APELC Class Notes
APELCers, we spent the first half of class Thursday and Friday revisiting clauses, phrases, and syntactic (and lexical) categories, and playing with others’ and our own words in a mimicking exercise. We completed the second half of our time together in the liberry where you continued to draft you narrative arguments, which, as you well know, are due on Monday.
I’ve encouraged you last week to pay attention to issues surrounding WikiLeaks, too significant a news item since the most recent dump of documents to not be paying attention to. Here’s more:
- “Wikileaks Reveals U.S. Tax Dollars Fund Child Sex Slavery in Afghanistan”
- “The 24-hour Athenian democracy”
- “Silencing WikiLeaks A Free Speech Challenge For U.S.”
- “Web Attackers Find a Cause in WikiLeaks”
Have a fine weekend. It’ll all be over soon.
APELC Class Notes
APELCers, Tuesday and Wednesday we processed the Vowell text and discussed elements you might mimic to use in your own writing before we headed to the liberry for the penultimate day of in-class drafting of your narrative arguments.
I mentioned two stories in class, both from Weekend Edition Sunday on NPR, that I’ve linked here as you begin to consider your research topics for next semester. Remember, you’ll be narrowing in on some distinctly American cultural text:
I’ll define the assignment more over the break, and I’ll share it with you when we get back. After finals, I’d recommend you read the description of the Morning Edition series “Present at the Creation” at NPR, then read and listen to some of the stories about the American icons, indices, and symbols in the archive.
APELC Class Notes
APELCers, you spent today responding to your peers’ late narrative argument drafts, but before I shared with you a visual text I came across over the weekend. Crafted originally as a cameo, the powerful image below was designed by British abolitionist Josiah Wedgwood, and I argued the similarities between it and the Douglass text.
Here’s the list again of English teachers or other options you might consider as we close the fall and move to the next semester:
- Junior English Ms. Caples, Mr. Kaufmann, Ms. Minor, Mr. Morin, Ms. Reynolds
- Senior English Ms. Bonar, Mr. Erickson
- College Writing Mr. Smythe
- PCC, Gold Program, online options
Remember, I don’t want students to leave, but I do urge those who are dubious about their commitment to APELC to think carefully about next spring because it’s gonna get harder.
See you Tuesday and Wednesday.
APELC Class Notes
APELCers, we did little the first half of fourth period Thursday, as only five students had completed the reading. Third and fifth periods had fantastic discussions of the Manning piece, and we touched upon a variety of issues including the roles of touch and playful violence among loved ones. I appreciated students’ willingness to share, and I mentioned a brief article about father-son touch which I said I’d link to here: “I Blow-dry My Son’s Hair”.
I’ll review and post the list of English class options for juniors and seniors who don’t want to remain in APELC next semester, for whatever reason.
Attend the homework details on the class page.
See you Monday.
APELC Class Notes
APELCers, yesterday and today we talked over the Douglass text, more in fourth period on Tuesday than in third and fifth on Wednesday because of our wacky schedule. We met in the liberry for the last two thirds of class on Tuesday and for the entire period on Wednesday where students drafted their narrative arguments and I conferred with others over their free-response revisions. You do have a reading for homework; please attend the details on your class page.
I decided after fifth period on Monday to post the “damn” words I proscribed from student papers here on out. This should help those that find them too numerous to remember. The words are
- Aspect
- Factor
- Efficient
- Kids (this was the word I couldn’t read)
- Hooks
- Uses
- Vivid
- Paints
- Choppy
This list will continue to grow, and, of course, there’re other phrases I’ve mentioned in class that remain forever banned from your papers, and I’ll remind you as needed.
