Evita: Day 1; Portfolio Notes

Portfolio Notes:

1. First off: good job, overall!
2. Writing is not (nor will it ever be) easy. Congratulations on completing your first marking period portfolio. 
3. While you might not get the highest grade on your first portfolio, please take these notes and advice on how to improve to heart.
4. You have a lot of good starts. And, yet, as frustrating as it seems, your work is not done. Now that you have 1st drafts (or even second or third ones), you should look over your portfolio and select or mark the pieces that you might want to continue working with. [Do that now...]
5. Review the rubric. Look at the "exemplary" notes and use that to help you bring your accomplished or promising work to the level of exemplary.

• In general, pay attention to:
•  Artistically developing your characters, the plot, structure, conflict, theme, and setting of your fiction/plays/essays/poems. Fiction (and non-fiction both) should rise to a dramatic climax, etc. Poetry (fiction and non-fiction) should include a volta--a change or turning point that helps readers rethink the significance of what they are reading. 
• Use vivid description (diction), create specific tones that enhance the experience of your work, create vivid and interesting pieces that show off your voice, change or create interesting POV, develop interesting, round and dynamic characters (even in non-fiction and poetry!)
• Use literary devices--challenge yourself to include these! Poetry should have several literary/poetic devices at work! For god sake, at least use similes and metaphors!!!
• Say something universal, not just personal about our human lives or our culture. Reflect! Think! Be creative and insightful in your themes and messages!
• Work on your titles. 
• Improve your grammar. At the very least use Grammarly!
• Revise earnestly. (See below)
• Help each other! Challenge each other to do your best work--not just work to get by. Make this course helpful to you!

For clarity (hopefully for the last time):

