Read through Act IV of A Midsummer Night's Dream. You can look up Act IV on the internet, or I have copies if you need them, you can come to Room 646 and pick one up from me. 

 

In the other posted homework assignment, there were a couple of dramatized audio recordings, which were downloadable to all different devices, and which might also help with reading the play.

 

Also, I will need all late work--homework, essays, classwork--by next Thursday.  Please make sure to turn in any missing work that you want to be included in your final grade by then.

 

I think I posted most of the homework assignments, although there were several practice-AP-test essays and handouts that we started in class that I did not post but were assigned earlier in May.  Make sure you have turned all of these in:

 

1) the Mapping An Argument handout

2) the Mapping an Argument from Multiple Sources handout

3) the Q1 essay on "Locavores,"

4) the Q1 essay on "College Affordability,"

5) the Q2 essay on "Stereotypes surrounding the environmental movement," and 6) the Q2 essay on "How entertainment ruins society."

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Have a fabulous weekend!

 

M. Crabtree

 

Thug Notes:

 

SparkNotes:

 

Animaniacs episode inspired by AMND:

 

Shakespeare's Brief Biography

 

A full audio recording of the play--if you like to listen as you read.

 

Another downloadable recording:

 

More coming....

 

Please remember to bring your essays on the 2003 Q1 (actually Q3) argument prompt that we planned out and discussed on Wednesday.

 

Also, bring your completed "Mapping an Argument" handout and your Patterns textbook.  I have included a copy of the handout below...let me know if you have any questions.

 

See you soon!

 

M. Crabtree

 

Read the excerpt from "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell in your Patterns book on page 351.  Take notes on the piece, especially focusing on how Gladwell structures his argument and utilizes different appeals (logos, ethos, and pathos); record the effect of these appeals.  Answer the Comprehension, Purpose and Audience, and Style and Structure questions after the piece.  Be prepared to discuss this piece in class, as we will be doing a mini-unit on Gladwell for the next couple of weeks, where you will be watching videos, reading excerpts from his books and articles he has published, and discussing his argument techniques.

 

Bring your homework and Patterns book to class on Wednesday.

 

M. Crabtree

 

Your second Synthesis Essays are due tomorrow.  Make sure to bring them with you at the beginning of class so we can begin right away with discussing, evaluating, and reflecting on them.

 

Also, bring your Patterns book to class with you.  We will be discussing pieces of text and the questions you answered from the two most recent essays--the Kozol essay and the Winn excerpt.  Expect some "easy" credit for a textbook check.

 

See you tomorrow!

 

M. Crabtree

 

This is Part One of the assignment due on Tuesday.  I will be posting a Part Two as well.

 

In preparation for reading the Winn article, which is an example of a "Cause and Effect" piece, read the introduction to the chapter on "Cause and Effect" as a writing pattern.  It will help you answer the questions, understand what to take notes on in the article, and give you greater understanding of how to write a "Cause and Effect" piece yourself.

 

A few things to note about Cause and Effect pieces:

A.  The cause precedes the effect, so sequence is important.

B.  Look for the difference between main cause (emphasized) and contributory causes (downplayed)

C.  Also understand the difference between immediate (closely precedes event) and remote (happened in the past or in a far away place) causes.

D.  avoid "post hoc" reasoning, which equates coincidence with causality.

 

Read the article "Television:  The Plug-In Drug" by Marie Winn on page 325 of the Patterns textbook.  Take notes on the article in your notebook.  Answer the questions under the Comprehension, Purpose and Audience, and Style and Structure sections on pages 332-333. 

 

That's all for Part One.

 

M. Crabtree

 

Just a reminder that we are rescheduling our Sunday session for NEXT Sunday, April 10th, at 3pm. However, we will have an after-school session tomorrow at 3:15pm in Room 646 for 90 minutes.

 

Let me know if you have any questions. mcrabtree100@pointloma.edu

 

Also, I will be posting the Wednesday homework later today.  Please bring your homework tomorrow--the video questions and answers, any spring break argument essays on the "adversity" prompt, and your questions on the Kozol book excerpt, "The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society."

 

Blessings,

 

M. Crabtree

 

Watch the three videos from the three leading candidates below.  Then, answer the following five questions about each candidate's video:

 

Consider these definitions before you begin:

Logos--appeals to an audience's application of logic and reason within an argument.  Usually this is explaining logically and clearly using examples (but not heart-wrenching ones), facts, statistics, and reasoning.

