English 9 Class Notes
Freshmen, sorry for getting to this late, but I wanted to put down some brief thoughts for the semester. I hope that you learned more than composition structures and literary concepts these last 18 weeks; the new and foreign responsibilities English 9 required of you came easier to some than others. I trust you’ll remember what you experienced this fall and apply what you learned in the spring. Continue (or begin) to be on time to class and listen carefully, do your work to the best of your ability and see me in tutoring when you need help, and turn-in every assignment every time, and you’ll have a successful semester.
Before I close, I want to congratulate Dom, Ian, Reed and Austin for totally rocking their finals (the latter two scored positive, grade-changing points). Well done, boys.
I hope you all have a restful break, and I’ll see you in 2010.
APELC Class Notes
APELCers, sorry about the mangled Friday post, which was some notes I’d saved as a draft, but after reading over five hundred separate assessments these last two weeks (revisions and cover sheets, persuasion papers, and two separate final essays, in addition to the last of the freshmen assignments and their finals, too), I was a little fatigued and failed to attend the class notes that afternoon. Still, I wanted to leave you with some final thoughts as we close out the exacting fall semester.
In August you numbered about 110, and a remarkable 94 of you remained until the end of fall, some worse for the wear, but you stuck with APELC nonetheless and that’s worth noting. I know a few of you will switch out in January, but, until then, everyone should be proud of their efforts in completing no less than eight timed-writings (and, most of you, accompanying revisions and cover sheets), two extended papers, three processes (four if you did the extra-credit), a brief reflective piece, and a lot of question-and-answer and daily notes. That’s a lot of thinking and writing. For those that didn’t do as well as they’d hoped this semester and who’ll be around next, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to make adjustments to your approach to class; I suspect I may see more of you in tutoring.
I had little time to post those persuasions I thought merited attention, so I wanted to make special mention of the following which I thought were particularly interesting, effective, and fun to read. They were: Casey’s paper advocating a change in the NCAA national championship playoff format, Nicole’s paper on the importance and proper practice of second amendment rights, T-Train’s paper arguing the right of gay men and women to marry, Andy’s plea for a national flat tax, Sam’s paper on the ironic anonymity involved in dirty-dancing, Alex M.’s argument of the failure of compulsory tutorial attendance, Kevin R.’s paper advocating a change in the rules and ethos of the reality-TV game show Survivor (which I thought was excellent this season), Ebaa’s explanation of the false hope of genetically modified organisms to stem world hunger, Lora’s effective paper defending the ritual of capital punishment, Joy’s call for support of art and music education in schools (which reminded me of a fascinating piece from NPR: “Leah Fleisher Cures What Ails Musicians”), Jordan’s passionate justification of national health care reform, Andrea’s convincing argument for a four-day school week, Meg’s paper advocating prostate cancer awareness, and, of course, Caitlin’s enumeration of the evils of corn. (I also recall Kristin F.’s baffling use of four staples on her paper.) I failed to write on all of your papers, but I ask now that you send me e-copies of your work so I can use them as exemplars.
I don’t want to forget visits during the week from 2009 CDO graduates and former APELCers Brennan Klein, Addie Cunniff, and Simone Collins, freshmen at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania; Middlebury College in Vermont, and at the University of Virginia, respectively. They’re enjoying the fruits of their high school labors and experiencing vibrant college life away from the Desert Southwest.
And so I encourage you to enjoy your break, juniors and seniors; I hope your various holiday celebrations are fun and memorable, and I’ll trust you to keep in mind those less fortunate than you like the children and families who live less than 700 miles (or about an hour and half by plane) from our shores in the Caribbean: “Report says 225,000 Haiti children work as slaves”.
Remember your reading and be ready to start when we see each other next decade.
Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It
Natalie, our Irish step dancer in fourth, sent this photo of her and accepting an award for the slip jig some years ago. (She’s fourth in from the right.) She’s still in form if her demonstration in class last Friday is any indicator.
If you have a picture to share and your parent or guardian indicated permission on your Affirmation at the beginning of the year, send it to me and I’ll post it (if it’s appropriate).
