Mr. Funk's Homepage

Sample Benchmark essay on SCRIBD!

2010-11-29T09:41:00.001-08:00

Ladies and Gentlemen,

On the SCRIBD link, on the right-hand side of the blog homepage, you will see the SCRIBD link. On that link you will find a sample research essay for your review to assist you with VOICE, WORD CHOICE, SENTENCE FLUENCY, CONVENTIONS (MLA FORMAT).

Please read it and use it at your discretion.

--Mr. Funk

The Exchange: James Franco

2010-11-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

The Exchange: James Franco

Check out this interview with actor James Franco about what it means to write and his new book of short stories. Looks pretty good.

--Mr. Funk

Using Facebook for your paper?

2010-11-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

http://www.newyorker.com/services/referral?messageKey=1f6dfdccde1a21d80ddce6412c93e7b2

This article in the New Yorker is quite interesting--could be useful for people working with facebook for their research.

Mr. Funk

Writing the research paper in MLA?

2010-11-02T05:07:00.000-07:00

This site I found does a nice job of listing most of the common questions and refreshers you may need to help you in putting together your citations and formatting for your research paper. Remember, this needs to be in MLA format!

I will place the link in the links list as well.

Mr. Funk

http://nutsandbolts.washcoll.edu/mla.html

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

2010-10-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

The article below is entitled "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" You may have to cut and paste it into your URl bar.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google

Please read the following article and respond to it in your journal. Be prepared to discuss tomorrow.

Merchants of Cool Video

2010-10-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

If you are on retreat this week or if you have missed this video you need to cut and paste the following web address into your url, watch the video and take notes on the concepts presented in the video. You will be having a quiz over this.

Enjoy!

Mr. Funk

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/

Poetry Connection

2010-09-20T16:08:00.001-07:00

As we begin a mini-poetry unit I would like for you to visit one of the links under the "Links" column on the right-hand side of the page. The top five links are poetry links--only visit those. I would like for you to read through some of the poems on each page. Check them out and spend some time looking around. Finally, find three poems that resonate with you in terms of theme, diction, or tone. In other words, you like the main idea of the poem, the words the poet uses or the general mood of the piece. Please print them out, paste or tape them into your journal and annotate the stanzas. Examining the voice (style, imagery, syntax, tone, and detail). Consider rhetorical devices you have learned in the past: personification, metaphor, simile, rhyme pattern, repetition, etc.

This assignment is due next Friday, October 1st.

Welcome to the blog!

2010-09-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

Parents and students of Academic English 12, 2010 edition,

This blog is a resource for our class to publish work, view and keep abreast of reminders, info, and updates. Due dates are posted here and interesting articles for class discussion. This blog is a chance to help bridge the gap between what we consider and think about during school and outside of school.

The purpose behind this is to enhance our learning in a variety of different mediums and create a culture of thinkers that communicate with fluidity across multiple genres.

Parents: you can keep up with the happenings of our class!

Students: you can make sure you keep up with assignments and due dates and extend our intellectual discussion beyond the confines of room 303.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at:

jfunk@bishopchatard.org

I look forward to a great year!

Mr. Funk

One Final Blog Posting!

2010-05-09T19:13:00.000-07:00

As you enter your final full week as Bishop Chatard students, I would like for you to take some time and reflect on your experiences over the past four years. (Although, you should already be doing that as you work on your exemplary portfolio.) What I would like for you to do is this:

Think about one of your favorite memories from the past four years--this could be funny, embarrassing, or just unforgettable. Post your memory and read each others. Respond to those you remember....

For example, I will never forget the morning this year when I was rushing up the stairs and I fell UP the stairs. Now, this would not have been a problem since you all know how graceful I am. However, I had my favorite NPR mug with me, and it was launched from my hand as I tried to brace myself. My beloved mug landed with a crash and continued its own demise down the remaining stairs. I was left, stunned, heartbroken, and afraid. And, much to my dismay, some junior on the steps below didn't ask if I was okay or if I needed any help--no, all he said was, "That sucks!" I will never forget that. And on a completely unrelated note, aforementioned junior will rue the day he takes my English class.

