s shoes and ask the question from his/her point of view.).  Write that down too.

3. Ask yourself how the writer achieved his/her goal, and—you guessed it!—write that down too, in BIG, BOLD letters.

4. Search for 20 examples in your author’s work that support your answer to the pressing question

Due Dates

Friday, April 24

§  Author “taste test” paragraphs and all-star selection

Monday, April 27

§  [1] Biography/Identity

§  [3] Description/Analysis of Genre

Monday, April 27

§  [2] Author Credo

§  [4] Pressing Question with answer/examples

§  [5] Synopses

Friday, May 1

§  COMPLETED PROJECT DUE TODAY

stick your neck out

I just got two emails in a row.  The first was about a student taking a risk.  The second was this.  Enjoy.

april 21

JOURNAL TOPIC: (Today's tunes: "Sing for the Moment" by Eminem)

Eminem once said, "Rap is my drug."  What did he mean?  How was his experience with rap similar to or different from Bernard's experience with Soma in Brave New World?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. BNW test on Chapters 1-4 (after the jump)

HW:
1. Read Chapter 5

april 20

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Are you making progress on your masterpiece?  What are you going to have to show for this semester when it's over?  How will you teach the rest of us what you've learned?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Write BNW (Chapters 1-4) test: questions, answers, p.#s, reason you think it's an important question to know.

HW:
1. Review Chapters 1-4 and study for test

april 17

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "C'mon Get Happy" by the Partridge Family; "The Dope Show" by Marilyn Manson; "Don't Worry Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin]

If you compare it with the headlines, Modernist literature can be a depressing, even shocking reminder that society appears to be going awry.  So why do so many people regard it as such a brilliant genre?  Why have generations of high school students been required to read about sex play, book burning, and blank, staring, anesthetized adults engaged in the pursuit of pseudo-happiness?  Is there a silver lining to this dystopian Modernist literature?

AGENDA:
1. Journal/discussion
2. Wrap up Chapter 3 (quiz?)
3. Start reading Chapter 4

HW:
1. Finish reading Chapter 4. Take active reading notes & post them to your blog.

april 16

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "C'mon Get Happy" by the Partridge Family; "The Dope Show" by Marilyn Manson; "Don't Worry Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin]

If you compare it with the headlines, Modernist literature can be a depressing, even shocking reminder that society appears to be going awry.  So why do so many people regard it as such a brilliant genre?  Why have generations of high school students been required to read about sex play, book burning, and blank, staring, anesthetized adults engaged in the pursuit of pseudo-happiness?  Is there a silver lining to this dystopian Modernist literature?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Finish reading Chapter 3 of Brave New World and answer the study questions

_____________________

Brave New World Chapter 3 Study Questions

1. How do the children play together? What is childhood like?
2. How is our world depicted? How do we get from here to there?
3. Why must games be so complex in this society?
4. Why are strong emotions dangerous? Family relationships? Romance? Religion? Art? Culture?
5. How is sexuality used in this novel? Do you see any problems with it?
6. What does Mustapha Mond do? What is his relationship to history?
7. Is there anything unusual about Lenina Crowne? Bernard Marx? What? Why?
8. How does Huxley use the cinematic technique toward the end of this chapter?
9. What is soma? What are its uses?
10. How do people age in this society? 

april 15

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What does the word modern mean to you?  Has the meaning of the word changed over time?

(*Build on yesterday's entry.  Does modern mean cutting edge technology, and everyone flying around in jet packs? Does it mean politically correct, or showing an "advanced" mindset?  Does it mean "something that doesn't suck as much as things used to"?)
 OR (thanks, Nathan!)
Imagine you're in a box.  How do you get out?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Review Chapters 1 & 2 of Brave New World
3. Modernism (continued)
4. Chapter 3 of Brave New World

HW:
1. Finish reading Chapter 3 of Brave New World and answer the following questions on your course blog:

1. How do the children play together? What is childhood like?
2. How is our world depicted? How do we get from here to there?
3. Why must games be so complex in this society?
4. Why are strong emotions dangerous? Family relationships? Romance? Religion? Art? Culture?
5. How is sexuality used in this novel? Do you see any problems with it?
6. What does Mustapha Mond do? What is his relationship to history?
7. Is there anything unusual about Lenina Crowne? Bernard Marx? What? Why?
8. How does Huxley use the cinematic technique toward the end of this chapter?
9. What is soma? What are its uses?
10. How do people age in this society? 

april 14

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What does the word modern mean to you?  Has the meaning of the word changed over time?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Read Chapter 2 of Brave New World.  Answer the following questions (on Chapters 1 & 2) on a piece of paper and place in your period's crate by the end of class.

