JOURNAL TOPIC:
What order difference make does have chronological story in a sentence or?
AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Perception and understanding
3. Postmodern works in progress
HW:
1. Write an essay about Slaughterhouse Five and postmodernism, and publish to your course blog under the title, MY SLAUGHTERHOUSE
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Monday, May 6, 2013
May 6*
JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe last Friday's class. What happened? What did you learn?
AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Postmodern discussion/debrief
3. Project status
HW:
1. Finish your project
Describe last Friday's class. What happened? What did you learn?
AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Postmodern discussion/debrief
3. Project status
HW:
1. Finish your project
Friday, May 3, 2013
teaching, learning, postmodernism and criticism
Teaching is hard, especially in today's school culture. Standing up in front of the room and suggesting that everyone think about what you have to offer puts a bullseye on your forehead and practically begs people to ask questions like, "Who do you think you are?" and "Why should I listen to you?" I want to thank Ashlie for giving it a shot, especially in my absence.
As you know, postmodernism can be confusing to people who don't have much experience with it. We are surprised by the unfamiliar, and not always in a fun, exciting, opening-a-birthday-present kind of way. This is as true in life as it is in literature. It must have been a shock for the sub to see a student acting as teacher, in the same way some of you were taken aback by Vonnegut inserting himself as a character in the fictional novel he wrote. And, just as some of you were unprepared for Vonnegut's language, imagery, and humorous treatment of war, apparently the sub was unprepared for the language and subject matter addressed in the videos Ashlie used to illustrate elements of the postmodern project you're doing over the weekend. (I don't know what she showed and I'll ring on that when we see each other next week.)
All too often we communicate in ways that don't bring us closer to the truth or each other. I was sorry to hear--from several sources-- that the conversation between the sub and Ashlie turned negative and disrupted the class. I'd like to propose that we learn from it. Here are three ways off the top of my head:
First: Please be sure to complete your postmodern presentation: the in-class exchange does not in any way change our itinerary or your obligations. It may change the way you see viewer/reader response to postmodernism; do you think there is a generational difference? Can you imagine a reader feeling irritated at the breakdown of the fourth wall?
Second: Please read this letter from Kurt Vonnegut to the Superintendent who burned copies of Slaughterhouse Five because the book contains "obscene" language.
Third: Please understand that no compelling/impactful/innovative/disruptive new idea or presentation is ever met with universal acceptance. Innovation and entrepreneurship of any kind require a combination of resilience and the ability to refine & strengthen practice in light of critical feedback. ONWARD!
All comments/observations are welcome.
As you know, postmodernism can be confusing to people who don't have much experience with it. We are surprised by the unfamiliar, and not always in a fun, exciting, opening-a-birthday-present kind of way. This is as true in life as it is in literature. It must have been a shock for the sub to see a student acting as teacher, in the same way some of you were taken aback by Vonnegut inserting himself as a character in the fictional novel he wrote. And, just as some of you were unprepared for Vonnegut's language, imagery, and humorous treatment of war, apparently the sub was unprepared for the language and subject matter addressed in the videos Ashlie used to illustrate elements of the postmodern project you're doing over the weekend. (I don't know what she showed and I'll ring on that when we see each other next week.)
All too often we communicate in ways that don't bring us closer to the truth or each other. I was sorry to hear--from several sources-- that the conversation between the sub and Ashlie turned negative and disrupted the class. I'd like to propose that we learn from it. Here are three ways off the top of my head:
First: Please be sure to complete your postmodern presentation: the in-class exchange does not in any way change our itinerary or your obligations. It may change the way you see viewer/reader response to postmodernism; do you think there is a generational difference? Can you imagine a reader feeling irritated at the breakdown of the fourth wall?
Second: Please read this letter from Kurt Vonnegut to the Superintendent who burned copies of Slaughterhouse Five because the book contains "obscene" language.
Third: Please understand that no compelling/impactful/innovative/disruptive new idea or presentation is ever met with universal acceptance. Innovation and entrepreneurship of any kind require a combination of resilience and the ability to refine & strengthen practice in light of critical feedback. ONWARD!
All comments/observations are welcome.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
May 2*
JOURNAL TOPIC:
How would your favorite author describe this morning? Write in his/her style; if you can't think of a favorite author, make fun of the style of an author you didn't like reading.
AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Discuss Chapters 1-7 with Beka and/or Ashlie
3. Continue reading
HW: (Per class progress-- you should be on pace to finish the book over the weekend.)
How would your favorite author describe this morning? Write in his/her style; if you can't think of a favorite author, make fun of the style of an author you didn't like reading.
AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Discuss Chapters 1-7 with Beka and/or Ashlie
3. Continue reading
HW: (Per class progress-- you should be on pace to finish the book over the weekend.)
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
May 1*
JOURNAL TOPIC:
Over the last two days we started the most important conversation of the year. Now that you've had a chance to reflect, how will you use this class to your greatest advantage in the month remaining?
AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Odds/ends from yesterday
3. Your 3 "burning questions" from Slaughterhouse 5
4. Quiz threat
5. Chapter 6
6. (if we get this far) Begin Chapter 7
HW:
1. Finish reading Chapter 7
2. Choose a favorite quote from Chapter 7, publish to your course blog, and explain both why it jumped out at you and what you think it means (title: SCHLACHTOF SIEBEN-- also include your active reading notes)
Over the last two days we started the most important conversation of the year. Now that you've had a chance to reflect, how will you use this class to your greatest advantage in the month remaining?
AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Odds/ends from yesterday
3. Your 3 "burning questions" from Slaughterhouse 5
4. Quiz threat
5. Chapter 6
6. (if we get this far) Begin Chapter 7
HW:
1. Finish reading Chapter 7
2. Choose a favorite quote from Chapter 7, publish to your course blog, and explain both why it jumped out at you and what you think it means (title: SCHLACHTOF SIEBEN-- also include your active reading notes)
yesterday's socratic seminars
Thanks to everyone who participated in the discussion yesterday. Periods 1 & 2 handled the conversations very differently; both were extremely productive and generated a lot of good ideas. Following are my notes-- they're organized by period but all ideas are open to anyone, and you're welcome to change/create new possibilities. If you have any additions or corrections please comment to this post. We will be continuing the conversation and developing your ideas into paths of inquiry and projects next week.
PERIOD 1
PERIOD 1
- Self-expression is key
- each individual has something important to contribute
- each student is living a learning life
- No rules
- community/network standards of excellence are more important than authority-based "do's and don'ts"
- remove "one size fits all" limits so each person can re-establish their personal sense of self and identity
- our work shows who we are and what/how we think
- Idea: "Sh*t students say" video
- challenge: learners want to step outside the box without playing to stereotype of lazy, goofy teenagers
- lots of interest/discussion around video idea-- students can record their own message/s, upload, and use in a variety of ways
- Idea: letter to ourselves with a goal, inspirational message, action plan, reminder of who we are today
- We need to do something--individually and as a community-- that blows expectations away
- Idea: end-of-semester presentations of our learning journeys
- Idea: watch "Pulp Fiction" as example of postmodernism
PERIOD 2
- Students want to learn about authors & why they chose to write the way they did (especially the American postmodernists)
- Learning is personal
- Students weren't sure about outcomes yet, decided to go around the room and start with interests:
- Analyssa: photojournalism
- Rudy: music
- Easton: creative writing
- Mia: teenage lives & culture
- Ashley: academic essays & decision-making/goal-setting
- Adam: improving blog design and content
- Uri: music, specifically creating & critiquing electronic music
- Des: music/vocals
- Christian: sports and how they teach us about life off the field/court
- Austyn: Greek mythology
- Chase: resumes
- Andrew: scholarships for college
- Eli: SMART goal (in pursuit of a career in engineering)
- Whitney: ideas communicated in different media/idiom/metaphor
- Sarah: world cultures (geography, language, social norms/behaviors/beliefs)
- Jon: acting
- Kristian: literature from other cultures
- Erick: music
- Jared: hack school as a cultural anthropologist ("I was watching people during the passing period, and thinking...")
- Francisco: music as literature
- Lissette: watch the new movie version of Gatsby and leave QR codes all over theater
- Ricky: drumming/skateboarding-->transcendentalism
- Nathan: figuring out what I want to do now that I know what I don't want to do
- Malik: coding/gaming
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