"Flowers" by Alice Walker (Deepening Our Understanding)

Part of the difficulty that many students had comprehending this story has to do with the lack of background knowlege of the lynchings that have taken place in our country. Students also missed little details throughout the story that would have helped determine the racial background of the characters. Many students missed the descriptions of Myop's hands. Others, depite the definition being given to them, did not know what a noose was. Unfortunately, this part of our Nation's history has recently made headlines. Sadly, many of our BHS students have not heard of the "Jena 6." Here is an excerpt from the link below:

http://www.slate.com/id/2174600/

"The hard evidence of racism in Jena showed up months before the assault, in the form of a noose tied to an oak tree. This incident was straight out of a story from the Old South: A black student at Jena High School asked at a student assembly if he could sit under a large oak tree that was unofficially called the "white tree" because white students gathered under it in Jena High's informally segregated campus. The principal told the assembly that any student could sit wherever he or she liked. After the assembly, several black students sat under the "white tree." The next day, white students hung three nooses from the tree. The school principal recommended their expulsion, but the school board instead suspended them from school for three days" (slate.com)

Here is some background information on lynchings:

"It Happened Here" (REQUIRED READING)
Duluth residents face the painful lessons of a 1920 lynching.
by Tim Walker
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/magazine/features.jsp?p=0&is=33&ar=452

"Lynching"-Wikipedia- Scroll down to "Unit
ed States"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching#United_States

The Scottsboro Case was called a “legal lynching”. The Scottsboro Boys were nearly lynched, quickly tried, and sentenced to death for supposedly raping two white women in a railroad car near Scottsboro, Alabama.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/scottsboro/

Your assignment-Due Friday:
What have you learned about this topic of lynching that you did not already know? How can this information help you to better understand the story? What is your reaction to "Jena 6"?

Bab O'Riley

Here are some interpreatations of the song we listened to in class today prior to reading "Teenage Wasteland." What do you think the song is about?

Baba O'Riley- Wikipedia

Here's what was found on wikipedia. Remeber that you can't always trust what is on here as anyone can post something as a fact.

"Initiation" by Sylvia Plath- Hazing Links

Please comment on the following article in relation to our reading of "Initiation." What do initiation rites reveal about human nature? What are your thoughts/ reactions to this article? Feel refer to refer to the short story as well.

The quest to stamp out hazing Initiation rites have deep roots in human history, psychology By STEVE URBON, Standard-Times senior correspondent
http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/09-06/09-03-06/02topstories.htm

Hazing Defined:
“Hazing” refers to any activity expected of someone joining a group (or to maintain full status in a group) that humiliates, degrades or risks emotional and/or physical harm, regardless of the person's willingness to participate. In years past, hazing practices were typically considered harmless pranks or comical antics associated with young men in college fraternities.
Today we know that hazing extends far beyond college fraternities and is experienced by boys/men and girls/women in school groups, university organizations, athletic teams, the military, and other social and professional organizations. Hazing is a complex social problem that is shaped by power dynamics operating in a group and/or organization and within a particular cultural context.
Hazing activities are generally considered to be: physically abusive, hazardous, and/or sexually violating. The specific behaviors or activities within these categories vary widely among participants, groups and settings. While alcohol use is common in many types of hazing, other examples of typical hazing practices include: personal servitude; sleep deprivation and restrictions on personal hygiene; yelling, swearing and insulting new members/rookies; being forced to wear embarrassing or humiliating attire in public; consumption of vile substances or smearing of such on one's skin; brandings; physical beatings; binge drinking and drinking games; sexual simulation and sexual assault. (StopHazing.org)

"The Quest to Stamp Out Hazing"
http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/09-06/09-03-06/02topstories.htm

If you missed class the day of the "How to Read a Short Story" Powerpoint, you can find the slide show in the S drive under "Mrs. Baker's English Class."

A Lesson Learned Prompt

A Lesson Learned
Each person has been in trouble at one time or another because he or she did something bad or said something wrong. Write a multi-paragraph essay describing an instance when you did something you later regretted and the lesson you learned in the process.
As you write, remember your essay will be scored based on how well you:
*develop a multi-paragraph response to the assigned topic that clearly communicates the purpose of your story to the audience.
*describe the characters, setting, and conflict using meaningful sensory descriptions and details that enable the reader to visualize the experiences in your narrative.
*organize your story in a clear and logical manner, including an introduction, body, and conclusion.
*use well-structured sentences and language that are appropriate for your audience.
*edit your work to conform to the conventions of standard American English.
Use any of the tools available to you, such as the Checklist, Spellchecker, or Graphic Organizer.