Chapter 1

1. Why is the first sentence strange? What does it set up?
2. What is the meaning of the World State’s motto “COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY?”
3. Why does the fertilizing room look so cold, when it is actually hot inside? What goes on there?
4. Why do particulars “make for virtue and happiness,” while generalities “are intellectually necessary evils?”
5. How do people know who they are in this society?
6. Why use the Bokanovsky process at all? How is it an instrument “of social stability?”
7. Why don’t the Epsilons “need human intelligence?”

Chapter 2

1. What work does the conditioning do? Who gets conditioned? How does hypnopaedia work?
2. Why condition the Deltas to hate nature but love outdoor sports?
3. How does time work in this book? History? Why does Ford say “History is Bunk?”
4. What are the various castes like, and why?
5. How do the students demonstrate their own conditioning?


HW:
1. Describe how your writing in this modern moment is different than it would have been five years ago.  What about you/the world has changed in ways that express themselves in what you write?

april 13

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "I Melt With You" by Modern English; "Modern Love" by David Bowie; "Modern Man" by Bad Religion]

Agree or disagree with the following quote:

I have always had this view about the modern education system: we pay attention to brain development, but the development of warmheartedness we take for granted.
Dalai Lama 


AGENDA:
l. Journal
2. Brief introduction to Modernism

HW:
1. Choose an author to study from the following list (or research and propose a Modernist author you don't see here):

• Bishop, Elizabeth (1911-1979)
• Conrad, Joseph (1857-1924)
• Doolittle, Hilda (1886-1961)
• Eliot, Thomas Stearns (1888-1965)
• Faulkner, William (1897-1962)
• Fitzgerald, F. Scott (1896-1940)
• Hemingway, Ernest (1899-1961)
• Hughes, Langston (1902-1967)
• James, Henry (1843-1916)
• Lawrence, D. H. (1885-1930)
• Lowell, Amy (1874-1925)
• Pound, Ezra (1885-1972)
• Shaw, George Bernard (1856-1950)
• Stevens, Wallace (1879-1955)
• Williams, Tennessee (1882-1941)
• Woolf, Virginia (1882-1941)
• Yeats, William Butler (1865-1939)

2. In a post on your blog entitled MY MODERNIST, declare your selection and explain your reason/s why.
3. Finish reading Chapter 1 of Brave New World

the real spring break work

STEP 1:
Read a great science-fiction story about the increasing confusion between the lives of people, virtual avatars, and machines.  Here are some suggestions.  Read a few pages and see if one grabs you.  If you have a suggestion please post a comment so we can check it out too.

• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
• Neuromancer by William Gibson
• Reamde by Neal Stephenson
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

STEP 2:
Imagine the following scenario.  You are being rejected for scholarships, university admissions, job opportunities, and even military recruitment because you are suspected of not being fully human.  Even as you read this authorities in a faceless office park are reading your file and determining whether to reclassify you as a tool and assign you to sorting multi-colored beads in a warehouse for the rest of your (battery) life.  Your job is to write a persuasive essay in which you prove that you are fully human.  It had better be good.  And it had better be on your blog by Monday, April 13.

Effective appeals will include:

• Sound logic (think truth, validity, and effective use of ethos, pathos, & logos)
• Avoidance of fallacies in reasoning and accurate identification of fallacies in the opposition's reasoning (so don't forget to include and debunk counterclaims)
• Textual examples from novels and other source materials that illustrate:
• How the book you chose used theme, tone, characterization, and/or other literary techniques to convey meaning to the reader
• How-- even though science often begins with science fiction-- your world is different from the world described in the book

• A thorough explanation of how your artificial body augmentations (braces, hearing aids, earbuds, phone-shaped hands, tattoos, piercings, etc. etc.) and habits (staring at screens instead of people, isolating yourself with personally contained music, e.g.) make you more human and not less.

