october 1

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Junk Food Junkie" by Larry Groce]

Today's topic comes with a story.  Last year Ms. Anderson (my former student and our favorite SMJUHSD substitute teacher) dropped by with some food she thought I might like.  I turned it down and asked if I could re-gift it to students.  You should have seen the smile on Ms. Anderson's face when I told her why.  Later we exchanged texts.  Mine's in blue, hers is in gray:

This is a fairly recent thing for me.  For most of my life I put away more than my fair share of burgers, steaks, chicken, ribs, eggs, fish, cheese, butter, etc.  I used to defend my carnivorous way of life to my vegan and vegetarian friends.  But over time things have changed, and I've learned more about the subject.  Animals grown for food are often sickly and stuffed with antibiotics.  The way they're raised is horrible for the environment.  When my cousin had a major heart attack last December, he started eating vegan, and when he told his doctors -- some of the best -known cardiologists in San Diego -- they said, "Yup.  Us too."  That was the tipping point for me.

People eat differently for all sorts of cultural and personal reasons.  When I was in graduate school I dated a woman from Taiwan who loved plucking the eyes out of steamed catfish with her chopsticks.  In my travels I've eaten ants, grasshoppers, horse, yak, durian, Lucky Charms, and many other things that are delicious to some and disgusting to others.  There is tremendous beauty in the way our planet provides nutrition and we share that nutrition with each other.  Childhood memories, first dates, holidays & special occasions, and even business meetings revolve around food.

Today I watch students consume Hot Cheetos, processed meat and rancid orange juice with artificial ingredients, even though our school is right in the middle of some of the most fertile agricultural areas in the world.  I don't criticize anyone for their eating habits (to their face, usually), but I do wonder: why do any of us eat what we eat?  Because it tastes good?  Because we're used to it?  Because of our relationships with the people who make food for us?  Because we don't have enough money or enough freedom to make different choices?  Because it's the best fuel for energy or the healthiest nutrition?

What do you eat?  Why?

AGENDA:
*Minute of Mindfulness*
1. Journal
2. Tech Tuesday: Browsers & Search Engines
3. Writers' Conferences (continued)
4. Work on your posts in order to publish on time:

REMINDER:
Please bring a hard copy your updated résumé to class tomorrow (10/2).  This is the second-to-last time you will turn it in.  After you get it back next week, you will revise one more time (to make it perfect!) and then Cake Wednesdays will focus on cover letters, reference lists, interviews, scholarship searches, and college/university research.
POSTS:
1. [Due Today, 10/1] Write a response to the poem.  What was your first impression?  How did it make you feel?  Did anything about it bring your journal topic to mind?  (title: FIRST IMPRESSION OF A DREAM)

2. [Due Friday, 10/4] Memorize & recite the poem-- post the video on your blog (title: MY DREAM WITHIN A DREAM)

3. [Due Monday, 10/7] Once you have completed the essay we started last week, take a hack at the prompt below and post a first draft on your blog (title: HAWTHORNE & POE ON DREAMS)

Compare and contrast Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" with Poe's "Dream Within a Dream."  How do the authors use the idea of dreaming to make us think about what's real?  What elements do you see in both pieces, and how are they different?  Use what you know about literary style and techniques to support your answer.

september 30

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Dream Within a Dream" theme from the Inception Soundtrack by Hans Zimmer]

Describe a nightmare or a bad dream you had. (If you haven't had one, think of a fearful daydream.)  How did you know it wasn't real?

AGENDA:
*Mindfulness Monday*
1. Journal
2. A word about literature analysis
3. "Dream Within a Dream"
4. Writing/writers' conferences

POSTS:
1. Write a response to the poem.  What was your first impression?  How did it make you feel?  Did anything about it bring your journal topic to mind?  (title: FIRST IMPRESSION OF A DREAM)

2. Memorize & recite the poem-- post the video on your blog (title: MY DREAM WITHIN A DREAM)

3. Once you have completed the essay we started last week, take a hack at the prompt below and post a first draft on your blog (title: HAWTHORNE & POE ON DREAMS)

Compare and contrast Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" with Poe's "Dream Within a Dream."  How do the authors use the idea of dreaming to make us think about what's real?  What elements do you see in both pieces, and how are they different?  Use what you know about literary style and techniques to support your answer.

september 27

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Freedom of Choice" by Devo; "Freewill" by Rush]

At yesterday's meeting I listened to teachers discuss freedom.  One teacher asked, "Can freedom be given or does it have to be taken?"

