The Underdog by The Coup

Who are the "They" Boots Riley talks about in this poem? Who is the Underdog? What seems very significant to you? What touches you? Respond to this poem on your own blog.

7 Page Draft Due

Your 7 page draft is due this Thursday 2/19/2015.

I know they will be great!

Technical Difficulties

Hello Class,

I have been trying to get this video thing together and it is not working for me. I won't stop trying but for now just read the essay handout I gave you and create the best draft you can. You should come to class with 5, typed, double-spaced, pages. Remember, you can use the brilliant stuff you have already written in your blogs. 

Have a good weekend!

Dylan Garity "Rigged Game"

What might a change in education look like?

I often wonder can we really drastically change the way we teach k-12? Can we embrace a problem-posing pedagogy in every subject? The school High Tech High in San Diego really shows the infinite possibilities if we begin to revise classroom practices. Watch and on your own blog tell me what you think.

Jeff Duncan-Andrade, PhD on Education "I teach my neighbors' kids"

http://youtu.be/GB8mTOiQXjY

Due on Monday by 5 pm., Feb 2. Response to Recycling the Gift

On your blog, respond to the documentary we watched together in class "Recycling the Gift: Passion Project II."

 

Write about what you agreed with or disagreed with; feel free to write about any personal connections you have to parts of the film; connect what is said by students and faculty in the film to the readings used and discussions we have had in class.

Please write at least two pages. All this work will help you form your future essay.

Student Blogs

Jaclynn jackieabraham.blogspot.com
Jacob http://goalsandi.blogspot.com/
Mary http://yaarifa.blogspot.com
Michael mfmumbles.BlogSpot.com
Daniella http://decfreethinking.blogspot.com/
Savannah
Cynthia http://livelifeeng.blogspot.com/
Lizhen http://helengong.blogspot.com/
Michele gracemh8.blogspot.com 
Christine http://watthehu.blogspot.com/
Victor http://myblogspot415.blogspot.com/
Arlene http://heartarlenelal.blogspot.com
Hector http://new807blog.blogspot.com

http://rebellopez.blogspot.com

Erika helloerika1994.blogspot.com
Kathleen http://ksmanansala.blogspot.com/
Keshia http://simplydiz.blogspot.com/
Justine http://justinemariemorales.blogspot.com
Daynelle http://anndaynelle.blogspot.com/
Leo http://leonardonuenz26.blogspot.com/

Alexis thisdog94.blogspot.com.

Jeremy http://jeremyhpeav.blogspot.com
Skye skyepestana.blogspot.com.
Daniel Nosterbor93@yahoo.com
Angel http://rola3018.blogspot.com/
Joshane http://spring2015jseng1a.blogspot.com/?m=1
Judchery http://sp15engl1ajs.blogspot.com/
Andrew
Frances http://www.fgsuarez.blogspot.com
Pedro
Abi  http://villanuevaenglish.blogspot.com/
Alyssa  http://alykatlovestoblog.blogspot.com
Troy http://troyroush.blogspot.com/

TED TALK Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the Learning Revolution: Due Jan 29th before class

http://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html

Watch the TED Talk Sir Ken Robinson: Bring on the Learning Revolution. In a blog post on your blog, you can either respond to any of the concepts that struck you or answer this question:

What in education is out of date like the wristwatch, "a single function device?"

Please write at least one page but remember never do just the minimum.

Writing Process Journal (Due Jan, 22)

While reading The Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire on a separate piece of paper, write down your difficulties, insights, and quotes.

Your separate piece of paper, as you can see from the above description, will be split into three parts.

Difficulties: Here you will describe parts of the text you didn’t understand or struggled with. Think about why it is difficult to understand and how you can grapple with it.

Insights: Briefly write down a description of what struck you and then go into what this section made you think about. It is better if you write for as long as you can about a moment that really interested you.

Quotes: Write down quotes that align with your beliefs about education and say why. It will be really valuable when you start assembling your paper. Also, write down quotes you find powerful.

