march 1

JOURNAL TOPIC:

The last line of The Great Gatsby: "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

How does this sum up what the book is all about?

AGENDA:
1. Read/analyze Chapter 9
2. Plan for tomorrow
3. Journal (after finishing the book)

OUTCOME:
Tonight you will finish the book. Tomorrow (Friday) you will arrive prepared for a test on Chapters 7-9.

february 28

JOURNAL TOPIC:
In five years, what (if anything) do you think you will remember about this class?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Gatsby: Chapter 8 quiz
3. CAKE WEDNESDAY OPTIONS

• Scholarship search (you can start here-- if you find any other good search engines please share in a comment to this post)
• College research (you can start with the list of websites here-- let us know what you find useful, and if you find any other good resources please share in a comment to this post)
• Job search

OUTCOMES:
Please post to your blog (TITLE: WILD WEDNESDAY) and explain how what you did in class today represents an empowering first step toward something you really want.

i've been waiting for this my whole life

Oh, man... please oh please, HBO: do NOT mess this up.

gg

here

february 27

JOURNAL TOPIC:
It seems like Gatsby and Daisy were really in love with each other.  Do you think they both experienced this in the same way?  Did they want the same things?  Do you think they agreed on what was most important in a relationship?  Explain your answer.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Gatsby: Chapter 8
3. Prep for Cake Wednesday

february 26

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Somebody Got Murdered" by The Clash; "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" by Bob Dylan]

What is it about death?  Why do so many characters die by the end of the book, or the play, or the movie?  What do we care, anyway?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Gatsby Chapter 8

journalism workshop this summer at cal poly

This looks like an amazing opportunity.  Details HERE.  The application deadline is April 15.  Please let me know if you need any additional information.

february 23

JOURNAL TOPIC:
They say time flies when you're having fun.  Well, I'm curious about something.  Most of you tell me that you don't have much fun at school.  But here we are: it's late February and in the blink of an eye it will be summer.  Why does the time still go so fast?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Analyze Emma Gonzalez's speech and comment on the last post
3. Grades

student rhetoric in real time

At the beginning of this semester we watched Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. give a speech, which we analyzed in terms of ethos, pathos, and logos-- the three elements that Aristotle said were essential to demonstrating an argument in such a way that we believe it.  We talked about how we intuitively observe speakers all the time, and what elements of their presentations lead us to be impressed, persuaded, bored, or offended.

The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida has sparked a national debate about gun control and safety, particularly on school campuses.  Please take a few minutes to watch the following speech from Emma Gonzalez, a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.  Then comment to this post with your evaluation of her ethos, pathos, and logos.  Do you trust her character?  Do you feel an emotional sense of empathy or sympathy for her and/or her perspective?  Is her argument clear, truthful, and well-reasoned?  Use what you remember from our conversations (including verbal, paraverbal, and nonverbal communication) to point out evidence from her talk that supports your positions.

Here is the link to a video of Ms. Gonzalez's speech.

february 22

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Today is 2/22.  Maybe that's interesting to you, maybe not.  What is it about numbers that you think makes them fascinating to some and boring to others?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Chapter 7 quiz
3. Chapter 8

Please post CHAPTER 8 NOTES to your blog.

is gatsby good or bad?

Post your thought about the title character -- with at least one reason -- in a comment to this post.  Mahalo.

an open question

There are always so many things competing for our attention.  Usually, it takes less than a day or two for even the biggest news to disappear as the next wave of headlines takes over.

But this week is different.  The mass shooting in Parkland, Florida is still being discussed in national mainstream media.  Students and families and educators around the country are sending a powerful message: NO MORE.

Here at Santa Maria High School we've had our own moment to consider the issue.  We talked about it in class yesterday.  Then Estefany shared this item on her blog, and it got me to thinking: what's next?  Will we forget?  Laugh it off?  Do something that will create meaningful change?

The honest answer is, I don't know.  That three word phrase -- I don't know -- is the beginning of all learning.  Sharing it with you in this way is the heart of Open Source Learning.  I would really appreciate it if you'd comment to this post with your ideas about how we can connect with others who care about this issue and contribute to a national movement that absolutely, positively has to succeed.

Thanks for reading.  I look forward to reading your ideas and/or discussing in class. 

