Things Fall Apart - Abraham and Isaac

On Tuesday / Wednesday in class we read the Biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, specifically the moment when God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son.

You can find the text of it by clicking here.

As we read the story, we identified "gaps" in it - places where we have questions or things are not explicitly named.  For example, what happens during the three days of their travel before the moment of the sacrifice, or what happens in the immediate aftermath between father and son.

We then turned to the parallel scene in the novel - the one in which Ikemefuna is killed. Okonkwo is told not to play a role in the murder, but ends up doing so as he is "dazed with fear."

One conclusion we reached was about how Okonkwo put personal concerns over his faith in the ways of the Ibo and specifically ignored what he was supposed to do (he also did this when he violated the Week of Peace), while Abraham puts the commandment of God above his own feelings.

Things Fall Apart - Rituals and Traditions

Today we wrote about traditions and rituals. We first discussed the difference between them, then shared personal examples of either a tradition or ritual that is a part of our lives.  This lead to a conversation about why we have rituals and traditions, and then what we have learned about the Ibo based on their rituals and traditions we've read about in the first six chapters.

Here is today's video:

Things Fall Apart - Detail / Structure / Philosophy

Our work today focused on using three lenses as a vehicle for close reading of the novel: Detail / Structure / Philosophy.

We read the passage from the bottom of page 5 to the end of page 7, then focused on the phrase "He who brings kola brings life."  This was the detail we examined - what does that phrase mean - what are the specific terms - what is happening in this moment.

Next we looked at the structure of this sequence - why do the events in this passage happen in this sequence? Why does the kola nut ceremony happen in this order? Why does Okoye wait until later to ask for the money Unoka owes him?

Lastly we looked at philosophy - an idea implied / suggested by the passage, but not specifically named.  I asked you to consider "respect" here. Your answers named respect in terms of the relationship between these two men, a respect for the gods and ancestors, and an earned respect that comes from taking on the Idemili title.

You then worked in groups to examine chapters 2-4 to name your own sequence of detail / structure / philosophy to share with the class.

Things Fall Apart - Proverbs and Cultural Knowledge

In class to day we started by looking at this handout about proverbs.  We used the first page as a sort of quiz - to see if anyone in the class knew all 25 proverbs.  On the second page there is a list of paired proverbs - ones that seem to contradict each other.  We discussed the nature of proverbs - where they come from, who believes them - then came up with a list of some other ones we know and use.  I then asked you to work with a partner to find a proverb from the first two chapters of the novel, to explain what it means, and to think about what it tells us about the Ibo people.

We then talked about cultural knowledge.  For every text we read - a new video game, a sport, a movie, a book, etc. - we always have to figure out what is "true" in that world.  What are the rules? What are the expectations? What are the ways people act towards each others? What are their beliefs?  We then again looked at the first two chapters to identify places where there are things specific to this culture that we do not yet understand.  For example, we talked about the ceremony of the kola nut.  To add to this, I played this video featuring some music played on the ogene, like Unoka enjoyed:

Things Fall Apart - Introduction

Today we started our work with the next novel we are reading - Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart.

To find the calendar for your class, or to see the description of the journal assignment, click the corresponding links under the "Things Fall Apart" tab above.

I introduced the novel today by showing you the first 20 minutes of the film, The Gods Must Be Crazy.  If you missed it, or want to re-watch it, or even watch the entire film, I've posted it below.

Happy writing!

Greetings!

Sorry I will not be with you today. I'd love to be there with you to talk about Duke's victory over Wisconsin last night or, even more importantly, your essays.

Today and tomorrow are work days.  I posted the themes from our class discussion in the previous post, or you can find them here.

If  you need information about the different types of essays, you can click here.

Remember, the essay / project is due Monday at 11:59 p.m.

Good luck with it!

The God of Small Things - Themes to consider

Here is a list of potential themes for you to work with for your essay / project

The God of Small Things - Putting the pieces together

Greetings!
Welcome back from Thanksgiving break! I hope it was restful and filled with the kind of things you enjoy and are thankful for!

As we move towards the end of the book in the next few days, I wanted to remind you of the many different things (see how I keep using "things"?) we've done with the novel so far:

• First meeting with small group - basic timelines
• Writing #1 - focus on repeated words / phrases
• Group work - visual cluster of information
• In-class reading days - written updates
• Writing #2 - climactic moment - see / think / wonder
• In-class writing about themes - naming a theme by taking a general idea and adding a specific point suggested by the novel.  We shared these aloud in class.
• Video about Untouchables and discussion about the role they play (especially Velutha) in the novel.
• Creating pictures to show the same event as seen from different perspectives

The God of Small Things - Clustering Ideas

Here is the worksheet for today's group work

Here is a sample - one I made using Lucidchart:
(and click here for basic directions on how to do this on your own!)

