Blog Archives - AHS * HUMANITIES 11

AHS * HUMANITIES 11

Thursday, 9/15: Thoreau Seminar!

9/14/2016

Starter (10 min)
Review the list of seminar questions Ashley handed out and circle a few that you definitely want to ask/answer during seminar.

Class Biz
Reminder that your seminar reflection is due Monday! Take notes during seminar today to help fuel your response.

Agenda

Set-up the room for seminar (5 min)
Seminar (1 hour)
Seminar Reflection work time (remainder of class)

Wednesday, 9/14

9/13/2016

Today's Goal: Develop your own analyses on Thoreau's philosophies. AKA: Get mentally "swoll" for tomorrow's seminar!

Starter 9 (15 minute free-write!)
Research has shown that writing creatively can actually enhance productivity! It's also fun and a nice change of pace from all the heady intellectual conversations we've had (and will continue to have today with seminar prep) about Thoreau.
SOOOOOOO......

For the next 15 minutes, just write. You start by writing about the physical space right here and now and everything you can hear/feel/see/smell/touch. Then perhaps bring it to the emotional level: how you are feeling, what's weighing on your mind, how school is going, what you're looking forward to this weekend, etc....

OR write more creatively! What's a story that seems to want to be told? Maybe use the picture above as inspiration for a story

Class Biz
Tomorrow's seminar will be a "fishbowl" style where we'll have an inner and outer circle. The first group to start in the inner circle, will seminar for about 30 minutes while the outer group takes notes to aid in seminar reflection writing. There will be 2 "hotseats" open for anyone from the outer group to hop into at any point. After 30 minutes, we'll switch!

Agenda
1. Themes v. Binaries mini-lesson
2. Ashley will go over the seminar prep instructions
3. Seminar Prep work time! + Honors let's meet to go over the Hobbes reading!

Tuesday, September 13th

9/10/2016

Francisco Goya, Spanish painter "The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters"

In German folklore Walpurgisnacht is believed to be the night of a witches' meeting on the Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains,

TODAY'S GOALS

Analyze the themes of transcendentalism and justice in TNTSJ to better understand the final scenes of the play
Help each other understand the main arguments Thoreau puts forth in his essay, "Civil Disobedience"

Starter #8
Thomas Edison once said, "Restlessness is the first sign of discontent and discontent is the necessity of progress. Show me a truly satisfied man, and I'll show you a failure"

Answer 2 of the 3 of these prompts:

What does this quote mean to you? Do you agree with it? Why or why not?
How does it apply to the contrast between Thoreau and Waldo in TNTSJ?
Does this quote relate to the idea of being v. living in anyway?

CLASS BIZ
1. Picture re-takes
2. College counseling announcements (see whiteboard)
3. Did we already discuss whether or not seminars should be graded?
4. Homework for the week (Let's look at the "Homework" page, shall we?)
5. Our Class Definition of Transcendentalism
An early 19th century philosophical movement spearheaded by Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson that stipulates individuals have the ability to think beyond their body, and prioritizes self-reliance, nonconformity, spiritual connection through nature, and not believing in God as the traditional religious figure, but finds a God in nature, and believing that everything is connected (we are all a part of a universal soul). (THAT'S A MOUTHFUL!)

AGENDA
1. Pair-share starter responses
Waldo: "You are a very difficult man!"
Henry: "Good. The world is too full of easy men"

Lydian: "Waldo wants to collect his thoughts"
Henry: "What is this, the winter of our content? By the time he 'collects his thoughts,' they'll be dead as dandelions under the snow"

2. What are Walpurgisnacht and "The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters"? (Goya-esque) p. 93

3. ACTING TIME!!
Scene 1: Waldo and Thoreau's argument (pp 83-88)

Think about how the binary of "being v. living" is further explored in this scene AND compare the perspectives of Waldo and Thoreau regarding justice and the individual's role in creating a more just society. How does society/Waldo view Thoreau's methods? How do you?
Roles: Waldo and Thoreau

Scene 2: The strange battle scene (pp. 92-96)

Think about the symbolism in this passage-- why did the author's choose certain characters in the play to represent specific historical figures?
How does this scene showcase the conflicting societal perspectives on the Mexican American War that we've studied thus far?
What does it seem like the AUTHORS are suggesting as the best way for us to fight injustice??!
Roles: Henry, Edward Emerson as Drummer Boy, Sam as Sergeant, Deacon Ball as General, Bailey, Various Voices, Mother, Waldo as President,.

