Oh, Oedipus...

You so tragic!  
(Sorry..I left this incomplete without realizing it!)

Your assignment:  Find a parallel tragic hero in modern history, literature, movies, television,etc.

Complete a full, written sketch of your modern tragic hero.  Follow Aristotle's definition.  You have a chart(which we will discuss tomorrow) that very nicely illustrates these qualities.  The link is here .

Yeah, you can probably Google this.  You can find millions of professor-given examples online.  But c'mon, this isn't so hard.  Utilize your interests to get this done.  Me, I love celebrity gossip, so I'm likely to pick some sad starlet.  Or Steve Jobs.  Maybe.

Is anyone off-limits?  Of course.  Actual tragic heroes, from literature?  Off-limits.  And what constitutes modern, you may ask?  For me, it should be a figure that existed or was created anywhere from 1900 to the present.  That's a pretty big window.

This can't be emailed to me because I'd like it to be pretty.  I'd like a picture of your hero, surrounded by their Aristotlian, (is that a word?) tragic qualities.  You should be as specific as possible.  If every hero needs a flaw, for example, you should name that flaw.  Maybe even give an example of it in action.  If I was doing Steve Jobs(ahem...this another no-no for you guys), then I may say his flaw was his ego.  That ego was deadly, in fact, because it led to him believing he could cure his cancer without modern medicine, which, in turn, killed him.  Tragic stuff.

Here's my pathetic example...here

I only completed one of the six characteristics, but I hope you get the point.  Contact me at any point before the due date(January 2nd!)  if you have a question.

Rock out.

A Reminder

Please bring in all cards for the troops by tomorrow morning(prior to period 3).  Please make sure they are free of grammar, mechanic, and spelling errors and that your effort is evident.

Thanks for doing something kind this holiday season.

Sorry for the late post...

I just got home from dinner and was reading the Virginia Tech stuff...scary.

SO...here's the old test.  Sorry for the delay:   Old quiz 8

Speeches! Get your speeches here!

If you'd like a look at a sample narrative outline, here you are.  Sample

If you lost your outline format(due Monday) then it is also here: Outline Format

Remember, be honest, be yourself, and don't be nervous!

I will take volunteers on Monday.  We will not finish in one day.  In fact, we will probably spend most of the week getting these done.

My Steve Jobs obsession rears its ugly head...

Watch this video first

Then, answer the following questions:

1.  Explain why  Jobs calls dropping out, "one of the best decisions I ever made"? (His first story)


2.  Explain why Jobs calls being fired from Apple "one of the best things that ever happened" to him.(His second story)


3.  How has Jobs used his inevitable death as his daily motivation?  Explain.

By the way, at the end, when he claims he's "fine now," he's lying.  I'm sure this fact influenced his ruminations on death.

Your sample test...

Old Vocab. Test

MLA Format

Here's the sample:

Sample MLA Format

Stevie King speaks the truth

I know I'm always going on and on about him, and he does have a reputation for being a horror-only writer.  However, he really GETS writing.  Read the following excerpt from his On Writing and follow the instructions I am going to post...soon: )

On Writing

New Blog Response

Due:  Monday by 11:59PM

Please read the following piece:

Thanksgiving

In a well-written, thoughtful response, please answer the following question:

In her essay, Jennifer New describes both her child-like wonder at her early Thanksgivings spent at her grandparent's home in the country and her disappointment that these holidays never fulfilled her ideals of the holiday.  Why do you think major holidays are, by their very nature disappointing?  What is the author's attitude(tone) about Thanksgiving and what she describes as, 'blockbuster holidays?'  Do you agree or disagree with her assertion that there is too much focus on holidays being perfect/picturesque?  Explain.

Friday's Assignment

Here are the list of essay questions from Friday.  All you had to do for today is choose one and prewrite.  I'll leave them here for reference.



How did you get caught? (Or not caught, as the case may be.




Chicago author Nelson Algren said, “A writer does well if in his whole life he can tell the story of one street.” Chicagoans, but not just Chicagoans, have always found something instructive, and pleasing, and profound in the stories of their block, of Main Street, of Highway 61, of a farm lane, of the Celestial Highway. Tell us the story of a street, path, road—real or imagined or metaphorical.




Have you ever walked through the aisles of a warehouse store like Costco or Sam’s Club and wondered who would buy a jar of mustard a foot and a half tall? We’ve bought it, but it didn’t stop us from wondering about other things, like absurd eating contests, impulse buys, excess, unimagined uses for mustard, storage, preservatives, notions of bigness…and dozens of other ideas both silly and serious. Write an essay somehow inspired by super-huge mustard.




Spanish poet Antonio Machado wrote, “Between living and dreaming there is a third thing. Guess it.” Give us your guess.










While working at the Raytheon Company, Percy Spencer noticed that standing in front of a magnetron (used to generate microwave radio signals) caused a chocolate bar in his pocket to melt. He then placed a bowl of corn in front of the device, and soon it was popping all over the room. A couple of years later, Raytheon was selling the first commercial microwave oven.




Write about a time you found something you weren’t looking for.

What's going on?

College Kids are Dummies

Vocab

Can someone please post the vocab on here for me?

Help!

Can someone give me a quick list of journals we did starting with Monday?

Oh, Childhood....

Here is a segment from a show that no one seems to remember but me.  I liked her because she had my name.

Squeezed Out

An interesting article from today's Times about the competitive university system in India....

Squeezed Out in India


100% on an end-of-high school exam?  Inconceiveable!

In 1492...

I'm sure you know the rest.