If you’re not following the news about WikiLeaks, you really should do what you can to educate yourself about this most important development in foreign relations. You can start with these:
- “State’s Secrets” at the New York Times (see also “The War Logs” about the organization’s first major document dump to attract worldwide attention)
- “WikiLeaks: A Reminder Of The Pentagon Papers” from Morning Edition
- “The Inner Workings Of WikiLeaks” from All Things Considered
Also, as Hanukkah begins tonight, here’re two more fun pieces from NPR:
- “Tracing Hanukkah’s U.S. Roots … To Cincinnati?” from Morning Edition
- “No Gelt, No Glory: A Dreidel Champion Is Crowned” from All Things Considered
We’ll see each other next class, boys and girls.
Link Fixed
APELCers, I’ve repaired the link to the document I asked you to print, review, and bring to next class.
See you Tuesday and Wednesday.
APELC Class Notes
I’m sorry I wasn’t able to post notes before the long weekend, APELCers, but I’ll mention here what we did last the last Tuesday and Wednesday block before the holiday in addition to today’s activities. On the former two days, we tackled the Nye and Quindlen texts the first half of class and met in the liberry for the second half of class where you worked on your narrative argument drafts and I conferred with writers over their free-response revisions. Today, Monday, students that were prepared to do so responded to their peers’ preliminary narrative argument drafts and I continued to confer with students about their revisions.
Here’s the list of items CDO’s Sign Language Club is requesting for our armed forces personnel is serving this winter. As I explained, you’re obviously not obligated to bring items in, and participation, if you choose to donate, isn’t for credit, but it’d be neat if each APELCer could bring in just two of the following by Monday, December 13:
- White socks (men’s and women’s with no markings)
- Light blankets and character-themed sheets
- Energy drinks and beef jerky
- Snacks like cookies, chips, and candy in sturdy packages
- Hand sanitizer, moist hand wipes, and medical gloves
- Sports magazines and Frisbees
- Flash drives
- Letters (none of your own personal information)
- NO PORK OR PRODUCTS AND NO COFFEE
All of these items can be found relatively cheaply at Walmart. If you’re feeling even more generous this “giving season”, you also might try these services: Any Soldier and Treat Any Soldier.
Finally, the extra-credit note review is due before the end of this week (and please don’t wait until Friday to get your work in).
A VISIT. At the end of Wednesday, I was honored with a visit from Jordan Neerhoff, 2010 CDO grad, former student-body vice president, and one of the best and naturally gifted thinkers and writers I’ve worked with in my career. He’s currently attending the University of San Diego, and during our brief catch-up he humorously mentioned the frustration his peers expressed over the conduct of a political science class in which he’s enrolled, in particular, because they often leave class somewhat confused, thinking the professor’s a jerk. Jordan explained that his peers weren’t familiar with the Socratic method (and implicitly, though Jordan didn’t mention it specifically, divergent questioning) the professor uses to effect discussion. I do enjoy such despatches from former students.
Thanks, Jordan, and all the best to you.
APELC Class Notes
Juniors and seniors, we tackled a photograph first and tried to infer sensory information from the analysis, what smells, sounds, tastes, and tactile sensations the image suggested, and we tried also to define the difference between a “house” and a “home”.
We moved on to the Ascher piece and discussed the issue of and our reactions to and interactions with people who are homeless. Many of you shared great ideas and asked great questions: What are the reasons for homelessness? Why do we assume most homeless are addicted to alcohol or drugs? How best, if at all, should we help those who have no homes? I suggested a re-examination of the Will piece from several weeks ago, when most agreed that to measure success failure must also exist, that to have winners, we must also have losers, and I took the idea to its logical conclusion as it perhaps relates to this piece: Isn’t it necessary for there to exist people with no home or means, so that others may? Really, don’t the homeless provide us a service in their indigence by reminding us how good we really have it? Things got quite heated in fourth when it was suggested that, very basically, we must avoid competition to ensure equality for all. (That’s a very rough sketch; the participants in fourth period’s discussion should feel free to correct me if I’ve misstated the controversy.)
You do have homework, and you’ll to access streaming media on the Intertubes to complete it. Check your class page for details.
