dwalker

So I have been reading your blogs, and I think I am changing my mind about Marlow’s experience. See what you think. I am not sure he descends. He never becomes evil, and he never goes mad. Some of you suggest a callousness or matter-of-factness, particularly in the face of his pilot’s death. Marlow has seen a lot of death, and he regrets the pilot’s death and knows there is nothing he can do. Marlow was always eminently practical, and perhaps his practicality has been his greatest defense. But then Marlow heads upriver, journeys deeper and deeper (rather than down) toward realization. The closer he gets to the Inner Station, the more his illusions and his practicality, about Kurtz, about the European presence here, about purpose itself, are stripped away. What he discovers in his discussions with Kurtz and through Kurtz’s own selfdiscovery is the meaningless that we have been discussing in class. And this discovery renders Marlow defenseless. He suffers a malaise (despair) that compromises him physically and spiritually. He does recover, but slowly, and only after his lie to Kurtz’s intended and his return to the bosom of his friends on the Nellie. So we must be careful to make the generalizations we are so tempted to make. The river does not take Marlow down, or even Kurtz, for that matter, but rather deep into what the abomination means for each.

This week we are going to be working on vocabulary. It is important that you be able to use the words in your writing as well as your reading, and we will work on how to use context clues in your sentence construction. We will also spend time with chapter 3 of Of Mice and Men. In it we learn more about how these men spend their time away from work. Some play cards. Others try to get their own way. Still others look for trouble. In the middle of it all, George and Lennie remind themselves to stick with their dream, a dream it turns out is contagious.

Here is the homework:

Tuesday Night, 11/14 - read p. 42-the bottom of p. 53

Wednesday Night, 11/15 - read the bottom of p. 53-the bottom of p. 63

Thursday Night, 11/16 - finish ch. 3 over the weekend

Please be ready to write in class about what you have read, either in a short paragraph or a 4 question quiz. Remember to use “introductions and considerations” to help guide your reading.

Hi, Everyone! I’ve missed you. I hope you found Stand by Me exciting and thought-provoking. We will continue to use the film in our discussion of the hero, but for now, let’s get a look at what is happening this week.

Monday Night:

Please finish reading chapter 2 in Of Mice and Men. Please be sure to use “Considerations” to guide you through the reading.

Tuesday

No School.

Wednesday Night:

Read to the bottom of p. 55 in Of Mice and Men

Thursday

No school

Friday night

Finish ch. 3 in Of Mice and Men

We began by asking whether or not the rules that shape, govern, and maintain community can be broken. The answer we have landed on is yes, all the time. And so we refine our questions a little bit. What is the writer after in revealing the aftermath of the transgression? What is he/she looking to uncover about both the individual and the communities involved? It is not so much the breaking of the rule/law but its results which we are invited to explore and consider. And we discover some commonalities. Those characters whose personal identities are unclear to them or are in some sort of crisis often cross cultural boundaries, looking for answers. The community from which the character comes often has faltered or in some way failed to lead the character to a clear sense of self. The character’s own determination or conviction prevents him/her from seeing what is real. Are there other reasons for these “breaches”?

            The Turn of the Screw is a ostensibly ghost story. It is also the tale of a desperate search for identity and the transgressions that occur in that search. It is set in nineteenth century England, at a country estate called Bly. The protagonist is a young woman who has just secured employment as a governess to two orphaned children whose uncle owns the estate. Her determination to do right by the children, her rigid conviction about her purpose/place, and her absolute belief that two fiends are after her charges create powerful tension in the novel.

            As you read, please consider these questions:

• What does the prologue reveal?
• What are the connections between a repressive education and superstition?
• What are the class distinctions present in the novel?
• What part does a desire for love play in the governess’s perceptions and decision making?
• What part do ego and vanity play in the progression of the novel?
• What is real and what is imagined in this novel?
• What rule(s) does the governess break? Why? To what end? What are the results?

As you know, your assignment is to create a visual expression of your understanding the novel. Take a look.

1.      Return to the text and find a short passage (2-3 lines) that captures an essential tension in the novel. Keep your eye out for possibilities.

2.       Consider how you might depict the passage visually. Use your blog to explore at least two possibilities.
3.      Go about creating your vision.

