"when tomorrow comes"

What tone did this set?  How did the movie leave you feeling?

may 30

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Up to you.

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness

2. Les Mis continued

POST:
Do you think the characters in Les Mis are driven by reason, passion, or both?  Please explain your answer. (title: LES THINKING & FEELING)

photos you don't want to miss

I love these pictures for three reasons:

1. They are beautiful.
2. They teach me about phenomena and a place I knew nothing about. (Look closely: that rock isn't falling, it is sitting on ICE that has been sculpted by the wind.)
3. Now I don't have to go to Siberia to see these things.

You can see the rest HERE.

may 29

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Up to you.

AGENDA:
1. Wanna watch a movie?  I've got an idea...

if you can fix it you can have it

[UPDATE: The speakers have been adopted.  Good luck and enjoy, Kevin!]

For years I relied on my trusty computer speakers for journal soundtracks and audio whenever I taught.

Then yesterday, I started playing a movie.

And they didn't work.

I was sad.

I've tried everything I know how to do, and I can't seem to resuscitate them.  But I don't feel good about adding more plastic to the landfill or the ocean, so before I toss them I thought I'd offer them here.  If you think you can bring them back to life, they're yours.

may 28

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Beginning this week, writing in your journal is up to you.  Writing is something that you can do every day for the rest of your life, depending on what needs it meets for you.  The journals are in the front of the room, where I am keeping them for review/writers' conferences as needed.  Choose your own topics / ideas and have fun!

AGENDA:
***Collect Term Papers***
1. Mindfulness
2. Journal
3. Plan for the week
4. Lit circles/ writers' conferences

i'm doing my homework this weekend... are you?

Hi everyone, I hope you're enjoying the three-day weekend!  However you celebrate Memorial Day and time away from school, please remember to finish your term paper and bring the hard copy with you tomorrow.  I will collect papers at the beginning of the period.  REMINDER: due to our tight timeline this week, I have offered consistent reminders and invitations for help.  Late / incomplete papers will not be accepted for review or credit.  See you tomorrow!

If it makes you feel any better, I'm working through the last eight (!) stacks of evaluations...

self-assessment questions

If you weren't in class today, please take a moment to reflect on these and answer (either in a private email to me at dpreston.learning@gmail.com or on paper -- if you choose paper, please bring to class with you on Tuesday).

If you were in class, please feel free to continue your reflection and let me know if your answers change at all over the weekend.

Given all of the learning experiences we've shared together in this course:

1. What do you look back on with pride?
2. What do you look forward to with hope?
3. How are you doing on your paper?  What will you do this weekend to succeed?
4. What letter grade are you aiming for on the paper?  What grade will you earn on the semester report card?

may 24

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe something you learned in the Masterpiece Academy this week.  What made this memorable?  Was it the content, or something the presenter did, or ...?

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness
2. Self-assessment & intention/prediction
3. Masterpiece Academy

• Juaquin Arce-Ruiz (50 minutes/ all of period 3)

4. Journal/turn in

masterpiece academy day 5

Thanks to today's faculty!

Hector started by relating his research on what it's like to get shot:





Nayeli gave us insight into diseases and how we can avoid them.

Vanessa talked about her reasons for wanting to start and own a business.




Yaxeny ended the session by describing the nail salon she is building.

may 23

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Imagine that it's late at night.  You hear an unfamiliar sound.  What's your first reaction?  What information do you need?  What will you do?

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness
2. Masterpiece Academy

• Erasmo Escobar (15 minutes)
• Hector Torralba (10 minutes)
• Nayeli Zeferino (15 minutes)
• Vanessa Carmona (10 minutes)
• Luis Hernandez (10 minutes)

3. Journal
4. Work on term paper

SPRING FINALS SCHEDULE

masterpiece academy day 4

Thanks to our faculty today!

First, Erandi taught us about the art of makeup:



Alondra helped us understand how we can learn from the oldest and wisest people in our community:

may 22

JOURNAL TOPIC:
*Choose your own topic.*

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness
2. Masterpiece Academy

• Erandi Figueroa (10 minutes)
• Jasmine Gutierrez (10 minutes)
• Alondra Guillen (10 minutes)
• Yaxeny Toscano (10 minutes)

3. Journal
4. Work on term paper

masterpiece day 3

Thank you Alidio for the enlightening lesson on golf and life!

may 21

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Have you ever had a conversation where you thought of the PERFECT thing to say-- after the conversation was over?  Describe the conversation.  Why didn't you think to speak your mind in the moment?  What happened afterward that led you to the idea?

