Some Bitter Sweet News

Hello scholars,

I hope you are having a wonderful break, relaxing with family, and grateful that I did not give you any homework. (You're welcome!)

My break has been rather eventful and I felt the need to share some bitter sweet news with you...

Some of you have have heard that I was offered a job teaching high school English (including AP Lang!) at an international school in Ningbo, China...

First, let me be clear -- my intention was never to leave Pacific; I have been here for 6 years and I would gladly be here for 6 more. Secondly, I love my life here. I have been living in Southern California for 14 years, ever since my 18-year-old self came down to attend the University of Redlands.

But in reality, if I passed up this opportunity I know that I would regret it.

I believe that things happen for a reason, and, in the spirit of Socrates, I must explore this opportunity. 

But, guess what? We still have a semester together. A very important semester together. Despite recent difficulties and some chronic teenage angst, I have faith in you. Many of you will indeed pass this exam. But we have to practice. You all have come farther than you may realize, but you need to trust me, you need to trust yourselves, and you need to work on getting better. Every. Day. I will strive to do the same. 

Please enjoy the rest of your break and then come back on Monday, January 11, ready to work towards passing that exam. 

I appreciate all of you. Honestly. Thank you for being my scholars! 

Sincerely, 

Your AP Lang Teacher, Ms. F. (AKA Flansburg, Flannypack, Flansy, Flanny, Flansburger...)

Too Close To Home

A few blocks away from my place, police have barricaded the street and news camera equipment is covering the lawn that belongs to a close friend of mine. Some of my students did not come to school today because their parents would not let them, while other students made hasty generalizations about the mass shooting yesterday that made my jaw drop and my fists clench. Facebook is covered in updates about the suspect's purpose, anecdotes about loved ones lost and injured, and posts from acquaintances that are just trying to live their lives. It is a trying time (but aren't they all?). Yet (blessedly) we continue to live our lives, and we must continue to persevere. #GiveMeLibertyOrGiveMeDeath #UnitedWeStand 

Cheating - Dangerously Easy

Cheating is a rather myopic endeavor. Generally when someone cheats, whether it is on a test or on a spouse, they are not necessarily thinking about long-term consequences, but what they want to accomplish at that moment in time.

When I was a junior in high school I decided to take physiology for my third year of science. It was not a requirement; I chose to take the class because I knew that it would look good on college applications if I took another year of science. I knew that I would never pursue science as a career, so when I started struggling in the class I leaned on a friend who I knew was planning on going into medicine. Emily was not only my lab partner (where she did all of the dissections on our cat), but she also helped me cheat on two tests. I studied and studied for those tests, but science is not my forte. So after earning (kind of) a C first semester I opted to drop the class and take study hall second semester instead. I could not bring myself to cheat through another semester.

Since then I can honestly say that I have not cheated or felt the need to cheat. Even when I had to pay to retake a subject test for my teaching credential, I studied and retested and felt great pride when I finally passed the test. Cheating would have saved me money, but I know that the experience would have haunted me and made me feel ill-prepared for my future career.

What struck me in our Socratic Seminar was how many of you believe you have it so much harder than previous generations. First of all, comparison is the death of life. Your experience, my experience, my mother’s experiences…. No one has it “harder”, we have just had different experiences (challenges and benefits that can really never be measured). If anything what makes it harder for you is that fact that you have SO much information at your fingertips that it may be challenging NOT to cheat. But the material you are being taught is not harder, it is just delivered differently.

My other concern, not just with this class but in general, is how easy it seems for this generation to point the finger rather than take the blame. As Jackie said – “it’s on you.” I had some very difficult teachers in high school and in college, and as much as I wanted to blame their teaching styles it really did not matter. In the end I had two options – study and take advantage of office hours and other resources, or drop the class. Blaming the teacher is not only a waste of energy it does not really help to accomplish anything other than getting your thoughts off of your chest.

Though I understand your reasoning for wanting to cheat, I hope you understand the consequences. Not only do you risk getting caught, but you also risk never fully understanding the material that you are supposedly “mastering” by passing the class.

Fernando was right. Cheating is a moral issue. If you are just looking for a grade, then cheating doesn’t seem like that big of a deal; but if you are looking for knowledge you are cheating yourself out of acquiring said knowledge by cheating. Yes, you are using your resources, but would you rather have a doctor that earnestly achieved his medical degree or a doctor that cheated his way through medical school?? (which, honestly, I don’t think you realize how difficult that would be).

The other issue that your generation faces is that as easy as it is for you to cheat, it is just as easy for teachers to find the original source. All I have to do is type in a single sentence from a plagiarized essay into Google and – bam! – there it is! Many schools and colleges also use cheating software to quickly detect plagiarism. At the last school I taught at, students were expected to turn their essays into a website called turnitin.com. The website not only tells you where certain information in the essay came from (i.e. other websites), but it also notes the percent of “originality”. (By the way, our district is currently working on acquiring this software).

