The Final Final Post

Hey Folks!
I assume the readership here is down to about -3, but just in case some of you smarties are still reading, I thought I would "bug" you with this final information for the final exam. 
I found some great videos on Youtube that bascially walk you through the 2008 exam, which you can get here: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/exams/search/grade12/english/sample/exam/0809en_p.pdf. The link to the first video is here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4R9Hn3TmXs. This is for the Multiple Choice. Then there are three more videos for the paragraph and the essay. If you expand the information about the video, there is a link to documents / self-paced questions that accompany the video. 
Anyway, don't forget that for the writing about the texts, you should give lots of supporting detail from the texts. Also, in that section of the exam, try to write more formally. For the composition section, you should be able to write a personal essay or more formal essay, whichever you choose. Keep in mind the composition does not have to be five paragraphs, but you should have a clear introduction and conclusion. Finally, if  I were you, I would review the terms sheet Ms. Mountain handed out for the English 12 Exam. Do you know what a parable is? A euphemism? A paradox? Probably worth some studying. 
All the best - I have been napping today - trying to recover from marking mania! Now back to work on my "book"! I have to answer more questions about stories and poems, and then I have been hired to work on a grammar book next year! Does the excitement never end? 
Writing about commas ... bring it on!
Bonne chance, good luck, and ciao! 

Marky Mark

Since Marky Mark, Mark Wahlberg, has given up his old rapper name, I plan to take it for myself. I have been virtually drowning in marking - I know, it's my own fault - and I even sent the wee one to daycare today just so I could finish marking your research projects and tests. 

If you would like to know your updated marks, please check outside my room tomorrow. I'll post them in the usual place. I will be locked in the classroom marking grade 8 exams tomorrow, so if you want your papers, drop by in the morning.

Some general feedback on these two assignments:

Research project: Generally interesting - I learned about a lot of cool stuff! Overall, I was very impressed with your doing the research and the MLA formatting. 

1.I did give a mark out of 60, but I did not break it down as indicated on the outline because so many of you had strengths in varying areas. Some of you put so much into your summaries, but then had limited outlines, or had terrific outlines but limited summaries, so I tried to take into account all that you had done to do good research and format a realistic paper. 

2.Many of you had research questions that were too general to realistically address in a term paper. That was probably my most common comment. If you had a really general question, it made everything you found on the topic seem like a good source, but then it was hard to create a solid outline that didn't seem to contain wide-ranging, only loosely-related content. So, the take-away from this is to be specific in your research. Instead of looking at how gender affects childhood, look at how gender in television commercials impacts teen-aged boys. Rather than examining how industrialism has damaged the environment, research how chemical fertilizers have damaged frog populations. True, there won't be abundant resources from anywhere to help you answer the question, but the topic will be manageable. 

3.Choose sources carefully. Someone's blog, or yahoo, or etalk news are not reliable academic sources. Many of you aced the whole concept of using intelligent, academic research or well-respected news sources, or BOOKS! to answer your questions. Also, a number of you found good graphs, data, and quotes to support your research. 

Tests: 

1. Clearly attending class and reading the novel help! Marks differed significantly based on those two factors.

2. Detail. In your writing about literature, you need to provide SPECIFIC DETAIL. I know the caps seem loud, but this is imperative for the English 12 exam. Refer with specifics, not generalities to the text. 

3. Vignettes are snapshots, pictures, scenes created in the novel, with words. Dramatic irony is irony that occurs because some characters know things others don't or the reader knows things that not all the characters know. Verisimilitude is the appearance of being true; writers include all kinds of detail and statements in their writing to give the illusion of reality to their fiction. 

I'll do one last update before the exam, since this is getting rather windy! But, let me say, it was a sincere pleasure to teach you this year. You may not realize how much you have done, and your writing and knowledge has improved. All of you have made strides, and I know there are a lot of universities who will be  happy to have you. Good luck!

Ms. M

 

Weekend Update

Hello all!
As promised, here is the Weekend Update (that's an allusion to SNL, if you get it.) This is just really a reminder about completing your research project in the format outlined on the pink handout by Tuesday. Remember to format all seven of your sources - that is the two essays and the supporting sources - in MLA format (this is the link to the SFU site mentioned in class) and to summarize each of the essays and the sources in about 4 or 5 sentences. Your intro should be about one page double-spaced - could be more or less - I'm definitely not counting words. But you should write enough to give a good indication of what your paper would be about and where you would head with your research if you actually had to write the paper, which you don't. So lucky! Remember you have a handout with the intro for the 10 page paper I wrote in university, so you can look to see how long mine was. 
As for the novel, you should be finishing The Things They Carried by Tuesday in order to understand the last lecture and discussion and prepare for the test on Thursday. If you have to leave one story unread, maybe don't read the very last one until after Tuesday's class.