Good luck, you have till Friday to post. Enjoy this last one, then you are free from the clutches of the dreaded blog.

Responding to responses

2010-04-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

Hey, all--

Everyone who has posted thus far has made some very insightful comments. The question of whether or not Ishmael is prepared to kill for a cause is an interesting one. I believe that, as some of you stated, he was forced into a situation where he didn't have an opportunity to decide if he was ready or not--it simply happened. If we were forced into the same situation how would we react? Are we too content with our own existence to sacrifice it for another? Are you prepared to die for someone else, especially someone you don't know. One could make the argument the Ishmael is not prepared to do so. However, he is young, and not entirely equipped to deal with the hand he has been dealt. The question remains--are you?

What cause are you prepared to kill for? What say you, Mr. Beah?

2010-04-14T17:05:00.000-07:00

How do you think Ishmael Beah would respond to the following quote from Gandhi?

"I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill."

Comparing styles

2010-04-13T16:06:00.001-07:00

How does Golding's style in Lord of the Flies differ from Beah's in A Long Way Gone? Furthermore, what are your initial reactions to the book?

A Long Way Gone

2010-04-12T18:47:00.001-07:00

Here we are, our final novel. As we move through this memoir, I would like to try to make the blog more transparent. I would like to create posts for each of our readings. I will create a post and I would like you to comment on each of these posts. Good luck to us all, and I hope you enjoy this last piece.

300 Word Movie Review Due Monday, April 12th!

2010-04-11T07:56:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank you in advance for your patience and attention during Friday's brief viewing of Lord of the Flies. As the sub should have mentioned, you are to write a 300 word movie review. This has also been written on the "Agenda Board" since Wednesday. In your discussion of the movie you are to write what you think of the movie in your best Gene Shalitesque way as well as discuss the tone. I would like for you to consider how the use of music, character interactions, and overall design of the film creates a different tone than Golding does in the novel through his use of diction, syntax, and organization.

Be sure to proofread your TYPED paper. . .this is a FINAL draft!

Good luck, we are almost there!!!

Mr. Funk

Lord of the Flies and Scribd

2010-02-28T18:07:00.000-08:00

Hello!

Follow this link to the context for the novel (Lord of the Flies)...please read and summarize in your journal. This is a half-page response.

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/context.html

As we enter a new week we are also going to begin a new unit. More on that in a minute....I will hand back your comparative analysis essays this week and allow you to revise them (TYPED). This will be done in the same manner as the critical analysis revisions. The due date for the TYPED revisions will be Monday, March 8th. I will not be in class on Friday, March 5th due to the blood drive.

We will begin our Lord of the Flies unit this week. We will be discussing anticipation guides and how they can direct our reading and aid us in solidifying and reinforcing our moral compass. What is good? What is evil? How do we react in extreme circumstances? How does the dichotomy of man manifest itself? These are all questions we will consider.

In addition, I have discovered a new feature that I will post in the links section of our class blog. I have subscribed to a web service that will allow me to upload/post documents that we use in class and make them easily available to you. The link will be called "SCRIBD" which is the name of the site. I have uploaded the outside reading list, the creative representation expectations, and the guided questions sheet. Check it out!

Don't hate school just yet, SBX is fast approaching!

Critical Analysis

2010-02-15T12:19:00.000-08:00

Turn it in.com sent me another reminder concerning the codes being posted on the blog....So, I have decided to extend the turn it in date to Wednesday at 11:59 pm. Which means that if you have used turn it in.com (as you should have during the research paper process) then you can go directly to turnitin.com and submit your essay in your period under the heading "Critical Analysis." Otherwise, you will need to get the class code and password from a classmate, or wait until Tuesday to retrieve it from me.

Good luck!

Bob on Bob: newyorker.com

2010-01-27T05:21:00.000-08:00

Bob on Bob: newyorker.com

Go to this link and read the article on Bob Dylan. Please complete a process response for homework in your journal.

