Thursday, February 28, 2008

 

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

In class yesterday, we read from Letters from Mississippi. We read the letter dated, June 18 aloud and then looked for arguments and discussed the key points in each paragraph, sometimes summarizing them and/or looking up words. Ray commented on how these letters made him think about what his grandmother must have felt living in Mississippi when these events happened. I gave students the term structural violence as something to think about when one considers the continuing disenfranchisement of certain people in American society because of the color of their skin, where they were born or how much money their parent's have. The issues Freedom Summer and the Civil Rights Movement addressed have certainly not disappeared 40-50 years later.

Homework
Homework was to read up to page 39, the end of the first section and to respond to one letter and identify and post one argument and its evidence here.

If you went to the event today, Books not Bars not Death in the Student Lounge F-Bldg., you can post a response to that also (three paragraphs or 250 words would be great).

I have made copies of the first section of the book. I will put them outside my office Monday, March 3. Only one person came to my office today to get copies. Bring your copies of Children of the Movement to class Monday, March 3.

Notes
You are responsible for your education. Come to class on time and stay the entire time. Remain focused and serious. Find a copy of the book at the library or like Raymond did, come to my office to make copies from my book. Stay on top of your assignments and if you need help get it in the Learning Resource Center where there is free tutoring and writing assistance for those who ask Monday-Saturday.

Old Assignments
If you didn't respond to the Baldwin essay, and only three students did, the assignment is still due. Post it.

Monday, February 25, 2008

 

Monday, February 25, 2008

Today we reviewed the James Baldwin essay about MLK Jr. I didn't know it would be such a hard assignment. Please forgive me. In the early class (10-12) we skimmed the essay together by reading the introduction, then reading the topic sentences. It took almost two hours to do this. I then recapped the essay in an outline.

This afternoon, I changed strategies. We divided the essay into 7 parts and broke into pairs where students read the section and summarized their part. We then reported back. It still took a lot of time. We went over a few minutes, but students said it helped a lot.

Baldwin uses sophisticated vocabulary. He also references people you might not know like Booker T. Washington and Bayard Rustin. You should take the time to familiarize yourself with them, if you want a deeper understanding of the text.

Homework for the early class was to complete the Cyber-Assignment on the Baldwin essay given last week. The homework for the afternoon class was to respond to the freewrite: What is James Baldwin's essay "Martin Luther King" about? Identify three arguments in an essay. The essay needs to be 250 words minimally. Below is a sample essay I wrote as a freewrite. (You can fill in the blanks :-)

In James Baldwin's essay...he writes about... He surveys the development of MLK Jr.'s leadership and implies that Martin King comes to his role naturally, given his grandfather's leadership in the NAACP and his achievements which surpasses the expectations his family probably had for him, especially his dad.

Baldwin characterizes the South as a place to fear, and his admiration of King is viewed through a lens that King was drawn to his work becasue he loved the South and his people. He could find no other powerful a motive than this. King's love, perhaps even naivete was addressed in this essay repeatedly, an inference one could detect when Baldwin was most moved by his young friends grief and disappointment. An example of this is when King is accused of stealing from his organization. Another is when he is almost killed by a fan at a book signing.


Though he extolls his friend's virtues, Baldwin also criticizes him. He calls King into question when he abandons Bayard Rustin, one of his key organizers in the Civil Rights Movement. I think this was a great disappointment to Baldwin. He addresses the potential of black leadership, or rather, measures or takes its temperature as he conludes the essay with a forecast of what American can expect as it moves towards "[t]he possiblity of liberation which is always real is also always painful, since it involves such an overhauling of all that gave us our identity" (657).

You can post your assignment here. Also, read to page 18 in Letters. If you don't have the book. make a friend and photocopy the first 20 or so pages.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

 

February 20...count down to Spring

Today in class, the early class, 10-12, we had a library tour with Steve Gerstle. It was fun and we learned about where the various books on the Civil Rights Movement were located. We also looked up magazine articles and books in the on-line reference and then went to the shelf to find them. We limited our search to books at COA, even so, some books were not on the shelf, even though the database said they were. The expanded academic site had a link to Civil Rights, which took us to materials: books and articles about the topic.

Afterwards we went upstairs and read from Letters from Mississippi. We looked at the arguments or conclusions and what assertions or claims supported such reasoning. In the afternoon class, after we discussed Eyes on the Prize, we read a little farther in the book and discussed what the central idea was in each letter. We couldn't leave out references to the times; however, we saw connections between then and now. The analogy was crime on Oakland streets and the mayor's proposed solution: more police.

I defined conclusion and argument for the students. I'll post what I wrote here later. I will copy the definitions as a handout for Monday's class. Students also received an essay by James Baldwin, which looked at the writer's first meeting with MLK Jr. (There are copies outside my office.)

Read the essay and respond in a three paragraph essay, minimally. What is Baldwin's impression of Martin King? Why was he surprised that King affected him so?

You can post the essay here.

Sonny's Blues
The play has been extended. Next Thursday, Feb. 28, there are only 9 seats, so I would like to arrange our trip for March 8 instead. Is this agreeable? Let me know via email if you'd like to go and how many tickets you'd like.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

 

English 201 Reflection

This morning we posted our essay responses to the Ouida Barnett essay in John Blake's "Children of the Movement." In the afternoon class, we read part of the introduction to "Letters from Mississippi," and then went downstairs for a library orientation with Professor Jane McKenna. We finished early and students had the choice of returning to the lab to write their essays or going home. Most left.

