Oedipus the King - Day 1

Today we will start our work with Sophocles' Oedipus the King.

Our focus for this play will be on explications (click for a detailed description).

We will also discuss the role of the chorus in Greek drama. Check out this clip for some fun modern versions of it:

Children's books

Today in class you will each have the opportunity to share a favorite book from your childhood. Yesterday we read Green Eggs and Ham then discussed different ways we can understand its message. Tonight, you will do that for your book: here is a link to your assignment.

You will submit your essay to turnitin.com.  Use these codes to sign up for your class period:

• 1st period - class ID: 10502189 / code word: oedipus
• 6th period - class ID: 10502216 / code word: antigone
• 8th period - class ID: 10502231 / code word: sophocles

Welcome to the 2015-2016 school year!

Greetings and happy start of senior year!
It was great to meet all of you and hear your #hashtags and stories about your summer experiences. I have a feeling you will have more to say and share about them as the year progresses.

Please remember to buy copies of Oedipus and Antigone and Hamlet from the bookstore.

You'll need Oedipus and Antigone for class on Friday.

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 - 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 - Final Week!

Happy Monday!

Here we go - a busy week ahead, but entirely do-able with good planning!

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!

Need a great DJ mix of chill-wave hip-hop grooves? Look to the right and spin the mix with the YouTube link.

Lastly, I'd like you each to complete this brief survey (similar to the one from last week):