Little Red Riding Hood, Joyce Carol Oates, and Bob Dylan

2010-01-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

As we venture into the deep abyss of literary analysis we have an opportunity to utilize a children's story to help us recognize and evaluate diction to help us determine an author's purpose. "Little Red Riding Hood" provides the perfect medium. It is the details and various connotations we see in an author's word choice that helps us move through a text and truly make sense of it as well as understand and apply its worth in our own lives.

This has lead us into the famed tale of Connie with a basis in the factual life of murderer Charles Schmid aka "The Pied Piper of Tucson" the vague ending allows us a chance to find our opinion amidst many interpretations and analyses of theme, symbol and metaphor.

This will lead us into the critical analysis essay where you will choose an aspect of the story to focus on and provide an analysis of that facet with specific examples and explanations to support and expound upon your viewpoint.

Here is your opportunity to tell me what you think and prove it!

Research Paper Time!

2009-11-09T18:34:00.000-08:00

As you know, we are working on the research paper. This assignment's final due date is December, 11th. If you remember the writing unit from 10th grade you will recall this process we are using. You will have 5 opportunities to turn in this essay. What that means is that anytime from now till December, 11th you can turn in your essay. I will look over the essay and deem it "Unacceptable" or "Acceptable." If ANY aspects of the essay are unacceptable you will get your essay back. You will get it back a max of 4 times. I WILL NOT BE CORRECTING YOUR ESSAY FOR YOU! But, what I will do is guide you towards the corrections (both revision and editing) that you need to consider. It is YOUR responsibility to go through the revising and editing process. You are seniors and the expectation is that you have the capacity to move through the writing process on your own. If that means you need to have your parents, friends, other teachers, tutors read your essays in order to help you then you must do that. If you do not earn a 100% on this essay you have no one to blame but yourself.

The final day to turn it in is December, 11th. You must reach an "Acceptable" paper. If you do, you will receive an "A" (100%) on your research paper. If you do not you will receive a 50%. The rationale for this assignment is as follows:

As seniors in high school you need to be cognizant of the two major aspects of the writing process. 1.) The research, formulation and writing of the piece. 2.) The revising and editing of the piece you have created. Many students complete number one fine, yet they give a half-effort on the second portion. However, it is the second half of the process that separates acceptable (great) essays and unacceptable (poor) ones. This process will hopefully assist you and teach you that you must create and work on multiple (approximately 4) versions of your essays before you turn them in. Next year the expectation will be that you turn in fully formed, revised and polished essays to your college professors and instructors. You wouldn't turn in a report or work order to a boss in an unfinished form would you? No, so don't do it here. Good luck, and know that I am here to help you along the way.

Don't forget...make sure that your essay makes a statement, creates an argument that needs to be proven through support and analysis, and provokes the reader into thinking along your same lines.

October 2009!

2009-10-14T19:36:00.000-07:00

As the first quarter comes to a close and we are wrapping up our first set of journal conferences, take a second and consider how your last year of high school is going. Is it what you had expected? How has it been different? What can you take from this first quarter to make your second, third, and fourth the best they can be?

This will be the second journal of our "new set" of journals.

Title this journal: First quarter reflection

Take your time, think, reflect, evaluate, and apply what you have done well to the second half of your final fall semester at BCHS.

Brings up feeling of nostalgia already doesn't it?

...I know...I have been there.

The week of September 14th and TCT Intro/Relevance

2009-09-15T16:49:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, do not forget about the due dates for your college admissions essays and your resume/cover letters. All periods must turn in cover letter on top of resume (on resume paper) on September 22nd!

College Admissions Essay due dates...

Period one: Wednesday (college admissions essay)

Periods four, six and seven: Friday (Sept. 18th).

Now, as we begin to read TCT we must ask ourselves why is this relevant? Perhaps this will shed some light on the situation...

