january 18

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" by Hugo Montenegro; "Good Times Bad Times" by Led Zeppelin]

Yesterday we talked about duality in terms of conflict and story, in terms of complements, and in terms of relationships.  Describe something good and something evil.  Explain the difference.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Picking up where we left off yesterday
3. Planning for tomorrow

january 17

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2]

Listen to this speech.  Then write about it.  Be sure to analyze ethos, pathos, logos.  Do your best.  We will discuss as soon as you're done.


AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. MLK: Ethos, Pathos, Logos
3. Misery, hope, and ways of writing about both
4. Genre at the beginning of the 20th century: naturalism, realism, and modernism

HW:
1. Post your notes and observations/reflections from today's class to your blog (title: NOTES FROM TODAY'S LECTURE)

january 13

JOURNAL TOPIC: As Robert Burns put it (and John Steinbeck liked this enough to allude to it for the title of his novel), "The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray."  How do you deal with the unexpected in your life?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Remix

*I could've remixed this old post-- in a way, I guess the digital version is linking to it.  Please make sure you finish watching the Kirby Ferguson video and post your notes.

HW:
Post your notes on the video (title: EVERYTHING IS A REMIX)

january 12

JOURNAL TOPIC: (today's tunes: "Graceland" by Paul Simon; "Boy in the Bubble" by Paul Simon; "Homeless" by Paul Simon)

1. Based on what you learned yesterday & last night, is it fair to say these songs were "by" Paul Simon? Why/why not?
2. Explain how Simon created something new by going back to the roots of a musical genre.
3. Can we describe music as literature?

 AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Hey You: Masterpiece
3. Discussion: Creativity & Collaboration
4. Intro to SMART goals

HW:
1. Create a post for your blog entitled, "MUSIC AS LITERATURE"
2. In that post, answer this question: Can we consider music to be literature? What is the difference between a novel, a poem, a rap, a song, an opera, and a symphony?

january 11

JOURNAL TOPIC: (today's tunes: "Let the Day Begin" by The Call; "Where Do I Begin?" by Jill Sobule; "Begin the Begin" by R.E.M.)

Describe a thought or a feeling that you'd forgotten over break and experienced again when you walked back into this room.  How will you re/create the thoughts/feelings you WANT in this room this semester?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Reboot
3. Introduction to spring semester (part I)
4. In-class creative writing

HW:

Research Paul Simon's album Graceland (starting with this) and come to class Thursday prepared to discuss whether this qualifies as American Literature.  To do this properly, you will have to do some research and/or review your notes in order to define American Literature and make your case.

if emerson wrote in 2017

... he would probably write something like this.  Read it and share it with a friend.

Taming the Mammoth: Why You Should Stop Caring What Other People Think

happy 2017

Hi All,
I hope you've had a restful, rewarding vacation from school.  To think: you've been learning and creating every day, and no one knows it but you!  (Unless of course you've been posting to your blog.)

So now it's time to shake off the cobwebs.  At the beginning of break I decided to give us all... a break.  Then I came down with a nasty case of bronchitis so the break got longer.  But the year isn't getting any younger, and the semester and the AP exam aren't getting any further away, so here we go...

This is what we should all have ready for each other when we reconvene next week:

BIG QUESTION
Create a dedicated page on your blog dedicated to your Big Question (referred to from now on as your "BQ").  This way we can open a tab and easily refer to the material that has to do with your own research, as opposed to the general concepts and AP-related stuff we do in the course.

This page will effectively be one post, which we will grow into a multi-media research paper and remix/mash-up (depending on what works best for your purposes, which we will get clearer on in class).

Please write Chapter 1.  The title of this section is GENESIS: THE BACKGROUND OF MY BIG QUESTION.  Write brief essay describing how and when your interest in your Big Question began.  Describe the issue you're exploring, the question you're trying to answer, the problem you're trying to solve, the skill you're trying to acquire.  Explain why your BQ matters to you. Explain why it should matter to the world.