Green Stream

Taking a closer look

Your first year in high school is drawing to a close. Hasn't this year gone by fast?

Mrs. Burton's class has also been blogging this year. For their last post they decided to take a closer look at what blogging meant to them, what they thought about blogging in school, and how it affected their learning. You might enjoy reading some of those posts and making comments back to them about their reflections. The name of their class blog is The Burton Bugle. Click on the right link that says Burton's Class and you will see links to all the student blogs.

Not everybody has had the opportunity to post their reflection posts so I thought I would provide you direct links to those who have.

Malcolm

Meleah

Natasha

Peyton

Quiana

Rasheedah

Ruston

Sara

Sonca

Trevon

I would like to take the opportunity at this time to thank you for letting me be a part of your blogging sessions. It has been a good experience and I have learned a lot from all of you. I look forward to reading your reflections on blogging. I wish you all the best!

Flickr photo credit: Bubble on Green by Limbo Poet's photostream

What's in a memoir?

Memoir is not a life; it is a window into a life.  Unlike biography, which moves chronologically, beginning with birth, memoir does not seek to present a complete picture of an individual's life; in memoir, it is the voice that is the distinguishing characteristic.  Most of you are currently reading memoir such as Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, Lance Armstrong's It's Not About the Bike, or Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt.

Although memoir is based on the memory of events and people who are real, the most important thing about memoir is that it tells a good story.  Memoir is nonfiction, but one can add elements of fiction --- plot, characters, setting, conflict, style, theme, etc. -- in order to create a good story.

To accompany our study of Homer's Odyssey -- a chronicle of Odysseus' ten-year journey home after the Trojan War -- you have been asked to explore your own personal journey that you have traveled thus far in your life and write a collection of five memoirs.  What places have you been to, and what people have you met that have helped you grow and gain wisdom along your life's journey?  Hopefully, your life journey has not been as full of harrowing adventures as Odysseus' has been, but still one of self-discovery and self-expression.

Share one of your memoirs on your blog and read at least two or three of your classmates' memoirs.  You are also invited to comment on the memoir book that you are currently reading.  In what ways, if any, did it impact you?

Celebrate Earth Day on April 22!

First of all, I enjoyed your posts on evolution, creationism and intelligent design.  As I mentioned in my previous post, learning how to formulate, articulate and defend an opinion may be the most important learning tool that you can acquire in school, and this is exactly what you did as you researched, developed understandings, and then debated your topics.  Kudos to all of you!  And now, in preparation for Earth Day 2008 on Tuesday, April 22, let us contemplate (another learning tool to acquire in school!) various aspects of Planet Earth.  What I would really like you to do is to find a quiet place where you can be alone with nature and observe and discover all that surrounds you.  You could write a nature observation, a poem - even a haiku or two, or an editorial on how you/others value the natural environment.  You could find a quotation about nature that is fitting for Earth Day.  Or maybe you would like to muse about nature right now -- how has the rebirth of Spring afffected you? (Welcome, Persephone!) This is certainly a beautiful time of year, and one cannot help but be aware of the ebullient (this word's for you, Mitchell) life and activity permeating our natural world. I look forward to reading your ruminations about nature.  In closing, and for some inspiration, read this excerpt from a letter written to an artist from a friend:

"I'm absolutely certain that we were meant to appreciate the details of the universe.  The fact that the undersides of leaves are as miraculously constructed as the tops, the fact that the surface of a single berry is as splendid as a sunrise sky, the fact that a roadside bush is as fine as a redwood -- these facts convince me that we are designed to be aware of everything: not just the flowers but the roots, not just the stars but the intricate feldspar flecks across a chip of granite.  On a very important level, these things are equally alive  and important.  You know this, of course.  In saying it to you, I'm acknowledging the success of your work, because you have noticed and you have priased.  We must notice the endlessly complex and beautiful world and we must respond to it, with praise, with art, with changes to our lives and culture.  Whether the miracle is in the leaves or the eye or the mind doesn't matter; it exists, it is a certainty; it is within the reach of everyone.  I salute you for opening your eyes, for seeing and for responding."

Formulate, articulate and defend!

Probably the most important thing that you can learn in school is how to formulate an opinion, articulate that opinion, and, ultimately, defend that opinion.  Throughout the school year, you are asked to express your thoughts, ideas and views on a variety of issues.  Because an uneducated opinion lacks validity, it is of utmost importance to become educated on the issue or topic that is being examined or discussed.  Recently, in biology, in preparation for a debate, you researched theories of evolution, theistic evolution, intelligent design and creationism. You had successful debates in which you were required to defend these various theories.  Now, that you are in the second round of debates, I would like you to comment on the proceedings so far.  Are the debates turning out as you expected?  Do you notice any patterns?  Why?  Even if you don't subscribe to the theory that you researched, what did you learn about it?  Can you formulate an opinion of evolution now that you have studied it?  Create a post in which you articulate your stance on the origin of life.

Who's to Blame?

Wow!  We have read Romeo and Juliet, attended a live performance, and watched two film versions of Shakespeare's most popular play.  At the end of this tragic tale, the two lovers take their own lives.  Who or what is to blame for their deaths?  Consider the following questions as you formulate an opinion as to what it is that ultimately leads to this tragedy.  Articulate your opinion in a well-written response that includes quotations from the play.  Then read and comment on some of your classmates' opinions.   