What do you think?  Please support your answer with as many reasons as you can.

AGENDA:
*Minute of Mindfulness
1. Journal
2. PSAT Pre-Registration Locator Cards (P.2 only, don't let me forget!)
3. Freedom Friday: focus on yesterday's essay prompt & complete draft/publish to blog

• What's your point?
• Organizing your ideas?
• Diving in
• Proofreading

POST:
Before you leave, please make sure your draft essay is published and visible on your blog. 

september 26

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What do you really know about the current president of the United States?  What do you think of his policies and his leadership style?  Please support your main point/s with at least three factual events or evidence from primary sources.

AGENDA:
*Ms. Anderson is here today, so please be responsible for your mindfulness, your journal, and your essay.
Minute of Mindfulness
1. Journal
2. Work on your essay

POST:
Please post the rough draft of your essay on your blog (if it's not there already). (title: MY ESSAY ESSAY)

ygb essay

Thanks to everyone who posted their ideas about the essay on their blogs!

Here is a small sample:

I had to get creative in order to balance all of the feedback.  Here is what I came up with:

Young Goodman Brown goes for a walk.  Or does he?  All of the leaders in government and the church are in the night forest with the devil.  Or are they?  Brown's Faith and his faith are lost when his lovely young bride is just as much of an evil liar as anyone.  Or is she?

Whether this story is about a dream or a lived experience, the protagonist shows us how our beliefs -- which can take the shape of faith-- really are.  When he changes the way he sees the world, his world actually changes.

How does Hawthorne communicate this theme?  Please consider at least three of the following literary techniques in your answer: plot, tone, symbolism, foreshadowing, diction, syntax, and characterization.

Please post your rough draft on your blog today.  No matter how much (or little) you get done.  Mahalo.

september 25

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Each of us has to balance our desire for individuality and our desire to belong and fit in.  How do you balance these needs?  How do these needs influence your personal sense of style, your appearance, your budget, and other decisions you make?

AGENDA:
*Minute of Mindfulness
1. Journal
2. Cake Wednesday: review your résumés for active job/role descriptions
3. Cake Wednesday (part II): your TIP
4. The Promptless Essay: focusing on your thesis

POST:
What is the main point of your essay?  Is it easier to reflect on a story like "Young Goodman Brown" with a prompt or without one?  (title: MY THESIS STATEMENT)

september 24

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "You Can't Always Get What You Want" & "Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones]

Do we still want what we want by the time we get it?  Kids want to be older, adults want to be kids.  We want more independence, we want someone to take care of us.  Do you know what you want?  Does it feel good to get what you want?  Have we just gotten really good at wanting?  Give this your best thinking, to be continued in discussion tomorrow...

AGENDA:
*Minute of Mindfulness*
1. Journal
2. Techie Tuesday: password management
3. "Young Goodman Brown" -- ending and interpretations
4. Your YGB questions
5. "do. or do not. there is no essay."

POST:
Please reflect on the conversation we had today.  Do you read and/or discuss a text differently when the author is in the room?  Did you learn anything from talking/listening that you didn't get from reading?  (title: READ TALK UNDERSTAND) 

do. or do not. there is no essay.

Recently I asked 150 high school juniors in four separate classes to think of a word they associate with writing essays.  After giving them a couple minutes to think, I stood at the board and wrote down the words they called out.  Here are the lists:

As you can see, the students' feelings about writing essays were overwhelmingly negative.  I was struck by the patterns. "Stress" is on every list.  "Anger," "crying," and "dropout" showed up multiple times.  I tried to imagine what writing must be like for the student who contributed "shaking."  Shaking?  When I showed one of the lists to another teacher, he said, "What's wrong with those students?"

It was a loaded question.  Apart from the usual arguments about how adults stereotype those lazy, complaining teenagers, or how teachers often rush to defend a system that rewarded them with degrees and jobs but doesn't work the same for today's students, the question is really a symptom of our culture.  There is definitely something wrong here-- but why assume it's the students?  Especially when four different classes of 36+ students answered in the exact same ways?

september 23

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Some students have decided to stab themselves with sharp objects in sensitive areas (tongues, faces, belly buttons). Why? What does this symbolize to you?  What do you think they intended it to symbolize?