The God of Small Things - Naming and detecting themes

We started today by discussing a basic formula for naming and exploring a theme in a work of literature:

1. Name a general concept, for example:
1. love
2. truth
3. justice
4. power
5. childhood
6. history
7. faith
8. beliefs
9. family
10. prejudice
11. healthy relationships
2. Add a statement about what the book shows about this theme
3. Add an example from the book to illustrate your point

Individually you wrote potential themes - we shared these as a large group - then you got into your small groups for the rest of the period.  You then followed these steps;

1. Shared your potential theme statements
2. Chose one to work with today
3. Discussed the ways in which it applies to chapters 9 and 10
4. Wrote your journal entry about it!

The God of Small Things - Seeing from different persepctives; Untouchables

In class today you worked in groups to select a scene from either chapter 6 or 8 - a scene showing the same event from different perspectives. Remember we first discussed this in relation to the start of chapter 4 when Esta comes out of the bathroom and Ammu rubs his head - for her it is a sign of love, for him it is a frustration because she messed up his Elvis puff.  For today's work, you'll find a moment that functions in the same way and then illustrate it.

We'll then look at chapter 8 together, focusing on the arrival of the family at the house, especially the encounter between Rahel and Velutha on page 168.  We'll pause to watch this video, which provides us with helpful background information on Paravans - Untouchables.  Velutha was first introduced to us earlier in the book - I recommend re-reading pages 70-78 to remind yourself of some valuable information about him.

The God of Small Things - Language and Meaning

This week we've been looking at the ways in which Arundhati Roy uses language in new and innovative ways to tell the story.  In addition to the similes we discussed in chapter one, we now add an awareness of repeated words and phrases.  We focused on a few - ones used to describe certain characters.  Esta's "Elvis puff" and Rahel's "fountain in a Love-in-Tokyo" appear at different times in the narrative as key physical details. However other phrases, like Esta repeating "dum dum" (from the Popeye theme song) or "loved a little less" as Ammu shouts to Rahel, take on other layers of potential meaning.  By now the structure of the narrative and basic relationships should be clear, and an understanding of the stories and motivations behind each character should be developing.  As recent chapters have included the arrival of Sophie Mol - a 9 year-old character we know will die - as well as the introduction of other characters whose role is increasing - Velutha - we see the action and tension building.  Enjoy reading!

TGST - chapters 1-4

Here is a basic family tree:

Hamlet Buzzfeed quiz goes viral

Click here to take Sarah's Buzzfeed quiz - it is going viral - 150K+ views!!

The God of Small Things - small groups day 1

Today you will work in a small group - you will stay with this group throughout the unit.

Here is the handout describing your work for today.

Here is the handout about similes

The God of Small Things

We'll be starting our next book - our first novel - this week.
The first homework in it is tonight - be sure to check out the "TGST" tab above for a link to your calendar for this unit.

Hamlet - another perspective

Today in class we listened to this radio broadcast:

I hope you found this look at the play from a perspective rather different from your own to be helpful in pushing your own thinking.

Conclusions about Hamlet

To start off this final week of Hamlet I gave you this set of questions about the play.  Our discussion covered a wide range of ideas, including why Fortinbras and Horatio are the ones left standing at the end of the play.  What conclusions does that suggest?  We also talked about the ways in which Hamlet himself changed, and whether the way he behaves in Act V shows a progression or not.
What do you think?

The essays and projects for Hamlet are due Monday, Nov. 3 at 11:59 p.m.  Late work will start to incur a penalty just after that.

Please contact me if you want to arrange a time to meet to discuss your work!

Hamlet's soliloquies - Approaching conclusions

Please click here for the plan for today

Hamlet - Act 4 - Motives, Money, Murder, Madness

In last week's look at Act 3 we saw Hamlet confirm Claudius as the killer of his father, but decide not to kill him yet, preferring to do so when he is in the act of committing a sin or crime. Later, in a conversation with his mother Hamlet stabs Polonius, thinking it was the king.

In the first two days of this week we watched Act 4. Hamlet is sent off to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, along with a sealed letter in which Claudius asks for him to be killed. Along the way he comes across the armies of Fortinbras, leading to the soliloquy in scene 4:



We then raised questions about Ophelia - what is the nature of her madness and the reasons for her death? Was it a suicide?  Why is it reported to us by Gertrude?

Also, why might it be that Hamlet does not appear in these scenes - what is the effect of Shakespeare shifting the focus to other characters: Ophelia, Laertes, Claudius, and Gertrude?

