Seniors #2 Journal --In a Good Place

POST BEFORE MONDAY DECEMBER 5

I'm not always up to date on the most novel vernacular, teen or otherwise. By the time I start using some "new" expression, it's bottomed out to the level of drab cliche. So if you get a "you go, girl" or an "atta boy" from me, try not to gawk in amazement at me as if I'm some ancient mariner.

Within the last year, people my age and in my small circle of very cool friends have begun to use the phrase "in a good place," as in "his boss gave him a raise today, so he's in a good place" or he was able to watch football all Sunday afternoon, so he was "in his good place." Getting a raise might put you in a "figurative good place," but watching football all Sunday afternoon and evening on your couch in your Mancave is a "real good place."

Which leads me to a somewhat personal question: Where's your "good place?"

You SHOULD answer VERY literally and specifically, sparing no expense of travel. The place must exist.

Maybe take me to some sunny exotic island in the Bahamas, send me schussing down the Rockies, or lead me to traverse your favorite hiking spot on the Appalachian Trail.

Or perhaps you're the more "stay at home" type, who like Henry David Thoreau, could make a full day out of bird watching, sitting in his cabin doorway. Then stay at home. Describe what it's like to be playing the guitar or "chewing the fat" with your friends. Take me on an easy five mile jog with your Ipod at full blast and with your eyes (and other senses) wide open.

This journal will be somewhat similar to your next creative writing assignment. You can use this assignment to stretch your writing muscles before running the real race.

However, one requirement of your post at Schoolsville is that your "good place" MUST be a "good place." Please, I want no glimpses into any personal mansions of doom and gloom. As I might have said once or twice in the 70s, "Don't be such a downer, man."

For Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, listening to the music of the "two Italian ladies" took his soul to heights that not even two weeks of prison lockup could destroy. Can our "good places" do the same?

Sophs--Breakfast Anyone? More Stock Characters

First listen to the video (linked here) with the sound muted. As each character appears, try to identify the teenage movie stock character. This won't be too difficult, despite the somewhat laughable fashions of the 80s. The sad truth is that everyday we will also stereotype so quickly, often just based on the way someone dresses, walks, or talks.

The Breakfast Club, a 1985 John Hughes written and directed film, first builds up its characters' stereotypes, only to shatter them to pieces. We, and the characters within the movie, see how all of these contrasting "types" are really more similar than they are different. Who would've thunk it (this expression is a cliche, the bad grammar completely necessary)? And it only took two hours of being locked into a room for a Saturday morning detention. Could life be so easy?

My capsule review of the movie? The critic in me, no longer a teen or even a young hip teacher, says that much of the movie dialogue today sounds so unreal, so exaggerated, so silly. And yes, the repeated use of the F word bothers me (I'll never get used to hearing teenagers curse). However, I have to admit that it (the dialogue) and the rest of the movie are never boring. Even in the preachy long monologues (and there are many), Hughes' characters make us care about them.

The lesson is this. Stock characters are OK in literature and film, but stereotyping in real life is dead wrong, and probably responsible for creating every hateful ideology known to mankind. Watch the film to learn that a man (or woman) shouldn't be judged by his clothes or the company that he keeps.

Soph #3 journal---The Stock Character

POST BEFORE TUESDAY MORNING, NOV. 29

A stock character is a character type, often a stereotyped character, used repeatedly in genre fiction (like horror, sci-fi, moral tales) and of course, movies and television shows that like to use these character types. Examples include the mad scientist, the blond airhead, the femme fatale (sure, look it up if you don't know what this means), the rags-to-riches hero, and the conniving villain.

In The Devil and Tom Walker, Tom Walker exemplifies the stock character known as The Miser, one who would value money over everything. You should know the Greek tale of King Midas, a miser who learned, as many do, that wealth isn't everything. Go to this link to read the Midas tale. Tom Walker's wife is the stock shrew, the nagging wife who browbeats her husband.

You've read enough (and seen enough tv and movies) to recognize stock characters, so tell me ...who is your favorite "stock" character?

Define the stock character type you choose and then give me some details about your specific character that proves that he or she is, indeed, stock. Of course, tell me why you enjoy your character. Choose a character from books, movies, short stories, and television shows.

I've provided an example for you, namely Ebenezer Scrooge.

Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly misanthrope (he's a miser--all about money--and he's a misanthrope--a "hater of mankind") in the Charles Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol. His love of money and disdain for Christmas characterizes the original Scrooge. Note that the word "scrooge" to denote characters like him is now regularly used in our vernacular. Scrooge overworks and underpays his loyal employee, Mr. Bob Cratchit. Cratchit, a good and holy family man, has bills to pay and a crippled son (Tiny Tim) to take care of, but he faces his trying responsibilities with Christian fortitude. He even refuses to admit to his poor family that Mr. Scrooge is a bad man. You might say that Cratchit is a stock character himself, the "poor but happy" fatherly figure whose diligence and Christian piety keep his family in food and clothes.

