Roots in the City on Thursday (5:40pm)

Don't forget that we will be meeting at the Roots in the City garden to bring our semester to an end.  Please bring your service-learning forms, your pigeon peas (gandules), and a one-page reflection of your service activities this semester.  Here's a map to the garden:

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Introductions+

We worked on introductions and thesis statements tonight as we looked at the Osama assignment from last week.  The computer difficulties threw a monkey wrench at the plans for writing in class today, but we are making up for it on-line.

Please watch the following video carefully.  Rosa Ojeda is the school principal who we work with in Nicaragua.  In this 20 minute presentation she provides a short history of her community along with how MDC students and faculty have made a difference in the lives of 34 families.



The Assignment
Write a four paragraph letter where you address Ms. Ojeda and explain to her the work of Greg Mortenson and the similarities that you see between what she and the MDC students and faculty are doing and what Mortenson has done over the past 17 years. Use at least one quote from the book and one quote from the presentation.

Turn your work in here. Have the letter done before the end of the day on Tuesday, April 13.

Important Dates

Complete MyWritingLab-----April 15

Yard Sale----April 11

Shanty Event----April 17

Pigeon Peas-----April 22

Last Day of Class----April 22

Forms for Shanty Event:

Flyer

Sponsorship Form

Demonstrations and Learning

As we gathered in our classroom tonight, thousands of people marched in solidarity with Las Damas de Blanco.  We thought about canceling class but instead opted to teach/learn in solidarity with the demonstrators and those struggling for human rights.

Tonight's class deepened our exploration of our desire to be free, to choose, to live life outside of the constraints of a philosophy or political system that would deny our ability to live life to our fullest potential.  We did this as we first looked at a religious text from Deuteronomy 22.  (I took out the biblical reference and asked you to theorize the source of the text.  Most of the class guessed it was a text from the Koran.)  Our discussion about religion and tradition was insightful and critical.

So the march went on around us and we watched Osama.  The film depicts the struggle of women under the Taliban; it also reminds us of the suffering that comes when a society falls prey to any form of totalitarianism.  And we remembered the women in Cuba, struggling to see themselves and their loved ones free from the oppression of a political system that aims to destroy the human spirit by imposing itself completely through force and intimidation.

What we did tonight and do in our classroom--reading, writing, and watering the seeds of knowledge--is a most potent response to the violation of human rights in Cuba, Afghanistan, and everywhere men fail to recognize human dignity and freedom.

Homework

• Write a four paragraph response to the film and how it relates to the efforts by women in Cuba.  Turn in your work here by next Thursday's class.
• Work on completing any missing lab work.

*We will not meet face to face next week.  Turn your work in on-line.  

Class Activities

• Sharing essays
• Going over clauses and phrases.
• Defining simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.
• MyWritingLab Check
• Discussion of book/presentations

Homework

• Complete the following in MyWritingLab:
• Illustrating (Within Paragraph Development)
• Parts of Speech, Phrases and Clauses (Sentence Basics)
• Commas (Sentence Basics)
• Three Cups of Tea

Ohhhh

We started class today thinking about the amazing things you have written about over the past couple of weeks. I mentioned the "Letting Go" essays and how so many of you put down some really powerful ideas; I'm seeing the emergence of some really strong voices in this class and I am very pleased. Our warm up involved looking at some Clyde Butcher photographs and writing a creative story where the image is the setting.  You shared your first lines by using a writeboard.

We then continued our work on storytelling by looking at the Powers of Ten video and exploring questions this short film raised.  Someone has said that seeing is believing, but this statement can easily be turned on its head:  Believing is seeing. So what do we believe that allows us to see the world around us a certain way?   Our next writing assignment asks for a photograph of something that is non-human that somehow is related to you as the observer.  The image will be accompanied by a text, an essay that will help us better understand that connection.  But if you don't believe the connection, you may actually miss it altogether--you may not see it.

the powers of 10 from Bomi Lee on Vimeo.

