Thursday, November 29, 2007

 

Propaganda Techniques

Post your pre-writing and essay response to one of the 5 prompts from the McClintock essay (page 311-312) here by Tuesday, Dec. 4. You can post it earlier. Please read it aloud to catch any mistakes. Once you post it, you cannot change the writing. See Hacker 26-26 re: Global Revisions for suggestions. Also, look at your notes from the video: "Revision Strategies."

 

Research Essay

Today a few students dropped by with their essays on a disk or jump drive. I told students in the Writing Center lab looking over their essays one more time that they could turn them in Monday, Dec. 3 if they needed a little extra time. Other assignments haven't ceased and students still have to keep up but I want you to be happy with the essay you turn in. If for any reason, you have not gotten a response on your midterm or do not have a grade yet, make certain that we go over your essay so that you can revise it. To pass the class you have to pass the midterm.

Evolution of a Revolutionary Cyber-Assignments
Next week in both classes we will finish Jasmine Guy and do a series of cyber essay responses on themes from the book. This package of about 5-7 short writings (250 words each) will be included in your portfolio. You will have a response to post daily for the next seven days: Monday, Dec. 3-Monday, Dec. 10.

I will give you an in-class essay assignment on a current event issue related to themes covered this semester the last day of class. Both classes will only have 50 minutes to write it. We'll do this Wednesday, Dec. 12.

Dinner Party
Thursday, Dec. 14 we are going to Delancy Street Restaurant in San Francisco for an end of the semester dinner party. More on this later. I need to know who can come so I can make reservations.

Finals
On the day of the final students will present their social entrepreneur papers.

Portfolio Checklist
You will find out more about this later. Next week, I will give you a portfolio check-list. I will post it here also, probably Friday, so look for it.

Homework
The McClintock essay responses to the pre-writing topic and the 250 word response to one of the essay questions at the end of the essay on propaganda is to be posted no later than Tuesday, Dec. 4. I have given you a separate place to post. It is also dated Nov. 29. Look for it and post your essay and pre-writing response there, not here.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

 

Early class

Today in the morning class we reviewed the Argumentation video. Students shared notes and we discussed the ideas explored in the video. We then applied what we know about deductive and inductive reasoning to one of the four poems we read today from A Rose Grew in Concrete. (I think we startd on page 47.)If students have finished their essays and want to share their thoughts on one of the poems, please do so. Tell us what the point is and whether or not is is an inductive or deductive form of reasoning. We'll complete the exercises in Hacker tomorrow. I also have a handout for you tomorrow on propaganda as argument.

Students made comments on each other's essays in the Writing Center, using the comment function. Homework is to complete the essay and bring in an electronic version of the document tomorrow along with all the supplementary documents. Those can be given to me in a paper form. You can also give me your essay this way, though I prefer it on a CD or disk.

If you have completed the assignment, keep reading Guy. We will finish the book next week and write a skit we will perform. There will also be a final essay we will write in class taking a theme from Guy's exploration of Afeni Shakur's life.

The day of the final, students will present their research essay. This is where you can collaborate with classmates who have the same topic.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

 

Keep Writing

This morning we reflected on Chapter 6 again and in a freewrite looked at a personal story we'd only tell once. The other choice was to summarize the chapter in three paragraphs. We didn't share.

Afterwards we watched, (finally) the Argumentation video I've been telling students about for the past few weeks. We also reviewed the different types of arguments. Homework is to identify the fallacies in the exercises on page 367-368 (Hacker). Students only had to complete the alphabetized ones. We will complete the others in class tomorrow.

Also, tomorrow students need to bring in their research essays for peer review electronically. Also, bring in the outline, planning sheet and any other pre-writing you'd like to share.

Monday, November 26, 2007

 

Afternoon class 1-3

We reviewed the types of arguments: inductive and deductive. The class then identified the fallacies in Hacker (367-368). We reviewed the logical fallacies and students then got into groups to figure out the answers.

There were complaints and grumbles; however, soon students settled down and went to work. The attendance was down; perhaps students dropped last week. English 201 in two hour blocks is a hard class. If a student misses one class, it is hard to catch up.

Those who had essays swapped papers and had their peers respond with comments. I asked students to use the Hacker "Checklist for Global revision" (26-27), but not many students complied. Many students didn't see the value in having someone review their essay and give comments. It is a part of the grade.

All teachers do not incorporate peer comments into the writing process which at it's heart is revision. Get used to rewrites. Seldom is an essay perfect after 1-2 drafts. It can always be improved.

