dwalker

            Talking about what we have read is a really good way to get to know each other. We discuss in order to sort out what we really think. And then we write and bring what we have written to the group in order to further refine what we understand. We will use the reading we did this summer as our way into some new thinking, writing, and creating. Take a look.

The Task: Please be sure to bring your texts to class.

Art is the illumination of particular cultural assumptions. Characters live by both implicit and explicit rules and expectations. It is the rare person who slips these bonds and lives in accordance with a set personal rules and expectations. Most remain inextricably bound by gender, race, class, money, law, or religion, or they find ways to live within these boundaries, accepting them or even shaping them to personal advantage.
But there are those who try to step outside the law, to cross a cultural boundary, usually race or class, in pursuit of a personal goal or desire. Ishmael and Hatsue literally step outside the boundaries. Othello crosses the cultural divide as a soldier with great success. It is when he and Desdemona fall in love that he collides with a real barrier that neither he nor Desdemona understands. We, as audience, find the cultural breach most engaging.
The question is what happens to the individual’s understanding of himself and the world when he is caught in that inevitable collision of cultures? You can ask this question of many, if not all the characters in Othello and Snow Falling on Cedars. You are going to need to do some excavation in order to answer this question. Here is what we will do:
1.      We talk together about what constitutes “culture” in both pieces. What are the rules? What are the parameters? Why do they exist? For whose benefit? What does “cultural integrity” mean?
2.      We begin talking together about how each author uses characterization, plot, setting, narrative structure and voice, figurative language and symbolism to create a rich, vibrant “cultural context” that makes transgression possible.

3.      In your writing groups you choose characters from each piece who defy cultural laws of the story.

a.      Who are they?
b.      What are the most compelling rules or laws?
c.       What are their beliefs, the convictions that convince them that they can successfully transgress?

d.     What do they learn about themselves? About their world?

4.      So what does it all mean?

The Expression:

You will express your understanding of the reading in two ways, a written analysis and a character portrait. Write about one book and do a portrait from the other.

The Writing:

      In your essay please answer the question, “What happens to the individual’s understanding of himself and the world when he is caught in that inevitable collision of cultures?” Here are steps to follow:
1.      Choose a character from either Othello or Snow Falling on Cedars.
2.      Who is he/she as an individual and a member of a particularly community that shapes him/her.

3.      What are the essential rules, usually implicit, that sustain this community?

4.      What compels your character to cross the boundary? What is the early success that suggests that the transgression has worked?

5.      In the eventual catastrophe what does the character discover about him/herself and his/her world?

6.      What meaning do you make as a result?

7.      Here is what I am looking for in your essay:

a.      the clear, thoughtful development of 2-5 above. Make clear statements of your understanding, explain what you mean, and provide specific examples from the text to show what you mean. Be sure to quote from the text judiciously.
b.      An engaging and thorough introduction (write this last!)

c.       A clear, thoughtful exploration of 6, above (your conclusion).

d.     Meticulous attention to paragraph development, verb choice and tense, comma usage, and pronoun usage.

e.      1^st draft due 9/7 (bl. 4) and 9/8 (bl. 2); “final” due 9/12

The Portrait:
 

Othello and Snow Falling on Cedars are about character and relationships, as you have clearly shown in your discussions. The comprehensiveness of those discussions suggests that these characters are complex and complicated, and it is your job to represent the depth of a character of your choosing from either book as faithfully as you can. The question is how.

First and foremost, you want to create an image. I’ve been thinking about Othello, and the image that’s emerging is a dark silhouette in the shape of a Bedouin. The outline of his body is dark; the lines are distinct. Inside the outline are marshal images, soldiers, battles, weapons. There are also images of love and devotion. But there is blood too, maybe “soaking” one or two images of love that are a part of the overall picture. I would probably use magazine pictures, but I might do some colored shapes suggesting death and love. I want to use as much of a variety images as possible. However, the images I choose must represent or suggest Othello. There is nothing random here. I am creating an impression that is coherent and comprehensive.

Next, choose language from the text that will suggest to us what your image is trying to promote. Think about what the character says and what others say about him/her. Place this language in the image in ways that draw our attention to the image and the character. Be judicious, but be sharp.

                        Here is what I am looking for:

1.      a close interest and understanding of the character

2.      the multi-faceted nature of the character

3.      a clear consideration of the medium and materials used. Variety can be very engaging.

4.      an image that provides insight into character

5.      careful choice and placement of language from the play

6.      150 word explanation of your text

7.      due 9/6

****Remember to write about one book and do your portrait from the other.

            ,

I dropped my oldest off at college a week ago. I have been thinking about him a lot, and I flashed on him as a three of four year old . We were making pancakes and bacon, and he asked me why there were eggs in the batter and where bacon came from and did the pig cry and why syrup tastes sweet. His mind was alive with questions. It was exhausting. He had to ask those questions, and so do we. They drive us. We need to ask them in order to open our minds, to be available for what life has to give us. This spirit of inquiry is what drives our work in AP. There are the broad, overarching questions we will consider all year, and there are the more specific questions about what motivates various slices of western literature and art. We’ll get to those later. For now there are several that you need to consider and have at the forefront of your mind every time you walk into class. Consider:
 

v     Who decides what art and literature are?
v     How do art and literature uncover and illuminate essential truths of human experience?
v     How do art and literature compel us back into our own experience?
v     Do art and literature have the power to change us?
 