In an effort to help clear up issues in regards to the importance of TCT and how you can apply that to your presentation, consider this:

“’The Wife of Bath's Tale’ and ‘The Miller's Tale’ address such current issues as gender roles in marriage, fidelity, revenge, and social rank; they are tales about relationships nested within a tale about relationships. However, the truly poignant facets of these stories, particularly from today's perspective, come from the prologues. The travelers are sharing a religious pilgrimage, yet cannot resist bantering and quarreling. The miller boasts his story as one to ‘quiet the Knight’s tale.’ The competition distracts them from the long, arduous journey ahead. Although the purpose of such a trip would ideally lie in the search for something greater than themselves, they seem to be undertaking such an ordeal because it was a socially accepted and practically mandated thing to do. So they occupy themselves with what is effectively a game and, in doing so, divulge their personalities. This makes a statement about how people identify their sense of self. A person is not only defined by their thoughts, feelings, and actions; treatment of and interactions with others constitutes one's identity. Chaucer's pilgrims never realize their objective of reaching Canterbury, but the work in its unfinished form stands as a strong reminder that the destination may not be as important as the journey.”

Also consider that some of the tales that will be presented are farcical and ridiculous in nature; this is a technique known as:

Fabliau, which is…

The fabliau (plural fabliaux or "'fablieaux'") is a comic, usually anonymous tale written by minstrels or jokers in northeast France around the 13th Century. They are generally bawdy in nature, and several of them were reworked by Geoffrey Chaucer for his Canterbury Tales.
Typical fabliaux concern cuckold husbands (whose wives cheat on them), rapacious clergy, and foolish peasants. The status of peasants appears to vary based on the audience for which the fabliau was being written. Poems that were presumably written for the nobility portray peasants (French: vilains) as stupid and vile, whereas those written for the lower classes often tell of peasants getting the better of the clergy.
The fabliau gradually disappeared at the beginning of the 16th century. It was replaced by the prose short story. Famous French writers such as Molière, Jean de La Fontaine and Voltaire owe much to the tradition of the fabliau, in their prose works as well as in their poetry.

Resume/Cover Letter and College Admissions DUE DATES!

2009-09-08T19:00:00.001-07:00

The rest of this week will be spent revising your current editions of your college admissions essay and examining where you can go with it structurally as well as descriptively to help provide the strongest impression to an admissions officer or scholarship committee.

In addition, we will be taking a look at and beginning to work on the resume/cover letter (the back half of the LIFE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL PROJECT).

Due dates are as follows:

This week!

Periods 1 and 4: Wednesday, Sept. 9--college essay revisions due with first draft

Periods 6 and 7: Friday, Sept. 11--college essay revisions due with first draft

Period 2: In-class writing Wed.

Next week!

Periods 1 and 4: Providing you get your essays back by Friday (Sept. 11) your final drafts of your college essay will be due Wednesday, Sept. 16th.

Periods 6 and 7: Providing you get your essays back by Monday (Sept. 14) your final drafts of your college essay will be due Friday, Sept. 18th.

The week of September 21st!

All resumes/cover letters will be turned in on Tuesday, Sept. 22nd at the beginning of your period...otherwise, it is late!

Do not forget that your description exercise is to be morphed into a typed one-page short story due Friday.

And, as always, vocab unit 4 will be due on Thurs./Friday this week!

What up, college essay?!

2009-08-31T06:46:00.000-07:00

Alright, the deal for this week is as follows:

1.) Examine example of college application essay.
2.) Discuss critique of essay.
3.) Write rough draft of essay. (DUE WEDNESDAY--TYPED!!)
4.) Edit and Revise with peer help and teacher help.
5.) Pair it up with a money application and submit to college of choice.
6.) Get accepted and relax and enjoy this last year and learn how to think "on the real."
7.) Oh yeah, vocab unit 3 also (standard rules apply: unit due Thursday, quiz on Friday).

Your homework for Monday evening is to go to this link, read and print out a copy of this article on college admissions writing. We will use this tomorrow. You must have it printed out to get credit for it.

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/07/education/college-prep-the-that-changed-my-life.html

Into the essence of our existence and back out again...

2009-08-26T06:36:00.000-07:00

"We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results."

--Herman Melville

Melville discusses in this quote the idea that all of us are connected by thousands of invisible threads (life lines, if you will) that bind us all. What is his point in calling these fibers "sympathetic?" Think about his cause/effect relationship as well. Consider your own life and how you personally affect these fibers with the people you come in contact with. How do you experience it? Post your comment below by 12:00 am this evening!

