English 9 Class Notes
Freshmen, I reviewed the details of the final again and all of you concurred that you understood the expectations. I’ll look forward to your success on Thursday.
We watched several clips from the film adaptation of Of Mice and Men. I wish we’d had time to view it in its entirety with a more critical eye to compare and contrast Gary Sinise’s vision of John Steinbeck’s drama to the latter’s original, but the entire film is available for screening online. And here it is:
I’ll leave some final thoughts here later in the week or the beginning of next, but now I encourage you to prepare as best you can for your composition on Thursday.
See you then.
APELC Class Notes
Juniors, in deference to your interests, I changed up the film today to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, the second film based on the original series. It’s got plenty more action and runs like an adventure film, but plenty of essential, existential questions are implied in the plot.
We’re at an end here. I’ll do my best to have your papers to you by next class, and I’ll leave some final thoughts over the year our common progress later in this or the beginning of next week.
See you kids Tuesday and Wednesday.
English 9 Class Notes
Objectives: Freshmen 1) identified and explained literary concepts in a novel, and 2) compared and contrasted a dramatic adaptation of a novel with its source.
We spent today completed our novel today, and we discussed George’s actions at the end: Did he do right by Lennie? Did he have the right to act as he did? These are difficult questions to answer, but more questions like these and others await you as you mature. How will you respond to them? Responsibly and with care? I hope.
Before we began viewing the 1992 film adaption of the story, I covered the details of your final. They’re posted on your class page; please take time to examine them and prepare for next Thursday.
SPECIAL THANKS. AJ delivered pepperoni pizza to fourth period today which was a delightful, delicious surprise. Thanks, AJ, for your thoughtful follow-through. And I’d also like to thank Val Linda and her friends for sharing their cupcakes, too. What a food day it was in T-12.
APELC Class Notes
Same objectives as yesterday. Second began Star Trek: The Motion Picture as did fourth, but not before we enjoyed our last two worldview presentations: Emily F. presented Epicureanism, and Meg made a special visit to tell us about feminism.
Women’s issues in various cultures have been a recurring topic of discussion in APELC because of the number of texts we’ve read where women’s roles and rights are central or relevant. Thinking about Meg’s assessment of and our brief talk about where women the world over stand in 2010, a number of recent articles came to mind that’re worth your time:
- “Has a U.S. Pediatrics Group Condoned Genital Cutting?”,
- “Lawrence Taylor bust shines spotlight on abuse of teen hookers”,
- “Georgian women seek virginity restoration”,
- “Japan sinks (even) lower on gender discrimination report”,
- “Haunted by Congo rape dilemma”,
- “We are not your weapons – we are women (This one’s quite bizarre.)
Emily’s explanation of Epicurus’s idea of an eternal universe inspired me to revisit a lecture in which theologian, philosopher, and apologist William Lane Craig recounts the history of the development of standard cosmology as a theory in the twentieth century and addresses various theories others have proposed to supplant it. Here’s the first of a six-part video version of the lecture; it’s quite technical and mathematically and philosophically dense, and in the end Craig does assert the necessity of a creator in the mold of the Judeo-Christian deity, but it’s utterly fascinating and thorough in its treatment of the subject. Do you have the patience and fortitude?
For another perspective, you might read this an article which attempts to take Craig to task, “Why Steven Hawking’s Cosmology Precludes a Creator”, from the journal Philo. And here’s a piece from Discover which explains further the (dubious, non-verifiable) idea of multiple universes, “Science’s Alternative to an Intelligent Creator: the Multiverse Theory”.
Here’re second and fourth period students my records are showing that haven’t returned The Autobiography of Malcolm X :
- Jade, Victoria, Erica, Jo, Damon, Sam, Alex, Stephanie, Kira, Rhiannon, and Alee;
- Evan, Emily F., Julia, Cassandra, and Eliana.
Please return your books as soon as possible, or let me know as soon as possible that you’ve already returned your book so I can update my gradebook.
SPECIAL THANKS.Eliana brought not one, but two cakes and fresh, homemade salsa to class today. Thanks for the victuals, Eliana. They were delicious!
APELC Class Notes
Objectives: APELCers 1) processed a film, and 2) presented their worldviews.
APELCers, in first period Adam presented the New Age, Sierra Protestantism, Peter Judaism, and Andrew Rastafarianism; and in third, Allie presented Wicca and Ana M. Satanism. We continued Star Trek: The Motion Picture in third period.
Adam’s presentation got me thinking about so-called New Age healing and its bad reputation, and I mentioned to you mucoid plaque, something which our very own Peter in first period described his own experience with class-appropriate-detail. (Please search for “mucoid plaque” at your own risk; remember, the images you find are only casts of proud-displaying-patients’ small intestines, but they’re still pretty gross. And for more on medical pseudo-science, you might follow the links I posted April 20.)
Adam’s talk also inspired me to post this InFact video on New Age energy:
Investigate more at Skeptoid the Skeptic’s Dictionary.
