Holiday Gift to My Followers

Pearl Jam Live at Austin City Limits...a historic rock n roll landmark, longest running rock show in American history. Nice live versions of Backspacer songs.

The Final Assessment: In-class writing: Is Oscar Wao a hero? Why or why not? (1 page written in class)

It has been my great pleasure to have shared this experience with you. All the best. Strive for excellence. Be well. Remember that life is what you make it. 10% is what happens to you, 90% is how you react to it. Happy Holidays. Be safe!

If I can ever be of assistance, do not hesitate to ask. E-mail me, call me or contact me through this blog.

Ethics Alley Response...Try not to Cheat on this one, sinners!

Journal #8: What did you learn from Wednesday's activities? Sum it up. If you were not in class, write about Oscar Wao.

Read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read, read Part II of Oscar Wao

Let's Bail Out the Pot Dealers!

Let's Bail Out the Pot Dealers!

Talk about vivid imagery and CD! Thought you guys might like this.

Changez is baaaaaccccckkkkkk.....ahhhhhhh!

Very simple this week. You have two jobs: 1. Revise formal essay #4. Do not forget to staple newer versions on top of older versions.

2. Avoid the swine flu.

Appeal to me!

WRITE: You have two short writing assignments for Monday, my phriends, each shall be one page typed and turned in:

1. Write a critique of the David Rohde NY Times article. Address specifically what you "take away" from the article. In other words, what most affected you and why. Please provide at least one specific reference to the article.

2. Stockton is chosing a new mascot! It has called upon its student body to write a one page paper nominating a mascot. The administration wants a mascot that represents the pride and honor of the institution. The community wants a mascot that represents a relevant icon of the area. The students want something that kicks ass! There are expected to be thousands of submissions, so it needs to persuasive. Incorporate all three types of appeals in your answer.

Fear It!

Besides the project due Wednesday, be sure you finish the New York Times article. Link through the previous link and just click the different sections at the top. Please do not skip the Epilogue.

October 26, 2009

Sorry for the inconvenience. I didn't know for sure this would happen until the last possible minute. For Wednesday, just keep reading about the NY Times journalist abduction. Be prepared to discuss and use the information from the article. Grab part 2 here.

October 21, 2009

READ: 1. Read this chilling first hand account of being kidnapped by Taliban forces while on a journalistic assignment in Afghanistan. Grab it here. David Rhodem the NY Times journalist was detained for over seven months. Read the first installment of the article. Actively read and annotate. Expect to need to know details about the situation. Apply it to our readings and discussion. Watch the "interactive features." Two videos, one is an introduction, the other is a video companion to the first installment of the article. They are helpful and should be viewed first.

2. Part 1 of BWLOW should be read by Monday.

October 5th 2009

Today, each family will be assigned a Mohsin Hamid article. The family will read, discuss and then write a reaction to the article as Journal #6 (each member will write her own journal). Tomorrow, the family will explain the pith (look it up...lol...j/k...I hope) of the article to the rest of the class. You will establish an argument agreeing or disagreeing with Hamid. Consider what you learned in class today. I will put the article up on the projector to aid you in this process. Consider the following:

1. What is Hamid's main point?
2. How does he illustrate (support) his point?
3. What insights into RF or Pakistani/American relations does the article provide?

IMPORTANT KEYS TO SUCCESS:
1. You may create a visual element to assist your audience in following the main points, but it is not mandatory.
2. Each family member should contribute orally.
3. Successful presentations will be an impetus (haha Skube) for class discussion. Think of it as an opportunity to teach the class and get them interacting.
4. Each presentation should be from 5 to 10 minutes long...and will be count off at that mark.

Jac & Jen/Family Business will read this. Rhet Clique/Somebody will read this. ASKK/Writers will read this. Silly/Blue Marlins will read this.
Team Victory/NHL will read this.

READ/THINK: 
1. Read & Annotate "How to Say Nothing in 500 Words" here (due next Monday)

2. Read Hamids essay entitled "Why They Hate Us"

September 30, 2009

WRITE: All rewrites due: Essay 2, 3 & Facebook.