Finally, I thought I would give you a link to the sample English 12 Provincial Exams. You can review these, and if you don't know, or forget some of the terms like cacophony, dramatic monologue, and apostrophe, then look them up! Overall, the format of the exam should be pretty comfortable for you. 
We'll chat more Tuesday. And, if it's any consolation, as you spend the weekend working, I will be working all weekend too - lots to mark and read and finish up for the end of the year. 
Hang in there and have a productive weekend!
Ms. M

Laundry Woes

Oh, woe is me. First the ants, and now this! 
Q: What do I hate even more than doing 65 loads of laundry a week? 
A: Not being able to do them. 
Yes, once again, our "new" (four years old) dryer is broken, and thus I am laundry-less! It looks like we probably have to buy a whole new laundry pair, as they are called in the appliance biz, because the dryer is costing more to fix than it costs to get a new one. What life lessons are there for you in my troubles? 
1. Technology ain't all it's cracked up to be - all the repair folk assure us that the older machines were better.
2. Sometimes older is better, which is kind of like number one, but not.
3. Once you are older, and it's coming, you'll see, you spend your weekends looking up washing machines and dryers on the Internet instead of whatever you're doing now. 
If anyone is looking for a good used washing machine that still works well, get in touch. Maybe you need one for university ... who knows? Once you have to do all your own laundry, you will feel my pain!
As for the rest of my weekend, I have been feeling your pain. I have spent much of the weekend doing "homework". For the book I am working on now, I have to basically write all the answers to all the questions in an English anthology. So, I have done a lot of question answering, and now I am on to the marking of your work and the grade 8 poetry projects. 
As for your HOMEWORK, make sure you are reading The Things They Carried (up to page 154 for tomorrow) and continuing to complete your research project. 
Due dates: Project June 12th. Lates will not be accepted because of the tight timeline for year end reporting and because you are in grade 12 and graduating now! TTTC novel test is June 14th, and all novels must be handed in that day.
We are off to the library again tomorrow and Friday. We'll talk TTTC on Wednesday and Tuesday the 12th. Then ... that's it! We're almost down to the last blog. 
Gotta go mark! See you tomorrow.

Swarm!

Ack! Nothing like coming home to find ants crawling around the house. Of course, from the ant point of view, I'm sure there's nothing like the vacuum coming to suck you up; all beings in this house are equally shocked. Well, not equally, I guess. I'm still here. 
Anyway, on to today's class and some homework. We spent the whole class on The Things They Carried. Some topics we covered include: points of view; Jimmy Cross and the savior motif; the use of vignettes to recreate memory and the chaos of Vietnam; the non-linear plot line and the lack of clear chronology, which also replicates memory and the disorder of the Vietnam experience. In addition, I spent much of the class reading "On the Rainy River" out loud - sorry if that was just too long - it was much shorter in my head last night - anyway, the emerging themes in this chapter / story include the shame / embarrassment that drove Tim O'Brien to war: "I was a coward. I went to war." Note too, the irony that he saw war as the cowardly choice. Another theme is the immorality of the Vietnam War and O'Brien's view of the war as unjust and inexplicable. He refers to it as "Certain blood shed for uncertain reasons." Of course, another emerging theme, which is really layered throughout the entire work is the notion of truth versus reality and how to capture the truth, recreate the truth, or embellish the truth to make a story true. Is it more true if it's not true? In war is there really a single truth? 
Anyway, you should be reading the novel. I would advise you to read up to page 110 for Thursday and then up to page 154 for Monday. Of course, you can adjust that schedule as long as you reach the final goal of finishing the novel late next week. But, it is much easier to read 25 pages a day or so than 100 pages in one go. 
Research Project: By next class you should definitely have read your two essays assigned last week. You should come with a research question based on those two essays. Note, Aliya had to read a third essay to come up with a good research question - try to think of a topic that is not too general and could actually be answered in a 5-10 page paper. In the library, you will need to find seven sources you could use to write a paper to answer your research question. 
Whew! That's a lot. There's work everywhere. Kind of like those ants! 
Must go exterminate. 
See you Thursday!

Ethical Dilemmas

Hello,
Hopefully you have all had the weekend to calm down after the heated and terrific class discussion we had last day. It's easy to see how Parliament or the UN can have trouble making decisions or coming to agreement on various issues when our class can have such differing views on one issue. Also, it occurs to me that our conversation was good, but there is something questionable about the privileged few deciding what part of their relatively enormous wealth to share with the less fortunate. Do you see what I mean? For the conversation to be more meaningful and authentic, it would be much better to have the voices of those in need balancing our own. Maybe I'll hear from you on this point next day; I'm guessing not everyone agrees with me. 
Anyway, for homework by Tuesday, please read two of the essays in one of the sections we have not studied during the course. Remember that you need to have read one central essay and one other major essay from the chapter.  
Hopefully that all makes sense. We will look at Kiva on Tuesday, and discuss The Things They Carried some more. By the way, I know some of you have read the whole book already, but just to say, it is so well-written! I was reading over On the Rainy River, and it is hard to find any single sentence that is not incredible and loaded with meaning. It is so gripping and perfect - try to appreciate the genius while you read!
See you Tuesday.

Post A.P.E.

