october 31

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Riders on the Storm" by The Doors]

This week the skies are threatening.  Rain is often used as a literary device in stories.  Why?  What does it symbolize to you?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Emerson feedback & revision
3. Dust off your resume


HW:
1. On your blog, post a reflection on your Emerson writing.  What did you do well?  What do you need to work on?  (blog post title: AUTHOR IN PROGRESS)
2. If you haven't already, read "On Self-Reliance" to the end and post your notes you took from your reading and our class discussions (title: I'M SELF-RELIANT)
3. It's great reading weather... curl up with a good book-- and work on your current literature analysis #DueFriday
4. Do you have a résumé or a brag sheet?  If you do, bring it to class tomorrow.

emerson essay

Explain Emerson's title and thesis.  How was Emerson's main idea supported by his tone, diction, and syntax?  In your answer, please use at least one quote/example from the essay.  Please also give one example of how you either: a) you can use Emerson's idea to help you in your own life, or b) disagree with Emerson and think you can't use his idea to help you in your own life.

october 30

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Today may seem like an average Monday to you, but someone very special to me is celebrating a birthday so the day itself takes on a special meaning.  What makes a day special to you?

AGENDA:
1. Emerson test
2. Journal (you probably won't have time to write this in class so please do it sometime before class tomorrow)

october 27

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "People Get Ready" by Rod Stewart with Jeff Beck]

Think about your Time Investment Portfolio for a moment.  Did the short school days this week make a difference in your life?  Why/why not?

-AND/OR-

How will you prepare for Monday's test?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Emerson review/FAQ

"People get ready, there's a train a-coming..." -Rod Stewart
"Winter is coming." -Game of Thrones

You have a test on Monday.  Prepare.

literature analysis #1 is due

The questions are HERE.  Your answers are due in a post to your blog no later than 8:00 AM PST on Friday, November 3.

october 26

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe a time that your day changed unexpectedly.  How did you adapt?  How did you feel about it?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Preview of next week's coming attractions
3. Wrapping up this week

october 25

I won't be in class today, so please be self-reliant.  And email with any questions.  Mahalo.

JOURNAL TOPIC:

I had a different journal topic in mind until I walked to class the other day with Angel and got to talking tamales.  Then I got hungry, so:

Describe your favorite memory of a meal.  Was it with family?  On a date?  At a fancy restaurant?  At home?  What made it special?  Was it the taste?  The company?  The emotions you felt?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Read all the way to the end of On Self-Reliance and create a list of (at least) three questions with your table group for us to discuss tomorrow

progress report 2 self-assessment

Please rate yourself on a scale from 1-10 (10 being best) on the following elements of the course.  After you give yourself the number score, please write 1-3 sentences explaining your reasons, including your performance and your effort.

Journals

Vocabulary

Formal writing/ essays

Readings

Blog posts

Big question work

Literature analysis

october 24

JOURNAL TOPIC:
In what ways are you self-reliant?  In what ways are you NOT self-reliant?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Progress report self-assessment

100!

This is the 100th post on the course blog this year.  How many posts are on your blog?

october 23

JOURNAL TOPIC:
"Do not think the youth has no force..."  Find this quote in Emerson's essay (it's in the paragraph just after where we left off reading on Friday) and explain why you think he says this.  Do you agree or disagree?  Why?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. "On Self-Reliance" continued
3. Mind map & next steps

october 20

JOURNAL TOPIC:
There are two ways to look at things that are difficult: 1) we can wish they were easier; or 2) we can adapt and respond more effectively, either in a way that solves the problem or helps us accept what we can't change.  Choose something that is difficult in your life, and describe your response using approach 1 and/or 2.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Emerson/table conversations
3. Emerson conference w DP

october 19

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe one important idea you've gotten so far from Emerson's "On Self-Reliance."  How is it relevant or helpful to think about this idea in 2017?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Emerson continued
3. Mapping our minds

HW:
1. Log in and make edits to the mind map
2. Describe your map work on your blog.  Why did you do what you did?  How did it/will it help you understand Emerson's writing?  (title: MAPPING MY MIND)

october 18

JOURNAL TOPIC:
"This is only a test..."  What does the word test mean to you?  Is it an obstacle in life, a thing you do in school for a score, or something else?  What should it mean?  What is the value of a test?  Do you see any value or importance in doing something that is difficult or inconvenient?  Why/why not?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Yesterday's students /today's masters
3. Mind map prep

HW:
1. Post to your blog (lit analysis, Emerson)
2. Tweet to #dpamlit
3. If you have a strong opinion about which mindmap platform we should use, please comment to this post

october 17

JOURNAL TOPIC:
We attach a lot of importance to achievements like making money, or getting famous, or even a high G.P.A.  What is your greatest accomplishment so far?  Agree or disagree with Emerson: "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment."

