After you have completed your Double Journal for the week, copy and paste one of your journal responses and then reply to two other posts.
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How do you feel about the current situation? You are all seniors, so I know this is especially hard for you--what do you miss the most AND/OR what will you miss the most?
With the growing number of cases of coronavirus, there is a chance that we will all have to enter self-isolation. This could potentially give us two weeks to just in our house. What would you do with this time? Assuming teachers will not assign additional homework, but all previously assigned work stands, how will you kill the time?
For me, this will obviously involve a lot of parenting. I am a huge fan of movies, so I would most likely work my way through Disney+ with my kids, but I also will want to feel productive. Each day, I would pick a room to fully clean. For my kids' rooms, this will involve going through all of their clothes and boxing up the ones that don't fit and then organizing their bookcases (shocking, we have a lot of books). For the kitchen, I would go through all of the cabinets and cupboards and organize. When it comes to food, I would work my way through the items in the pantry and freezer that have been there forever. If they are too old, I will throw them out. If they are edible, I will cook them. For some additional entertainment, I will bake. I have been working my way through the Zingerman's Bakehouse cookbook, so I would continue to make my way through the items for which I have ingredients. Lastly, I would catch up on some shows. I have only watched a couple of episodes of the latest seasons of The Crown and Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, so I would definitely watch those shows first. I do not want anything bad to happen to anyone, but two weeks at home with no outside responsibility sounds okay... I can't remember if we have done this one before, but I want to do it regardless. Name a food that elicits a memory. This idea came to me this weekend when I returned to Iowa for my grandmother's funeral. Every Christmas, we would gather at my Grandmother's house for brunch and the opening of presents. Every year, she would make an egg casserole. Now, I know that sounds pretty generic, but it is a unique casserole: it is loaded with mushrooms, cheese, and sherry that gives it a unique flavor. I now make the casserole every Christmas, and the tradition has continued for other generations. A second food for me is pancakes. Since childhood, I have traveled to Minnesota for family camp. All of our meals are served in a dining hall, and the hall always smells like pancakes and syrup, no matter what meal is being served. Whenever I smell pancakes or syrup (which is every Saturday when I make them from scratch for my kids), I am immediately transported to one of my favorite places in the world.
I am currently reading The Overstory, the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction winner. The whole book is a collection of vignettes centered around trees, and I have found it fascinating. So, for your entry this week, tell us what tree best represents you and why. I have a few links you can use to get ideas-. The first website says that I am an Apple Tree. I buy into some of the description about liking children, but some of the other description is a little fluffy. I have always like beech trees for the smooth bark, but I don't like the description. The rowan tree (sensitivity) sounds like me--both independent and dependent. I am very independent when it comes to being able to complete chores and tasks, and I occasionally enjoy some solitude, but I would not be able to live on my own for long. I would have dependence on relationships. The WWF quiz says that I am a stone pine--reliable and loyal friend. Okay, that sort of works. It is also a really cool looking tree.
http://enchantedwalkabouts.com/what-kind-of-tree-are-you/ https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/what-tree-are-you In honor of the Oscars, I want to talk about movies. Instead of discussing the best movie of the year, I want to talk about guilty pleasure movies. What movie or movies do you like to watch that definitely DID NOT win an Oscar? I have an incredibly long list, but I will share a few. First, the original Top Gun is one of my favorite movies of all time. It is probably the first real "adult" movie that I remember watching as a kid. I remember swinging on the swing set with my cousin pretending to be Maverick or Ice Man. I even went as Maverick one year for Halloween (with bomber jacket and sunglasses). I think I have mentioned Top Gun before so I will add another movie (possibly more embarrassing for a person who actually cares about gender norms): Dirty Dancing...I love this movie. I have seen it at least 20 times. I don't actually own the movie, but when I see it on the guide, I have to watch. The final scene gets me every time. I love the music, but it is also the setting--as many of you know or remember, I go to a family camp every summer that sort of resembles the family camp in the movie, so I have a sort of nostalgic feeling for the place. There you go--two of my guilty pleasure movies are Top Gun and Dirty Dancing.