Hamlet - Act 3 and Journal Entries Reminder

This week our work with Hamlet included:

• Watching 2.1 - 3.1 of the film in E116
• Writing our own version of Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy, transplanting a line from it to create something new
• Creating a rebus version of Claudius's speech in 3.1 following these directions:
  

Also, please remember to be writing your journal responses. The requirement is one per act. Use your journal as an opportunity to explore ideas. You could continue to write about ideas we raise in class, to ask and answer questions about parts of the text we have not covered, to make connections to personal or other issues, or to generate a creative response to characters and / or actions and / or concerns in the text.  Each entry should be about a page long, and must include text. Writing about it while it is fresh in your mind will be helpful when it comes time for your essay / project!

Hamlet - Act 2

We started our day with a discussion of our favorite movies and the best scenes from them. Why? Because in Act 2, scene 2 the Players appeared, sharing a performance of one of Hamlet's favorite scenes. Soon this becomes much more than just something to watch and enjoy as it serves as inspiration for an idea, the means to an end.  For the next two days we'll be watching the film version of it in E116.

In class we made a list of the 8+ events in act 2, scene 2 - be sure you are keeping track of these. Any one of them may be an inspiration for a journal response!

Watching Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet

Today in class we watched Act I of Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet.  Here is Hamlet's fist soliloquy:

Our first look at Hamlet

Last week to introduce Hamlet you each received a line from the play to use in a series of acting activites.

After that we discussed ghosts and shared ghost stories.  Why?  Because this play starts with a ghost.

Over the weekend you read scenes one and two from act one.

Although I did hand out paper calendars today, it is available to you under the Hamlet tab above.

Be sure to note which days our class meets in E116.

A day of discussing college essays

Today we talked about college essays - the ones you are writing, what makes a good one, and what makes a bad one. You pretended you were an admissions committee and I gave you four essays to read and decide - who is accepted / deferred / rejected.

Here is a link to them if you want to read them again.  And here's the additional one.

Here is a link to an important article about college admissions published this week.

Antigone - Preparation for Final Discussion and Essay

Here is the link to the document we will use today

Antigone - Essay assignment

This week we will work together as a class to explore Antigone. Then it is your turn to create your own analysis of it in your first major assignment.

I went over the "Notes on Essay Options" as well as the grading system for this class, both of which you can find on the blog under the "General Handouts" tab.

As our discussions more forward this week, work to develop a sense of what you want to say about this play - keep track of that in your notes an journal entries.

Antigone - competing values

During our discussion of the opening dialogue of Antigone I asked you to identify two things:

• Reasons Antigone gives for her decision (to bury Polyneices, against the ruling of Creon)
• Reasons provided by Ismene, or Antigone herself, for why she should not

We titled this "competing values."

We will keep an eye on how this plays out, affecting both her and those around her.

Sample explications of Oedipus

Here are two effective and well-crafted explications of Oedipus, written by your classmates.  Think about both what they do well and what else they would need to be complete.

1- As Oedipus grows more paranoid and convinced of Creon's guilt, Creon decides to utilize logic in order to prove his innocence.  As third in power, a fact Oedipus agrees upon, Creon has the money, power, and respect a king could ever want or need. However, he has no responsibilities, obligations, limitations, or fears. Creon logically shows Oedipus how he is "carefree" with all he meets, with people who "wish [him] well and greet [him] kindly." Almost incredulously, Creon asks Oedipus, "So why should I give up one life for the other?" He explains there would be no sense in being treasonous if he already has "the power and the influence without the trouble." By posing these questions, Creon is forcing Oedipus to acknowledge Creon's lack of motivation for treason or murder. Creon is meticulous as he makes his argument, and does so slowly so as not to provoke the increasingly paranoid Oedipus.

2- Jocasta is talking to Oedipus, explaining that Teiresias cannot be truthful in his claims because no person has the "art" of prophecy. She feels prophecy is an art form, giving it a majestic quality, seeing it as an inhumane action that is not guaranteed.  The phrase "so much for oracles which map our future" exudes a slightly mocking tone to express her disbelief in prophesying. Her phrase "Listen, and learn from me" exudes a nurturing, motherly tone, possibly a foreshadowing of revelations to come.  With words like "fear" and "haunted," Jocasta expresses the horrifying power of prophecies, an interesting choice of words for someone who claims they don't believe in them.

Our week with Oedipus

As we read Oedipus this week we focused on the ways in which the language of the play conveyed both character development and a look at themes and questions.  In group work at the end of this week you focused on identifying key lines, moment when characters change, and point where Sophocles introduces big questions into the play.

You have also been writing explications, short and specific looks at lines you selected from the play.

On Monday we will have our final discussion about the play.  That night you will write a final explication, returning to earlier parts of the play as you bring your overall ideas about it together in a short analysis.

