hi new followers

Yes, you Karina :)

do you hate facebook?

To help prepare for the Internet/security part of the course after Spring Break, please read 

THIS ARTICLE 

and answer the following questions in a comment to this post:

1. Do you hate Facebook?  Why/why not?
2. What social media do you use? Why do you use it?
3. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being "not at all concerned" and 10 being "in a full panic") how concerned are you about your life online?  Are you worried about how you're seen, what will follow you into adulthood, what will be stolen or used against you?  Or, nah, not so much?
4. What do you want to see me cover in class about the Internet/data/security/etc?

march 28

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Why do you forget to do some important things in your life?  (Like turning in your journal, which you should most DEFINITELY NOT FORGET TO DO TODAY, PLEASE :)

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Create agreements and plan for Spring Break

ignite talks

Traditional speakers at professional conferences talk for an extended period of time, either as a keynote speaker, workshop facilitator, or panelist.

A few years ago a new trend emerged in the world of sharing ideas.  TED and other conferences made shorter talks popular.  These were kind of like the intellectual version of "speed dating."  At one conference where I presented, there was a series of "ignite talks"-- these were designed to be high-energy, exciting introductions to ideas that would get the audience thinking and hungry for more.  They were also required to be no longer than five minutes.  (You can see one I did at the 14:00 mark HERE.

On Cake Wednesday the week after Spring Break (April 11) every single member of our learning community will give an ignite talk.  There will be no passes, no "I forgot"s, no exceptions.

How will we manage this?

Our ignite talks will be no more than one minute long.

"Impossible!" you say.  Nonsense.  You can see links to last year's speakers and topics HERE, HERE, and HERE.








Here is what each ignite talk will include:

• Your big question/ masterpiece topic (1-2 sentences)
• One thing you did over the break to explore your question/topic (1 sentence)
• One thing you learned by exploring over the break (1 sentence)
• One connection you see between this course or something we read and your question/topic (1 sentence)
• What you're doing next (1 sentence)

Since we will not have time for audience questions on the day we give our ignite talks, please also create a post for your blog (title: IGNITE TALK) in which you write out these 5-6 sentences and invite commenters to contribute ideas or questions.  If you have any questions or technical challenges please email or comment to this post.

Looking forward to learning from you!

march 27

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Take Five" by Dave Brubeck; "Bird Feathers" by Charlie Parker]

I have lots of questions this morning, and I can't decide which I like asking the best.  So, you're going to have to decide which one(s) you like answering the best:

• What is Jazz?  Why is this oeuvre considered uniquely American?  (Feel free to look online for this one.)
• Several Charlie Parker songs have "Bird" in the title.  As you listen to his music, explain why you think the image of a bird fits. (Is the bird flying or has it landed?)
• In the beginning of Fahrenheit 451, the burning books are portrayed as birds.  Why do you think this imagery is apt?  

AGENDA:
1. Journal/discussion
2. Table reading with questions

cognitive dissonance applied

Just minutes after talking about Ray Bradbury's use of cognitive dissonance in Fahrenheit 451, I opened a tab during the passing period and ran across this article about how McDonald's manipulates customers into choosing menu items that are less healthy and more expensive.  And guess what one of the tactics is?  Yep: cognitive dissonance.  (Thanks, boingboing.net & Cory Doctorow!)

March 26

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Teach me something.  What do you know?  What did you learn last week in this class?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Making plans for this week and next
3.

it's amazing what students can learn

sometimes a modern tool can take you where need to go

...even if it's back in time.

march 23

JOURNAL TOPIC:

On your way here you passed at least 50 people.  How many of them said hello to you?  Did you say hello to any of them?  What do you think would happen if you stopped a total stranger today and said something like, "Hi-- I don't know you, but I want you to know that I see you and I'm glad you're here today"?

AGENDA:

1. Journal
2. Writer's conferences
3. Finish table reading/questions

**PLEASE POST YOUR ANSWERS TO YOUR BLOG**
 

march 22

JOURNAL TOPIC:

Quick-- write the first three sentences that come into your mind.



AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Writers' conferences
3. Table reading

Table reading questions

1.The novel Fahrenheit 451 begins : “It was a pleasure to burn.” Why does Ray Bradbury start the novel in this way? Why might it be more pleasurable to burn books rather than read them?
2. In the opening scene, why are the books compared to birds?
3. Discuss the difference between Montag and Clarisse’s lives.
4. Montag’s television includes headphones called “seashells.”  The “wall to wall circuit” allows Mildred to enter the “play” and, therefore, the television programming. How does the technology within the novel compare to our current technology? In the first pages of the novel,does technology improve the quality of life for Montag and his wife, Mildred? Why or why not?
5. Why does the narrator introduce us to Montag at this time of his life, when he encounters Clarisse and confronts Mildred’s overdose?
6. Why does the author introduce the character of Clarisse before Mildred?
7. Why are all the houses fireproof in this society?
8. Why does Mildred require emergency service? What service is provided?
9. What is the mechanical hound and what is its purpose?
10. Why does the society consider Clarisse “anti-social”?
11. When the woman’s house is raided, why does she light the match?
12. Describe the relationship between Montag and Mildred. 

suggestions for cake wednesday

For everyone's benefit, we are giving each other ample opportunity to make sure we are caught up and prepared for Big Question work and reading over spring break.  We are also preparing for the future.  Take this time to:

• Research colleges
• Research and apply for scholarships
• Look for jobs and prepare your resume & application
• Catch up on your blog
• Create a Page for your Big Question if you haven't yet
• Make sure you have published the posts for the last 1-2 weeks

march 21

JOURNAL TOPIC: (today's tunes: "Walk Between Raindrops" by Donald Fagen)

It's raining.  Since we're imagining the future this week, what do you think the Central Coast's climate will be like over the next 50-100 years?  Will it stay the same?  Get warmer/drier?  Will it be underwater?  Support your idea with at least one amazing reason.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Cake Wednesday
3. Possibly write paragraphs

a lesson in copyright law

From the Duke University Law School Center for the Study of the Public Domain:

Current US law extends copyright protections for 70 years from the date of the author’s death. (Corporate “works-for-hire” are copyrighted for 95 years.) But prior to the 1976 Copyright Act (which became effective in 1978), the maximum copyright term was 56 years (an initial term of 28 years, renewable for another 28 years). Under those laws, works published in 1953 would be passing into the public domain on January 1, 2010.

Under the old law, Fahrenheit 451 would have entered the public domain in 2010.  That means we could print it online, copy it, quote it in as much length as we like, etc. etc.  Sadly, now we won't legally be able to do that with works published in 1953 until 2049.

For many reasons, I don't want to break the law.  I think Ray Bradbury, his estate, and whomever he designated after his death should earn whatever's right under the law.  And I don't need the headache.  So I'm not posting a page with the full text.  At the same time, I firmly believe that if Mr. Bradbury were to take part in this conversation, he would support sharing the book with Santa Maria High School students who don't have enough copies or the money to go out and buy their own.  So here is a link to the full text online (it is not nearly as well-formatted or flammable as a physical book, which I still encourage you to find).  Please join us in reading a book that changed my life.  I hope it will change yours.

who wants to play with college music students in england?

Hi all, we just got the nicest invitation!

Laura Ritchie is a professor at the University of Chichester, a kick-ass cellist, and an eternal optimist who uses only one knife in her kitchen.  (Kind of.  Well, maybe not really.  That's a longer story.) Laura is a creative powerhouse of ideas and a dear friend of mine.  When I taught at Righetti her students and mine teamed up to create a once-in-a-lifetime experience in Yosemite.

Just now on Twitter I saw that Laura's at it again! (You can read her blog post here.) A couple weeks ago, I spoke with Laura on Skype about isolation and loneliness, and how we can create community around the world with simple online tools.  I even wondered what it might be like to create a soundtrack of what it's like to be a young person in today's world.