For the week of August 24th!

2009-08-24T06:57:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a restful weekend. We will be continuing our study of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. We will be focusing on author's purpose and using Solzhenitsyn's intent to help guide us in our understanding of the importance of this novel. (This is also referred to as relevancy.) In addition, we will be continuing to look at themes in the novel.

We will be studying unit two in the vocabulary book, we will examine our first vocabulary quiz, and, as always, the vocab will be due on Thursday.

Vocab quiz and Ivan retest on Friday!

The quote for the week is: "The task of the writer is to treat universal and eternal themes: the mysteries of the heart and conscience, the collision between life and death, and the triumph over spiritual anguish."

--Alexandr Solzhenitsyn

Updates!

2009-04-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

Currently, we are reading A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. We will be studying the text itself as well as look at the civil war in Sierra Leone, and the phenomenon behind the "blood diamonds" We will discuss these diamonds and their detrimental impact on this African society; most notably, the children forced to become soldiers to help search for and fight for this "cause."

In addition, the Outside Reading assignment is due on May 1st. However, there is a new twist. You will be able to choose between the regularly assigned journals or create a representation of abstract thought and vision to be presented to the class. You need to consider thematic elements, symbolism, and characterization when choosing how you would like to represent your outside reading novel.

SparkNotes: Lord of the Flies: Context

2009-02-17T10:38:00.001-08:00

SparkNotes: Lord of the Flies: Context

Posted using ShareThis

Feb 17th Critical Analysis Essay Due!

2009-02-10T12:56:00.000-08:00

Do not forget that your critical analysis essay is due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, Feb. 17th. Your essay must also be submitted to turnitin.com. The period of time in which to submit your essay is from Feb. 10th to the 17th at 11:59 p.m.. If you need the codes for each class they are as follows:

Per. 1--2497864
Per. 2--2497874
Per. 4--2497876
Per. 6--2497878
Per. 8--2497879

Should you need a password it is: "Funk." If you have any problems, you need to let me know prior to the end of the submission date. If you fail to turn in either your hard copy on Tuesday or submit your essay by the deadline, you will lose 10% from your final essay grade.

Good luck, and don't forget to use a proper heading, cite correctly, title your essay and write in the present tense (when referring to the short story) as well as in the 3rd person.

Next week...

2009-01-22T11:01:00.000-08:00

We will be watching Smooth Talk, conferencing with your reading journals, and studying the lyrical genius of Bob Dylan! Come prepared to expand your mind. Check out some videos of Dylan on the toolbar to your right.

New This Semester!

2009-01-08T11:06:00.000-08:00

An opportunity for bonus points! In an effort to help better engage and to answer the nagging, age-old question of "when am I ever going to use these words?!" I am offering a semester long extra credit opportunity.

Here is the deal...

Outside of class as you experience your daily life I have a pretty good feeling that you are unknowingly digesting many of the vocabulary words that you have become so fond of. So, in an effort to give you bonus points, and to prove my point, you can find those words and bring them in for extra credit. I know what you're thinking, this is the second extra credit opportunity in just this first week that I have thought of...maybe I'm losing it.

Here is what you must do:

If you see or experience in some capacity one of our vocabulary words you must acquire proof of this word and provide that example for us. When I say proof I mean that if you read it online, print it out; if you saw it in a magazine or in a newspaper, cut it out; if you see it when you are out on the streets, take a picture of it, and so on... In addition, you must type an explanation of the word, how you came to find it and what the word means. The more creative you are with the words the more points you could possibly receive. If you have any questions let me know.

Be creative, pictures of you with vocabulary words to post are always a bonus!

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-17T04:41:00.001-08:00

As we enter into finals week and we all begin to stress about "student things" and "teacher things" let us not dwell on non-essentials and focus on what truly matters. That which truly matters is for you to decide, what is important to you, the things that you "need" are not the things that others "need." So, let us not forget that although we are all part of a blessed community we are all individuals and deserve the respect that each individual human life deserves. As a Catholic school community, we honor life and in doing so we respect the collective voice of a generation of students, a community of parents, teachers, and supporters, and the world at large.