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. This essay ain't for children
3. Pro Tools: Mind maps
4. Preview: Brain with 200 legs

HW:
1. Post something interesting about the Literature Analysis book you're currently reading (title: SOMETHING INTERESTING ABOUT THE BOOK I'M READING)
2. Research mind map tools and come to class tomorrow (Wednesday) prepared to advocate for one

october 16

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Choose your own.  What's on your mind?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Self-Reliance: Notes about Literature Analysis and Big Questions
3. Self-Reliance: Notes about resumes and cover letters

HW:
Have you done Literature Analysis #1?  Select a book and post about your choice tonight.

is the sky real?

These are the moments I love the most.  Last night I got a message telling me students were collaborating on a brilliant idea.  This morning I made a connection as I stretched on my deck and watched the sunrise.  Then Christian walks up first thing in class and tells me to read this post on his blog.  Brilliant.  So it begins...

october 13

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”  What does this mean to you?  How can you do this in a world that seems to pressure you in so many ways to be something else?

-OR-

Why do some people believe Friday the 13th is bad luck?  Do you really think that the day or date can somehow influence your experience of being alive?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. "Art of Hosting" quiz
3. Vocabulary Q&A
4. Independent work/collaboration time

• yesterday's work
• preview Emerson's "On Self-Reliance"

5. Post. (Post. Post.)

october 12

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Give some advice to the people who design and run school.  What could be changed that would help you the most? 

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. The Art of Hosting Good Conversations Online

HW:
Post your thoughts about online conversations to your blog in the form of an advice column, entitled -- you guessed it-- HOW TO HOST A GOOD CONVERSATION ONLINE

october 11

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?" from Sesame Street]

How do you meet people and build relationships?  Offline? (Through school/classes, extracurricular activities, community organizations...)  Online? (Through general social media like Instagram, FB, Snapchat, or forums of interest, or...)

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Vocab
3. Networking
4. Online conversations

HW:
1. Define and write sentences for the vocab words (or create graphics, or a vid, or post something else to your blog to show you know what they mean and/or why they're important)
2. Please finish reading "How to host..."  and "How smartphones..."

how smartphones hijack our minds

Thanks to Leslie, I just realized that the article below has a paywall that prevents you from reading the whole thing. Rather than complain about this, I'd like to report three things we can learn from this moment: 
1) Reading the first paragraph of the article has value, because it clarifies how much we use our smartphones by citing research that puts a number on it (we look at those things at least 80 times each day!) 
2) The fact that the Wall Street Journal makes us pay for this is a lesson in economics and culture -- what does it tell you? 
3) Internet (and especially social media) companies who monetize data (that is, they let you use their services for free and then sell all your data) are doing some serious damage to the fabric of our society. Don't take my word for it-- read this editorial (which I think is available for free :) by Pierre Omidyar, founder of ebay. 

You've heard some of this from me already-- check out the rest in this Wall Street Journal article.

transform our shoebox (via @leslie)

Wow.  I watched her type furiously in period 2 but I didn't know what she was thinking until just now.  You never know what someone's thinking-- until they say it or, in this case, write it.  Have a look at this post:

https://leslerzaguilarsmhs18.blogspot.com/2017/10/our-american-literature-shoebox.html

and start the conversation.  Our learning environment may never look the same again.

october 10

JOURNAL TOPIC:
The next progress report comes out one week from this Friday.  What do you hope to accomplish in this course and your other courses between now and then?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Vocab discussion
2. The Art of Hosting Good Conversations Online

the art of hosting good conversations online

(original online here)

The Art of Hosting Good Conversations Online

By Howard Rheingold

WHAT AN ONLINE HOST WANTS TO ACHIEVE:

vocabulary: fall list #6

meme
virus
viral
blog
wiki
URL
website
www
Internet
2.0
open source

october 9

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Consider your friends, your relatives, your teammates, your co-workers.  What makes a good relationship?  What makes a relationship good?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Last week's vocabulary this week
3. This week's vocabulary this week
4. Story and choosing our next study
5. The art of hosting good conversations online

HW:
1. Vocab
2. Recruit 3 followers to your blog by Friday 10/13

october 6

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Today it happened again.  There I was, minding my own business, walking from my car to the classroom, when someone said it: "Happy Friday!"

