Sophomores: Final 2nd Marking Period Journal (post before Jan. 6--turn in Jan. 7)

I'm driving 65 mph on I-495, cars whizzing by me like I'm standing still (yeah, that's me in the picture above). 

Two guys are darting in and out of traffic like it's some video game chase--I can only imagine how fast they're going. I'm on the gas just to keep up with the flow, the left foot covering the pedal (yeah, that's old-school bi-pedal technique), just in case . . . momentarily reverting to what Mr. Shaw instructed back in my tenth grade driver's education class.

Then comes the inevitable question from the backseat driver, who actually occupies the other seat in the front. You know what I mean? (remember, a backseat driver is a common metaphor for someone who gives you unwanted directions when you are driving or even NOT driving).

"Are you using cruise control?"

"No," I answer curtly.

"Why not? Doesn't your foot get tired?" the passenger harps.

It is at that point that I begin my rant on the dangers of cruise control.

Clicking on the cruise control does prevent tired, cramping feet. However, it has its problems, too. For one, it lulls you into a false sense of security, and the feet usually get further and further away for both the gas AND the brake pedals. At that point, how much control do I really have?

Like my car, I don't like to put my life in "cruise control."

I want to be the one in charge as much as I can be, without being a "control freak." I'm no risk-taker, so most of the time I travel the "road more taken." And that's OK with me. I like to know where I'm going, traveling at my own speed. I haven't driven further north than Saratoga Springs, NY, or more south than Augusta, GA, but that doesn't mean I've led a boring, provincial life, either. I can make a Saturday night trip to Bed, Bath, and Beyond an exciting adventure by taking some of the back roads to see the Belted Galloway cows on Center Meeting Road (click to enjoy) in Centreville.

How are you "driving" yourself through life?

Do you gas up first, and then check the oil, wipers, and air pressure before a big trip?

Do you have the "pedal to the metal" or are you driving more cautiously with "both hands on the wheel at 10 before 2?"

Do you prefer major roadways like the Kirkwood Highway or would you rather take the more scenic route?

When you drive, are you easily lured into the local McDonald's at the sight of the golden arches, or can you get from point A to point B without making a single stop?

Do you use your cell phone while driving, chatting and texting away instead of paying attention to the road? It's against the law, you know.

Obviously, all of these driving situations can be applied metaphorically to situations in our lives.

For instance, the guy who gases up and checks out his car before a trip is the man who begins all his endeavors in life with preparation and a plan.

The "pedal to the metal" driver travels recklessly through life, hell bent on getting things done in a hurry without concern for safety for himself or anyone else.

The guy who stops at McDonald's, well, he needs a little bit more self-control, doesn't he? Can't he wait a few minutes to get home to snack on last night's leftovers?

Hopefully, you have the idea of what makes a ANALOGY, an elaborate COMPARISON between two things that are essentially unalike. I compared the way I drive my car to the way I live my life.

So now it's your turn to write an analogy.

To make it more interesting, maybe think of an area in which you have some knowledge and expertise. Maybe it's a hobby (reading) or activity (playing a sport, dancing, fishing etc.).

Compare you area of expertise to something else.

For instance, reading a new fiction book might be like developing a strong friendship.

How might reading a book be like finding or choosing a  new friend? You examine the book’s cover, its prologue, the reviews on the cover, right?  How might this be similar to entering into a friendship? You can go on from here, and talk about opening the book the first time, feeling the stiffness of the book's bindings, maybe reading a few uneventful pages and then putting it down. How might this be like the beginning of a friendship, too?

Continue this thoughtful comparison and write a minimum of 250 words on this assignment.

Choose between one of these two assignments:

1.Write an analogy comparing two dissimilar but similar processes, like reading a book and making a friend.

2. Tell me what your LIFE is like. Let's avoid the commonly used "roller coaster" or "box of chocolates" metaphors. Even my "highway" metaphor has been done before, but not as good as mine, of course. 

AVOID COMPARISONS THAT ARE TOO EASY TO UNDERSTAND because they are too similar.