BRING YOUR JOURNAL TO OUR NEXT CLASS

Difficulties	Insights	Quotes

The Function of Education by Krishnamurti

Read by Jan 22nd

"I WONDER IF WE HAVE EVER ASKED ourselves what education means. Why do we go to school, why do we learn various subjects, why do we pass examinations and compete with each other for better grades? What does this so-called education mean, and what is it all about? This is really a very important question, not only for the students, but also for the parents, for the teachers , and for everyone who loves this earth. Why do we go through the struggle to be educated? Is it merely in order to pass some examinations and get a job? Or is it the function of education to prepare us while we are young to understand the whole process of life? Having a job and earning one's livelihood is necessary- but is that all? Are we being educated only for that? Surely , life is not merely a job, an occupation, life is something extraordinarily wise and profound, it is a great mystery, a vast realm in which we function as human beings. If we merely prepare ourselves to earn a livelihood, we shall miss the whole point of life; and to understand life is much more important than merely to prepare for examinations and become very proficient in mathematics, physics, or what you will.

So, whether we are teachers or students, is it not important to ask ourselves why we are educating or being educated? And what does life mean? Is not life an extraordinary thing? The birds, the flowers, the flourishing trees, the heavens, the stars, the rivers and the fish therein- all this is life. Life is the poor and the rich; life is meditation; life is what we call religion, and it is also the subtle, hidden things of the mind- the envies, the ambitions, the passions, the fears, fulfillments and anxieties. All this and much more is life. But we generally prepare ourselves to understand only one s mall corner of it. We pass certain examinations, find a job, get married, have children, and then become more and more like machines. We remain fearful, anxious, frightened of life. So, is it the function of education to help us understand the whole process of life, or is it merely to prepare us for a vocation, for the best job we can get?

What is going to happen to all of us when we grow to be men and women? Have you ever asked yourselves what you are going to do when you grow up? In all likelihood you will get married, and before you know where you are you will be mothers and fathers; and you will then be tied to a job, or to the kitchen, in which you will gradually wither away. Is that all that your life is going to be? Have you ever asked yourselves this question? Should you not ask it? If your family is wealthy you may have a fairly good position already assured, your father may give you a comfortable job, or you may get richly married; but there are also you will decay, deteriorate. Do you see?

Surely, education has no meaning unless it helps you to understand the vast expanse of life with all its subtleties, with its extraordinary beauty, its sorrows and joys. You may earn degrees, you may have a series of letters after your name and land a very good job; but then what? What is the point of it all if in the process your mind becomes dull, weary, stupid? So, while you are young, must you not seek to find out what life is all about? And is it not the true function of education to cultivate in you the intelligence which will try to find the answer to all these problems? Do you know what intelligence is? It is the capacity, surely, to think freely, without fear, without a formula, so that you begin to discover for yourself what is real, what is true; but if you are frightened you will never be intelligent. Any for of ambition, spiritual or mundane, breeds anxiety, fear,; therefor ambition does not help to bring about a mind that is clear, simple, direct, and hence intelligent.

You know, it is really very important while you are young to live in an environment in which there is no fear. Most of us, as we grow older, become frightened; we are afraid of living, afraid of losing a job, afraid of tradition, afraid of what the neighbors, or what the wife or husband would say, afraid of death. Most of us have fear in one form or another; and where there is fear there is no intelligence. And is it not possible for all of us, while we are young, to be in an environment where there is no fear, but rather an atmosphere of freedom- freedom, not just to do what we like, but to understand the whole process of living? Life is really very beautiful, it is not this ugly thing that we have made of it; and you can appreciate its richness, its depth, its extraordinary loveliness only when you revolt against everything- against organized religion, against tradition, against the present rotten society, so that you as a human being find out for yourself what is true. Not to imitate but to discover- that is education, is it not? It is very easy to conform to what your society or your parents and teachers tell you. That is a safe and easy way of existing; but that is not living, because in it there is fear, decay, death. To live is to find out for yourself what is true, and you can do this only when there is freedom, when there is continuous revolution inwardly, within yourself.