Homework is to finish the essay and bring it in on a disk or CD. You can turn in the planning sheets and peer reviews as hard copies. See below for the criterion.

It is 5:21 and I have just finished reading over a student essay that was responded to the way I told students to respond. It was rewritten, not reviewed. Do not rewrite each other's papers. You are to ask questions and make comments. You are not editors. Grammar is the least of my worries. For the final essay, remember this. I will take off points from a student who doesn't comply with the peer review guidelines.

Research Essay English 201 1-3 p.m.

Essays were due for peer reviews last Wednesday, Nov. 21. We will do the peer reviews today instead. The final draft is due to me, Wednesday, Nov. 28 on a disk or CD. I'd like your planning sheet and outline, plus at least one peer review based on the handout I gave you last week (see Hacker pages 26-27. If you do not have all these parts you will loose points on the essay.

The grading will be based on the following:

The essay writing: 65 percent
essay structure and organization: introduction, body and conclusion
clearly stated thesis,
topic sentences,
evidence

Research 15 percent
How well does the student know the topic
How sound is the research
Use of signal phrases
paraphrases
block quotes

Grammar 15 percent
Syntax and mechanics
I am particularly looking at dependent and independent clauses; fused sentences, comma splices, subject verb agreement, pronoun reference agreement in gender and count, spelling and misuse of words

A way to avoid this is to read the paper aloud before you turn it in

Supplementary documents: 5 percent
Essay Planning Sheet
Essay outline
Peer review or review of essay by a teacher/tutor in the Writing Center.

What the tutor/teacher recommends is just that, a recommendation. Take what you agree with and leave the rest.

An A is 95-100 percent; B 85 percent; C 80 percent

There is an automatic revision required for any grades below 80 percent. You have one week to respond. This is a high impact grade which is none negotiable. You need to have a passing grade on this essay to pass the class.

 

Count Down

This morning the class was small (8 students), but we got a lot done. We discussed inductive and deductive arguments based in an analysis of four of Tupac's poems: My Dearest One!!, If There Be Pain..., Things That Make Hearts Break, and Black Woman.

The corresponding pages in Hacker are: "Testing inductive argument" on page 361, and "Deducing conclusions (deductive reasoning)" on page 363. Students were told to read the entire chapter. I am going to show you the argumentation video tomorrow in the Writing Center. We will meet here for the rest of the week. (Keep reading Afeni.)

Bring in your essays if you'd like feedback tomorrow. The final draft is due Wednesday, Nov. 28 for a peer review. The final draft is due to me, Thursday, Nov. 29on a disk or CD. I'd like your planning sheet and outline, plus at least one peer review based on the handout I gave you last week (see Hacker pages 26-27. If you do not have all these parts you will loose points on the essay.

The grading will be based on the following:

The essay writing: 65 percent
essay structure and organization: introduction, body and conclusion
clearly stated thesis,
topic sentences,
evidence

Research 15 percent
How well does the student know the topic
How sound is the research
Use of signal phrases
paraphrases
block quotes

Grammar 15 percent
Syntax and mechanics
I am particularly looking at dependent and independent clauses; fused sentences, comma splices, subject verb agreement, pronoun reference agreement in gender and count, spelling and misuse of words

A way to avoid this is to read the paper aloud before you turn it in

Supplementary documents: 5 percent
Essay Planning Sheet
Essay outline
Peer review or review of essay by a teacher/tutor in the Writing Center.

What the tutor/teacher recommends is just that, a recommendation. Take what you agree with and leave the rest.

An A is 95-100 percent; B 85 percent; C 80 percent

There is an automatic revision required for any grades below 80 percent.
You have one week to respond. This is a high impact grade which is none negotiable. You need to have a passing grade on this essay to pass the class.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

 

Wednesday, November 21 Both classes

Post your research essay drafts here. Students need to respond to 1-2 posted essays using the Hacker guidelines on page 26-27 in the text (green handout). Briefly, look at the author's purpose and audience, focus, organization and paragraphing, content, and point of view. Remember these are drafts. Talk about what you like and what you'd like to know. Remember, each essay is to answer the four questions: What is the problem? Who is the person and why did they want to get involved? How did they involve community? What are the measurable results?

In Elesha's essay she uses her personal experience with Craig's List to talk about its benefits. She does a great job citing measurable results. She doesn't address the benefits to Craig. She does not cite any sources or tell the reader how she knows what she knows. But this is a draft. Check back and see how she revises this essay with answers to my questions next week.

