UPDATE! oh, you've been waiting for this?

Believe me: at 7:00 PM on the last day of school, the very last place I wanted to be was here in Room 305 finishing up the final exam stuff for you.  But I am.  So here it (finally--no pun intended) is.

If you are a junior you can find everything you will need in the document located here.

If you are a sophomore then the link from yesterday will get you to "A Perfect Day For Bananafish."  After that, the first essay topic is as follows:

In this story, we learn of a man named Seymour Glass, a veteran of the war who has been injured and has witnessed a lot of death and destruction.  It becomes clear through conversations between his wife, Muriel, and her mother, that Seymour has been in and out of therapy and possibly an asylum.  He is most definitely not well, though it appears that at this moment he is holding things together.  Seymour tells a small child named Sybil a concocted tale about a "bananafish," a creature that, once it gets the thing it has hunted for, gorges itself so much that it cannot purge any of the things it has eaten and, therefore, dies.  Seymour is, metaphorically, a bananafish, as the story seems to suggest, and apparently he has had his fill.

Your question is this:

To what extent can we say that Holden Caulfield is a bananafish?


Support your opinion with references and quotations from the text in a well-developed, carefully argued essay.  The essay should be 2-3 pages long and analytical in nature, not research based.  Refrain from seeking any additional information about the short story.  I have read and intend to reread everything that can be found online about it.  Although you might get away with stealing ideas and or words, the odds are against you and it is not worth it.

Email your essay to me, or bring it to the exam.

Both classes:  Use this link to get to the class evaluations.  Take your time and fill them out thoroughly; I really use this feedback.  If you don't care that I know who wrote the comments, just email the results.  (I don't open them until later in the summer.)  If anonymity is important, print them out and place them with your exams.

Thanks again for a really wonderful year!

PS: I may have more things to say later in the weekend, or I may not.  It couldn't hurt to check back for updates.  :-)

UPDATE: The evaluation forms online were out of date, so I have revised them.  Anyone who downloaded them prior to 2 PM on Saturday, please do so again.

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One Day More (literally!)

On Oct. 1 I told you that the school year was almost over.  Well, you sure can't argue with me now.  :-)

One more dawn.  One more day.  One day more.

Jrs:  Your ESC papers and your chants are due tomorrow.  No excuses will be accepted.  Please remember to bring any missing work with you as well.

Sophs: Here is the link to "A Perfect Day For Bananafish."  You will need to read this before the final and contemplate Holden as a possible "bananafish."

And now...

Because I love it, from the London cast:

And, from the 10th Anniversary Concert:

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bye bye, seniors, bye bye

No, juniors, that does not make you BMOC yet...


:-)


Jrs:  ESC and chants are due Friday!!!  I'm working on that final exam idea and I will let you know what I'm thinking about it in class tomorrow.


Sophs: Great job on today's debates!  We'll finish up tomorrow, though sadly without Mr. Eaton.  I'm trying to line up another celebrity judge.  :-)

And now, for all of those who have ever wanted to tell a girl those three little words...

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Out of the Funhouse!

Ambrose may be stuck in the funhouse forever, but we have officially emerged.  And we are (relatively) unscathed from our ten-day journey into the dark recesses of his adolescent mind.   

Barth info: he is, as far as I know, still alive.  (He last published in 2008.)  He was born in 1930 and is now a retired professor, having last taught at Johns Hopkins.  Lost in the Funhouse was nominated for a National Book Award in 1968; he won the award a year later with his novella collection Chimera. 

Anyway, I hope you haven't found the close reading too painful and can see the reason for it.  Now back to your regularly scheduled ESC papers and chants...due Friday.

Sophs:  Debates are tomorrow!  Bibliographies due by Friday, one per group.  Each bibliography must list:

• individual sources with full citation
• specific information derived from each source
• how you used that information in the debate

Rubric for Debate Scoring:  
The debates will be graded based on the following:

• organization of material and arguments
• clarity of argument
• focus/attention, as judged by clarity of rebuttal points
• research, as judged by sources presented during argument
• sharing of debate: no one member should dominate
• control and focus during open session
• conclusions
• annotated bibliographies (a separate grade)

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Breaking: Toothless Man Wields Heavy Stick

Oh, sorry: that's just Duncan Keith.

The Hawks are in the finals!!!

 Go Hawks!!!



In other news...

It is 90 degrees again today, so the SUN is definitely shining on Chicagoland this week.  Even the Sox and Cubs won yesterday.  :-)  And I hear LeBron needs a new home...

By the way, did I mention?

The Hawks are in the Finals! 

OK...

Final week of the year...

Jrs: ESC and chants due Friday.  No excuses.
Sophs: Debate prep tomorrow; debates start on Wednesday.

OK, if you are a Lost fan, you surely want to know this:



Not happy with the way it all ended?  Here are some alternates!