But you are not encouraged to do this; no one tells you to question, to find out for yourself..., because if you were to rebel you would become a danger to all that is false. Your parents and society want you to life safely, and you also want to life safely. Living safely generally means living in the imitation and therefore in fear. Surely, the function of education is to help each one of us to live freely without fear, is it not? And to create an atmosphere in which there is no fear requires a great deal of thinking on your part as well as on the part of the teacher, the educator.

Do you know what this means- what an extraordinary thing it would be to create an atmosphere in which there is no fear? And we must create it, because we see that the world is caught up in endless wars; it is guided by politicians who are always seeking power; it is a world of lawyers, policemen and soldiers, of ambitious men and women all wanting position and all fighting each other to get it. Then there are the so-called saints, the religious gurus with their followers; they also want power, position, here or in the next life. It is a mad world, completely confused, in which the communist is fighting the capitalist, the socialist is resisting both, and everybody is against somebody, struggling to arrive as a safe place, a position of power of comfort. The world is torn by conflicting beliefs, by caste and class distinctions, by separative nationalities, by every form of stupidity and cruelty- and this is the world you are being educated to fit into. You are encouraged to fit into the framework of this disastrous society... and you also want to fit in.

Now, is it the function of education merely to help you to conform to the pattern of this rotten social order, or is it to give you freedom- complete freedom to grow and create a different society, a new world? We want to have this freedom, not in the future, but now, otherwise we may all be destroyed. We must create immediately an atmosphere of freedom so that you can live and find out for yourselves what is true, so that you become intelligent, so that you are able to face the world and understand it, not just conform to it, so that inwardly, deeply, psychologically you are in constant revolt; because it is only those who are in constant revolt that discover what is true, not the man who conforms, who follows some tradition...

...The question is: if all individuals were in revolt, would not the world be in chaos? But is the present society in such perfect order that chaos would result if everyone revolted against it? Is there not chaos now ? Is everything beautiful, uncorrupted? Is everyone living happily, fully, richly? Is man not against man? Is there not ambition, ruthless competition? So the world is already in chaos, that is the first thing to realize. Don't take it for granted that this is an orderly society; don't mesmerize yourself with words. Whether, here in Europe, in America or Russia, the world is in a process of decay. If you see the decay, you have a challenge: you are challenged to find a way of solving this urgent problem. And how you respond to the challenge is important, is it not? If you respond as a Hindu or a Buddhist, a Christian or a communist, then your response if very limited- which is no response at all. You can respond fully, adequately only if there is no fear in you, only if you don't think as a Hindu, a communist or a capitalist, but as a total human being who is trying to solve this problem; and you cannot solve it unless you yourself are in revolt against the whole thing, against the ambitious acquisitiveness on which society is based. When you yourself are not ambitious, not acquisitive, not clinging to your own security- only then can you respond to the challenge and create a new world...

Do you know what it means to learn? When you are really learning you are learning throughout your life and there is no one special teacher to learn from. The everything teaches you- a dead leaf, a bird in flight, a smell, a tear, the rich and the poor, those who are crying, the smile of a woman, the haughtiness of a man. You learn from everything, therefore there is no guide, no philosopher, no guru. Life itself is your teacher, and you are in a state of constant learning...

Do you know what attention is? Let us find out. In a classroom, when you stare out of the window or pull somebody's hair, the teacher tells you to pay attention. Which means what? That you are not interested in what you are studying and so the teacher compels you to pay attention- which is not attention at all. Attention comes when you are deeply interested in something, for then you love to find out all about it; then your whole mind, your whole being is there....When you are doing something with your whole being, not because you want to get somewhere, or have more profit, or greater results, but simply because you love to it- in that there is no ambition, is there? In that there is no competition; you are not struggling with anyone for first place. And should not education help you to find out what you really love to do so that from the beginning to the end of your life you are working at something which you feel is worth while and which for you has deep significance? Otherwise, for the rest of your days, you will be miserable. Not knowing what you really want to do, your mi nd falls into a routine in which there is only boredom, decay and death. That is why it is VERY important to find out while you are young what it is you really love to do; and this is the only way to create a new society..."