In short, everyone deserves some love this holiday season!

Have a great Christmas break and let's come back rejuvenated and ready for second semester.

You all have made this a wonderful first semester back at BCHS for me! Thank you very much!

--Mr. Funk

What Do You Need?

2008-11-20T19:15:00.000-08:00

As human beings we all desire things, things to help sustain our existence, to get us through the day, to help us feel human, and even superhuman. In Ibsen's A Doll House, Nora experiences an explosion inside her consciousness that forces her exterior to react, resulting in her wild dancing during the practice of the Tarantella. This is one of a few poignant moments when she realizes that she doesn't know anything and that she needs "something." She needs to get out. She needs to get away from Torvald, her children and her current state. She is cognizant of the fact that she doesn't know anything, and, yet, she realizes she needs schooling, experience, independence...life.

My question to you is: what do you need? Please do not simply answer this question for the sake of answering it. Take your time, reflect and when you feel you are ready, respond.

Please post your response on your class' page by next Wednesday, November 26th. I will take this for points. Not extra credit.

Reaction to Poetry

2008-11-03T10:37:00.000-08:00

Read this poem by Marge Piercy entitled "Barbie Doll," and go to your class' blog page (see the links on the right hand side) . . . spend some time reflecting on the poem and please post a response by Friday, Nov. 7th. Consider what we have been discussing for the past few weeks.

"Barbie Doll"

This girlchild was born as usual
and presented dolls that did pee-pee
and miniature GE stoves and irons
and wee lipsticks the color of cherry candy.
Then in the magic of puberty, a classmate said:
You have a great big nose and fat legs.

She was healthy, tested intelligent,
possessed strong arms and back,
abundant sexual drive and manual dexterity.
She went to and fro apologizing.
Everyone saw a fat nose on thick legs.

She was advised to play coy,
exhorted to come on hearty,
excercise, diet, smile and wheedle.
Her good nature wore her out
like a fan belt.
So she cut off her nose and her legs
and offered them up.

In the casket displayed on satin she lay
with the undetaker's cosmetics painted on,
a turned-up putty nose,
dressed in a pink and white nightie.
Doesn't she look pretty? everyone said.
Consummation at last.
To every woman a happy ending.

Per. 8 Posting Due by Thursday!

2008-10-14T18:08:00.000-07:00

This idea from one of your classmates can certainly elicit some interesting conversation. What do you think?

"How does the media pull us away from religion?"

Ready...Go!

Per. 6 Posting Due by Thursday

2008-10-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

As we continue the process of thinking about and trying to narrow down our topic choices, I would like to start posting questions that you, as a class, can discuss through the blog. I would like you to comment on the question (1) and comment on a classmate's posting (2). Please complete this by Thursday. You do need an email address to be able to post, but it does not have to be a google address. Simply click the "post a comment" button and follow the instructions.

A student posited the idea that "our ability to think on our own is shrinking," what do you think? Is this happening? How is this happening? What can we do to fight it?

Per. 4 Posting due by Thursday!

2008-10-14T10:52:00.000-07:00

As we continue the process of thinking about and trying to narrow down our topic choices, I would like to start posting questions that you, as a class, can discuss through the blog. I would like you to comment on the question (1) and comment on a classmate's posting (2). Please complete this by Thursday. You do need an email address to be able to post, but it does not have to be a google address. Simply click the "post a comment" button and follow the instructions.

Please comment on the following, taken from your own classmate...

"To be accepted by society today, girls are being pressured to show more skin and generally degrade themselves to be successful in their lives..."

"Teenage boys are influenced by the media to be more manly and treat girls as if they are below them..."

What do you think about one of these, or both of them?

Per. 2 Post due by Thursday!

2008-10-14T10:50:00.000-07:00

Per. 1 Posting Due by Thursday!