My records are showing that these students still have not returned The Autobiography of Malcolm X in first and third:
- Maddie, Riley, Cody, Chelsea, Trevor, Andrew, and Griffin;
- Ebaa, Allie, Emily M., Kristin O., and Michael.
If I’d made a mistake, please let me know as soon as possible so I can correct it.
See you next Monday when we’ll begin to wrap up the week.
English 9 Class Notes
Objectives: Freshmen identified and explained literary concepts in a novel.
Freshmens, we read the climax of our story today, and we discussed Curley’s wife. Is she a sympathetic character? We’ll finish the text Friday and begin watching a great film adaptation of the novel in which we’ll see actors’ interpretations of the characters.
Note that on Friday I’ll also share with you the details for your final assessment.
Test Time
With a year’s worth of writing and study behind you, juniors and seniors, most of you are on the north campus as I write this demonstrating your quality. This has been a busy, difficult year filled with victory (”I got four check marks on my paper!”) and doubt (”I only got one check mark and three dot, dot, dots”). If you’re one of the many APELCers who consistently challenged him or herself over the course of the year to think hard and write harder, even if you ultimately decided against taking the exam, be proud of your work. I am.
ITEMS FOUND. Someone tell Wong he left his yearbook in T-12 and that I’ve written on all of the autograph pages, and let Heidi know that she left her camera here and I’ve been taking pictures of individual floor tiles and ceiling panels.
Exam Day Photo
Juniors and seniors, if you’d like to be in the APELC cycle three photo (whether you’re taking the exam or not) be in T-12 at 7:25 tomorrow, that is, Wednesday morning.
Please note, Jack in the Box serves all menu items at all times of the day which means you may bring me an offering of tacos if you’re inclined.
APELC Class Notes
Objectives: APELCers 1) processed a film, and 2) presented their worldviews.
First period’s last worldview presentations are lined up for Thursday, so today we began watching Star Trek: The Motion Picture, a film that I very much dig. See the notes I posted last May for more on my ideas about the film as a text for class.
In third period Ellie presented Scientology, Leah and Elizabeth Animism and Shamanism, and Emily the Amish. They were model presentations, and after we also began looking at the film.
Leah’s and Elizabeth’s presentation (and others on animism/shamanism) reminded me of an article I came across a couple of weeks ago, “Wildlife documentaries infringe animals’ privacy, says report”, and the effort in Switzerland to protect the dignity of plants from a couple of years ago, “The Silent Scream of the Asparagus”. Do all living things have the same inherent dignity? Do any living things have inherent dignity at all?
I asked Emily about the West Nickel Mines School shooting four years ago and the deep well of grace the Amish seem to possess. Read and hear more with these two stories, both from NPR: “The Amish Culture of Forgiveness” and “Amish Forgive School Shooter, Struggle with Grief”.
Finally, I asked Ellie about protests in the last several years against the Church of Scientology by Anonymous, a group determined to expose the “religion” as a sham. She mentioned the group’s video announcing their presence and their mission, which I’ve embedded below.
I actually ran into members of Anonymous (wearing Guy Fakwes masks) at the main post office in Tucson some years ago in April when I was dropping-off my income tax papers. they were protesting the Church of Scientology’s tax-exempt status in the United States.
Tomorrow is the APELC exam. Those interested in being part of the APELC pan-class photo should arrive around 7:25 in T-12 so Mr. Street can snap our picture before you head to the north campus to show what you know.
I hope to see you all then.
English 9 Class Notes
Objectives: Freshmen identified and explained literary concepts in a novel.
We nearly completed chapter 4 today and we discussed Crooks interaction with Lennie, and you noted that the every one of the men who could potentially share in George and Lennie’s stake have some physical, intellectual, or spiritual handicap. Lennie, obviously, intellectually disabled. Candy is missing a hand and near the end of his life. Crooks, who wants in after hearing Lennie shares his and George’s dream, has a broken back and is shunned because of his race. George is paying penance for his formerly cruel treatment of Lennie, who now limits George’s activity by his presence. All of these men are looking for a place to be.
We’ll complete the story next time.
See you then.
APELC Class Notes
Objective: APELCers presented their worldviews.
In first period Kevin presented Jainism, Andy Communism, and Alex P Vodou; in second Jordan presented Atheism and Jade Rastafarianism; in third Jalyn presented Judaism, Kristin Epicureanism, and Heidi Determinism; and in fourth Janet presented Shinto and Julia Hinduism.
Apropos of Jade’s presentation, I came across this headline the other day: “Rasta inmates spend 10 years in isolation for hair”.
After Jordan’s presentation, Kira wondered if a strictly material universe, the type posited by atheists (generally under the banner of secular humanism or philosophical naturalism), indicated the non-existence of “spirit” or “soul” as we commonly understand them. This is an accurate inference: foundationally, a strictly material universe excludes as real anything non-material.
