kudos: april

Congratulations to the following students on their college admissions and scholarship wins!  Congratulations also to those students who have chosen where they'll be going next year.  You look good in the driver's seat.

If I've missed anyone, or if something wonderful happened for you over the break, please either put it up in class or comment to this post.

Shenaya: Admitted to Georgetown University School of Foreign Service; Admitted to School of Field Studies Summer Program (Kenya); Admitted to Cal Poly Pomona
Lupita: Admitted to CSULA Honors College
Jisu: Admitted to Cal Poly SLO
Victoria: Attending UCLA
Sophia: Attending UC Riverside
Millie: Attending UC Santa Cruz
Matthew: Attending UC Merced
Aaron: Attending UC Merced
Kurt: Attending Cal Poly SLO
Bridgit: Attending UC Davis
Danielle: Attending UCLA
Alyssa: Attending CSULB
Hikaru: Attending UCI
Edgar: Attending CSULA
Omar: Attending Cal Poly SLO
Elizabeth: Attending Cal Poly SLO
Ephraim: Attending UCSB
Jayce: Attending UC Riverside
Naiomi: Attending UCLA Luk
Chase: Attending WVCC
Alec: Attending UC Santa Cruz
Megan: Attending CSU East Bay
Alexus: Attending AHC
Jose: Attending ASU
Lilly: Attending Cal Poly SLO
Miles: Attending CSULB
Haley: Attending CSULB
Sierra S: Attending CSULB
Jacob: Attending Cal Poly SLO
Lukas: Attending US Air Force Academy
Tia: Attending CSU East Bay
Sierra B: Attending SDSU
Stevie: Attending UCLA
Courtney: Attending UCLA
Mellany: Attending CSU Channel Islands
Daniel: Attending Cal Poly SLO
Jordan: Attending Cal Poly SLO
Melissa: Atending SDSU Honors College

april 30

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" by The Clash; "Break on Through" by The Doors]

When do you seek others' counsel in making a big decision, and when do you take the plunge on your own?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Turn in Senior Info paperwork
3. Multiple choice/poetry
4. MGOTM

HW:
1. Please read the Vendler Grid post and the TPCASTT post, and begin/continue the Poetry Boot Camp work as needed (and be honest with yourself; you probably need it).
2. Please complete and be prepared to discuss the multiple choice questions on poetry (after the jump) tomorrow (Friday).
3. Revisit the essay prompts, multiple choice questions, and rubrics in the Exam Practice & Reference tab as needed.

a real wetsuit

Check this out.

april 29

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Yesterday I told everyone to get 6-8 hours sleep each night between now and the AP exam.  Last night: Did you?  Why/not?  Was last night an unusual occurrence or a matter of habit?  How can you improve your health by improving your schedule?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Last night's sonnet
3. Last year's poetry boot camp

HW:
1. Take the layers of poetry you need and practice as you see fit

watch this m.i.t. professor shave her head to teach neuroanatomy

Story here. (Thanks, boingboing!)

april 28

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Actor Patrick Stewart once said, "The only still center of my life is Macbeth.  To go back to doing this bloody, crazed, insane mass-murderer is a huge relief after trying to get my cell phone replaced."

What is it about extreme characters-- or any fictional characters with whom we resonate-- that helps us make sense out of our everyday lives?

AGENDA:

1. Journal

2. Macbeth wrap-up

3. Notes on exam preparation

 

HW:

1. Read the following sonnet.  Determine whether it's Petrarchan or Shakespearean.  Explain where the shift is and how it influences the overall theme and tone of the work.  Post to your course blog.  We'll discuss in class Wednesday.  (Please Note: The idea here isn't to see whether you can find the "right" answer-- don't research online.  Anticipate AP exam conditions. Use what we've discussed in class and your own reasoning.)

 

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
As any she belied with false compare.

april 27

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Often learning takes place after the fact.  (Like when you think of the perfect comeback twenty minutes after the conversation is over.)  Now that you're putting high school Shakespeare in your rear view mirror, what did you learn from reading it?  What did the texts tell you about writing style, or history, or human nature?  What did your approach tell you about your own reading style, or habits of mind?  What would you tell next year's seniors and freshmen that will help them?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Work as a class to ID questions about Macbeth.  Post your period's questions as comments here so I can spot trends and prepare accordingly.  We will conference about the play on Tuesday.

HW:
1. If you haven't yet written the essay, please give yourself 30 minutes and do it. 

april 24

JOURNAL TOPIC: (Note: Please write in your journal in the last five minutes of the period, after you have written and proofed your essay.)