     Are Romeo and Juliet innocent victims of fate and a fatal feud?

     Are Romeo and Juliet tragic heroes because of their extreme infatuation and impulsive behavior?

     Although Friar Lawrence tries to help the lovers, do his actions lead to their deaths?  Is he reckless?

     Most tragedies have a villain.  Is Tybalt the real villain?

     What about the Nurse?  What is her role in the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet?

     Is the innocence, virtue, and beauty of Romeo and Juliet's love destroyed by the disorderly and violent world in which they live?

What does love look like?

Because we are reading Romeo and Juliet, and ‘tis the season of Love -- with an immiment countdown to Valentine’s day -- let’s investigate some of the many manifestations of love through the imagery of photography and/or song lyrics.   Find, or better yet, take your own photographs that represent love OR select one of your favorite love songs.  When taking or seeking pictures, or considering the lyrics to a song about love, ask yourself these questions:  What is love?  What does love look like? Are there different types of love?  Does love look the same to everyone? Remember our lessons on analogy and paradox.  What can love be compared to?  (This may help you to think symbolically.)  Can love contain conflicting sentiments? In Act I, scene 1, Romeo says, “Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs;/Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers’ eyes;/Being vexed, a sea nourished with loving tears./What is it else? A madness most discreet,/A choking gall, and a preserving sweet.”  Later in Act I, scene 4, he asks, “Is love a tender thing?  It is too rough,/Too rude, too boist’rous, and it pricks like thorn.”

After you select the picture and/or song lyrics that you think best convey love, respond in writing to explain the love expressed in the photograph and/or lyrics with either a 1.) reflective paragraph (approx. 7 – 10 sentences), 2.) poem (minimum  14 lines – think SONNET), or 3.) mini memoir that recounts an experience that you personally have (had) with love.  Post your picture and/or lyrics and response to your blog, and then respond to at least 3 of your classmates’ blogs. 

Opposites Attract / An Exploration of Paradox

True lies, war games, deafening silence, random order, sweet sorrow....these examples of oxymorons illustrate the concept of paradox -- a seeming contradiction used for effect, complexity, emphasis, or wit when things are contrary to expectation or belief.  Shakespeare included numerous oxymorons in Romeo and Juliet, for example, when Romeo realizes that yet another brawl has just taken place in the streets of Verona between his family, the Montagues, and his family's long-standing enemy, the Capulets:

O me! What fray was here? /Here's much to do with hate, but more with love./ Why then, O brawling love, O loving hate!/O anything, of nothing first create!/O heavy lightness, serious vanity,/Misshapen chaos of well seeming forms!/Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health,/Still-waking sleep that is not what it is!/This love feel I that feel no love in this.      Act I, scene 1 lines 164-174

As Romeo reacts to the senseless violence in Verona, his words illustrate the complexity of a situation where seemingly contradictory elements are simultaneously true.  Now, read Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" and see if you can find an example of paradox. 

Nature's first green is gold, / Her hardest hue to hold.  / Her early leaf's a flower; / But only so an hour. /Then leaf subsides to leaf.  / So Eden sank to grief, / So dawn goes down to day. / Nothing gold can stay.

Once you begin to recognize the existence of paradox as a natural phenomenon, consider seemingly contradictory characteristics within yourselves.  Is your inner self different than your outer self?  Are you courageous, yet afraid?  Bold, yet shy?  Compassionate, yet vengeful?  A follower, yet a leader?  Create a post about contradictions that you recognize within yourself.  One way to identify contradictions within yourself is to imagine how others perceive you compared to how you see yourself.

Learning about Analogies

An analogy is a kind of puzzle.  To solve it, you look at the first pair of words and try to identify how they are related.  Then you look for the same relationship in the second pair of words.  Here are some types of relationships between words: opposites (courage:fear); part to whole (branch:tree); category and example (doctor:pediatrician); word or person and what it does (dog:bark); word and what it describes (fragrant:rose).  We took a look at the analogies created by fifth graders and tried to help them analyze the word relationships that they had created.

Some thought-provoking questions.....

After reviewing student comments concerning evolution and creationism, I realize that it was premature to ask you to reflect on these topics before you engaged in a thorough investigation of them in your biology class.  So, with that in mind, let’s hold off for a month or two and then revisit them when you have some truly educated opinions to share and debate. In the meantime, since we are reading Romeo and Juliet, I thought it would be an opportune time to consider some of the themes of Shakespeare’s most popular play by responding to the thought-provoking questions below.  Select one or more question and start a meaningful discussion.  Remember to always respect, accept, and appreciate the rich diversity of our thought.

• Do parents know what is best for their children more so than the children themselves?
• Do young people feel emotions more deeply than older people?
• Do people who are deeply in love act irrationally?
• Does rage lead to tragedy?
• Do the sins of one generation affect the next?
• Do people have a responsibility to avenge wrongs done against family members or friend?
• Are our lives governed by our choices more so than by some controlling fate in which we do not participate?
• Should people marry without the blessing of their friends and family?

Go Green!