*UPDATE: You can read what the Parkland students are doing about this issue HERE.

february 21

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Cars" by Gary Numan; "Get Outta My Dreams & Into My Car" by Billy Ocean]
The other day my daughter asked me, "If someone walks in front of your car and the car hits them, whose fault is it?"  Whose fault is it that Myrtle is dead?  Why do you think Fitzgerald took the story in this direction?  As an aside, how do you think the issue of responsibility will change with the increasing popularity of self-driving cars?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Quiz on Chapter 7
3. Gatsby Chapter 8

academic awards

Congratulations to the Saints who won academic awards Fall Semester!

2018_02_20_08_29_46 by dpreston1441 on Scribd

love dating abuse boundaries and support

I received this poster recently and I think it's worth considering on your own, privately, rather than on a wall or a classroom door.  Many of us know someone who is dealing with serious relationship issues.  This is a legitimate problem for adults too (consider the #MeToo movement).  I hope that if you or someone you know is dealing with any kind of unhealthy relationship pressure, you'll get the support you need.

february 20

How can you use your connection to the Internet to get what you need, meet the people you want, and achieve your goals?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Gatsby: Discuss Chapter 6 & get into Chapter 7
3. Preview of Cake Day

MONUMENTAL, SICK, EPIC, REGAL, GODLIKE AMOUNT OF EXTRA CREDIT if you post to your blog about something that you believe to be extremely positive about your experience of learning in this community (title: WHAT GOES RIGHT AT MY SCHOOL / first sentences: "It seems like when something bad happens at school the media makes a big deal out of it and everyone gets upset.  But every day, something happens at school that helps me, and I never hear anyone talking about that side of things.  For example...")

yesterday, today, and tomorrow

Yesterday I woke up thinking we'd probably be talking about immigration.  Then the social media thing, and the media coverage, and the fear, and the parents taking their children out of school. 

Now it's a sunny, quiet Saturday morning.  This is a perfect moment to reflect and ask myself what we can learn from moments like this.

There's a longer blog post cooking in my head, but for our purposes I want to bookmark a few ideas so we can come back to them after the weekend:

• The vast majority of people on our campus do the right thing almost all the time, even when no one is looking;
• This is not a very dramatic story, so the evening news doesn't often scream: "This just in!  Everything went right at Santa Maria High School today, and young people learned stuff!"
• There is something truly beautiful about community, and maybe moments like this can bring us back in closer touch with our needs for trust and hope;
• I subscribe to the idea that tomorrow is promised to no one (remembering the idea helps me make the most of today), but going to school should never feel like a risk or a potential threat to our safety;
• This sort of thing has happened before (see below, which I originally posted for a class at Righetti HS on November 20, 2014);
• A question for all of us to consider: How can we use our growing understanding of rhetoric and communication to tell a different, better story that sets the tone we want to see in our community?

I look forward to thinking out loud with you about these ideas.  In the meantime, please feel free to comment. Mahalo. -dp
_____________________________________________________

(From 2014)

Sometimes life is our literature.  Yesterday, this happened:

So, today we'll be creating space for any discussion that needs discussing, and we will be integrating our ideas about reality with our ideas about poetry.

For starters: an exercise in Remix and "the medium is the message."  Watching the news visual with each of today's tunes: "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen & "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones

JOURNAL TOPIC:
As author Salman Rushdie put it, "A poet's work is to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it going to sleep."  Write a poem about yesterday's events, or what you think it says about our culture and the people in it, or anything else that fulfills Rushdie's description of the poet's work.

a day without immigrants?

I posted this last year.  Here it is again.  I look forward to the day when we're all on the same page. -dp

Today many people are demonstrating to remind business and political leaders of the importance of immigrants.

I support everyone's right to demonstrate and to make their perspectives known.  Even though my family is made up entirely of immigrants, I will be in class today, because sometimes the best way to demonstrate is to learn out loud together.  Our agenda is what we make it.  (And I will also post the daily for us to rely on just in case.)

If our classroom looks like this

I will spend the day writing, and I respectfully request that you do the same.  If you're not in school today please blog about your reasoning and share your experiences.

february 16

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes, selected by my daughter Tara! "Better When I'm Dancin'" by Meghan Trainor, from the Peanuts Movie soundtrack; "Can't Stop the Feelin'" by Justin Timberlake, from the Trolls soundrack]

Why do people dance?  What (if anything) makes you feel like dancing?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Discuss Chapter 6 and get into  Chapter 7
*Please post GATSBY CHAPTER 7 NOTES to your blog this weekend (reminder: plot/character highlights & literary techniques)
3.  Schedule for finishing the book

a more typical approach to chapter 6

Hopefully you made some progress on ethos, pathos, and logos -- we will discuss today.  Here are some typical "did you read the chapter" questions.  If you're not sure of the answers, please review before class.