Now her class is inviting us to learn and perform music with them, and who knows where the collaboration will go from there?  Please comment to this post with any ideas or questions.  We will discuss in class tomorrow.

march 20

JOURNAL TOPIC: (today's tunes: "I.C.Y." by Donald Fagen-- extra credit if you comment to this post and explain the title)

Describe life in California-- when you're 50 years old.  What do you think will be different?  Better?  Worse?  Why?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Post answers to the following questions on your blog (title: THE PEDESTRIAN)

• What is the theme of "The Pedestrian"?
• How does Bradbury get this message across?  How do you know?
• Describe the tone of the story.
• Why don't more people walk in 2018?
• What do you think about self-driving cars?
• Do you think that technology such as self-driving cars, screen viewers, smartphones, and ear buds lead to more freedom/independence, isolation, or both?

holy crap

This morning in class we talked about the mechanization of society and how Ray Bradbury predicted the self-driving car in his short story entitled, "The Pedestrian."  We talked about how cars and city designs make it difficult for us to walk anywhere or interact with other people, and how the main character in Bradbury's story must have felt so alone and powerless when he was stopped by the police car-- without a human police officer in it.

Then, just now, I read that last night, for the first time, a person was killed by a self-driving car.  This happened in Phoenix, AZ, where 10 pedestrians were killed by cars just last week.  Read the rest HERE.

huh

Today's agenda says something about pages.  But there aren't any.  In fact, there aren't any books.

School talks a good game about teaching problem-solving and critical thinking.  I'm not so sure we do all that.  I'm not even sure whether these are skills/ habits of mind that can be taught-- I suspect that each one of us has to develop them for ourselves through trial and error.  I suspect this is something for us to practice and LEARN.

So here's a good opportunity.  No one is going to hand you a book.  You have to find it and bring it to the rest of us.  Please comment to this post with whatever you discover.  Your knowledge is important to us!

march 19

JOURNAL TOPIC: ["Walking in LA" by Missing Persons; "Walk on the Wild Side" by Lou Reed]

Entrepreneurs do it.  Gandhi did it.  We do it between classes, but we don't usually do it when there's a car available.  What is the value of taking a walk?  Do you get exercise, ideas?  Why isn't Santa Maria designed for walking instead of driving?  Should this be different in the future?  Why/why not?

*Feel free to take a walk as you consider these questions.

AGENDA:
1. Journal/discuss "The Pedestrian"
2. Fahrenheit 451's first few pages
3. F451 guiding questions-- please post to your blog

f451 guiding questions chapter 1

1. Describe the society (a fictional America) that Montag lives in. In what ways is it similiar to, but more extreme than, our society?  What signs are there that it is a "dystopia" (the opposite of utopia/ideal society)?

2. What makes Clarisse so special?  So different from most people in her society?

3. Why do you think the mechanical hound has been programmed to react to Montag?

if at first you don't succeed...

...enough said. This little girl is awesome, and she has something to teach us all:

For us to be Successful we go through difficult things or challenges 💔♥😊 pic.twitter.com/VcHf8dRoCE

— IG:vhutali.n 🇿🇦 (@vhutaliii) March 14, 2018

culture & strategy

It has been said (too often) that culture eats strategy for breakfast.  Here is a delightful example of strategy beating culture:

Girl crushes a cotton candy eating contest ❤️. pic.twitter.com/AiEATAWBQH

— DestinyDelight (@DelightDestiny) March 15, 2018

"Why," you may be wondering, "is this important?"

Because making assumptions about your skills can be costly.

found her brother pic.twitter.com/s9n4IMQ5Qu

— H.P. Lolcat (@olaf_k) March 16, 2018

a note about pages on your blog

Yesterday I asked you to add a page to your blog (title: BIG QUESTION).  The purpose of this is to separate your Big Question work from everything else so it's permanently on the front page and easy to find.

Pages are as easy to create as posts, but they're also slightly different.  Remember to add the Pages Gadget and 'Show' your page.  Also, since all of your Big Question work will now go in one place, it will become important to organize it so your readers can follow your thinking.  I'll go over this in class with you tomorrow (Friday). 

