AHS * HUMANITIES 11
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Daily Blog

Friday,  January 30th

1/30/2015

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Announcements
Journals are due at the end of class on Monday!  You may chose to refine or finish journals during non-seminar time on Monday. 
List of required journals

Seminar Prep is due on Monday at the beginning of class!


Seminar Groups are HERE

Aristotle- Eudaimonia Reading

Agenda
1. seminar prep work time


****If you finish early I strongly encourage you to check out these current events articles and consider your perspective on the issues discussed within each:
  • "7 Key Points from the C.I.A Torture Report"
  • "The Genious of Obama's Two-Year College Proposal"

2. Last 20 minutes of class:  A dash of the Energy and Place Project: "Honor the Earth: The Triple Crown of Pipeline Rides"



Driving Question:  What is your initial reaction to this type of debate between protecting the land and ensuring resources to fuel our economy and standard of living?  
  • Winona LaDuke is an American Indian activist, environmentalist, economist, and writer, known for her work on tribal land claims and preservation, as well as sustainable development. In 1996 and 2000 she ran for vice president as the nominee of the Green Party on a ticket headed by Ralph Nader.
  • Agree/Disagree: Protecting beautiful environments and/or places of sentimental value is less important than securing our energy needs. 
  • Agree/Disagree: There is a place that is so important to me that I would fight to protect it?
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Thursday, January 29th

1/29/2015

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Starter/Journal #14
Free write about a topic that has stood out the most to you across our "happiness and meaning" readings/films/Ted Talks (including existentialism)

Announcement
  • Reminder!  Extra Credit film showing tonight at FLC.  See yesterday's dp blog
  • JOURNALS due MONDAY!  LIST OF REQUIRED JOURNAL PROMPTS

Agenda
1. Finish Student-led lessons

2. Class B: "Lesson of the Moth" poem discussion 
  • Slides 15-17 of the POWERPOINT ON POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
  • Link to "The Lesson of the Moth"

3. Intro to seminar prep

4. Seminar prep work time 
* YOU can do a more thorough job on seminar prep with well-developed TEA paragraphs and submit that to boost your seminar grade  (I'll average the seminar prep with the seminar grade)
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Wednesday, January 28th

1/28/2015

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STARTER:
Turn in lit circle reflection and make sure all roles are there (use this rubric to cross reference)

Announcements
Extra Credit Opportunity:  20 process points!
  • Edward Abbey's Birthday Bash and film screening at FLC 5:30pm THIS THURSDAY in the Student Union Ballroom (upstairs)
  • Attend the film, write a one-page summary and reaction to the film
  • Email me the write-up by the end of the end of the weekend

Osprey Week meetings today during Advisory
Mid-project survey feedback
  • Many of you wanted clarification on the project
  • Most said they enjoyed the various sources of media and the overall topic
  • Some of you said you didn't like the amount of reading we're doing (welcome to Humanities, folks)
  • Some wanted less lit circle role meetings-- less frequently. I'll do that next year. Good call.
  • Some wanted MORE people to get involved in discussions.  So step it up!
  • One of you thought I was distracted by British Columbia. To that I would say I am living what I preach.  Carpe Diem.
  • A few of you said you wanted to hear more students' overall thoughts on happiness and meaning-- that's what our seminar will capture.
  • Many of you said you wanted an art piece for this project.  That is coming up!
  • Many said it was relevant to your lives outside of school
  • Most of you are disliking required annotations.  I hear that and will try to find other ways to measure reading rather than annotations.



AGENDA

1
.  Student-Led Lesson Work Time


2. Begin Student-Led Lesson presentations

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Tuesday, January 27th

1/26/2015

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Today's Objectives:

  • Help each other develop insights on your book as a whole and the ending in particular
  • Reflect on the lit circle essential questions as they apply to your book

Announcements
* Book Club Honors Meeting TOMORROW 


*Fahrenheit 451 project proposals due next Monday for Book Club Honors


*Backcountry ski club ski tour day this Saturday!  Meeting after school on Friday for route-selection


*How did last week go? Do I need to follow up on the short stories you read?

Agenda
1. Starter: Reflect on the gratitude/random acts of kindness journal.

  • in pairs: which option did you choose? Share a few of your notes with the other person. Discuss what the experience was like for you.
  • Whole class: what was the experience like? Any boost in happiness or well being?