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness
2. Masterpiece Academy

• Alidio Mendoza (10 minutes) 
• (?) Luis Salazar

3. Journal

masterpiece academy day 2

Back on Day 1, Enrique presented the art and science of drifting.  (Ask him for more information if you need help with your notes!)

Today, Jessica taught us about money and happiness:

Can Money Buy Happiness __ by dpreston1441 on Scribd

Next, Ricardo shared his thinking on living life and the powerful invitations/temptations toward making dangerous decisions:

what are you waiting for?

Your paper is due one week from tomorrow.  That means that you should bring the hard copy and turn it in at the beginning of class on Tuesday, May 28.)

You can review the assignment

HERE

may 20

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Who would win in a fight between your two favorite famous people?  Describe/explain.

-OR-
Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness

2. Masterpiece Academy

• Jessica Romero (10 minutes)
• Ricardo Lopez (10 minutes)
• Luis Salazar (10 minutes)

3. Journal

4. Reflections: "The Most Dangerous Game"

• Plot
• Character
• Conflict
• Theme
• Tone
• Literary techniques

may 17

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe something you wish you had time to do.

AGENDA:
1. Journal (please remember to turn in today)
2. Masterpiece Academy

• Ricardo Lopez (10 minutes)
• Luis Salazar (10 minutes)

3. "The Most Dangerous Game"

• Continue reading
• Focus on foreshadowing & making predictions

may 16

JOURNAL TOPIC:
When you were a little kid, did you have a favorite toy?  Stuffed animal?  Imaginary friend?  Game?  Please describe this in detail.

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness
2. Journal
3. Masterpiece Academy

• Ricardo Lopez (10 minutes)

4. MGOM
5. Story do-over
6. "The Most Dangerous Game" -- focus on exposition

may 15

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Mistakes.  We all make them.  And sometimes they are our best teachers.  So why is it that sometimes we are so afraid to make a mistake?  And why is it that, sometimes, even/especially when older people tries to give us the wisdom of their experiences, do we give our inner dumbass all the power and *choose* to make the same mistakes that every generation before us already made and learned from?

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness
2. Journal
3. Masterpiece Academy Day 1

• Enrique Hernandez (10 minutes)

4. Review plot structure of "Murders in the Rue Morgue"
5. Answer questions from Tuesday's papers and prepare for essay Thursday

murders in the rue morgue -- the plot thickens

On a piece of paper, please use what we've learned this year about plot to diagram and describe the plot of "Murders in the Rue Morgue."  Remember to label and describe the exposition, the inciting incident, the rising action, the climax, the falling action, and the resolution.

may 14

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What are you looking forward to about the Masterpiece Academy?  Does thinking about it make you excited?  Nervous?  Something else?

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness
2. Journal
3. "Murders in the Rue Morgue" vocab and Q & A
4. Continue vocab (minimum 20 words) and questions
5. Quiz (?)
6. Masterpiece Academy prep

• Notes/evaluations
• MGOM (if time)

may 13

JOURNAL TOPIC:
This morning I saw a story about a suspenseful basketball game.  What impressed me most wasn't the game winning shot-- it was the reaction of the fans.  Why do people get so excited and spend so much energy rooting for athletes they don't really know and hardly ever meet?

-OR-

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness
2. Journal
3. Finish reading "Murder in the Rue Morgues"
4. List vocabulary words you don't know
5. 10 questions: 3/plot, 3/characters, 3/setting, 1/theme
6. Evaluating the Masterpiece Academy
7. MGOM

may 10

JOURNAL TOPIC:
The artist Pablo Picasso once said, "Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them as an artist."  Which rules in life do you think are important to follow, and which rules do you think are OK-- necessary, even-- to break?

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness
2. Journal
*MASTERPIECE ACADEMY 

• Your Final / How to Prepare
• Calendar reminders

3. MGOM
4. Writers' conferences
5. "Murders in the Rue Morgue"

• Vocabulary quiz on first 3 paragraphs
• Summary of introduction
• Continue reading

masterpiece final question

When the last presentation has been given, this is the question I will ask you to write on for your final reflection.  Please start a post or notes that will help you remember what's important.
______________________________________________________________________________

For the next few weeks the Masterpiece Academy will be your showcase.  As you reflect on this experience, and your overall experience in this course throughout the year, please address the following questions in a traditional MLA-style essay.  Then post about it to your blog in any medium (music, pictures, video, animation, [?]) that brings your thesis to life.  (You may embed the original paper if you can't think of a better way to communicate.)