READ: Hacker 79 - 138

September 28, 2009

READ: Finish RF...do you smell that? Hmmmm? Do you smell that?

WRITE: Read the Facebook article from the NY Times, respond in agreement or disagreement. Pay close attention to HOW you shape your argument to illustrate what you learned in class today. Write me one page...one page only! Typed, please. Even if you have to stop writing after a page, my main concern is how you establish your argument.

September 23, 2009

READ: 1. Reluctant Fundamentalist Chapters 6, 7 & 8

2. New York Times article here. Then read the latest on Pakistan & terrorism here. Journal #5: Compare/Contrast this situation to the one you encountered in RF. Be prepared to discuss both.

3. Study for Active Reading Test

Monday, September 21, 2009

Read the Introduction and Chapter 1 of the book Identity, I realize that there will be omissions. Disregard them as best you can.

Please also remember that you are responsible for the Mortimer Adler article.  

September 16, 2009

READ:

1. RF Chapters 4 & 5. Guiding questions below.

2. Thumb through pages. 49 - 51 of Hacker.

WRITE: Formal Essay #3: Literary Analysis Essay: Please provide at least one direct quotation from the novel in your answer. Do not worry about citing it. Answer the following question: Chapter 5 is the turning point of RF. By the end of this chapter, the reader is forced to consider a sudden change in perspective about Changez. Write an essay that does the following:

1. assesses your reaction to Changez's views at the end of Chapter 5.

2. describes your initial reaction to his reaction, and then your perspective on his reaction after some reflection: are you empathetic, angry, understanding, sad? Why?

3. discusses what you perceive the future will hold for Changez (if you already read the novel, discuss how this moment is a catalyst for the changes to Changez).

Chapter 4:

1. How does Changez’s story of how he got his scar reveal some of his biases against America? (46-47) (a couple of possible answers here)

2. How, in the pre-9/11 days in NYC, did the narrator feel riding the subways dressed in a white kurta? (48) (look up kurta if you need to)

3. Where does Erica live? What other association does Changez make with her apartment type? (49)

4. What is Erica referring to when she says, “It’s done”? (53)

5. What comparison does Changez make when he comments that alcohol is illegal in Pakistan? (53-54)

6. How does Changez reply to the American when he asks if drinking is considered a sin in Islam? What did they—at that moment—understand about each other’s cultures? (54)

7. Back to NY and dinner at Erica’s, what happens that annoys Changez? (54-55)

8. Later that evening, Changez fails to make conversation with the cap driver he knows is Pakistani. How are the two incidents related? (55-56)

9. What intimacies do we learn about Erica in chapter 4? How is there relationship changing? (55-61)

10. Back to Lahore, how does the American react to the lights going out? How does Changez react? What animal does Changez compare the American to? How is this amusing? (60-61)

Chapter 5:

1. What does the American find “creepy”? How does the narrator react? (62)

2. Why is the narrator so impressed with bats? (63)

3. Why is the narrator impressed that the American has been to the Philippines? (64)

4. Why is the narrator uncomfortable with the wealth he sees in the Philippines? (64-65)

5. What does the narrator do in the Philippines that he had never done before? (65)

6. What examples does the narrator offer to show he was “acting American”? (65)

7. What does the narrator feel as he walks around the factory floor when he was working in the Philippines? (66)

8. What do you think is going on between the driver of the jeepney (like a jitney or small bus) and the narrator? (67-68)

9. Why does the narrator find it hard to sleep that night? (68)

10. What does Jim mean when he calls Changez a “shark”? (70)

11. Why does Jim think that he and Changez are alike? (70-71)

12. What was Changez’s initial reaction to seeing the World Trade Center collapse on Filipino TV? (72)

13. How does the American react when the narrator makes this admission? (72)

14. How does the narrator explain why he smiled? (73)

15. What reminds the narrator of the human cost of 9/11? (74)

16. How was Changez treated on the flight back to New York compared with his colleagues (74-75)

17. What is the narrator hoping to hear from the American at the end of Chapter 5? (76)

September 14, 2009

WRITING: 1. Revise Essay 2 (Skube letter). You may revise Essay #1 (optional).