1.  What is Gatsby’s real name, and where is he from?

a.  He is James Gatz from North Dakota.

b.  He is Floyd Jay Deisinger from Nevada.

c.  He is Jamie Garcia from California.

d.  He is Jason Gatsboukian from Illinois.

2.  What did Dan Cody do for Gatsby?

a.  He introduced Gatsby to Daisy on his yacht.

b.  He educated Gatsby about money and the people who have it.

c.  He lent Gatsby money for his early business ventures.

d.  He left Gatsby a fleet of yachts when he died.

3.  What is extremely ironic in Tom’s statement of Gatsby, “I wonder where in the devil he met Daisy.  By God, I may be old fashioned in my ideas but women run around too much these days to suit me.  They meet all kinds of crazy fish”?

a.  Tom doesn’t like it when new people flash their money more than he does

b.  Tom himself is “running around” with Myrtle

c.  Tom thinks Nick shouldn’t befriend Gatsby

d.  Tom doesn’t like fish, especially the crazy ones

4.  What is Daisy’s opinion of Gatsby’s party, and how does it affect him?

a.  She likes it immensely.  He is so pleased that he asks her to help him arrange his next one.

b.  She doesn’t like it.  He becomes angry and vows never to see her again.

c.  She doesn’t like it.  He becomes depressed.

d.  She likes it somewhat.  He asks her to attend several more before she gives him her opinion.

5.  Gatsby wants nothing less from Daisy than to:  

a.  come to him and say she never loved him (Gatsby), so that he can finally be free of her ghost

b.  come to him and say she wants to stay friends but not get romantically involved.

c.  stay married to Tom but have an affair with him.

d.  Go to Tom and say, “I never loved you,” and leave him for Gatsby

6.  How does Gatsby react to Nick’s statement about Daisy, “I wouldn’t ask too much of her. You can’t repeat the past”?

a.  He replies, “Can’t repeat the past?  Why of course you can!”

b.  He says, “Yeah, you’re probably right.  But I know she’ll eventually come around.”

c.  He replies, “How dare you!  I’ve got enough money to make anything happen again!”

d.  He states, “I should have known better than to go down this road.  It’s a dead end.”

what connection looks like

On a day when so many of us are grateful for our campus communities -- and the simple fact that we are alive -- here is a positive, creative example of a teacher connecting with her students. Enjoy 😊

can we cure stupid?

Every once in a while I wonder.

february 15

JOURNAL TOPIC:

Why do people fall in love?  Would you characterize Gatsby's attraction to Daisy as love?  Why or why not?  Do you think they will be successful in love?  Why or why not?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Chapter 6/ questions and reading

february 14

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "My Funny Valentine" by Chet Baker]
Valentine's Day is a rip off.  Flowers cost double or triple what they normally cost.  Restaurants (the good ones) are nearly impossible to get into.  Grown men and women around the country will go into depressed ice cream binges because someone forgot them or didn't get around to meeting or loving them in the first place.  Why do we do this to ourselves?  If we love someone, shouldn't we show that person EVERY day, and isn't there a better way to express ourselves than buying stuffed animals and chocolates?  Face it: you have no idea why it's called Valentine's Day or how it started.  So why not just have a nice Wednesday and love the person/people you love every day?

-OR-

Choose your own.


AGENDA:
1. Journal (& dealing with all your lovesick defensiveness about Valentine's Day)
2. GATSBY Chapter 6 reading & discussion

candy or not candy?

After talking with students who were eating chocolate and cookies at 9:30 in the morning, and after watching students eat bags of crap all day long, it occurs to me that some basic nutritional investigation might be in order.  I hope you can figure out what's good for you.  If you can't, I hope someone loves you enough to smack that bag of Hot Cheetos out of your hand.  In the meantime:

february 13

JOURNAL TOPIC:
The human body is such an amazing design.  Evolution.  Wow.  But whether you believe that Mother Nature, or God, or selective adaptation from primordial ooze is responsible, why do we have such weird quirks?  Why is pain necessary?  Or fever?  Or phlegm?  Why couldn't we just have a red light or buzzer that goes off and says "Er, hey, you should probably get some rest"?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Gatsby Chapter 6: read and post notes to your blog (title: GATSBY CHAPTER 6)

February 9

New plan. Time for you to see what I see. Search through your colleagues’ blogs today and find ten Gatsby questions that you think are worthy. On your blog, list the questions & where you found each one.  Then answer them to the best of your ability.  Describe the experience in your journal. Comment t this post or email with any questions— I’ll look back here early this afternoon.

word for the day: schadenfreude

According to Wikipedia, schadenfreude is "is the experience of pleasure, joy, or self-satisfaction that comes from learning of or witnessing the troubles, failures, or humiliation of another."