Read by Jan 22nd. Click the image to read Pedagogy of the Oppressed: "Chapter 2"

Class Syllabus

English 1: Section 16

Critical Reading and Composition

T/TH:  9:00 – 10:15 pm

Instructor: Monique Williams

Email: mwilliamschabotcollege@gmail.com

Blog: RebelRevEng.blogspot.com

Office: IOB, Room 453-N

Office Hours: Mon/Wed 12:00-1:00 pm in room 807

Tues/Thurs 12:00-1:00 pm in room 807  

       

Required Texts:

1. Ontiveros, Skye, The Passion Project II (transcript will be given to you)
2. Kozol, Jonathan, Savage Inequalities: Children in America’s Schools
3. Boyle, Gregory, Tattoos on the Heart
4. Hartmann, Thomas, Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight
5. A portable dictionary and MLA writing guide

**Become familiar with the website Purdue Owl

Course Description:

Eng. 1 will focus on college-level reading, critical thinking, and writing.  The overall theme of this course is going to be a focus on the inequalities faced by the poor in America. We will be reading a variety of materials dealing with these topics, and your papers will be in-depth explorations of some aspect of the course theme. We will also work to discover your passion and how it will help you have ownership of your education and assist your college success.

Objectives:  

Students shall achieve the ability to write complete essays that demonstrate college-level proficiency in all of the following.  Upon the successful completion of the course a student will be able to:

Write and revise college-level essays, in and out of class, relying on text-based argumentative strategies.  

Comprehend and analyze critical essays of varying lengths.

Identify and use key structural elements of an essay, including thesis, topic sentences, and supporting details.

Perform the essential steps of the writing process.

Accurately and effectively summarize different lengths of work.

Organize and develop ideas in writing.

Develop argumentation skills in writing.  

Demonstrate an ability to recognize grammatical patterns of error and revise accordingly.

Demonstrate the ability to write complete sentences of some syntactic complexity.

Integrate sources as evidence and use parenthetical citations.  

In Class:

Please remember that the classroom should be a safe and friendly environment, where we share ideas and learn from one another - so be respectful to others. This will be an active classroom. You will need to express your thoughts and opinions in class regularly and help your peers work their thoughts out. The best way to develop critical thinking skills is to take in the thoughts and opinions of others and put them up against yours. By doing this, you can develop your own beliefs, arguments and ideas. In order to be able to share with one another, we have to agree to respect each others' ideas even when we have opposite beliefs. Disrespect of any kind will not be tolerated in this classroom.

Reading and Writing Assignments:

We will be reading a variety of essays and nonfiction books in this course.  We will be examining each text closely in order to discover the ways in which each author uses certain rhetorical devices to argue his or her thesis as well as discuss the themes highlighted by the text. You won’t like everything you read--get over it. Recognize that you can learn from the thing you dislike and because of that they are still of value.  Some readings will serve as models for your own writing, and your essays will be based on these works. Since this is a college-transfer course, some of the reading material is going to be challenging, so I expect you to commit a considerable amount time to your reading and annotating of the text. It won’t work to skim through the material before class.

Remember, in order to become a good writer you must also be a good, and active reader, which means reading closely and critically.  I expect all reading I assign to you to be annotated and will check for this often. It is essential that you come to class prepared to discuss the day’s reading assignment(s).  Also, get into the habit of looking up unfamiliar words in the dictionary.

You will have to create a blog for this class using Blogger. I will ask you almost every week to post a blog in response to the readings or class discussion. See other handout for blog expectations and how to create a blog.