English 9 Class Notes
Freshmen, it would’ve been silly to start anything new today, so we screened History’s Engineering an Empire: Greece. Certainly it wasn’t English literature, but it did give us an insight into the the crucible of ancient creative endeavor which was engendered by questions such What is imagination?, What is culture?, and, connecting the two, How best do we express culture using imagination? These questions we still attempt to answer today, in T-12 by reading imaginative cultural expressions of beauty, struggle, victory, reality, and truth in the authors we encounter in our course of study. Thus the connection between what we’ve been doing and what we watched today.
Be ready to read and write come Thursday.
Best until then.
APELC Class Notes
Having to tramp in the wet to the bookstore for our texts today severely limited what we could with the Yeats text, “The Second Coming” today, but we talked a bit about it and I said I’d post some links to resources that I think are useful.
The poem is millenarian generally, and millennial particularly, but, I think , essentially a secular (but no less profound) lament about change. Again, Yeats is exploiting familiar biblical motifs of the Christian worldview his majority audience is steeped in. I mentioned four common views of Christian eschatology; one, specifically Dispensational Premillennialism, heavily influences American politics today (in the form of Christian Zionism), but all worthy of noting because I think it’s vital that students, non- and theistically inclined, have an understanding of the Bible and its continued influence in the course of Western Civilization. You might read “The Case for Teaching The Bible” from TIME in 2007 for a corroborating argument . (See also the abstract for a paper on the benefits of bible literacy, “The Relationship Between Bible Literacy and Academic Achievement and School Behavior”, Education and Urban Society. It’s important to note that the study was restricted to a religious school, but perhaps the findings might be extrapolated.)
The trouble one can get into teaching biblical literacy is one of neutrality: How does one “teach the Bible” objectively, that is, as a document of cultural value and historical consequence without evangelizing? Of course, most universities offer some secular courses on biblical literature with little trouble. For a brief overview see the BBC’s Religion and Ethics page on “The Bible”. But I wouldn’t want you to stop there; follow-up by examining the myriad religious texts of the world’s religious worldviews. For even more, see the The Internet Sacred Text Archive. As I’ve said, the influence of religious faith, not just in West, but all over the world, is inescapable. Indeed, most culture of the East is merely the dress of religion. (The former page, BBC’s Religion and Ethics page, is a great place to start exploring worldviews, too. Look to the links on the right side of the page.)
English 9 Class Notes
Objectives: Freshmen 1) identified and explained character and types, plot and foreshadowing, irony, setting, imagery, tone and point of view, symbol, and idiom, and 2) read independently.
Period 6 freshmen, we tackled the last of our stories for the semester before the final next week. As usual, you answered and we reviewed several study questions that touched upon the various literary concepts listed in the objectives.
Remember, I explained the final won’t be a make or break affair, but it’ll be worth some points, so it’s important to do your best work (not that I’d expect anything less).
I’ll have your final few assignments graded and available for you by the end of class Thursday, but I’ll see you Monday with something leisurely but educational.
See you in a couple of days, kids.
APELC Class Notes
Second and fourth juniors and seniors, we covered the same ground as your period 1 and 3 peers yesterday. Check their notes for objectives and details.
Fourth period did have a special impromptu presentation by Natalie in which she showed-off her Irish step-dancing talents. It was neat and made me think of the following existential questions: What is art?, What is diversion?, What are bodies?, What are our physical limits?, What is movement?, Why do we move? What moves us?, and What animates us? Good job kid; we were impressed.
Here’s an example of the Irish step-dance by American Jean Butler, famously of Riverdance:
Cool stuff.
No homework, and I thank you for patience ahead of time as I work to score all of your papers.
Have a great weekend.
APELC Class Notes
Objectives: APELCers 1) processed an essay, and 2) attempted to answer life’s greatest and most troubling questions.
First and third period juniors and seniors, we processed Mencken today. I remain unsure about how to read him, but our discussions were rich and challenging.
As we closed, I asked you to review your notes over all of the authors and texts you encountered in class since August and consider them along with the following ideas, the first from Albert Schweitzer, the second from the second by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
The fundamental rights of [humanity] are, first: the right of habitation; second, the right to move freely; third, the right to the soil and subsoil, and to the use of it; fourth, the right of freedom of labor and of exchange; fifth, the right to justice; sixth, the right to live within a natural national organization; and seventh, the right to education.