Homework
--Complete the following in MyWritingLab

• Subjects and Verbs
• Subject-Verb Agreement
• Combining Sentences
• Consistent Verb Tenses and Active Voice
• ESL Concerns--Nouns  

--Take your South Florida photograph.

--Bring at least two pages of brainstorming to class on Thursday based on your best photograph.

--Read through Chapter 9 of Three Cups of Tea.

Everglades Trip (February 27)

For those of you participating in Saturday's trip to the Everglades, please fill out the travel release forms.  Have these to me by Thursday.  We will be meeting at the Coe Visitor Center at the main entrance of  Everglades National Park at 9am.

How to Get There (Click on View Larger Map for Directions)

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We will spend about 20 minutes in the visitor center and then entering the park by car.  We hope that we can leave as many cars behind.  Entrance to the park is $10 per car; please have change so that everyone in the car can split the cost.  

What to Bring

• Notebook and pen
• Camera
• Comfortable clothes (two pairs of shoes that can get wet; no flip flops)
• Water
• Lunch and snacks
• Sunscreen and bug repellent
• Curiosity

Storytelling

Today we explored our own writing as we interacted with the short film, A Thousand Words. The tension in the film reminded us of the role of suspense in good story telling and writing. It was also very interesting to watch everyone write without any difficulties. Most of you were able to come up with one page full of text without much of a struggle. Keep feeding the imagination! We turned our attention to an even greater story, that of our own South Florida and looked at images from our bioregion to begin to put together the story of this wonderful place we call home. If you are planning on attending the Everglades trip, make sure to sign up. Use the following form: Visions of South Florida.  


Homework

• Read Chapter 8 of Three Cups of Tea.
• Complete "Narrating" under Paragraph Development in MyWritingLab. Note the connection between this lesson and the exercise we did in class with the short film.
• Start thinking about the photographic essay assignment.

Submission

Tonight we explored the Muslim faith.  As we spoke about the five pillars, the theme that kept coming up is the role of trust in submitting one's life and will.  Chapter 6 of Three Cups of Tea ends with Greg Mortenson participating in the prayer life of his acquaintances in Rawalpindi.  In class we listened to the call to prayer and wondered.

After sharing what each group learned about Islam, we turned to writing about trust. The question for the night was the following: Who do you trust? I look forward to these paragraphs and will have them back to you by our next class.

Homework

Read Chapter 7 of Three Cups of Tea (expect a quiz)
Complete Subject Verb Agreement in MyWritingLab

Important Dates to Remember
Roots in the City (Service-Learning)--February 20
Everglades Trip (Optional)--February 27
Photographic Writing Assignment--March 9

Other
Finally, our campus has a very active Lit Club.  Please know that everyone is invited to join and participate.  The club meets every other Wednesday from 2-3pm.

Letting Go

Here's the plan for this evening:

• Marathon reflection.
• Short quiz on Chapter 5.  If you read, you will know.
• Discussion of the reading
• Return paragraphs from last week.
• Review
• New topic from Chapter 5:  What are you willing to let go to make your dream come true? 
• Brainstorm a response.
• Outline a draft.

Homework

• Read Chapter 6.
• Finish writing your essay.
• Complete Subjects and Verbs in MyWritingLab.

Service-Learning Announcement:

Roots in the City Garden-Saturday, February 20 from 9 to 12 noon.

Week 4 Exploration

Groups
Using the vocabulary words and their definitions the different groups identified and provided from last week's readings, go to the New York Times and put one of the words in the search box. Find an article that somehow relates to the word, provide a five sentence response. In your response, summarize the article and explain how the word is used:

• Isolated-to be put apart to be completely alone and away.
• Bullishly-to act with self-assurance.
• Prolonged-to keep going, extend, draw out.
• Bristling-rising, standing up.
• Perplexity-not being able to understand, confusing, complication.
• Discerning-to distinguish or understand something.
• Connoisseur-someone who knows her stuff, an expert in matters of taste.
• Pathological-obsessive or diseased.
• Frantic-excited or wildly agitated.
• Pilgrimage-a journey to a shrine or holy place.
• Gesticulating-to make gestures when speaking.
• Doggedness-having persistence, tenacity.