2008-10-14T10:34:00.000-07:00

Period 1,

As we continue the process of thinking about and trying to narrow down our topic choices, I would like to start posting questions that you, as a class, can discuss through the blog. I would like you to comment on the question (1) and comment on a classmate's posting (2). Please complete this by Thursday. You do need an email address to be able to post, but it does not have to be a google address. Simply click the "post a comment" button and follow the instructions.

In our changing world that has begun to create a global network, that can seemingly connect everyone to everything, is "facebook" good or bad for teens. Please explain.

A Quist on Monday, is he serious?!

2008-10-08T10:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, he is serious! Do not forget that we have a quist on Monday over media literacy. Notes that you have taken on "The Merchants of Cool" as well as info you have retained on "Is Google Making us Stupid," and the three packets we worked with this week will be a part of the quist. In addition, be sure you know the terms/definitions from our initial day of notes on media lit.

You may only use approved items for the quist. Those items are:

1.) Your personal notes from the three packets this week
2.) Your notes from "Is Google Making Us Stupid"
3.) Your notes from "The Merchants of Cool"
4.) Your memorized definitions from our first day of notes. YOU MAY NOT USE THE NOTES FROM THE FIRST DAY (POWERPOINT) ON MEDIA LIT. I REPEAT, YOU CANNOT USE THE NOTES FROM THE FIRST DAY ON MEDIA LIT (POWER POINT)! YOU MUST MEMORIZE THOSE TECHNIQUES!

MEMORIZE THE TECHNIQUES!
KNOW THE DEFINITIONS!
MEMORIZE THE ADVERTISING TECHNIQUES!
BE COGNIZANT OF THE TERMS AND DEFINITIONS FROM THE POWER POINT

GOT IT YET?

The first week of October!

2008-10-04T10:35:00.000-07:00

This week we will continue our discussion on media literacy, but our focus will shift from basic marketing strategies and terms to the internet and its effect on us. Please go to the link below and either read the article or print it out and read it. I will warn you, if you read it online it may be difficult to read because of the general "distractability" of the internet. (When you read the article that comment will make more sense.) We will be discussing and working with this article on Monday.

In addition, we are on a review unit so no actual work in the vocab book just yet, but you will find out what I have planned on Monday.

The article below is entitled "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" You may have to cut and paste it into your URl bar.

http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google

The week of September 29th!

2008-09-29T17:25:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Another week is upon us, and we will begin a new unit this week. After having finished our Canterbury Tales presentations (which everyone did quite well), we will begin our media literacy unit which will segue into our research paper.

This will be an opportunity for us to learn about how various types of media (t.v., internet, newspaper, radio, etc...) influence our decisions.

This will help prepare us for our research paper on a social issue today. You (in the course of your research) will need to determine different types of sources and if they are credible or not.

As always...Unit 6 Vocab will be due on Thursday and our quiz will follow on Friday.

Socratic Seminar on Monday

2008-09-25T11:08:00.000-07:00

Here is the link for the article that we will discuss on Monday. This is an interview from Rolling Stone's 40th Anniversary Issue with Princeton professor Cornel West.

In order to become as open minded and intellectually enlightened as we all hope to become, we need to be open to ideas (not just those that align with our existing notions). Then, and only then, can we make an informed decision concerning the choices that affect us and those around us.

I would like for you to consider this article and its many topics for our Socratic Seminar on Monday.

When reading a heavy article like this, one way in which you can think about it is by deciding whether to defend, challenge, or qualify the author and his or her viewpoint.

Defend, Challenge, or Qualify

Defend: you are out to back him up (this does not have to be his entire view point, but can be bits and pieces).

Challenge: you have read and do not think that his views are entirely accurate (do not forget to weigh all options and consider multiple perspectives in doing this).

Qualify: you seek to understand what he is saying (you have not made up your mind yet, but as a seeker of knowledge you make an attempt to break down his individual ideas and understand what he is saying). This is similar to a summary, but more along the lines of an analytical enumeration of his various points.

The link is below--enjoy, and if you don't know a word. . . look it up!

http://floortwo.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/cornel_west_rs.pdf

Hey! If you found that article interesting, check out this bit from when Professor West spoke at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

http://www.uncp.edu/news/2005/cornel_west.htm

The week of September 22nd!