Back to Mr. Scrooge, who grudgingly allows poor Bob to stay home on Christmas Day, but orders him to arrive earlier the next. He greets holiday well wishers, like his kind nephew, with a "Bah, humbug" that of course, is now universally recognized as the reply of the Christmas Scrooge. Suddenly, however, his world is turned inside-out when he is visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley, his former business partner and a scrooge like himself. The forlorn ghost, who now does penance by walking the earth in heavy chains, money boxes, and keys, warns Scrooge to mend his ways, lest he suffer the same fate.

Scrooge is shaken, but falls asleep. During the rest of the well-known story, he is visited by three Christmas ghosts. He then undergoes a miraculous change. The new Christmas-loving Scrooge sends a huge turkey to the Cratchit home, raises Bob's salary, and becomes a surrogate grandfather to Tiny Tim.

This Christmas tale is a story of faith, redemption, and the goodness that lies within us all. These qualities were once buried in Ebenezer Scrooge, but were unearthed in the joyful end of the novel.

If you need some more help with stock characters, see the Schoolsville post entitled, Sophs--Breakfast, Anyone? More Stock Characters!

Seniors--November 17 work--due tomorrow, Nov. 18

Seniors,

Read the story Soldier's Home linked at Studywiz and complete the assignment found there. The story is also in your text book. It's another "war" story by Ernest Hemingway, this one about a soldier who returns home from WWI and has trouble adjusting to the quiet, normal life of a civilian.

Make 10-15 questions and comments on the story to bring to class for a discussion.

SOPHOMORE reading for Age of Reason test: The Pursuit of Happyness

Read over this to answer a question or two on the Age of Reason test on November 21.

No need to comment on the misspelled word in the title. If Chris Gardner wants to spell it this way, he gets a pass from us at Schoolsville.

In 1981 Gardner lost his wife and lots of money when he invested the family nest egg in an invention bound for failure. Gardner, however, did not give up so easily. He worked his way up from the lowest rung of the social ladder by outworking his stock broker colleagues at Dean Witter to become a millionaire. His story was portrayed in a movie called, The Pursuit of Happyness. Will Smith played Gardner.

Investigate Gardner's amazing story at his Web site. Check out what Will Smith thinks of Gardner in this YouTube video. Smith says that Gardner "personified the American Dream."

This is a true story of the American Dream made a reality.

Another Inspirational Story!

Claudia Seemans supplied this story of Tom Herbert, her Uncle John's best friend. Mr. Herbert lost both of his hands at a young age, but today he is a golfer with a 14 handicap (that's going around 18 holes in about 86 strokes).

Check him out in this remarkable short video.

11-11-11 Veterans Day

Here is the History of Veterans Day taken from http://www.military.com/veteransday(Click on the link to discover even more about the holiday).Veterans Day was originally set as a U.S. legal holiday to honor Armistice Day -- the end of World War I, which officially took place on November 11, 1918. In legislature that was passed in 1938, November 11 was "dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day.'" As such, this new legal holiday honored World War I veterans.In 1954, after having been through both World War II and the Korean War, the 83rd U.S. Congress changed the name of the holiday to Veterans Day to honor American veterans of all wars.

Thank a veteran today, even if you're reading this some day after 11-11-11.

Seniors--Veterans Day lesson 11-11-11

What we did in class today:
A. signed up for presentations
B. began reading The Things They Carried, a story written about the Vietnam War based on Tim O'Brien's real Vietnam experiences

1. Go to StudyWiz where you'll find the instructions for your English presentations along with a "sample" presentation [written by me] on a PowerPoint.



2. Check out refdesk.com (linked at Schoolsville and here, too) for reputable news sources to find an article to read and present to the class. Look down the right-hand column for excellent recent Headline News, Positive News Stories, and News Sources.



3. Find an article that interests you and that offers enough "substance" that you can present it to the class in a 5-8 minute presentation given the objectives described in the StudyWiz PowerPoint. Save/write down the article link to print and review later.


4. Sign up for your class presentation this quarter on the sheet that I'll provide. If no one volunteers, I'll assign dates.

5. Finish reading the story that you began reading in class on Friday, The Things They Carried. It is in your book and it is posted on StudyWiz. On Monday, be able to answer the questions that I gave you in class on Friday.

Sophomores #2--The American Dream

COMPLETE AND POST COMMENT BEFORE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11.

