Friday, January 25, 2013
How Would You React?
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
This Could Really Be A Good Life...
One of the things I really love about YouTube is that sometimes you stumble upon something that can really open your eyes. As some of you may know I am half black, so for years I've been researching as much as I could about my heritage. So when I came across this video by Alex Boye, let's just say I was really...REALLY...happy. So why don't I stop talking and let you watch the video for yourself. Alex Boye does and African rendition of OneRepublic's Good Life with the help of several other people as you will soon see. :)
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Spring Semester Plan 1
When a high school student is essentially given the reigns to their education, I think it's safe to say that many of them don't know what in the Sam Hill they're supposed to do! Is this a trap? Am I going to be graded on my plan? Is there a wrong answer? Will the teacher think my plan is ridiculous? Believe me when I say, one of the most confusing and irritating questions I've ever come across in the course and in my life are, "Who (not what) do you want to be?" and "What are your goals? Your real goals, not the ones you think you should have because you've been told to have them." Imagine my surprise when these questions quickly became the center of my learning experience with Dr. Preston. So, with a bitter scowl on my face, I had to ask myself a question I had spent years trying to ignore and figure out how I could make this course help me answer those questions. Easier said then done. Yet after hours, and I mean HOURS, of thinking I finally came up with a semi-acceptable answer, at least for now. So, without further ado, I came up with two plans that I believe complement each other and can help me in the long run.
PLAN #1:
We spend the rest of this course practically worshiping the AP grading rubric. I want to eat, sleep, and drink AP literary terms. Most athletes want to eat lightening and crap thunder, well I want to eat Shakespearean sonnets and crap a five paragraph analysis that has a rockin' thesis statement (pardon the imagery)! In order for me to feel that I maximized the total utility of this course, I need to be able to walk into the AP exam and feel that what I've done in class was five times harder and much more time consuming. As strict and "unfun" as it may sound, I think this course should become an AP boot camp up until the exam. This means working on time management, breaking down texts, understanding complex concepts, understanding AP questions and most importantly WORKING ON TIME MANAGEMENT!!
By now, you must be wonder how in the world this answers either of the two questions above and if you weren't you are now. Well PLAN #1 helps the success of my goals because one of my many goals is to go to a four year university, so naturally it would only help to pass the AP exam. As for how this answers the "who do I want to be?" question, you'll have to read plan number two.
PLAN #2:
Now, during our AP boot camp I would also like for us to find out how each piece of literature we study relates to us and the world around us. As residents of the small, quiet town of Santa Maria, we have the luxury of being able to forget and block out the world around us because it rarely interferes with our daily routine. As a result, a lot of us are sheltered and have several misconceptions of the world around us, I am no exception. So I would like us to use the text we study to discover what's beyond the county lines and learn concepts/ideals that never occurred to us before. In no uncertain terms, I want us to use the texts we read and our research to discover who we want to be or at least put us on the path of discovering that.
PLAN #1:
We spend the rest of this course practically worshiping the AP grading rubric. I want to eat, sleep, and drink AP literary terms. Most athletes want to eat lightening and crap thunder, well I want to eat Shakespearean sonnets and crap a five paragraph analysis that has a rockin' thesis statement (pardon the imagery)! In order for me to feel that I maximized the total utility of this course, I need to be able to walk into the AP exam and feel that what I've done in class was five times harder and much more time consuming. As strict and "unfun" as it may sound, I think this course should become an AP boot camp up until the exam. This means working on time management, breaking down texts, understanding complex concepts, understanding AP questions and most importantly WORKING ON TIME MANAGEMENT!!
By now, you must be wonder how in the world this answers either of the two questions above and if you weren't you are now. Well PLAN #1 helps the success of my goals because one of my many goals is to go to a four year university, so naturally it would only help to pass the AP exam. As for how this answers the "who do I want to be?" question, you'll have to read plan number two.
PLAN #2:
Now, during our AP boot camp I would also like for us to find out how each piece of literature we study relates to us and the world around us. As residents of the small, quiet town of Santa Maria, we have the luxury of being able to forget and block out the world around us because it rarely interferes with our daily routine. As a result, a lot of us are sheltered and have several misconceptions of the world around us, I am no exception. So I would like us to use the text we study to discover what's beyond the county lines and learn concepts/ideals that never occurred to us before. In no uncertain terms, I want us to use the texts we read and our research to discover who we want to be or at least put us on the path of discovering that.