For either choice, make sure you extend your general comparison with at least SIX specific comparisons. You'll probably find yourself doing many more. Remember  to write a minimum of 250 words. This journal assingment will be worth 20 points!

Check out  this link for some suggestions (scroll to the bottom of the page) or go to this link to read some examples from previous years. Andrea Ludman's first entry is particulary good!

SOPHS:RHETORIC TEST Extra Credit--"People will come, Ray"

Ray owns a magical cornfield that he's in danger of losing to the bank who owns the mortgage. Famous dead baseball players come to play baseball on his field, but only he and his family can see them (until the end of the movie). Everyone thinks he's crazy, but at :17 into this video James Earl Jones (who plays a famous reclusive writer) convinces him NOT to sell his farmland so that the old dead ballplayers can come to play games. He repeats," People will come, Ray." This repetition of a line is known as a REFRAIN.

Watch this speech from the movie, Field of Dreams. There will be some extra credit on the test that asks you to identify some of the rhetorical tropes and schemes from the speech.The speech is below the video.

"People will come, Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway, not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come, Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It's been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and it could be again. Ohhhhhhhh, people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.”

SOPHS #1 Journal Second Quarter: Laugh, Think, and Cry (due Monday, December 14)

Jim Valvano coached the North Carolina State Wolfpack to an upset victory in the 1983 NCAA men's basketball championship game. Valvano parlayed this victory along with his gift of public speaking to become one of the most likable and recognizable coaches in the land. A year later, I had the pleasure of listening to Valvano speak to a group of Delaware high school basketball coaches at an All Star banquet in Dover. Leaving the banquet hall that night, I thought to myself, "This guy is a natural born world shaker." Or something like that. He was THAT impressive a speaker.

Though his future teams were always competitive, North Carolina State would never come close again to matching the success of the fantasy 1983 season.

In 1992 Valvano developed cancer, his toughest and most insidious foe yet. A year later, ten years after his national championship, his body ravaged with cancerous tumors, Valvano fought for his life, not only to win his own battle, but also to get donations for cancer research. At the 1993 ESPY's Awards, ESPN awarded Valvano the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. 
Hearing Valvano's speech at the ESPYs will make you laugh, think, and cry--three things--according to Valvano, that you should do every day.


In that speech Valvano announced the beginning of the Jimmy V Foundation, his charity to fund cancer research. Though Valvano passed away soon after his moving speech, the foundation is still active and important today, annually raising millions of dollars. An early season NCAA men's basketball tournament, almost always featuring announcer Dick Vitale, benefits the cause.

As a speaker, Valvano is a great storyteller. One small part of his method was the use of the "rule of threes." This rhetorical "trick" lists three (or sometimes more) items in parallel structure. An example is the famous line of Caesar (not Valvano), "I came, I saw, I conquered." Take note for Valvano's use of "threes" in his speech. 

Valvano also makes effective allusions to sports greats Arthur Ashe and Vince Lombardi. Find out who these men were if you don't already know. 

Your assignment: listen to the speech and read the words to the speech. Write your journal by responding to the following prompt (MINIMUM OF 200 WORDS):

Analyze the speech according to pathos, ethos, and logos. You should be able to write a few sentences, if not a short paragraph, about each of the three. What strategy is most effective? Support your answer citing key lines from the speech. If this isn't "enough" for 200 words, maybe explain your reaction to different lines of the speech. Warning: the speech is very emotional.

Click on this link to hear the speech and read Valvano's words. 

Journal #1: Soph Phase 5 ONLY! due Tuesday, Dec. 8

To perform a proper oral interpretation of your poem you must first fully understand it--not just the poem's "meaning," but also the poet's choices of structure, genre (sonnet, ode, ballad, villanelle, etc. ), rhyme scheme, meter, sounds, images, poetic figures of speech, symbols,tones, etc.

Write a (200 word or more) paragraph on why you chose your poem, what it means (to you?), and just as importantly, "how" it means. The "how" refers to the poet's artistic choices that developed and complimented the meaning of the poem. Post your paragraph here at the blog.

Read the archives from November 2014 to read what poems some senior students in the class of 2015 chose to write about and recite for their in-class Poetry Out Loud.