This is not meant to scare you, it is meant to motivate you. Life is challenging, and the further along you get in your education and career, the harder it gets. But I will tell you that because I worked hard to achieve my current career status my knowledge of the subject matter and competency in my work makes me feel prepared to take on any and all tasks before me. My knowledge and competency have been tested by actual tests and difficult situations, but hard work pays off. In class I stand before you prepared to teach, and humbly willing to work on my own growth and knowledge, but I will always do so honestly and with integrity.

Frankenstein Assignment #6

Chapter 22

- How does Victor feel about his fellow human beings?

- What does Victor claim he would have done to save the victims’ lives?

- How was Victor confused about the creature’s wedding night intentions?

Chapter 23

- Who dies?

- Why does Victor accuse the magistrate of being ignorant?

Chapter 24

- What is keeping Victor alive at this point?

- How do Victor and the creature travel?

-  What is Victor’s one comfort?

- What do the sailors make Walton promise to do?  How does this relate to Victor story?

- How does the creature react to Victor’s death?

- How does the novel end?

Frankenstein Assignment #5

Chapter 18

-  To what country does Victor go?  Who goes along?  What is Victor to do when he returns?

- What foreshadow’s Clerval’s death?

Chapter 19

- What was the insurmountable barrier between Victor and his fellow men?  How does Victor procrastinate in the building of “the bride”?

Chapter 20

- How does Victor rationalize not creating a bride?

- The creature says that even thought Victor is the creator, he is the ______________.

- What does the creature vow to seek?  When will he seek it?

- Of what crime is Victor accused?

Chapter 21

- Who was the murder victim ?

- How does Mr. Kirwin treat Victor?

- Who comes to visit Victor?

Frankenstein Assignment #4

Chapter 11

- Where did the creature hide?

- Describe the family the creature watches.

- What sounds intrigue the creature?

Chapter 12

- How does the creature treat the family?

- Why does the creature want to wait before exposing himself?

Chapter 13

- Who comes to visit the cottage?  Why?

- What does the creature learn about society’s values by listening to history?

Chapter 14

- What was the relationship between Felix and Safie?   Why do you think Mary Shelley included this story in the novel?  (How does it relate to our main characters’ situations?)

Chapter 15

-  How did the creature feel about crime?

- What books does the creature read?

- 

  How does the creature learn his own history?

-  Why does the creature approach the old man first?  What is the result?

Chapter 16

- What emotions does the creature experience?

-  Why did the creature kill Willie?

Chapter 17

-  What does the creature want Victor to do?  When Victor at first refuses, what does the creature vow to do?

Frankenstein Assignment #3

Chapter 6

- From whom does Victor receive a letter?  What does it say?

- Who is Justine?

- Who are Ernest and Willie?

- Where is the creature during this chapter?

Chapter 7

- Who was murdered?  Who is the suspect, and why?

-  When Victor arrives back home, he says he foresaw something about himself.  What was it?

- What does Victor consider the storm to be?  Whom does he see during the storm?  What does he realize as a result?

- How long has it been since Victor created the creature?

Chapter 8

- Why doesn’t Victor tell the truth?  Do you agree with his decision?

- Why does the accused murderer confess?  What is the “murderer’s” fate?

Chapter 9

- Where does the Frankenstein family go?

- Describe Victor’s experience in the mountains.  From a literary standpoint, why is it significant that this experience happens out in nature, not in “civilization”?  (Consider the literary movement represented by this novel and the time period during which it was written.)

Chapter 10

- How does Victor greet his creature?  Why did the creature expect such treatment?

- What does the creature think Victor owes him?  Why?  Do you agree or disagree?

- At this point, the narrative switches “frames” for several chapters. Explain what I mean by that.  Can you tell, just by leafing through the next several chapters, when the frame switches back? 

Frankenstein Assignment #2

Chapter 1

- Who is the “I” narrating the story at this point?

- Explain how Elizabeth came to be part of the narrator’s family.  How did Victor view his relationship to her?

Chapter 2

-  Victor mentions a fascination with research.  What might this foreshadow?

- Who is Victor’s best friend?  What are his interests?

-  Which scientists does Victor study?

- How does Victor learn about electricity?

Chapter 3

-- Why does Victor leave home?

- Who dies in this chapter?

- Victor believes that someone (or something) else was controlling his life.  Who or what was it?

- What does Victor decide to “unfold to the world”?

- Who inspires Victor to continue with science?

Chapter 4

-  What question about nature does Victor dedicate himself to answering?

-- Why can’t Victor tell us his secret?

-  Where did he get his materials?