Why?  Why should Friday be happier than Wednesday?  For that matter, what did Monday ever really do to you?

Someone please explain this.  There is an entire restaurant chain called "TGIF" and I just don't understand.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Wrapping up the week

announcements for october 5

GENERAL


§ Attention students attending the Allan Hancock Career Exploration Day:
Please meet at the Bus Drop Off on Stowell at 8:30 a.m. (2nd period) Friday morning. You will be lining up alphabetically and must have your student ID in order to board the buses. There will be NO

october 5

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Write an introductory paragraph (as if you were writing an essay) in response to this prompt:

Explain the differences in the themes and tones of "Earth on Turtle's Back" and "Young Goodman Brown."

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Read "Is This The Time to Stick to Our Guns?" and post a comment in response.  Please cite at least two of the references in the links
3. How we write (guided)
4. Review vocab

HW:
1. Finish any late work and post to your blog
2. Make sure your Time Investment Portfolio is up to date
2. Be a Good Human Being and post about it to your blog (title: TODAY I'M A GOOD HUMAN)

is this the time to stick to our guns?

Please read and comment.  Mahalo.

It’s on everyone’s minds this week. Amid all the other serious issues facing our country, the Las Vegas shooting has once again put guns in the middle of the national conversation.

Crisis creates trauma. This affects our decision-making in a variety of ways. Some people respond heroically, like the husband who died shielding his wife from a hail of bullets. Other people go into shock. Still others respond in fear and recoil from the public. Public figures have also reacted differently; late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel offered a serious, heartfelt message to the nation and our political leaders. Our political leaders offered empty, ritualized condolences — even as they contemplate legislation that will open more land to hunting and legalize silencers for guns.

You might think that mass shootings in America would make people realize that we need less semi-automatic killing machines in the hands of people who can snap even if they do pass a background check. But every time one of these tragedies occurs, gun sales go up — investors see this as such a sure bet that gun stocks soared after the Las Vegas shooting.

And these shootings are happening more often. In the last 1,735 days (since January 1, 2013) there have been 1,516 mass shootings. As of August of this year, there were more mass shootings than days in the year. They are so common that sometimes the news doesn’t even bother to report them all. Did you know that there was a shooting in Kansas on the same day as the Las Vegas shooting?

What happens to one of us happens to us all. Even if you didn’t know anyone in Las Vegas, the event caused you to think or talk or feel or listen or look. It caused me to write this. Which led you to read this. There is a ripple effect. Call it the collective unconscious, or interdependence, or empathy, or mirror neurons, or ubuntu, or whatever your belief system suggests. But know this: There is a link that joins us all. It doesn’t matter how we identify with race, or politics, or gender, or whatever. Today we are simply human. And we are all affected by Las Vegas.

 

Yesterday afternoon I was driving my eight year-old daughter home when she said something that made me wonder, so I asked: “Have you heard anything recently about Las Vegas?” She said yes, that the iPad she plays with at her mother’s house has a news app and that she saw pictures of dead people and a headline that didn’t make sense. “Daddy,” she said, “Why did that happen?” I looked at her in the rear view mirror and I told her the truth. “I don’t know, sweetheart. I’m not sure that anyone knows. What I do know is that there are ways we can be safer and hopefully stop it from happening again.”

I wonder whether our leaders have what it takes to make those changes. Even a superficial glance at our laws, culture and behavior — have a look at these charts, for instance — prove beyond a shadow of a reasonable doubt that, when it comes to guns, the United States of America is out of its mind. Some people can’t even take things like this seriously anymore so they resort to coping through humor (which in this case is explicit, so please don’t click the link if you’re sensitive to profanity).

Whether I can change anything or not, I can’t afford to stop trying. My daughter, my students, and all the young people in this country deserve better. We have to do a better job of valuing what’s good for Americans (think healthcare, clean drinking water, freedom from police brutality and deportation, access to the Internet, and about 500 other things). We have to force the politicians who work for us to enact and enforce laws that support our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of not being shot.

For some strange reason, we Americans admire figures who stubbornly refuse to change their minds in the face of all reasonable evidence. “Good for you, man,” we say, “Way to stick to your guns.”

Learning is nothing if we don’t change our minds. New information adds neuronal pathways that didn’t previously exist — when you learn a new idea or a new skill, you change the shape of your brain. You literally change your mind. Deliberately resisting this is self-destructive.

I want my daughter — and you, dear reader — to grow to a ripe old age in a society where you can go out to a concert without getting your brains blown all over the sidewalk.