2. Journal #3: Watch this NY Times video. React in journal. Be prepared to discuss in class.

READING: Read this NY Times article and be prepared to discuss Wednesday

Click to read the prepared text of President Barack Obama’s back-to-school address scheduled for Tuesday. - pressofAtlanticCity.com : Home

Click to read the prepared text of President Barack Obama’s back-to-school address scheduled for Tuesday. - pressofAtlanticCity.com : Home

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Lost loves and lost years: newyorker.com

Lost loves and lost years: newyorker.com

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LeFevre places fourth at Pinehurst golf tournament - pressofAtlanticCity.com : Sports

LeFevre places fourth at Pinehurst golf tournament - pressofAtlanticCity.com : Sports

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Rachel Alexandra thrills adoring fans with 6-length victory over Summer Bird in Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park - pressofAtlanticCity.com : Sports

Rachel Alexandra thrills adoring fans with 6-length victory over Summer Bird in Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park - pressofAtlanticCity.com : Sports

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Assignments that Address Goals for Rhet & Comp 2009

This blog operates as a more versatile, effective and efficient version of a course outline. It allows students a searchable, archivable acount of all coursework, with the ability to view upcoming assignments as well as recently distributed assignments. It also allows for a greener, more interactive experience and convenient storage of course documents. Instead of labeling a course outline with those teaching tactics that specifically address the Rhet & Comp goals for this year. Below each goal, find the assignment links.

The following also assumes that on some level ALL assignments indirectly address all three goals, so this list is only a representation of those that provide a SPECIFIC and concentrated emphasis on the established goals. This is especially true of teh first part of #1. So, the listed assignments focus on the second part: "writing for outside audiences."

GOAL A:
http://costalwriting.blogspot.com/2009/07/july-2nd-assignments.html

http://costalwriting.blogspot.com/2009/07/module-for-july-6th-informal-writing-2.html

http://costalwriting.blogspot.com/2009/07/july-15th-assignments.html

http://costalwriting.blogspot.com/2009/07/july-16th-assignments.html

GOAL B:
http://costalwriting.blogspot.com/2009/07/july-13th-assignments.html

http://costalwriting.blogspot.com/2009/07/july-22nd-assignments-heat-is-on-now.html

http://costalwriting.blogspot.com/2009/07/july-21st-assignment.html

http://costalwriting.blogspot.com/2009/07/july-21st-reading-ruben-martinez.html

GOAL C:
Please see the blog's home page. Under "Documents" you will find notes from lectures. Two in particular, "Active Reading," "Research Ain't So Bad" & "Introductions" are of specific value to the R&C goals.

July 28th Module

MODULE:

Reflections on EOF.

In a thoughtful but brief essay, perhaps a page, please share your reflections on the EOF program as your experience concludes. What did you learn about yourself during these five weeks? What might you have done differently if you were to start over? What changes would you like to see in the program for next year? What else would you like to say about the program?

You may speak candidly, but remember you are creating a written record. Anything you wouldn’t want repeated you might want to omit.

I will do two things with these essays:

1. Offer a grade based, as always, on both content and presentation.
2. Give a copy to the EOF Director.
Remember audience as you write. As always, I want concrete detail.

ASSIGNMENT:
1. Study for final quiz

2. Choose one journal from your notes that you particularly liked. Clean it up, type it and turn it in tomorrow. Try to make sure it reflects what you've learned this summer.

Soon...it will be over, and summer will be about simple pleasures once more!

July 23rd Assignments

WRITE YOUR 1st draft of your RESEARCH PAPER!

Read BWLOW to the end of Part 1

July 22nd Assignments -- The heat is on now, knuckleheads!

MODULE: 1. Half hour prep with Costal

2. Tim will lead you through the wonderful world of researching online at Stockton.

Evening: Work on having your research proposal ready for tomorrow. Think about your topic. Work on turning it into a thesis. Research with Tim. Outline and take notes on your topic. Very, very, very, very helpful is this sample from our friend Diana Hacker which gives you a very easy, fundamental (haha...Jim) view of a good, collegiate research paper.