Sharing and re-looking at books from your childhood

Yesterday I read Green Eggs and Ham to you to kick off our year. Today, you each brought in a book or story from your childhood and then shared it with the class.

We also talked about what it means to re-look at a book (text) and the ways in which who we are as a person impacts who we are as a reader.

For Tuesday you will write a short essay reflecting on the book / story you brought in to class.

Here is a link to the assignment.

Welcome to the start of the 2014-2015 school year!

Greetings!

Welcome to the start of senior year! I'm looking forward to the chance to meet and get to know you. Get ready for a fantastic and meaningful year, full of opportunities to improve your writing, challenge your thinking, and prepare for life beyond Deerfield High School!

Philosophy Project - Final Work Day

So here it is - your final day of in-class time to work on the Philosophy project.

I do not have anything new to add here that hasn't been said before.

You have all been working so hard for these past few weeks.
I hope the journey has been rewarding in many ways.

Your essay is due Monday night by midnight.
We will not have time in class Monday to work on it.
Please be sure to put all of the parts into one document, and then double-check that everything is there before you upload it.
Late work, for any reason, means you will take the final.

Next week we'll return to our classroom for some time together, including some fun, a chance to say thank you to people important to you, and an opportunity to bring some closure to our community.

I wish you all deep thoughts and the energy to express them clearly!
I can't wait to read your work!

Philosophy Project - Thoughts Towards Part 5

Greetings!

When I checked in with most of you yesterday, the buzz of activity was a positive one, with lots of people moving towards part 5.  Here are a few thoughts and suggestions for those of you getting into that part:

• This section synthesizes your original ideas with those of a literary text, a philosopher, and a peer.  You may address each of these sources in a separate paragraph, or organize this section by ideas / questions, or whatever other structure works for you.
• The goal of this section is to name how you are now answering your question. It may be that you have a definitive answer, or new questions, or more confusion, or anywhere in between - all of these, of course, are acceptable responses.
• You do not need new evidence in this section, but you may include some if that works for you. All of the previous evidence you quoted is considered part of the paper at this point, and you may refer to it as much as you need. You do not need to re-quote it.
• You are writing in the first person - this is all about the "I" voice.  Therefore, you may also want to speak about the process - which steps were most helpful to you, and why? Which ones were the most challenging? Which ones made you see different perspectives on your question?

As always, I am happy to conference with you about this or any other section of your essay.  Happy writing!

Philosophy Project - Setting Up the Final Week

Happy Monday!

Here we go - a busy week ahead, but entirely do-able with good planning.  I'll try to check in with each of you today and tomorrow to help out with whatever pieces are remaining.

You should be well on your way with sections 1-4 by now, and have a sense of how part 5 will start to take shape.

Stay the course! Finish strong!

Philosophy Project - Peer Dialogues

It's dialogue time!

For section 4 of your project, you will engage in a written or typed dialogue with a peer about your topic. The concept here is the idea that it’s important not only to have the courage of your convictions, but also the strength to have them challenged.

The two roles here are the “writer” and “responder.”

Here is the structure for today:

• Open a new Google Document. Create a name for it (“philosophy dialogue” perhaps) and share it with the person / people you will be working with today.
• I think it will also be helpful at this point to decide on a color or font for each person to use, so you can distinguish the different voices.
• Write an “opening statement.” This paragraph needs to include both your question and a general sense of how you are answering it at this point.
• Responder reads this statement and writes a paragraph that includes their answer to the question and reasons / justifications for it. 
•  Then, the responder will ask a question, trying to dig deeper into the beliefs of the writer. The responder may, but it not required, to use one of the following questions we've previously used to expand / focus philosophical questions:
• What are its assumptions and premises?
• What are its implications?
• What different types or contexts exist?
• When does / doesn’t it work?
• What do the specific terms mean?
• What are the reasons underlying the questions / answers?
• Who else shares this belief or perspective, and why?
• Writer now responds to this question with a combination of ideas, reasons, explanations, and examples. This should conclude with a question back to the responder.
• Dialogue continues this way for the rest of the period. 
• Both sides are encouraged to challenge the ideas and beliefs of the other person. The idea behind that is to push the writer’s thinking, to consider new possibilities, and to potentially reach new conclusions. 
• Feel free to add in personal stories or make up hypothetical situations ("would your beliefs hold true if...") - philosophy is always at its best and most challenging when it has to be specific and not just theoretical.
• You will be turning in this dialogue as is - the reflection on it will come in Part 5 as you link all of the sections together. Don't worry about the grade here - just have an authentic dialogue for the whole period.
• ** There are two ways to do this:
• Have both dialogues at the same time. 
• Do one dialogue at a time, spending roughly 25 minutes on each one
• Enjoy the opportunity to have a powerful, deep conversation!

Philosophy Project - You're Such a Character!

