october 31

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Happy Halloween! If you could BE someone/something else for a day, instead of just dressing up, who/what would you choose? Why?


AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Elements of a good story
3. Logic and leadership
4. Les Mis 

POST:
Write about what you think makes a story compelling (title: WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?)

october 29

JOURNAL TOPIC:
We know that dinosaurs and other species lived on Earth and then became extinct. Can you imagine a time when humans are extinct? What might cause this, and what might take our place? Describe in detail.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Les Mis 

POST:
Your notes on Les Mis (& don't forget the Google doc!

wednesday on friday

*REMINDER: We are in the MMLC this morning for the four-year plan presentation.

october 25

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Remember that fortune you won yesterday? Easy come, easy go. Due to a computer error, 24,999,999 other people also won. That means your winnings total $2 (actually, more like $1.35 after taxes). How do you react? What thoughts and feelings do you experience? How will your plans change?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Les Mis: review yesterday, discuss blogs/shared doc, continue reading

october 24

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Today is your day! You find a lottery ticket-- THE lottery ticket. After Dr. Preston cashes it for you (you're too young and smart to play the lottery), you have $50 million. What will you do with it?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Les Misérables

are you there?

Have you visited our shared Les Mis doc online yet?  Here's a free extra credit opportunity: visit the doc now and simply write, "I'm here!"

october 23

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "We've Only Just Begun" by The Carpenters]

Plato once wrote, "The beginning is the most important part of the work."  Aristotle put it this way: "Well begun is half done."  As we begin our work today, it's worth a moment to ask ourselves: What's so special about beginning?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Review your ideas
3. Game plan
4. So we begin

POST your translation of Hugo's preface to Les Misérables ("So long as there shall exist...")

title: WELCOME TO LES MIS (your first sentence might be something like, "At the beginning of the book, the author wrote a preface-- this is my translation.")

october 22

JOURNAL TOPIC:

There is an old saying about big projects: "How do you eat an elephant?  One bite at a time."  Now, I would never want to eat an elephant, but there are some tasks -- like reading and studying Les Misérables-- that are so big, it becomes important to break them down into more manageable pieces.  So today's question is this: how should we eat this elephant?  Please describe how you think we should go about breaking this big project down into bite-sized pieces that we can understand as we go.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Discussion
3. Comment to this post

POST
Today we are beginning the biggest project most of you have ever done.  Write about how you feel and what you expect (title: ROLLING UP MY SLEEVES)

october 16-19

You've begun a learner's revolution.  Hugo would be so stoked.  Remember from our conversation on Monday-- this isn't going to be easy, but it will be rewarding.  Each day, follow the formula:

• Write in your journal (topics below)
• Read the book you brought
• As you read, stop to look up words you don't know and/or consider the author's ideas
• Create a blog post for each reading session where you can respond to ideas, define words you didn't know, and ask questions for us to consider next week (title: THOUGHTS ON TODAY'S READING)
• Leave yourself 10 minutes or so at the end of each period to summarize your thoughts and edit
• By Friday, be sure that you have posted questions for each tale you read
• Work on your literature analysis questions

JOURNAL TOPICS:

(Tuesday)

Sophocles once wrote, "I would prefer even to fail with honor than to win by cheating." What is your philosophy on this point?

(Wednesday)

Now that we know football causes all sorts of brain injuries and other medical problems, why do we still let fine young people play this stupid sport?  ( I can only imagine the conversation when some of you read this one-- remember to write your ideas down! :)

(Thursday)

Describe your favorite memory of a meal.  Was it with family?  On a date?  At a fancy restaurant?  At home?  What made it special?  Was it the taste?  The company?  The emotions you felt?

(Friday)

Reflect on the week.  How did you do with the reading?  As you think back, what makes you the most proud about your performance?  Why?

october 15

AGENDA:
1. Checking in and planning the week
2. Notes/review on symbolism
3. Journal

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Happy Birthday"]

As an expert in symbolism, please explain the relatively new trend of throwing flour and eggs on people to "celebrate" their birthdays. Older people may regard this behavior as assault or a desperate plea for attention; is there a deeper significance to this practice, or is it as dumb as it looks?

COMMENT to this post with the fiction novel you're reading.  Please include the title, the author, and the reason you chose it.

POST to your blog about your thoughts on working independently (title: I'M IN CHARGE/ 1st sentences: "Some high school students need to be told what to do all the time and reminded or threatened when they don't get the job done.  Independent work can be challenging, but I like it because...")

october 12-13

NOTE: Dr. Preston will be out Thursday and Friday.  We will pick up our study of Les Misérables on Monday.  In the meantime, please work independently on:

• Completing any missing journals (please turn in your journal on Friday)
• Completing your literature analysis (due Friday)
• Completing your vocabulary work 
• Reading and posting your notes on "The Art of Hosting Good Conversations Online"
• Completing any old business from the course
• Updating your blog

JOURNAL TOPICS:

(Thursday 10/12)
Give some advice to the people who design and run school.  What could be changed that would help you the most? 

(Friday 10/13)
Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”  What does this mean to you?  How can you do this in a world that seems to pressure you in so many ways to be something else?

-OR-

Why do some people believe Friday the 13th is bad luck?  Do you really think that the day or date can somehow influence your experience of being alive?

october 11

Please write about something important to you.  If you can't think of something, think of a person who is important to you, and write about something you think is important to him/her.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Discuss the vocab terms with a friend.  Do you have the same understanding of the terms?  Did you represent them differently?