July 21st Assignment

MODULE: Complete peer edit and retype paper #2

READ: 1. In your Rules for Writers, read and study sections 52-56, on Writing MLA Papers, pages 411 – 475. Pay special attention to: supporting a thesis, avoiding plagiarism, integrating sources, documenting sources, the sample paper (467-475) and take note of the margin comments that explain what the writer is doing well.

2. BWLOW Chapter 4

3. Check out the passage on Latino Identity by author Ruben Martinez. This will come in handy later...believe me!

WRITE: As Journal #7: Throughout the novel, Spanish words and phrases appear unaccompanied by their English translations. What is the effect of this seamless blending of Spanish and English? How would the novel have been different if Díaz had stopped to provide English translations at every turn? Why does Díaz not italicize the Spanish words (the way foreign words are usually italicized in English-language text)?

July 20th Assignments

MODULE: Hacker Quiz (in families). Hand to Tim @ end. Begin reading with remaining time.

READ: 1. 1. In your Rules for Writers, read and study sections 49 - 51, on pages 383 t o405. DO THIS IN YOUR FAMILIES...help one another learn this...because you DO NEED to learn this.

2. Chapter 3 of BWLOW

July 14th Assignments

WRITE/THINK: 1. Finish peer editing, rewrite formal essay #1...be sure to connect to Tim's lecture.

Novelist Mohsin Hamid's ''Reluctant'' success - EW.com

Novelist Mohsin Hamid's ''Reluctant'' success - EW.com

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Obama in Cairo -- Inclass Discussion July 14th

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/06/04/world/middleeast/1194840713811/in-cairo-obama-calls-for-new-start.html

Harvard article and video

Fixed

Ok, links are working.

Yikes

There seems to be a problem with downloading one of my essays (today's assignment, the American essay, for the whole three or four of you who actually did.) I'm attempting to fix it, but until then, if you want a copy, ask me and I'll get it for you.

Why did I have to get into computers? Why not something more constructive and less painful, like sticking shards of glass into my brain?

Shards of glass that are on fire.

Ch-ch-ch-changez

Obviously the title of this post is an only moderately clever RF reference.

But...

If any of you don't know the song reference from the title of this post, you don't get a birthday this year.

Anyway, I've added a nifty new sidebar below the "Sites that Might Help You" bar to the left. It is a documents bar where you can access all of the things Joe and I upload to the world wide web that pertain to this class. Isn't that nifty? I think it's nifty. Anyway, everything will be in .PDF format, so you'll need Adobe Reader to open it. If you don't have that on your own laptop or computer, you'll need to use a public school computer in the Tender Robot Lovin' Center (TRLC).

Also, just for incentive, if you guys can correct my essays that I post (as I said before, the errors in them are both beligerent and numerous) you'll get some of that sweet, sweet extra credit. So sweet it's like a cake made of maple syrup and milk chocolate.

Okay, maybe that's a little nasty, but you get the idea.

July 9th Assignments

WRITE: Essay 1 (see prompt)

READ: Finish the Reluctant Fundamentalist, questions for Chapter 8, then you are on your own: ACTIVE READ!

THINK: Study for Active Reading test.

July 9th In-Class Family Assignment

#1: It is ok (ethically and personally) for Changez to have role-played as Chris in his love-making to Erica. Defend.

#2: Oh no. It is definitely NOT ok, that Changez pretended to be Chris while making love to Erica. Defend

#3: Changez should snap out of his post-9/11 funk and get back to his normal life. His funk is unhealthy and destructive. Defend.

#4: Changez should definitely NOT simply snap out of his post-9/11 funk. What he is exeperiencing is vital self-discovery. Defend.

#5: What does Changez mean in the last lines of Chapter 6. How is this admission to the American important? Why is "tonight" a night of such "importance?"

Hi everybody!

I have not checked in here yet, and I thought I'd let you know that to better help you guys, I do all of your major writing assignments with you (IE, anything that is getting a grade.) So here's a link to my letter to Professor Skube. It's an Adobe PDF file so unless you have Acrobat reader on your laptop you'll need to use the school computers to see it.