As I sit here, feet kicked up on this lovely Columbus Day, I'm fondly remembering grade school.  Columbus Day wasn't just a day off--it was an event, a week-long celebration of everything explorer, an excuse for half the class to dress like Native Americans and for our teachers to throw us into make-shift canoes in the middle of the classroom.  Okay, maybe that was just my school, but for years, I blindly followed my teachers into believing Christopher Columbus was a hero.


Then I grew up, the world became more cynical, and I read Howard Zinn's People's History of the United States.  I would never again look at good ol' Chrissy the same.  Never heard of it?  Here's an excerpt:
Zinn . (Ignore the angry URL)

Today, I read this and thought, "Maybe I've been wrong to be angry for so long.  Maybe there's still something heroic left in the story of Christopher Columbus."

So what do you think?  Should we celebrate Columbus Day?  (And you know what I mean--there are no Columbus parties on my block, either.  I mean as a holiday.  Official.  On the calendar.)  Are there any other national holidays you find offensive?  Worthless?  Do you appreciate anything about today besides your lack of alarm clock?

Answer this question, with some intelligence please, in 300 words or more.  Due Wednesday by 11:59pm.

Steve Jobs

In case you were curious, here's that New Yorker article I talked about this week.  (The one I read at Busch Gardens)  It's a good read, I swear.

Steve Jobs was awesome

Enjoy your weekend!

The weather is supposed to be beautiful, so please spend some of your weekend enjoying it.  If you do stop to think about English, here is what you should know:

Tuesday:  Vocabulary 3 quiz  (Now with old words!)
Wednesday:  Final Natural discussion.
Thursday:  New blog response due/Natural review
Friday:  Natural test

I hope your day off is fantastic, and please keep your eyes on this blog for a very special Columbus day post.  (This will be the topic of the entry due Thursday)

Your NEW homework

It's going to be quick, I promise.  Look to the left, at the list of 'contributors.' Now find your name.  Would I know, by reading this name, that it's you?  Your name listed as 'Amanda Rodgers.'  Fine.  But 'iamboyg?'  Seriously?

Fix your names if I won't know who you are.  Otherwise, your precious credit for blogging will be wasted.

The week of 10/3

Monday: New Vocab, group work
Tuesday: Group discussions, continue reading.
Wednesday: Sentences due; continue discussion
Thursday:  Sample sentences, Roy as tragic hero?
Friday:  Quiz Unit 3 vocabulary

Lauren!

Get well soon...this post is just for you.

Keep your eyes here for any updates, work, due dates, etc.

We miss you!

My puppy Cooper

Gratuitous cuteness. Enjoy your weekend.

Reading Logs: Natural

Below is a description of The Natural reading logs and a sample log.  You may type them using the blank I have provided on the right, or you may print yourself copies and write them out--as long as your handwriting is legible!  Please stop me in class if you have any questions.

Each section/chapter of The Natural should be logged with one complete page.  There are ten sections. (Technically, there are 11, but one is quite short).  Therefore, you will come to school with 10 total pages of reading logs.  (One page is equal to four entries).  A blank reading log has been attached; you may make your own on your computer if you wish.  Handwritten logs must be completely legible

Sample Log

Hey period 5/6!

Your journals are due tomorrow.  Just sayin'.

11-journals due Wed.
12-journals due Thurs.

Bully to You!

There was an interesting op-ed piece in the NY Times this week about bullying, laws to combat bullying, and the inability of educators to successfully combat the everyday problems of teenagers.  Read it.

Now, in a thoughtful, well-written paragraph or two(about 250 words) tell me what you think.  Is bullying an issue you deal with on a daily basis?  Do you observe bullies in your classes?  The hallways?  Is there anything that can be done to make things a little more drama-free?

Due:  Wednesday, September 28th.

Rain, Rain...

is PROBABLY NOT going away.

So yes, I believe you will have a vocabulary quiz that you should study for.  Just sayin'

I'm just excited to teach you tomorrow.  <3

First full week...

Seriously?  Five days?  How can they possibly ask us to come to school for five days consecutively? 

I'm not really helping your pain, either, what with the two vocab. quizzes this week.  Here's a breakdown of your week:

Mon:  Vocab 1 Quiz, new vocab, Natural book and calendar.
Tues:  Finish projects, Annotation 101  HW:  Joe DiMaggio article
Wed:  Background discussion, sentences due.  HW:  "Tragedy and Common Man"
Thurs:  Sample sentences,  reading log intro.HW:  Study
Fri:  Vocab. 2 Quiz.  HW:  Read!

Your calendar

Another week gone

As you may have noticed, there is a new link on the right side of the blog for your first week's vocabulary.  I will also post sample sentences there.  Remember, your first quiz will be on Monday, September 19th, so study this weekend.  It may also be a good idea to look up the words and see any possible endings, which you may have to add for the quiz. 

The big deal right now?  Your project, which is due tomorrow.  Volunteers to go first are welcome, and your grade will be out of 50 points.  I know you didn't have much time, but I also believe in your ability to keep up with the pace of this class: )

If you haven't received a blog invite, text me with your email address.

Welcome!

Come in, sit down, and make yourself at home.  I hope this is a start to a beautiful friendship, or, at the very least, a productive student/teacher relationship.  Check this space often to keep up with daily discussion topics, homework, long-term assignments, and useful links.

For this week:

Monday:  First journal.  Grammar project introduction/pairing/discussion. Vocabulary distributed.
Tuesday:  In-class grammar wall day.  This is your ONLY day to work on the projects in class.
Wednesday:  Sentences due.  Grammar pre-test.  Natural calendars and books distributed.
Thursday:  Grammar wall presentations begin.  Back to School night.  (Maybe we'll hang some up??)
Friday:  I go to school.  You sleep in.  Jerkfaces.

Happy blogging!

<3, Rock