Good luck.  I hope the authorities see you for who you really are.  Unless you really are a robot, in which case I hope they pull the plug.

spring break lit work

Here is the work for Spring Break.  Please comment or email with questions.

POETRY
Select a poem from this list (or make a case for a poem of equivalent literary merit).  Then select a poetry essay prompt from this list.  On your course blog, explain why the prompt fits the poem (feel free to substitute the names of characters, descriptive details etc. in the prompt).  Then write your essay.  We will have writer's conferences the week of 4/13 as we begin Macbeth.  If you want written comments, please print your essay and bring to class 4/13.

PROSE
Please read "Young Goodman Brown" and write an essay in response to this prompt.  The prompt will be familiar; the acts of completing a pre-write, articulating a clear thesis statement, and presenting a well-structured analysis supported with literary techniques and illustrative examples are hopefully becoming more familiar.  Same deal re: writer's conferences and written comments.

Happy reading and writing.  See you in what seems like a long time but will inevitably go by way too fast. -dp 

april 1

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "(Now & Then There's) A Fool Such As I" by Hank Snow; "Ship of Fools" by Robert Plant]

You have seven minutes to write an epic poem about a unified theory of consciousness and the history of the papacy concentrating especially but not exclusively on its social, political, economic, religious, and philosophical impact on Europe, Asia, America, and Africa. Be brief, concise, and specific. Be ready to recite your poem from memory in any ancient language (except Greek) to the 2000 people who will be waiting expectantly on the field outside 608 in eight minutes.

[OR]

Attempt to explain why people like the experience of making/being made a fool at least once a year.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. March Madness in April

HW:
YOU MUST CHECK THIS BLOG TOMORROW.

march 31

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Six hundred years after he stopped writing, we are still quoting Shakespeare-- often without knowing it.  Is there a lyricist or a rapper who will be remembered as having such an impact?  Who?  Why?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Masterpiece interviews

march 30

JOURNAL TOPIC:
In school we say, "Do your own thinking/use your own words/don't look at your neighbor's paper."  At work we say, "Be a team player/share your thinking/anything you say or type on company hardware belongs to the company."  When are our thoughts private and when aren't they?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. In-class essay

ESSAY TOPIC:
Some people are more convincing than others.  Using what you've learned over the past two weeks, explain what makes a speaker persuasive.  Be sure to include ethos, pathos, and logos, as well as examples of the logical fallacies (either because a speaker avoids them in using good reasoning, or because a speaker uses them to con listeners with bad reasoning).  Also remember a pre-write, and please be sure to proofread.  Due at the end of the period.

march 27

JOURNAL TOPIC:
How do you expect to do on the exam today?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Exam/correct
3. Masterpiece: mission possible

HW:
1. Do something important to make your masterpiece and post to your blog about it.

teenage driver dashcam video

While writing and thinking about mindfulness this morning, I ran across this video that shows what happens when people aren't mindful.  (Thanks, boingboing!)  Let's be mindful out there.

march 26

JOURNAL TOPIC:

What makes you want to listen to someone and/or trust what s/he says?  What makes you less likely to listen to someone and trust what s/he says?  Describe at least two examples.

AGENDA:
1. Journal/discuss
2. Ethos, pathos, logos
3. John F. Kennedy's speech at Rice University

HW:
Please review the logical fallacies and your notes on ethos, pathos & logos for tomorrow's exam.

Our blogs are important

While looking for fallacies for our homework I came across a blog that seemed to be very similar to mine. Once I looked further into the blog I came to realize that it was a blog from one of Dr Preston's former students from 2011. This just goes to show that what we post on our blogs can actually be seen by other people. So listen to Preston when he says that people are going to be seeing what we post, because I still cant believe I came across a blog from 2011!
Google search: fallacies in commercials
Blog I was taken to: http://emeraldoliver.blogspot.com/2011/04/fallacies-are-common-in-advertising.html

she's only got one post on her new blog...

...but Brigette found a great way to illustrate some of the logical fallacies.  Check it out here!

fallacies

Ad Hominem fallacy: responding to an argument attacking a person’s character rather than the content of their argument.

Circular Reasoning: Someone argues the point they’re trying to make by supporting it with other reasons that are supported by their original point.

Ad Nauseum: Making the argument by repetition; saying the same thing over and over again.