Continue reading Chapter 6 in Guy. Have a good holiday. Homework is to complete the essay. Monday we will continue with Guy and talk more about argumentation. We'll meet in the lab--both classes.

Monday, November 19, 2007

 

Afternoon class

The English 201 class watched another New Heroes segment. It was about a man who is freeing people, whole families, from slavery in India and establishing, one village at a time, child friendly communities where children are educated, and not abused in sweat shops where young workers are forced to weave rugs for little or no pay--the work hard and dangerous.

After we developed thesis sentences, then shared, students were allowed to leave early to work on their research essays. These essays are due Wednesday, Nov. 21. The final draft is due, Wednesday, Nov. 27. If students skip class and do not have a peer review, you will lose points from your graded essay.

I will be around for a half hour tomorrow afternoon, 12-12:45. If you have a quick question, drop by.

 

This Morning, November 19

Today on the cover of the Oakland Tribune was the headline, "Oakland 4th-most Perilous US City." Of course this became the topic of discussion as we looked at the ramifications of such an announcement on the already tarnished image of the step-child of the Bay. Notice there was no mention of San Francisco's listing and Richmond, California was given the dubious honor of 9th place.

We looked the now we find out debatable fact, debatable fact because the FBI distances itself from the conclusions drawn from an analysis of information gleaned from its data on major US cities. This is a great example of evaluating sources. However, after reading the article aloud for students, it seemed as if CQ Press is after sensationalism rather than accuracy. I wouldn't be surprised if they were connected to a real estate firm or some such entity. Property values would certainly be affected in a demographic where per capita crime rates for homicide, aggravated assault, rape, and robbery. It's still expensive to live in Oakland, but in areas like West Oakland and East Oakland, property value is not necessarily affordable but less expensive than elsewhere.

This said, I'd certainly look at motive and look at who reads the rag sheet or CQ Press. I also thought is interesting that the former owners of CQ seem related or married. Who are they?

The mayor's office and/or the Oakland Police Dept. said the figures also reflected domestic violence statistics. I wondered if those numbers were the homicide or assault figures and if violence against women was up.

Homework is to post your introductory paragraph here regarding this issue. I'd suggested looking at the story in the Oakland Tribune again, along with the report and the FBI statement regarding this.

We used Shanelle's thesis, but you don't have to. The paragraph needs to be minimally 5 sentences long. The thesis needs to be the last sentence in the paragraph. We will develop an outline and a conclusion tomorrow as a few write. We will meet in the Writing Center again (L-235).

Keep reading Afeni. We'll talk about chapter 6 tomorrow or Wednesday, Nov. 21 along with sharing our essays, first draft. On Tuesday morning if you want me to look at your research writing up to this point, please bring it in and I will check your organization, evidence, thesis and anything else you want me to look at.

Here is the thesis we developed:
Although Oakland is the 4th most perilous city in the country according to a recent report by CQ Press, with records to date: 111 murders in 2007, compared to 134 murders in 2006, these records so not classify Oakland as a whole nor help us find a solution to this problem.


Here are a few links: http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/ci_7504705
http://www.cqpress.com/getHome.asp
http://www.fbi.gov/ (I can't find the statement. If you do, please post it here for us.)

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

 

Afternoon notes

This afternoon we watched the Mimi Silbert, Delancy Street segment of the New Heroes series on Social Entrepreneurs. Afterwards we developed an essay plan, then split into groups to develop outlines and write introductory paragraphs. About 6 students are using Mimi Silbert as their SE, so those students were in one group sharing their homework due today.

I think it was a successful class. The hope is that students now have a model of how I want the essay done. Here is the planning sheet and a sample thesis. For the thesis sentence, we used the 3-part thesis guideline (handout). I also handed out a few more graded midterm essays, the floppy disks or CDs students gave them to me on, and a handout on revision from Hacker.

We still haven't had a chance to review the chapter on argument in Hacker. Please read and note any questions. If you post a lot of assignments at one time, please send me an email and alert me so I can look. If there are essays you've submitted and need grades you can also email me, perhaps it is an essay I have not returned.

Be certain to indicate which class you are in and the assignment. Monday's homework is to write the essay draft; it can be in longhand. Keep reading Guy's book. We're up to chapter 5. We will meet in the Writing Center Wednesday, Nov. 20 in the smaller lab. Wear your coats :-)

Students will learn to comment electronically on each other's essays in response to the four questions I ask in the assignment. The peer reviewer will look for the answers and respond to each one. The writer will also have an opportunity to ask the reviewer to look for specific things.