Please describe your experience of the essay.  What was easy/confidence-inspiring?  What was challenging?  Where did you feel you did well, and where did you feel like you needed to improve?

AGENDA:
1. Essay

PROMPT: According to critic Northrop Frye, "Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divine lightning." In Macbeth a tragic figure functions as an instrument of the suffering of others.  Write an essay in which you explain how the suffering brought upon others by that figure contributes to the tragic vision of the work as a whole.

• pre-write
• compose
• proofread

2. Journal

HW:
1. Read Macbeth Act V and post answers to the study questions (after the jump) on your course blog

april 23

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Once he and Lady Macbeth agreed to kill the king, is there anything Macbeth could have done to redeem himself, assuage his guilt, or restore order to The Great Chain of Being?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Work individually, as a group/team/table/class to answer the following questions (after the jump) on Act IV.  Please post answers to your course blog.
3. Please review the following essay prompts with your colleagues.  You will be writing on one of them in tomorrow's (Friday's) class.  This means you'll only have 20 minutes to pre-write and compose.  (30 minutes less 5 for proofreading-- a necessary evil-- and 5 to reflect on the experience in your journal while it's fresh.)

ESSAY PROMPT POSSIBILITIES (if you find or think of an AP-worthy option you'd like me to consider, please comment to this post)

1. In Macbeth some of the most significant events are mental or physiological: for example, awakenings, discoveries, changes in consciousness. In a well-orgnized essay, describe how Shakespeare manages to give these internal events the sense of excitement, suspense, and climax usually associated with external action. Do not merely summarize the plot.

2. Critic Roland Barthes has said, "Literature is the question minus the answer." Considering Barthes' observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question Macbeth raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how Shakespeare's treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

3. According to critic Northrop Frye, "Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divine lightning." In Macbeth a tragic figure functions as an instrument of the suffering of others.  Write an essay in which you explain how the suffering brought upon others by that figure contributes to the tragic vision of the work as a whole.

online conference with connected learning

Thanks to everyone who participated in yesterday's webinar.  Here's the video and a slideshow they produced:

april 22

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: " King of the Road" by Roger Miller; "King Horse" by Elvis Costello; "King Tut" by Steve Martin]

What kind of ruler do you think Macbeth will be?  Why?  Provide at least three textual examples that support/illustrate your main points.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Act III Macbeth quotes analysis (after the jump)
3. MGOTM
 
HW:
1. Read Acts III & IV of Macbeth & post active reading notes to your course blog
2. Revisit today's journal topic on your blog through the eyes of the author. What literary/characterization techniques does Shakespeare use to suggest how Macbeth will rule?  Use textual examples to illustrate your claims. 

stick your neck out

I just got two emails in a row.  The first was about a student taking a risk.  The second was this.  Enjoy.

april 21

This morning I gave my American Literature course this journal topic:

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Eminem once said, "Rap is my drug."  What did he mean?  How was his experience with rap similar to or different from Bernard's experience with Soma in Brave New World?

Then I started wondering myself: Is this just a clever use of irony/contrast/cognitive dissonance?  What DID Eminem mean-- that rap was addictive?  That it provided an escape or took away the pain of everyday life?  That it gave him a "high"?  Would Macbeth ( or Lady Macbeth, or Julius Caesar) say, "Ambition/power is my drug"? 

What do you think?  With specific regard to Macbeth, how does Shakespeare establish this character as someone who does things against his own self-interest?

AGENDA (PERIOD 4):
Online conference with Howard Rheingold & Connected Learning community.

(Please do the journal for homework.  We'll use this as a segue into Act III.)

AGENDA (PERIOD 5 & 6)
1. Journal
2. MGOTM

make-up ap registration meeting

Reminder: if you didn't attend the first AP registration meeting, please plan to be at the make-up meeting tomorrow morning at 8:30 in the cafeteria.  Mahalo.

april 20

*MACBREAK*

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe (at least) one thing that's gone well in your masterpiece work.  Describe (at least) one thing that has stalled or failed.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Masterpiece Presentation Structure
3. Online conference tomorrow (period 4)

HW:
1. Answer this question on your course blog:  Imagine how the plot, theme, and tone of Macbeth would be different if Macbeth could gain more power by becoming good at something or learning something, rather than benefiting through another's loss.

online conference tomorrow w howard rheingold

One of the distinguishing characteristics of Open Source Learning is connecting directly with thinkers, authors, and mentors who have the knowledge & experience we seek.  Tomorrow in 4th period we will be talking online with Howard Rheingold.  I got to know Howard when I introduced the idea of Open Source Learning at Palo Alto's Institute for the Future in May, 2011.  Howard is one of the foremost authorities on the culture and potential of the Internet.  His books coined the term "virtual community" & predicted the rise and impact of social media and the smart phone.  Forbes Magazine went so far as to call him a "digital elder."  In addition to his own writing and teaching (at Stanford and UC Berkeley), Howard moderates online events for the University of California Irvine's Digital Media & Learning Hub/Connected Learning program, which is funded by the Macarthur Foundation.  He has invited us to talk with him tomorrow. 