Appeal to Tradition: “We do this because that’s how we’ve always done it.”

Appeal to Ignorance: Arguing that something is true just because it hasn’t been proven false.

Appeal to Numbers: Citing statistics to prove an argument

Appeal to Popularity: “All the cool kids are doing it.”

Cum Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc: “with this because of this” – just because two things happen together doesn’t mean they’re related or one causes the other.  (e.g., just because a student attends RHS doesn’t mean she has two legs)

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc: just because something happens after something else doesn’t mean the first thing causes the second.

Red Herring: the art of distraction (“SQUIRREL!!!” or “Grumpy Cat!”)

Slippery Slope: Metaphor—taking one step and sliding the rest of the way.  Either giving away the whole argument based on one point, or applying the same standard to everyone without reason: “If I do it for you, I’ll have to do it for everyone else.”  Assuming that if you give one person/point away, you’ll have to give away the whole show.

Straw Man: Putting words into someone’s mouth (and that someone may or may not exist) for the purpose of exaggerating or distorting the opposing viewpoint.

Naturalistic Fallacy: Using nature as a reason to go from fact to value.

You Too: The idea that two wrongs make a right.  “My opponent accuses me of distorting the facts and exaggerating the evidence, but she does too.”

Begging the Question: (this is the same as Circular Reasoning, just make sure to use the phrase correctly rather than suggesting that something is “raising a question.”  Here, the use of the word begging is intended to suggest torturing a topic beyond its logical conclusion.)

Non Sequitur: Something that doesn’t go in sequence; an illogical leap to an unrelated topic or idea.

Appeal to Authority: the fallacy of asserting an idea as correct just because a person/entity in power says it is.

march 25

JOURNAL TOPIC: (today's tunes: "Short Memory" by Midnight Oil)

What did you learn yesterday?  List at least three of the logical fallacies we discussed with definitions and examples.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Review/co-create list
3. New fallacies
4. Applications

HW:
1. Curate the new/improved list of fallacies on your course blog.  Find media examples (pictures, videos, links) that help the reader see what you see.  Correct or challenge the reasoning where appropriate.  Make sure to explain how better logic facilitates the search for truth.
2. Develop & practice tactics for addressing each fallacy.  If you can't find a partner with whom to role play, grab a mirror or argue with the TV.  Report what works on your blog.

march 24

JOURNAL TOPIC: (today's tunes: "Short Memory" by Midnight Oil)

What did you learn yesterday?  List at least three of the logical fallacies we discussed with definitions and examples.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Review/co-create list
3. New fallacies
4. Applications

HW:
Curate the list of fallacies on your course blog.  Find media examples (pictures, videos, links) that help the reader see what you see.  Correct or challenge the reasoning where appropriate.  Make sure to explain how better logic facilitates the search for truth.

march 23

JOURNAL TOPIC:

Why are people so afraid to make mistakes?  Describe a mistake you learned from.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Fallacies in practice

march 20

JOURNAL TOPIC:
How was yesterday's class different?  Was it effective?  What did you learn?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Discussion (continued)
3. Grading

HW:
Choose five logical fallacies from THE LIST; find arguments about police brutality in the media that use these fallacies (*or* you can find five arguments first and then match them up with the fallacies)

Discussion from class (Period 3)

I took it upon myself to put this up for those of you, like myself that have some thought on this. Also I found the CNN Link with a little video from them. Please do realize that this is the media and they tend to blow everything out of proportion. These people have just as much proof as we do.

students finally coming together?

When you talk to a group of high school students and ask them what they think will work to bring people together you can either get them to say all of these ambitious ideas that maybe they can achieve or you get nothing. Well Dr. Preston's 3rd period American Lit class has taken the extra step to create a place where students can post and be able to ask each other questions. Not only is it a place where students will be posting questions but it is also a place for students to see deadlines and things that need to be done right away. Some may see this as just something simple, and may ask "why dont they just look at the teachers post?" Well let me tell you the answer to that. Most students get tired of listening to a teach talk in front of a class, well in this case students are getting tired of looking at the same old course blog. So we students have come together to create such a blog that gives the students a voice, and gives them an easier path to share their work. You will be able to post anything you feel will help other students with the subjects we are talk about in class. The other thing that we have come together to do is create a blog for students to share their mater pieces. You will be able to see the progress within each others works and be able to get feedback throughout the process. Isn't that what we have always asked for? Well here you go American Lit students!
Student Course Blog link:
http://studentdrprestonsrhsamlit14.blogspot.com/
Master Piece Collab link:
http://masterpiecemashup.blogspot.com/