What’s the consequence of this? Spirit, identity, will, ideas, love, justice, equality, beauty, and so many of the things we take for granted, many of the things on which we base our day to day interactions, even truth, fairness, conscience, and obligation, are mere illusions (indeed, illusions, being non-material, are illusions, too). This point is inarguable. Even if chemical and biological mechanisms are found to generate these non-material phenomena (a paradox), this doesn’t also impart meaning or significance to them. They simply are, a result of determined, natural, and neutral processes This also became important during Heidi’s presentation on Determinism. Read more at The Chronicle: “Soul Talk”. (Notice the assumption of the correctness of the positivists in the first paragraph.)
Remember that if you want to be part of the APELC photo before the exam (whether you’re taking the text or not), meet me at 7:25 Wednesday morning in T-12.
English 9 Class Notes
Objectives: Freshmen explained and identified literary concepts in a novel.
We continued our novel and completed chapter 3. We discussed the changing tone of the piece, the setting, and imagery in particular; then I set you to the task of answering very broad level 2 questions (you don’t know why I call them such, but some of you will if I’m fortunate enough to teach you APELC your junior years) about those same things.
Have a fine weekend, and please attend your homework, the last official assignment of the year.
APELC Class Notes
Periods 2 and 4, check your peers’ notes from yesterday for objectives and details, and recall that your revisions for timed-writing 8 and cover sheets are due Monday by 3:30 pm. For the last time this year:
- 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 (I mean it)—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.
Have a fine weekend.
APELC Class Notes
Objectives: APELCers 1) completed a critical reading assessment, and 2) assessed their thinking, reading, and writing skills.
You completed the multiple-choice section of this week’s practice exam and we discussed your results. You noted that these multiple-choice questions were more difficult than those I gave you before spring recess, the ones offered by the College Board. Indeed, you were correct; these were quite nit-picky, level 1 questions, which I expect you’ll see less of on the actually exam next week. Again, I have every faith that you’ll each do as wall as you’re intended and capable of doing.
Remember that your revisions for timed-writing 8 and cover sheets are due Monday by 3:30 pm. To that end:
- 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 (I mean it)—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.
See you Monday.
English 9 Class Notes
Objectives: Freshmen explained and identified literary concepts in a novel.
Freshmens, we completed the second chapter of our novel today and began the third. We discussed in depth the characters of Candy, Slim, and Curley, and the various conflicts revealed in the novel to this point, including that in the initial exposition of George and Lennie “running out of Weed”. Fernando pointed out that the anecdote of Slim’s dog’s puppies seemed to highlight the difference between the strong and the weak, those who can take care of themselves and those who can not; we’ll revisit this Friday as we examine the incident with Candy’s dog and Carlson’s solution to its misery.
Astute thinking today, kids. I like it.
We’ll pick up the story in a couple of days.
APELC Class Notes
Objectives: APELCers wrote a rhetorical analysis and an argument.
So did you as the objectives statement lists.
Almost done, APELCers: Only six class day left (four for seniors) after today.
APELC Class Notes
Objectives: APELCers wrote a rhetorical analysis and an argument.
You did as stated, kids, your last timed-writing practices before the big day next week. I hope you’ll join me Thursday when you’ll have the opportunity to practice the multiple-choice portion of the exam. Students who missed any part of the practice this week due to additional exam or other obligations can pick-up sections they missed in T-12 and complete them at home.
Here’re two more photo series I came across this morning. Examine each for their individual compositions and the knowledge they impart.
- “Iconic War Photographs: Civil War to Afghanistan” from Newsweek
- “Most Beautiful Photos of Africa” at Golberz.com
See you in a couple of days.
PHONE FOUND. Would someone let Ana M. know that she left her phone in T-12 and it’s safe? Thanks kids.
English 9 Class Notes
Objectives: Freshmen explained and identified literary concepts in a novel.
We continued reading and listening too Of Mice and Men today, freshmens. I asked you to examine closely the new characters we meet in the second chapter, and we were just about to meet Curley’s wife before we ran out of time. We’ll continue on Wednesday.
See you then.
APELC Class Notes
Objective: APELCers completed a synthesis essay.
As the objective states so you did, juniors and seniors. Today’s essay was a practice essay and you’ll complete two more next class followed my a multiple-choice practice at the end of the week. We’ll complete the worldview presentations the week after this and talk over some final details for the APELC exam on May 12.
I’d mentioned LIFE’s 100 Photographs That Changed the World to students I’ve been conferring with over timed-writing 8. I think that rather than being a limitation to learning, photographs can be an invitation to learning, as I discussed with Ariel during her conference, so I’d encourage you to explore more of nation and world through their photographic histories. Here’re some portals:
- Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog
- The Library of Congress American Memory Home (photos and other media)
- Library of Congress’ Historic Photos (Flickr pilot project)
- Shorpy Historic Photo Archive
The Big Picture at The Boston Globe and The Frame at The Sacramento Bee are two excellent photo blogs that document current events around the world with large, bold images.
REMINDER. Kevin, Kate, and Priscilla, I’d like to borrow your original timed-writing 7 drafts for tomorrow (Tuesday), if I could. Thanks. You’re CDO’s greatest treasures.