Please comment to this post or email with any questions.  Mahalo.

more on modernism

As we have discussed in class, Modernism is most easily remembered in the words of Ezra Pound:

"Make it new."

Modernist literature captured the uncertainty and futility of then-modern life, and did so in a way that challenged the linear narrative by telling stories out of sequence or according to the structures of mythology.  (If that seems complicated or confusing, please consult your notes from our class discussions and/or look the words up.) 

For a more serious geeking out on Modernism in literature, the Wikipedia entry is a great place to start--and a lousy place to stop.  Follow the external links and/or search on duckduckgo for additional credible/academic resources.

*UPDATE*
You can find a thorough, detailed treatment of Modernism HERE

march 16

JOURNAL TOPIC:

Why do we have fire departments?  Seriously: why not pay private companies to put out fires, or just save our tax dollars and do the job ourselves?

AGENDA:
1. Journal/ discussion
2. Tie up loose ends

#NOEXCUSES

march 15

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "We Belong Together" by Los Lobos; "One Woman Man" by John Legend; "Old Fashioned Love Song" by Three Dog Night-- and thanks everyone for your suggestions!]

How has the popular notion of love changed over time?  Do people still value monogamy?  Marriage?  Commitment?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. What Eliot meant by "Love Song"
3. Prufrock: Romantic or Schmuck?
4. Following the yellow fog

OUTCOME:
Post to your blog (title: INSIDE OUT) and explain how Prufrock and Gatsby are different on the inside -- how are their real thoughts and feelings different from the way other people see them?  Do you see this in real life? Do you or people you know sometimes appear one way on the outside and feel another on the inside?

Bonus question to consider: What (if anything) do you think Prufrock would have said if he thought his listener might share it with other people?

walkout letter from a retired teacher

Walkout Letter by dpreston1441 on Scribd

this just in from london

This is the home page of the London Daily Mail, a tabloid-style newspaper:

that didn't take long

Story HERE

march 14

JOURNAL TOPIC:
It's natural to wonder how things would be different if we were in charge.  If you were teaching this class, what would you do differently?  Why?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Big Questions & The Masterpiece Academy: timeline & the basics
3. Cake Wednesday/ college, scholarships, jobs

journalism survey

SMHS journalism students are doing a survey for an upcoming article-- please click THIS link and complete the survey.  It takes just a few minutes to help our colleagues.  Mahalo. -dp

put on blast

Twice in the last two days I've heard this phrase from students (one student used it in a story about another teacher, and one student felt like I did it to him).  I thought I knew what the phrase meant, but every generation uses phrases a little differently, so I consulted Urban Dictionary just to be sure.

I don't support the idea of embarrassing people or making anyone uncomfortable.  I care about students and I root for each and every person in my life (students, family members, friends) to succeed.

However, sometimes being a good friend or mentor means being honest.  If you're not getting the job done, you need to know so you can do it better.  That's true for me too!  If anyone has suggestions for me, I'm open.  In the meantime, I want to make it clear in our learning community: the way I show respect is to be clear, honest, and consistent with you, and I expect the same in return.  If I say something clumsy that makes you uncomfortable, please let me know so that I can apologize and try to get the message across in a different way.  And, please show me the same courtesy I extend to you by keeping your commitments, doing your work, and communicating directly and honestly with me.   Mahalo. -dp

march 13

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Light my Fire" by The Doors]

In the imagery of literature, why do you think is love associated with heat instead of cold?

AGENDA:
1. Journal topic
2. The imagery of Gatsby & Prufrock
3. Turning up the heat
4. Big Questions & prep for Cake Wednesday


*Update: Please post to your blog [title: WHAT I SEE IN LITERATURE] an explanation of how the 3-5 examples of imagery you ID'd with your colleagues helps explain the themes of Gatsby & Prufrock.

student debt

How much do you really know about student debt?  To start learning more, have a look at the full article here.  Please comment with observations and questions, and let's get the information we need so that you feel prepared to apply with confidence and succeed at the next level.

band fundraiser

2018_03_12_09_50_25 by dpreston1441 on Scribd

march 12

JOURNAL TOPIC:
How can you tell when someone cares about you?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Care about someone: essay support

march 9

JOURNAL TOPIC: How does the establishing shot in the movie The Great Gatsby sum up a theme of the book?