Reading Discussion

1. Describe Haji Ali's household? (28)
2. What word could be used for the village of Korphe? (29)
3. Explain the following phrase: "...he thought he'd stumbled into a sort of Shangri-la" (30).
4. The children of Korphe sang the national anthem every morning as they began their school day without a school or teacher; the anthem includes the following lines: "Blessed be the sacred land. Happy be the bounteous realm, symbol of high resolve, land of Pakistan." Why do you think this detail is included in the book?

Lab Work
Make sure to complete the following for next week:

• Getting Started
• The Paragraph

I will be assigning a completion grade for these two areas next week. Make sure to complete the work before coming to our next class.

Reading
Read through Chapter 5 of Three Cups of Tea.

Once Again

It always surprises me to come into a class full of people who have had a very long day and see the room light up with the energy that comes from sharing and learning. I think you are all on your way to seeing some amazing things happen with your writing.

Summary of Class Activities

Warm Up:
In your groups, research one of the the following topics and present a short report:
-Baltistan culture
-K2
-Karakoram
-Food from Northern Pakistan

A Word about Returned Papers

I was pleased with this fist batch of paragraphs. I liked how many of you tapped into your natural writing voices and picked out good details to support your main idea. My main suggestion for revisions is to keep working on maintaining your focus on your topic sentence and supporting this main idea. I labeled at least one grammar issue in each paragraph. Take this week to work with MyWritingLab on that one issue. Come to class with questions.

Reading Activity

Form your groups and work and provide a report of the first two chapters of the book. Your group findings need to include the following:

-3 words and their definitions (using clues from the book.)
-A sentence providing the main idea for chapter 1 and a sentence for chapter 2.
-2 surprising details.
-A paragraph capturing the overall impression the group had of the reading.

Homework

Revise the paragraphs I returned and bring a typed double spaced copy along with the original. Staple the new copy to the original.

Complete MyWritinglab assignments.

Read Chapter 3 of Three Cups of Tea.

Write a new paragraph describing a promise made that changed the course of your life. Bring a typed copy of this paragraph to class on Thursday.

Motivation in the beginning, middle, and end!

Great Class on Thursday!

I hope you enjoyed Thursday's class as much as I did. It was great to see everyone sharing and getting comfortable with the idea of working in small groups. Your paragraphs for this week should be really good based on the drafts that you were reading to one another. Work hard!

Here's a reminder of the work you have to do:

1-Read the first two chapters of Three Cups of Tea.
2-Identify five words that are either difficult or interesting from the two chapters.
3-Revise your "Why are you in college?" paragraphs.
4-Post your paragraphs by Tuesday night to the MyCourses website. Place them in the Lessons-Paragraph#1 area.

Enjoy the long weekend!

Service-Learning Opportunity

We will have our first garden day this Saturday in celebration of Dr. King's work and vision. The event will run from 9 to 12 noon. If you are planning on attending, come dressed to work outside; bring a water bottle and a hat. Here's the address:

ROOTS IN THE CITY: EcoUrban Gardening
3rd Ave. & NW 9th St. (Plots are in front of Mt. Zion Baptist Church)


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Accelerate Your Learning

Please know that you can come in to Rm. 1217-17 (small room in the Computer Courtyard) from 9 to 12 noon on Wednesdays to get help with your writing. Bring a question, a paragraph, or an essay and you will get help!

Beginning

We have a lot of work to do! I hope you are eager to dig deep and find a wellspring of motivation so that this can be the very best semester all of us have had. Expect the great!