Hi again,

To start, I must apologize for being like Gregory House in the above photo before the exam. Sorry I did not write to you - that was a missed opportunity, and I do feel badly, Stephanie and others who missed my encouragement. Anyway, I was super happy to hear how well it went for you, and it was nice to see smiles on your faces today. I gauge a class as successful when no one cries! (Well, maybe there are a few other criteria!) On the other hand, I should have emulated House,as above, in today's class. Sorry, Aidan! To be honest, it would never occur to me you would watch anything I would watch - I imagine you all watching much more exciting forms of entertainment. Sorry for the spoiler! 

Anyway, on to the next exam. To that end, after we read the article about the growing concern over aliteracy,  we looked over the outline and terms for the English 12 Exam today. I think it should be fairly manageable for most of you, but you will need to remember to write a more formal, five paragraph essay for the synthesis question and a more personal essay for the other essay. Terms-wise, I think you know most of the terms, but again, you are well-advised to review the terms. You did a great job of studying for the AP exam - a lot of you told me about your studying - so keep up the effort for this exam too.

We also discussed the beginning of The Things They Carried today, and you discussed some of the questions in your groups. I'll give you more notes and we'll talk about it again next day.

For homework, I assigned a journal based on the two essays you were to have read for today: "The Singer Solution to World Poverty" and "Lifeboat Ethics: The Case Against Helping the Poor." Homework: The journal topic due next day is:

Consider the Singer and Hardin essays. With clear reference to the texts (I want to see your specific understanding), take a position and agree / disagree / qualify the arguments being made.

This requires discussion of both texts in a synthesis-like manner, much as is required on the English 12 exam. 

The Final Countdown

Yikes!
I don't know if anyone else noticed, but we are nearing the AP exam with shocking rapidity! That's right, the AP exam is May 16 at 8:00 a.m - you should be there at 7:45 for sure! You have 12 days left to study - review vocabulary lists, practice multiple choice, and write some essays with AP prompts. We have 4 classes left to review and practice together. Can you feel the pressure? Are you reading this post - I HOPE so!
Our class today was awesome don't you think? Can I pick those baby sitters or what? Hopefully they gave you some insight into what to expect at university and the kind of writing that will be required. University sounds hard, doesn't it? But, the good news is, you are well-prepared to dive in and make a splash.


FOR HOMEWORK: 

1. Please write 500 words in response to Chris Hedges' essay. Seriously. Write a persuasive piece, a rhetorical analysis, or a synthesis among his essay and some other texts we have read. Be clear to identify the topic you are writing about and refer to the text with supporting quotes and details. This is not a formal essay - just write a good journal; imagine it is a practice AP question. 
2. Vocabulary Quiz on Unit 4 on Monday.
3. Then you should study! Michael, Dallas, Eva - the study group should meet soon!

Have a great weekend.
Ms. M

Thoroughly Thoreau

Hey Folks!

If you avoid email for long enough, you might start to look like this!

I just turned on the computer for the first time today, right now. Can you imagine a whole day - well until 5:00 p.m. - with no texting, no Facebook, no email, no electronic communication with the outside world? I haven't even talked on the phone today. I think Thoreau would have approved, and if you do your homework, which is to read the selection from his essay "Where I Lived and What I Lived For" (page 276), then this will all make sense, I hope. Note how the quotation here would have inspired Martin Luther King, CORE, and the Freedom Riders.

Yesterday we did Vocabulary Test 3, and then you read "The World Is Watching - Media and the Freedom Rides", which was the second article on the handout about the Freedom Rides. Questions on that were to be answered in point form, so we can continue our discussion on both articles tomorrow. 

We need to go over the terms listed on the board last week, and we may review some grammar tomorrow because you need to know some specific sentence types for the exam. What type of sentence was that? If you know the answer, please leave a comment. 

Until tomorrow ... out!

the 5 Minute Post

Hi Folks,

So in five minutes or less, here we go. Today we reviewed for the AP exam, which is looming! Time to amp up the studying - go study group, go - I await a great report about all you learned on Monday! For homework I asked you to look up the terms I wrote on the board - some are review - cumulative sentence, periodic sentence, prepositional phrase - and some are vocabulary - sanguinity (read the long paragraph about the derivation of this word), elegiac. You should be going over the terms sheet I gave you at the beginning of the year too. Finally, for homework, you need to prepare for Vocabulary Test #3. I expect you to know what the words mean, so you can actually use them on this quiz - it is a tough one. Just warning you!

Have a lovely and productive weekend. 

Ciao!

Ms. M

On Non-Violence and Such

Hi Peeps!

Wrestling with a prison guard at Shawshank

Just to follow-up, yesterday we had a great class, with loads of excellent input from you (thanks!), about Martin Luther King's "Letter From a Birmingham Jail". Bonus - come to class with the name of another famous historical figure who wrote important letters, treatises, books, etc. in prison, and ye shall receive one bonus mark! (Not Malcolm X because I already told you about him.) But there are more, many more. As I mentioned, prison is a great place to write, although I don't recommend it. Obviously and fortunately, I offer no first-hand experience of the situation, but I've read Papillon and seen The Shawshank Redemption, and the life looks pretty bleak to say the least. (That is an example of litotes, or understatement, in case you were wondering.)

Next you got to read more about the Freedom Rides and the history and beliefs concerning campaigns of non-violence. Whether or not you subscribe to their beliefs, the strength of character and determination and stamina of these people is admirable. If you consider that many of the riders were students not much older than you, it is amazing to consider the impact and momentous results the Freedom Riders achieved.

For homework you needed to finish the questions on the Freedom Riders handout that I listed on the board. Also be prepared for the Unit 2 Vocab Test tomorrow. Finally, don't forget that you have until Thursday to complete the sample AP exam #1 in your workbook. Set aside three hours and see how you do. Then we can review and identify areas to work on before the exam.

See you tomorrow!

Ms. M

Happy Easter!

Hello all,

A quick post before I head off for the weekend - might actually nod off first as packing for three kids is a taxing endeavor, especially with comments like, "I have nothing to wear"; "All those clothes are dirty"; "I hate that shirt!" 

Anyway, hopefully you learned a lot from the video this week. I certainly got more insight into the political wrangling involved in the Freedom Rides. Everything sounds more golden and more pure with an historic aura surrounding it. We tend to idolize figures from the past - the Kennedy's, Martin Luther King, Marilyn Monroe, etc. In truth, they were all real people with real flaws and human foibles. I was quite interested in the politics and the back and forth between the federal and state law enforcement - the idea that the federal government agreed to allow the Freedom Riders to be arrested in Mississippi "for their own safety" and sentenced them to hard time was shocking! 

For homework: please do the Questions on Rhetoric and Style: # 7, 8, and 10 for "Letter From a Birmingham Jail". These questions are quite detailed, but they should help review the terms for rhetorical analysis, and also force you to reread the essay to some extent. Not that you need forcing, but think of it as my trying to help you get the most from the reading. Also, please identify the 4 or 5 key arguments being made by the clergy in their opening letter to King. Don't forget we will do Vocab Unit #2 test next week on Friday. 

AP exam in about 6 weeks I think. Get ready!

Off to speak with the Easter Bunny.

At Last - An Update!

Hello Young Learners!

You see, I have not forgotten you. I was at yoga tonight, and I had a complete brainwave - Downward Dog gets all that blood rushing to your brain, you know? I thought (you will love this) that I could devise a cool and exciting assignment (see? it sounds good doesn't it?) that will get each of you - yes, no one will be left out - writing one blog between now and the end of the year. You can send it to me by email when it is your day, and I will publish it! Can you stand how awesome that is? It would go like this: you simply write an engaging summary of the day's lesson and maybe add one or two interesting thoughts of your own and perhaps one link or picture that you find appropriate. Easy and sooo fun, right? Of course, you could earn some marks for your efforts too. Then we collectively take responsibility for the blog, and you all gain practice in establishing your own voice while writing for an audience and getting published. That is quite beautiful, especially in you have the English teacher mindset. 

More on that later. Today, we had some great AP multiple choice practice - sincere thanks to all of you who shared your mistakes with the class to get clarification. I think the whole discussion was quite helpful, and I was reminded once again you (I) must read carefully and look back at each word, phrase, or passage when it is mentioned in the questions. We also reviewed, and I suggest you finish reading the handouts, how to write the persuasive essay. There are some good tips on those handouts, and don't forget REHUGO.

Homework: I asked you to begin reading Martin Luther King's Letter From a Birmingham Jail. It is a great example of argumentation and refutation.  Read to half way down page 265, finishing at "unavoidable impatience". 

For Tuesday: Please study for the vocab test on the words from Vocabtest.com - Level 1 Senior (not AP). Remember to try a few different versions of the practice tests to practice enough. 

On Friday: You will write a practice persuasive essay in class and continue to work on Martin Luther King's essay, which will be due Tuesday. 

Multiple Choice Boot Camp

Hi again, all!

I just read some great comments by the lovely Sophie and Nicole - Orwell's language is wonderful, don't you think? If he were your English teacher, you certainly would want to proof and edit your work. He obviously didn't suffer fools gladly (I really like that expression along with "You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things" from Julius Caesar). 

Anyway, a few quick thoughts before I am rendered incommunicado by the job action. For Thursday, as mentioned in the previous post, you need to bring your multiple choice questions - all ten of them - to class. You will also need the written answers with explanations. The plan is you will test some other students. Of course, you will test each other only after I test all of you with the logical fallacies quiz - must make that up this weekend! Finally, I hope to give out the movie assignment for Spring Break. Yes, I am asking you to watch a movie for homework. Could this class get any better - no need to actually answer that question! :) 

Have a great 5 days away from school, but remember, you can always keep learning. Read a book! 

Yes, I guess for fun and excitement on a Saturday night, I write the blog for my students - not sure if that reflects well upon me or not. I'd love to report that I am off to some fabulous soiree, or a late dinner at an exclusive restaurant, or to the opera, or the theater (said with appropriately snooty English accent), but unless something good is on the tube, I'm just off to sleep. Oh well - have fun yourselves ... or study for the AP exam - also fun!

See you Thursday!

Orwellian Times

Hello Young People!

I thought I would give you a quick reminder of the homework assigned for tomorrow. You need to read up to page 536 of George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language". The essay has loads of fantastic vocabulary, so you will likely need to spend some solid time looking words up - try making a vocab list for this one. Also, attend to Orwell's fantastic phrasing and venomous attitude towards the "catalogue of swindles and perversions" which is destroying the language. 

Of course, for the few of you who did not do last day's homework - choosing an AP style passage from one of the recent essays, and writing the 3 multiple choice questions and complete answers with an explanation for each - you should do that too. Finally, for those of you who did not complete the outline of Eric Liu's essay, I strongly advise you to do that too. The homework in this class really will contribute to your learning; and I hope I have demonstrated the need to read widely and well in order to write well. There is a clear and proven relationship between these two endeavors. 

Regrettably, we will not be meeting on Tuesday next week, but here is some information to prepare you for the following class. 

For Thursday: 

• Please have your 10 multiple choice questions ready. 
• There will be a quiz on logical fallacies. The following terms are fair game: 

1. equivocation
2. slippery slope
3. red herring
4. straw man
5. ad hominem
6. non sequitur
7. post hoc ergo propter hoc
8. faulty dilemma
9. bandwagon appeals
10. begging the question
11. faulty analogies
12. hasty generalizations. 

I leave you with these words from the essay, which I love: Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. 

Bonus marks to any student who is able to show up on Thursday with his / her own favorite quotation from this essay; of course, it would really be a bonus if you were to post the quotation into the blog as a comment! 

Off to eat my beautiful dinner prepared by my husband - ladies take note!

Time to Start Homework!

Hey kids - er, young adults,

Are you surprised I knew just when you would start doing your homework for tomorrow? It might be a bit early for some of you, but I want to write the blog before I fall asleep - that has been a recurring theme lately hasn't it? Truth is I had massage therapy this evening, a therapy I would highly recommend, save for the fact that I was in a virtual stupor when I staggered off the table, and I haven't completely regained consciousness yet. Hopefully I'll be a bit more cogent tomorrow morning! 

With respect to last days' class, we took a lot more time on the AP essay samples than I expected, but that is good. I want you to be prepared for the challenge of the exam and to feel completely familiar with the expectations when you write it. So, on that note, we will continue with those samples tomorrow and carry on with logical fallacies and Eric Liu. Your homework was to find some sites that tell you how to create an interesting introduction to your essays. I think this is especially relevant on the AP exam - the more catchy, the better the hook, the more you will rouse your reader to really see the beauty, the brains, and the brilliance of your efforts. Just in case you are having trouble getting started with the homework, check out this site on writing introductions. 

A` demain!

Welcome to Go Over Week

Happy Monday all!

I am dubbing this week go-over week because we have oodles of information to go over. Thus, we will begin tomorrow by reviewing your homework, which was to read and give a grade to the student sample AP essays that correspond to the question you wrote about on Friday. I will then give you the marking criteria to make sure your grades fit, and then we will have the big reveal to see what the actual AP marks were. I also have a paper written by Renee Shea, who is one of the authors of your textbook, and we will look at what her suggestions are for writing the persuasive essay. 

Then, I would like to touch upon the grammar work you did last week, the outline for Eric Liu's essay with particular attention to structure, and then we also need to go over the logical fallacies we began last week! Wow - there is a lot to keep track of and a lot going on in this class right now. One could almost forget there was an essay due next week, but luckily, I am helpfully reminding you - again. 

See you tomorrow - can't wait! 


PS: Any nice comments would be welcome to convince me that someone is actually reading this blog. Nice comments - you got that right?

Half-Asleep Post

Warning: I am almost unconscious with fatigue as I write this, so if there are numerous errors, my apoligiees. To recap the day, we reviewed some essay issues such as the difference between a rant and a critique. This essay does invite criticism of education, but you need to avoid empty complaints about the terrible system, curriculum, books, homework, and / teachers - well, that does sound quite depressing, doesn't it? :) But anyway, instead of general attacks, try to make convincing, rational, well-substantiated arguments. Of course positive comments about education are always welcome, and have the added bonus of being rare and unexpected, so don't hold back.

Let us move on to our discussion and the practice questions about logical fallacies. Do you recall what Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc means? If one event follows another, the first has not necessarily caused the second. Faulty causality. Oh, and I told my husband about the whole false dilemma (also known as false dichotomy) issues - he is delighted that I am now going to accuse him of logical fallacies while we are arguing! How to add spice to the marriage - ok, I told you I am very tired right now. 

Anyway, young people who can stay up until 9:30 without keeling over, I really want you to remember me when you have three little kids and a job. Now for your homework.

Please:

• Complete the logical fallacies worksheet - make sure to use the notes to help you answer the questions, and read the other handout on argumentation that explains warrants, claims, data, counterarguments, and rebuttals.  Keep working on your essays, which are now due on the Monday - the 27th, I think. 
• If you have the workbook, you should now be reading Chapter 6 and completing the work therein. 
• On Friday, we will look at the persuasive essay for the AP exam.

Must go zzzzzzz.

