allusion for the win

As you know, the United States Senate is currently holding an impeachment trial.  This is only the third time this has happened in the history of our country.  Yesterday, Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), one of the impeachment managers, answered a question in elegant fashion, and ended with an allusion that his supporters would undoubtedly recognize.  You can see the video HERE.

january 22

{MINUTE OF MINDFULNESS}

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Tom's Diner" by Suzanne Vega w/ DNA; "Breakfast in America" by Supertramp]

Are "secret ingredients" ever a good thing, or just a cynical ploy that entices us to eat cheaply manufactured nastiness?

1. Journal
2. Postscript: Misery, hope, and ways of writing about both
3. Anatomy of an argument
4. Genre at the beginning of the 20th century: naturalism, realism, and modernism

POST:
1. What is a syllogism?  Using your Big Question, create a syllogism with a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion (title: ARGUE THIS)

2. What is a genre?  What is the difference between naturalism, realism, and modernism?  (title: LAST CENTURY'S WRITING STYLES)

REMEMBER:
Tomorrow you will need to come to class prepared with THE Big Question you intend to research this semester.  I am available today at lunch and online to help you if you need it.  Tomorrow and Friday you will be working on your Ignite Talk (the 30 second speech) for next week.

elective opportunity

This just in.  For more info see Mr. Valencia in Room 615.

january 21

{MINUTE OF MINDFULNESS}

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What do you know?  Describe something you know-- and explain how you know that you know it.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Three questions (regarding ethos/pathos/logos, hearing/listening, and genre)
3. Test or no test
4. Steinbeck and what makes us happy and sad
5. Things to think about: (1) Your Big Question & (2) How you would introduce it in a speech of 30 seconds or less

HW:
Finish reading this article on John Steinbeck (we'll start together in class). Follow one of the links, and then post an item to your blog in which you explain one thing you learned and why you chose to follow one particular link and not another.  (title: DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE)

our chat with cory doctorow

Here's the video.  And, I feel so dumb.  After updating my computer's OS, and updating Skype, and buying a new license for ECamm, and finding a way to rig all of the plugs and place the computer, all in the 60 minutes just before our talk, I thought I finally had everything working and the camera/screen capture set up to show Cory and us.  [Sigh.]  It wasn't.  You can't see Cory at all, just me on the screen for the whole hour.  Awful.  The good news is that the audio and Cory's ideas are all there, so I'm posting this anyway, even though I am completely embarrassed.  This is a great moment to be a role model for learning; you can bet I will figure out how to do this better before our next speaker!  If you have any follow-up questions or ideas (about the talk, and not my tech skills :), please comment to this post.

thought for the day

First, an apology: I just remembered that last semester a few students asked me to post what I read on a weekly basis.  I agreed to follow through-- and then I forgot all about it.  This weekend I'll install a widget or a tab where I share.

For now, one book I read frequently is a book of quotes about Stoicism.  Stoicism is a philosophy (you can read more HERE) that emphasizes our own reasoned choice as a way for us to understand life and get closer to some sense of contentment.

The Daily Stoic quotes Stoic philosophers, including a former slave and an emperor, and presents short interpretations that give me things to think about as I start my day.  Today's quote struck me because it is EXACTLY why I invite students to consider their own Big Questions.

As you consider your Big Question for next week, ask yourself: What's worth your best effort?

notes from a class january 16

(This is a model for how you might post your notes from class.)

Today in my American Literature class, my teacher asked whether Paul Simon's album Graceland qualifies as American literature.  I had seen a video about the album (which you can see below) so I knew a little about the album and Simon's creative process.  He traveled to South Africa to collaborate with the artists who made one of his favorite mix tapes.  Simon thought it was important to play their music with them in their home community because it would be more authentic.

That may sound weird, because it took a lot of time and money, and Simon's record company told him that they could hire musicians right where Simon lived in New York.

But Simon knew something that the record company executives didn't.  You could have the same instruments, playing the same notes, but if it was different musicians in a different city-- this may sound obvious now-- it wouldn't be the same.

Chefs and foodies may recognize the idea: terroir.  You can taste the environment in things like tea, maple syrup, hot peppers, and coffee. 

There was even more of an invisible force in Simon's music; in the video, one of the guitarists described music as being close to religion in the sense that it brings people together and promotes healing.

This was all pretty interesting, but at first I couldn't tell whether that made it American literature.

To answer that question, I worked with some people at my table to define those terms.  We started at the end: What is literature?

We defined it as written work (fiction and nonfiction books, movie/play scripts, poems, etc.) that has lasting artistic value.  We agreed that it was easy to tell whether a work was written-- there are either words on a page or there aren't-- but we also talked