APELC Class Notes
Juniors and seniors, yesterday and today we worked with the White text and discussed a bit the nature of time. These are the same links to posted to interesting resources on time last year over this same discussion which you might find interesting:
- “Time” at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- “Time for philosophers” and “The philosophy of the quantum spook”, both at The Philosopher’s Zone
- “A Brief History of Infinity: Space and the Universe” at BBC Documentaries
In third period we talked in circles about determinism and free will. These are heady concepts, but worth your time and mental energy.
We spent the second half of the block in the liberry where you continued to draft your narrative arguments, and I conferred with students over their free-responses.
You have homework; details, as always, are on you class page.
I’ll see you next week.
APELC Class Notes
Juniors and seniors, we met in the liberry today and yesterday to begin drafting your narrative arguments and to talk over your most recent free-responses. You signed up for conferences which we’ll begin next class.
Out.
APELC Class Notes
Because of the odd schedule this week, I decided to wait until today to post for the entire week. We processed Huttmann and Kroll, and in both of our discussions I asked you what it meant to be a person: What conditions or properties determine personhood, what degree of control do we exercise over our bodies and minds and our actions and our thoughts, do we have the right or even the ability to determine our own ultimate fates, et cetera?
We also talked about making moral judgments as such related to the two texts. Many assented to the proposition “It is not possible to assert that any given action, behavior, idea, et cetera, is good or bad or right or wrong”, but many of the same then argued that the execution of Robert Harris was, in fact, wrong. I challenged those students to reconcile these contradictory ideas; thus was a brief, informal introduction to the concepts of cultural and moral relativism, not exactly the same, but related in that moral belief is subsumed by cultured.
Finally, in third period Wednesday, we briefly touched on truth, and when I asked for a definition, I suggested that truth is what best corresponds to and what coheres with reality.
Take time further investigate Robert Harris, and the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, the subject of one of the brief articles I handed out in class.
I’ll see you next week.
APELC Class Notes
APELCers, yesterday and today we tackled the Alexie text, an important and well-crafted piece of work. Among other things, I challenged fourth period to tell me why we assume those who consume drugs are “on the wrong path”, why we assume they must be seeking refuge from reality: Mightn’t people exist who lead fine, happy lives who just like to get high?
I asked all classes about the significance of hair in various cultures, too, and we discussed how hair style affects and even effects identity. I was reminded of the Post Secret slide from Wednesday’s presentation that said “I change my hair because I can’t change my self”. Since I’m writing about hair, here’s the trailer for the movie I recommended by Chris Rock, Good Hair:
Our discussion also made me think of the film Thunderheart, starring Val Kilmer. I recommend it, as well:
In the second half of the hour, we began to go over the rough details of the narrative argument you’ll write for the end of the semester, and we engaged in a limited free-writing exercise that was fruitful and fun. In the history of APELC, most students have enjoyed this activity, and I’ve used it variously in my classes. The exercise has a way opening kids’ minds and hearts in very powerful ways, sometimes to humorous ends and other times to more poignant ends. So, I want to thank Kristen in fourth, Jordyn in third, and Emery, Kate, Monique, and Zach in fifth, in particular, for unselfishly sharing their stories, the results of their free-write, with us these last two days. And, I’m ashamed I failed to do this in the last post, I also want to thank Stephanie and Maddie in third for sharing as they did in class after the presentation on Wednesday.
Please use the ideas you generated in class, or another if you like, to begin growing an story and argument for the text you’ll write. Further, attend the homework detailed on your class page. Remember that from now on, if you’ve not read assigned texts or answered assigned questions related to the texts, you’ll not be permitted to participate in discussion.
Have a great weekend.
