Sunday, June 30, 2013

A Magic Carpet Ride

"The books we read help to shape who we are.  Reading offer us, as children, our first independence--allowing us to travel far beyond the confines of our immediate world.  Books introduce us to great figures in history, narratives that stir our spirit, fictions that tug us out of ourselves and into the lives of a thousand others, and visions of every era through which human beings have lived.  And in the process of stretching who we are, books also connect us to all others--of our own or previous times--who have read what we've read.  In the community of readers, we instantly become linked to those who share our love for specific characters or passages.

"'A well-composed book,' says Caroline Gordon, 'is a magic carpet on which we are wafted to a world that we cannot enter in any other way.'"

--Ben Jacobs and Helena Hjalmarsson

Oil painting:The Magic Carpet. 1880
http://www.book530.com/painting/55641/Oil-painting-The-Magic-Carpet-.html

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

An Ocean-Sized Perspective

Sand Key, Clearwater Beach, Florida; June 23, 2013

I spent the past few days on Florida's Gulf Coast and then came home to find this great TED-Ed video posted that gives incredible perspective on the vastness of the ocean.

TED-Ed introduces the topic by saying: "While the Earth’s oceans are known as five separate entities, there is really only one ocean. So, how big is it? As of 2013, it takes up 71% of the Earth, houses 99% of the biosphere, and contains some of Earth’s grandest geological features. Scott Gass reminds us of the influence humans have on the ocean and the influence it has on us."

Check out the video: How big is the ocean?

Ways to See Shells: Close-up, Part of the Mass, Organized as a Collection





Sunday, June 9, 2013

The 97th Street Little Library

Today we officially dedicated a Little Library in front of our house.  The idea behind the "Little Free Library" movement is community-building and sharing a passion for reading.  Everyone is welcome to add and take books from the library.  The movement was started in 2010 in Hudson, Wisconsin, and has grown exponentially worldwide.  You can learn more at http://www.littlefreelibrary.org.

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.




The Original Anti-Bullying Campaign: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest



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.)

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!













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!