 

Pathos--appeals to the emotional side of the audience within an argument.  Usually these are loaded words, images, and sounds, gripping or startling information, stories, or anecdotes, and heart-wrenching examples.

 

Ethos--appealing to an audience's understanding of the authority and expertise of the speaker within an argument.  In an in-person speech, this might be the outfit the speaker is wearing, the introduction they are given by someone else, or the background information about them on the screen.  In a written work, it might be the written biography that lists their accomplishments and credentials on the book flab or article header, their picture, or the blurbs they include on the book jacket.  It can also build off of any prior knowledge you have as the audience about the speaker/writer/debater and why you should trust him/her.

 

1.  Consider how all three of the videos play with the three argumentative concepts and values explained above.  List specific examples--quotes, images, or scenes from each of the videos that supports the appeals to each of the argumentative values.  Fill in the chart given to you in class to complete this question.

 

2.  What groups of people are the intended audiences for each of the videos?  Who are they "playing" to?  Give as many details as you can, but be able to back up your ideas with the videos themselves.

 

3.  Now, how effective are the different types of appeals in each video at reaching their desired audiences?  Notice that I am not asking how they affect YOU, but how effective do you think they would be to most intended audience members?  Explain why you rate them as effective/ineffective.

 

4.  What would make the videos more effective?  What changes could they make to appeal to different audiences?

 

5.  Now, imagine you were running for an office--at school or in your neighborhood.  What elements would be in your campaign video?  Why would you choose to highlight these ideas about yourself?  Who would be your intended audience?  Which type of appeals would you focus on?  Why?

 

The videos are attached below...

 

Good luck.  Let me know if you have any questions!

 

M. Crabtree

 

Your homework for Thursday involves a few different assignments:

 

Read this article about satirical website and newsletter, The Onion

 

Make sure to examine the photograph and original Facebook post, read the comments posted, and answer the following questions: 

1.  What was the original intent of the Onion post?

2.  How was this misinterpreted by the commenters?

3.  What phrases or words in the comments lead you to believe that they misinterpreted the original post?  Explain why these words/phrases highlight the misunderstanding.

4.  What are some possible underlying (implied) causes for this misunderstanding?

5.  How does this expose ways in which our assumptions and beliefs can blur the meaning of text?

 

I hope you enjoyed your Spring Break.  If you are like me, then it feels way too short! A few things to prepare for class tomorrow.

 

1.  Please bring the completed essay that Ms. Masters' assigned.

 

2.  Be prepared to turn in any notes, questions, or classwork on the "Sinners" sermon by Jonathan Edwards.  I am missing quite a few of these homework and classwork assignments from people.  So please bring anything you have to class tomorrow.

 

3.  Very late homework/essay update--there are still several people who never turned in their Scarlet Letter annotations and essays.  Please make sure to turn those in ASAP.

 

4.  Homework assignment:  read the Jonathan Kozol book excerpt, on pages 229-236 in your patterns book.  The excerpt, "The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society," is an example of exemplification (this is actually a pun...haha).  Exemplification is defined in pages 191-204, so please read that section as well for the background on this particular writing strategy.  Also, take notes on the excerpt, highlighting/copying key quotes and your commentary (something like a dialectic journal or in paragraph form), and answer the Comprehension, Purpose and Audience, and Style and Structure questions (there are 12 questions total) using complete sentences.  I will collect this on Thursday, but you will have an additional homework assignment for Thursday as well, so be ready.

 

Happy Monday!  Have a great Cesar Chavez day and I will see you tomorrow!

 

M. Crabtree

 

 

Please read the sermon by Jonathan Edwards, "Sinners at the Hands of an Angry God."  It is about 25 pages long.  You will be working on this tomorrow in class.

 

Please try to bring a device that you can read the sermon on to class...the substitute will not be providing copies, so you will need a device to read the sermon.  There will also be laptops for your use--but only a few.

 

Finally, please meet in Room 646 both on Monday and Wednesday.  It is easier for the substitute.

 

And, save the multiple choice questions that I gave out on Thursday.  If you can bring those to class on Friday, we will go over them then.

 

Thanks, and have a great couple of days!

 

Ms. Crabtree

 

I am posting the essay assignment just in case you do not have the prompt. Please bring your rough draft to class tomorrow--either printed, written out in ink, or typed because I want to complete an activity on it.  So  if you don't bring anything to class, you will miss out on receiving credit for the essay, but you will also miss out on our reading/revision activity.

