Week 2 - Blogging Right and Exploring the Crazy

We begin this week discussing equality. Are "all men created equal"? Last semester, in-class insights included questions about the ways in which an equal shot at life is impacted by one's upbringing, commendations about the incredible chances that Americans have today that many did not have in yesteryear, and the disturbing question of whether true equality is even attainable. What can we add to this lingering discussion?

The video above explores, in part, what can happen in societies that try to make everyone think the same way. Pink Floyd band members would argue that we all become "brick[s] in the wall" instead of our true selves. How do we live this life and not lose focus on who we are and on attaining our happiness? To quote Shawshank Redemption Andy Dufresne, in the end we'll all kick the bucket like those that came before us, so we'd better "get busy livin', or get busy dyin'".

So, we began the week by exploring new vocabulary, writing our bucket lists, then using them to write "Curriculum Vitae"-inspired poems. These will be a required blog post due Friday.

Tuesday, we will journal about the preview of Into the Wild, check out copies for at-home reading, and complete a simulation about the importance of morality as we age and try to live in our society. We will also assess just how resilient each of us is, then track the Transcendental characteristics of characters in the stories and novel we will read.

On Wednesday and Thursday, we will visit Lab 706 to complete student info surveys, set up blogs, write our first two blog posts, and study vocabulary.

~ Goals:

1. Complete this student survey

2. Create your own blog at www.wix.com. Learn how to navigate it.

3. Hyperlink your blog to the appropriate Google Doc: 3rd period Doc; 4th period Doc

4. Learn the new vocabulary by visiting this website

5. For your first blog post, revise your CV poem to include at least 5 of the new vocab words. Use them correctly!

6. For your second blog post, choose one of the following prompts to incorporate the remaining 5 vocab words:

~ Revise your Morality Simulation reflection paragraph. Include the other 5 vocab words.

~ In detail, explain what you think about all men being created equal. Are they? What is equality anyway? Does being equal guaratee us anything? What? What about for people who think differently than most? Include the other 5 vocab words.

Friday: We will listen to Alexander Supertramp's favorite song, "King of the Road", a journal about what that suggests about who he is. What does your favorite song suggest about who YOU are? Afterward, we will complete the chapters 1 & 2 reading and analysis assignment.

A peep at next week's look at satire in American literature and media: