Freshmen - Work for the Week of March 18th

Monday March 18th
Minutes:Jordan, Bowen/Mo
Reading HW: I.iii-I.v
HW: How do Romeo and Juliet speak to one another before/upon/after their meeting.   Is this love at first sight?  What is the nature of their love?  Please address particular quotes in the passage.  Does their love increase when discovering one another's lineage?  Why or why not?

Tuesday March 19th
Minutes: Derrick, David X.
Reading HW: I.v
HW: Determine character motivations for Capulet, Tybalt, Romeo, Juliet, and Nurse.  Each motivation should be a minimum of two sentences.

Wednesday March 20th
Minutes: Laura, N/A
Reading HW: II.i-ii
HW: Please determine the character motivations for Romeo, Juliet, and the Nurse.  Please write a minimum of three sentences each.

Thursday March 21st
Minutes: Cindy,  Jenny
Reading HW: II.iii
HW: What is the friar's role in Romeo and Juliet?  Please focus on Romeo's interaction with the friar to understand the dynamics of their relationship.  What about the friar's words connect to some of the larger themes of our text?

Friday March 22nd
Minutes: Adam, Alice
Reading HW: Finish II
HW: Select an example for your extended footnote assignment.

Monday April 3rd
Minutes: Dristi, Mahdi
Reading HW: Act III
HW: Be prepared to discuss your extended footnote assignment.

Freshmen E.C. - Shakespeare and Love Songs

Your job is to pick a love song and post a youtube link on our blog explaining how this particular song perceives love considering how we've discussed the extensive varieties of love throughout our class.

Be sure to explain which song you've selected, how the song depicts love, and how the song compares/contrasts with a particular line in Romeo and Juliet.  Be sure to include the Act, Scene, and line of the quote.  For example, if you're using line 455 from Act III, Scene VIII, the citation would look as follows: (III.viii, 455).  Note how the act is capitalized, the scene is in lower case and followed by a comma, and finally the line's number is presented.

Have fun!

And if you're struggling, I'll put down some of my favorite love songs!

The Cure - Six Different Ways
Radiohead - Lucky
Air - How Does It Make You Feel?
Blur - Tender
Grinderman - The Palaces of Montezuma

Sophomores - Work for the Week of March 11th

Monday March 11th
Minutes:
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Full draft due.

Tuesday March 12th - Homeroom Day
Minutes:
Reading HW: Complete Siddhartha.  Bring in your book for today.
HW: How does Hesse describe Siddhartha's enlightenment?  What is the essential difference between knowledge and wisdom?  Do you agree or disagree with how Siddhartha defines the two?  I find it depressing that Siddhartha can only reach such a level of understanding the world so late in his life.  Do you believe that we can only attain enlightenment in our golden years?  How can such a revelation compare with the human cycle of life? 

Wednesday March 13th
Minutes: Julie, Kevin, Mindy
Reading HW: Read the following article and watch the embedded video on the Id, Ego, and Superego.
HW: Are you id driven or superego driven?  How do the two balance in your life?  Try to think of two examples of when your id and superego were conflicted.  What would you be like if you were dominated by your id or dominated by your superego?

Thursday March 14th - P/T Conferences 5:30 P.M. - 8:30 P.M.
Minutes: Natalie, Andrew, Daisy
Reading HW: "Story of the Door" and "Search for Mr. Hyde"
HW: Why does Stevenson choose to make a reference to Cain so early in the novel?  What terrible crime is witnessed in the first chapter?  How does Stevenson choose to describe Hyde on page 10?  What particular words stand out to you in this description?

Friday March 15th - P/T Conferences 1:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M. - 20 minute periods today.
Minutes: Yusuf, Caroline, Theo
Reading HW: Please read pages 1-4 and 9-10 (only the passages that discuss the "double")
HW: What is Freud's definition of the "Uncanny"?  Please review the description of Hyde on pg. 5.  How does this description fit Freud's "uncanny"?  How does Freud define the "double"?  How are "uncanny" emotions perhaps tied to the "double"?  Give an example.  I'll be checking homework in class.

Monday March 18th
Minutes:
Reading HW: Ch. 3, 4, 5
HW: Note how Jekyll speaks about Hyde and how easily he can get rid of him.  If that isn't repression, I don't know what is...  Study Hyde's crimes and note how Utterson's descriptions of London take on a dark, nightmarish tone.  How might Hyde's crimes be unleashing the repressed id within our characters?

PAPER DUE TODAY.  Here's an example of an A paper to to give you some ideas!

Freshmen - Work for the Week of March 11th

Monday March 11th
Minutes: Jordan, Bowen
Reading HW: Sonnet 130
HW: Translate Sonnet 130 into modern English as per our lesson on Friday.  Update Shakespeare's words so that they fit a modern context.

Tuesday March 12th - Homeroom Day - Books to be Distributed
Minutes:
Reading HW: Romeo and Juliet's famed encounter in II.ii.  Please read Romeo's opening statement (the opening 24 lines).
HW: Complete the close reading exercise we began in class.  Read for both understanding AND analysis/interpretation.  You will hand these in so try your best and show your work!

Wednesday March 13th
Minutes:
Reading HW: Prologue
HW: Please define true love in six sentences minimum.  What does this term mean to you?  How have you arrived at these conclusions?  What examples of true love help you define this expression?