P.S. If you read this blog, please comment with the name of one logical fallacy not mentioned in this post. 

Smells Like a Kiss to Me

In the interest of Valentine's Day, (have a happy one!) I found this interesting article on kissing. Note the literary aspects of the history of kissing, and the strange evolution from smelling one another. It's worth a read.

As for this blog entry, it will be a short one. I simply want to encourage you to continue working hard on your essays. I think the due date will be February 23rd. Part of this assignment is, as I've explained, to partake in the writing process complete with editing, and revision, and time to develop a quality product. The time is critical. Even if you have not engaged in this process before, you will be amazed at how much your essay will improve if you have time to play with it, think about it, and make significant and detailed changes to perfect it. If you have not completed the rough draft as assigned, you will miss the benefit of a full peer-edit, and review, and time to suitably revise your whole essay. At this point, you should be writing your conclusion, and fine tuning the essay. I will bring back more essays for feedback on Wednesday. Hopefully, you are working on refining and writing the remainder of the essay. 

Please bring your novels next day - we will read again and go over more information about the persuasive essay for the AP exam.

Enjoy the love tomorrow!

On Essays

Happy Weekend People!

After reviewing the essays you gave me to comment on, there are some good results and common themes emerging. A number of you have written it was not until this year you felt genuinely invested and engaged in learning; you also noted it was not really necessary, until now, to work hard. For students to whom school comes easily, it is possible to get through a lot of high school without really knocking yourself out; but once in grade 12 or university, the challenge increases. Some have suggested reading Francine Prose, or having the right teacher has made a big difference to your thinking, but I suspect to a large extent, your new-found interest in learning is directly related to your increasing maturity. As you grow up - and you are - you start to see how your hard work translates directly into your success. You get out of something what you put into it. That goes for not only your hours of, say, writing and rewriting an essay, but also into the depth of thought you generate for what you read. Of course, being older, you know more than you used to, and you have more experiences and ideas to connect to your learning. Further, you are motivated to learn for your own reasons. With university looming, most of you have a clear goal in mind for next year, and you know what kind of effort it will take to get there. In contrast, in grade 6 or 8 or 9, school might not have had the same direct relevance to your lives. 

Anyway, back to your essays - I can see a number of you have really spent the time to write a solid rough draft, and you have incorporated the peer reviews. With my reviews too, that should help you shape a top-notch product.

Finally, a word or two about Eric Liu. His essay is a good model, as was Edmunson's, for real clarity of structure. He effectively leads us, his reader, through his story in chronological order, and in each section identifies exactly what he will write about. We'll carry on with the work on his essay on Monday, so I can review more essays. In the meantime, you might like to see who Eric Liu is - he worked as a speech-writer for Bill Clinton, and was a White House policy-adviser, so he is fairly accomplished to say the least. 

I'm down two daughters tonight, as they are off to Camp Olave, so I'll try to get a lot of marking done - it's much quieter around here!

Enjoy the weekend!

Concuss Much?

After all the talk of concussions lately, you would think, judging by today's class, that I had a concussion. You remember: the crazy photocopying, the mistaken timing of the class, and the endless rambling about the AP exam. Sorry - not my usual style, I hope. Well, the rambling is endless, I know, but hopefully it's informative most of the time. I promise the tutelage will be of better quality next day. 

Honestly, did it seem like the work with the workbook was really long to you? Sometimes, it is particularly painful to hear yourself boring your students. My inner voice is yelling, "Stop! Now!" The trouble is, I know in theory you could read the test prep book by yourselves and study by yourselves and make a plan by yourselves, but, and don't be offended by this, I am not sure all of you would be equally motivated to do so. And I want you to get your money's worth. That study guide is good, but you actually have to open it - a lot - to reap the full benefits. You see my point? 

About your essays: By now, you should have a goodly amount of writing done. But that does not mean you are close to being finished; sadly, far from it. Now is the time to start getting out the axe: could the sentence have 10 words instead of 12? Does the word "that" really need to be there? (The answer is: almost never.) Are you repeating ideas, phrases, or various events? Should paragraph 1 be paragraph 3 and vice versa? Do you need some short sentences? Also, and this is tough, but maybe you just need to do some heavy, painful revision and cutting of certain paragraphs of your brilliance. Yes, it may be brilliant, but does it need to be there? Is it helping your cause? Is it the best you've got?

I looked over one student's essay today, and gave some general suggestions, so despite the fact that it is hugely time-consuming, I will offer to do the same for all of you. I will try to structure the next few classes so I can consult with you individually. The upshot of all of this is that (see? not needed) you will go through the complete writing process, so that (again - extraneous) you can do this with skill about a million times in the next four or five years at post-secondary. (Once again, something I can tell you to do that I no longer have to. There are some perks to this job!)

As for Glee, I will not ruin it for you this week, Stephanie. But Ola, Ricky Martin! Usted es atractivo! -although, probably not entirely appropriate as a secondary educator. 

Ciao! 

Homework: Please complete the re-photocopied critical essays and questions about The Catcher in the Rye for Thursday.