Today's goal focuses on identifying the piece(s) of literature you will use for section 2 of your project. All year we've raised philosophical questions about the characters in the plays, novels, and books we've read: What motivates them? Why do they do what they do? How are they shaped / changed? How do they shape / change others? And many more.

Your goal is to identify a character who speaks to your question in some way. It may not be a direct connection, and it may be that the character completely disagrees with your perspective on the issue. In any case, their experiences and actions and thoughts will be a different lens for you to use to explore your question. Think of the ways in which your question appears in the text and how it is similar to or different from what you've already named.

In this section you will walk your reader through the text, closely examining various parts of the story and linking it back to your question. Note that you may find it useful to use a variety of characters from one text to get to your point. Also, many people who have worked on this project in my previous classes have found it to be helpful to compare / contrast characters from two or more texts in order to give a more complete look at the issue.

Feel free to return to your previous essays and writings to help you with this section.

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By today you should have a good sense of the variety of ideas, issues, and sub-questions involved in answering your question. This will help you to break it down into pieces to write about in each section, and help you to organize them into a clear flow of ideas.

For tomorrow, the flow will be a little different as we engage in written partner dialogues. These will take the entire period - and will complete that section of your assignment - so do not plan on having other writing time during class tomorrow.

Philosophy Project - Lots of Resources for Section 3

Good morning!

The step of finding which philosopher you want to work with can be a challenge. However, once you learn to use the resources I've placed here, things should move along much more efficiently.

• Step 1 - Use the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy or the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy to read about what different philosopher have said about your subject.
• The key to making this a success is using the right "key words." You may find something right away with your original search terms. If not, read the articles and keep track of the words they are using to discuss the issue. Words like "metaphysics" or "epistemology" might not be the first ones you tried, but they may yield significantly better results!
• Step 2 - Find the actual text, including which section of it is relevant to your question. Under the "Resources" tab, I added a list of links to the philosophical texts I think will be used most often for this project. Also, on the right hand side, I added in a link to the Liberty Fund's Online Library - there are links there to just about any text you need.

Once you find the text, read it carefully - spend time with it - listen to what it has to say and how it makes its argument. Maybe it is totally different from the way you thought about these issues and opens up new possibilities for you. Maybe you completely disagree with it. There are many possibilities.

Your goal with section 3 is to bring the voice of your chosen philosopher(s) into your project. You are explaining and clarifying their ideas - summarizing the key points, showing the different parts of their argument, and highlighting key quotations. Later, in section 5, you will think and write about how it links to your project overall.

Happy reading, writing, and thinking!

Philosophy Essay - Envisioning the next two weeks

Happy rainy Monday!
Not many Mondays of high school left!
I hope you had a great weekend.

For today, the goal is to get your head around your research strategy and the timetable of the next two weeks. We will meet in the computer lab every day and the time is entirely yours.

By now, hopefully you have written a significant portion of part 1. This will not only help you to clarify your question(s) and the (potential) focus of your work, but also give you more language to use when you are searching for a philosopher.  Identifying key terms is an essential step for successful research.

Thinking about the literary text you will use is also a priority item. The choice might be a clear one, or it might require going back to both the text and the essay(s) you wrote about it.  Your issue might not have been raised directly in the text, but for any of your questions there will certainly be something to work with in it.

Also, keep in mind that the dialogues will take place during class on Thursday. There is no special preparation you need to do for that day. You will write all of section 4 that day, so do not plan on having class time to do work on different sections.

Lastly, feel free to check in with me at any point during the process, either during class or my office hours. I'm happy to help you in any way I can!

May your thinking be filled with powerful thoughts and questions!

Finding a Philosopher

Greetings! As you have probably noticed, I am not in school today. I am teaching a workshop at a conference in New York.  Your work for today will be focused on starting the exploration of different philosophers with the goal of finding one (or more) to work with on your project.  The steps below will be helpful, but I'll add some extra explanation. Note that you do not need to do this step today - if you want to wait until Monday to start looking for your philosopher, that is fine.  But for those who want to get started, I recommend going to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The search engine there, and in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, will lead you to articles summarizing the thought of different thinkers on your issue. Note that there are many ways to ask your question, so it will help to build up a vocabulary of different search terms. Type in one you think will work, then browse through the articles that come up. These are just summaries of the philosophical arguments - not the texts themselves. That will be the second step - see below. The "philosopher proposal" below is optional, but I do want to be sure to know who you plan to work with for a variety of reasons - between making sure you have a valid source to pointing you to the best article from that person, I am here to help your work be excellent. Happy hunting and reading. Have a great weekend - see you Monday!