You've studied the early colonists and then the early Americans. Both groups of people had visions of the greatness of America. The Puritans envisioned a religious "city upon a hill" nurtured and protected by their God. America's founding fathers constituted a democratic republic that would encourage other governments throughout the world to also engage in a social contract with its citizens, ensuring a protection of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. America was created to be a model of government for the rest of the world.

A Frenchman, Guillaume Jean de Crèvecoeur, emigrated to the colonies in 1755. He married an American-born woman, raised a family, and farmed in Orange County, NY. Life was going well until the Revolutionary War broke out. Unwilling to choose between the revolutionary and the Tory cause, deCrevecoeur fled to England, leaving his wife and children. When the war ended, he published a book in 1782, Letters From an American Farmer, adapting the pseudonym of an American farmer, James, and writing back in epistles to his brethren in England. The book told of the promise of the good life in America; it is one of the first written statements of the American Dream.

The notion of the American Dream (even today) represents a romanticized ideal of the hope and promise of America. For deCrevecoeur, the American Dream promised these new and exciting gifts to all who dared to call themselves, Americans:

1. America is an asylum, a refuge for Europe's poor and downtrodden
2. The American society is a melting pot of people from all over Europe
3. The American economy rewards the hard worker with a chance to get ahead.
4. The American is free to worship as he pleases, and religion demands little of him.
5. Americans are the western pilgrims, bringing the best of Europe to this new land, and making it better. Americans are looked upon as leaders of the world.

Throughout America's history, there is no doubt that the American Dream has been realized by millions of successful people. There is also little doubt that reality of America did not always live up to the Dream. Undoubtedly, millions of people experienced failures, too--nightmares, not dreams.

Look over the five aspects of deCrevecouer's Dream listed above.

Write about how any one of those ideas either rewarded OR failed an individual. Ideally, I'd like you to relate a personal story about a relative or someone you closely know. However, if you absolutely cannot think of someone, you are free to write about someone OR some "group" of people. In that case, provide your information source at the end of your writing.

REMEMBER, WRITE A MINIMUM OF 25 BLOG LINES OR 200 WORDS.

SOPHS: An Inspirational Story

empathy [(em-puh-thee)]

Identifying oneself completely with an object or person, sometimes even to the point of responding physically, as when, watching a baseball player swing at a pitch, one feels one's own muscles flex.

Dick Hoyt doesn't feel "sympathy" for his son as much as he feels "empathy."

The physically and emotional identification that he feels with Ricky has made him the athlete and father that he is today. He admits that he could never have competed in all of these road races without Ricky's participation and inspiration.

Share this video of Dick and Ricky Hoyt with a friend or family member.

SENIORS-- Library Lab Friday, Nov. 4

Here's what you can do in the lab today:

1. Continue to work on your scenes. They're due Tuesday. Make two copies--one with your name(s) on it and the other without. We'll use that copy to peer evaluate papers anonymously.

2. Complete your vocab sentences and post on Schoolsville before Saturday, Nov. 5.

3. Complete your blog/journal #1 on favorite movie lines to post on Schoolsville before Tuesday, Nov. 8.

4. Read the handout posted on StudyWiz about the "class presentation" you must make in Creative & Critical class this marking period. We'll begin to schedule presentations next week.

Senior SAT vocab words

Post before Saturday, November 5

For ALL sections: choose any ten of the words below and write ten sentences using the words correctly while giving context clues of inference, restatement, or compare/contrast.

abjure

(v.) to reject, renounce (To prove his honesty, the president abjured the evil policies of his wicked predecessor.)

abrogate

(v.) to abolish, usually by authority (The Bill of Rights assures that the government cannot abrogate our right to a free press.)

acerbic

(adj.) biting, bitter in tone or taste (Jill became extremely acerbic and began to cruelly make fun of all her friends.)

acrimony

(n.) bitterness, discord (Though they vowed that no girl would ever come between them, Biff and Trevor could not keep acrimony from overwhelming their friendship after they both fell in love with the lovely Teresa.)

acumen

(n.) keen insight (Because of his mathematical acumen, Larry was able to figure out in minutes problems that took other students hours.)

adumbrate

(v.) to sketch out in a vague way (The coach adumbrated a game plan, but none of the players knew precisely what to do.)

alacrity

(n.) eagerness, speed (For some reason, Chuck loved to help his mother whenever he could, so when his mother asked him to set the table, he did so with alacrity.)

anathema

(n.) a cursed, detested person (I never want to see that murderer. He is an anathema to me.)

antipathy

(n.) a strong dislike, repugnance (I know you love me, but because you are a liar and a thief, I feel nothing but antipathy for you.)