Another distinguishing characteristic of Open Source Learning is the idea that every participant can "write" the curriculum-- in other words, we all create and refine our path(s) of inquiry by asking questions and suggesting resources, ideas and actions that accelerate understanding.

Lastly, Open Source Learning is transparent; online data can be shared in its original form and we can see how it changes over time.

Here's an example: Howard and I exchanged emails in which we discussed the online conference.  He invited you to hack it (see screen shot below).  So, please comment to this post with anything you'd like to see considered in our conversation with Howard.  Or go directly to the planning document and contribute.  I will introduce the basic concepts of our work at the beginning, and then I will turn the conference over to students who will lead the discussion from there.  If you'd like to invite someone to watch you online you can send them a link here.  Looking forward to the conversation!

she should have died hereafter

What is the point and purpose of Macbeth's "She should have died hereafter" soliloquy?  Please comment to this post with your thoughts based upon our reading of the play so far.
MACBETH She should have died hereafter; There would have been a time for such a word. To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day To the last syllable of recorded time, And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.

april 17

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac; "Ball and Chain" by Social Distortion]

We often see chains as metaphors for entrapment (a la "The Allegory of the Cave").  But apart from things that hold us to a place or weight us down, chains can also be seen as bonds that meaningfully connect us to our identities, our families/communities, and our place in the ecosystem.  When Macbeth disrupted The Great Chain of Being by murdering Duncan, things began to go awry.  How does Macbeth's state of mind reflect Shakespeare's intended theme/tone? Please answer as if you were writing an essay on the AP exam.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2.  Tomorrow, tomorrow, & tomorrow... is today

3. Macbeth: Act II

HW:
1. Read Macbeth Act III & post active reading notes to your blog.
2. Comment on the purpose and meaning of Macbeth's "She should have died hereafter" soliloquy 

3. Use the weekend to catch up, review, and deepen your understanding of Macbeth and your masterpiece.  Come back Monday refreshed and prepared for next steps on both fronts. We will have Masterpiece Workshop, as well as Macbeth test & 1st essay.  Please Note: this grading period ends Friday, April 24.

beethoven for elephants

Just because you don't see this every day. (originally posted 12.12.11)

april 16

JOURNAL TOPIC:  [today's tunes: "Macbeth-Sinfonia" by Verdi; "Tiny Daggers" by INXS]

Macbeth sees a vision of a dagger and is moved to speak and act accordingly.  Hamlet imagined the "bare bodkin" in his most famous soliloquy-- and was also moved to speak and act.  Compare these two moments: how does Shakespeare's characterization and writing technique create dramatic tension and move the plot?  Why do these characters see visions in their mind, then use words to express what they think & feel about what they see, and then become motivated to act?  What effects does Shakespeare's technique create?  And why the images of weaponry?  In other words: What...is...the...[groan]...POINT?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Read Act II.  Answer the study questions (after the jump) and post to your course blog.
3. Work on memorizing "tomorrow, tomorrow, & tomorrow..."

HW:
1. Complete agenda items 2 & 3 (due tomorrow) if you don't finish in class.

april 15

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Ice Cream Man" by Van Halen; "'S Wonderful" by George Gershwin/performed by Ella Fitzgerald]

Last night my daughter got me thinking about ice cream cones.  Describe in detail your most memorable ice cream cone moment.  (AP style-- i.e., think plot structure, characterization, theme, tone, etc.)

[OR]

Describe the initial characterization of Lady Macbeth.  How does Shakespeare establish a sense of her character through the words/terms she uses, through her reaction to the witches' prophecy, and to Macbeth's letter in general?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Act I quiz
3. Discuss Act I Scenes iv-vii
4. Begin Act II

HW:
1. In a blog post entitled LOVE IS BLIND (or, if you're a Billy Joel fan, YOU'RE ALWAYS A WOMAN TO ME), explain the difference in the way Macbeth sees Lady Macbeth and how the audience sees Lady Macbeth.
2. In a post entitled WHAT ABOUT MY MASTERPIECE? please comment on your progress this week, and comment on the fact that Shakespeare had all day every day to write but that you have to work yours in between your other endeavors.  Friday we will discuss project and presentation requirements as a class, so get your ideas ready.
3. Create a character map for Macbeth and post to your course blog.

april 14

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Some of Shakespeare's best-known protagonists wrestle with the concept of ambition.  When is ambition a good thing and when is it a tragic flaw?  Use examples from life (Jiro's, your own) and art (Macbeth, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Romeo & Juliet, e.g.) to support your points.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Finish reading Act I.  Answer the study questions (after the jump) and post to your course blog.
3. Work on memorizing "tomorrow, tomorrow, & tomorrow..."