• Procrastination. *Sigh.
• Why Writers are the worst Procrastinators
• Dealing with Procrastination (Writing Center)
• 11 Ways to Avoid Procrastination
• Procrastination: Crash Course
• What is revision? Well, it means to "re-see" or "see again."  How do I revise? Well, first you need a first draft. The writing process is as follows: brainstorming (coming up with an idea--we do that in class with writing prompts--that's what they're for...), drafting (writing a first draft), revising/editing (get feedback from your workshop groups--that's why we have a workshop group folder for you to share your work), and finally, revision/publication. Once you have a draft, move on with it to the next step--but remember to change the draft # of the piece to show your work!
• If you don't show your previous work to me, I cannot determine or give you credit for revision. I assume (and it's often the case) that you simply added to your first draft--that's not exactly revision since it's not cutting/editing/restructuring or refocusing, but it's better than nothing. Adding important scenes, rewriting moments/lines, adding LITERARY DEVICES, is sort of what I'm expecting you to be able to do with a revision. Seek to CHANGE your work to strengthen it. That's RE-VISION. Seeing your work again in a new light. 
• Most people need some feedback to do this correctly or effectively. 
• Use your workshop group to help you do this.
• "I'm unmotivated..." --anonymous. Switch things up. If you're bored or unmotivated with writing that's a sign that you are feeling stuck--perhaps not progressing. Think outside the box, as they say, and try something new and different. That might help. 
• "I'm depressed..."--anonymous. Senior year is hard since seniors often feel a need to disconnect. You will disconnect. But hopefully you should see that you've come a long way, struggled, but are not defeated (not really). Writing is not a one time thing. Your skill goes with you--even if you're tired, unmotivated or depressed. If depression is a serious, long-term situation, you should probably seek professional help or guidance. There's no need to suffer. Help is available. Beside that, writer's block is simply a state of mind. Here, check these links to help...
• How to Overcome Writer's Block 
• How to Overcome Writer's Block (again)
• How to Overcome...you get it...
• Writing Tips to Overcome...block, etc.
• Reignite Your Writing Motivation
• 30 Little Ways to Motivate Your Writing
• Top 10 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Write
• Breaking the Cycle of Depression
• "Twenty pages for a C grade is unacceptable"--anonymous. REMEMBER: Page # is NOT the ONLY way I'm evaluating your portfolio work. Check your rubric!
• "If we could write about absolutely anything..."--anonymous. REMEMBER: You can! Write. Preferably every day. If you do, you will find that you have written more than 25 pages of work. In fact, you could get to about 50 (with weekends free!) 5 days of school work Monday-Friday per 10 weeks = 50 pages. Aim to complete 1 page per weekday. Feel free to write MORE than 1 page per weekday so you can also skip a day or two. I'd suggest using those advisement periods to write. Or use the time given to you in class to complete this work. 
• I'm hungry. Yes. You're a teenager. You have a fast metabolism. If you want to bring in "cultural foods/snacks" okay, but you are likely to need enough to share. I'm not a home-ec teacher, so providing food/drinks for my class is not my responsibility. Also, you know, school code/rules about eating in class...so...
• I'm too busy with other important things to write for this class. That's essentially your choice. Don't blame the teacher for prodding you to do what the course/program requires: that is, to read and write. It's not your teacher's fault that you don't like to write or that you don't take the time to do so if you do like to write. That's on your shoulders, folks. Welcome to young adulthood. I suggest that you write every day (whether I give you time in class to do so or not). Although, most days I will give you time to write SOMETHING. 
• I'm sorry. Really.
• Writing is an art form. If you don't want to be an artist, fine. But don't get cranky about what artists do--i.e., create. Luckily, there will be other artists who will be happy to take your place. If you want to write, you will. Humans are amazing!
• By the way, this isn't easy. Writing is hard and takes effort. Ever see a dancer who can't move because they're tired? Or an actor who can't be bothered to speak his/her lines? Not likely. Perhaps this is why people do it.
• Our school is designed to help you improve (and hopefully help you become an artist--SOTA stands for School of the Arts...not Soon Our Time [here] Atrophies). If you're not interested in this activity (writing/reading), stop complaining. There's nothing a teacher can do to change your attitude towards subject matter you don't care about. That's on your shoulders. Bear the weight. 
• By the way, college is not different in this aspect. Anything worth doing takes effort.
• “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” ― Theodore Roosevelt
• “Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.” ― Hunter S Thompson
• "Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly at first." -- Brian Tracy
• Don't blame me or the class if you don't engage or participate in the course work. It's a student's responsibility to learn and make the learning you do important to YOU. In any case, you might find it helpful to:
• Come to class on time. Even if that means getting up earlier. Gag. 
• Ask questions. If you don't understand something, don't just shrug your shoulders and wallow in your ignorance. Ask! Rest assured you are not the only confused person here.
• If it's important to you, you will do well. If you can't be bothered, why should the rest of us be bothered? Your effort is mandatory in any course in which you want to get something useful out of it. If you can't figure out why a course involves some task, ask. See the other bullets in this series...

Finally, good luck this marking period. You should start where you left off. Start revising or writing.

After our "pep" talk:

We will be screening the 1996 film Evita. It is interesting to note that the film commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Argentinian coup. We might consider why this film was made/revised at that time--also, what might the United States gain by encouraging a military coup in a foreign country?

Bosnia (1995/1996)

The original musical was written in 1978, while Argentina was still embroiled in their coup. The coup later led to Britain's war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands (1982).

As you watch the film of the musical, consider making some connections. Here are some ideas to explore as you watch:

• Leadership. What are the qualities of good leadership? 
• Love. What are the limits of our love for our families, friends, lovers, or, even our country?
• Motivation. What causes a person to act, even when changing a culture or system seems futile or impossible?
• Other* (find your own damn meaning and be ready to discuss what you find...)

HOMEWORK: None. Start revising. Finish reading Evita (the script). Write a musical. Or a song. Or a rap battle. Or... you get the picture. [You can also draw a picture or create a comic strip or graphic novel...]