4.      If you are feeling a little stuck, you might want to try one of these:

a.      a drawing or painting

b.      a surrealistic drawing or painting

c.       a “choreography”, a three dimensional piece that illustrates movement or tension

d.     a montage: bringing together in one composition a collection of different pictures and parts of pictures , blending or superimposing them so that, while distinct, they create a larger image. For example you might use pictures eyes to create an image of the governess. A variation of this idea might be to use words to create the image.

e.      a collage: an image composed of objects – newspaper, bits of cloth, pressed flowers, coins, letters – anything that helps you create an image of the tension in the story in which you are interested.

f.        Remember: The text you have chosen to illustrate must be included in the visual you create.

5.      A brief written explanation the process you used to create your piece – why you chose the text you did, what the image is, how and why you created it as you did, why you placed text where you did in the piece.

6.      Your piece is due Friday 10/27.

This week you will be working on your original hero story. Here is what you need to do:

1. Your first draft is due on Wednesday. In class we will work on partner conferences and discusses editing your draft.

2. Your revision is due in class on Friday, at which time I will collect it.

On Thursday and Friday we will begin our study of Of Mice and Men. You will get your book, and we will talk about the questions we will use the book to try and answer. More to follow.

There’s a lot to talk about! First of all, about your blogs. Please be patient! Edublogs is, I gather, updating. presumably to handle the volume. It appears to be the best free server space out there, and I suspect they are a tad overwhelmed. If you can’t post immediately (or save on your blog), save what you have written in word and try again later. Do keep trying. I’ll keep you posted. Remember that the content of your blogs should be exploratory. Try to keep the summarizing of plot to a minimum and go more for analysis and interpretation. Some of you are really stretching the interpretation, which is great as long as the text will support what you think. Ask whether this new idea can be sustained by the reading. If not, try again. When you read and comment, one of your considerations should be the same, does the text bear witness to the idea? If not, gently remind the writer to consider the reading more closely. Among the benefits of blogging is its assistance in returning us to the text, to read ever more closely.

So, for your next piece of writing, please choose one of the blogs you wrote for A Passage to India and revise it. The focus of this short paper is an examination of text. For example, our discussion of Ralph Moore suggests that while is like his mother, he has surpassed her understanding of tolerance and acceptance. The question is how do we know. We must go back to the narrator’s descriptions of him and his convesations with Aziz. We use the text to show what we mean. Other possibilites might be that it is in celebration of God (and therefore in community) that cultural boundaries are transcended (The Hindus understand this best). Or you might examine the idea that the transcendence is temporary. Another consideration might be the voice of the setting. So, you make your observation, talk about how you see it in the text, and make your conclusion. Any questions? I hope so!!!

There is one more consideration. Your Twelfth Night papers went a long way toward engaging the text. Nice work. Remember to stay there; don’t stray. I found myself thinking about Strunk and White’s admonition that we not make judgements. “The author’s unique ability” or “the author’s incredible use of setting” or “the writer’s amazing insight into…” are not our purview here. It is not for us to evaluate, at least in our current context. Our job is to observe, consider, and explain. I’ve been wondering too if we are supposed to judge these characters as harshly as some of us are. Orsino the hypoccrite. Olivia the shallow flirt, Malvolio, who gets what he deserves. They all feel their feelings and behave remarkably foolishly because they are in love. But we must remember that they are, after all, human. Finally, remember that Macgruder is your friend. He has the answer to almost all your practical writing questions.

Behind every great writer is great grammar, and the trick to great grammar is simplicity and cleanliness, never any mess or confusion! Great grammar is not a gift. It is a skill; you can learn it! But you have to think about it. You need to know your writing well enough to know where your grammatical strengths and weaknesses lie. Knowing your writing is your ticket to grammatical greatness!             Below is a simple guide to grammatical gregariousness, a surefire means of grabbing your reader’s gazoo without his ever even knowing it and sweeping him along on the swell of your grammatical grandiloquence.  Follow these simple guidelines, and you will know your writing as well as any teacher! Become a guaranteed grammatical grandmaster today!!!            

 Use the categories below to assess and correct your writing. I am always available to answer all your questions. And remember, think Grammatical Greatness!  