 

Just a few notes to remember from the last timed write:

A.  Intros can be short--2-3 sentences only.  One sentence to state your analysis according to the prompt (THESIS), and another sentence to introduce your main reasons and rhetorical devices that you will discuss in your essay.

B.  Avoid talking about rhetorical devices you are unfamiliar with...stick with what you know and are confident in discussing.  If that means you spend the entire time talking about irony, then that is fine, as long as you provide ample evidence to support your analysis.

C.  The AP readers consider "ample" evidence to be 6 or more textual examples.  BUT THESE DO NOT HAVE TO BE COMPLETE SENTENCES OR PARAGRAPHS.  A piece of evidence can be simply words or phrases that highlight diction, syntax, and rhetorical style.  You do not have to quote long pieces of text, you just need to quote several pieces of text.  You can use an ellipsis if you need to quote a longer sentence.  The "..." ("dot-dot-dots") are your friends.

D.  ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS explain the effects of the rhetorical decisions made by the author.  This is your "commentary" and is the main basis for your analysis.  So if you just provide quote after quote but are unable to explain the effects on the meaning of what you are quoting, your essay will not receive a higher score than a 4 or 5.

 

I hope this helps.  Good luck!

 

M. Crabtree

 

 

Attached are the Socratic Seminar Discussion Questions for today.

 

Please bring your texts and articles to class today.

 

M. Crabtree

 

I forgot to remind you to sign-up for the AP exam.  It is mandatory for you to take it.  It will hurt your grade if you do not at least attempt the AP exam, so make sure to sign up for it.  Bring $5 this week, according to your last name:

A-C, Mon. February 22.

D-J, Tuesday, February 23.

K-M, Wednesday, February 24.

N-R, Friday, February 26.

S-Z, Monday, February 29.

 

If you miss your day this week, you CAN still pay next week.  But you need to wait until next Tuesday if you miss your day.  You can ONLY sign up during lunch or after school.

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

M. Crabtree

 

Here is the second reading, related to the first two, that you should annotate (or take notes on), answer the reading questions, and formulate 3-4 open-ended discussion questions on after reading.

 

Click here for the reading.

 

Reading Questions:

1.  What are the overall findings as it relates to a "sexual double standard" of the author?

2.  How does the author support these findings?

3.  What do you feel Vrangalova leaves out or omits from consideration?

4.  Which parts of her argument are the strongest, most convincing aspects?  Please explain.

5.  Which parts of her argument are the weakest?  Why?

6.  What is her counterargument?  Quote it, and evaluate how effectively she refutes it.

 

Please bring your notes/annotations, article, reading questions, and potential discussion questions to class on Thursday.

 

M. Crabtree

 

Here is the first part of your homework for Tuesday.  Please re-read the excerpt from Chapter 2 of The Scarlet Letter, then read the NYTimes op-ed on an issue related to the themes addressed.  Annotate the article, complete the close reading graphic organizer, and bring your answers to the questions included in this post to class on Tuesday.

 

Excerpt 1: “The Scarlet Letter”
From Chapter 2, The Market-Place, which begins with a crowd at the prison door talking about Hester Prynne as they wait for her to emerge.

“Goodwives,” said a hard-featured dame of fifty, “I’ll tell ye a piece of my mind. It would be greatly for the public behoof, if we women, being of mature age and church-members in good repute, should have the handling of such malefactresses as this Hester Prynne. What think ye, gossips? If the hussy stood up for judgment before us five, that are now here in a knot together, would she come off with such a sentence as the worshipful magistrates have awarded? Marry, I trow not!”

“People say,” said another, “that the Reverend Master Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, takes it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation.”

“The magistrates are God-fearing gentlemen, but merciful overmuch, — that is a truth,” added a third autumnal matron. “At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead. Madame Hester would have winced at that, I warrant me. But she, — the naughty baggage, — little will she care what they put upon the bodice of her gown! Why, look you, she may cover it with a brooch, or such like, heathenish adornment, and so walk the streets as brave as ever!”

“Ah, but,” interposed, more softly, a young wife, holding a child by the hand, “let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart.”

“What do we talk of marks and brands, whether on the bodice of her gown, or the flesh of her forehead?” cried another female, the ugliest as well as the most pitiless of these self-constituted judges. “This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die. Is there not law for it? Truly there is, both in the Scripture and the statute-book. Then let the magistrates, who have made it of no effect, thank themselves if their own wives and daughters go astray!”

