special post

http://educationvotes.nea.org/2017sja/

Last Day!!

Philosophy - Final Work Day!!

Happy Monday!

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 Tuesday by 6:00 p.m.

We will not have time in class Tuesday 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 to turnitin.com

Late work, for any reason, means you will take the final.

For the rest of the week, we'll have 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!

Enjoy Beyonce's "Countdown" to get you through the last push!

Philosophy - Day 10

The buzz of activity in class last week was a positive one! As you start to turn your attention toward part 5, here are a few thoughts and suggestions :

• 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 (recommended), 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 - Day 8

Happy Monday! Happy May!  Sorry I'm not there to say all of that in person today. I'm at a conference for the day.  I hope you had wonderful weekends and are ready to start your final month of high school!

Please take 30 seconds to complete this brief check-in survey. No worries - I just want to have a quick sense of where everyone is.

• Philosophy project check-in survey

As for section 3, here are a few thoughts and reminders:

• The goal for this section is simply to present the work of a philosopher (or more than one) and what that person has to say about yout subject.
• Think of it as a report - summarize their main ideas - quote and explain their points - break it into sections to clarify the different ideas they have.
• You do not need to bring in your personal perspective at all - save that for part 5.
• You do not need to link this section to your book or the dialogue or anything else - save that for part 5.
• I know you are reading complicated stuff - use the tools available to you. Read through that passage from Aristotle or Hume or Aquinas and then check out what different internet sources have to say. If you do happen to find them helpful, just cite them and don't pretend it is your own. No points off or harm in getting assistance for this section.

Are you still looking for your philosopher? Keep trying different keywords in your searches on the Stanford site.  Find articles that sound interesting, and then read the parts that seem relevant. In those parts, find the names of some of the philosophers who wrote about your topic. Then, go find that article. If you need help with that, let's meet on Tuesday.

Good luck today!!

Philosophy - Day 7

Thursday = Dialogue Day! Follow the directions from yesterday's blog post.

Philosophy - Day 6

Lotsa work time today!

If you are fully up to date:

• Question proposal in and reviewed
• Part 1 - done
• Part 2 - mostly done / quotes gathered
• Part 3 - initial research started / articles found

Here is a link to the directions for the dialogue tomorrow, in case you want a preview!

Philosophy - Day 5

Happy Tuesday!
These are big work days this week. I hope you are well into part 2 by now, and just about ready to research and read the work of a philosopher. I shared information about how to do that a few days ago and will briefly review it today.

• Here is the document about finding your philosopher

Happy writing!

Philosophy - Day 4

It's Lit!

Yes, it's the day to think about literature and section 2 of your philosophy project. Hopefully you selected the text(s) you will use in this section and you have the book with you today.

For this part of your project, the thesis tells how the text(s) answers your question / addresses your topic. It might be that this section pushes your question in a different direction - that's ok! You will address that in section 5.

For now your goal is to bring together a wide range of examples from your text(s) to show the different ways in which your topic appears and is addressed.

Philosophy - Day 3

Here is a link to some resources I'll introduce today - these should be helpful in finding the philosopher(s) and text(s) you'll use in part 3.

• Resources for finding your philosopher

Philosophy - Day 2

Big writing day! This is a perfect chance to take a deep dive into Part 1 and get it done. Are you stuck? Here are some suggestions:

• Use the helper questions I posted in the blog yesterday
• Tell another story
• Step back and doubt yourself - and why you believe this
• Come up with a counter example and write about it - why is the answer to your question different in that case?

Happy writing!

Chance The Rapper debuts "Angels" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from O.J. Hays on Vimeo.

Philosophy Essay - Part 1

Greetings!
To start with today, please read my response to your question proposal (in turnitin).
Then, it is time to start writing part 1!
Check out the last two pages of this handout for some ways to push your thinking:

• Exploring Philosophical Questions

Remember - Part 1 is all about you - tell stories, ask questions, explore your ideas. This is your way of getting your head fully around your question(s) and idea(s).

Man's Search for Meaning - Day 6

Today we'll consider some of Frankl's main ideas from the end of part 1 and the postscript, "The Case for a Tragic Optimism." Here are two short videos to give you a taste of Frankl himself:

Man's Search for Meaning - Day 5 - Philosophical Topics

Here are a few links for today:

• Philosophy questions activity and list
• Philosophy question proposal

Man's Search for Meaning - Day 4 - Intro to Philosophy Project

Today we will formally launch into the Philosophy Project! I'm very excited!

• Philosophy Project Calendar
• Philosophy Essay Description
• Philosophy Essay - Planning and Expectations
• Some Philosophical questions to consider

Man's Search for Meaning - Day 3

Today we'll start by writing our own questions about the section of the book you read over the weekend, pages 22-41. You can use any of these question starters:

• Frankl's book has me wondering...
• What does Frankl mean when he says...
• Why does it happen that...
• How does Frankl...
• (other - perhaps a quotation or a question he names)

Here is the structure for today:

• Open a new Google Document. Name for it “MSM dialogue” 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 an opening thought about the issue / question you have selected from the reading (what is Frankl saying) and a general sense of what it makes you think about at this point.
• Responder reads this 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 15-20 minutes. 
• 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. Don't worry about the grade here - just have an authentic dialogue for the whole period.
• Enjoy the opportunity to have powerful, deep conversation!

Man's Search for Meaning - Day 2

Today you will be working with a small group.
Here is the handout describing your work.

Man's Search for Meaning - Day 1

Calendar for philosophy unit

Today's work

• Here is a link to the STAR test

Start of your last quarter of high school!

Greetings!

Welcome back from spring break! I hope it was wonderful and can't wait to hear about it!

Tomorrow we will start our final quarter together! The final book you will need to purchase for our class is the one we'll use to start our final unit, exploring our philosophies. The book is by Viktor Frankl and is called Man's Search for Meaning. The bookstore has copies for $13. Please have one by class time on Tuesday.

The Stranger - Day 7

Exploring philosophical questions

Today you will each have a chance to explore a philosophical question related to the text, and how it appears in two different chapters.

A. Norms - who sets them / who goes against them - expectations of following them
B. Judging of others
C. Routines / patterns - what role do they play?
D. Control - when do characters have / lack / want it
E. Emotions / happiness - when are they shown / hidden / prioritized?

Chart for 1st period
*Use this chart for 1st period
Chart for 2nd period