2. Lit Circle Final Meeting

  • Be sure you have all your meeting notes in your section
  • Final annotations due today too

3. Lit Circle Final Self-Evaluation 

  • Ashley will conference with 1st Semester Honors students during this work time

4. Lit Circle Student-Led Lesson Explanation 


5. Begin working on student-led lessons

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Week of January 20th-23rd

1/20/2015

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This Week's Learning Goals:
  • Examine multiple perspectives on happiness and meaning (through Ted Talks, film and short stories)
  • Analyze two  short stories about "success" and "legacy": How do these inform your own philosophy about living a meaningful life?

Homework for the week:
  • Finish your lit circle books and final role by next Tuesday, January 27th.
  • Complete the Gratitude/Random Acts of Kindness by Tuesday, January 27th
  • Complete in-class assignments by the end of class each day
  • 1st semester honors: Work on your project for exhibition
  • 2nd Semester honors: Read Fahrenheit 451
  • LINK PROJECT PROPOSALS (if you have spare time in Humanities, you may work on this)


Agendas
Tuesday, January 20th

A. STARTER- Journal #10
Review this week's agenda.  Write down the learning goals for this week AND your homework for the week.

B. Go over the required note-taking form for Happy 

C.  Watch Happy and take notes

HAPPY is an award-winning, feature-length documentary that takes us on a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the slums of Kolkata in search of what really makes people happy. Combining real life stories of people from around the world and powerful interviews with the leading scientists in happiness research, HAPPY brings to life the science and application of the film’s themes.

D.  Turn in your notes and if time, silently read your lit circle book.



Wednesday, January 21st
A. Starter: Mid-project survey (complete the survey at the bottom of this blog)

B. Discuss Happy

  • Go through the note-taking form
  • What stood out the most for you?
  • Any pushbacks/disagreements with the film? 
  • Does this film inform your personal philosophy on the pursuit of happiness and meaning? If so, how will you apply these ideas to your own life? 

C.  Journal #11: Legacy
In TWO solid paragraphs, answer the following questions

  • Do you think it is important to leave a legacy behind  you when you move on from a place like Animas, College, your career or life in general? In other words, is having a strong/positive legacy a marker of  a life well-lived? Why or why not?

  • Regardless of whether or not you think it is important, what do you think your legacy WOULD be? In other words, how would people remember you after you left _________(choose one of  the places mentioned in the previous question).  For instance, what might your classmates and teachers say about you a year after you graduated from Animas?

D. Time to read and annotate "The Catastrophe of Success" and "Ambitious Guest" and work on the Discussion Questions

Thursday, January 22nd
A. Journal #12: Watch this TED Talk called "The Surprising Science of Happiness" and then write a 2 paragraph reaction to it that includes a summary of the main ideas as well as your critical reaction to/personal reflection on those ideas.

B. Share your responses to the Ted Talk



C. Time to read “Catastrophe of Success” and “The Ambitious Guest” and complete the the Discussion Questions

D.  Small group (or whole class) discussion on the readings


E.  Time to read lit circle books and complete your assigned role OR honors work time (See homework above)



Friday, January 23rd
A. Journal #12_ Response to this Ted Talk: "The Paradox of Choice"
As you listen, jot down lines that stand out to you as significant or thought-provoking
  • Summarize the main points of the Ted Talk
  • In what ways have you experienced or do you think you could experience the paradox of (too many) choice in your own life? 
  • What other lines stood out in the talk to you? Why?

B. Discuss the Ted Talk as a class

C. Independent research time on lit circle books:
INSTRUCTIONS: This activity needs to be included in your section of your lit circle binders by the end of class today. You may either type it and print OR hand write it.  If you need more time, you can take the weekend and turn it in at the BEGINNING of class on Tuesday.
  • Usingthese resources, pick TWO from the list on the tab for YOUR assigned lit circle book (see the tabs on the bottom of the spreadsheet doc) 
  • Write a brief summary about each resource (a solid paragraph)
  • Also explain whether or not the resource provided you with a better understanding of the book or a theme in the book. Be sure to explain HOW it did or did not with specific details. 

D. Time to read your lit circle books and prepare your role for Tuesday, 1/27 or work on the Gratitude/Random Acts of Kindness Journal OR honors work time (see homework above)



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Friday, January 16th

1/16/2015

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Objectives:
  • Define success for yourself
  • Defend your stance on the influence of technology on Gen Y's quality of lives.
  • Consider multiple perspectives on happiness  and understand the field of positive psychology



AGENDA
1. Get out your journal 6 for on-time credit
2.  JOURNAL #7: Listen to Alain de Bottom's Success Podcast: "What's a Kinder Way to Frame Success?"

