Happy Reading!
Sunday, June 9, 2013
The 97th Street Little Library
Happy Reading!
MSL AP Field Trip to Madison
On Friday, all MSL AP students had the opportunity to spend the day in Madison, visiting the State Capitol, eating and shopping on State Street, enjoying the view at the Union Terrace on campus, and playing volleyball, baseball, and basketball at James Madison Park. What a gorgeous day!
Farewell, Willyam!
It is a time-honored tradition in AP English to have a class yam as our mascot. Every year I buy a particularly solid-looking yam when we read Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (yams being symbolic of strength and manhood in the novel). Every year we name the yam (Yamzebe, Yamlet, Yamir, Lady Yaya...), and every year the students rub the yam for good luck before the AP test. A few years ago, we started having a yam funeral for closure and to bring full circle my theory in AP English class that everything ultimately comes back to The Lion King. It is the Circle of Life.
Godspeed, Willyam Shakespeare.
Godspeed, Willyam Shakespeare.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Seeing/Vision/Blindness/Perspectives: Excerpts from Students' Final Reflections on our Class Theme
"We all come into the world having sight. We see what's in front
of our faces, but our personal perspectives blind us into only seeing
what we already look for..." (Ashanti R.)
"Remember that everyone's life story is complex" is a saying/rule that Ms. Loosen has always made known to the class. We have all seen and experienced things that influence who we are. Because of these experiences we don't always see things in a similar light. We are often blind and judge. But sometimes we just need a different "frame" of mind.
I believe that this class has enhanced the idea that we all see things differently. The characters in our books do, as do the writers and all of the students. In our Socratic discussions, I think it was a great opportunity for students to present and share ideas, perspectives, and thoughts. And through these discussions, I think it was a good way to get a better understanding of our classmates. Just like the characters in the books we read, we all come from different backgrounds. But sometimes, despite our backgrounds, we share similar perspectives. I think it was eye-opening for us how we can all see things differently..." (Pa Nou X.)
.
"When you see something it doesn't always literally mean what it represents. Seeing is a disability. It holds the defect that we all possess because by seeing we are susceptible to blindness. No, I am not saying that it is better to be literally blind, but rather that if we have the ability to see, we should try to seek our own blindness and make ourselves see the perspectives of the many different views of this world..." (Peterson V.)
"....From the beginning with Oedipus, the blind oracle Teiresias knew more than the protagonist or surrounding characters. This is a mark of irony but also serves to show that point of view is more important as a way to show perception, deception, and mistakes. For example, the Chorus of Oedipus Rex knew as much as Oedipus and the audience so they acted as a relatable perspective. From this, we see events unfold which surprise us: a secret build-up of events is finally made evident to the audience in a single terrifying climax..." (James W.)
"...While looking at a painting, the whole can be seen before its parts, yet the details are what makes the painting a masterpiece. When reading a novel, your mind automatically sets the scene and its characters, yet these images can be completely different from what the author created in their mind and their writing. And in real life, you can see someone clearly and you begin to judge, yet you never stop to judge what is underneath.
Humans are naturally blind. Some are blind to the truth about themselves, the world, and literature. It takes someone who is willing to tear off the blindfolds to find the true meaning behind things that confuse them. Very few are willing to do so.
I learned that it is much more fulfilling to pull the blindfold off, thread by thread..." (Jessica S.)
"What I learned about seeing is that when you look at something you always miss little details. But once you really look at it from different angles or points of view, it's actually different from what you first looked at..." (Pahoua C.)
"...I learned to see that our city, our class, our beliefs, our existence, my existence is only a small, small fraction of what the world is about...but even so, we can make the biggest difference. We can change the world by simply writing down a few words, reading a few books, and standing back once in a while to get a new perspective of the bigger picture." (Maya H.)
"Remember that everyone's life story is complex" is a saying/rule that Ms. Loosen has always made known to the class. We have all seen and experienced things that influence who we are. Because of these experiences we don't always see things in a similar light. We are often blind and judge. But sometimes we just need a different "frame" of mind.