   
 

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Lost in my own funhouse

Hi, everyone,

Heading for the DMT shortly to oversee the performance of the Drama Class Final Production.  I won't see most of them tomorrow, of course, because they are seniors.  But today...today they will be putting everything they have into this show.

And you?

Well...if you are a junior, you are working on an ESC paper unless you're among those who have finished it.  (Congrats to Molly, Carolyn, Tyson and Nicole for joining this expanding list.)  And you're working on a choral chant.  Both are due at the end of next week.

If you're a sophomore, you're prepping a debate (for next Wednesday) and watching a movie in class.

Now, you may have heard that the Geico announcer (not the gecko) got canned because he drunk-dialed a Tea Party organizing "astroturf" fake grass roots organization.  Here is his revenge:

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who you gonna call Emotionally Well?

Jrs:  We are definitely lost in the funhouse.  God knows if we will ever emerge.  Why are you not online discussing it?
Sophs: Back to O'Brien tomorrow.  (Online discussion???)
Drama performance is Thursday!!!!! Rehearsal after school

Today's looniness from the folks at Improve Everywhere:

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One (Mon)day More!

It's true; check your calendars: this is the penultimate Monday of the school year!!!  So those of you who hate getting up on Monday mornings...you only have to do it one more time!

Jrs:  We are definitely lost in the funhouse.  God knows if we will ever emerge.  Are you online discussing it?
Sophs: Back to O'Brien tomorrow.  (Online discussion???) 
Drama performance is Thursday!!!!!

OK...how about a video bit of silliness?




and...a Cute Dreaming Kitty

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and thus the weekend comes round again

Amazing, isn't it?

And only two more to go after this!

Jrs: ESC papers, Chants, and chatting on the boards about "Funhouse."  Congrats to Laurel and Christian, the first two to be done with their ESC papers!

Sophs: Boards about O'Brien, organizing arguments with debate partners.

Drama:  GET COMPLETELY OFF BOOK!!!!

And now for some time travel: The 80's Bully Mega-Mix

 

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where did the week go?

A funny thing happens when you fail to post on Tuesday or Wednesday: the week suddenly skips from the start to the finish!  So here on this wettest day of 2010, when the LF viaduct decided to swallow the road beneath it (and a delivery truck besides) and it took me two and a half hours to get to school, on a day when I strongly suspect it might take about that long to get home as well, I offer you...(drumroll, please): the Friday assignments!

Jrs:  You need to turn in your Othello essays tomorrow.  ESC papers should be on draft four.  And you should have read "Lost in the Funhouse."

Sophs:  research is sue tomorrow.  Hand in (individually or by group) all that you have so far.  Show sources, specific information found in each, relevance to your topic, and how you are going to use it.  Tomorrow we will be in the room discussing "The Things We Carried."

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Back in Black - Glenn Beck's Nazi Tourette's
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

 

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go jordan! go jordan! woo! woo! go jordan!

(I'm pretty sure cheerleaders say stuff like that when quarterbacks complete passes. And if they don't, well, that's OK. They say it here in the Attic.)

So, welcome back to another week and another Monday. Your Monday countdown: 2 to go. (Can you believe it???)

Jrs:

• ESC is ongoing; several folks are nearing an end but most are stuck at the beginning.
• Othello chants due before Memorial Day; no excuses acceptable.
• Othello essays due Friday: explore either Iago or Othello using their own words to describe the complexity of their character (2 page maximum)
• Today we started John Barth's "Lost in the Funhouse." Read ahead in it or don't; at the moment that is up to you. We are doing an extremely close reading of this very unusual piece. We got through two paragraphs today.

Sophs:

• Today we discussed "Owl Creek Bridge."
• Ongoing speech research: at the end of this week you will need to hand in copies of everything you have found so far. Label it "pro" or "con" to you side of the argument and cite your sources.
• Tonight's story: "The Things They Carried"--Tim O'Brien.
• Tomorrow we will have RW unless the library is open for us.

Drama:

• Performance will be 4PM 5/20. Tell everyone you know.
• Dress rehearsals will be every day that week after school; plan on being there until about 5:30. (If we get done earlier, that will be a good thing.)
• GET OFF BOOK!
• We still need a drum; is someone on that?
• We also need artwork for posters; anyone on that?
• Meet in DMT tomorrow after getting the wooden boxes from my room.

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pre-weekend quickie

Jrs: You really need to get your ESC acts together. I will issue progress grades as of Friday of next week. This weekend's assignment: get chant groups together, decide on scene choices, and come up with a first draft of a script. Bring it in on Monday.

Sophs: This weekend, continue the online discussion if you have new things to bring to it. For a complete change of pace, read Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge."

Drama: CP off-book on "Too Much Light" scenes. All off book on 1-14. Begin to work toward memorization on the rest.

