Category: Unit 2 (Page 3 of 3)

For your sixth post assignment, actively read and be ready to discuss in class “Schools are Killing Curiosity” from The Guardian  and  “Research Starts with a Thesis Statement” from Bad Ideas about Writing

Then, write a blog post of at least 400 words addressing the following questions;

What is something you were interested in when you were a kid? Are you still interested in that topic? How did asking questions help you learn more about that topic? If so, how has your curiosity changed and grown over the years? And what role did the educational system play in your curiosity (good or bad)?

If you are not interested in this topic anymore, what do you think happened to that interest? Do you remember the specific time you LOST interest?  What did you become interested in instead (and why)?

Submit this at least two hours before class on Wednesday, 10/11!

Finally, when you have some time, think earnestly about a topic you are interested in, something you might want to know more about and focus on for your Unit 2 assignment.

This can be something heavy, like police brutality, or it can be something that seems on the surface more light-hearted, like ballet. The only criterion is that you are actually curious about it. This may seem like strange advice, but it can be helpful to go for a walk and think about topics you’d like to write about. Come home and jot down a few notes. You will soon be expected to have some idea of a topic you’d like to research, even if it’s a bit vague.

Please complete the following discussion post for Wednesday, 10/4.

First, actively read and be prepared to discuss in class  “A Talk to Teachers” by James Baldwin.

Next,  write a blog post of AT LEAST 300 words. I want you to write about the following:

In “A Talk to Teachers,” James Baldwin writes:

I would try to make [the student] know that just as American history is longer, larger, more various, more beautiful and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it, so is the world larger, more daring, more beautiful and more terrible, but principally larger – and that it belongs to him. I would teach him that he doesn’t have to be bound by the expediencies of any given administration, any given policy, any given morality; that he has the right and the necessity to examine everything.

First of all, what do you think of what James Baldwin is saying? What do you think he means when he says “the world is larger, more daring, more beautiful and more terrible, but principally larger”?

Secondly, what do you think YOU have the “necessity” to examine or the obligation to learn more about? To put it another way: What do you wish had been taught to you in school that wasn’t? Why do you want to know about these topics?

Be sure that you submit your post AT LEAST 2 HOURS before class starts.

P.S.

In addition to the above post, do not forget that the final draft of your Unit 1 essay is due on Wednesday, 10/4, via email by 11:59 PM.

Before we meet in class, be sure to complete the following:

1. Review this handout on reading difficult texts.
2. ACTIVELY READ the article “Later.” As you read, think about the following and be prepared to both discuss AND write about it in class:
   • Reflect upon the article. This was not exactly an easy read. What, particularly, did you find confusing, irritating, boring or otherwise difficult? How did you overcome this?
   • What was something surprising that you learned in the article? Did it transform your understanding of procrastination in any particular way?
3. Again, be sure you have actively read the article “Later.” Be prepared to share your insights in class. You may be called upon, and you WILL be required to do some in-class writing that you will turn in.
4. Continue revising your Unit 1 Education Narrative. Be sure to format your document according to proper MLA formatting guidelines. See sample MLA document here. Remember that the final draft of your paper will be due on Wednesday, October 4th.