Work for the Week of September 15th - Seniors

Monday September 15th
Minutes: Aimee R., Veronika A.
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Please visit a toy store (preferably Toys R Us) and observe how children are marketed to, particularly in respect to gender.

Tuesday September 16th
Minutes: Jamie H., Lise H.
Reading HW:
HW: Final draft of college essay due.  Just hand in one copy despite what the assignment asks for.

Wednesday September 17th
Minutes: Kim C., Heebong K.
Reading HW: Women's Wednesday!  Every Wednesday we will take some time to read an extensive profile of an amazing woman.  Be sure to read your assigned article.
HW: Prepare some comments based upon your reading.  What is particularly notable about this week's figure?  What lessons can we learn from her journey?  What difficulties did she face?  How did she overcome them?

This week's notable woman?  Jennifer Hale.

Thursday September 18th
Minutes: Patrick L., Monica C.
Reading HW: Please watch Damsel in Distress Part I.  And visit this Tumblr!
HW: Take notes.  What argument does Sarkeesian posit?  What are some of the worst offenders?  I'd also like you to play devil's advocate to Sarkeesian's argument.  What might you argue against her?  Whatever your beliefs may be, I'm just asking for you to have a healthy dose of skepticism and awareness of how those who disagree with you might argue.

Friday September 19th
Minutes: Yijia M., Jacky C.
Reading HW: Please watch Women as Background.   You do not need to watch the entire film, but if you can, please do!
HW: Please find positive examples of female video game characters.  While it may be easy to demonize the video game industry, let's also celebrate it's successes!  Here's an interesting stat sheet about video games!  And here's a study about video games and their effects on gamers!

Monday September 22nd
Minutes:Alisa S., Jenny L.
Reading HW: Spend some time online with the sites about-face.org
HW: Please bring in three advertisements from magazines or from the internet.  One should be inspirational, one should be disturbing, and the final should be an image that includes both a man and a woman.

Work for the Week of September 15th - Juniors

Monday September 15th
Minutes:
Reading HW: The Grapes of Wrath 122 - 159
HW: Please write in your Grapes of Wrath journal.  Include 7 annotations that ask questions or make observations.

Tuesday September 16th
Minutes: James P.
Reading HW: The Grapes of Wrath 160 - 203
HW: Please write in your Grapes of Wrath journal.  Include 7 annotations that ask questions or make observations.

Wednesday September 17th
Minutes: Jessica Z.
Reading HW:  The Grapes of Wrath 204 - 221
HW: Begin writing assignment.

Thursday September 18th
Minutes: Eli Z.
Reading HW: The Grapes of Wrath  222 - 263
HW:  Include 7 annotations that ask questions or make observations.

Friday September 19th
Minutes: Alina S.
Reading HW: Catch up!
HW: Journal check today!

Monday September 22nd
Minutes: Sara W.
Reading HW:  The Grapes of Wrath 264 - 314
HW:  Include 7 annotations that ask questions or make observations.

Work for the Week of September 15th - Freshmen

Monday September 15th
Reading HW: Read Chapter V of Frankenstein
HW: Brainstorm potential answers for your Perfect Paragraph assignment.

Tuesday September 16th
Reading HW: Read Ch. VI - VIII of of Frankenstein
HW: Work on your Perfect Paragraph.

Wednesday September 17th
Reading HW: N/A
HW: 1st draft of Perfect Paragraph assignment is due.

Thursday September 18th
Minutes:
Reading HW: Read Part II Ch. I - IV of Frankenstein
HW:

Friday September 19th
Minutes:
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Perfect paragraph due today!

Monday September 22nd
Minutes:
Reading HW: Read V - VIII of Frankenstein
HW: Why do you think the creature feels such affection for this cottage family?  What does the story so far show us about the role of family in life?  Why does the creature crave to belong?  Why does the monster contemplate the following: “Was I then a monster,” he asks, “a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled, and whom all men disowned?”  Can you think of anyone in society who might feel similar to this? 

Tuesday September 23rd
Minutes:

Reading HW: Ch. 3 They Say I Say,
HW: Begin revision of draft.

Work for the Week of September 8th - Seniors

Monday September 8th
Minutes:
Reading HW: N/A, Emily X.
HW: First draft of college essay due.

Tuesday September 9th
Minutes: Patrick M., Wilson L.
Reading HW: Please listen to the following episode of "The Moth."
HW: Please note five details that truly reflect the individuality of the speaker.