APELC Class Notes
Juniors and seniors, because of the presentation by R5 Productions today and the wonky schedule, each class was different. Tuesday, fourth period worked on campaign rhetoric and watched the same hour from The Story of English about Black English Vernacular third and fifth viewed previously. Wednesday, third period discussed the presentation and did a little work on the same campaign rhetoric, and fifth period, at only 30 minutes long, had little time to accomplish anything at all but talk a bit about logoi in the presentation and their ethical and pathetic effects.
We’ll go over the Alexie piece next class and go over details for the extended narrative argument you’ll commence and that you’ll turn in at semester’s end.
That’s all kids.
APELC Class Notes
Juniors and seniors, we met in the liberry today to revise and edit your free-response revisions. Be very mindful of your conventions of consultative, Academic written English, and formatting. And answer the questions attached to your cover sheets in a detailed, but not exhaustive manner.
See you Tuesday and Wednesday.
APELC Class Notes
APELCers, yesterday and today we talked over the Tan text, and we touched on issues of ontology, identity, self-esteem, beauty, body image, and ideal forms.
The discussions in each period were interesting and informative. I asked at what point we stop “being ourselves” and change to find group acceptance. We talked a lot about media messages, especially those directed toward adolescent girls. In third period, David wondered if it was really a problem to appreciate “Ideal” forms when I asked why we continue to consume media that presents mixed messages and if we’d consume the same media if they reflected, in this case, actual body types we encounter in the population that don’t match the ideal. Then in fourth, if I recall accurately, it was Selina (correct me if I’m wrong) that noted that the “ideal” changes over time.
Here’re two items relevant to our discussion that you might find worth your time, unfortunately the second is only an excerpt:
Finally, in fourth period I mentioned a new song from Sesame Street that’s making an impression, and which my daughter loves:
Here’s the story behind the song at ABC news, and commentary from The Root.
I’ll see you in the liberry on Monday, kids.
APELC Class Notes
APELCers, Tuesday and Wednesday I asked you to think about group identity while we discussed the Angelou text. I encouraged you to think about what groups you belong to and how you know belong to them. I asked you also if it’s possible to not belong to any group at all, and most of you agreed that such seemed impossible. I also asked you to think about why we (arguably) feel the need to belong to a group, whatever type of group it may be. We focused on the details of the narration, and I want you to recall, in particular, how Angelou used dialogue and Southern black vernacular to create the scene of the story.
For a reason I don’t recall, the firing of Juan Williams from National Public Radio came up in discussion, and I was surprised that none of you knew the incident which attracted so much media attention last week. NPR has been heavily criticized for its handling of the situation which recalled, but was not exactly analogous to, Rick Sanchez’s recent firing by CNN. If you have the time, listen to this short piece from Tell Me More with Michel Martin: “NPR Fires Juan Williams, Journalists React”, and read this commentary at the LA Times blog The Big Picture: “Juan Williams, Rick Sanchez, Mel Gibson and our fickle moral appraisals”.
See you next class, kids.
APELC Class Notes
APELCers, we discussed the issue of “ethnic studies” in TUSD high schools and Arizona House Bill 2281 and how these might apply to your revision of free-response 3. The texts we read are linked on your class page, and, in the interest of fairness, here’s the site of teachers fighting the state to keep the program in schools: SaveEthnicStudies.org. You had the opportunity to work on your theses and consider your sources; some of you used your time wisely while many did not.
I wanted to post the following notes on Friday, but the post was already long enough, so here’s more on Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a very important SCOTUS decision that appeared to confute certain campaign finance laws and that came up during our discussion about government and trust our last two classes. In fifth period, Alyssa commented on the freedom this decision permitted foreign corporations to fund US elections and sent along this article: “The GOP’s foreign fans”. And today, also in fifth, Emery reported her informal, online research on various southern Arizona candidates including Ruth McClung and Raul Grijalva, and Jesse Gabrielle Giffords and Jesse Kelley, and I’d encourage you to do the same. If you want to know more about the election, and I hope you do, see the 2010 Arizona Voter Guide at AZ Central and Arizona’s page at Ballotpedia.