:-)

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I got the AP Blues

The AP Blues
(with apologies to Langston Hughes)

Teaching some crazy conjugated verbs,
Hoping I can find a way not to disturb
the universe, I stood
Eyes on empty seats instead of other eyes
Wondering where they were; they'd gone without goodbyes--
and then I understood
and then I understood:
I was singing those AP Blues.
Empty seats filled my room into Period 2
I kissed my well-thought out lesson plans adieu.
O Blues!
Was it Chem, AP Calc, was possibly French?
It didn't matter which; my class was now back bench
Damn Blues!
Killing classes every May.
O Blues!
Every year I think: things are looking pretty strong
Then AP signs go up, and I sing the same damn song:
"Ain't got nobody in the whole damn class,
Talking to no one but myself.
Two weeks of twiddling thumbs and
That's a whole unit on the shelf."
Stomp, stomp, stomp goes my foot on the floor.
Ripping my hair out, I sing some more:
"I got the AP Blues
And I can't be satisfied.
Got the AP Blues
And can't be satisfied.
I want to cover more
But I guess my hands are tied."
And on throughout the day I croon that tune
To empty desks the whole afternoon
And for the two or three who wander in
I tell them the AP Blues won't let me begin
Cause whatever I say I'll just say again
and again
and again...

Jrs: More tomorrow on chants. Don't forget that you may bring in outsiders for this but they have to be able to make it to class to perform. (They also have to be juniors or seniors.)

Sophs: Tonight: read Werewolf by Angela Carter. Go online to the boards and discuss how gender roles and culture affect the choices we make, using these stories as support.

Drama: on and on we go...

And now, something utterly amazing:

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Hello? Juniors? ESC conferences, anyone?

As it stands right now, I have had second ESC conferences with only four of you and third conferences with no one. Tomorrow, of course, is Thursday--two days remaining in this week when three conferences should have been completed.

Do I need to assign progress grades?

Jrs: Tomorrow we will introduce the Shakespearean Choral Chant. (You're gonna love it!) And, um, did I mention those ESC papers?

Sophs: Tonight: "Old Woman Magoun" (435). What does this story tell us about gender and class/culture issues?

Drama: We're going through everything in BB tomorrow. Those who are here should strive to be off-book in the 1-14 section.

Did you see that Jon Stewart agreed with Glenn Beck the other day? Someone on the intertubes wondered what it would be like if Beck were actually reasonable all the time instead of being a wacko. Sifting through goodness knows how many hours of Beckian "wisdom" to find those precious moments of lucidity, he created this:

Speaking of Glenn Beck...

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Tuesdays in May

You know what? Any day in May is a wonderful day!

:-)

Sophs: Portfolio assessments begin this week with Heidi on Thursday! (Johnny maybe on Friday--we'll see.) Tonight: read "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid (673).

Jrs: ESC...ESC...ESC...ESC...ESC...ESC...ESC...ESC...ESC...ESC...ESC...ESC...ESC...ESC...ESC...!!!!!!!

(finishing Othello discussions tomorrow)

Drama: see calendar

Kids do Seinfeld!

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Oh Jordan, Where Art Thou?

Really, Jordan? Even with a week's grace period? Really?

Ah, well. At least I know this much: the thing is going to be spectacular!

Sophs: Your portfolios looks wonderful! I'm looking forward to reading them. Starting this week, I will be getting them back to you in conference in the sequence we drew today, so be prepared when your turn comes to lead your conference. The statement you need to prepare (typed, of course) should be 1-2 pages and should do the following:

• explore the things you feel you succeeded at this year in WW
• explore areas where you thought you could have done more (beyond basic editing)
• define things you wish you had had time to do
• set 2-3 specific non-editing goals for next year's workshop

This letter will be placed into your portfolio so you can find it in the fall and use it as a foundation for the workshop in E3H.

Jrs: We'll be spending tomorrow and Wednesday in final discussions about Othello focusing on the betrayals in the final act. Then I will introduce the final Shakespeare project, which will consist of a short essay plus a choral chant.

Drama: Time is even shorter than I thought! I could not get the DMT for Monday night, so we will need to perform on Friday, May 21. On the one hand, that means you'll be finished earlier and we could do our library improv at the end instead of overlapping it. On the other, it means you'll be finished earlier. I have drawn up a very specific calendar for the next three weeks. As this class at this point is about nothing but the performance, I have no doubt that it can be done. The question is your commitment. You have to decide to make it happen. I will hand out the calendars tomorrow. Tomorrow's schedule, though, is BBYD 1-14, Lipreaders, Misgiven, and Minute Activists.

Headline:
Giant Air Spill in Wind Farm!
No Threats Reported. Some claim to Enjoy the Breeze.
"Blow, Baby, Blow," Say Locals.

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