Chapter 5

- How does Victor feel once the creature awakes?

- Describe his nightmare.

- To what poem does Shelley allude?

- Who comes to visit?

- Why does Victor become ill?

Visual Literacy Extra Credit

Analyze the image* using descriptive and detailed language in one complete and complex double AXES paragraph. 

*Thank you, Angel (J), for sharing the image! 

Frankenstein Assignment #1

Letters 1-4

How did you feel reading it? What do you think was the mood of the novel? (look at the first sentence!)
The setting is not limited to just the geography or location of the novel, but it can also include the occupations of the main characters, the period in which the story takes place, and the mental and emotional conditions of the characters. Based on all of that, what is the setting of Frankenstein?

--geographical—
--occupational—
--time period—
--mental and emotional conditions—

--How do you feel the setting effects the tone?

Who is telling this story? (Walton!) Does it make a difference? It made a difference to Shelley—could she have started the novel with chapter 1?

Be on the lookout for similarities between Victor and Walton. What did you find?
Why is having a friend so important to Walton, what did he say about friendship before Victor arrived?
How does Walton, who is at the beginning of his quest, view the quest for knowledge/technology? How does Victor view his quest for knowledge/technology at the beginning of his quest?
Are they similar? How does Victor view his quest at the end? 

Due Diligence Reaps Rewards

Tomorrow is my birthday, which means that I am working vigorously today so that I can relax tomorrow. I'm at home upgrading computer software, cleaning the house, doing laundry, making a powerpoint for the DDC meeting Monday morning, writing lesson plans and sub plans for Monday (because I will be at a Yearbook workshop with two of my Yearbook students that day), grading assignments, and tending to other random details of life that linger on my continual to-do list.

After Crossfit this morning and all of the productivity at home I'm tired and would love to just watch Hulu (now that I have upgraded it!), and veg on the couch. But I have to work. Tomorrow, on my birthday, I will relax and enjoy the day with my friends. But today, I must work so that I can fully relax tomorrow.

So, why the Flanecdote? Well, that is what life is about if you want to be successful AND happy. You have to put in the hours, put in the time, make the effort, before you can relax and enjoy the time off that you have earned. And then do it all again.

It is exhausting. But extremely rewarding.

As you begin working on your book reports I want you to consider that the work you will be putting in will pay off. There is nothing like delving deeply into a book. Please don't be the student from the Onion article "Girl Moved to Tears By Of Mice and Men Cliff's Notes". Do yourselves a favor and actually relish in this ancient form of entertainment - reading. You will gain so much from this project if you remain open-minded and really find the relevance in the reading. It's all about perspective and will.

For those of you that have yet to find a book - don't fret. Find a book from any of the below author's. Kik or email me your book choice asap, and I will let you know if it is available/appropriate.

AP Language and Composition Author List:

Pre-20th Century
Joseph Addison, Matthew Arnold, Francis Bacon, James Boswell, Thomas Carlyle, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Jean de Crèvecoeur, Charles Darwin, Thomas De Quincey, Frederick Douglass, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Benjamin Franklin, Margaret Fuller, Edward Gibbon, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, William Hazlitt, Thomas Hobbes, Harriet Jacobs (Linda Brent), Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Johnson, Charles Lamb, John Locke, Thomas Macaulay, Niccolò Machiavelli, John Stuart Mill, John Milton, Michel de Montaigne, Thomas More, Thomas Paine, Francis Parkman, Walter Pater, Samuel Pepys, John Ruskin, George Bernard Shaw, Richard Steele, Jonathan Swift, Henry David Thoreau, Alexis de Tocqueville, Oscar Wilde, Mary Wollstonecraft