AGENDA:
1. First (n) minutes of the movie The Great Gatsby (the good one) & Journal

Please post a version of this to your blog (title: CAN WE WATCH THE MOVIE?) in which you also explain the appeal of watching a movie as a way to better understand a book.

2. Workday: Gatsby essay & "Prufrock"

a love song for your consideration

Please read "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and comment to this post with your first impressions. Mahalo. -dp

march 8

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Yesterday I introduced several prompts for a Gatsby essay.  Why, after nearly a year of thinking together, do people still ask me how long the essay should be?  How did that come to matter so much?  What other habits of mind has your training created -- that you need to let go of?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Essay
3. Poems and love songs

march 7

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Fallin'" by Alicia Keys; "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley: *update thanks to Elias/ "Love & Happiness" by Al Green]

What's your favorite love song?  Why is it your favorite love song?  If you don't have a favorite love song, what is the song you love the most?  And why you do you think of your affinity/affection/head bobbing to the beat as love?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Come correct
3. A different kind of Love Song

cool

march 6

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Get Up Stand Up" by Bob Marley & The Wailers]
Describe the rights you think you have as a student.  What can you legally do or say as a student?  Do you know?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Know your rights
3. Finish grading Gatsby tests
4. Discuss Gatsby essay prompts
5. Prep for Cake Wednesday

gatsby essay prompts

We're a little pressed for time this week (what else is new?) so rather than have a brainstorming session in class about the essay prompts, I'm going to propose the ideas that last year's students invented and ask your opinion.  Please read the following, then comment to this post with your favorites-- or propose your own!

Here's what we came up with in class last year:

• ·      The last line of the book is arguably the most important: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne ceaselessly into the past.”  How does this line embody the thematic conflict that defines The Great Gatsby?

• ·      Is Gatsby’s desire for success—however we define it—evidence of the American dream, obsession, a personal sense of honor, or something else? Does Gatsby symbolize our culture and even our own desires, or is he an outlier?

• ·      How does Fitzgerald’s characterization create a tone around the theme of happiness?  What is Fitzgerald’s attitude toward happiness?  Does it depend on love, on external markers such as wealth, on repairing or atoning for the past, or on something that is unattainable?

• ·      The notion of the American dream figures prominently in this story.  How do readers define the American dream?  Moreover, is pursuing the American dream necessarily a good thing?

march 5

JOURNAL TOPIC:
When you were a child, someone probably asked you: 'What do you want to be when you grow up?'  Well...?  Have you really given this any thought since?  What's your answer?  Has it changed over the years?  (When I was five I wanted to be a garbageman.  Depending on how you look at it, I'm living the dream.)

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Correct Friday's exam

great gatsby test chapters 7-9

1. Who refuses to attend Gatsby’s funeral because it would be bad for business?
2. Who killed Jay Gatsby and then killed himself?
3. Who is jealous of Jordan Baker because of a case of mistaken identity?
4. Who realizes that the Mid-West is a place of stability and continuity?
5. Who cares more about his tennis shoes and a picnic than Gatsby’s funeral?
6. Who is proud of his son’s accomplishments?
7. Who drove the car that killed Myrtle?
8. Who creates a dream for himself that no one can live up to?
9. Who is concerned about the way she was treated the night Myrtle died?
10. Who is the Greek who stayed with Wilson the night Myrtle was killed?
11. Who told George Wilson who owned the yellow car?
12. Who swore that her sister loved her husband and that her sister was never into any mischief?
13. How does Tom first find out that there is a love affair between Gatsby and Daisy?
14. What does the scene in which Nick observes Tom and Daisy through the kitchen window reveal about an important theme in this novel?
15. Why does the relationship between Nick and Jordan fall apart?
16. By the end of the novel, how does Nick feel about the Mid-West?
17. By the end of the novel, what realization has Nick come to in regards to Tom and Daisy?
18. Who represents the arrogance and immorality of the rich?