approbation

(n.) praise (The crowd welcomed the heroes with approbation.)

arrogate

(v.) to take without justification (The king arrogated the right to order executions to himself exclusively.)

ascetic

(adj.) practicing restraint as a means of self-discipline, usually religious (The priest lives an ascetic life devoid of television, savory foods, and other pleasures.)

aspersion

(n.) a curse, expression of ill-will (The rival politicians repeatedly cast aspersions on each others’ integrity.)

assiduous

(adj.) hard-working, diligent (The construction workers erected the skyscraper during two years of assiduous labor.)

blandish

(v.) to coax by using flattery (Rachel’s assistant tried to blandish her into accepting the deal.)

boon

(n.) a gift or blessing (The good weather has been a boon for many businesses located near the beach.)

brusque

(adj.) short, abrupt, dismissive (The captain’s brusque manner offended the passengers.)

buffet

1. (v.) to strike with force (The strong winds buffeted the ships, threatening to capsize them.)

2. (n.) an arrangement of food set out on a table (Rather than sitting around a table, the guests took food from our buffet and ate standing up.)

burnish

(v.) to polish, shine (His mother asked him to burnish the silverware before setting the table.)

buttress

1. (v.) to support, hold up (The column buttresses the roof above the statue.)

2. (n.) something that offers support (The buttress supports the roof above the statues.)

Soph Vocab Unit 4 Sentence Homework

Students in both the blue and yellow sections should post their ten sentences using words in unit 4 here.

Same instructions as always: give context clues of restatement, compare/contrast, and inference.

Complete before class on Friday, November 4.

Senior journal #1--One Scene With Extra Cheese, Please

Post this weekend before school returns Tuesday, November 8th.

I'll proudly pronounce that no real cheese tastes better than Velveeta, the processed food substitute that to me, outcheeses the real thing. You could slop on that velvety yellow goo on anything, even broccoli, and you'll get my taste buds standing at attention. Put it on a Geno's cheese steak in South Philly, and well, my buds are marching while my jaws are munching.

My plebeian, if not bad, taste, does not begin and end with food. Quote Shakespeare if you want to impress the OTHER English teachers 'round here; I'm a sucker for a cheesy movie line. The cheesy movie line, like its Velveeta metaphorical counterpart, isn't REAL, but boy is it GOOOOOOD.

Come on. Admit it. When you're watching a movie for the umpteeth time, you patiently wait for your favorite cheesy bits of dialogue just so you can smile, or roll on the floor, pump your fist, or grow sad, or even emote a real, truly heartful "awwwww." It doesn't matter that the lines seem so unrealistic, so contrived, so Hollywood. They still work.

So you say you need some examples?

"You had me at hello." (Renee Zelwegger told this to Tom Cruise, in Jerry Maguire) How did this girl so easily forgive the business-obsessed super sports agent Tom Cruise? Maybe it was his equally cheese-worthy profession of love to her, "You complete me."

"No one puts Baby in the corner!" (Patrick Swayze to Baby's dad in Dirty Dancing) Swayze continues to heap on the sauce: "I do the last dance every year, and I'm going to do it again this year. Except I'm going to do it my way."

"I'm the King of the World." (Leonardo DiCaprio in The Titanic) Dream on, Leo. Tomorrow morning you'll still be down below with the rest of the hired help.

Even so-called "real" mobster movies aren't exempt. In The Godfather, for example, a chubby hit man by the name of Clemenza blows out someone's brains and then instructs his gang: "Leave the gun, take the cannolis" (an Italian dessert pictured above). This man has a cast iron heart and a stomach to match.

Dialogue in movies, drama, and prose, for that matter, isn't always very realistic. That's the great illusion. No one we know would ever talk like this, but we also know that we want our characters to talk EXACTLY like this.

Good dialogue may sometimes get a little cheesy, but at least it is NOT ordinary. To me, the trick is to write extraordinary, fascinating, or at least, interesting dialogue, and make it SEEM entirely natural for the situation. The pros, in any profession, make the difficult look easy: Albert Pujols hits a home run like Luciano Pavorotti used to hit the high notes--easy.

When you read, watch drama, film, or TV, listen carefully to the dialogue and then think about its purpose within its scene. It creates character, conflict, dramatic tension, moves the plot along, or makes us laugh, cry, and get angry. It sounds real although we know it's completed fabricated. F. Scott Fitzgerald once said that all fiction is about character, but to me, it's dialogue that makes or breaks a good story.

Assignment: Tell me your favorite movie lines, their cinematic origins, their speakers, and why you love them so much in 25 blog lines or 200 words or more. Your writing can be heavy on the cheesy lines and light on the explanation or vice-versa, but I don't want mere lists.