Thinking and Writing about Literature (and Teaching Literature) » announcements

Teacher Refuses to Give State Mandated Assessment Test to Students

comprhet — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 13:44:29 +0000

Given our recent reading of Lives on the Boundary and various class discussions we’ve had, I thought you all might find this article interesting (and inspiring?).

Literature Circles

comprhet — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:52:54 +0000

Please view the following document, which describes the selection of texts for your literature circles.

lit-circles-1.doc

Send me, via e-mail, your *top three* choices, and I will do my best to put you in a group that is reading one of your top texts. Do this by tomorrow (Friday), and I can let you know in class on Monday which text you will be working with.

For a bit more information on literature circles visit this site.

Tomorrow’s class canceled

comprhet — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 21:43:14 +0000

ENG114 is canceled tomorrow, 2/13, as I have the flu. I will follow-up with a post about your lit circles (this will be up by class time tomorrow). My apologies for the inconvenience, and I’ll see you all Monday.

Responses to The Giver

comprhet — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:46:13 +0000

What follows is a selection of excerpts from some of your letters about The Giver. Please read the responses below and respond to one (or more) of them by clicking on the comments link at the bottom of the post. This online discussion can include your agreements and disagreements with your peers, and more importantly, an explanation of why you dis/agree , as well as responses to points you find interesting (and why they are interesting). Please have a comment posted by this Friday (2/15) at midnight.

At the beginning of the novel when Jonas’s father mentioned he was a Nurturer I felt that his assignment was to care for others, to hold a child with such love and respect that no one, or thing could understand. As I read the book I realized that Jonas father could not feel love, so therefore Jonas father felt no love for his family unit, newborns, and even Gabe. I often asked myself, how can someone not have any feeling of love, or in Jonas father’s case, any feeling of guilt or sadness? As I was reading, I felt alarmed that no one really questioned where people went when they were released.

A part that was confusing to me was when The Giver said “if you get away, if you get beyond, if you get to Elsewhere, it will mean that the community has to bear the burden themselves, of the memories you had been holding for them” (Lowry 155). Why is it that if Jonas leaves the community the memories will leave Jonas and be released into the community? I wonder how the community will respond to all of Jonas’ memories, the pain, suffering, weather, colors and happiness. I’m also wondering if the community will retain these memories or if they only hold them temporarily.

Finally, throughout the book I was reminded of the film Pleasantville, the tale of the agonizingly perfect black-and-white world “corrupted” by the confused and horrified outsider. The symbol of the absence or presence of color creates a powerful visual statement about the price of living painlessly and the fragility of our world. “We relinquished color when we relinquished sunshine and did away with differences,” the Giver explains to Jonas. “We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others” (95). In our rush to improve our lives, it would seem to be a point that we need consciously to remember.

I do not understand the ending of the book and it is almost like an upset of the way it ended. Gabe and Jonas escaped but where did they escape to and what happened afterwards?

What appears on the outside, is a calm, orderly society yet practiced on the inside of this community is euthanasia on the very young, those people that don’t conform, as well as the elderly. It is not gender specific.
By using this word release, rather than death, it continues to maintain and restore order in this society. Can you imagine The Giver stating that they would be putting a baby to death at its very early infancy for not conforming.

One particular instance that stuck out in my mind was the way in which children were conceived and given away. If nakedness was nonexistent and touching of another human was considered rude, then how were new children conceived? And if this so-called Sameness society is in fact equal and painless then why should a newchild be released if it has a birth defect or if it is a twin? Isn’t that going against what the people of Sameness believe in?

Reading on I noticed when the Giver and Jonas were thinking of the plan, the Giver said he must go see his daughter, Rosemary, and was not able to go with Jonas to Elsewhere. At this point, I was totally confused. Was he talking about his real daughter or did he consider Rosemary his daughter?

Details from The Giver

comprhet — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:21:03 +0000

Here is the list of details we collected from The Giver during class on Wednesday. I’m posting them here, so that we can refer back to them as a class and as individuals as we finish reading the book and seek to understand the ways in which these seemingly important details contribute (or don’t) to the meaning of the book as a whole.