Thesis: Although participants in Delancy Street have lost hope in themselves due to society and family giving up on them, Delancy Street Foundation and its founder Mimi Silbert help its residents identify, rebuild and rejuvenate their lives, because over a the two year period most clients have been able to transition successfully into society.

(If you missed class, you can pick up a handout in the bin outside my office.)

Planning Sheet:

Topic: Mimi Silbert, Delancy Street Foundation; Rehabilitation

Audience: People who have hit rock bottom in every way possible and want a way out, also people (employers too) who are interested in social entrepreneurship. This paper is for those who doubt that change can happen for inmates, the homeless, drug abusers, etc.

Purpose: Why do you want to write about Mimi Silbert and DS? She is inspiring and motivating

Questions you want your paper to answer: What inspired Silbert to want to change something in society? How did MS get community support for DS? What are the measurable outcomes for MS and for the community?

What is the main writing strategy you will employ? Problem/solution, description and it goes without saying, argument

 

Evolution of a Revolutionary

Today in class we looked at the first four chapters in Evolution of a Revolutionary. This was a review. We skimmed the chapters looking at the themes, the tone and the intent of each chapter and how Guy used certain devices to move the story along. Students received a handout--three part essay form. We then practiced developing thesis sentences using this as a guideline. Homework was to develop a thesis sentence for each chapter (1-5) using this form for minimally 3 of the 5. Students were to bring them to class, but if you desire you can post them here for comment.

Homework is to bring in your introductory paragraphs and conclusions as a part of an outline for the research essay. This does not have to be typed.

Next week your first draft is due. After Thanksgiving the final draft is due. Because the midterms were so lousy, students who didn't do well will have the opportunity to take a final exam to make up. If your essay received lower than a C, you need to revise it. See me before your start. We want to work smart, not hard.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

 

Long weekend ahead

Today in class we reviewed the website evaluation assignment. Only one person completed the entire assignment. Students need to get it done. If you have questions refer them to the librarians at the COA reference desk. You can also get assistance at your neighborhood libraries. Most librarians, not library aides have master's degrees.

I have incorrect dates on the Research Essay schedule. Just remember that the documents are due the last class meeting day of the week, except Thanksgiving week.
Your final drafts are due when we return from the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Students also shared their planning sheets and resource lists for the research essay. We didn't get to talk about argumentation or watch the video. We will do this next week. At this point, students should be reading articles, watching broadcast reports, reading books, etc., so that you become an expert on your topic. The introduction and conclusion are due either Wednesday or Thursday, depending on when we meet. If your midterm grade was a C- or a D you have to revise your essay. Revisions need to include the original graded paper along with the essay you'd like considered. I also want students to write a separate narrative explaining what you did to improve the essay. This reflective piece doesn't have to be long.

Please turn in revisions by the end of next week or by arrangement. If you have the corrected essay electronically, you can email the package to me, or you can give it to me as a hardcopy. It's your choice.

Some students have not turned in their midterm essays. To pass the class you have to complete the midterm. The cut off for this essay is next week, so those who have not gotten it in, this is your last chance unless we have made other plans. My office hours are MW 9-11. I am sometimes a little tardy getting over to L-236, but I am coming, wait for me. Tuesday and Thursday after 12 noon is a possiblity if arranged in advance.

Keep reading the Guy book, "Evolution of a Revolutionary." My book has walked; my name is in it. If anyone knows it's whereabouts I'd appreciate its return. Thanks! You can read up to chapter 5 for the next meeting. Don't forget to keep reading logs.

Remember the veteran's over the holiday recess. I returned most if not all of the essays I received as hardcopies. If you missed class or left early, email me and I will send your grade to you. I am not leaving essays for people to pick up for confidentiality reasons.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

 

The Color Purple and other events

We had a great time last night. I lagged and didn't get in touch with the publicist in time for her to see if any actors wanted to meet us afterward, but we are going again. Elesha is getting together a group and we are going to use the education discount. This time I will get in touch with the publicist in advance.

I also want to let students know about another play that opens today, Wednesday, Nov. 7 and continues through Nov. 25, in San Francisco called "Stardust and Empty Wagons," at Brava Theatre Center, 2789 24th Street, (at York). The play is about Katrina survivors who now live in the San Francisco Bay Area. These are their stories. There are free tickets for college students and substantial discounts for groups. Speak to the box office manager (415) 647-2822. You can also visit www.brava.org.

Tonight at the Black New World Amiri Baraka is in conversation with Marcel Diallo.