Super Blog

So, despite my not being much of a TV sports enthusiast (apologies to you jersey-wearing fans) I am interested to see the ads and the half-time show at this year's Super Bowl. From a rhetorical analysis perspective, the ads should be fascinating. I know you were all thinking about the ads from that perspective, right? But seriously, apparently the ads now cost $3.5 million per 30 second spot, so think of the marketing genius (at least in theory) that would go into the production (about another $1.5 million or so) of said ads. So we know the occasion and the audience of the ads, but what will prove interesting is how the ads will make use of pathos - mostly humour; ethos - lots of famous people (Elton John, Matthew Broderick, John Stamos); and logic - maybe / maybe not. I was reading a Forbes article and a few others online about the poor ROI (return on investment) for the ads. Companies spend millions but don't recoup their investments in sales. The ads amount to very expensive entertainment, which of course, is not very logical in itself. 

Of course, the big Madonna half-time show and her cat-fight with Elton John and his husband also have the potential to be pretty entertaining. I am struck by just how American it all is - this huge national hoopla over a football game, and advertising, and Madonna (who falsely portrays herself as English now, with the pseudo-accent and all), and tail-gate parties, etc. Now if it were hockey, that would be different, right? 

Anyway, because you will no doubt want to be doing your own rhetorical analysis of those commercials on Sunday, I suggest, in my helpful way, that you work really hard on your essay tomorrow. It's Saturday, so what else could you possibly have to do? Keep in mind that you should feel free to be going back over your essay, editing, changing, moving sentences about, etc. Also, get out the axe! Seriously, don't get too attached to the text you have written - sometimes you have to be ruthless, unless you are writing a blog where you can just ramble on and on. But, in your case, make sure every word is necessary and contributes to your ideas. 

We'll read more Eric Liu on Tuesday when I plan to return. 

Have a super weekend! (I know, too obvious. Sorry.) 

Back in Action

The number of puns one is able to make with the word "back" are virtually limitless. Anyway, I am seeing this specialist who is a medical doctor but also "cracks" my back. I have back-to-back appointments with the doc and the physio this week. I am progressing well, and I should be back on my feet (you see?) next week. Once I am back in the game, I should be able to back up the instruction you've had in my absence and we can get back to the grind with the AP exam prep (I'm not even trying ... really!).

On the pop culture front, my love of learning and respect for genius has been reinforced by Glee tonight. I actually teared up when Quinn got into Yale! Seriously, what a great role model - well aside from that whole teen pregnancy thing; but she did participate in an adoption plan for her baby, and you know how I feel about that, so all in all, I have to give that one a thumbs up. Plus, you'll notice she mentioned her great application essay and how she maintained A's in the face of adversity, so that's a good lesson too. O.K. My husband now needs to intervene with one of his usual comments such as, "You know it's not real, right? It's a TV show!"

Lest you think I am immersed in idiocy all the time, I want to brag about the fact that my 2 and 1/2 year-old daughter saw the book of essays I got for Christmas on the table yesterday, and said, "That looks like Joan Didion." My daughter had only seen pictures of J.D. now, in her seventies, and she recognized J.D.'s photo from the 60's. So, you see, some intellectual awareness is developing around here.

Anyway, school. Tomorrow is the big test, and hopefully that goes well for you. Check out this link, if you happen to see the blog before tomorrow: The Catcher in the Rye Lit Chart. You see reading the blog should pay off! 

Finally, don't leave your essay on the back burner; once you've studied it's back to the salt mines to get writing, so that you are ready to peer edit on Friday. By next week, you should have your third body paragraph written; then we'll work on getting back to basics (I can't help myself!), and editing and perfecting your writing.   

Well, back to the recuperation efforts, which require lying mostly flat on my - you guessed it - back.

Show What You Know

Hello again,

Clearly when I have nothing else to do but heal and rest, I can update the blog quite frequently. Although I have to admit to watching part of a Twilight movie today. Question, if Bella is so appealing to all the manly types, why can't she just find a guy who is neither a) dead, nor b) truly an animal? Is dating so tough in the modern age? Is her self-concept so low? Anyway, should you find yourself in a similar dilemma, remember: you deserve better. 

Back to A.P. I see that Miss Laroch assigned the Bilingualism in America essay and questions, and the continuing work on your own essay, and reminded you of The Catcher Test on Wednesday. Good! Time to get cracking on all that work - I know it's a lot, but there is much to learn. 

With respect to the questions and the test, I wanted to give you some suggestions about how you answer questions. I always tell students that answering questions, especially at this level, is your chance to show what you know. By which I mean you need to spell it out with details and examples. Push yourself to really expand on your thinking and engage the questions. Let's see if I can break this down more clearly.

1. First, identify what the question is asking, and if appropriate revisit the text to make sure you really know what is being discussed. 
2. Second, in your answer, clarify the question's terms. When you are asked about the impact of "the hip consumer culture" be sure to explain what that means in your answer. That way your teacher knows that you know and understand what the heck this essay / novel / text is all about.
3. Finally, write a solid and thorough answer. Avoid generalities and give specifics, details, examples.
4. And, because this is English, after all, please write in pen and proof-read your work. There are a shocking number of spelling and simple errors in some of the homework I have been looking at.