--

The main goal for today is to clarify which philosopher(s) you will use for your project.  The steps you can use toward this involve using the search engines I gave you on the right side of the blog:

• The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
• Philosophy Pages

To effectively use these search engines you will need to use keywords - terms people discussing your issue typically use.  How do you identify what these are?  Basically it comes from trial and error.  Try a word or two, see what types or articles it takes you to, read those to see how they are treating the issue, see what other words people are using, and repeat.

I also have several of my own books available for you to use.  I will bring these to the computer lab each day.  They are organized by topics and questions and I think you'll find them to be helpful.

One *optional* goal for today is to send me your "Philosopher Proposal" (the form is on the blog under "handouts") - don't stress over this one - it's just a way of keeping in touch with me about how your search is going.  Please note this is a step that can be as formal or informal as you like, and can even be completed by just having a brief conversation with me.

The other goal for today is to find the actual texts written by the author you plan to use.

There are a variety of sites that will be helpful for that, starting with the links we already have.

1. Go to Philosophy Pages.  Click on "dictionary" at the top of the page.  Click the letter of the person you are searching for then look for him / her on the list.  Click "Life and Works" and you will find links to many of the full-text versions of their works!
2. Go to Project Gutenberg's Philosophy Bookshlef.  Simply scroll down this page and I think you'll easily be able to find a link to the work you are looking for.
3. Do a Google search! 
   It’s actually not as hard as you think – you’re just a Goolge search away from finding just about any essay I think you’ll need for this project.  Just read through the overviews on the topic you are interested in provided on the websites listed above.  Then, once you have discovered a writer and the name of a particular essay, just plug those into Google using a formula like this:
   (Author Last Name) + (One or Two key words from title) + “full text”
   
   
   Here are three quick examples I did:
   
   
   Essay: David Hume’s “Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding”
   
   
               I Googled “Hume Enquiry Full Text”
   and found it here: http://18th.eserver.org/hume-enquiry.html
   
   
   Essay: Rene Descartes’ “Meditations on First Philosophy”
   
   
               I Googled “Descartes First Full Text”
   And found it here: http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/descartes/meditations/meditations.html
   
   
   Essay: William James’ “On the Varieties of Religious Experience”
   
   
               I Googled “William James Varieties Religious full Text”
               And found it here: http://www.des.emory.edu/mfp/james.html#will
   
   
   All three of those are either the first or second link to come up in the Google search.  Even after you find it, don’t just print it!  Take the time to read it and work though it – you may only need to print a section of it.
   
   

Forming Philosophical Questions

Happy Monday!

• By the end of the period today you will submit your question proposal to me.  Here is a link to the form with some very basic questions. The goal here is just to get the ball rolling and to give me a chance to engage in some conversation with you about your ideas.  Please paste the form into a new google document, complete it, and submit it to me through turnitin.com. This is the easiest way for me to keep track of and respond to your work.

Today you will work on choosing the philosophical question (or assertion) that will become the focus of your essay. In your packet I gave you a series of possible questions to consider, as well as questions for you to use to expand and focus your thinking.

• click here for a digital copy of that handout
• click here for a link to the slideshow from class the other day

Here are some other resources from the web I've gathered. Browse through them today - see if anything catches your eye:

• 8 philosophical questions we'll never solve
• Rick Wayne's top 10 greatest philosophical questions of all time
• The ten big questions
• 10 Fundamental questions
• Philosophical theories and ideas

Once you have an idea you think you want to work with, I recommend doing some free-writing about it. This may form the basis of what you will write in section 1.  You may want to use these questions we tested out when we discussed Frankl's book last week:

1. What are its assumptions and premises?
1. What is it assuming to be true?
2. What conditions is it assuming to exist?
3. What is it suggesting about the different people involved?
2. What are its implications?
1. If this is true then what else is true?  Why?
3. What different types or contexts exist?
1. When does / doesn’t it work?
4. What do the specific terms mean?
5. Who else shares this belief or perspective, and why?
1. Are there other people in the book who this does / doesn’t apply to?  Why?
6. Where do you stand in terms of this idea?
1. Do you agree / disagree with it?
2. Does it apply only in certain circumstances?
3. Do you only accept parts of the idea?

Here are two examples of a brainstormed series of questions.  One tries to narrow it down and sharpen the focus, while the other seeks to expand it.

How do I narrow down my question? 

How do I make my question manageable and specific?

For example:  What is the meaning of life?

• Whose life am I talking about?
• What gives my life meaning?
• What do I mean by “meaning”?
• What can I do to give my life the kind of meaning that makes my spirit soar, that makes me feel like I’m making this world a little better place to live in?
• What speaks for and against each of these perspectives?
• How can I give my life the kind of meaning that makes my life worthwhile for me?

How do I expand my question?  How can I more thoroughly explore it?

