Scary Homework for Halloween
Okay, read entries 3-5 in the conversation section on pages 779-787: He Doesn’t Like to Watch, TV Turnoff Week, and Is Media Violence Free Speech? Then blog answers to the 11 questions that go with those essays. DO NOT do the “Entering the Conversation” questions on page 787; those are much longer, paper-length prompts.
Have a happy All Hallows Eve!
Do you argue with your TV?
Do a Toulmin analysis of The Argument Against TV and then blog the result along with the answers to questions 1-6 on page 779.
Come prepared. We are going to argue tomorrow!
Don’t forget DGP and your vocabulary quiz tomorrow!!!
C’est tout!
For your amusement, a tad about swallows…
Watching TV can make me smarter? Bring it on!
Read “Watching TV Makes You Smarter” beginning on page 766 in The Language of Composition. Just read it and then be prepared to discuss and do some other work with it in class tomorrow.
Also, here is the vocabulary for the quiz on Friday: Vocab 1!
PS Most of you had good comments on the Merchants of Cool posts. Good job.
The dialectical relationship of the self to society
Based on our discussions of the dialectic to the right, blog your thoughts on this “feedback loop” between the self and society. Use Frontline’s video essay Merchants of Cool as a basis for your arguments. You may wish to consider the following questions in your write-up.
- What do you think of the premise put forth by Frontline and by the dialectic model above?
- Do you see an authentic way to take control of your relationship between the, or rather your, self and society?
Cell phone Zombies…?
Read The Mind-Blackberry Problem by William Saletan (it’s a short article–no click-throughs).
For homework over the weekend, blog a short argument defending, challenging, or qualifying one of the claims made by Saletan. Feel free to use information gleaned in Autumn of the Multitaskers as well as experience and observation to support your position.
Corn-Pone Opinions
This assignment may prove to be a bit long as there are many questions I’m asking you to consider.
Blog your responses to the following rhetoric and style questions found on page 721: 1-9, 11
For those of you curious about corn pone, I give you this recipe from southernfood.about.com
Corn Pone
A simple corn bread, generally made only of meal, water, and salt, without either milk or eggs.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon lard or shortening
- water, enought to make a stiff dough
Preparation:
Mix together cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Cut in lard and add enough milk to make a stiff batter. Form into cakes with hands and place in a greased baking pan. Bake in a preheated 425° oven for 20 to 30 minutes.
Corn bread and corn pone was a staple in the mountaineer diet. With greens, called “salit greens,” meat and of course, cold milk from the spring house, this was good eating and friends were always welcome.
High School Confidential
Blog your responses to the Rhetoric and Style questions 1-7, 9-12 on page 715. Do your best. We’ll discuss this essay and the essay you’ll read tomorrow on Friday.
See you on Friday!
PS If you left your book in the English computer lab outside the classroom, it’s on my desk and the sub will have it tomorrow.
Ah, don’t you just love Autumn?
The leaves are changing, a chill is in the air, multitasking is dying…
We decided in class that the central claim of Autumn of the Multitaskers is that multitasking is on its way out, hence the Autumn reference in the title. The article itself is divided into sections (conveniently marked by a drop cap) and each section has its own argument. These arguments support the central claim.
Your task is to note the claim in each section and record that on your blog. Refer to the sections by their number, for instance, “the claim in section one is…”
Then blog your analysis concerning how Kirn brings all of these claims together under his central claim. This doesn’t have to be long. A list of claims followed by a paragraph or so analyzing how it’s all put together should be sufficient.
Oh, and turn in or blog your How Dumb Can we Get? Graff template write-ups if you have not done so already. I forgot to tell 3rd period to turn them in.
Autumn of the Multitaskers
Your homework tonight is to finish the Graff template on the article we read in class. Then read The Autumn of the Multitaskers by Walter Kirn. It is a 3-page web article so leave yourself some time to read it. Also, there are a couple mature examples in the article, though nothing outrageous or that hasn’t been on the news. It is a very interesting article on how the brain works and how multitasking affects us.
leave a comment