This essay will be due on Friday. Please send yourself the essay in an email as backup. You will not have time in class on Thursday to work on this.

Irony Links

Check out these links to see what people have to say about what is/ is not ironic in this song. What do you think?
http://fgk.hanau.net/articles/ironic.html
http://www.geocities.com/eirig/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ironic_%28song%29

Laptop Etiquette Consensus - F14

I am so impressed with what a good job you did posting your comments for our first two blogging assignments. I especially enjoyed the references you made to one another's posts. How cool to have an audience greater than just your teacher! Below is a draft of a list of rules (developed by all of you) that will begin to form our classroom Etiquette policy for F-14. Please let me know if I have left out anything important. We can revise this policy as new challenges arise. Thank you for the hard work & maturity you have shown thus far!

1. Laptops are not to leave the room unless under repair in the tech office.
2. "Screens Down" when directions are being given.
3. Carefully & neatly remove & return laptops to the cart. (Two hands)
4. No food or drink allowed near laptops. Please place drinks on the floor or counter.
5. Keep volume set at mute unless otherwise directed.
6. No installation/ downloading of programs to the computers. Proxy use to access programs such as MySpace, Facebook, etc... is forbidden.
7. Laptops to be used for class work only. Students are not to play any games or send emails without teacher permission. Violation of this policy will result in a suspension from the use of the laptop.
8. Do not share your password with others.
9. Use assigned laptop only unless permission is granted by your teacher.
10. Report problems/ damage to the computer at the start of class so as not to be held responsible.
11. Practice safe blogging. No last names!
12. MAKE SURE THE "ART OF THINKING (FOR YOURSELF) IS NOT LOST"!

Assignments Due Monday:

1. Write a letter to your parents about class. Use letter format, 5 paragraphs, and discuss 3 important/ interesting aspects of English 10. Please type & have a parent read & sign.

2. Complete your work from class on Thursday. You can post on the blog, print out a copy, or handwrite your responses.

Laptop Etiquette Policy-F14

Today you will begin by reading through your classmates comments from Wednesday's "Getting Started with Laptops" blog topic. Our goal will be to generate a list of guidelines that will help make our use of laptops a rewarding experience. Please open up a MS Word file and type notes for the following statements below as you read through the comments. You have approximately 15 minutes to complete this task. We will then share this information in a class discussion.


1. I really liked the comment(s) from_________________because... (Note at least two)


2. The following guidelines should become part of our Laptop Etiquette Policy in F14: (Suggest at least three)

Writing Contests

Letters About Literature

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in partnership with Target Stores and in cooperation with affiliate state centers for the book, invites readers in grades 4 through 12 to enter Letters About Literature, a national reading-writing contest. To enter, readers write a personal letter to an author, living or dead, from any genre-- fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic, explaining how that author's work changed the student's way of thinking about the world or themselves. There are three competition levels: Level I for children in grades 4 through 6; Level II for grades 7 and 8, and Level III, grades 9 - 12. Winners, announced in the spring of each year, receive cash awards at the national and state levels. (http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/letters.html )

Teen Ink

Teen Ink is a monthly print magazine, website, and a book series all written by teens for teens. There are over 18,000 pages of student writing on this site. We're now entering 18th year of publishing and look forward to many more! Curious? Request a free sample issue. Creative? Send us your work - have an opinion on something? Write it up and send it in! Send reviews - good or bad, of colleges you visit, movies you see, or whatever... (teenink.com)

Getting Started with Classroom Laptops

As you may have noticed in the front of our classroom sits a big metal box. Inside are 25 laptops, purchased for use in this classroom. Having such technology at our fingertips provides a wonderful opportunity to utilize the latest technology as we learn 21st Century literacy skills and concepts. However, it is more than simply putting laptops in a classroom. Some schools across the country who have experimented with laptops have reconsidered their decision. In Liverpool, N.Y., officials have decided to phase out the laptops in their school starting this year. Their decision made the front page of the New York Times in May. It also prompted many people in education to think harder about the best way to use laptops in the classroom. In response to Liverpool's decision, one educator criticized schools for giving up on technology so easily.I want you to think about the issue and help us craft a set of classroom guidelines for the use of our laptops. Click on the two links from the above paragraph and read the first page of both articles. Then, as a writing assignment, make suggestions about what we can do in F14 to get the best use out of the laptops. How should we use them in class? What should we be using them to learn? What guidelines do we need? What would you suggest the teacher do to make the most out of the laptops? Post your response in the comment section of the blog. Write your answer in a few paragraphs, using complete sentences and proper grammar. An honors-level answer will properly make reference to one of the articles. Sign your first name (no last names) and class period after your posting.