For example:  How can we overcome alienation?

·         Is alienation something we always want to overcome?

·         How does our life change for the better / worse if we are alienated?

·         What are the different types or degrees of alienation?

o   Is it possible to be completely alienated?

·         What exactly does alienation mean?  What does it mean to overcome it?

·         Are we able to control being alienated?

·         Why would others want to alienate someone?

The Philosophy Project

Today I formally assigned the Philosophy project. You can find links to all of the handout under the "Resources" tab above. I will post every handout there.

To save you a step, click here for an overview of the project.

If you want to get a jump on things and already have an idea about your question, please feel free to use this form to submit your proposal: philosophy question proposal

Examining Philosophical Assertions

Today in class we continued on work on how we ask philosophical questions.

Using the set of questions on this handout you each wrote about two sections of Part 1 of the book.  The idea was that even though these might not be the questions you will work with for your essay, this is still helping you to know how best to explore your issue once you identify it.

Here are the questions we used:

1. What are its assumptions and premises?
1. What is it assuming to be true?
2. What conditions is it assuming to exist?
3. What is it suggesting about the different people involved?
2. What are its implications?
1. If this is true then what else is true?  Why?
3. What different types or contexts exist?
1. When does / doesn’t it work?
4. What do the specific terms mean?
5. Who else shares this belief or perspective, and why?
1. Are there other people in the book who this does / doesn’t apply to?  Why?
6. Where do you stand in terms of this idea?
1. Do you agree / disagree with it?
2. Does it apply only in certain circumstances?
3. Do you only accept parts of the idea?

Man's Search for Meaning - The Holocaust

Elie Wiesel - Night

"Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never."

The Stranger - Questions

To help explore the novel, here are some questions to explore.

Here is the presentation about Existentialism I shared in class:

The Stranger - End of Part 1

Today we started by writing about where we see ourselves, and then Meursault, on this continuum:

Planned / Structured ------------------------- Spontaneous / Free

Next we listened to this song from The Cure: "Killing an Arab"  You can listen to the song through a link on the main blog page.

Our conversation focused on page 59 - the last page of Part 1 - and questions about why Meursault killed the Arab, and what this might mean moving forward.

The Stranger - Part 1, chapters 2-4

Today we worked in small groups to discuss chapters 2-4 of part 1. After that, each person wrote their own responses to these questions: The Stranger chapters 2-4 writing.

That worksheet included reading chapter 4, which we did in class.

These chapters introduce us to several characters who live close to Meursault. We'll talk about what he thinks of them, the nature of their interactions, and what they add to the book.

Existentialism - Day 1

To start our next unit, we'll read an essay by Albert Camus: "The Myth of Sisyphus"

You'll work with a partner or two to answer the questions in this document, which also included some notes you might find helpful to read the essay itself: "The Myth of Sisyphus" discussion questions

To finish your discussion, each person will individually answer question 12 here: "Myth of Sisyphus" response

Please refer to the calendar for your period under the "Calendars" tab - print a copy for yourself if you'd like one.

Life of Pi - essay assignment

Your essay for Life of Pi is due at the start of next week on turnitin.com.

For 2nd and 3rd period, you will have time in the computer lab on Monday (March 10th).
For 7th period, you will have time in the computer lab on Tuesday (March 11th).

For all sections, the essay is due at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11th.

Here are the requirements for the essay:

• Select either a single-text analytic essay or a personal-hybrid essay.
• Review the essay descriptions and rubrics on the blog.
• Your essay needs to be a minimum of 6 pages. This is computed by using 12 point Times New Roman font with double spacing. This converts to roughly 1450 words.  
• Not sure about how long your essay is?  Try this cool tool: http://www.wordstopages.com/
• I will not accept essays shorter than this required length.
• Your essay needs to explore the entire novel, not just one of the sections.
• We know about Pi's life before, during, and after his ordeal on the Pacific Ocean.  Be sure to use information from all of those sections.

I'll also remind you about the different class work / writing assignments we've done, all of which should be helpful for you in preparation for this essay. (You can look at the details of these by clicking on the name to go to the corresponding blog post, if there was one) You have lots to work with!

• Early writing about religion / animals
• A brief piece of writing telling me about a topic you want to explore / question  you want to answer
• Found poetry about religion (including your poem!)
• First writing - knowledge / comprehension / application / analysis - shared to me through a Google Doc
• In-class work about the start of Part 2 including discussion questions you generated
• The survival game we played in class - here is the game - here are the answers
• Second writing - what is helping Pi to survive - we shared these by standing in the shape of the boat
• Class notes from all-class work and small groups
• Personal journal writing / annotations
• Questions we will develop together in class

Life of Pi - writing #2

We started class today with this short writing about Pi's ordeal on the Pacific Ocean: Life of Pi writing #2

We shared our responses to these questions, then discussed the ways in which he has changed / adapted during these challenging days.