AGENDA:
*Mindfulness Monday*
1. Journal
2. What happened in the woods?  And... will you be taking a test on "Young Goodman Brown" or can you share your thinking in more productive ways?
3. We write to create value through shared understanding

POST:
Why do you think Hawthorne wrote "Young Goodman Brown"?  Why do you think Stephen King was so affected by the story?  What does it say about what we can really know about other people and the power of our imaginations?  (title: YOUNG OLD GOOD BAD)

READ:
"Do. Or Do Not. There is no Essay."  (The author will be asking you questions about this in class on Tuesday.)

september 20

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Are You Real" by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers]

This week we talked about how we see reality and distinguish it from dreaming.  As you think about characters in stories and people you know, what gives you the sense that someone is real?  Why do you think the phrase "keeping it real" became popular?  What does the word "real" mean when we use it to describe how people act in their communication/relationships with others?

AGENDA:
*Minute of Mindfulness
1. Journal
2. Vocab test
3. Tie up loose ends from the week and the first progress reporting period

does your blog work?

When was the last time you looked at your own blog?  Does it look like you want it to?  Do the widgets and videos work?  I just clicked on a few that don't function; please double check so that I can give you credit where it's due!  Mahalo.

progress report questions

If you were absent yesterday (Wednesday), please answer these questions on a piece of paper-- please remember to put your name on it!-- and turn it in today.  Mahalo.

do you have what you need for tomorrow's test?

Do you know all the lit terms on our list?  All twelve?  Can you name them without looking?  Does someone need to shout from the rooftops, "HEY YOU NEED TO MEMORIZE THE TWELVE LIT TERMS AND THEIR DEFINITIONS AND RECOGNIZE THE THING WHEN YOU SEE IT!!!"  Would that help?

Or would it be more fun to play a game? 

Yes, a game I think
Today you'll get a nudge
Or a wink
I'll ask you a question
If you're not sure you can ask
one friend for one suggestion
And then I'll say,
"What is it?"

If you reward the purpose of my visit
With an answer correct
You'll get to select
One lit term to delete from the test.

On the other hand, fair is fair
If you blow it, if you err
I will add FIVE more words
from the other lists.

Have a nice day.

september 19

JOURNAL TOPIC: ["Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett; "Strength, Courage & Wisdom" by India Arie]

Former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden observed, "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."  Briefly describe your character and your reputation.  What differences do you see between the two?

AGENDA:
*Minute of Mindfulness
1. Journal
2. Thoughtful Thursday: finding a mentor and recruiting your tribe
3. "Young Goodman Brown"
4. Characterization (indirect v. direct, static v. dynamic)
5. Plot
6. Reminder: Time Investment Portfolio

HW:
1. Read 20-30 minutes in your literature analysis book (if you've already finished it, do this from memory) and post to your blog about it with at least one observation about theme, tone, plot, diction, syntax, or characterization
2. Update your Time Investment Portfolio: how many hours each day are you selling, giving, spending, and passing?

food justice

When I moved to this area and realized our community is surrounded by some of the most productive, beautiful ranches and farmland in the world, the first question I asked was: "Why do the schools feed students packaged, processed nastiness?"

Now Miriam and her colleagues are asking the same.  Please visit tinyurl.com/FoodJusticeSM to complete their online survey (preview below) and contribute your voice to the conversation.

goalllll

"Why bother creating our own goals," a student asked me once, "when we're already told what it means to succeed in school?  Aren't we just supposed to get A's?"

Being able to set and achieve goals is important in every endeavor: sports, organizations, self-improvement, emptying the dishwasher before your mother gets home.  Even though they know their roles and agree on the idea of winning, for example, Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski requires his players to set goals for themselves and the team each season.  In Coach K's words, “Mutual commitment helps overcome the fear of failure—especially when people are part of a team sharing and achieving goals. It also sets the stage for open dialogue and honest conversation.”

When you share your goals you're sharing ideas that inform and inspire your colleagues.  These goals will form the basis for your Learning Plan for the rest of the year, so please don't delay: get the job done. 

Keep something else in mind.  Unlike players on a basketball team, you are being allowed, encouraged, and required to change the game itself.  Why not analyze a political argument by comparing it with your favorite book or movie?  If you zone out and watch somebody's cat on YouTube for a while, fine.  And then think about how to demonstrate what you just experienced in your mind in such a way that it will help us.  What's that?  You'd rather build a robotic cat that writes, reads, interprets, and explains political arguments to irritating teacher types?  Cool.  You can do that too.

