topham's attic: it's election day! (just not here...)

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

it's election day! (just not here...)

Whether you know it or not, there are elections going on today in the US. It's strange, but even in an odd off-year, some principalities manage to have the need to fill posts like congressman or governor. And others have ballot issues to decide. Of course, with no President to vote for, absolutely no one pays any attention other than the fanatics on one side or the other, so the outcome is usually determined by which side has the most incensed fanatics...or the loudest ones...

What a way to run a country!

CW: We'll finish creating the collages. Bring in anything you need to complete the task. You need to finish them tomorrow!

E3H: finishing up Asher discussions and heading into the weekend with an essay to write.

E2H: taking another look at the intros (that you will email me in the body of the message tonight) and then RW; full essay to be emailed by Friday.

Next week:

E3H and E2H:

We'll be doing workshopped essays next week. Both juniors and sophomores need to send essays via email by Friday if at all possible. A few general principles:

Don't open with a rhetorical question. (If your essay starts with "Have you ever...?" I'll stop reading right there.)
A strong essay invites the reader into it in some way from the beginning: a powerful or provocative quote, a clever opening metaphor, an interesting comparable scenario, even a personal anecdote. Strong, clear and dynamic writing always helps. Show us your own voice from the start.
A strong essay has a clear and specific thesis that works as the rubric says a strong thesis ought to work.
A strong thesis paragraph has a clear map, whether or not that map is divided into individual sentences.
Body paragraphs follow the map and are developed logically and thoroughly. They build from each other.
Points are supported with the text.
Text is cited according to MLA internal support guidelines. (For the movie, you only need to use the name of the film, not any page number--obviously.)
A strong conclusion does far more than merely restate the thesis or summarize the paper. It takes the reader somewhere new, building on everything we have learned. And it concludes whatever opening device you used in the thesis paragraph.
Don't forget a title; a clever title works wonders. (Note that the name of the play or book is not a title that you should use as yours.)
Do not refer to the author by his or her first name; you are not old friends.

E3H Essay: In My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok shows us an internal battle between faith and tradition on the one hand and personal freedom and artistic passion on the other. In a 2-3 page essay, explore one specific element of the book that illustrates this dynamic.

E2H Essay: In both Our Town and Harold and Maude, we see modern writers tackle Transcendentalist themes. Thornton Wilder's play and Colin Higgins' screenplay (along with Hal Ashby's direction) show us that the ideals of Emerson and Thoreau are still alive in the modern world. In a 2-3 page essay, compare these works in their exploration of specific transcendentalist concepts.

Sophomores note: Your essay will be due on Wednesday and will be the revised version of the essay that is due on Friday by email.

J: backyard bop music: mmmbop--hanson

This guy paints himself...no kidding, no trick photography...he just paints himself. Check the last two pictures - they are amazing!

Today's Missed Conferences: Jack, Austin, Kenny
Tomorrow's Conferences: Jeffrey, Harrison, Lily, Julia, Carolyn, Laurel, Stacey, Max, Kyle G + possible in-class make-ups

Notes to Parents

8/24/14

Hi, everyone, and welcome back to another (or your first) year at LFHS.

What you have heard is true. The English teacher has lost her ever-loving mind and is not going to be giving any grades at all in her classes this year. Not. One.

There will be no percentages, no numbers, no scores, no letters, no anything that will count toward anything that will end up being averaged for a final grade. But before you call in the men with the white coats, let me explain:

As I hope you have read in the doc your son or daughter (I have always hated the phrase "your student" when addressed to a parent) should have showed you, there is a wealth of research that indicates that grades--or the need to achieve them--are the single greatest thing that stand in the way of a great education. Studies show that the most influential thing a teacher can do to help a student grow academically is to allow him or her to self-grade. Most teachers would rather climb Mt. Everest dressed only in a swimsuit.

But the thing is: our academic system is severely broken. We say that our goal is to get our students to master Common Core Standards, and that is all well and good. But if that is truly the goal, then why do we care how long it takes them to master them? I'm serious. Think about it this way:

Try to remember back to when you were learning how to ride a bike. Oh, it was scary. You needed all kinds of support at first, lots of help from Daddy or Mommy. Then they let go and you were very, very wobbly. Probably you fell off, maybe several times. It took quite a while before you completely mastered the skill. But when you had...you had it down perfectly for the rest of your life.

Now imagine if you were being graded on that learning experience the way schools grade you. We would not score those first scaffolding attempts with Mommy and Daddy, but then...oh, you failed those quizzes when you fell off. And those wobbly rides? C's at best. Then a bunch of B's probably before you finally settled into 100% forever. But if we graded you right at that point, you'd probably average, oh, 83% or so. Why? You've mastered the skill perfectly. So why do you not get 100% if that is what we say we care about? Why on earth do we care about all those earlier times when you didn't have it down yet?

That will be what we go for here. Students will know what the goals are. They will understand what an "A" student looks like. And they will know when they have mastered an objective. Those who do so earlier than others will become tutors to those who have not yet done it: everyone gains from this and the newly learned skills, instead of being quickly forgotten as things studied for a test usually are, will continue being applied as masters tutor their classmates.

That is an awful lot to imagine will happen because I don't give grades this year, but what the heck: if you don't dream big, you never win big, right? The research is behind this, as is the school administration. I'm happy--well, actually I am excited--to pilot this concept at LFHS. As always, I'm glad to discuss this or anything else with you.

Karen

Feel free to email me any time at ktopham@lfschools.net.

topham's attic

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

it's election day! (just not here...)

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