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.
English 9 Class Notes
We began both periods with a presentation from junior Adrienne on the Pima County Public Liberries. Thanks for that, kid. After, we began the second set of sentences from Daily Language Workout, and then we reviewed the remainder of the second chapter, which you were to have read over the weekend. Finally, I presented your After Reading assignment for the first chapter, and I talked over the final update to the question-answer rubric that you’re to use to guide your work.
That’s it, children. I wanted to embed this clip from the 1939 film version of our novella, but Turner Classic Movies doesn’t allow it: Here’s the scene where George and Lennie meet the boss for the first time. Have a look. Are the portrayals of Lennie by Lon Chaney’s and George by Burgess Meredith what you expected?
See you next time, freshmens.
English 9 Class Notes
Freshmen, thank you for your patience with my absence Thursday and Friday, and I apologize for these late notes. Thursday, I left instructions for second period to answer the After Reading Questions for “The Most Dangerous Game” and begin “The Cask of Amontillado” and read their liberry books. Friday, seventh period was to complete the text and audio for Connell story and also answer the questions and read the same as their peers the day before.
Since I wasn’t able to present the 1932 film adaptation of the story to second period, I’ve embedded the entire film below. Now all students can have a look. It’s quite different in many aspects, but the spirit’s the same I think:
See you in a couple of days, kids.
My Movie List
Here’s the long-promised movie list I kept on the board from class that I said I’d reproduce in a post. It all started with Moon back in February because of the existential questions it engendered, and as other movies came to mind I added them to the board. Some selections were purposeful and provoked me to think of more along similar lines, while several were the result of haphazard ruminations, and some are essential to cultural literacy, while others are just silly, but I think they all have their merits.
A quick note to cover myself: Many of these films contain language and situations that some will find objectionable and are rated accordingly. So if you feel like checking any of these out be mindful and maybe surf over to the Wikipedia page for each where you can at least get some ideas about what to expect.
Here’s my list:
The Last Starfighter, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, Flash Gordon, and Conan the Barbarian are awesome adventure/sci-fi flicks I enjoyed in my youth in the early the 80s.
An American Werewolf in London and Tremors are a great mix of horror and humor. (Do not waste your time with the sequels of these movies.)
National Lampoon’s Vacation, Fletch, Spies Like Us, and Caddyshack reflect a time when Chevy Chase was actually funny and are worth plenty of laughs. Another hilarious golf movie is Happy Gilmore.
Witness, The Fugitive, and Blade Runner (The Final Cut) are three excellent Harrison Ford movies, the first dealing with questions of place, the second questions of justice, and the third questions of identity.
Joe vs. the Volcano is a highly underrated Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan absurd comedy. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, with Gary Oldman and Tim Roth in the leads, is an absurd tragicomedy. And Moon is an absurd tragedy with Sam Rockwell. All deal with issues of purpose and identity.
The Silence of the Lambs is a graphic psychological crime-thriller with Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster. Reservoir Dogs, written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, and True Romance written but not directed by Quentin Tarantino are excellent seriocomic crime films, the former more serious and the latter more comic, and both are pretty brutal.
Kids and Requiem for a Dream, both notable for their graphic content, are depressing existential explorations of the consequences of morally unrestrained youth culture. American Me and The Wrestler, with Edward James Olmos and Mickey Rourke, respectively, both deal with lives of shattered adults who’re desperate for meaning in their lives but who at the same time are unwilling or unable to grow beyond their circumstances and themselves. The Hours is another depressing meditation on meaning and growth, but not savage as the others.
The Commitments is a comedy that follows an Irish soul band trying to establish their identity in Dublin; A Man Called Horse is a forerunner to Dances with Wolves; and The Big Blue is a fictionalized account of the competition between two free-divers. None of these movies have anything in common with each other.
I saved the greatest movie of all time, which deals with sacrifice, duty, patriotism, and love, for last: Casablanca. See it yesterday.
That’s it for now. Remember, check these films before you rent them or add them to your queue, and while you’re watching them consider speaker, context, audience, and text, examine and analyze how they’re organized and to what ethical and pathetic ends, and discover and evaluate the concepts they’re tackling and the questions they’re asking and attempting to answer.
Happy viewing.