If you are still thinking of this as a high school course to be gamed, please immediately find your closest friend and ask her to roll up a newspaper and smack you on the nose with it.*  (*If this doesn't work the first time, ask a friend who reads the newspaper on a computer.**) [**In this day and age, I should probably point out that this is not a literal instruction. Hands are not for hitting. Baseball bats are, but that isn't really relevant or appropriate here and now I find myself wondering how Montaigne ever righted the thinking ship once he got off on one of these tangents.] If you're one of those people who cut corners and thought we didn't notice, she will be doing you a favor.  It's better that you get your act together in private before we get started, before everyone sees what you do all the time, before 70% of your course grade is determined by your learning network.  Yep.  That's right.  You won't succeed without them.

The first month was rehearsal.  This is showtime.

More on how to achieve your goals and develop your community of critique tomorrow. 

because vocab II

Huh.

I was thinking about strategies for remembering this material for Friday's test.   My first idea won't work. Our Lit Terms make a horrible acrostic puzzle.  Look:

Alliteration
Allusion
Anthropomorphism
Characterization
Connotation
Denotation
Diction
Myth
Personification
Symbolism
Theme
Tone

I mean... AAACCDDMPSTT?  What is that? 

Then I remembered there is an easier way to do this.  Create a mnemonic device out of the first letter in each word.  Look:

Amusing

Aunt

Antihero
Clever

Cheese
Dumb and
Dumber
Meerkat

Plain
Stupid

Toy

Train

You'll need to know these twelve terms and their definitions on Friday, when you will be asked to respond to this prompt: "Please list and define the twelve literature terms we have studied so far."

Please comment to this post if this study strategy helps you-- or, even better, please comment if you invent a strategy that helps you more!

september 18

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Make a plan.  What will you do in this class over the next grading period?  What's your goal?

AGENDA:
*Minute of Mindfulness
1. Journal
2. Progress report questionnaire
3. Setting a goal
4. Return/review your résumés
5. TIP: Actual vs. Ideal

POST:
How can understanding your time use help you improve the decisions you make about how to use your time?  (title: HAVING THE TIME OF MY LIFE)

counseling grade level parent mtgs

because vocab

If it's an A you seek
this week
You'll need to become a vocab freak
So you'll make more sense
When you speak.
For starters,
if you're going to avoid confusion,
You must master the art of allusion.

september 17

JOURNAL TOPIC: ["Walking in L.A." by Missing Persons; "Walk on the Wild Side" by Lou Reed; "Walk On" by U2]

Taking a walk.  It seems like such a simple, normal, everyday (dare I say banal?) thing to do.  But in stories it can take on all the meaning of our inner feelings and perceptions.  A walk can be a head-clearing, healthy thing; it can also be an act of rebellion.  The way we walk, the time of day we walk, the contexts we walk in and out of, they all become important when we're trying to get a message across.  Think about your walking life.  Describe a walk you took that was important to you.  If you can't think of one, then describe your walk to this class in as much detail as you can remember.  If you can't remember detail, first ask yourself why the &*!! not (it was only two minutes ago!) and then reinvent your walk as a fictional vignette.

AGENDA:
*Minute of Mindfulness
1. Journal
2. Techie Tuesday: focus on email
3. "Young Goodman Brown"

POST:
Given our conversation about email, how will you select the most appropriate channel/s for your communication?  (title: THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE)

this just in

This just in from Cece:

september 16

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Alive" by Pearl Jam]

What makes you feel ALIVE?  Not just like you're functioning, not just surviving, but really, truly ALIVE?  (My inner surfer might call this "stoked.")  Describe a moment that you conquered a fear, did something that made you feel triumphant, or experienced anything else that shocked you into an awareness or a feeling of being totally ALIVE.  It can be as simple as a dunk in freezing cold water, or realizing you walked into a room for something and totally forgot why.

AGENDA:
[Happy Mindfulness Monday-- take the time you need]

1. Journal
2. Work on your Literature Analysis (due Friday)
3. Begin reading "Young Goodman Brown" & track vocabulary

POST:
First impressions of "Young Goodman Brown" (title: SO THIS GUY GOES FOR A WALK...)

how is your first literature analysis coming along?

Seeing this guy made me wonder whether you're reading this weekend.  Please remember that your first literature analysis is due on your blog this coming Friday, September 20.  Enjoy what remains of the weekend!

your new hero

Thank you to Miriam, who has posted a list of all the blog posts so far!  You can see them HERE.

september 13

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Don't You Remember" by Adele; "Memory" by Barbra Streisand]

When we read we make connections between the text and what we already know.  Sometimes we find ourselves surprised when a book calls to mind an old memory we haven't thought about in a long time.  What are your earliest memories?  What makes some things impossible to remember and other things impossible to forget?