 

Afeni and Tupac

This morning in class (8-9 a.m.) we read poems from A Rose Grew from Concrete pages 29-37 and responded to them in Afeni's voice. Shanelle shared. Homework is to post two responses to two different poems. I want students to respond in a conversation between themselves and Afeni about the poem. Use the way Jasmine Guy engages her friend Afeni Shakur in conversation about a variety of subjects from motherhood to politics in Evolution of a Revolutionary . The responses should be both reflective and introspective.

We also talked about arguments as a form of communication. Terms associated with argument are: logic, reasonable, debate, persuasion, communicative event, weak, strong, audience, syllogism, deductive, inductive, terms, fallacy, rational, irrational, visual, written, manipulative, valid, and sound.

I was going to share a way of developing thesis statements I want students to use in their research essay, but we ran out of time. It's called the three-part thesis and I have a handout for you. Basically it is a way to include both an acknowledgement, the argument, and a piece of evidence in one sentences by using subordination.

Yesterday a student told me that he didn't cite any sources in his midterm because he didn't know how. I was kind of blown away. We will practice this more, but there have been many opportunities for students to refine and practice using direct citations in-text from paraphrase to direct quotes with attribution. Remember the early lesson on signal phrases? It's all in Hacker.

Please ask questions in class and come to my office hours if you are not clear. he didn't get credit for his essay because it didn't include the requisite 3 citations from Dyson and one from Tupac. The citations were to include three direct quotes, one a block quote and a paraphrase. Students were not to overuse these references, no more than one per paragraph. The essay had to be minimally 4 paragraphs long.

Many students did not put their names on their essays, the assignment, the date or the question they were responding to. Some students did not proofread their essays beforehand to check for error. I am not your editor. Use the spell check as a reference; you can use grammar check also as a reference if you feel it necessary. Read your paper aloud and ask someone to read it aloud to you without changing anything as you look at another copy and correct mistakes.

What you submit is your best work, not a work-in-progress. Your citations is proof that you opened the book; it's not proof that you read it, but it is proof that you read enough to find evidence to support your claim. You were not to go outside of Dyson for your research; everything you need is there.

The same is true for Afeni Shakur. Get the book.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

 

The Color Purple!

Oh tonight is the COLOR PURPLE THEATRE OUTING! WE ARE MEETING AT THE WEST OAKLAND BART AT 7 P.M. THE EXIT IS CIVIC CENTER. WE ARE GOING TO THE ORPHEUM THEATER ON MARKET STREET IN SAN FRANCISCO. CALL ME IF WE HAVEN'T SPOKEN AND YOU WANT TO RIDE OVER ON BART WITH US, OTHERWISE I'LL SEE YOU THERE.

 

An Innovative Idea: Grameen Bank and Microcredit

For the English 201 class, I had you read the article: "Turning Poverty into
Peace" about Muhammad Yunnus, founder of Grameen Bank, an institution which lends money to poor people. Students are to respond to the article here. Keep in mind the following questions:

How is Muhammad Yunnus a social entrepreneur? How is Yunnus' work used as an extended analogy to talk about the key idea of this article? What is the point here? It is repeated minimally 4 times.

Where does the conclusion start? The key point is repeated here one last time. What is that point?

What references are sited to prove the writers' point? List them.

The authors also give other references to organizations whose development went through similar phases as did Grameen Bank. List them.

What did you like most stylistically about the writing? If you had to answer the question: what was the author's purpose and what question did the writers want this article to answer, how would you answer?

(Muhammad Yunnus is on the the SE profiled in Frontline World. Tonight on FW they will be looking at the CIA and its secret interrogations on Channel 9, 10 p.m.)

We'll meet in the classroom tomorrow. We will review the evaluation of a website questionnaires. If you had any trouble, drop by the reference desk. I want all the questions answered.

Keep reading Afeni. We are up to Chapter 4 1/2 for Wednesday-Thursday, November 6-7 for Tuesday, November 13 read up to Chapter 7. Don't forget the logs.

Monday, November 05, 2007

 

Afternoon notes

The afternoon class met in the classroom. Most of the students weren't prepared, so after several attempts at a topic we settled on the article from Ode magazine about Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunnis, whose Grameen Bank has changed the thinking of lenders the world over. This article is an example of what I am looking for in a social entrepreneur essay this month.

Homework is to complete the Evaluating a Website assignment. The links are below. Homework, is also to read Evolution of a Revolutionary up to Chapter 3. Continue the Afeni profile.