I believe that this class has enhanced the idea that we all see things differently. The characters in our books do, as do the writers and all of the students. In our Socratic discussions, I think it was a great opportunity for students to present and share ideas, perspectives, and thoughts. And through these discussions, I think it was a good way to get a better understanding of our classmates. Just like the characters in the books we read, we all come from different backgrounds. But sometimes, despite our backgrounds, we share similar perspectives. I think it was eye-opening for us how we can all see things differently..." (Pa Nou X.)
.
"When you see something it doesn't always literally mean what it represents. Seeing is a disability. It holds the defect that we all possess because by seeing we are susceptible to blindness. No, I am not saying that it is better to be literally blind, but rather that if we have the ability to see, we should try to seek our own blindness and make ourselves see the perspectives of the many different views of this world..." (Peterson V.)
"....From the beginning with Oedipus, the blind oracle Teiresias knew more than the protagonist or surrounding characters. This is a mark of irony but also serves to show that point of view is more important as a way to show perception, deception, and mistakes. For example, the Chorus of Oedipus Rex knew as much as Oedipus and the audience so they acted as a relatable perspective. From this, we see events unfold which surprise us: a secret build-up of events is finally made evident to the audience in a single terrifying climax..." (James W.)
"...While looking at a painting, the whole can be seen before its parts, yet the details are what makes the painting a masterpiece. When reading a novel, your mind automatically sets the scene and its characters, yet these images can be completely different from what the author created in their mind and their writing. And in real life, you can see someone clearly and you begin to judge, yet you never stop to judge what is underneath.
Humans are naturally blind. Some are blind to the truth about themselves, the world, and literature. It takes someone who is willing to tear off the blindfolds to find the true meaning behind things that confuse them. Very few are willing to do so.
I learned that it is much more fulfilling to pull the blindfold off, thread by thread..." (Jessica S.)
"What I learned about seeing is that when you look at something you always miss little details. But once you really look at it from different angles or points of view, it's actually different from what you first looked at..." (Pahoua C.)
"...I learned to see that our city, our class, our beliefs, our existence, my existence is only a small, small fraction of what the world is about...but even so, we can make the biggest difference. We can change the world by simply writing down a few words, reading a few books, and standing back once in a while to get a new perspective of the bigger picture." (Maya H.)
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Landfill Field Trip
On May 23rd, our Writing Lab class visited the Waste Management Landfill in Menomonee Falls, WI, as the culmination of our year-long service learning project on composting. Visiting a landfill is a great way to concretely see the difference that composting and recycling can make.
It was especially neat to see the Milwaukee skyline from the top of the landfill!
It was especially neat to see the Milwaukee skyline from the top of the landfill!
Horror Stories in the Haunted Auditorium
Our Writing Lab recently wrote horror stories (or myths, fairy tales, or scary poems) and then went down to the "haunted" MSL auditorium to share them by candlelight. Thanks to our field student Mr. Duris for planning most of this unit!
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Research Day in American Authors
This is my fifth hour class hard at work researching different mental illnesses during our unit on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Students hard at work at the end of the hour on a Friday: priceless.
How exciting! Our Linguistics class was in the newspaper!
"MPS teacher's linguistics class an example of valuable, enterprising course" by Alan J. Borsuk
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Spring has finally returned to Wisconsin! Our AP classes celebrated by reading
Wordsworth and then going outside in search of daffodils. I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay: 10
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood, 20
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
1804.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
From my new obsession: TED-Ed "How Fiction Can Change Reality"
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/jessica-wise-how-fiction-can-change-reality
Click on the above link to access a wonderful lesson that explains for students the history of how fiction came to shape our world. TED-Ed has hundreds of interesting lessons to check out, plus the ability to "flip" a lesson--editing it to tailor the experience for your own students.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Milwaukee Sunrise 4-3-13
One of my Spring Break goals was to see the sun rise over Lake Michigan. It was a bit painful to set my alarm that early on vacation but definitely worth the experience! Current Milwaukee sunrise time is 6:32 am.
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