Most writing assignments in this class will require you to do some type of research. Comparing your thoughts to the thoughts of others is a great way to develop your critical thinking skills. You will be required to reference the readings and/or class discussions in all writing assignments. Don’t freak out. We will do everything in steps. We will spend some time, early in the semester, reviewing the various steps in the writing process: prewriting, organizing, composing, revising, and editing. We will work in groups often and have peer review workshops. Peer review workshops are designed to help with some of the crucial steps in the writing process: revision and editing. We will also spend time discussing the readings together.

There will be several small writing assignments, four essays of 5-10 pages or more, an in-class midterm and final. You will not have to take the final if you attend class everyday. 2 tardies equal one absence.  All writing assignments will be arguments, meaning you advocating for what you are finding in the text.

Essays must be typed, double-spaced, and they must adhere to the MLA guidelines.  

Papers must be printed out and turned in the day they are due.

Quizzes and In-class assignments:

To ensure that you keep abreast of the readings and are adequately prepared to approach your writing assignments, I will periodically give quizzes.  These may or may not be announced.  There are no make-ups for any in-class work, including quizzes!

Grading:

Essays 60%

Participation/Midterm/Quizzes/Presentations/Final 25%

Blogs 15%

Due Dates:

All papers and assignments must be handed in on time.  It is your responsibility to keep track of the due dates either by looking at the schedule or writing down the dates I tell you in class.  Late papers are not accepted. However, if an unexpected situation does come up, it would be in your best interest to contact me before the due date, either by phone, Email, or in person.  

Late papers will not be handed back in a timely fashion.

*Reminder: all essays must be completed in order to pass the course.

Attendance:

Attendance is mandatory and extremely important because regular participation is expected. Also, you are a part of the class, which means that if you are missing it is felt by the entire class and disrupts the space. It is your responsibility to be here and to contribute. In-class assignments will not be made up for points.  Also, your participation is mandatory on days we have writing workshops.

Please do not make appointments with doctors, dentists, DMV, etc., during class time.  After 2 absences, with every subsequent absence, your grade will be dropped a half a grade (B- to a C+). Tardiness is rude, disruptive and unacceptable. Two "tardies" equal one absence. If you leave class early and you have not communicated with me I will consider that an absence. If you sleep in class, I will consider that an absence.

I will rarely excuse an absence. I will only do so for an extreme circumstance.

Also, you will be dropped automatically if you miss 4 consecutive days (or two weeks). You will also be dropped if you miss 6 classes total.

If you do miss, it is your responsibility to get the work from another student. Do not email me and ask things like: did I miss anything important; did anything happen today; is there anything I need to know. I am going to say, “yes,” and be offended.  

Email Etiquette:

Say hello or at least address the message to me, Ms. Williams.

Don’t send me a message in the subject line.

The subject line should be a summary of what your email is about, i.e. final paper, absence on 01/28/2015, question about homework, etc.

Close the email: Thank you for your time, see you soon,  etc.

Follow-up: If you do not get an email from me confirming that I received your message, don’t assume that I did.  Follow-up if I do not reply.

You have a virtual world that you can now represent yourself in. The way you conduct yourself in the virtual world does affect how you are seen.  Learn to manage all your possible avenues of opportunity well.

Conferences:  

You will have a mandatory 10-minute conference after your first essay to go over your writing. Then another mandatory 10-minute conference with me toward the end of the semester to address any reading and writing struggles you are experiencing. These conferences will be held during my office hours. You are, however, encouraged to meet me anytime during the semester.

.

Plagiarism:

Plagiarism occurs when a student misrepresents the work of another as his or her own.

Plagiarism may consist of using ideas, sentences, paragraphs, or the whole text of another without appropriate acknowledgement, but it also includes employing or allowing another person to alter substantially work that a student then submits as his or her own.  Any plagiarized work will be given an “F” grade, and will automatically be reported to the Dean of Language Arts.