4. Whole Class discussion:

Why did the author's choose certain characters in the play to represent specific historical figures? (Waldo as President? Williams as Mexican solider? Edward as the little drummer boy? Bailey?
How does the scene we acted out represent the divergent viewpoints on the war outlined in the primary source documents we read last week?
What is significant about the broken bell on page 92? What might the bell symbolize?
How would the playwrights or perhaps Thoreau answer this question: Is the individual's fight against injustice futile (useless?)
What, according to the end of the play, IS the best way for the individual to make change?
Why does Waldo say he almost loses his identity on page 91
Do you think Thoreau is too judgmental of Waldo?

5. "Civil Disobedience" Seminar Coaching

Summarize the main idea of each paragraph-- helping each other to clarify any confusions or questions you may have had about Thoreau's vocabulary or main points. I'd writing notes in the margins of the essay as you go along.
After you've finished, decide what you think Thoreau's main argument in this essay is and find a quote that captures that. Then, on the BACK of your reading write it down but please set it up like this: Thoreau's main argument in Civil Disobedience is ______________. He expresses this idea as he writes, "QUOTE" (4).

What was a passage or line from Civil Disobedience that you do not understand or that confuses you? Please set it up like this: I was quite confused when Thoreau writes, "QUOTE"(3).
Come up with 3 thought-provoking seminar questions and write them down on a sticky note and give to Ashley. At least one question should come from the essay, "Civil Disobedience" and at least one should come from the play, TNTSJ, and you should aim to have the question reference a specific quote or passage.
HONORS: Once you are done, meet with each other to summarize and clarify confusions about the Thomas Hobbes reading.

Friday, 9/9

9/8/2016

Starter 7 (10 minutes)

What questions do you have about the play so far? Please come up with 2-3 questions. One of these should reference a specific quote/passage and its corresponding page # in the play. These questions can either be thought-provoking BIG seminar type questions or simply clarifications.

HOMEWORK
By Tuesday: Read (and I'd encourage some form of annotations) these excerpts from the essay, Civil Disobedience by Thoreau.

AGENDA
2 minutes: Get a copy of Civil Disobedience by Thoreau from the sub (they are located on my desk)
45 minutes work time: Either finish the play OR begin reading and annotating Civil Disobedience.
5 minutes: BREAK
Remainder of class: Small group activity:

At your table groups, share out your questions from the starter and help each other answer them.

For this next part, please select one member to take notes on a google doc and share it with Ashley and all group members:

Re-read pages 72-74 and discuss what your group thinks "Huckleberrying" represents.
Pick 2 of the following themes from the list below and for each of the 2 themes you chose, find 3 quotes that best illustrate Thoreau's perspective on the following themes/ideas. Lastly, discuss to what extent you agree with Thoreau. What elements of his philosophy might you incorporate into your own? Which would you discard?

Traditional forms of religion v. Transcendentalism (self-reliance, individualism v. conformity, spirituality/nature)
Civil Disobedience/Justice
Education v. Schooling
The Government

Thursday, 9/7

9/7/2016

Starter 6
Is there something you believe in strongly enough that you would be willing to sacrifice your freedom in order to fight for it? What? If NOT, try to reflect on why you think that is.

Class Biz

You will have time in class tomorrow to read, in case you are behind in the play. You should DEFINITELY be done with the play by Tue. 9/13
The New Yorker's satire of the Jefferson County School Board controversy
If you are not going to be here tomorrow, you should get a copy of the reading from me today! It is posted on the homework page in digital form too.
HONORS-- you do have an additional reading assignment due Tuesday. Let's meet during reading time today or right after class to go over it.

Agenda
1. Share starter responses

2. What is the individual's role in creating a just society?? Let's read aloud pages 55-67 and discuss that afterwards!

Waldo, Lydian, Henry, Bailey, Sam, Ball, "Voice", the Drunk, Farmer,

3. Come up with a class definition of Transcendentalism

At your tables, try to define it and be as all-encompassing as possible. Write your definition down on the whiteboard.
We'll compare definitions and pick one (or combine some) to get to one we feel is best!