20th Century to the Present
Edward Abbey, Diane Ackerman, James Agee, Paula Gunn Allen, Roger Angell, Natalie Angier, Gloria Anzaldúa, Hannah Arendt, Michael Arlen, Margaret Atwood, James Baldwin, Dave Barry, Melba Patillo Beals, Simone de Beauvoir, Lerone Bennett Jr ., Wendell Berry, Sven Birkerts, Susan Bordo, Jacob Bronowski, David Brooks, William F . Buckley, Judith Butler, Rachel Carson, G . K . Chesterton, Winston Churchill, Kenneth Clark, Judith Ortiz Cofer, Jill Ker Conway, Arlene Croce, Richard Dawkins, Vine Deloria Jr ., Daniel Dennett, Jared Diamond, Joan Didion, Annie Dillard, Maureen Dowd, Elizabeth Drew, W . E . B . Du Bois, Leon Edel, Gretel Ehrlich, Loren Eiseley, Richard Ellmann, Nora Ephron, Niall Ferguson, Timothy Ferris, M . F . K . Fisher, Frances Fitzgerald, Janet Flanner (Genêt), Tim Flannery, Shelby Foote, Richard Fortey, John Hope Franklin, Antonia Fraser, Thomas L . Friedman, Paul Fussell, John Kenneth Galbraith, Mavis Gallant, Henry Louis Gates Jr ., Atul Gawande, Ellen Goodman, Nadine Gordimer, Stephen Jay Gould, Stephanie Elizondo Griest, David Halberstam, Elizabeth Hardwick, Elva Trevino Hart, Chris Hedges, John Hersey, Christopher Hitchens, Edward Hoagland, Richard Holmes,
bell hooks, Zora Neale Hurston, Pauline Kael, Evelyn Fox Keller, Helen Keller, George Kennan, Jamaica Kincaid, Martin Luther King Jr ., Barbara Kingsolver, Maxine Hong Kingston, Naomi Klein, Paul Krugman, Alex Kuczynski, Lewis H . Lapham, T . E . Lawrence, Aldo Leopold, Gerda Lerner, Andy Logan, Philip Lopate, Barry Lopez, Norman Mailer, Nancy Mairs, Peter Matthiessen, Mary McCarthy, Frank McCourt, Bill McKibben, John McPhee, Margaret Mead, H . L . Mencken, Jessica Mitford, N . Scott Momaday, Jan Morris, John Muir, Donald M . Murray, V . S . Naipaul, Geoffrey Nunberg, Joyce Carol Oates, Barack Obama, Tillie Olsen, Susan Orlean, George Orwell, Cynthia Ozick, Steven Pinker, Francine Prose, David Quammen, Arnold Rampersad, Ishmael Reed, Rick Reilly, David Remnick, Adrienne Rich, Mordecai Richler, Richard Rodriguez, Sharman Apt Russell, Carl Sagan, Edward Said, Scott Russell Sanders, George Santayana, Simon Schama, Arthur M . Schlesinger, David Sedaris, Richard Selzer, Leslie Marmon Silko, Barbara Smith, Red Smith, Susan Sontag, Shelby Steele, Lincoln Steffens, Ronald Takaki, Paul Theroux, Lewis Thomas, George Trevelyan, Calvin Trillin, Barbara Tuchman, Cynthia Tucker, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, John Updike, Gore Vidal, Alice Walker, Jonathan Weiner, Eudora Welty, Cornel West, E . B . White, George Will, Terry Tempest Williams, Garry Wills, E . O . Wilson, Edmund Wilson, Tom Wolfe, Virginia Woolf, Richard Wright, Malcolm X, Anzia Yezierska 

A Sense of Urgency With a Splash of Humility

Language has always fascinated me. As a species we have evolved beyond other species mainly because of our opposable thumbs and our extensive language/communication skills. I have always enjoyed writing and conversing because through communication we come to better understand ourselves and our world, and grow and evolve as individuals and as a society/culture. 

I recently sensed a great deal of hesitation amongst my AP Lang students as we transitioned from rhetorical analysis to argumentation. They are so worried about being wrong or sounding stupid, when all they have to do is explore their ideas and think critically. 

I have provided them with academic language lists and organizational structures, now they just need to be curious. They need to think about the essay prompt with a sense of relevance to their world and society as a whole.

What I told one student as she lamented over the timed writing to be done the next day .... 

"Education is a process. I'M still learning. Everyday. 'She who knows, knows that she know nothing at all.' Think about it as growth rather than needing to be perfect tomorrow. No one is perfect. There is always room for improvement! .... No one has all of the right answers! That is why we, as a society, continue to question, explore, and invent! We grow as a society because we are naturally curious. We explore and question our world in order to figure things out. This essay is a chance to explore and figure things out. Think of it as an opportunity to engage and question life."

In their writing and speaking skills, I want my students to be academic, thorough, and descriptive, but I also want them to be engaged, creative, and thoughtful. I want my students to want to question the text and explore, not just answer the prompt dryly and regurgitate sentence stems. I want my students to want to gain more knowledge rather than thinking of essays and projects as a chore or some kind of torture. 

In the end I just want them to understand the art of rhetoric and see how they can use it (for good or evil); I want them to be able to argue a position no matter their actual opinion of the topic; I want them to question things and never live in ignorance or apathy. 

Those may be some lofty goals, but I've got hope! #MakeHopeHappen #Teacherlife #APLang

P.S. For my scholars....

Extra Credit ---- Answer any or all of the following questions in one complete AXES paragraph (one AXES paragraph per question)

1. Find the paragraph of antithesis and/or juxtaposition. Why/how is it effective?
2. Find the anaphora. Why/how is it effective?
3. The Wittgenstein quote is an appeal to ___________ (Hint: logical fallacy)
4. Find the allusion. Why/how is it effective?
5. Does Ms. F have enough ethos to be persuasive? Explain