19. Who is alarmed by the changes he perceives are taking place in society?
20. How does Daisy react when she hears how Gatsby made his money?
21. Why does Nick stop seeing Jordan?
22. Why does Tom finally allow Wilson to have the car?
23. Why are Myrtle eyes “jealous with terror”?
24. Why does Myrtle get killed by the car?
25. Who is the only person other than Nick and Henry Gatz to attend Gatsby’s funeral?
26. Who said, “Her voice is full of money.” 
27. Who said, “You’re revolting. Do you know why we left Chicago? I’m surprised that they didn’t
treat you to the story of that little spree." 
28. Who said, “Jimmy was bound to get ahead. He always had some resolves like this or something. Do you notice what he’s got for improving his mind? He was always great for that.”?
29. Who said, “Let us learn to show our friendships for a man when he is alive and not after he is dead.”?
30. Who said, “I have a way of finding out.”?
31. Who said, “They’re a rotten crowd. You’re worth the whole damn bunch put together.”?
32. Who said, “You weren’t so nice to me last night.”?
33. Who said, “I spoke to her, I told her she might fool me but she couldn’t fool God.”?
34. Who said, “He told it to me because ‘jay Gatsby’ had broken up like glass against Tom’s hard malice.”?
35. Who said, “What if I did tell him? That fellow had it coming to him.”?
36. Who said, “So we beat on, boats against the current borne back carelessly into the past.”?
37. Who said, “He couldn’t possibly leave Daisy until he knew what she was going to do. He was clutching at some last hope and I couldn’t bear to shake him free”?
38. What does Gatsby tell his gardener about the pool and why does Gatsby say this?
39. What is the specific setting when Tom discovers the affair between his wife and Gatsby?
40. When driving to the city, Who travels in Gatsby’s yellow car?
41. Symbolically what are Dr. T.J. Eckleburg’s eyes?
42. Who feels responsibility for organizing Gatsby’s funeral?
43. How does Henry Gatz learn of his son’s death?
44. What does Nick’s dream that involves El Greco confirm about Nick’s belief about the East?
45. What does Gatsby want Daisy to say about Tom?
46. How does Daisy feel about Tom?
47. What is Tom’s reaction to Myrtle’s death?
48. What does Nick realize when he observes Tom and Daisy is the kitchen?
49. Why is young Gatsby drawn to Daisy?
50. What is the result of Gatsby believing in his own dream for too long?
51. What does the green light comes to symbolize at the end of the novel?
52. By the end of the novel, what does Nick come to believe about our past dreams?
53. Nick says, “The transition from libertine to prig was so complete. About whom is Nick speaking?
What does Nick mean?
54. Why does Tom send Gatsby and Daisy back from the city alone together?
55. When does Daisy decide that she will not have any more contact with Gatsby?
56. To what extent does Gatsby’s dream destroy him and those around him?
57. To what extent does Gatsby’s death illustrate the moral corruption of the other characters?

march 2

JOURNAL TOPIC:
(do this after you finish the test)
How did you do on the test?  Is this better, worse, or about the same as you expected?  Did you read the book?  Do you feel like you understood it?

AGENDA:
1. Test: Gatsby Chapters 7-9
2. Journal

"like watching paint dry"

It's an old expression, intended to indicate that something is really, really boring.

Does the figurative language make the point? You can decide for yourself:

reading tip

This morning I was talking with Oscar and we realized we have something in common: sometimes when we're reading, we find ourselves distracted by thoughts/ideas/tasks that make it hard to concentrate on the book.  In fact, once in a while we'll get to the end of a sentence or a paragraph and we'll realize we scanned the words but we weren't really paying attention at all-- we go, "Huh?" and actually have to read it again to understand it!

So, here's a tip.  When you read, keep a notebook or a pad of paper nearby.  That way, when you have an idea come up, you can quickly write it down and let it go.  It will be there when you're done, and in the meantime you can focus on understanding what you're reading.