4. Discussion of similarities/differences with Transhumanism (WATCH YOUTUBE VIDEO ABOVE!)
"Transhumanism" (From Wikipedia)Transhumanism (abbreviated as H+ or h+) is an international cultural and intellectual movement with an eventual goal of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to greatly enhance humanintellectual, physical, and psychological capacities.[1] Transhumanist thinkers study the potential benefits and dangers of emerging technologies that could overcome fundamental human limitations, as well as the ethics of developing and using such technologies.[2]They speculate that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into beings with such greatly expanded abilities as to merit the label "posthuman".[1]

5. Class Discussion

What elements of transcendentalism showed up here (in the pages we acted out)?
What about civil disobedience?
On page 62, Henry summons the Battle of Concord- WHY? (READ THIS PAGE)
On last page of Act 1, Henry accuses Waldo- WHY? How does their relationship shift here?
Do you agree with HDT's methods? If not, what other ways do you think citizens SHOULD act (if at all) to fight for justice?
Do you personally feel empowered to make a change in our political system?

5. Time to read (aim to get through page 79 by beginning of class tomorrow)

Wednesday, 9/7

9/6/2016

Today's Objective
Understand the basic tenets of Transcendentalism and try to identify them in TNTSJ

Starter 6: Read both of these quotes, and respond to ONE.
Your response should:

Be 1 paragraph in length (5-7 sentences)
Contain a 1 sentence summary of the main idea of the quote
Contain your explanation of why you agree or disagree with the ideas in the quote

Quote #1 “If patriotism were defined, not as blind obedience to government, nor as submissive worship to flags and anthems, but rather as love of one's country, one's fellow citizens (all over the world), as loyalty to the principles of justice and democracy, then patriotism would require us to disobey our government, when it violated those principles.” -Howard Zinn, Historian and Civil Rights Activist, in Declarations of Independence: Cross-Examining American Ideology (1991): "Obligation to the State"

Quote #2: “In my view, teachers in state-controlled public schools are hired to teach there…Certainly a teacher is not paid to go into school and teach subjects the State does not hire him to teach…..The original idea of schools, which I do not believe is yet abandoned as worthless or out of date, was that children had not yet reached the point of experience and wisdom which enabled them to teacher all of their elders. It may be that the Nation has outworn the old-fashioned slogan that ‘children are to be seen not heard’ but one may…be permitted to harbor the thought that taxpayers send children to school on the premise that at their age they need to learn, not teach”- Supreme Court Justice Black dissenting with the majority opinion of the Tinker v. DesMoines 1969 Supreme Court Caseabout student protests during the Vietnam War.

Agenda
1. Partner discussion on the starter
2. Overview and discussion of the 2014 Jefferson County Schools' Student Protests over School Board Decision: Video about the protests and Video Interview with school board member (5 minutes)

What do you think about this debate? To what extent do you agree with Julie Williams:

The spark which ignited the tinderbox was a proposal written by one of the conservative majority on the school board, Julie Williams. In it, she calls for a review of the Advanced Placement history curriculum using the following set of criteria: “Materials should promote citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free enterprise system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights. Materials should not encourage or condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law.”

How do you define patriotism?
How much freedom should teachers have to create their own curriculum? How much say should school boards or school district administrators or state policy makers or federal policy makers have?
What do you think about Thoreau's views on education and the role of the teacher? To what extent should experience and our own mind be our primary teacher? Would his method of teaching work for you? To what extent should teachers and religious leaders be viewed as Authorities? (In essence, to what extent do you agree with Thoreau's views?) (pages 17-24).
How do Thoreau's views on education compare to Krishnamurti's?

TRANSITION TO TRANSCENDENTALISM!!!
3. Read aloud pages 18 and 19 and then attempt to define "transcendentalism" based on this scene. Take your best shot!

4. Ashley's ppt on Transcendentalism (you might want to take notes as these ideas may be called upon for a seminar prep/seminar)

5. Volunteers for acting out pp 23-29, 32-40

Characters: Deacon Ball, Henry, John, Ellen, Mother, Bailey

6. Time to read (be through page 55 by the BOC tomorrow):

Pay attention to elements of transcendentalism.
Make note of key lines that relate! Jot down any thought-provoking questions that come to mind as you read for our discussion later.

7. Class discussion
BIG QUESTION HERE: To what extent do you agree with Thoreau's philosophies? Does he serve as a good model for the role we as individuals should play in creating a just society?