“Mercy on us, goodwife,” exclaimed a man in the crowd, “is there no virtue in woman, save what springs from a wholesome fear of the gallows? That is the hardest word yet! Hush, now, gossips; for the lock is turning in the prison-door, and here comes Mistress Prynne herself.”

The door of the jail being flung open from within, there appeared, in the first place, like a black shadow emerging into sunshine, the grim and grisly presence of the town-beadle, with a sword by his side and his staff of office in his hand. This personage prefigured and represented in his aspect the whole dismal severity of the Puritanic code of law, which it was his business to administer in its final and closest application to the offender. Stretching forth the official staff in his left hand, he laid his right upon the shoulder of a young woman, whom he thus drew forward until, on the threshold of the prison-door, she repelled him, by an action marked with natural dignity and force of character, and stepped into the open air, as if by her own free-will. She bore in her arms a child, a baby of some three months old, who winked and turned aside its little face from the too vivid light of day; because its existence, heretofore, had brought it acquainted only with the gray twilight of a dungeon, or other darksome apartment of the prison.

When the young woman — the mother of this child — stood fully revealed before the crowd, it seemed to be her first impulse to clasp the infant closely to her bosom; not so much by an impulse of motherly affection, as that she might thereby conceal a certain token, which was wrought or fastened into her dress. In a moment, however, wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm, and, with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbours. On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A. It was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy, that it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore; and which was of a splendor in accordance with the taste of the age, but greatly beyond what was allowed by the sumptuary regulations of the colony.

 Read the full chapter 2 here or using your own, annotated, text.

Excerpt 2: Op-Ed: Sex and the Single Murderess
From The New York Times, May 5, 2013, by Frank Bruni

Photo

“Sex game gone wrong,” “sex game gone awry,” “sex-mad flatmate,” “sex-crazed killer.”

That’s from just the first three minutes of the ABC News special on Amanda Knox last week, a veritable drumbeat of sexual shaming that leaves no doubt about what elevated a college student accused of murder into an object of international fascination, titillation and scorn.

It wasn’t the crime itself. It was the supposed conspiracy of her libido, cast as proof that she was out of control, up to no good, lost, wicked, dangerous. A girl this intent on randy fun was a girl who couldn’t be trusted and got what was coming to her, even if it was prison and even if there was plenty of reason — as the eventual reversal of her initial conviction made clear — to believe that she might not belong there.

… Men get passes, women get reputations, and real, lasting humiliation travels only one way. The size and scope of that mortification, despite many decades of happy talk about dawning gender equality, are suggested by recent news stories of one teenage girl in California and another in Nova Scotia who hanged themselves after tales or cellphone pictures of their sexual violation circulated among peers. It’s impossible not to wonder if shame drove them to suicide, and it’s impossible not to ask what sort of world allows the victims of such assaults to feel more irredeemably branded — more eternally damned — than their accused assailants by all appearances do.

I’ll tell you what sort: a world in which there’s a cornucopia of synonyms for whore and slut and no comparably pejorative vocabulary for promiscuous or sexually rapacious men.

… When we chart and lament the persistence of sexism in society, we look to the United States Congress, where women are still woefully underrepresented. We look to corporate boardrooms, where the glass ceiling hasn’t really shattered. But we needn’t look any further than how perversely censorious of women’s sex lives we remain, and how short the path from siren to slut and from angel to she-devil can be.

Read the full article here.

Fill-in the attached Close Reading chart.

Answer these questions in 1-2 paragraphs each:

1. What can you learn about Hester Prynne from this first description? What lines or words give you that information? What can you infer about the town and its people just from these few paragraphs?
2. Read both the chapter and the Op-Ed article in full. What parallels do you see between the two? How are they different? Are there any lines from one that seem to echo or “talk back to” lines from the other? What relationship might the world of Puritan New England have to your world today?
3. Do you agree with the Op-Ed article that we, as a society, remain “perversely censorious of women’s sex lives”? If so, why do you think that is?
4. Do you think that a sexual double standard affects the ability of women to advance in the world? Why or why not?
5. What evidence can you offer from your own reading or experiences to defend your opinion about the extent to which there is still a double standard in society? Where else, whether in literature, history, pop culture or on Facebook, have you seen it?

As always, let me know if you have any questions!