POST at least two things you learned from the conversation (title: SAME WORDS DIFFERENT PEOPLE)

3. Read "The Art of Hosting Good Conversations Online"

POST a summary of the main points (title: THE ART OF HOSTING GOOD CONVERSATIONS ONLINE)

october 10

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Imagine that you are sitting at home one evening when you see a big spider walk across the floor in front of you. Do you ignore it, take it outside, smash it, or do something else? What information do you consider before you decide? Explain.

AGENDA:
1. Journal

*Since I'm out, and our Wednesdays are promised to life beyond high school, please use the period to define and post about the following terms.  Learning vocabulary the old-fashioned way involved copying the dictionary definition, using the words in sentences, and memorizing them.  If that helps you, go for it!  Since you're doing this on your blog, you have more options, so please also consider using images, memes, videos, animations, music, etc. etc.  Have fun!  (title for your post: VOCABULARY WE NEED)

meme
virus
viral
blog
wiki
URL
website
www
Internet
2.0
open source 

sometimes things happen

october 9

JOURNAL TOPIC:
[CHOOSE YOUR OWN TOPIC.]
Every day so far, you have been given a topic to write about. Today you may write about ANYTHING you want. (One catch: You must write a full page to earn full credit.)

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Setting up for the rest of the week

october 8

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Meeting of the Minds" by Bad Religion]

Today I will attend a(nother) meeting about teaching English, and this gets me to thinking: Why do any of you care about learning English? What will you gain from being a better reader/writer/listener/speaker?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Strategies for Les Mis
3. Continue reading

you are making history

You are doing something that has never been done.

This morning, you told me that you wanted to read Les Misérables.  The unabridged version.

All 1463 pages. 

I imagine that Victor Hugo would be so happy to know that his book is still being read, and that it inspires the people who read it.  He worked hard to capture a moment in history and challenge us all to be better versions of ourselves, so that we in turn can make life better for each other and generations to come.

Today you took his intention to the next level.  You not only committed to reading this piece of history, you made some of your own.

Santa Maria High School was built in 1892-- just 30 years after Les Misérables was first published.  This is one of the oldest high schools in California, and thousands upon thousands of students have studied English here since those first classes 126 years ago.

To my knowledge, none of those students ever rose up as a class and told their teacher that they wanted to read one of the longest novels ever written.

You are the first.

I am proud to be a part of this group, and I look forward to a great journey together.  Every step of the way -- the insights, the things we remember and forget, the ideas we see similarly and differently, and even (especially?) our mistakes -- will become the chapters of our own story as we study this work.  Can't wait!!

Have a great weekend,
Dr. Preston

october 5

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Celluloid Heroes" by The Kinks]

Advertisements and reviews often say that a book or movie will "change your life"--describe a time when one actually did.  (If you can't think of a time when that actually happened, imagine what it would take for a book or a movie to make that much of an impact on your thinking or your way of looking at the world.)

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Les Mis: continue reading and make some choices

POST
What do you think about our conversation and our decision today?  (title: TO READ OR NOT TO READ)

teaching that stands the test of time

Sometimes I'll get an email from a student years after they take my class.  I just got another one last week:

Good teaching -- teaching that really makes a difference and helps us LEARN -- is priceless.  And it follows us throughout our lives.  Consider this story.  Take 10 minutes and watch the video.  Share it with your family.  And, if you haven't yet had a teacher who made an impact like this, start looking for one.  As I look back on my life so far I realize how important these people really are.

Link: 

FULL STORY HERE

october 4

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "The Bug" by Dire Straits]

Tell the story of a bug getting mashed on the windshield of a truck driving down the 101. You may tell the story from the point of view of the bug, the windshield, the driver, or an omniscient third person. (Choose with an idea in mind.)

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. The biggest book you've ever read

POST
Your first impression to the biggest book you've ever read -- with a picture of the biggest book you've ever read (title: THE BIGGEST BOOK I'VE EVER READ)

october 3

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Eat the Rich" by Aerosmith]
If you could have dinner with anyone (living or dead, real or fictional), who would you choose? Why? What would you talk about? Describe in detail.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Checking in: résumés, stories, Les Mis
3. Résumé final revisions
4. How to hunt for money

POST:
How are you going to start fundraising for your life after high school?  (title: INVESTING IN ME)

NOTE:
Please bring your ID tomorrow 

october 2

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Save it for Later" by The English Beat; "Procrastination" by Amy Winehouse]

Why do people procrastinate? How does it affect your life? What can you do about it?


AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Les Misérables

hugo's preface

So long as there shall exist, by reason of law and custom, a social condemnation, which, in the face of civilization, artificially creates hells on earth, and complicates a destiny that is divine with human fatality; so long as the three problems of the age—the degradation of man by poverty, the ruin of women by starvation, and the dwarfing of childhood by physical and spiritual night—are not solved; so long as, in certain regions, social asphyxia shall be possible; in other words, and from a yet more extended point of view, so long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless.

october 1

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Words" by the Bee Gees]
People believe that words have so much power that we've declared some words "bad". George Carlin, on the other hand, said, "There are no bad words-- there are bad people, bad intentions, and words." What do you think?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Introduction to Les Misérables

POST
What was it that led the people of France to revolt against the king? (title: SEEDS OF A REVOLUTION)

HW:
Literature analysis #2 is due Friday, 10/14