That may explain why students were laughing as they huddled around a phone to watch this video:



This is what some might call a "teachable moment." Apart from learning a new word, this video raises questions: 1) Why do so many of us feel badly if we are not in a dating or romantic relationship? 2) How is this important in The Great Gatsby? 3) Why is Valentine's Day such a rip-off?
We can learn from anything. Including this poor girl's tears and all the people who laugh at her.

deictic gaze

Try it today.  Share your experience in a comment to this post.

february 8

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Several of the themes in The Great Gatsby deal directly with human values and how we interact as individuals in society.  How does the book address the roles of women in our culture?  How does the book address differences in class and race?  Are rich people, or men, or white people "better"?  How much (or how little) do you think American culture has changed in the nearly 100 years since the book was first published?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Discuss chapter 3 & 4
3. Begin reading chapter 5 and post your notes (title: GATSBY CHAPTER 5 NOTES)

some things just make you melt

This is a good reminder that: (a) the things we think are solid or permanent, aren't; and (b) chemistry is pretty cool.

february 7

JOURNAL TOPIC:
When does Nick feel tested (or at least uncomfortable) in the book?  When do you feel tested in life?


AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Today is reflection in the form of torturing a friend.  Write a test with at least two questions per chapter.  Post the questions (BUT NOT THE ANSWERS) on your blog (TITLE: GATSBY TEST CHAPTERS 1-4).  Get at least three friends to take the test by commenting to your post with their answers.  Grade them and report their grades with the correct answers in a second post (TITLE: GATSBY TEST GRADES).

***
Q: Dr. Preston, what if I can't get three friends to take my test?
A: Fine-tune your powers of persuasion and try harder.  This is all-or-nothing.

is Gatsby a mystery?

The first question: Is Jay Gatsby a mystery?  On one hand, he's out in the open-- everyone goes to his house, everyone recognizes his car.  On the other, what does anyone really know about him?

The second question: Is The Great Gatsby a mystery?  On one hand, it's not a police procedural or the story of solving a crime.  One the other, aren't we following Nick as he's handed clues about why people are doing what they're doing?  Does that make this a "whydoneit" instead of a "whodunit"?  [Hey. Not so fast. Click that link.]

Please comment to this post with your thoughts on both questions.

february 6

JOURNAL TOPIC:

Describe a time when you got so interested in a school assignment that you forgot it was for credit.  If you haven't had this experience, describe a time when you got so "into" what you were doing that you lost track of time.  If you haven't had that experience either, think back on your childhood and describe the last awesomely creative thing you did that was so cool it still puts a smile on your face.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. A Test of Trust
3. Discuss Gatsby Chapter 3
4. Gatsby: Finish reading Chapter 4 & post your notes to your blog (title: GATSBY CHAPTER 4)
5. Please comment to the "Is Gatsby a Mystery?  Is Gatsby a Mystery?" post (next)

be kind always

Usually when I walk into class on a Monday I find something left behind.  Maybe it's a book, or a jacket.  Maybe I didn't see it on Friday, or someone used the room over the weekend. 

This morning I walked in and put a couple books away.  Then I noticed a pink sticky note on the desk right under the projector.  I don't know where it came from, whose it was, or why it was there, but I think it's a powerful reminder and worth sharing here:

february 5

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Why do people like playing games such as "Truth or Dare" and "Two Truths & A Lie"?  How do you know when someone is lying to you?  Do you think Nick can tell when someone is lying to him?  How?  Give an example.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Read Chapter 3 & 4
3. Post GATSBY CHAPTER 4 notes to your blog, in which you answer two questions: 1) What "truth" does Gatsby tell Nick in this chapter, and 2) What "truth" does Jordan tell Nick?  Do you believe either one?  Why/why not?

february 2

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Let's talk Gatsby!  What do you want to talk about today?

-OR-

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Gatsby plot, characters, and discussion topics
3. Fitzgerald's style/techniques
4. Our reading schedule