Give us your craziest, weirdest, most off-the-wall take on Macbeth. In class, we tried to dig deeper into the play and generate some interesting topics of discussion...for this post, I want you to go even further. You are welcome to use the internet to find some items, but what crazy theory or crazy topic can you put out there about the Scottish Play? What super random item is symbolic? What super random minor character has meaning we have not discussed? What line has merit? Gooooo Weird, Gooooo Deep
Give us your craziest, weirdest, most off-the-wall take on Gatsby. In class, we tried to dig deeper into the novel and generate some interesting topics of discussion...for this post, I want you to go even further. You are welcome to use the internet to find some items, but what crazy theory or crazy topic can you put out there about the book The Great Gatsby? What super random item is symbolic? What super random minor character has meaning we have not discussed? What outfit has merit? Gooooo Weird, Gooooo Deep
Happy New Year! I know this one is cheesy, but my brain is not fully functioning just yet, so please give me a slight break. I would like you to name a resolution (or resolutions) that you hope to keep in 2020. This is a huge year for all of you, so there are a lot of possibilities. In addition to just listing the resolution(s), you need to discuss your plan for keeping the resolution.
I have a few. 1) I am going to read more books. I already listen to a book every 2 weeks, but I am now going to read more physical books. My plan is to read for at least 15 minutes each night. 2) Improved mindfulness. My plan is to do yoga 2-3 times per week at home and then go to yoga at the gym in the summer. I am also going to meditate 3-4 times per week (listen to them, at least). 3) Eat less meat. I am not going vegetarian or vegan, but my daughter has stated a desire to go vegetarian, and to support her and support the earth, I am going to eat (and cook) less meat. I received 4 vegetarian cookbooks for Christmas, so I plan on utilizing them. For this week's post, you need to describe an ideal road trip. Here are the parameters: you are leaving as early as you want from Northville on a Wednesday morning, and you must return home Sunday night. Here are the items you decide: Alone or with others? Time of year? Where are you going? Where are you stopping along the way? I don't have a budget in mind, but keep it reasonable to something you might be able to do as a 17/18-year-old.
Here is a road trip my wife and I actually did just before our first child was born (roughly 6 days, but you get the point--Ann Arbor to Des Moines should not have counted): --Ann Arbor to Des Moines (I had to go to Des Moines to see family for something) --Des Moines to Kansas City (shopped and stayed with a childhood friend and her family) --Kansas City to Memphis (Stayed at The Peabody Hotel with the marching ducks, and ate bbq on Beale Street) --Memphis to New Orleans (stayed in the French Quarter and ate our way through New Orleans cuisine for 2 days) --New Orleans to Nashville (explored the restaurants and country music scene downtown) --Nashville to Cincinnati (stayed with friends on the Kentucky side of the border on their horse farm, but went into the city to explore) --Cincinnati to Ann Arbor Sorry for the late post, but here we go. For your post, you need to pose a deep and/or philosophical question (ex: what came first, the chicken or the egg?). Then, you must "answer", to the best of your ability, two questions posed by the classmates (you do not need to answer your own question). Thank you, Shannah, for the idea. Have fun!!!
Last year, I had a whole long post about the greatest holiday of the year. If you want, you are welcome to discuss any thoughts you have about Thanksgiving, but what I want you to concentrate on for this year is the last part: what are you thankful for? You could make this about one thing or it can be a list.
For me: 1) Family 2) (Mostly) Fun job 3) (Mostly) Great students :-} 4) Playing tennis (I have gotten back into playing seriously, and it has been fun) 5) Food--all of it Per request, we are going to discuss the greatest Disney movie. Make sure that you are fully explaining your choice. I think the top ones are Lion King, Moana, Sword in the Stone, Incredibles, Frozen, Toy Story 3, and Robin Hood--in that order. Since I do not have time to defend all of my choices, I will take on the first two--please keep in mind that I could launch into a dissertation over each of these choices, but I want to limit my reasoning so I do not take any of your potential material. Lion King is the quintessential Disney movie: it has royalty, talking animals, award winning music, and a famous storyline to follow (Hamlet). More than anything, LK lacks the holes that many of the other movies possess. Even looking at it through a feminist lense, many of the tropes are explained away because of the structure of lion prides: women do all of the work--hunting raising the kids--and that is shown, but there is still a head of the pride. Many scholars have argued that it pays homage to the tribes of the region (I am sure there are critics who will say the opposite). I am not saying it is the perfect movie (I could nitpick at a few items), but it is the most complete of the Disney movies. It focuses on the relationships within families, and it does not get bogged down in a love story (it is there--"Can you feel the love tonight"--but it is not the driving force of the film. I guess I will stop there. Moana is a great representation of the new Disney, but I will let you all debate that one out.