Context to Alain de Bottom:
  • Alain de Botton is a Swiss/British writer, philosopher, television presenter and entrepreneur, resident in the United Kingdom.
  • Frenetic: fast and energetic in a rather wild and uncontrolled way.

Respond to these three questions

1. While listening, take notes on Alain's main points about mainstream definitions of success compared to how he suggests we should redefine success on our own terms.

2.  Which of the podcasts most connected with you?

3. If you had to distill your own definition of success into a "question- title" for this podcast series (like these examples) what would it be? WHY?  Explain your title.

For your reference- brief summaries of main points of each podcast:
  • Tony Robbins - don't let your story define you, follow your passion as drive is the key to success

  • Angela Duckworth- grit is the key to success, growth mindset helps one have grit

  • Ron Gutman- Smiling makes one appear more successful and there is a correlation between one's smile and one's success in life

  • Mike Rowe- Don't follow your passion if it makes you unhappy; ideal is to blend what makes you happy with what makes money; people with dirty jobs are perhaps the most successful

  • Alain de Bottom-  Our current definition of successful sets people up as winners or losers so we should redefine success in a way that is kinder and more compassionate.  You can't be successful in all realms of our lives.  You have to make  a choice between being successful in work or life.  We must make a choice as to in which realm of our life we want to be successful. It is a personal choice-- must decide for yourself.  There shouldn't be a one-size fits all definition of success. 



***********************************************************************************
3. JOURNAL #8 Notes on the POWERPOINT ON POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
Link to "The Lesson of the Moth"

Today's Lesson Objective:
  • Consider multiple perspectives on happiness and understand, broadly, the field of positive psychology

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ABSENT STUDENTS:
Journal #8 is happening today.  If you miss class, you need to make it up.   Journal #8 requires you take "Cornell notes" on my power point. Please go through all of the powerpoint, watch the video (we didn't get to the second video on Gratitude) linked in it, However, we did not get to the poem, "lesson of the moth" and will cover that tomorrow. 

Resources for Journal #8
  • POWERPOINT ON POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY AND LESSON OF MOTH 
  • Link to "The Lesson of the Moth"
  • JOURNAL ASSIGNMENT ON GRATITUDE:  Due Tuesday, January 27th
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Thursday, January 15th

1/15/2015

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Driving Questions
  • How has technology and social media affected Gen Y's well-being and  pursuit of happiness?
  • How does gaining clarity on how you define success influence the quality of your life and decisions you make about how you live your life?

STARTER
Watch a video clip from Mike Rowe's t.v. show "Dirty Jobs": "Are People with Dirty Jobs the most Successful?"  

Mike Rowe is an American media personality, actor and amateur comedian best known as the host of the Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs. He can also be heard as narrator on a variety of series and has appeared in recurring commercials for Ford Motor Company.
  • What line(s) stood out to you? How does he define success, according to people who do "dirty jobs"?  Do you agree? Why/why not?

Agenda
1. Last Lit Circle Meeting until Tuesday, Jan. 27th

2. SELF-EVALUATION (only one more after this, I promise): See the survey at the bottom of my blog.

3. Time to finish Journal #6 (yesterday's activity)

4. Discussion about the readings and driving question

5. Last 20 minutes= ZOE with LINK

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2nd Semester Honors Book Club Lunch Meeting Agenda

1/14/2015

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Agenda
1. Go over the requirements document
2. Ashley to explain the resources available on my DP (project tab)
3. Vote on The Great Gatsby v. Cat's Cradle for book #2

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers.

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted “gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession,” it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.

The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of twentieth-century literature.



Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
Cat’s Cradle is Kurt Vonnegut’s satirical commentary on modern man and his madness. An apocalyptic tale of this planet’s ultimate fate, it features a midget as the protagonist, a complete, original theology created by a calypso singer, and a vision of the future that is at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny. A book that left an indelible mark on an entire generation of readers, Cat’s Cradle is one of the twentieth century’s most important works—and Vonnegut at his very best.




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Wednesday, January 14th

1/14/2015

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Today's Objectives:
  • Evaluate yet another definition of success with the ultimate goal of forming your own definition of success as a way for living a happier/meaningful life.
  • Determine what the influence of technology and social media is on this generation's pursuit of happiness and meaning.

ANNOUNCEMENT:
  • Book Club Honors Meeting Today
  • Remember to makeup Journals and Lit Circle Self-Eval surveys if you miss class!
  • Please turn in the Eudaimonia activity if you were absent on that day last week.