Unfortunately, in about 95% of cases, a longer answer is better because it gives you the opportunity to write more and to show more of your thinking, which is what I (or your other teachers) are essentially trying to evaluate. My questions in marking are: does the student really get this essay / novel / text? Has the reading pushed them to consider new ideas or rethink old ones? Have they thought deeply about the reading and put some effort into exploring and explaining their answers? Are they able to articulate their thinking and understanding with adequate depth and clarity? 

Anyway, the test on Wednesday will be paragraph-type questions, so keep some of these pointers in mind. I am thinking the questions will focus on the major themes, symbols, setting, characters, etc. in the novel. You can certainly look at some of those novel study sites to help you prepare for the test.
Have a great weekend!

Ms. M

Mountain 911: What a Gas!

Hello students!

And yet another valuable life lesson has been learned this week: never blog about lacking drama. In other words, be careful what you wish for! Not that I was wishing, but maybe subconsciously I envied Aidan's whole being carried down the mountain on a stretcher thing. Well, I ended up on a stretcher after all.

Now picture, if you will, a giant turtle resembling yours truly, stuck on her back, and literally unable to move, stand up, crawl ( I tried), etc. That was me. Standing and walking with assistance led to sweating and crying and some possibly inappropriate exclamations of excruciating pain. So, after 4 hours of general immobility and agony, we called the ambulance at 3:00 a.m. and asked them to sneak into our house, so as not to wake the children. Having two paramedics in your bedroom at 3 in the morning is an unusual experience, but I have to confess, when they brought on the laughing gas to get me out of the house and into the ambulance, I have rarely felt so happy. I was crying from the pain, but also giggling uncontrollably - I could kind of see how absurd the whole situation was from the outside. Anyway, the nice paramedics told me to take as much gas as I needed, so in a relatively pain-free blur, I was transported to the hospital. Once in the ER, I was suitably x-rayed and  injected with morphine and muscle relaxants, etc., so I could move again.  Walking is highly underrated. I am now seeing a specialist who injected some large needle into my SI joint, so hopefully things are improving. Other than that, I'm trying to get over the loss of a whole ski season, but we'll see how things go. (Note: This story is in no way intended to promote, support, or positively reinforce any use of drugs. Just say no, unless you are in the care of medical professionals.)

As for the main issue on all your minds - the learning - yes, I am on top of it, even from the couch! Our goals for this week and next are to finish reading the Rodriguez essay, Aria: Memoirs of a Bilingual Child; read Bilingualism in America; read one more essay next week by Eric Liu; prepare for The Catcher in the Rye test next Wednesday; and keep writing your essays. I am suggesting you are finished the intro and first body paragraph by Monday, and then I think the second body paragraph could be written next week. You will also do some peer-editing next week to make sure you are on track. Finally, you should really be thinking about persuasion and argumentation to prepare for that particular section of the AP exam. That is a lot, and the pressure is on, so try to set a pace for yourself, and keep up on the work. 


For this term, my plan is to mark the Edmunson question set - coming back to you next week; the Catcher test; the journal you just wrote; your peer-editing; and maybe a couple of other assignments. Even though I am away, I really am working closely with the TOC's to keep things on track. I will also update the blog for you, so you know exactly where we are headed. Finally, if you have some burning questions about the curriculum, assignments, etc. you may email - no questions about laughing gas, please!  

Must stagger to the doctor again now. Bye.

Back to the Blog

Hi Folks!

I thought the least I could do was write a blog entry to let you know I am thinking of you; sorry to have been away. I have imagined conducting a Trerise-like telling of my own bad fall, minus the concussion, but there isn't enough drama to make the story very interesting. I have no facial contusions, and I did not call Heather when my life flashed before my eyes (sorry, H!). Anyway, apparently, I may have been working out just a bit too strenuously after Christmas, and I had some sort of episode with my back. I did collapse and yell out in pain, but then I just dragged myself to bed and called my husband. I have been hobbling around like a woman in her early 80's, and since I am decades away from that (just in case you thought otherwise), it is none too pleasant. 

But enough about me; let the learning continue! You should be working on the beginnings of your personal essay. I am pleased that Mrs. Jaques told you to make it both personal and persuasive - a little secret: basically all essays are an argument of sorts - but for this effort, focus on the personal story, which will be uniquely yours. Also, she was correct in suggesting you don't wait until I come back to get working on it. Finally, please note, don't feel the need to make it too personal. You are not going to confession - just writing an essay. Of course, you may include honest and even emotional revelations, but please remember: I am your teacher. 

You have been reading Richard Rodriguez's essay, which I hope will also give you an insight into both the personal and persuasive essay. Next week we will look at Hayakawa's Bilingualism in America. We are going to be studying argument, counterargument, and rebuttal. If you don't know what those words mean, then look here. 

Anyway, hope you have a wonderful weekend - shout out to Will, another sufferer of serious injury - heal soon!

Must go lie flat again, which sounds fun, but is actually really boring!

Maybe I'll read some Joan Didion ...

Ms. M