There is no blog this week. Good look on submitting your applications to all of you applying for November 1st deadlines.
It is a tradition on this blog to do a Halloween-themed post with a scary story. You can make this as creative as you like, but your assignment is to write a scary story. I can't wait to see how many stories revolve around the application process and/or school work...
Until the IOC in December, I am going to sneak in a few poetry posts. This one will be the easiest. I want you to find a poem that interests you. It does not need to be some deep-thinking work, I want you to find a poem that you genuinely enjoy. Copy and paste the poem into your post, and then write a brief description about why you like the poem. You do not need to describe poetic devices in your description, but you are, of course, welcome to use our new terminology.
Okay, the first part of this prompt is something that I do with my 10th graders, and I really like the creative responses. I am adding a second part to deepen the response.
Part 1: Compare yourself to a FICTIONAL character--how are you like this character? Part 2: If you could be like any fictional character, who would it be and why? Your answers will be longer, but here are my examples: Part 1: Jim from The Office. I am a very laid back and sarcastic person. Part 2: Ron Swanson from Parks and Rec. I would love to be able to grow a mustache like him and just drip with swag. Also, being able to woodwork would be cool. ou have analyzed books, short stories, movies, poetry, and art. Now it is time to analyze the classic medium of music video. I believe that you have all seen me do this with "Last Christmas" by Wham. I want you to analyze literary elements found in the videos and how they add to the overall meaning. There are some modern ones that could be easy (Taylor Swift, Imagine Dragons, for example), but feel free to have fun with this and dive into some 80's, 90's, and 00's. Have fun!!!
I have a dinner party tonight with the IB board in Ann Arbor, my hometown. My 3 kids are sick and being nanny'd by a MALE NANNY. I'm ready to slip on my comfortable and sensible loafers/sneakers and head out. But first, gotta down a cold one (aka a refrigerated La Croix). Here's this weeks blog post.
Signed, Abha, pretending to be Mr. Stetson. (this comes from a place of love) Is there a difference between happiness and fulfillment? What does it take for you to be happy? What does it take for you to be fulfilled? Are the qualities the same? This topic was suggested by a couple of different students: the season of Fall (my personal favorite). I labeled this a "creative post" because I don't want this to be just a list of things you like about fall--I want you to present it in a creative way. Write an ode to fall or several haikus. You could write a short story that has Fall as the main setting. Whatever you want as long as it captures the essence of Fall in a creative manner (great opportunity to explore sensory details).
Senior Year! THE LAST YEAR!!!!! In honor of this, I want you to create a senior year bucket list. What do you have left to do? Need to attend a football game? Want to participate in water wars? Shooting for a diploma in IB? Just want to pass a certain class? These do not have to be school related, but please keep them school appropriate. Please add commentary where necessary. We will revisit this in May to see how well you did.
Okay, time for the final blog post of the year and it is going to be a two-part post worth two points. For the first part of your post, I want you to reflect on your Year 1 experience: what was your favorite part? What did you find most challenging? What was your favorite text? Least favorite? Why?
For part two of your post, I want you to recommend a book to your classmates to read over the summer. I know this will be extremely hard for some of you to limit it to one text, but I want you to recommend a book that you think students would enjoy and/or find educational. I will produce a list of my own, categorized, to offer my own suggestions. Make sure you explain WHY you are suggesting the book. Who is one of your role models and why? Important caveat, I want you to avoid people that you know (parent, teacher, coach, etc). I am thinking more along the lines of a famous person. As a second part to this, or maybe to beef up the responses, I also want you to identify your favorite superhero and why? So there it is, name a role model and a favorite superhero and explain why.
I have to go rearrange the classroom, but I will add a post to this later. |
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