 1. Tense:

a.When writing about the events of a piece of literature, use present tense. Imagine the characters and events as living and occurring now.

 b. When writing narratively, use the past tense.

c.  Keep your tenses consistent. If the body of your text is in past tense, it must be consistently past tense. d.    Keep your tenses simple. Avoid the perfect tense (have, had, will have had) and the conditional (would, could) wherever possible.  

2. Agreement:

a. Subjects and verbs must agree (be the same) in number: singular subject means singular verb; plural subject means plural verb.

b. Pronouns and their referents must agree in number as well. It is very common to have a singular referent (the noun to which the pronoun refers) and a plural pronoun (The person put their gloves by the radiator.), so be careful.  

3. Reference:

a. Make sure that the pronouns you use in your writing have specific referents in proximity (the previous couple of sentences). You mustn’t leave your reader wondering to what or to whom the pronoun is referring.

Francis gave Mary her final two weeks notice. (To whom does “her” refer?)

b.     The most common reference errors occur when using this, that, and it. Please be sure you have a clear reference when using either of these.

Mr. Walker failed me because I was late all the time. This really made me furious. (To what does “this” refer?)  

 4. Comma Usage:

 a. Use a comma with the coordinating conjunction (and, or, nor, for, but, yet) when you are joining complete ideas.

b. Use commas with phrases or clauses interrupt the progress of the idea in the sentence ( Walter closely observed his daughters, whose relationship had been strained for years, and decided that he needed talk to his wife about them.).

 c. Use a comma after a long phrase or clause which begins your sentence.

d. Never end a complete idea with a comma. Use a period. (I had known for years that my father was ill, I didn’t the end would come so quickly.)        

Macgruder’s Helpful Hints for Effective Writing

            Remember that your audience needs clear, concise writing. Here are some hints that will help you to be a direct and effective writer.  

 1. Verb Usage: Use active verbs that capture your thinking. Avoid using passive voice (never have the subject of your sentence receive the action of the verb).

I was given an old pair of boots by my father. (passive)

My father gave me an old pair of boots. (active)    

2. Syntax: Syntax is the way you put words together in a sentence to communicate your idea. Be direct. Remove unnecessary words (very, definitely, totally, etc.) and phrases. Remember that the power of your sentence is in simplicity, clarity, and verb choice. Avoid convolution. As you revise your writing, think about how you have constructed your sentences. A simple rule is clear subject, active verb, and simple qualification. If you see “combine”, “compress”, “simplify” or “clarify”, you must take out the unnecessary phrasing.

 3. Sentence Combination: A useful rule of thumb is to combine no more than two separate ideas in a sentence. There may be times, particularly as you become more proficient in concision, that you will play with this rule, but for now keep it simple.

4. Coherence: Think carefully about how you move from thought to thought. Connect your thoughts smoothly. Avoid simply stacking one thought on top of another.

5. Logic: Be sure that your assertions can be clearly supported in your reading. Don’t cling to an idea that cannot be supported.

Russ McDonald suggests that “throughout Twelfth Night Shakespeare makes his audience aware that words are unreliable images of reality.” We are in Illyria after all, and what we perceive and what is true are often at odds. The language of the play ranges from the ridiculous, as when Sir Toby praises Sir Andrew as “as tall as any man in Illyria”to the sublimely ironic, as when Cesario describes to travails of his “sister’s” love.  It is language that gets these characters into and out of trouble, not action, and clearly, each character’s use of language shapes who he/she is in the play. Your job is to explore how. Below are some suggestions for focus. Choose one and see where it takes you. You may write about a variation on one the ideas below, but you must focus on how character is shaped by his/her use of language. Take a look.
 

• What do Feste’s songs reveal about his character?
• Sir Toby linguistically browbeats and terrifies Sir Andrew and Cesario. Why? What is revealed of him and his purpose in the play?
• Viola seems to have a love affair with words. She is exhilarated and later trapped by them. How so?
• Malvolio depends on words, and he is stung, badly. How so?
• What do we learn about Orsino in his lovesick ramblings?
• Olivia is quite the flirt. How so?

Your essay should have three essential parts: a discussion of a character’s relationship with language, a detailed analysis of your favorite of his/her passages, and what you make of the character having done this exploration. It is most important that you engage with the text closely; pull it apart and examine it. How does your character use figurative language? What images are sharpest? What does the presence of rhythm or rhyme reveal? What is his/her use of irony? Ok? Any questions?
 