Please Note: Everything on the traditional paper assignment counts.  Please proofread and/or ask a friend or relative to help with organization, flow, and mechanics (capitalization, punctuation, spelling, grammar, MLA style, e.g.)


Masterpiece Academy Question

Montaigne ended his essay "Of The Education of Children" this way:

To return to my subject, there is nothing like alluring the appetite and affections; otherwise you make nothing but so many asses laden with books; by dint of the lash, you give them their pocketful of learning to keep; whereas, to do well you should not only lodge it with them, but make them espouse it. (1580)

The word espouse originally meant "to marry" and took on connotations like "embrace," "love," and "advocate."  Have you espoused learning?  Explain your growth in this course via a narrative that portrays you as the dynamic protagonist in your own Bildungsroman.  Please include the following elements.

ELEMENT 1: You have been treated as colleagues and you have been given a great deal of choice in this course; this represents a high level of trust.  Did you and the others deserve it?  Earn it?  Honor it? 

ELEMENT 2: Fiction has been called "the lie that tells the truth."  Which works, authors, or characters did you read this year that rang true enough to make you feel like they described parts of you and/or your journey? (Please mention at least three.  It makes them sad when we forget them.)

ELEMENT 3: Have you re/connected with a passion that drives you?  If so, how will you continue your learning?  If not, how will you proceed?

ELEMENT 4: [Something about literature or this course that made you laugh out loud.]

ELEMENT 5: [A unifying theme that runs through a minimum of five (5) presentations; a quality of the content, or the speakers, or their communication techniques that strikes you as something important that we have in common.]  Please illustrate/support your point with specific examples from the presentations.

ELEMENT 6: Evaluate whether you completed the hero's journey.  Are you a hero?  To what extent did you respond to the call of adventure?  Did you find a mentor, conquer a challenge, and return enlightened?

ELEMENT 7: For old time's sake, sneak in a literary technique.  Don't make a big deal out of it.  I'll know it's there.

school bus driver hero

Check out hero and school bus driver Samantha Call, from Norwich, New York!

may 9

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe a time you took responsibility for something-- a project, an action, a conversation.  How did the experience make you feel?

-OR-

Choose your own topic

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness
2. Journal
3. MGOM/ Lit Circles
4. Writers' conferences
5. Our next short story is... "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"

POST:
Which two pieces (besides last weekend's essay) did you select for your conference?  Why are you proud of these?  (title: MY BEST WRITING/ first sentences: "I have a writer's conference coming up with Dr. Preston, and I am excited to go over [...] and [...].  I chose these two pieces for specific reasons.")

tell-tale heart questions

1. Is the narrator crazy?  Why/why not? 
2. What did the narrator have against the old man?
3. What was the sound the narrator heard when he entered the old man's room?
4. How did the narrator kill the old man?
5. Where did the narrator hide the body?
6. Why did the narrator reveal his crime to the police?
7. What does the sound of the heart symbolize?

may 8

JOURNAL TOPIC:

Agree or disagree with the following quote:

I have always had this view about the modern education system: we pay attention to brain development, but the development of warmheartedness we take for granted. -Dalai Lama

--OR--

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. More on planning your Masterpiece
3. MGOM
4. Individual writing / planning conferences
5. The next short story we will read together is... THE TELL-TALE HEART

may 7

JOURNAL TOPIC:
How's your masterpiece progressing?  Are you satisfied?  What do you still have left to do?

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness
2. Calendar
3. How we learn and how we teach: modalities, emotions, memories, and strategies/tools
4. Journal
5. Our next short story is...

• [OPTION A] Write a short story.  Make sure to include all of the plot elements we've discussed in class.
• [OPTION B] Find a short story online.  Read it and summarize the plot.  Be sure to include all of the plot elements we've discussed in class.

POST:
Which learning modalities are most effective for your Masterpiece Topic?  How will you address these in your presentation?  (title: MONKEY SEE/HEAR/DO)

may 6

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe something you really care about.  What is it about this person/place/thing that matters to you?  How would your life be different if it didn't exist?

-OR-

Did anyone celebrate Cinco de Mayo?  Why?  How?