Life of Pi - catching up with part 2

Today we'll spend part of the period reading, giving people a chance either to catch up or work on tonight's assignment.

We'll get into groups to look at these chapters:

• Ch. 37-42
• Ch. 43-47
• Ch. 48-52
• Ch. 53-58

You'll gather some collective notes using the categories from last week's writing:

• Knowledge - Plot - What happens?
• Comprehension - What ideas / issues / themes are there?
• Application - Link these ideas to broader (your?) questions.
• Analysis - What does it all add up to? Link to other parts of the book.

Life of Pi - Writing #1

We'll start the day with some individual writing for the first half.

Click here for the assignment.

Please do your work in a Google Doc and share it with me when you are finished.

Life of Pi - Religion and Found Poetry

Today you will work with a small group to create a found poem about religion.

Look through the chapters we've read through today (ch. 32) and find lines / phrases that talk about religion.

You need a total of fifteen. At least three of them should be ones you do not fully understand or want to explore further.

Using all of these lines / phrases your group will create a "found poem." You may change verb tenses or add / remove plurals, but otherwise you can only use the language of the book.

Please use the computers to work with (cut and paste?) your poem:  move lines around, play with the order, and explore different possibilities.  Please type up a final version on a Google doc and share it with me.

Life of Pi - Plan for Friday, Feb. 14th

Greetings! Happy Valentine's Day!

Today I will be at a conference in Chicago (no, not the same conference as Wednesday - busy week!).

Here is the plan:

1. Use the first half of the class to read. On the "calendars" tab of the blog or in the previous post you can see where you should be for class on Tuesday / Wednesday.  You can probably get a lot of that reading done now.
2. For the second half, please work with a group of 2-4 people to answer these questions.  Please do so in a Google document and share it with me at the end of the period.  The focus will continue to be on the dual major Pi has in college in Toronto: religious studies and zoology (p. 3).  How do these early chapters of the novel continue to explore issues about religion, animals, and the intersection between the two?
1. What does Pi say about agnostics and atheists? What do these terms mean to him? Cite relevant text.
2. What does Pi say about animal training, including alpha figures and trainers?
3. What are the religious artifacts present in Pi's home?
4. Describe Pi's views on and approach to religion in the chapters you've read.  What does religion mean to him?  What do some of the specific religions he speaks of mean to him?
5. Where do you see the spheres of zoology and religious studies interact in the book up to this point?  How / why?  What points / ideas is Pi (or Martel) exploring here?

Have a great weekend!

Life of Pi

Today we started reading our next novel, Life of Pi. In class, you read the author's note and identified a key sentence - a "center of gravity". We shared and discussed these and their potential meanings.

Here are links to the calendar, which you can also find under the "calendars" tab at the top of the page.

Life of Pi - Period 2 calendar

Life of Pi - Period 3 calendar

Life of Pi - Period 7 calendar

Poetry Out Loud!

For the next two week's we're gonna do something a bit different - something some of you might have done with your English classes in recent years - something some of you saw performances of but never did yourself - something that might be completely new to some of you - Poetry Out Loud!

Find out more here: Poetry Out Loud

Here is the schedule for the next two weeks: Poetry Out Loud calendar

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Dear Seniors,

Happy start of second semester - your final semester (hopefully!) of high school!

Today, we begin the Poetry Out Loud experience!!! For the rest of this week and next week, our entire focus will be Poetry Out Loud, a national poetry recitation competition. 

Yes, that’s right; each of you will recite—from memory—a poem as part of this Senior English class’s contest to determine which one of you will compete to be the DHS champion! From there, the winner will move on to the state level - two years ago, DHS had the state runner-up!

To start, complete the following assignment:

1. Go to the  Poetry Out Loud website. Check it out - browse around a bit - see what it is all about.
2. Go to the Find a Poem section. Your goal is to choose three potential poems to work with for this project.  You are welcome to search through the poems however you'd like. You may want to identify poems by looking through the poets listed and reading poems by poets you’ve heard of or are familiar with.
3. Find THREE poems from the expansive list of approved poems on the Poetry Out Loud website that you would be willing and/or interested in reciting in the competition. Be sure you’re happy with all three.
4. Create a Word/Google document. Cut and paste each of the poems into this document (be sure to include the title and poet of each poem). And, below each poem in this document, write a short explanation naming what you like or find interesting about the poem.
5. Then, print a copy of EACH of the three poems. Be sure to bring these to class tomorrow.

First Semester Final Exam

Here is a link to the first semester final exam.

Here is a link to the rubric for part 2.

Here is a copy of the original explication assignment.