Week of 10/10

Tuesday, October 10

• Discussion: Developing Ideas into Questions
• Reading(s):
  • “Attention”
• In-class writing:
  • Write about 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? (300 words)
    • 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?)
• Homework:
  • Read and annotate “A Talk to Teachers”

Wednesday, October 11

• Discussion: Analyzing Sources
• Handout(s):
  • “Schools are Killing Curiosity”
• Homework:
  • Write a short essay in which you introduce your research question. You may find your topic anywhere—from Unit One to the blog posts we wrote last week, to your peers’ ideas in class (it’s okay if two people write about the same topic). Spend some time on this: it will serve as the first draft of your introduction for the annotated bibliography.
    • What is important here is that you research something you want to know more about, not something you think you already know the answer to.
    • Remember, you must get your topic approved by me
    • Write it in question form (it can’t be a yes-or-no question, though) You must cover all of the questions in bold:
      • Why are you interested in this question?  (Feel free to talk about your own personal experience with the topic, or to tell an anecdote about your experience with this subject matter)
      • What do you expect to find in your research? (Why do you expect to find this?) Remember that it’s okay to be wrong—you might find a completely different answer than the one you intended to find. You won’t get marked down for that.

Next Week

• Library session and conducting research