2008-09-22T13:08:00.001-07:00

This week the students have a hectic schedule with a liturgy on Tuesday, guest speaker on Wed. and an early dismissal (1:30) on Friday. In the midst of all that we will be finishing up the TCT presentations. All students are expected to read The Franklin's Tale on page 285 for Tuesday, which we will discuss on Tuesday and Wed. as well as complete the Unit 5 Vocab work for Thursday. Our quiz will still occur on Friday.

Let's continue to work hard and act in the way in which Jesus has taught us.

"He must increase; I must decrease"

Can I get some relevance, please?!

2008-09-16T12:54:00.001-07:00

In an effort to help clear up issues in regards to the importance of TCT and how you can apply that to your presentation, consider this:

“’The Wife of Bath's Tale’ and ‘The Miller's Tale’ address such current issues as gender roles in marriage, fidelity, revenge, and social rank; they are tales about relationships nested within a tale about relationships. However, the truly poignant facets of these stories, particularly from today's perspective, come from the prologues. The travelers are sharing a religious pilgrimage, yet cannot resist bantering and quarreling. The miller boasts his story as one to ‘quite the Knight’s tale.’ The competition distracts them from the long, arduous journey ahead. Although the purpose of such a trip would ideally lie in the search for something greater than themselves, they seem to be undertaking such an ordeal because it was a socially accepted and practically mandated thing to do. So they occupy themselves with what is effectively a game and, in doing so, divulge their personalities. This makes a statement about how people identify their sense of self. A person is not only defined by their thoughts, feelings, and actions; treatment of and interactions with others constitutes one's identity. Chaucer's pilgrims never realize their objective of reaching Canterbury, but the work in its unfinished form stands as a strong reminder that the destination may not be as important as the journey.”

Also consider that some of the tales that will be presented are farcical and ridiculous in nature; this is a technique known as:

Fabliau, which is…

The fabliau (plural fabliaux or "'fablieaux'") is a comic, usually anonymous tale written by minstrels or jokers in northeast France around the 13th Century. They are generally bawdy in nature, and several of them were reworked by Geoffrey Chaucer for his Canterbury Tales.
Typical fabliaux concern cuckold husbands (whose wives cheat on them), rapacious clergy, and foolish peasants. The status of peasants appears to vary based on the audience for which the fabliau was being written. Poems that were presumably written for the nobility portray peasants (French: vilains) as stupid and vile, whereas those written for the lower classes often tell of peasants getting the better of the clergy.
The fabliau gradually disappeared at the beginning of the 16th century. It was replaced by the prose short story. Famous French writers such as Molière, Jean de La Fontaine and Voltaire owe much to the tradition of the fabliau, in their prose works as well as in their poetry.

The Week of September 15th

2008-09-15T18:19:00.000-07:00

This week we will be working on our TCT (The Canterbury Tales) projects. Monday will consist of each team reading through its assigned tale and taking notes as a team. In addition, they need to create a game plan for the rest of the week.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday will be spent using the laptop carts and going to the library to research historical context, extra info, and creating the power point presentation for their tale. In addition to the computer work on those days, we will be creating our poster-board sized "portraits" of each teams' character.

Friday will include a vocab quiz over unit 4 as well as the start of the presentations.

Groups to go on Friday will be chosen at random on Thursday.

Summer Reading Test!

2008-08-12T19:27:00.001-07:00

A warning to all of you who may or may not have taken the opportunity to fill your head with the words of the recently deceased Alexander Solzhenitsyn, your summer reading test will be on MONDAY, August 18th!

Welcome!

2008-08-12T16:41:00.000-07:00

Students,

A new school year is upon us, and in an effort to be as technologically competent as possible I have decided to compose a blog for my English classes this year. The objectives for this blog are as follows:

Allow for greater communication between parents, students, and myself.
Continue to help students succeed in their education by providing them with possibilities to learn in the classroom as well as on the web.
Post a weekly agenda and pertinent information for the class for parents and students to review.
Do my part to help students continue to learn outside of the confines of BCHS.