Misc.:

I expect that you are familiar with and will abide Chabot’s policies in the Student Handbook regarding classroom behavior. Some of the rules include: bringing all required materials and texts for that day, doing your homework, turning off your cell phone, music devices, etc., and refraining from disruptive behavior. Also take care of your personal needs before or after class; walking in and out of class is disruptive.

Resources:

If you are having difficulties with your reading or writing assignments, please come by my office during office hours, or better, make an appointment with me.  There are many excellent out of class resources available on campus.

You are required to visit the WRAC center before turning in your second paper. I will give you a handout that must be filled out by the tutor you see in the WRAC center.

You will also be required to use the Chabot Library Database to find research for your papers and will attend training during class this semester to help you do so.  

You will not be “banked” on here.

I feel the need to explain what kind of classroom this will be because you come to college with an expectation driven by past experience and media portrayals that I will absolutely and purposely fail to emulate. I do not run a classroom that is focused on my knowledge or thoughts. I will present the language of literature to you and share with you my insights but much more important cognitive moments will happen in this classroom. I run a class that is focused on discovering what you have to say about what I put in front of you. We will engage in dialogue, conversations, most of the time that will hopefully lead you to a deeper understanding of your own thoughts, and where they come from, as well as cultivate a greater value for the thoughts of other. Most importantly, I don’t want the critical thinking you do in here to be limited to books, only triggered by the sound of my voice, or the environment I provide. I want you to walk around reading, interpreting, connecting to and picking apart the world. I want you to be hyper-conscious and you can’t be if you are not involved in your education. This classroom will use the strategies of a problem-posing system, coined by educational theorist and teacher Paulo Freire. I always ask you to think deeply, I will ask you why over and over again like an annoying child. I will ask you where your thoughts come from, what are you connecting to, where do you see that thought going and every answer you have for us, as long as you really take yourself seriously, will be astute. If you don’t take yourself or your thoughts seriously, you will only be making a joke out of yourself, which is an unfortunate act of violence lower-income students have inflicted upon themselves for a longtime. This does not mean that your ideas can’t be silly, funny or playful. OWN your intellect; don’t be afraid of it. Stay engage in classroom discussion, constantly process and connect the world you live in to what is happening in the classroom, and I am positive you will be successful in this class and beyond.

Tentative Schedule of readings and discussions:

Exact page numbers will be given to you in class.

Week 1, Jan 20: Syllabus and Education

Week 2, Jan 27: The practices of Education in America

Week 3, Feb 3: Internalized Oppression

Week 4, Feb 10: Rebel or Revolutionary - Do we need a system redesign and what would that look like

No school Feb 16th

Week 5, Feb 18 Essay Due

Week 6, Feb 24: Separate but equal, really? Intro to Savage Inequalities … beyond in the classroom how is the education system failing? The Rich and the rest of us.

Week 7, Mar 3: Savage Inequalities

Week 8, Mar 10: Savage Inequalities

Week 9, Mar 17: Savage Inequalities

Week 10, Mar 24: Essay week

Essay Due, March 26

Prisons need people: Incarceration or Rehabilitation, Cages or Compassion?

Week 11, March 30th-April 3rd Spring Break, Tattoos on the Heart

Week 12, April 7: Tattoos on the Heart

Week 13, April 14: Tattoos on the Heart

Week 14, April 21: Midterm

Week 15, April 28: Essay Development / Research Paper

Essay Due, April 30

A World of Waste

Week 16, May 5: Intro to Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight

Week 17, May 12: Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight

Week 18, May 19: Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight & Essay Development

Essay Due May 20th

May 21 Last Day of Instruction

Finals’ week 22-29—Check the Chabot website finals schedule

Final Day: May 26 @ 8:00-9:50

List of dates you won’t need to know for this class because you will all make it and do great.

Feb 8th last day to add or drop

April 19th last day to withdraw