Writing Across Cultures

Portfolios are due next class (Tuesday, Dec. 3). Poll results: Most votes: Middle East, followed by Philosophy, Gender, Europe and finally Asia. Low interests were More Pop Culture, Race, Africa, North America, and South & Central America. Looks like you're tired of American Pop Culture at the moment...so now for something completely different! Plans for redrawing Middle East borders... And the real thing at the moment: Well, not that different. Let's start by noting some Middle Eastern American poets and the ghazal form. Palestinian-American poet: Naomi Shihab Nye How Palestinians Keep Warm Two Countries Arabic Blood Kindness Making a Fist Streets Iraqui-American poet: Dunya Mikhail (b. Iraq, 1965) The War Works Hard Pronouns Your Email The Airplane Iraquis and Other Monsters Shoemaker Assyrian/Iraqui-American poet: Sargon Boulus (1944-2007) A Man Fell on His Knees I Came from There A Refugee Talking An Elegy for Sindbad Cinema How Eas

Today, after our "Be Thankful" prompt, please mosey up to the lab and work on your portfolio. Please make sure you vote for your preferred path in this course by taking the poll at the right hand side of this blog page. HOMEWORK: None.

These resources for New Zealand can be helpful in getting to know the place and its people. There are so many more resources and information about the country, but this is a start for the uninitiated. Use the links to learn, consider, dream, and eventually write stories/plays/scenes, essays, poems, etc. that take place in New Zealand. New Zealand: National Geographic The Amazing Life and Astonishing Death of Captain Cook List of authors Collection of New Zealand Films New Zealand History in the Making (1938 documentary) Rugby Team: The All Blacks Public Holidays Pure New Zealand  (clip) Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Trilogy  (interview) Peter jackson's Hobbit (interview) The CineFiles:  Couple of guys talking about Peter Jackson's films (tv series)

After our short quiz on The Rabbit Proof Fence , please gather in your assigned groups and conduct a traveling jigsaw activity/discussion about the book. Afterward, we will discuss some Australian fiction, and retire to the lab to work on our responses from last Thursday's class, prepare for the coffeehouse this Thursday, and work on our portfolios. Please post your comments about our field trip experience in the posting comments section below. Australia History of Australia (animated satire) Australian Federation (film clip)  General information:  Australia More information:  Australia Map of Australia Animals of Australia Literary Figures The Proposition  (film clip) Presentation Photos One World Online  has a lot of information concerning most cultures in the world. Authors: Patrick White  (Nobel Prize winning author) Max Barry List of Australian poets and writers HOMEWORK: None.

Those of you who have not yet presented your presentations will do so today. If you are absent, please send me your file electronically. You will not get full credit, but you will not have to present either. Oh, if we had world enough and time... Anyway, with the time we have remaining in the day after the presentations, please work on your portfolios or complete your reading of the two articles/essays I asked you to read. You may also read The Rabbit Proof Fence . There will be a quiz and discussion on the book next class. HOMEWORK: Please complete the Rabbit Proof Fence . Identify the cultural institutions in the book and how they help and hinder the protagonist(s).

This morning, please summarize the video you and your partner watched. The rest of us will listen and take notes where appropriate. Turn in your medical/field trip forms if you have not already done so. 1.  The Key to Success, Grit  &  Do Schools Kill Creativity?  (a selection), &  Keep Your Goals to Yourself 2.  How to Avoid Education's Death Valley 3.  Why Kids Hate School 4.  The Self Organizing Child 5.  The Art & Science of Great Teaching After participating, I will take volunteers to present their visual presentation today. Please read the following two articles in preparation for our field trip Thursday: The Cult of Success Redefining Success HOMEWORK: Complete your reading of  The Rabbit Proof Fence (for discussion Monday) .

I will take volunteers to present their visual presentation today. After, please count off and watch one of the following videos. Be prepared to share the major points the speakers had by the end of the video. Education/Success: 1.  The Key to Success, Grit  & Do Schools Kill Creativity? (a selection), & Keep Your Goals to Yourself 2.  How to Avoid Education's Death Valley 3.  Why Kids Hate School 4.  The Self Organizing Child 5.  The Art & Science of Great Teaching Please read the following two articles in preparation for our field trip Thursday: The Cult of Success Redefining Success HOMEWORK: If you didn't have your cultural visual project completed, please do so and be ready to present your work to the class on Tuesday. Keep reading The Rabbit Proof Fence . Turn in your medical/field trip forms.

This morning, please read the following material about education and occupations. Spend a few minutes writing a response (see the writing prompts below) and read or watch some of the poems below for inspiration for your own work. When you finish, please continue to work on your visual projects. These visual projects will be due to present next class. Spotlight on education: Professional career or just a job? Our culture stratifies certain occupations. While all people are useful, there is a lot of prestige or lack of respect depending on the kind of work you end up doing. Sure, we all romanticize the wandering vagabond with nary a care or responsibility, but it may not be what you're looking for as a longtime career. To many people, a vagabond is just a fancy word for bum or homeless hobo. Top legal job careers for people who do not have a high school degree: 1. Restaurant worker or manager 2. Truck driver 3. Diesel mechanic 4. Heavy equipment operator 5. Carpenter 6. Welder 7

Please continue working on your visual project as requested below. Read and write a response to the article: "Learning Power". By the end of class today, we'll set a deadline for the project. Upcoming field trips and important dates: Geva's 39 Steps . We recently received tickets to attend Geva's production of the 39 Steps for Thursday, Nov. 7. We would be missing periods 3-7 and walking to Geva. I'd love to invite you, but this is not a requirement. All field trip information must be completed in order to attend. Please bring a bagged lunch (we eat during intermission), and prepare weather-wise to walk to the theater (about a 20-30 minute walk with a group o' you). We are taking an educational field trip to MCC-Brighton Campus on Nov. 14 to attend a CCTE Educational Seminar. You will be asked to listen to a panel presentation about education and participate in a candid discussion between your class and MCC professor Mrs. Johnston's English 1