 

M. Crabtree

 

Here is the prompt you will be working on in class on Friday.  Remember...

     A.  you can use your book, annotations, and notes, so come prepared with these materials.

     B.  you should write your essay in dark blue or black ink ONLY.  Your outline/brainstorming/notes can be in pencil, but the essay should be written in ink.  Pen is easier to read and conveys a message of confidence in your writing that pencil does not.  Remember to "strikethrough" errors and use the reliable "carrot" when necessary to add sections.

     C.  try for three pages...

     D. You are welcome to re-read the chapter, add to your annotations, brainstorm, and outline for this essay, but do not write the essay until class.

 

Here is the prompt:

 

Good luck!

 

Ms. Crabtree

 

This is not the essay prompt, but it is info on paid internships during the summer for high school juniors. I thought that some of you might be interested. Here is the info that I received.

 

Here is an article that supports what I mentioned on Monday...about how sometimes private, out-of-state colleges and universities can actually offer MORE aid and scholarships than in-state, public universities.  Click Here to read the article.

 

Also, if you are interested in the QuestBridge program, which is referred to in the article, please let me know.  I can recommend you this summer (though you do not need my recommendation to apply).  It sounds like an AMAZING opportunity for those of you who are interested in applying to schools out of state.

 

Finally, I just want to break down a few more details about my own story that might be helpful to you:

 

A.  I applied to a total of 9 schools when I was a senior (all of them PAPER applications, btw, that had to be SNAIL-MAILED!!!).  Here's my list:

Dream School:  Yale University (waitlisted)

"Reaches":  Duke (rejected), Amherst (accepted)

"Probables":  Pomona College, UCLA, Tulane U., Bryn Mawr (all accepted)

"Automatics/Safeties":  Scripps College, UCDavis (accepted)

I had to pay for every single application...so if you can apply for free through fee waivers, I would say apply to as many schools as you are interested in and for which you are eligible.  The fee waiver limit does NOT apply to private schools, just to Cal States and UCs, so you can apply for free to as many private schools as you qualify for fee waivers.  Also, it is so much easier to apply now with the Common App...most schools share one central application, but then require different essays and short answer questions.  So it is EVEN EASIER to apply to private schools than when I was applying to college.  TAKE ADVANTAGE!!!

 

B.  I applied to a mixture of private, public, and liberal arts schools.

    1.  Private colleges/universities (Tulane, Duke, Yale) are schools that are primarily funded through private tuition and donations and do not receive significant funds from the state or federal governments.  These schools tend to be medium in size (4000-15,000 undergrads) and usually have law schools, medical schools, and other graduate schools associated with them as well as undergraduate programs.  They are also "research-focused," which means many of your professors will be published researchers and well-known in their fields.

     2.  Public colleges/universities (UCLA, UCDavis) are schools that are partially funded through state moneys that enable them to charge less tuition, BUT, due to budget cut-backs, many state schools in CA are actually offering LESS financial aid and grants than before and they are raising tuition and fees to make up the difference.  They are usually large in size, and also research-focused, while also offering graduate schools and programs. If you are interested in a public state school in another state, you will have to pay what is known as "out-of-state" tuition, at least for the first year.

     3.  Liberal Arts Colleges (Scripps, Bryn Mawr, Amherst, Pomona) are colleges that are smaller (less than 4000), usually DON'T have graduate schools or programs, and are focused on providing a classically-broad education with an emphasis on seminar-type classes and discussion.

 

However, they were ALL in fairly large cities (except for UCDavis, which was my safety school).  I knew I wanted to go to school in/near a big city...you have to decide what type of experience YOU want...big city??? rural or small-town???  Southern??? Midwestern??? East Coast??? Northern Cal???

 

C.  I want to reiterate that going to college in a cool place (like New Orleans), far away from home, was pretty amazing.  You can ALWAYS come back to LA when you are done with school, and since you are a student, it will be much cheaper to live in many cool places than if you actually were working and had to pay for an apartment (San Francisco, I'm looking at you!).  That said, if you are more of a stay-close-to-home person, then still consider looking at local private schools.  They might offer more financial aid and grants than the state schools in the area.

 

That's all for now.  I would love to talk to and encourage you more if you are seriously thinking about attending an out-of-state school.  The time to start reading and researching is now.

 

See you tomorrow, and please bring your "Letter to My Parents" Writing assignment.

 

Blessings,

 

M. Crabtree