The first part of the research assignment is due Wednesday. The assignment is also posted here. If you haven't looked at the Frontline World profiles of social entrepreneurs, do so. You are supposed to watch three (3) and respond at the post.

Our freewrite was a response to "Nothing Can Come Between Us" (Rose 37).

Grades
In order to pass the class, students must have passing grades on all the major essays: Hip Hop Beyond Beats and Rhymes, Midterm, Social Entrepreneur Essay, Evolution of a Revolutionary essay assignment. This will guarantee a C in the class. If you are shooting for a B or better, then you have to complete all the assignments with B or better grades. Those essays are the blog essays, plus other essays assignments such as Too Short as Career Counselor and Jeff Chang on Jay-Z, reading logs, freewrites. The 10 hours spent in the Writing Center also counts toward the grade.

If you are behind, you have until November 15 to catch up on the blog assignments. Afterwards, you can still earn a C in the course. The final day to drop with a W is towards the end of this month. We will have conferences on Wednesday. Bring in the assignment sheet and all your graded work so we can talk.

 

Evolution of a Revolutionary

Today in the early morning class we read two poems: "Starry Night" and "If I Fail" from A Rose that Grew from Concrete, pp. 25 and 27. Students were to respond to the poems in a freewrite. I mentioned Dyson's reference to Van Gogh in his book and my notes for the line "I only follow my voice inside (Chapter 4, Dyson) and the song Me Against the World.

Share your freewrites here. We then started a profile on Afeni Shakur. Students noted that the Afeni Guy writes about is a woman we don't see completely in Dyson's book. I made references to Sula, by Toni Morrison, another book which looks at friendship between two black girls, one of whom suffers a lot.

The characteristics we listed were: Afeni: beauty--dark-skinned, low self-esteem, short kinky hair, thin, short in stature. I asked the question: when did Afeni begin to love herself? Love the way she looked? Love her hair and dark skin?

We spoke about the term "evolution" which means to develop and grow or change over time. it also has the connotation of the stuff that remains when all else is destroyed or eliminated, as in Darwin's theories of human evolution, which he terms the "survival of the fittest." What does this theory suggest about Afeni Shakur and the life she has led when Jasmine Guy begins to write this book? So what remains of Afeni when Jasmin Guy meets here at the courthouse?

Evolution is "a gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex form. In biology, its the theory that organisms change with the passage of time, mainly as a result of natural selection, so that its descendants differ morphologically and physiologically from their ancestors." It comes from a Latin word meaning to "unroll" (The American Heritage Dictionary 298).

List continue (put page numbers next to the characteristics. Add more to the list. We'll share in class tomorrow. Post all of these responses on the blog today.

hard (36)both a positive and negative attribute
fighter (37, 32)
artistic (40) Tupac followed in his mother's footsteps literally
stubborn
angry
mother
friend (foreshadowing) (4)
sister
family orientated (5)
smoke a lot (27, 37) We spoke of how the smoke could be a metaphor...smoke covers, smoke alerts one to imminent danger, smoke suffocates, smoke kills

Homework is to continue working on your social entreprenuer essay. Read chapter 4-5 in Evolution. Bring all of your books to class daily. Don't forget the logs.

Students got into groups and worked on the "Evaluating Websites" assignment together. If you didn't finish complete the questions alone and bring to class tomoorw morning. Students will present their findings. If you were absent, the assignment is posted here. It's two of the URLs listed at the Social Entreprenuer assignment posting last week.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

 

English 201 8-9

Today in class we looked at the Censorship essay questions which looked at the type of claim these essays were--claims of policy, and the essay content. We spent a lot of time looking at 'qualification" statements or "concessions" and how such consideration can win a skeptical audience over to your side, especially with volatile subjects like parental rights and rap music.

We continued our conversation about social entrepreneur. I encourage students to look at art as social change and find someone who is a change agent in the community. I suggested students look at East Side Arts Alliance as a potential place for artists to profile, if not the founders of the organization. Another organization is The Center for Art and Public Life and Art Esteem. I also suggested the PBS Local Heroes database to look for potential candidates.

We are meeting in the lab Monday, November 5. Homework is to figure out who you might want to write about--two potential sources is good. The list of sources. Read Hacker, pp. 371-400. We've already looked at pp. 401-423.

Continue reading Evolution of a Revolutionary. Also, continue watching the Focus World profiles of SE and write your responses on the blog. If you are behind on the cyber-activities, you have until November 15 to post it.

We will do the website evaluation activity Monday morning. The freewrite will be from A Rose Grew from Concrete. Bring all of your books to each class meeting.

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