For more on this election cycle, I hope that you might surf to the NPR series “Message Machine: Fact-Checking 2010 Election Ads”. It’s a great set of reports that attempts to keep both sides honest (if that’s even possible); last Wednesday’s piece, “‘Cookie-Cutter’ Ads Dominate, Coast-To-Coast”, was particularly interesting and amusing.
Check your class page for homework details, and I’ll see you next class.
APELC Class Notes
APELCers, yesterday and today we talked about privacy and the USA PATRIOT Act. During our discussion several items came up that I encouraged you to research because of their relevance to our texts. They were:
- Probable cause
- Reasonable suspicion, Terry stop
- FISA Court
- Oscar Grant
- TSA full body scanners (millimeter wave scanner)
I mentioned Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols when we discussed home-grown terrorism, and I was absolutely stunned that only two or three of you ninety-one knew anything about these men. And those few only admitted scant, incomplete knowledge. Again, know who these two people are.
In addition to the informal request that you familiarize yourself with the items above, and the formal order to attend the homework on your class page, here’s some further:
- “Court Ruling on Wiretap Is a Challenge for Obama”
- “Judge says man within rights to record police traffic stop”
- Carlos Miller’s blog “Photography Is not a Crime”
Again, boys and girls, you must move beyond your assumptions about what you think you know and learn and engage important issues, no matter what side you of the political divide you occupy.
See you next class.
APELC Class Notes
APELCers, you finished the quarter with your third free-response yesterday and today. It was also the third type of writing you’ll be required to do for the AP exam at the end of the year. I’ll have these essays and your revisions of and cover sheets for free-response 2 ready to return to you we meet after break.
You do have homework which is detailed on your class page, and I’d like you to refamiliarize yourself with The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, too, so we can begin a discussion of his text.
I want to leave you with some links before I close. Two are related to free speech and its limits: “Supreme Court weighs arguments over ‘Thank God for dead soldiers’ funeral protest” and “High Court: Does Father’s Pain Trump Free Speech?”. Read the first for background then listen carefully to the second for a question by question, answer by answer summary of the hearing. What do you think?
The last link is to an NPR series that aired this week, “Living in the Middle”, about the “middle-class”. The middle-class has come up a lot in our discussions (and it’ll continue to do so), and this series of reports examines the idea of the middle-class and what it means to be middle-class in various parts of the country today. It’s really worth taking time to investigate the origins and rise of the middle-class, and then listen to the audio. As always, I encourage you talk with your parents about what the term means for them and for you. Do you consider yourself middle-class?
Have a great break. I’ll be thinking of you while I’m riding the Mad Hatter’s Teacups with the fam and eating delicious mouse-meat corn dogs.
Peace.
APELC Class Notes
APELCers, yesterday and today you read two opinions on same sex marriage. After we tied up loose ends with Buckley, you spent the first part of the period reading and preparing for discussion, and we discussed the idea of marriage and commitment the second half. Opinions varied and discussion got heated, and we didn’t even get to the heart of the readings: We talked mostly about the nature of the institution, and I expect the discussion next class will be eventful.
I can’t forget to recognize Kate in fifth for courageously defending her opinions on marriage against a barrage of questions and comments from other-minded peers. This is the second time she’s faced such an onslaught and lived to tell about it. You’re a great sport Kate!
Here’re some links that I may inform your reading and thinking for next class:
- “Marriage” and “Polygyny”
- “Same-sex marriage in the United States” and “California Proposition 8 (2008)”
- “U.S. divorce rates for various faith groups, age groups, & geographic areas”
- “Study breaks down divorce rates by occupation”
- “Southern Baptist leader says divorce rates, not gay marriage, should be primary concern”
- “Couples study debunks ‘trial marriage’ notion of cohabiting” (and see the PDF near the end of the article)
Take some time to scour these, see how they may inform your own opinion.