Agenda

1st hour of class
1. Starter:  Journal #5 Success Podcast #2 and 3 Can you Smile your Way + Angela Duckworth's "Grit"
  • GOAL: Summarize two different perspectives on what success means/looks like and consider how they influence your own perception of success.
  • As you listen, write down a line that stands out to you as significant (either you strongly disagree with it or strongly agree with it) from both speakers 
  • After listening: 
    • Summarize both speakers’ definitions
    • To what extent could either speakers’ definitions of success positively affect your own life. How?

2. Lit Circle Meeting #5
  • How is your book answering the essential questions? As a group, answer this question and pick 2-3 quotes from the book to support your claims.

2nd Hour of Class

1. How many people can walk with their smartphones? 2 min. youtube video


2. Journal #6: Reading/Discussion on Generation Y/Millenials and the influence of social media and technology

Driving Question:  How has technology and social media in particular affected the quality of lives and pursuit of happiness for Gen Y?
  • Reading #1: "Frequent Cell Phone Use Linked to Anxiety, Lower Grades and Reduced Happiness in Students, Kent State Research Shows"
  • Reading #2: "The Go-Nowhere Generation"
  • Reading #3: "Is Facebook Making us Lonely?"
  • Reading #4: "How Technology will Greatly Enhance the Life and Work of the Middle Class"  OR find an article yourself that presents a counterargument to Readings #1-3.
  • Optional Extension Reading: "How Not to Be Alone" (a beautiful New York Times article written by author, Jonathan Safran Foer
  • Optional Extension podcast (~16 minutes): "Bored and Brilliant: The Lost Art of Spacing Out"

Written Response:
In approximately 300-500 words, answer this question by using evidence from all four articles:

 How has technology and social media in particular affected the quality of lives and pursuit of happiness for Gen Y?

**You can disagree with any of the articles but you must use direct quotes from their articles to respond to (either in agreement or disagreement)



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Monday, January 12th

1/12/2015

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Today's Objectives
  • Gain new insights on your lit circle books
  • Begin evaluating the concept of "Success"
  • Continue to consider what the function of education is and how our social structures (school/work, etc...) can create environments where we can be "successful", "intelligent", "happy", "fulfilled". 

Driving Questions
  • What does "Success" mean to you?
  • What is the function of education AND what sort of conditions need to exist to fulfill that function?

Announcement:
2nd Semester Book Club Honors Meeting will be Wednesday at lunch

STARTER: 

Journal #4
Ted Radio Hour on "Success" Episode #1: "How can Drive Make You a Success?"
  1. As you listen, write down a line that stands out to you as significant (either you strongly disagree with it or strongly agree with it)
  2. After listening, briefly summarize Tony's perspective on what success means  or how one best becomes successful and then formulate your own reaction to their talks.  
  3. Do you agree with his ideas?  Why or why not?

Agenda
1. Lit Circle Meeting
  • Follow the lit circle protocol
  • RESOURCES for your LIT Circle Books
  • Discussion Director needs to also pick a section to read aloud as a group and discuss

2. Follow-up to Krishnamurti's "The Function of Education"
  • What were his main ideas?
  • What were some critiques you all posed or want to pose?
  • As we watch the next three video clips, think about what conditions need to exist to fulfill the visions and ideals expressed in them (as well as those of Krishnamurti's).  Do YOU agree with these visions/ideals?

  • Watch 2 Slam Poems: "Somewhere in America" and "Why I Hate School but Love Education"
    • Reactions?
    • Is Animas doing things differently than "everywhere else" in America?  Is Animas providing not  just a "schooling" experience but an "educational" experience?
  • Watch and discuss this RSA Animate called "Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us"  
  •  What is the surprising truth about what motivates us?

3. Journal #5: Open-ended Mid-point Project Reflection
  • After thinking about these questions related to Happiness and Meaning for over three weeks now, what ideas, thoughts, concepts, questions, insights have been circulating in your mind? What has most intrigued you? What has given you pause? What has provided inspiration for you? What is something you disagree with or were shocked by in various sources of media (book, articles, film) we've "consumed"?  Remember-- listening to what surprises you or disgusts you can shine a light on what you actually believe in.
  • You can pull from existentialism, The Stranger, Stranger than Fiction, your lit circle books, other videos or articles we've read, or ideas that have been sparked as a result of our discussions in class.


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    Ashley Carruth

    Humanities 11 Teacher at Animas High School

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  • Honors
  • Writing Resources
    • Writing Growth Example Page
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  • Advisory