What are your initial thoughts? I hope they take further shape and dimension as we proceed. It won’t be easy, but it should be fun.
Please take a look below at the general expectations for your participation in the class.
1.     Class Participation:

1. It is important to share what you are thinking as we discuss the work we are doing. Participation is not always comfortable, but it is necessary. If you are worried about sounding wrong or stupid, don’t be. I am frequently wrong, and I have certainly been stupid, and I have survived to tell the tale! You need to tell us what you are thinking! Participation is part of your grade as well.
2. Notes are really important. They are remarkably useful for essay writing, creating visual texts, and taking exams. They are an excellent way to help you listen.
3. Listen to everyone! Use what others have to say to get a fix on what you think. You will find a ton of great ideas out there if you are available. (Of course listening is up to you. Talking while others are speaking is absolutely unacceptable.)
4. Be an active reliable member of your small group.
5. Come prepared for your small group discussions and teacher conferences.

2. Attendance:
            There is no excuse for lateness. You are expected to be in your seat prepared to begin when the bell rings. You are late if you are strolling in as the bell rings.  If you are chronically late, I will deduct points from your participation grade.

            If you are absent, you are expected to get the work and get it done. The assignments can be found on my website. If there has been group work, you need to find out what you have missed and what the group needs from you. Daily work has an extra day. I take a dim view of absence on due dates!!!
 

4.     Due Dates:
            All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the assigned due dates. That means printed out and stapled. Otherwise the work is late.  A letter grade is deducted for each day late. If you need an extension, please come and see me at least a day before the work is due. I do not guarantee an extension will be granted, but I will listen and help you decide what to do next.

5.     The Writing:
 Your writing must be typed and double-spaced. Please use 12 pt. Times New Roman or Book Antiqua. Please do not forget to save your work on your computer!  And, please hold on to all returned work. You need this collected work in order to assess your progress through the term.

6.     Assessment:
a. essays                                       100 pts.

b. independent reading                        100 pts.

c. projects and presentations    50-100 pts.

d. class participation                 50 pts.

            Please keep this handout accessible and consult it when you need to. I’m looking forward to a fun semester. The literature is challenging, the thinking engaging, the discussion lively, and the writing exciting. Please don’t hesitate to track me down if you have questions or concerns. My website is under academics/English on the GHS website, and my email address is david_walker@greenwich.k12.ct.us

I am at that precarious point in the summer where I generally lose my perspective. I am way into planning for the fall. I love this part of teaching, particularly in light of what I have learned from Grant Wiggin and Jay McTighe. My ninth grade is taking on an exciting shape. We’ll be exploring the story and storytelling and how they inform our lives, not only as readers/audience but as friends, students and teacher, members of families, and members of communities. There are myth reading and myth writing. There is personal narrative. There are Catcher in the Rye and Lord of the Flies and Much Ado about Nothing and Antigone and poetry, to name a few. There are Big Fish and City of Joy and maybe even The Lords of Dogtown. And I am thrilled!

The chances are better than good, however, and I usually forget this in my ecstasy of planning, that that my new ninth graders are not thrilled. They like summer, and they do not want to come back to school. They generally do not like to read, and very few of them consider themselves writers. They would rather be anywhere else. It’s the simple truth, and I make a huge mistake if I expect them to come into my class bubbly and delighted. I had never really thought of myself as a salesman until one of my colleagues suggested that reason Lord of the Flies went so well with her ninth grade is that she sold it well. She convinced them before they got started that they were going to love it. It worked! The challenge is leading them to availabitiy, showing them that there is a lot they can do with literature, art, and film. The other thing is showing them that they are being heard, that the meaning that they make, whatever it is, is relevant and important.

I suppose a lot of this thiniking is obvious, but I need to remember that kids are kids, and resistance is part of what they do. I can either fret about it or make some sort of use of it.

I am guilty of expecting the student to meet me where I am. I guess it is my training. In my undergraduate education training nearly thirty years ago, the focus was, at least implicitly, teacher as expert, teacher as authority on the subject. In fact that essential conviction is what guided my graduate work, which was, for the most part, strictly literary. Despite the learner-centered pedagogy I have read over the last several years, which I believe strongly in, I find myself deferring to old habits in a pinch. I think there are two essential reasons for this reversion. The first is the way I plan, and the second is that I do not let my students tell me where they are and where they want to go. I do believe that students, given the respectful opportunity and a few simple guidelines, are an excellent resource for planning. They, for example, can tell me a great deal I do not know about on line journalling, its purposes, its audience, its networks. What they tell me will undoubtedly inform how we plan the use of weblogs in our class. It is only they who can tell me what they understand about storytelling - how they tell stories, to whom, for what purpose; how they hear stories, from whom, and for what purpose. My planning needs to involve my students, which brings me to the second reason why old habits die hard. I have just finished reading Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTique, which is a helpful guide to lesson planning. They suggest that we plan backwards, that we begin with what we want kids to understand and apply in the end. And we must engage students by encouraging them to give us their take as we begin and as we move through the lesson or unit or what have you. I seem to have latched on to a sort of coda over the last several weeks: meet the students where they are first and let them tell you all about it; they may be more willing to go along with you as a result.