Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Here/There/Elsewhere: Welcome, Class of 2010 Bloggers

This is the Honors English 12 Blog for McG.'s section of English 12H bloggers of the class of 2010.

Welcome.

I thought it'd be nice to continue blogging in this old space, despite it being formerly occupied by previous bloggers from the Class of '09. It's like we've moved into your old apartment and there's still a bunch of your stuff here that we might actually use. '09'ers: f you're still with us, great! Read on!

As for the current crop of bloggites, this is where you'll contribute your biweekly musings. A-muse us.


"In my beginning is my end. In succession
Houses rise and fall, crumble, are extended,
Are removed, destroyed, restored, or in their place
Is an open field, or a factory, or a by-pass.

...Dawn points, and another day
Prepares for heat and silence. Out at sea the dawn wind
Wrinkles and slides. I am here
Or there, or elsewhere. In my beginning."

T.S. Eliot

Monday, April 27, 2009

Weeks 9+10 Blog

The work:
Even as the time at CM winds down, we refuse to give up on our studies. We paid good money so we are getting the most of our education! (MC) In weeks 9+10 we talked about a hero's journey (in The Red Badge of Courage) and how no matter howm nay die in a battlefield, life goes on. we talked about the flag and how it got a life of its own (FT). We analyzed Crane's poetic form in the story. We discussed the religious themes within the writing as well as the significant themes that relate to identity (PC). We were also assigned a research paper in which we had to compare a youth involved in a conflict to Henry in the book. We researched the information and related it to the book (CS).

The workers:
Manny: I don't understand why he keeps going back home when he tries to forget it (ND).
James: The Glass Menagerie is about finding a man for a woman.(ND)
Pat: It's about changes in society.(ND)
Andrew: The play is about maturity.(ND)
Julio: The Red Badge has a religious theme to it. (ND)
Pat: Crane is not writing a history text about the Civil War, but about war in general. (MM)
Frank: In Crane's poem, I think the desert represents the battlefield. (MM)
Brian: Henry looked at his fellow soldiers as inferiors. (MM)
AJ: Henry has to choose whether or not to stop or fight. (MM)
Pat: Crane bases this chapter on Holy Thursday. (MM)

Words to live by:
"The dead man and the living man exchanged a long look." ~SC
"He had done a good part in saving himself." ~SC
"There is nothing in the world so painful as feeling that one is not liked."
"It is futile!" I said. "You lie," he cried. And ran on. ~SC

Monday, April 6, 2009

Library Visit, 4/6

Here's your assignment for The Red Badge of Courage (why did I italicize that?).


Apply your understanding of The Red Badge of Courage to a current conflict in the world. Find a “youth” involved in the conflict and compare and contrast Henry’s perspective of war by the end of RBC with this youth’s story/perspective.

Worth: test grade. Note: test grade will be lowered by one letter grade if you fail to return the book. Due: 1st draft due 4/17, second draft TBD.


Today in the library, determine which conflict you will cover. Note: you won't cover a conflict that another classmate is covering!

  • Visit the Global Security "World at War" website. Read about a few conflicts before narrowing down your choices.
  • See Mr. McG. after ten minutes of reading have elapsed to "lock in" your conflict. Come to him with a backup choice.
  • Sign up for a gmail account if you don't already have one.
  • Visit the Google News homepage and do a preliminary search for your conflict in recent news.
  • Set a Google News alert for each term you've searched for so you can be alerted each day to new news about your topic.
  • Use the word "children" or "youth" or "families" or "kids" or "child" along with your conflict's name to start searching for how children are affected by your conflict.
  • Find a specific child's story associated with your conflict. If you find stories of unnamed children, youths, kids, or families, it will be acceptable to tell their stories but just as much citation will be required.
  • Check the Internet Public Library for more information on your conflict.
  • Keep track of your sources as you research. Take good notes.


What do you do when you're done?


Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Guest blogger: Matthew Connolly '09, Weeks 7/8

The work: It has been a quick two weeks with multiple interruptions, whether it was St. Patrick's Day or Senior Service days. However, that did not stop us from reading Tennessee Williams' play The Glass Menagerie. Julio, Martin, Michael, Pat, and Nicholson were kind enough to lend the voices to our reading and analysis of the classic play. Tomorrow we end the text by reciting Tom's final speech.

The workers: While analyzing the play, Connor predicted that Laura's first gentleman caller will be her 'high school crush.' Andrew notices that Amanda 'forces her dreams onto her children.' Kevin made an impressive comparison to The Grapes of Wrath when he noticed that both Connie and Jim from The Glass Menagerie were both going to school for radio engineering.

Words to live by:
"Time is the longest distance between two places." ~Tom
"Just go, go, go..." ~Amanda
"It always came upon me unawares." ~Tom

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Term II, Weeks 5+6

The work:
Over the past two weeks we have based our classes around Jhumpa Lahiri's 2003 novel The Namesake (MM). We have been crafting essay introductions on different themes of the book, preparing for a test (TT). We wrote these on different themes like education and character development (DP). We focused on other themes like identity, education, marriage, culture clash, and the past. We determined the significance of a namesake and how it affected Gogol's decisions as a first generation immigrant (ME). We talked about our senior service projects and what our first day was like and what we expect to do at our sites over the next eight weeks (FT). Finally, we were tested on "The Namesake" in an in-class essay (MM).