–Fiona and the dream Jonas had about her and saw her hair color
–Jonas’s family agreed to not keep Gabe and not get attached
–everyone had a title “the giver” etc.
–no options; no choices; everything set in stone
–no color
–they have to discuss their dreams every morning
–Jonas has capacity to “see beyond”
–Where is Elsewhere? Where are they going when released?
–idea of pleasure and pain; don’t face much pain – everything is laid out
–Lily didn’t seem happy when Jonas received his assignment
–young and elderly disciplined with wand (being hit)
–no animals (except fish – hatchery)
–allusion to communist society
–didn’t keep track of age after 12
–night nurturers lacked the skills of the daytime nurturers and didn’t know how to interact in society
–Ceremony of 12 – Jonas got a “real calling” instead of an “assignment” – seemed to be even more difficult than the regular jobs
–relationship that Gabe has played – and parallels with Jonas (male and light eyes)
–no individual birthdays
–The Giver can turn off the speaker (only one with that power)
–idea of a Utopian society might not be a good idea after all
–father broke the rule about looking at Gabe’s name and mother didn’t seem to mind (in such a rule oriented society where this is her job)
–detached from other humans (even spouse); no touching = rude!
–precision of language – very controlled (overall control)
–they all go along with it. How did this all start? How to convince people to go along with such a thing?
–discussing feelings, but no “real” feelings
–Why did first receiver of memory fail? What is the big secret about her and her name?
–Giver/Receiver more luxurious lifestyle
–young bathe elderly and no qualms about nakedness in that exact setting

Jonathon Kozol seminar

comprhet — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 16:15:19 +0000

Student Seminar with Jonathan Kozol
March 13th 1:15-3:15pm in the Touhey Forum, Lally Hall
A Student Seminar with renowned guest Jonathan Kozol, best-selling author and
education activist, will be held on March 13, 2008. This exciting event will feature
selected top students who will address leading ideas in Kozol’s works. This promises to
be an inspiring opportunity for both students and faculty. All students and faculty are
welcome to this event.
What do I have to do to be a part of this seminar?
Submit a one-paragraph commentary on any ideas from the writings of Jonathan Kozol;
if possible commentaries can include how Kozol’s writings challenged or influenced the
way you think about an important issue. This commentary should include a question you
would pose to Jonathan Kozol.
INSTRUCTIONS for Student Proposals
• We recommend that you consult with your faculty.
• It helps to be somewhat familiar with Jonathan Kozol’s work.
• Select an aspect/idea from any of Kozol’s works to which you can pose a specific
question for Kozol.
• Type a brief paragraph, about 4-5 sentences, describing an aspect/idea from any
of Kozol’s works regarding which you can pose a specific question.
• Your question may seek further elaboration from Kozol, support his position, or
object to his idea.
• Email your proposal to John Ellis at ellisj@strose.edu. Please include your name,
year, major, and contact information.
-Deadline for submission: Feb. 15, 2008 by 3:00pm
Who will be honored?
All entries will be reviewed by a faculty committee who will select four winning
proposals to be presented by the student authors at the seminar. The four winning
students will also receive a gift certificate to the college bookstore. Proposals will be
selected based upon insightfulness, articulation, originality, and relevance. Each of the
four students will deliver his or her commentary and question (5 mins), to which Kozol
will then respond. He will follow up with an informal discussion and dialogue with all
students and faculty. All students who submit proposals will be officially recognized at
the Seminar.
If you have questions please contact:
Professor Michael Brannigan (michael.brannigan@strose.edu), (518) 485-3789 or
Natasha Witchley (witchleyn376@strose.edu), (315) 725-9093

RSS application for Myspace and Facebook users

comprhet — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:35:03 +0000

For Facebook users:
1. Browse applications in Facebook for “simply RSS” (you can do a search for this). If you don’t know how to do this, click on edit next to Applications in your profile. Next, click browse more applications. Do a search for simply RSS.

2. Click on “simply RSS” and add this application.

3. Skip the send invitation and click on “add feed to begin.

4. In the box where it asks for the URL of the feed, copy the URL http://lit114.edublogs.org for the class blog site and add /feed after .org, so it looks like this: http://lit114.edublogs.org/feed

5. Click add.

6. Voila! Updates to our class blog can now be seen each time you log-in to Facebook.

For Myspace users:
1. Go to SpringWidgets

2. In the box labeled feed URLs there will be a sample feed listed the (feed.feedburner.com), delete that and put in its place: http://lit114.edublogs.org/feed

3. Click the little blue plus sign to the upper right of the box. At this point you should see the sample feed in box to the right change to postings from our class blog site (this assignment should appear, for example).

4. Under Share Your Widget, click on the little myspace symbol (blue people). This will give you the code.

5. Copy and paste this code into your Myspace profile (for example, in your “about me” section).

6. Voila! Updates to our class blog can now be seen each time you log-in to Myspace

Welcome!

comprhet — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 16:52:19 +0000

This is the class blog site for ENG 114 Literary Genres and Traditions. Here you can find the syllabus (should you lose your hard copy), assignment details, and any general class announcements. For now you will have to check back here regularly to get class assignments and announcements, but eventually you can have automatic updates sent to your Myspace or Facebook accounts (if you have one). Each of you will at various points throughout the semester contribute to this blog — commenting and “conversing” with me and your peers on class topics. Please browse and explore. Feel free to leave comments/questions here or email me. Let’s begin…and enjoy your semester!