-OR-

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness
2. Journal
3. How to prepare for your writer's conference
4. How to prepare for your Masterpiece
5. Masterpiece sign-ups
6. Makeup RI tests
7. Blogs/ independent work

may 3

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Think back on your last writer's conference.  Do you remember what you wanted to improve in your writing?  Think about it now: are you focused on the introduction, your thesis statement, your organization, your mechanics (spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar), or something else?  Today, as you write this, are you excited about showing more skill in an area that once frustrated you?

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness
2. Journal: discussion
3. Weekend essay
4. Independent work / optional writers' conferences
5. RI test for those who haven't yet completed it (the classroom computers are now reconnected to the internet! :)

POST:
In a thoughtful, well-organized, well-written essay, please respond to the following prompt:

How would you describe the narrator in "A Telephone Call"?  Is she just like us, except a little more honest because she thinks her thoughts are private, or is she nuts?  Please provide (a minimum of) three examples to support your thesis.

Please post this essay to your blog (title: 911 OR PRANK CALL) no later than 11:59 A.M. PDT on Sunday, May 5.  -Mahalo

may 2

JOURNAL TOPIC:
How do you feel about your ignite talk now that it's over?  Are you happy?  Relieved?  Looking forward to learning more?  Thinking you could have done something better if you could do it over again?  Please explain.

-OR-

Choose your own topic.

AGENDA:
1. Mindfulness
2. Journal
3. Our next short story: "A Telephone Call"
4. How to build your Masterpiece
5. RI test (for those who didn't take it yesterday)

POST:
1. Write a letter to the narrator (5 paragraph minimum) in which you give her advice.  Use at least three examples from the story to reassure her you've been listening. (title: LETTER TO THE NARRATOR)
2. Describe at least two big ideas you've gotten from reading this story. (title: A TELEPHONE CALL)

ignite talks

Juaquin: My topic is how to create metal sculpture. Over the break my brother and I made a Darth Vader shield out of steel and other metals and we sold it for $400.  I am going to teach you how to weld and combine metals.  Next I'm going to sculpt a flower and show you a video of how I did it.

Vanessa: I want to know how to create a business.  In agriculture business has special requirements, and I want to learn more about strawberries, cannabis, and other crop-based businesses.

Erasmo: I want to learn more about American football.  I get out my anger when I play defense and hit people, and I want to understand how this works so I can help others understand it.

Erandi: I am interested in makeup.  Over the break I created looks for people.  I want to become a makeup artist in the future.

Valentin:  What happens to our body and our consciousness after we die?  I am going to do research online and interview people who have had near-death experiences.

Alondra: How can we learn from older people who have a lot of experience?  Over the break I studied psychology and I learned that I wasn't motivated for my old topic because I don't have patience for people my age.  I want to learn from older people because they can give a lot of good advice.

Jasmine: How can I become a preschool teacher?  Over the break I learned that I need patience with young children.  My research was boring and I got less interested, so now I want to learn more about how to do nails.

Luis: I want to become a soccer coach.  I will Google this.  I will also talk to my uncle.  I like the sport because it involves skill and helps us become healthier.

Enrique: I want to learn how to drift-- how to transition into a corner when you're driving.  This is interesting to me because you're putting all this work into a car and then pushing it to perform at its limit.  I'm going to find racing schools so I can learn to drive better and drift.

Ricardo:  Why are things called what they're called?  Why is a phone called a PHONE or an iPHONE?  Did people just make up words?  I'm developing this right now because I haven't done research yet, so I have a lot to learn.

Alidio:  I want to teach you how golf helps us in life.  You can help people, be kind to others, travel, meet new people, and it's really opened my mind.

Jessica: Can money buy happiness?  From what I've learned so far, no matter how rich you are there is always something missing.  I'm going to gather more information and start my presentation.

Luis: How can I find something to learn?

Rigo: How would it be to not be able to walk?  I watched videos that were sad but also inspiring.  I want to keep learning.

Hector:  How does it feel to get shot?  I did some research and read interviews with shooting victims to learn about shooting injuries and how people can heal.

Yaxeny: How can I open a nail salon?  What I've learned so far is that I can use an app for customers to make appointments.  I've learned that business owners have a lot of decisions to make.  Next I'm going to decide on a logo.

Nayeli: What causes disease?  So many people die from diseases that could be prevented.  My next step is to volunteer with a nurse to learn more.

may 1

JOURNAL TOPIC: (at the end of the period)

Write about your favorite ignite talk.  What was it (about the speaker's ethos/pathos/logos or the topic itself) that made the talk fun, or interesting, or memorable?

AGENDA:
1. Ignite Talks
2. Journal
3. Our next short story

*Remember to update your blog :)