AGENDA:
*Moment of Mindfulness (& mindfully turn in your resume)
1. Journal
2. Affirm or revise weekly schedule
3. Take full advantage of Freedom Friday: this is your last opportunity in class to catch up before the end of the grading period

POST:
Describe something you've done really well in this course.  Find at least one thing that makes you proud as you look back. (title: FOR THE WIN)

what's with all the books?

This morning I watched students walk into class carrying stacks of textbooks.  "My teachers told us to bring them all today," one student said, "but it's not like we're gonna use 'em, so I don't get the point."

Once a year, auditors visit our campus to make sure SMHS is complying with the Williams Consent Decree.  Long story short, this is designed to ensure that every student has access to instructional materials and that there is a published/posted complaint process in case students' basic needs (instructional materials, clean/functioning facilities, properly assigned teachers, etc.) aren't being met.

Today the auditors will make their annual visit.  They'll check the posters on the walls, and they'll look to see whether every student has access to a book.  If they ask you anything about the books, tell them the truth. 

september 12

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Dream On" by Aerosmith; "Right Now" by Van Halen]

Time to get stoked.  Imagine that you have the magic wand. You get to do or be anything you want to do, and all you have to do is make up your mind that nothing will stop you.

["WAIT!"  they're saying.  "We've heard all this crap from motivational speakers!  We've seen the posters in the halls!  It's bu$%&$t!"]

Try this: What are you willing to sacrifice to get what you want?  What do you want that badly?  Does anything matter that much to you?  What might matter that much?

Here's another way to think of it.  If you do everything you can, success isn't guaranteed.  But if you don't do everything you can, failure is.   

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. From brag sheet to resume
3. Designing your life to support your Big Question/s
4. Your Time Investment Portfolio

POST:
What are your dominant time allocations?  How do your habits in time support your goals? (title: I AIN'T GOT TIME FOR THIS)

REMINDER:
Please bring your typed, hard copy résumé draft to class tomorrow.  Mahalo.

september 11

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" and "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" by Bob Dylan]

Describe a moment when something unexpected happened and you learned from it.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Brag sheet/résumé

HW:
Finish editing your résumé and bring in your updated draft (hard copy) to turn in this Friday, September 13.

vaping & health risks

Normally I avoid giving direct advice.  I'd rather create safe spaces for exploratory conversations and disagreements so that learners can gather, share, and evaluate information for the purpose of making well-informed choices.

But every once in a while, an issue is so obviously destructive and urgent that it demands a different approach.  According to CNN, an ongoing investigation into vaping has revealed more than 450 possible cases of lung illness (read the full article HERE).

If someone you care about vapes, smack the pipe out of their hands and step on it.  Hard.* (*This is a metaphor.  Use the communication skills you're developing in this course to find a more diplomatic way to share your feelings and beg them to stop.)  Then help that person regain their health by exercising, eating better, and getting regular sleep.  And let's hope no one else dies from this unbelievably stupid practice.

our minute of mindfulness

Per yesterday's conversation:

september 10

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Which would you prefer: a minor role in a great [movie/university/team/organization] or a major role in a mediocre one? Why? Explain.

AGENDA:
* Minute of Mindfulness
1. Journal
2. Techie Tuesday: why you may as well post your texts on a billboard
3. "The Earth on Turtle's Back"

HW:
1. Publish your first impressions of "The Earth on Turtle's Back" (title: THE EARTH ON TURTLE'S BACK)
2. If you've ever created a résumé or a brag sheet, please bring it tomorrow.  If you've never done this, please make a list of all the accomplishments/awards/courses/volunteer experiences/jobs/skills that have ever made you proud of yourself (or you think might impress someone else), and bring that with you tomorrow.

NOTE:
If anyone is planning on bringing something for Cake Wednesday, please let me know. Mahalo. -dp

free online courses

Have you ever wished that you could take the best courses, from the best university professors, online and in the comfort of your own home -- without PAYING A DIME?