March 19

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Today you have a choice.
1. Why do we as humans judge other humans?
or
2. What makes someone human?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Fallacies/arguments (If you feel like you want to contribute to the class discussion today please sit at the center tables and if you do not we recommend that you sit on the outside.)
3. Masterpiece Consultations
4. Rearrange desk for AP lit class

march 17

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Today you have a choice.
1. Why do we bother celebrating St. Patrick's Day?
or
2. How would you take over the world?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Fallacies/arguments
3. Masterpiece Consultations

march 16

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Why do people take sides?  This may seem like a basic question, but seriously: Why does it matter what side of a sporting event, election, or issue a person is on?  Does it matter?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Come back to your group with the information you promised to get Friday.  Discuss what you found and how it influenced your thinking.  Then pick a side.  (Note: For our purposes, it really doesn't matter which side you're on.  In fact, it will probably be more helpful for you to pick the side with which you personally disagree.)
3. Masterpiece Consultations

masterpiece prep

In order to make the most efficient use of the next Masterpiece Consultation, please consider the following questions and make a list of anything else you don't want to forget.  Looking forward to the conversations!

1. What is your intended outcome?  Who will benefit besides you?
2. How will present your process, findings, and/or results?  How will your method of presenting create value for your audience/community?
3. How much of a plan do you currently have, and how much do you need?  What "next steps" or routines are you currently engaged with, and what do we need to create so that you feel like you're making the sort of progress that will enable you to end your high school career with a smashing success?
4. If you're not already monitoring your own performance, what systems/structures do you need so that you can sustain your momentum and achieve your goals without someone else nagging you?
5. The "Masterpiece Academy" will begin on May 11 (the week after the AP exam).  Please let me know if you need help creating a workflow calendar that will get you where you want to go by then.

we're here for an argument

Form a group of 3-5 people and choose one of the following topics:

• social conformity
• death penalty
• abortion
• police brutality
• censorship
• child discipline
• government transparency
• education
• economy
• medical marijuana

Today, your conversation should focus on two things:

1. The ideas you bring to the topic (What do you think?  Why?  Do you remember where you got the information?)
2. What information do you need to support, refute, and/or inform the conversation?  Where will you look?

march 13

JOURNAL TOPIC: ("Lies" by The Thompson Twins; "Idiot Wind" by Bob Dylan)

How do you know when someone's lying to you?

ALTERNATE JOURNAL TOPIC:

If the above is too heavy for a Friday, consider this quote:

Just cause you got the monkey off your back doesn't mean the circus has left town.

-George Carlin

What does he mean?  Why is this message so much more effective as a metaphor than if he just would've come out and given us some personal improvement counsel?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Masterpiece Consultations
3. Group disagreement

HW:
1. Imagine someone telling you that what you are most interested in is stupid.  What is wrong with their argument?  How will you prove this?  Please write these thoughts on paper-- NOT ON YOUR BLOG-- and bring Monday.
2. Research the information for your group's argument and post to your course blog &/or bring to class on Monday.

march 11 & 12

Mrs. Dirkes has the floor.

march 10

JOURNAL TOPIC: (Today's tunes: "Because" by The Beatles; "Moonlight Sonata" by Beethoven)

Why isn't "Because I said so" a convincing argument?  What is it missing?  If it's such a flawed and incomplete idea, why do so many people rely on it?

AGENDA:
1. Journal topic
2. Review: Did you find a syllogism?
3. Logical fallacies in argumentative rhetoric (a.k.a., "things people get away with when their audiences don't know any better")

HW:
1. Identify your favorite five fallacies from this list and post them to your course blog.  Explain why you chose them: Did you recognize them from conversations/speeches you've seen?  Have you used them yourself?
 