HW:
1. Complete agenda items 2 & 3 if you don't finish in class.

Battle of The Blogs: Bracket 1 Results

If you hadn't gone to the 5PH1NX blog, go there now. Bracket 1 results are in (left side of page) and the voting for Bracket 2 is continuing for the next 4 hours so go check it out with votes accordingly.

Match the results with [Person] vs. [Person] in this follow up to the Bracket 1 results:

Period 4: http://challonge.com/tournaments/bracket_generator?ref=Latbs88HIJ
Period 5: http://challonge.com/tournaments/bracket_generator?ref=Oq1K36Czxb
Period 6: http://challonge.com/tournaments/bracket_generator?ref=VLtu31qpZe

For reference: Battle of Blogs and another OSL Madness. Need to post a BLOG FEEDBACK post on your blogs.

Bracket 2 voting polls will end tonight at 9 PM.

reminder: mandatory ap mtg tomorrow

Pre-registration for AP exams will be held tomorrow morning in the cafeteria at 8:30 A.M.  Please remember to bring your ID.

kickstarting your masterpiece fundraising

There is a Kickstarter campaign for the Yosemite masterpiece, and the first contribution was from someone outside our community for $105.  Any $ over the Yosemite budget will go toward other masterpieces, and college scholarships, and resources for next year's course, etc.

Check it out here.

And please consider this advice from digital marketing expert, campaign sponsor, and friend-of-the-course Nik Koyama (after the jump):

april 13

JOURNAL TOPIC:
[today's tunes: "Just Breathe" by Pearl Jam; "Time to Pretend" by MGMT; "Today My Life Begins" by Bruno Mars]

Why do we have to re/learn as adults the things (like breathing and using our imagination) that come so naturally to us as children?  How can you start over today with an open "child's mind" and see things that you might otherwise have missed?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Leading question: What is it about Macbeth that makes him vulnerable and/or questionable, even though he is introduced as a conquering war hero?  Can you identify moments in the text where you think Shakespeare might be doing something to make the audience think twice about Macbeth, even as other characters celebrate his name and accomplishments?
3. Macbeth Act I Scenes i-iii
4. Experts and mentors

HW:
1. Find five (5) resources that you think will be useful in our study of Macbeth. Post to your blog (title: MY MACBETH RESOURCES)
2. Read this article about mentors
3. In a post entitled MEET MACBETH, answer the following questions. [Note: please don't list these with numbers or bullets; write them in paragraph form].

• How is Macbeth introduced through in/direct characterization?
• What elements of foreshadowing do the witches provide?
• How does Shakespeare's approach to exposition give the reader background information about the setting and characters and a sense of what's to come without spoiling the play?
• How does Shakespeare's characterization of Macbeth reflect a sense of tone (i.e., the author's attitude toward the character/s, audience, and/or subject matter)?
• What themes appear evident in Macbeth's character and conduct?  To what extent do you think these themes will drive the rest of the play? 

4. Begin memorizing Macbeth's "tomorrow, tomorrow, & tomorrow" soliloquy (Act V Scene 5). Due by *Friday, April 17.

Bracket Voting

Lupe has posted the bracket voting on 5phinx. Please go vote there. The link is here:

http://sphinxproject2015.blogspot.com/2015/04/battle-of-blogs.html?m=1

if caitlin

So, I remember talking with Caitlin about the poem "If" (by Rudyard Kipling, below), and I remember we had a really good idea about poetry over the break.

I just don't remember what the idea was.  If Caitlin or anyone else does remember, will you please post about it?  Otherwise I'll give it some more thought later in the week.  Or I'll forget.  Mahalo.

If—

By Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you   

    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

    But make allowance for their doubting too;   

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

    And treat those two impostors just the same;   

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

    And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   

    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

    If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

 

Source: A Choice of Kipling's Verse (1943)

sci-fi option

For those of you-- Jordan, Miles-- who wanted to read sci-fi over the break, I'm offering this as an exercise in reading some terrific fiction and practicing your writing.  (It's required for American Lit, you can see their post here.)
___________________________
STEP 1:
Read a great science-fiction story about the increasing confusion between the lives of people, virtual avatars, and machines.  Here are some suggestions.  Read a few pages and see if one grabs you.  If you have a suggestion please post a comment so we can check it out too.

• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick
• Neuromancer by William Gibson
• Reamde by Neal Stephenson
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

STEP 2:
Imagine the following scenario.  You are being rejected for scholarships, university admissions, job opportunities, and even military recruitment because you are suspected of not being fully human.  Even as you read this authorities in a faceless office park are reading your file and determining whether to reclassify you as a tool and assign you to sorting multi-colored beads in a warehouse for the rest of your (battery) life.  Your job is to write a persuasive essay in which you prove that you are fully human.  It had better be good.  And it had better be on your blog by Monday, April 13.

Effective appeals will include:

• Sound logic (think truth, validity, and effective use of ethos, pathos, & logos)
• Avoidance of fallacies in reasoning and accurate identification of fallacies in the opposition's reasoning (so don't forget to include and debunk counterclaims)
• Textual examples from novels and other source materials that illustrate:
• How the book you chose used theme, tone, characterization, and/or other literary techniques to convey meaning to the reader
• How-- even though science often begins with science fiction-- your world is different from the world described in the book

• A thorough explanation of how your artificial body augmentations (braces, hearing aids, earbuds, phone-shaped hands, tattoos, piercings, etc. etc.) and habits (staring at screens instead of people, isolating yourself with personally contained music, e.g.) make you more human and not less.

Good luck.  I hope the authorities see you for who you really are.  Unless you really are a robot, in which case I hope they pull the plug.

spring break work

(Crap-- just realized I posted this to the wrong blog last night. Sorry for the delay. -dp)

Here is the work for Spring Break.  Please comment or email with questions.

POETRY
Select a poem from this list (or make a case for a poem of equivalent literary merit).  Then select a poetry essay prompt from this list.  On your course blog, explain why the prompt fits the poem (feel free to substitute the names of characters, descriptive details etc. in the prompt).  Then write your essay.  We will have writer's conferences the week of 4/13 as we begin Macbeth.  If you want written comments, please print your essay and bring to class 4/13.

PROSE
Please read "Young Goodman Brown" and write an essay in response to this prompt.  The prompt will be familiar; the acts of completing a pre-write, articulating a clear thesis statement, and presenting a well-structured analysis supported with literary techniques and illustrative examples are hopefully becoming more familiar.  Same deal re: writer's conferences and written comments.

Happy reading and writing.  See you in what seems like a long time but will inevitably go by way too fast. -dp 

sci fi option

I haven't forgotten the p.4 conversation about sci fi-- I'm looking for a couple specific links & will post tonight.

OSL Madness

Today in periods 5 & 6 we discussed the OSL Madness idea and agreed upon the following ideas:

• Votes for brackets will occur in rounds, each round lasting a day.
• Judging criteria is based on the content (quality over quantity), organization, and aesthetics (beauty aspect).
• To vote you must comment, constructively, to both blogs that you judged (could be as simple as saying this is why I did/didn't choose your blog. 
• Everyone will need to create a blog post entitled: BLOG FEEDBACK, so that everyone has a place to post comments to your blog.
• One possible prize for the winner a free domain.
• There's also the suggestion of consolation brackets and subsequent prizes.
• First round voting polls will open starting Monday morning and ending Monday night, with next bracket on Tuesday etc...   

Obviously, nothing is set in stone yet. Any other suggestions are welcome in the comments. There will be a post tomorrow with all of the final details.

space to learn

I'm not sure if their space hacked made the conversation possible, but *wow* on both counts.  Thanks p.5!

april 1

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "(Now & Then There's) A Fool Such As I" by Hank Snow; "Ship of Fools" by Robert Plant]

You have seven minutes to write an epic poem about a unified theory of consciousness and the history of the papacy concentrating especially but not exclusively on its social, political, economic, religious, and philosophical impact on Europe, Asia, America, and Africa. Be brief, concise, and specific. Be ready to recite your poem from memory in any ancient language (except Greek) to the 2000 people who will be waiting expectantly on the field outside 608 in eight minutes.

[OR]

Attempt to explain why people like the experience of making/being made a fool at least once a year.

[OR]

In both Hamlet and Macbeth we see characters thinking out loud about their decisions: how they imagine the decision in advance, how they translate thought into action, and how they feel about it after the fact. Describe this dynamic in your own life. How do you feel about your decisions before, when, and after you make them? As you reflect in hindsight, which decisions stir feelings of pride and which stir feelings of regret?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. March Madness in April

HW:
YOU MUST CHECK THIS BLOG TOMORROW. Mahalo.