Wednesday, the 10-12 class will meet at the library for an hour library orientation and then we'll go upstairs to talk about "Letters from Mississippi." Bring your books. Also, bring Baldwin's book.

Sonny's Blues Field Trip
I want to go to see the play "Sonny's Blues" at the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre this month before it closes. I was thinking of Thursday, February 28, 8 p.m.

 

Homework, due February 19

On Sunday, Feb. 17, 12 noon to 2 p.m. watch "Eyes on the Prize." This episode includes information about Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner's murder. Respond to this program taking into consideration what you know about the 3 Civil Rights workers and the period examined. Visit http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eyesontheprize/ to see additional materials on the 14 hour series. The series circulates in most library systems. Laney College owns it too. You can watch it on campus. It is also available at video rental stores like Block Busters.

The two segments you will see on Sunday are: "Mississippi America" and "Bridge to Freedom." As you reflect on that era, consider what social justice issues and policies have changed and what remains the same.

Again, respond to another student's essay response by Wednesday, February 20.

 

Ouida Barnett Atkins Cyber essay

Post a 250 word essay response to this essay, then respond to some one else's essay.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

 

Cyber Assignment for Anne Reeb due 2/11

For your assignment for Monday, Feb. 11, read the essay Anne Reeb: Daughter of Reverend James Reeb. What is the essay about? How are the experiences of Ann Reeb and Angela Lewis the same? How do they differ? Write a 250 word essay about the reading. Complete and post an essay planning sheet, along with an outline. Read the Ouida Barnett Atkins essay for 2/13.

Planning Sheet recap

What is the topic of your paper?
Who is your audience?
What is your purpose?
What question do you want you essay to answer?
What will be your main writing strategy?


Outline recap:

Thesis
Major point 1
Evidence

Major point 2
Evidence
Evidence

and so on...



Conclusion

We are going to the library Wednesday, February 13, 1:30 to 3 p.m. We will meet in the classroom first.

 

Cyber Assignment for My Dungeon Shook

Choose one of the thesis sentences developed in class and write a three-paragrph essay and post here.

Monday, February 04, 2008

 

Cyber Assignment for MLK III

You can post the three paragraph reflection on Martin Luther King III here. Respond to my questions: What is the thesis or main point of this profile? What do you think the author thinks of MLK III? Do you think King has had much of a choice over the direction his life has taken? What if anything, can he do about it? Are there some things we have no choice in?

In class today we went over a grammar quiz. Visit www.grammarbook.com. After we corrected the sentences, we then had a discussion using Hacker's Rules for Writers to locate an explanation for the error. We had a lot of fun and several students are skilled grammarians. For those students who had difficulties, this exercise was an opportunity to learn where you are weakest so you can start studying in that area. I suggested that students do the grammar refresher work in the Writing Center (L-234), just in case you get stuck; someone is there who can help you.

I handed out another essay from Children of the Movement: "Ben Cheney and Angela Lewis." Ben's brother James Earl Cheney was murdered along with two other Civil Rights Workers, the Summer of '64. It really scarred Ben. On Channel 9, the 2/17,"Eyes on the Prize" episode (12-2 PM) addresses this tragedy.

We talked about the trauma the families of those killed or maimed during this violent era in our history and the absence of psychological help for the families. And if there was help, its refusal. The Civil Rights Movement was a war. It was a continuation of the Civil War and its wounded landed on both sides of the barbed wire fences. These wounds are still festering. Just think about what Alice Walker observed when revisiting Coretta Scott King. Just think about what Walker shared with us about her own pain, suffering and loss, and then multiply what we know by all the stories untold.

There is a series on Channel 9 called Eyes on the Prize: 12-2 PM Sunday, Feb. 10 and Feb. 17. It's a documentary history of the Civil Rights Movement. We missed part one Sunday, Feb. 3. But the other two are yet to be aired. You can borrow the tapes from the library. I think Laney College owns the series.

Other programs: 2/6: AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 9 PM and PRINCE AMONG SLAVES AT 11 PM; 2/10: COLORBLIND AT 2 PM; PIECE BY PIECE: HISTORY OF SF GRAFFITTI ART AT 6 PM; EVENING WITH ANDREW YOUNG AT 7 PM; 2/11: OPRAH'S ROOTS AT 10 PM; 2/13: A TALE OF TWO CITIES: ALLENSWORTH (A BLACK TOWN IN CA) AT 7:30 PM; 2/17: Soul of Justice: Thelton Henderson's American Journey, AT 6 PM; HIP HOP: BEYOND BEATS AND RHYMES AT 11 PM;2/18:FANNIE LOU HAMER AT 11:30 PM; 2/19: BANISHED AT 11 PM; 2/20: AMERICAN MASTERS: ARETHA FRANKLIN AT 4 AM. YOU SHOULD TAPE THIS TO WATCH LATER.

Check www.kqed.org/heritage. I didn't list everything, and there are also many programs on the radio this month too.

Oh I was mistaken, this is a leap year. February has 29 days this year. Oh, don't forget to post your homework response essays to the "Coretta King: Revisited" essay. Include the planning sheet.

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