*NOTE: I'll be teaching period 3 and other RHS English teachers will be in class learning along with us.  I won't be teaching period 7.  If you're in period 3, find someone in period 7 to help (consult the Member Blogs list if you're not sure who is in class).  If you're in period 7, don't wait for someone in period 3 to find you-- hunt them down and make them talk.  You're going to need to know what they know for your quiz tomorrow.

march 9

As a class, create and agree on a list of ten topics worth serious debate.  Be ready to discuss Tuesday.

march 5

JOURNAL TOPIC:
The future has been described in many ways, from an unopened present to a train hurtling down the tracks.  Do you see the future as an exciting opportunity or an impending threat?  Is your view of the future consistent or does it depend on today's mood and/or events?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Quiz: yesterday's terms
3. Conflicts, arguments, spats, disagreements, and fights

HW:
1. Ask someone "Why?" and watch them construct a syllogism

march 4

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe a time when you had an argument that was truly important to you.  Did you change your mind?  Did the other person change his/her mind?  What was the outcome?  Why do you still remember it today?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Reflection on motivation
3. "The Argument Clinic"
4. Intro to rhetoric and persuasive communication

HW:
1. Have an argument-- a real argument, with purpose, respect, and diplomacy-- and report it on your course blog.

march 3

(*Please Note: Period 3 will use March 2 agenda today.)

JOURNAL TOPIC:
If you had to leave the house today and make your way in the world, would you seek to master something of value or would you just try to get a job?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Jiro essays

march 2

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What is it about Jiro that inspires, motivates, and/or intimidates the rest of us?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Finish Jiro
3. Essay: "What Jiro Means to Me"

HW:
Finish your essay and post it to your course blog.

february 26

JOURNAL TOPIC:
I'm going to ask this again and again and again and [...] :

What do you love enough to try, fail, and try again?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Self-assessment/ turn in hard copy 
3. Watch Jiro.  Learn from Jiro.  Find your inner Jiro.

HW:
1. Post about you and Jiro to your course blog.

february 25

JOURNAL TOPIC: (today's tunes: "Walking in LA" by Missing Persons; "Walking After You" by The Foo Fighters; "Walking in Memphis" by Marc Cohn)

Is walking from place to place something people do anymore?  Do you walk in your community/neighborhood?  (Slouching from locker to locker during passing periods doesn't count.)  What can you tell about a person or a culture by how much/how fast/how often they walk?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Correct yesterday's exam

HW:
Learn something and post it to your course blog.

february 24

AGENDA: Judgement Day.

JOURNAL TOPIC:
How well did you do on the Catcher in the Rye exam?  Why/why not?  What percentage (out of 100) of your performance was a function of your understanding, and what percentage was a function of your accountability?

february 23

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What does the word modern mean to you?  Has the meaning of the word changed over time?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Review for tomorrow's Catcher in the Rye exam by answering the following questions

Catcher Study Questions

HW:
Finish answering the questions and post to your course blog.  The exam questions will come directly from this list.

february 19: i've been stolen

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What would you tell Holden Caulfield if he showed up late to this class and blew off posting to his course blog?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Since I'm stuck here

3. Your job is this:

• Figure out what you need to know for tomorrow's Catcher in the Rye exam.  If you've read the book, review it.  (If you think you can create a project that is so impressive I will let you out of taking the test, do that.)  If you haven't read the book, read it.  You may want to talk with someone who knows more than you do.  Whatever you do, prepare.  Otherwise tomorrow is going to hurt.

HW:
1. Post to your blog about what you did in class today.  Describe anything you learned.

february 18

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What makes "WTF?" a rhetorical question?  (This is not a rhetorical question.  Look up the phrase rhetorical question if you don't know what it means.)  What is the purpose of asking a rhetorical question?

AGENDA:
1. Journal topic
2. Catcher in the Rye & WTF? discussion
3. Too lazy to read?  You're writing the test.

HW:
1. Post something on your blog that shows you have a pulse and that you are thinking about this course and your performance in it. (title: I'M HERE)

catcher in the rye big ideas

(Borrowed with thanks.)

Catcher Essay Topics

february 17

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What makes you feel loved?  What makes Holden Caulfield feel loved?

AGENDA:
1. Journal + discussion
2. Did you read?
3. Test and/or presentations on the book this week

HW:
(depends on agenda items 2 & 3)

chapter 5 prezi

lest we forget

In case you ever go online without thinking about all of the people who can see what you post, read "How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco's Life."