Friday, January 11, 2013
AP Prep Post 1: SIDDHARTHA
Question 1-5:
http://www.greatbooks.org/resources/guides/novels/siddhartha/
1) What does Siddhartha mean when he refers to the "path of paths" that must be found? (p. 17) Why is he so certain that neither the Brahmans nor the samanas have found it?
ANS: Though I can't answer the question in the intended context, when you think about the passage we just read and the "path of paths" we can make the assumption that these Brahmans and samanas have not found their true path because they haven't explored all the paths. Siddhartha left his societal expectations in order to find his own path by exploring all paths that were available to him. In doing so he was able to transform and create the person he needed to become.
2) Does Gautama adequately answer Siddhartha's contention that "no one is granted deliverance through a teaching"? (p. 32) Why doesn't Siddhartha become one of Gautama's followers?
ANS: In order to answer this question I need to learn who Gautama is and read the conversation that took place between the two. Yet the reason why I chose this question is because I believe that this conversation plays a vital role in the passage that is soon to come.
3) What is the connection between Siddhartha losing his friend Govinda to Gautama and Siddhartha's "awakening"? What does it mean that "the awakening man was on the way to himself"? (p. 37)
ANS: When Siddhartha lost his only friend, Govinda, he lost the last connection he had to his former life and with that loss he was forced to face what he became hence the quote, "the awakening man was on the way to himself" because you can only embrace who you are if you accept who you are.
4) After waking up by the river, why does Siddhartha say, "I have nothing, I know nothing, I can do nothing, I have learned nothing. How wondrous this is!"? (p. 84)
ANS: Because he has abandoned all he has and all he has known to explore a world outside of his own and what he soon realizes is that we all live in vast metaphysical world in which unanswered questions, new experiences, and mysteries are infinite. Which in some ways can seem daunting because you are venturing into a world that is hard to prepare for but is also liberating in the sense that somewhere in that world is a place just for you.
5) How can we know who is the right teacher for us? Can wisdom be taught?
What is the relation of words to wisdom? Do words tend to enhance or limit wisdom?
ANS: These questions would be more suited as an essay question you would answer after reading the passage, but I'd you we're to answer them I believe the key points to address are individuality, self-discovery, and performative utterances.
NOTES: After going through all these questions it showed that I definitely need to have a strong understanding of themes, symbolism, and abstract thoughts within the text.
http://www.greatbooks.org/resources/guides/novels/siddhartha/
1) What does Siddhartha mean when he refers to the "path of paths" that must be found? (p. 17) Why is he so certain that neither the Brahmans nor the samanas have found it?
ANS: Though I can't answer the question in the intended context, when you think about the passage we just read and the "path of paths" we can make the assumption that these Brahmans and samanas have not found their true path because they haven't explored all the paths. Siddhartha left his societal expectations in order to find his own path by exploring all paths that were available to him. In doing so he was able to transform and create the person he needed to become.
2) Does Gautama adequately answer Siddhartha's contention that "no one is granted deliverance through a teaching"? (p. 32) Why doesn't Siddhartha become one of Gautama's followers?
ANS: In order to answer this question I need to learn who Gautama is and read the conversation that took place between the two. Yet the reason why I chose this question is because I believe that this conversation plays a vital role in the passage that is soon to come.
3) What is the connection between Siddhartha losing his friend Govinda to Gautama and Siddhartha's "awakening"? What does it mean that "the awakening man was on the way to himself"? (p. 37)
ANS: When Siddhartha lost his only friend, Govinda, he lost the last connection he had to his former life and with that loss he was forced to face what he became hence the quote, "the awakening man was on the way to himself" because you can only embrace who you are if you accept who you are.
4) After waking up by the river, why does Siddhartha say, "I have nothing, I know nothing, I can do nothing, I have learned nothing. How wondrous this is!"? (p. 84)
ANS: Because he has abandoned all he has and all he has known to explore a world outside of his own and what he soon realizes is that we all live in vast metaphysical world in which unanswered questions, new experiences, and mysteries are infinite. Which in some ways can seem daunting because you are venturing into a world that is hard to prepare for but is also liberating in the sense that somewhere in that world is a place just for you.
5) How can we know who is the right teacher for us? Can wisdom be taught?
What is the relation of words to wisdom? Do words tend to enhance or limit wisdom?
ANS: These questions would be more suited as an essay question you would answer after reading the passage, but I'd you we're to answer them I believe the key points to address are individuality, self-discovery, and performative utterances.
NOTES: After going through all these questions it showed that I definitely need to have a strong understanding of themes, symbolism, and abstract thoughts within the text.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
A Must See...
Normally I would offer some form of commentary prior to the video, but in all honesty... This speaks for itself, quite literally. ENJOY!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
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