Thursday March 14th - P/T Conferences 5:30 P.M. - 8:30 P.M.
Minutes:

Reading HW: I.i-ii
HW: Why would Shakespeare start his playing telling us what happens at the ending?  How would you characterize two young people willing to take their lives in the name of love?


Friday March 15th - P/T Conferences 1:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M. - 20 minute periods today.
Minutes:
Reading HW: I.iii-v
HW: Consider the events that lead up to Romeo and Juliet's meeting.  Why are the two young characters overcome with depressed emotions?  How might these respective scenarios influence their "love at first sight"?


Monday March 18th
Minutes:
Reading HW: Review Act I.v
HW: How do Romeo and Juliet speak to one another before/upon/after their meeting.   Is this love at first sight?  What is the nature of their love?  Please address particular quotes in the passage.  Does their love increase when discovering one another's lineage?  Why or why not?

Sophomores - Work for the Week of March 4th

Monday March 4th - Conference Schedule
Minutes: Wendy, Dror, Mindy
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Rewrite due today.

Tuesday March 5th - Homeroom Schedule
Minutes: Mark, Jeremy, David
Reading HW: "Sansara" and "By The River" and skim this excerpt from Freud's Interpretations of Dreams.
HW: What is the significance of Siddhartha's dreams?  How can we interpret this strange dream he has?

Wednesday March 6th - Regular Schedule
Minutes: Alex, Jeffery, Sophie
Reading HW: "The Ferryman" and "The Son"
HW: Please have four quotes selected for your paper.  Explain why you selected each quote in 2-3 sentences.  I will be checking this.

Thursday March 7th - Regular Schedule
Minutes: Jason, Jacky Y., Salman
Reading HW: "Om" and "Govinda" and the following article on suicide.
HW: Why does Siddhartha consider suicide?

Friday March 8th - Regular Schedule
Minutes: Jorge, Sungwoo, Zafir
Reading HW: Finish the book.  Bring the book to class to return it.
HW: First draft of Life Paths assignment due.

Monday March 11th
Minutes:
Reading HW: N/A - Work on your paper.
HW: Second workshop before paper is due on Wednesday.

Freshmen - Work for the Week of March 4th

Monday March 4th - Conference Schedule
Minutes: Adam, Rina
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Presentations

Tuesday March 5th - Homeroom Schedule
Minutes: Cindy, Kevin M.
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Presentations

Wednesday March 6th - Regular Schedule
Minutes: David H., Kyle
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Presentations

Thursday March 7th - Regular Schedule
Minutes: Anika, Lianna
Reading HW:
HW:

Friday March 8th - Regular Schedule
Minutes: Rui, Alina
Reading HW:
HW:

Monday March 11th
Minutes: Jordan, Bowen
Reading HW:
HW: Translate Sonnet 130 into modern English.

Work for the Week of February 25th - Sophomores

Due Monday February 25th
Minutes: ____, Andy, Ethan

Reading HW: N/A

-For your homework, you will forego using technology for a period of six hours.  This must take place during waking hours.  You are forbidden from watching television, using a computer, listening to any kind of electronic music device, or using a cell phone or telephone.  Please refrain from any lengthy communication.  Please let your parents/family know of this assignment as to allow you the time to be alone.  You are allowed to complete work for other courses during this time period, but not for more than three hours.  Please write, in three short journal entries every two hours, what your experience is like.  What have you done to pass the time?  How do you feel in your period of abstinence?  How do you cope with the boredom?  Homework will be checked in class.  

Due Tuesday February 26th
Minutes: Paul, Douglas, Tanvir

Reading HW: Please read the final chapter of part I of Siddartha by Herman Hesse entitled "Awakening" and reread "Gotama" if you need a reminder

HW: Siddhartha exclaims how he cannot learn from Gotama because while Gotama has found his own path, Siddhartha cannot follow that path.  He must follow his own.  Do you feel that those who educate you in your life are leading you to your own path?  Can you not follow their teachings are Siddhartha exclaims?
Considering Siddhartha's "awakening", how has the first section of the book acted as a kind of metaphor for life?

Due Wednesday February 27th
Minutes: Sunnam, Mohammed, Antony
Reading HW: read the following NYTimes article entitled "In Search of the True Self".
HW: Considering Siddhartha's newly forming identity considering is sexual desires, I would like you to read the following NYTimes article entitled "In Search of the True Self".  What is the central struggle with identity in this article?  Is Siddhartha's sexuality a weakness that pulls him away from his identity?  Or is it a core aspect of who he is?  Can the same be said about Siddhartha's materialism?

Due Thursday February 28th
Minutes: Johnson, Joey, Rebecca
Reading HW: Read "Kamala" and "Amongst the People"
HW:  Is Siddhartha’s sexual desire an aspect of his individual identity or is it a worldly vice?  What about his materialism?  How does sexuality and materialism factor into the construction of one’s identity?  Do we see many individuals in our country relying upon sexual relationships and material goods as a form of identity?

Here's a copy of our worksheet from today.

Due Friday March 1st
Minutes: Noah, Timothy, Patrick N.
Reading HW: Please read the following "A" papers found in this file.   Sorry for lateness! (7:00 PM)
HW: Try to explain why I as an English teacher was inclined to reward these papers with high marks?  How are these assignments successful in their efforts?

Due Monday March 4th
Minutes: Wendy, Dror, Mindy
Reading HW: "By the River" and "The Ferryman"
HW: Rewrite due.