The workers:
Connor: Their marriage is one of mutual respect but also devotion. (MM)
Andrew: Through the death of his father, Gogol realizes how detached he has come to his family. (FT)
Pat: Gogol matured at college...began to think on his own. (ME)
Brian: Between before and after independence...(KW)
Anthony: The author is stereotyping...(DP)
Frank: There must be a complex transformation to get something out of the book...(TT)
John: Lahiri shows the theme of nature. (MM)
Kevin: Education means experiences in [Twain's quote]. (BG)
Julio: agreed with Gogol's culture being an obstacle...(PC)


Words to live by:
"He remembered his father's footprints in the sand." ~Lahiri
"He's a telephone man who fell in love with long distance." ~Williams
"Don't let your schooling interfere with your education." Twain
"In America, anything is possible. Do as you wish." ~Lahiri
"The name...was the first thing his father had given him." ~Lahiri

Term II, Weeks 3+4

The work:

Within weeks 3-4 of the second term we have done a lot of work. We finished reading Death of a Salesman and we have memorized a few lines from the play and recited them in class with a partner (MM). We had an acting competition and my partner and I came home with the gold! (MG). We had the chance to then watch the scene played by Dustin Hoffman and John Malcovich (DP). To finish Death of a Salesman we wrote a paper analyzing the themes of the play (EO). We then began the novel The Namesake and discussed the beginning of the novel with the history of Gogol (CS).

The workers:
Kevin: They are waiting for what the name will be. (CS)
Dan: Willy and Biff were very physical in the final scene of the movie. (BG)
Pat: The kiss is a betrayal scene. (JG)
Martin: The Namesake is better than Huck Finn. (JG)
Julio: Education serves as an obstacle for Gogol. (ME)
Matthew: Willy is just as loyal to people as people are to him. (JG)
Manny: In hte video Willy showed a lot of emotion. (ND)
Anthony: Biff likes to take things and is disloyal to himself. (EO)
Andrew: They go south, into Manhattan. (KW)


Words to live by:
"Do yourself a favor. Before it's too late, without thinking too much about it first...see as much of the world as you can. You will not regret it. One day it will be too late." ~Ghosh, The Namesake

"Be liked and you will never want." ~Arthur Miller

Monday, February 9, 2009

Term II, Weeks 1+2

The work:

As we began the 2nd semester we started reading Death of a Salesman. We have discussed many themes that are in the play such as loyalty, family, and being a man. We have also discussed the problems Willy has been encountering with his job and his family life (JG). We went over the poem "Telephone Poles" and talked about the simple insight of the poem into life (DP). We went online to get different critics' quotes on themes of Death of a Salesman (TT). We also memorized an Act II speech by Willy. We ended the week watching Act I of Death of a Salesman (CS).

The workers:

Dan: Willy isn't getting into accidents--he's trying to hurt himself. (BG)
Todd: Cummings uses part to whole translations--synecdoche. (FT)
Michael: The green lights represent the American Dream (FT).
Martin: Biff is struggling with school (JG).
Pat: Biff thinks that he is extremely important and says that he controls New England (JG).
Andrew: Biff lost all his confidence and he's falling out of his father's good grace (BG).
Kevin: ...took his helmet off, and pointed to Willy (CS).
Dan: Willy is too concerned about what others think of him (TT).
Martin: Both Biff and Prince Hal are trying to find themselves (DP).



Words to live by:

Don't make mountains out of molehills. ~Linda
Never leave a job till you're finished. ~Arthur Miller
Certain men just don't get started until later in life. ~Willy
A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man. ~Linda

Monday, January 12, 2009

Blog, weeks 13+14

The work:
(guest blogger, Michael E)
"The past couple of weeks we have been focusing on poetry. We have explored the different forms and types of poetry. We read fourteen chapters and answered a set of questions for each section. We have memorized several poems and also wrote three poems in imitation of those from the book."

The workers:
Julio told the class that Rage Against the Machinehas socialist views and it is very appropriate that they cover "The Ghost of Tom Joad." (PC)
Andrew: "She let that one incident ruin her view of Baltimore." (ME)
Kevin: "He uses different poetic terms such as apostrophe." (ME)
Andrew: "When a leaf falls it dies alone and when we die we fall and are alone" (BG).
Nicholson: "The poem uses alliteration to further the them." (DP)
Brian: "The eagle is known as a strong majestic symbol" (DP)
Michael: Langston Hughes use a lot of rhyme...(JG)
Martin: He would feel it is good passion. (MM)
Pat: Steinbeck would agree with them because they are socialist (MM)
Julio: It is talking about her drinking air and sitting in the open air enjoying the angels that swing their snowy hats. (ND)
Andrew: You don't know what comes next because there is no pattern or scheme." (AJ)


Words to live by:
I took the one less traveled by... ~Frost
I wonder where I'm gonna die...~Hughes
The day brings obstacles to all. ~Robert Browning
Do not go gentle into that good night. ~Thomas
The truth is, we were born. ~Atwood
The time was neither wrong nor right. ~Frost