Wednesday September 10th
Minutes: Afshin K., Sunny Z.
Reading HW: Please explore the NY Times Magazine's "Lives" section for inspiration.
HW: Second draft of college essay due.

If you have time, listen to the rest of today's This American Life podcast that focuses upon a student's wild story about a stolen book and how this story got him into Harvard.

Thursday September 11th
Minutes: Kazi A., Daniel G.
Reading HW: Please read and print the following Gender Marketing Packet.
HW: Be sure to use as little paper as possible when printing!

Friday September 12th
Minutes: Thomas L.
Reading HW: Please read "Playing at Sexy" by Peggy Orenstein.
HW: I want you to think about incidents in your own life where you have witnesses the hypersexualization of young girls.  Is there anything wrong with such behavior?  Should it be encouraged or discouraged?  Don't simply respond by telling me what you think I want to hear.  Consider all sides of the argument and plays devil's advocate.

Also, check out this fun tumblr of "Unnecessarily Gendered Products".  Thanks Veronika!

Monday September 15th
Minutes: Aimee R., Veronika A.
Reading HW:
HW: Please visit a toy store (preferably Toys R Us) and observe how children are marketed to, particularly in respect to gender.
Final draft of college essay due on Tuesday

Work for the Week of September 8th - Juniors

Monday September 8th
Minutes:
Reading HW: The Grapes of Wrath page 3 - 53.
HW: Please write in your Grapes of Wrath journal.  Include 10 annotations that ask questions or make observations.

Tuesday September 9th
Minutes:
Reading HW: The Grapes of Wrath page 3 - 53.
HW: Please write in your Grapes of Wrath journal.  Include 10 annotations that ask questions or make observations.

Wednesday September 10th
Minutes:
Reading HW: The Grapes of Wrath 54 - 89.
HW: HW: Please write in your Grapes of Wrath journal.  Include 10 annotations that ask questions or make observations.  Also, check out this amazing photo series of life during the late 1930s.

Thursday September 11th
Minutes:
Reading HW: The Grapes of Wrath 90 -121
HW: HW: Please write in your Grapes of Wrath journal.  Include 7 annotations that ask questions or make observations.

Friday September 12th
Minutes:
Reading HW: “But when they're all workin' together, not one fella for another fella, but one fella kind of harnessed to the whole shebang—that's right, that's holy … I'm glad there's love here. That's all."

HW: Considering Casy's perception of holy, I'd like you to do something "for another fella", a completely selfless act of kindness.  Tell me about it in class tomorrow.

Monday September 15th
Minutes:
Reading HW: The Grapes of Wrath 122 - 159
HW: Please write in your Grapes of Wrath journal.  Include 7 annotations that ask questions or make observations.

Work for the Week of September 8th - Freshmen

Monday September 8th
Minutes: N/A
Reading HW: N/A
HW: N/A

Tuesday September 9th
Reading HW: "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway
HW: Is this story a piece of "good" literature?  Why or why not?  What is the subtext of this story?  Please be sure to make observations, ask why the author makes such choices, and hypothesize a potential answer.

Wednesday September 10th
Reading HW: Read "St Lucy's House for Girls Raised by Wolves" by Karen Russell
HW: What is the subtext of this story?  How can we relate to this fantastic story? 

Thursday September 11th
Reading HW: Read Frankenstein (Pg. 15-32 Walton's Letters)
HW: Please make five observations of the text.  Ask five questions of your observations.  Make five hypotheses based upon your questions.

Friday September 12th
Reading HW: Read  Frankenstein (Pg. 33-57, Ch. I-IV)
HW: Please find 10 examples of our themes in the text.  Be sure to notate the theme, page number, and a tiny excerpt of a quote.

Monday September 15th
Minutes:
Reading HW: Ch. V (58 - 64)
HW: N/A

Welcome!

Hello!  Welcome to our class blog.  Over the weekend, I will post the entirety of next week's homework and reading schedules online.  You'll be able to check your assignments and even access documents and videos pertinent to our coursework.  I've gone ahead and attached electronic copies of your syllabi below.  Feel free to review, download, and print them.

Freshmen Composition Syllabus
Juniors American Literature Syllabus
Seniors Women's Voices Syllabus

Please explore previous posts to get a feel for how the blog works and how we will use it in our class.

If I haven't told you this already, I'm very excited to get to know you and work with you this semester.  Welcome to my class.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at MrEricFerencz@gmail.com