Here is what you need to include:

• a compelling idea, related to character and language, clearly stated and introduced
• focus on your character’s relationship with language, a detailed analysis of your favorite passage, and the meaning you make as a result.
• a conclusion which reminds the reader of content and suggests new thinking
• a compelling title
• careful diction and simple, direct syntax
• grammatical/mechanical correctness (Macgruder lives!!!)
• 2-3 pages please
• Writing group conferences on Weds. 10/4 (day H).
• Paper due Thurs. 10/5.

Congratulations! You have blogged wisely and well. I am glad to see that you are carrying on the conversation. In some cases you began new ones, as with those of you who set out to cast the play. I wanted to tell you some of what I saw in the hope that it might help to shape the short paper you will begin in the next day or so.

• Many of you were interested in love and attraction and whether they have much in common. Some of you argued that Elizabethans were not as interested in love, that marriage was a business arrangement. There were, however, hundreds of thousands of love sonnets written at that time, and Shakespeare wrote many romantic comedies.
• Many of you talked about gender confusion, how entertaining it is and how compelling. You wondered a good deal about women’s cleverness and their roles in the community. You suggested that it is the women who determine/direct the action of the play. Where Maria leads, for example, the men follow. Viola’s strength, you suggest, is never compromised.
• Viola and Maria have the best lines.
• Many of you were drawn to Feste and his insight. There were much said about his songs as well. We take him more seriously than the other men in the play.Some of you said that Maria serves much the same role as Feste in the play - the fools who sees human nature more clearly than the others in the play. What do you think?

Shakespeare is very intentional. Each event, quirk of character, and turn of phrase is there for a reason. We just have to figure out why.

As you think about the characters, go back and look at what they say; you’ll find everything you need to know about character there.

Please do not forget to comment on others’ blogs. It helps the writer, and it helps you to clarify your thinking.  

Dear parents/guardians,

As a critical component of AP English this year, each student will create and maintain a weblog, or “blog”.  A weblog is a web-based and text-based chronicle of the individual’s conversations and personal reflections on specific course-related ideas. We use it as a means to carry on the discussions we begin in class, as a means to share  and get feedback on longer writing, and to reflect on the reading that we have done, to name a few. What makes the weblog different from a traditional website is that the blog allows for immediate response. When I read another’s post, I can immediately post a comment to the writer offering my thoughts on his/her idea. And the writer can respond back to me.  Teachers around the country, as well as around the world, are using blogs to open up their classrooms to new ideas and to connect their students outside the classroon.  A blog is a powerful learning tool that forces students to be accountable for their own learning and gives them the opportunity to publish their findings.

Student blogs are a great fit for Connecticut’s state standards for English and the language arts, which call for students to be able to read and respond to texts in a variety of forms and from many cultures, to use English to communicate their ideas clearly and proficiently, and to employ the language arts for lifelong learning, work, and enjoyment.  They provide a wonderful opportunity to practice writing in different styles and for different purposes.  In addition, as students become more blog-savvy, they will gain valuable experience in evaluating the merits of different sources, becoming skilled media critics.

There has been much attention lately on the dangers of the internet.  Social-networking sites like MySpace, for example, allow teenagers to post revealing or incriminating pictures and information that make them easy targets for unsavory characters.  I want to make it clear that a class blog has nothing to do with that sort of site.  Your student’s blog, in accordance with Greenwich High School’s Acceptable Use Policy, will be for academic use only.  Revelation of personal information, including (but not limited to) a student’s full name, address, identifying characteristics, or personal photograph, may be cause for immediate deletion of the blog, as well strict disciplinary action.  Your child’s safety is as important to me as it is to you, and I will be monitoring the blogs regularly. For more information on blog safety you might visit http://www.blogsafey.com/forum.jspa?forumID+1100000006.

In addition, I encourage you to read your student’s blog regularly.  Not only will your attention help keep your student safe online, but it will give you additional insight into what we are doing in the classroom and the new knowledge that is being created.  Feel free to leave comments online and to discuss the writing with your student.  These blogs are meant to serve as a document of the progress made during the school year, as well as an invitation to the community to contribute.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at david_walker@greenwich.k12.ct.us

Sincerely,

David Walker