Prie

I liked the activity towards the end of the reading, about how to incorporate drama after reading a novel. The article gave the example of using this activity when the novel is finished and the ending is open to interpretation, the class would select volunteers to go up and pretend to be the characters in the novel, and then the class discusses how they should act and what should happen. I think this would also be good in groups, you can stick with the theme of creating an epilogue, but each group could create their own. To take it s step further, the volunteers are not allowed to speak, other group members must narrate what is going on, and speak for the volunteers.

Kist

I really liked the Facebook lesson from the beginning of the chapter. What i thought was really great about it was that when the teachers commented, they didn't just say things like "good point", they played devils advocate. And what was really cool was that since these questions weren't being asked in class, so it gave the students more time to think of a response, or to do a little more research (since they were already on the internet) and can get more information on their own. I really liked that the teacher exposed them to extremist opinions as well, since when extremists of any kind come up in class its almost like a discussion at a safe distant, where as when they are commenting on your page, it closes the gap.

The one thing that i wasn't too sure of was the hybrid course. I think that would work with college students, but i didn't quite grasp how it would work in a high school setting. Do the students just not go to class? Was it in the morning so they can just come in late? I took college courses in high school, where the prof came to our classroom twice a week, so i was able to come in for second period on monday, wednesday, and friday, so that is the only way i can think of to make the Hybrid Course work.

Toddler Beauty Pageants

Today in my comp and rhetoric class, i watched a presentation on how beauty pageants are sexualizing young girls. This conclusion was drawn from the TLC television show Toddlers & Tiaras, and the costumes that mothers choose to dress their daughters in. Young girls can compete starting from a few months of age, where they are judged on beauty, costumes, and performance. Some of the things that these little girls go through to get ready for a pageant, that they do every weekend, i didn't go through to go to prom. They get false teeth made, spray tans, their eye brows waxed, make up, and hair extensions. One mother dressed her daughter up as the main characters from Pretty Woman, who is a prostitute. After establishing what these mothers put their little girls through, we had to ask why. Why does a little girl need to strut on stage as a premature sex symbol? What motives do the mother's have for doing this? Just google Toddlers & Tiaras and go through the images, and ask yourself these questions and see what answers, if any, that you can come up with.

Transcendentalism

In my American Lit class we are currently looking at the work of Emerson, with his ideas of Transcendentalism. It is very hard to describe exactly what transcendentalism is, but I'm going to share a few quotes from Emerson's works and I hope you're able to take your own meaning from them, and that you enjoy them as much as I do. :)

“Man is timid and apologetic; he is no longer upright;

he dares not say ‘I think,’ ‘I am,’ but quotes some saint

or sage. He is ashamed before the blade of grass or the

blowing rose. The roses under my window make no

references to former roses or to better ones; they are for

                what they are; they exist with God to-day” (Emerson)

           "Undoubtedly we have no questions to ask which are 

            unanswerable. We must trust the perfection in the creation 

            so far, as to believe that what ever curiosity the order of 

            things has awakened in our minds, the order of things can 

            satisfy."

Podcast Search

During the time given in class to explore podcasts, I have to admit that all of the podcasts I looked at were about books, and that they all seemed to have the same feel to them. They were almost like radio talk shows, just with out callers calling in to say their peace or change the subject. All of the podcasts I listened to had two hosts, who would talk about books, normally chapter by chapter. I found a great one on the Hunger Games, where these two people for the past couple years have read and made podcasts for every chapter in all four Hunger Games books. I read the Hunger Games series, and they were mentioning things that I either forgot, or missed all together. In the couple minutes that I listened to them I was able to hear their point of view, and compare it to what I remember feeling or thinking while reading. For example (spoiler alert) at the end of the last novel, Katniss is in seclusion and trying to figure out how to kill herself. These hosts pitied her, where as I remember being completely annoyed with her. They were able to show me a different perscpective on something I have already read. I think that is the value of podcasts, as opposed to blogs or papers, because you can take words written on paper and interpret them in your own way, as opposed to listening to the tone of someones voice, or the words they emphasize, or the way they studder when they try to figure out exactly what they are trying to say. It makes it much more personal, and I'm sure my personal podcast is going to have a lot of studdering too, so that made me feel a little better.

Kadjer Ch5

I really liked this chapter! I thought the comparisons between what would have happened if the students were simply writing compared to when they used Voicethread and created their own images was really beneficial. Despite her class being hesitant at first, they really got into not only their work, but the wrk of their other classmates as well. This was reinforced on page 76, at the bottom, where it discusses how this activity developed their classroom community. She did this by, after creating and composing their own work, the class had to draw three people at random to give feed back to. Not letting them pick who they were going to give feedback to was a good way to get them to listen to people's work that they might not have done on their own. For the students who are not comfortable sharing their work in front of the class, the spotlight was on their work, and not so much them.
When I think of students using technology or computers in the classroom, I think of them as working alone. This activity did both encourage personal development and identity, as well as team work. One student kept going back to his Voicethread to look for more comments left by his peers, which is something that would not have happened if they just handed in a paper. I felt this activity took students out of their comfort zone (with using a device they have never experienced before and sharing with people who they might be nervous to share their work with) but it didn't put anyone so far out of their comfort zone that they would shut down from the activity. This was one activity that had me completely convinced from start to finish.

"Guido"

For my Comp and Rhet class, I have to do an Individual Analysis to show how rhetoric has an affect on everything around us. I decided I wanted to do mine on the word "Guido".The Jersey Shore cast calls themselves “Guidos” and “Guidettes”, and being from Eastern Pa, I have the luxury of taking day trips to the Jersey Shore in the summer, and have never heard of a “Guido” or “Guidette” – “Guidette” is the femal counter part to the “Guido” -until this show came out. Since the show came out, it seems like thousands of "Guidos" and "Guidettes" have popped out of the woodwork, so I decided to see where this term came from, and what it actually means.

Originally, the term “Guido” was referred to lower class or working Italian Americans. Over time this became a derogatory term for all Italian Americans. It became a synonym for words like “Guappo”, “Dago”, and “Guinea”.Recently, “Guido” has steered away from disrespecting a person’s roots, and has started describing a person who carries himself or herself in a certain way. Sources date this change in meaning back in the 1970-1980s range, but no one is certain of when it happened. Coincidentally enough, the entire Jersey Shore cast was born in the 1980’s, so this could very possibly be the first generation of “Guidos” that reflects a particular lifestyle. The term actually lost all of its connections to the Italian heritage. A few member of the Jersey Shore cast, who call themselves “Guidos” or “Guidettes”, are not even Italian, which could be the ultimate proof that the term is no longer a reflection of Italian immigrants.
  

  This lifestyle has been endorsed and defined by the Jersey Shore cast in front of millions of viewers. It is believed that the new meaning of “Guido” is a person who carries themselves in an over macho manner. This macho manner does not exclude the women either; they make it perfectly clear that they are "tough" or "bitches".It is apparent that this term has had a complete change in meaning. From being a synonym to words like “Guappo”, whose intent it was to offend, to being endorsed and encouraged by a cast of people on a “reality” television show. The funny thing is that since the show, the term has created a new negative meaning for itself. People make fun of "Guidos" because of the Jersey Shore cast. So maybe it's safe to say the word has evolved in meaning, but not in reputation.