Maybe it’s finally time for us to reconsider whether we should stick to our guns.

(Also published on Medium.)

lost key

Someone found the key to California on the floor after 2nd period.

october 4

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Everyday I Write the Book" by Elvis Costello & The Attractions]

Describe your writing process from beginning to end.  What do you do when you are faced with a prompt and the blank page?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Those who Can, Do

free speech?

Where is the line between teaching young people about their right to free expression and determining what they can and can't say?  What do you think about students being kicked off a team and out of school for raising a fist or kneeling during the national anthem?  You can read the full article HERE.  Please comment to this post with your thoughts.

announcements october 3

Bulletin for Tuesday, October 3, 2017


GENERAL

october 3

JOURNAL TOPIC:
If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be?  You can pick someone close to you, or someone famous, or even someone from the past.  Why this person?  What would you talk about?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Your letters

announcements october 2

GENERAL


§ Collaboration Day: Every Monday (early out).

§ Attention, 10th and 11th Graders: If you have a 2.5 GPA or higher, and are serious about attending a 4-year university right out of high school, come to the PSAT pre-registration TODAY. 10th grade sign-ups will be during 3rd period and 11th grade during 5th in the Ethel Pope Auditorium. This preliminary test prepares you for the SAT that will be held on Wednesday, October 11th.

§ Freshmen!! You are invited by Link Crew leaders to come to Link Crew Movie Night!! It will be held on Friday October 6th right after school in the Ethel Pope Auditorium! Get ready for fun, snacks and friends! See you then!

§ Juniors! On sale now class of 2019 T-shirt for only $12. See Samantha Lopez or Ms. Turner for order forms and details in room 613.


§ SENIORS! Your fundraiser will be coming to an end on Friday! Be sure to sell, sell, sell to keep the cost of Prom down and to earn some of the senior free prizes.

§ Junior class meeting will be held Tuesday, October 3rd, at lunch in Ms. Turner's room, 613, at 12:40 sharp. Grab your lunch and sign in, so we can plan Homecoming. Class of 2019 T-shirt order forms will also be available.

CLUBS

§ Attention Alpine Club students: There is a mandatory lunchtime meeting on Tuesday for students who plan to attend the upcoming hiking trips. Please arrive early!

§ The Fellowship of Christian Athletes meets on Tuesday at lunch in room 352 (math hall). Come by for pizza and sharing, bring a friend!

§ Attention ETS students: If you are planning to attend the field trip to Sacramento, this is a reminder that your prearrangement for absence form will be collected tomorrow during the after-school workshop.

october 2

JOURNAL TOPIC:

Use five of this week's vocabulary words to describe your experience in this class.  Is it different for you when Dr. Preston isn't here or bugging you about an assignment?  How?  Why does the teacher (not) matter to your learning experience?


AGENDA:
1. Vocabulary
2. Journal
3. Big Questions
4. Reaching out: letter to a mentor

HW:
1. Post your letter to a mentor (title: LETTER TO A MENTOR DRAFT 1)
2. 10 mins. min. on vocab
3. Please post Literature Analysis #1 by Friday

vocabulary: fall list #5

1. venomous
2. stolid
3. hypnotized
4. suspended
5. transformed
6. accuse
7. anticipate
8. fringe
9. melancholy
10. earnestly
11. dissolve
12. aggravate
13. illuminate
14. capillary
15. proboscis

the test

If you weren't in class on Friday, please give yourself 35 minutes (you're on the honor system) and complete the following test on a piece of paper.  Please do not use notes (you're on the honor system).  Due by this Wednesday, October 4.

SECTION 1
Write the letter of the correct choice next to the number on your paper.

1. Theme                              a. the words an author chooses
2. Syntax                              b. information such as setting/time/place
3. Diction                             c. the author's attitude toward the topic, character, or audience
4. Mood                               d. the reader's emotional state
5. Tone                                 e. the central message of a text
6. Allusion                           f. clues as to what happens later in the story
7. Dynamic Character         g. a reference to something the author thinks we should know
8. Foreshadowing                h. using something to stand for something else
9. Flashback                        i. the way an author arranges words
10. Exposition                     j. a character who changes from the beginning of the story to the end
11. Symbolism                    k. moving backward in time suddenly during a story

SECTION II
Choose at least FIVE of the literary elements above, and give an example from something we've read in class so far this year.  If you choose to do more than five, you will receive extra credit for each additional item.

SECTION III
Describe how the tone of "Conscience of a Hacker" is different from the tone of "Richard Cory."