Wish granted.  Here is the link:
http://www.openculture.com/2019/09/3700-moocs-massive-open-online-courses-getting-started-in-september-enroll-today.html

september 9

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Lo Que Dice" by Ozomatli; "Words (Between the Lines of Age)" by Neil Young]

Adults say it to toddlers all the time: "Use your words."  What do you mean, my words?  We know that fiction authors use dialogue for the purpose of indirect characterization-- as you write the story of your life each day, how do the words you choose create an impression of who you are?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
**Introduction to mindfulness
2. Setting ourselves up for success: habits, practices, & calendars
3. Literature Analysis #1 is due on Friday, September 20

HW:
1. Post your ideas from today's class (title: TODAY I WAS THINKING)
2. Continue reading your Literature Analysis book and begin answering the questions as soon as you're ready
3. Bring brag sheet or résumé on Wednesday

september 6

Reminder: today we are testing.  Instructions in separate post below.

If you finish your test early, please see journal/agenda info below.

Mahalo.

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "The Bug" by Dire Straits (if we're still testing toward the end of the period, feel free to search this song on your own device.)]

Tell the story of a bug getting mashed on the windshield of a truck driving down the 101. You may tell the story from the point of view of the bug, the windshield, the driver, or an omniscient third person. (Choose with an idea in mind.)

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Catch up on any old posts or journal topics

3. Spend some time on your blog design

testing instructions

1. Go to the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District website: http://www.smjuhsd.k12.ca.us

2.

 3.

 

4.

 

5.

academic awards

 

after school tutoring info

what's wrong with this picture?

(Spoiler: there is only one restroom pass.  If you are the person who forgot to bring it back yesterday, please do so today and put it back where it belongs. No questions asked. Mahalo.)

september 5

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Everyday I Write the Book" by Elvis Costello & The Attractions]

Describe a moment from your day as if it were a scene in a movie or television show.  What happened?  When/where did it happen?  Who was present?  What did you/they say?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Now that you have a CC license on your blog, let's talk about what you're licensing/protecting
3. Building the perfect beast: from words to sentences to paragraphs...

POST:
Choose one of your blog posts, or start a new one.  In an introductory sentence, explain to your reader that today you are writing with the intention of being understood.  Then, care about every word with your purpose in mind: make yourself understood.  See if your revision or new post does the job more effectively.  Did you get feedback from others?  How do you feel about your writing today? (title: I CARE ABOUT YOUR UNDERSTANDING)

september 4

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: radio silence]

What song do you sing when there's nothing on the radio? What thoughts do you think when it's quiet and you have the chance to think about whatever you want?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Put a Creative Commons license on your blog
3. Reflecting on the experience of writing an essay

HW:
Publish a post to your blog on the experience of writing an essay (title: THE MAKING OF AN ESSAY) -- how has this experience worked for you in the past?  Did you learn anything today that might make the experience different/better in the future?  Please explain your answer.

senate poll results

psat

The PSAT will be administered on October 16.  Have you signed up yet?  Why NOT?

who should be our senator?

This poll will close at 5 PM today. Please vote. :)

september 3 update

Thanks to period 2 for helping me with today's agenda.

Since we're watching "Everything is a Remix," please post your notes to your blog (title: EVERYTHING IS A REMIX).  You can add to them as we finish the video and discuss tomorrow.

cash and prizes

I finally remembered to bring both.  Don't let me forget, Emma!

request for input

Hi all, I have a confession to make.  I'm not that excited about today's agenda.  The concept is hugely important, and Orwell's essay is one of the best on the subject, but...

I don't know.  Maybe it's just the feeling of coming back from a long weekend.

The other big thing on my mind is fair use on the internet and the idea of the remix.  (You can see an old post with the videos I use to teach the idea HERE.)  These concepts are also extremely important for us, because they give us new ways to learn and share what we know.  Understanding fair use also helps us establish ourselves as knowledgeable digital citizens (translated: no one on the internet who sees your respect for legally protected original content will think of you as a lying, cheating, stealing douche bag, which means they will be less likely to sue you, charge you with a crime, or sabotage your good name on social media).

I'm leaning toward hijacking my own agenda, starting the week with this, and then using it to remix Orwell's essay.  Please let me know what you think in class, or comment to this post.

september 3

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Smile Away" by Paul McCartney; "The Shadow of Your Smile" by Marvin Gaye]

Where do smiles come from?


AGENDA:
1. Journal/ A mindful moment
2. Bad language
3. George Orwell's "Politics & The English Language"
4. Let 'em eat cake

HW:
1. Continue your literature analysis work (this is going to be an always thing, and not always posted)
2. Response to reading on your blog (title: BIG BROTHER'S FIRST IMPRESSION)
3. Vocab... honestly
4. Review at least three of your colleagues' blogs and comment with feedback and/or questions