Cycle III Extra Credit

Find a current event article in the newspaper or online, that shows present day racism or discrimination against a certain group of people. Even though the Holocaust happened many years ago, racism and discrimination still exists today.

Once you find your article, post the following response on the blog:

1. Brief Summary of what your article was about. WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, HOW
2. How does this article relate to the themes in Night?

3. Were you surprised by what you read? Why or Why not?

Cycle II Reflections

We have come to the end of Cycle II and it is time to do some self-reflection. As the year progresses, you should be seeing some type of improvement in your writing, reading comprehension, or critical thinking skills. I want to know which area(s) you are improving in(stregnths), and which area(s) you still need to work on(weakness). What are your goals for cycle III? What is your plan to achieve these goals?

     Cycle II looks like this:

   A=0

  B=3

     C=6

   D=3

   F=7

Your post should include the following:

1. Your areas of improvement

2. Your areas of weakness

3.Goals for Cycle III/ Plan to achieve those goals

**Extra Credit**

This assignment will be counted as EXTRA CREDIT if you choose to accept =) The last day to post your response is 2-2-2011 (Wednesday)

"A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything."
Malcolm X

Controversial Social Issues

As we mature into young adults and pursue higher education, controversial social issues often begin to grab our attention and affect our view of the world.  Whether we choose to give up eating meat, avoid wearing furs, or stop driving gas-guzzling SUVs, most of us will eventually take a stand on a controversial social issue and examine, if not change, an important facet of our life. What controversial social issue has become important to you?

Write a multi-paragraph essay addressed to an admissions officer in which you discuss a controversial social issue that has become important to you or caused you to rethink how you live your life. Be sure to include specific details and examples to support your ideas. (3 paragraphs)

As you write, remember your essay will be scored based on how well you:

develop a multi-paragraph response to the assigned topic that clearly communicates your controlling idea to the audience.

support your controlling idea with meaningful examples, reasons, and information based upon your research or readings.

organize your essay in a clear and logical manner, including an introduction, body, and conclusion.

use well-structured sentences and language that are appropriate for your audience.

edit your work to conform to the conventions of standard American English

**Extra Credit**

This assignment will be counted as EXTRA CREDIT if you choose to accept the mission =) The last day to post your response is January 2, 2011 !!!!!

"Do not let your life go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swaps of the not-quite, the not yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you derserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists...it is real...it is possible..it's yours."-Ayn Rand

1. Analyze the quote. What message is Ayn Rand trying to send through this quote?

2. Which character(s) does this relate to in Anthem? Explain

3. Do you ever get disappointed and give up? What do you strive to accomplish, that you will never give up on?

Anthem Notes

These are the notes from the Anthem powerpoint we went over in class. It may be a good idea to print these out and stick them in your notebook. =) We are having a test on chapter 1 of Anthem.

Ayn Rand Background
- Ayn Rand was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, on February 2, 1905.
-At age six she taught herself to read.
-At the age of nine, she decided to make fiction writing her career.
-Thoroughly opposed to the collectivism of Russian culture, she thought herself as an European writer.
-The final Communist victory brought the confiscation of her father's pharmacy and periods of near-starvation.
-When introduced to American history in her last year of high school, she immediately took America as her model of what a nation of free men could be.

Anthem
-1st person plural (Anthem is his diary) describes his society and his attitude towards it.
-Constantly barraged with propaganda from the leaders, who preach the glory of working for one's brothers and the duty of fulfilling "the needs of the society."
-Leaders recognize Equality 7-2521's ability and considered to be a threat.
-Even to think of these times has been forbidden
-"What is not thought by all men..cannot be true...What is not done collectively cannot be good."
-Conformity, obedience, and sacrifice are the cause of human unhappiness and destruction.
-INDIVIDUALISM V COLLECTIVISM
Society in Anthem is a collectivist society.
The subjugation of the individual to the group whether to a race, class, or state does not matter.
In such a society, the individual is owned by the group; he has no right to lead his own life, pursue his own happiness or use his own property.
The individual exists only as part of a group.
Worth determined by his service to the group.
Communism (1818-1926) is one kind of collectivism, where the desires of the group are more important than the desires of the individual.
Ayn Rand was a high school student in Russia when it became Communist. Her father's pharmacy was confiscated and her family almost starved.

Selflessness
-Self is destroyed in a collectivist society
-No one has a personal name(relate to ID numbers)
Individuals are interchangeable
-To prefer one person to another is to commit the cardinal sin(i.e, choosing friends)
FREE WILL v. DETERMINISM
-Free Will- People can make choices, can make up their own minds, can make decisions, can direct their own lives by the ideas and values they adopt.
-Determinism-People are by nature in the grip of forces beyond their control, that their beliefs and values are the result of some force such as God, other people, the stars, economic conditions, instincts or one's racial heritage. (pre-determined)

Hello All :)
Thank you all for an enjoyable first day! After meeting all of you, I am confident we are going to have a great year together. I have created this blog to serve as a form of communication from me to you, but also for you to use to post things to your classmates. I will be posting regularly and therefore some topics I will expect you to comment on for a grade, and other topics will be posted purely for your enjoyment :) So how will this work? In class or through e-mail I will tell you when to check out our blog. If I tell you a comment is necessary then you will need to post your comment and sign your first and last name at the end so I can give you credit for the assignment. If you have anything you want me to post email me at nrubinet@gmail.com. This could be almost anything. Maybe you want to remind your classmates about an event after school or maybe you just want your classmates to read something you have written and want our feedback. I will post your topic either with your name by it or anonymously. Let’s make it a great year!