What do you think about Thoreau's religious views?
(p. 33-34) Should we value nature and animals as we do humans? Should they be a part of our sphere of moral concern?
Where do you see Thoreau's views on transcendentalism showing up?
(p. 35) Here Thoreau distinguishes between "being" and "living". What is the difference and what do you tend towards in your own life?
Other questions/insights/musings? Let's hear them!

Tuesday, 9/6: Intro to The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail

9/5/2016

What is the individual's role in creating a just society? What is justice?

Today's Objective:
Begin to analyze Thoreau's philosophy on education, religion, the government, individualism v. conformity, justice/civil disobedience and contemplate the extent to which you agree with him on these various THEMES.

Starter 5: Review sesh!
For the next 10 minutes, jot down everything you can remember about last week's lessons on:

Dr. King's "Letter from a Birmingham Prison"
The Mexican-American War
Henry David Thoreau (who was he? what were some of his core beliefs? why was he imprisoned?)

Class Biz

See the homework page for this week's reading schedule/homework
I will be gone this Friday to coach the high school's mountain bike race. If you need anything from me for going into the weekend, be sure to touch base before Friday.
Lilah and Rollin- how is that poster coming along?

Agenda
1. Share out your notes from the starter review
2. Let's dive into The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail!!

Volunteers to act out pages 3-14?
Volunteers to set up the stage

3. Time to silently read (please be through page 31 by tomorrow, B.O.C) and Honors to meet with Ashley to discuss responses to Zinn, Ch. 1

As you read, take note of significant passages/lines/quotes that show Thoreau's philosophy on education, religion, the government, individualism v. conformity, justice/civil disobedience and contemplate the extent to which you agree with him on these various THEMES
Also, try to identity juxtaposition on page 23: Which characters are juxtaposed and what similarities or differences are the playwrights highlighting?

4. Acting! (pages 3-14)

5. Class Discussion

Ah ha! Say what? I wonder......
What are you beginning to gather about Thoreau's philosophy?
What did you notice about the juxtaposition on page 23?
What questions/pushbacks do you have about his philosophical views?

Friday, September 2nd: Mexican-American War or US Invasion of Mexico?

9/2/2016

Today's Driving Questions
1. How was rhetoric used to persuade people about the Mexican-American War?
2. To what extent does Thoreau serve as a good model for how we as individuals should strive to live in creating a just society?

Starter: Take THIS survey to let me know your general comprehension level on the primary source readings!

Class Biz
- Honors reading and response questions to ch. 1 of Zinn due Tuesday
- No other homework this weekend! (Unless you feel like you need to get ahead in TNTSJ)

Agenda
1. Finish reading the primary source readings on the Mexican American War and complete the historical thinking skills chart. Also, jot down questions or confusions you have about the readings.

2. Partner coaching

Try to match up with someone who had a different level of comprehension of the reading than your own!
Go through each article, paragraph by paragraph and identify the main idea in each paragraph.
Try to help each other clarify any confusions or define words you didn't understand
Make a note of any questions you still have for our whole class discussion

3. Whole class discussion to deconstruct the readings
GOAL: Identify each author's rhetoric (use of speech as a way to persuade their audience)? Who is the audience? What is the purpose of each article and what rhetoric does each use to make their point?

Review: What is "Manifest Destiny"?
Clarify any remaining confusions/questions
Go over the "Discussion Questions" at the end of John O'Sullivan's article
North Star Editorial: How does Douglass's rhetoric differ from O'Sullivan's?
What critique does FD offer of politicians?
How does the author highlight the class and race dimension of the war?
How does the author feel about Manifest Destiny?
Why does he say war violates Christian morals?
What does he mean on p. 3 paragraph 1?
In what ways do you see these two conflicting views/ideologies on war playing out in more modern times?

The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail

Check out copies
Go over the structure of the play (how does time work?)

Read pages v-vi as a class
Character list
Read stage directions and volunteers to set up the stage

Assign student roles and read pp 3-14 aloud

Reading Schedule for TNTSJ
*Finish the play by NEXT Friday, 9/9*. All of the following reading deadlines are for the END OF CLASS so as to avoid homework!

By Tuesday, 9/6: To page 31
By Wednesday, 9/7: To page 55
By Thursday, 9/8: To page 79
By Friday, 9/9: End