Justice is conscience, not a personal conscience but the conscience of the whole of humanity. Those who clearly recognize the voice of their own conscience usually recognize also the voice of justice.
I then asked you to write down some ideas of your own and attempt answers about, rights, justice, and humanity: Is Schweitzer’s assertion correct?, What is justice?, Do we have a right to justice?, How do we relate to each other?, What does it mean to be humane?, and What does it mean to be human? Of course these engendered so many more, but we’d barely began to talk over your ideas before we had to leave. Keep these questions in mind though as you read the works I assigned for the break which I’ve posted.
I’ve also posted instructions for logging-in to/creating an account for TurnItIn.com, so attend this task if you’ve not already.
Going Rogue
Fourth period’s Emily was inspired by our recent talk about John McCain’s 2008 running-mate and her supporters: She’s going rogue.
If you have a picture to share and your parent or guardian indicated permission on your Affirmation at the beginning of the year, send it to me and I’ll post it (if it’s appropriate).
English 9 Class Notes
Objectives: Freshmen 1) wrote expository-analytical paragraphs about character and plot, and 2) read independently.
Freshmen, we worked on the paragraph over “Waiting” and then we moved onto a new text by Leslie Marmon Silko (at least we did the Before Reading notes). More of the same, more of what you expect; but I think most of you are getting the paragraph structure down. We’ll continue to practice until you’re expert.
Complete the paragraph for this Friday, and I’ll see you then.
APELC Class Notes
Hello second and fourth APELCers. Nothing different from yesterday’s class, though in second period we did ponder the process of execution by firing squad, so I found more information on at the Death Penalty Information Center (a resource I linked to last night) that might inform your reading and thinking: Descriptions of Execution Methods. Otherwise, check your peers’ notes for objectives and details.
Until next time, you might take a look at this photo essay by photographer and anti-death penalty activist Scott Langley I came across in my searches while preparing for this week’s classes: An Execution Night Timeline: An Hour by Hour Photo Story. It’s part of his Death Penalty Photography Documentary Project. And you might also examine Execution of a Viet Cong Guerrilla, a photo by Eddie Adams, one of the most iconic of the twentieth century, and one of LIFE’s 100 Photographs that Changed the World. It came to mind when we were talking about firing squad’s in second; it’s troubling, but it’s also an important artifact of our common heritage.
See you next class.
APELC Class Notes
Objective: APECLers will process an essay.
First and third period, we began with the brief article on the controversy over the execution of Cameron Todd Willingham, and moved on to some examine death row statistics by state at the Washington Post and more capital punishment statistics from the Department of Justice. We processed most of Kroll, and you’ll read the paired selection for next class; see your class page for details.
In third we looked at current methods of execution in the, and I mentioned the extended, much more detailed piece on Willingham, “Trial by Fire: Did Texas execute an innocent man?”, which I encourage you to read when have some time.
See you soon.
English 9 Class Notes
Objectives: Freshmen began writing expository-analytical paragraphs about character and plot.
Period 6 freshmen, I quizzed you over “Waiting” and then we began a paragraph on our protagonist, how she was in the beginning and how she changed at the end of the story. We’ll finish the writing on Wednesday.
See you then.
APELC Class Notes
Objective: APELCers responded to their peers’ persuasion drafts.
Juniors and seniors, you did as the objective states. Do not forget that your revisions of timed-writing 4 and cover sheets are due tomorrow, no later than 3:00 pm. We’ve gone over these before, and we did in class again today, but for your own sake here they are again:
- Writers must have conferred with me over their initial paper to submit a revision;
Papers must be accompanied by a cover sheet detailing its writer’s revision process (under Class Materials)—no cop-outs; - Papers must be typed and formatted according to MLA style guidelines—use the template (under Class Materials)—and should be no less than two and half pages and no more than three pages long;
- Cover sheets are to be attached to the revision, former on top of the latter, with one staple, horizontally, in the upper-left hand corner;
- Papers containing more than four obvious errors in conventions and usage for formal, written, academic English or that deviate from MLA style (including not embedding quotations) will lose 7% from the final grade (I have several style books you can reference.);
- Writers who did not confer with me over their initial drafts or who chose not to revise their essays must still submit a cover sheet, blank except for name, date, title, and initial score and “I choose not to revise timed-writing X” in number 4, signed;
- Revision scores will replace initial in-class scores if merited.