Grab it here.

My first dog was named Scooby. He was part collie and looked nothing like Scooby Doo.

Also, something to think about as it pertains to the whole "How American do you feel?" question. A guy I quite admire, Charles Pierce, who is a regular contestant on the NPR show Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me! wrote a book recently called Idiot America (sounds suspiciously like a somewhat outdated 90s MTV-friendly alterni-punk group you may have heard of.) He bases his entire book on one single phrase that he believes sums up the American mindset and the way Americans think, or more appropriately, the way Americans process information. From my observations of you guys as a class, I think he's sort of right.

"Fact is whatever you believe; truth is how fervently you believe it."

Finally, major kudos to whoever picks through my essay and finds some errors. They are there, lurking. Lurking like an 8th grade boy outside the girls locker room.

July 8th Assignments

Module:

Costal will discuss quiz & article, Tim will drop some knowledge about verbs.

Write: Rewrite (optional) of Informal Writing #2

Read: RF Chapters 6 & 7 (Questions attached, Marshall)

Chapter 6:

1. Why do you think the American is reluctant to share his personal story with the narrator? (77)

2. What are Changez’s reactions to all the mementos and photographs of the missing that were posted around lower Manhattan? (79)

3. How does Changez feel about all the flags that started appearing in New York? (79-80)

4. What changes does Erica see in the narrator when he talks about “home”? (81)

5. What does the narrator do when Erica falls asleep at his apartment? (83-84)

6. Comment on the tenderness of the love scene (88-92). Why do you think the narrator includes so many intimate details? (I don’t have any ready-made answer in mind.)

7. The last two sentences in Chapter 6 (page 92, starting with “But tonight . . .) are a puzzle to me. What do you guys think?


Chapter 7:

1. How does the narrator describe the mood in America following 9/11? (94)

2. What were the rumors Changez was hearing at the Pak-Punjab Deli? (94)

3. Why does the author think he’s unlikely to be targeted for persecution? (94-95)

4. Why do the workers at the cable company resent the people from Underwood Samson coming in? (95-99)

5. What happened in October 2001 that Changez reports “upset his equilibrium”? (99)

6. What did Changez see on TV one evening that led to his drinking heavily and showing up late—for the first time ever—for work the next morning? (99-100)

7. Why does the narrator think the Pakistanis take such pride in their food? What does he mean when he says their traditional foods are “predatory”? (101-102)

8. What does Changez’s rant about Pakistani history suggest about the comparison between the US and his country? (101-102)

9. Why do you think Changez said nothing to Erica about his anger over the invasion of Afghanistan? (102)

10. Creepy love scene warning pages 102-107. (At least I found it creepy) Why was it creepy? What does Changez feel at the end?

11. What word does Changez use to describe how he felt being bested by a dead rival, Erica’s deceased boyfriend, Chris? (106)

July 7th Assignments

MODULE: Peer Edit #1: Pick someone who is not a member of your family. Peer edit by simply reading aloud informal essay #1. Note anything that "sounds" awkward or incorrect. You may note edits from your own paper. You may interupt your partner to note issues with his/her paper.

WRITE: Rewrite and resubmit informal essay 1. Please hand in with original attached, or you will not receive credit.

THINK:

1. About Costal's Ceys to writing as you edit. If you focus on not making these mistakes alone...you will see vast improvement in your writing.

2. What does the picture attached to this post have to do with the post itself. Submit your answer as a comment to the post. The first correct (or creative answer) will receive extra credit.

Module for July 6th: Informal Writing #2: Skube: Doo-doo Head?

Michael Skube provides his e-mail on the bottom of his scathing rebuke of today's college student. Write a letter to him either agreeing or disagreeing with his thesis. Either way, make sure you back up your claim with specific examples from either your own life, observations you have made or statistics you have researched. Do not spend too much time worrying about how you "cite" your source(s) (this will come later), but please "attribute" it/them. This should be worked on during module and submitted to me tomorrow or to Tim/Ashley this afternoon. The best response will be e-mailed to Skube himself! Zoinks!