Also, I’m hit or miss about these events usually, but I’d like to remind you that Mr. Street’s Photo Imaging students will be displaying their work this Wednesday, December 9, from 6 to 8.
Come dig their rhetoric.
English 9 Class Notes
Objectives: Freshmen 1) identified and explained character and types, plot and foreshadowing, irony, setting, imagery, tone and point of view, symbol, and idiom, and 2) read independently.
Freshmen, we completed the story today and discussed your study questions. You began your text analysis. We discussed, in particular, whether Henrietta was as much of a wiener as Doodle. Some said “Yes”, and others “No”. Again, we come to the point: What is the value of life?, What gives one dignity?, and How do our relationships reveal our character?
Have a fine weekend, and don’t forget to come with your homework on Monday.
See you then.
APELC Class Notes
Period 2 and 4 APELCers, we did the same as your colleagues yesterday. Again, I hope you were attentive.
Here’re some stories from the WIRED blog Threat Level, the first from last year having to do with then Presidential candidate John McCain’s endorsement of warrantless wiretapping, the second from January about newly-elected President Barack Obama’s exercise of executive power in the case of eavesdropping, and the third from last week, “Authority to Spy on Americans Unclear as Patriot Act Expires”. I hope you’ll take time to learn more about the issues and their details, kids.
Here’s that bitchin’ video I mentioned in class yesterday and today, the HD Tour of the International Space Station. Have a look.
Can you think of a better job than astronaut? Science and math are cool. (But you knew that already.)
Have a great weekend, boys and girls.
APELC Class Notes
Objectives: APECLers 1) evaluated two arguments, and 2) processed an essay.
First and third juniors and seniors, we had little time today before I began writing conferences. We compared and contrasted and evaluated Dinh and Gelsey; I could enumerate them here, but I won’t, so I hope you took good notes. What we discussed, at least what we said about the structure of both, could easily be applied to your revisions and your longer persuasion pieces.
On my way home, I listened to “The Decade In Music: The Way We Listen Now”, from the NPR series “The Decade In Music: ’00s”, apropos of our most recent timed-writing. You may want to have a listen.
See you Monday.
English 9 Class Notes
Objectives: Freshmen 1) identified and explained character and types, plot and foreshadowing, irony, setting, imagery, tone and point of view, symbol, and idiom, and 2) read independently.
You turned in your paragraphs that I assigned you to complete for homework, freshmen, then we turned to the next story in our text. Nothing terribly exciting, and, rather, quite routine for us. We’ll finish the text and audio Friday; remember that you have something to print and bring with you then.
See your class page for details.
APELC Class Notes
Second and fourth APELCers, we covered the same material as your peers yesterday, with a bit more heat. Good stuff. Attend homework details on your class page.
I’ve embedded the iWATCH video below. Have another look and maybe look at the other videos that the LAPD has produced for the iWATCH program.
I was mistaken when I mentioned the incident of the couple arrested in the Phoenix area for taking bath time photos of their children; it was parents, not grandparents: “Bath Time Photos Prompt Child Porn Allegations”. And here’s another perhaps more absurd case: “Seniors questioned by RCMP over attempted abduction complaint”. (Of course, that last is from Canada.)
See you Friday.
APELC Class Notes
Objectives: APELCers 1) processed a public service announcement, and 2) evaluated an argument.
First and third juniors and seniors, we began with a brief discussion of blogging and its ubiquity across the digital landscape and then processed the Los Angeles Police Department clip. This led to our assessment of Gelsey and the Patriot Act. Plenty of heat and light in first, but, I worry, too much conciliation in third.
Anyway, here’s more on the benefits and dangers of blogging, the first, “Citizen Journalism” from the BBC, and the second, “The Epistemology of Blogging” from The Philosopher’s Zone.
See to the homework details on your class page.