Art of the Essay

Finish your "Rupert" essay.

Write a 5 paragraph essay on the topic of your choice:

Introduction

3 body paragraphs

Conclusion

Make sure that your Introduction includes the topics of your three body paragraphs!

Touching the Void Discussion Questions

1. What, in your opinion, is “the Void” ? (Philosophically speaking that is…)

2. What do Joe and Simon believe? Under what paradigm do they function?

3. Time after time Joe sees his world ending. Not only does Joe face and often accept certain physical death, he eventually experiences the loss of his ego/personality. (“I lost me.”) Ultimately, are these really do different things or not? Explain.

Another way to think of this is that if the “you” that cares about dying ceases to exist, then is it replaced by something else or is physical death no longer a concern?

4. The last thought that Joe experiences before being discovered is that he simply does not want to die alone. (Being sure that he will indeed die alone is when he loses his “me.”) Do you see this as a universal need or specific to Joe?

5. Joe seems to have accepted the experience and moved on with his life, yet Simon is stuck with the label of “the one who cut the rope.” Why do you think this is?

1st Discussion Questions

“I head a Fly buzz…” Emily Dickinson

I heard a Fly buzz -- when I died --

The Stillness in the Room

Was like the Stillness in the Air --

Between the Heaves of Storm --

The Eyes around -- had wrung them dry --

And Breaths were gathering firm

For that last Onset -- when the King

Be witnessed -- in the Room --

I willed my Keepsakes -- Signed away

What portion of me be

Assignable -- and then it was

There interposed a Fly --

With Blue -- uncertain stumbling Buzz --

Between the light -- and me --

And then the Windows failed -- and then

I could not see to see –

Song on the End of the World Czeslaw Milosz

On the day the world ends

A bee circles a clover,

A Fisherman mends a glimmering net.

Happy porpoises jump in the sea,

By the rainspout young sparrows are playing

And the snake is gold-skinned as it should always be.

On the day the world ends

Women walk through fields under their umbrellas

A drunkard grows sleepy at the edge of a lawn,

Vegetable peddlers shout in the street

And a yellow-sailed boat comes nearer the island,

The voice of a violin lasts in the air

And leads into a starry night.

And those who expected lightning and thunder

Are disappointed.

And those who expected signs and archangels' trumps

Do not believe it is happening now.

As long as the sun and the moon are above,

As long as the bumblebee visits a rose

As long as rosy infants are born

No one believes it is happening now.

Only a white-haired old man, who would be a prophet,

Yet is not a prophet, for he's much too busy,

Repeats while he binds his tomatoes:

No other end of the world there will be,

No other end of the world there will be.

Ozymandias P. B. Shelly

I MET a traveller from an antique land
Who said:—Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command	5
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things,
The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:	10
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains: round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away. 1. Explain how each of these poems relates to the “End of the World.” 2. In what other specific ways are they similar? 3. Which one appeals most to you and why?

End of the World: High School Language Arts Syllabus

End of the World

Course Syllabus

First Semester 2009/2010

Block A3 12:15-1:45

Instructor: Kurt Maier

kurt@trilliumcharterschool.org

kurtattrillium.blogspot.com

Overview:

NOTE: This is a foundation course for upper division high school students intending to go to college (or at very least challenge themselves to become much better writers and readers). It is classified as a WIC (writing intensive course) for the purposes of tracking as a college preparatory type literature class.

What would happen if the world (be it physical, moral, religious, etc.) you thought existed, ceased to exist or changed for you in some major way? If your paradigm just didn't shift, it disappeared. How would you deal with it? Would you be able to adapt? Survive? Thrive? What would it change about you and what might it reinforce? We will explore these issues and others that develop through formal and informal discussions. You will use these discussions, questions and exchanges of ideas with the rest of your class and myself to develop several in-depth papers. While every paper (probably 3 or so) will have suggested topics that I think are challenging and interesting to consider, each student will be encouraged to develop her/his own thesis that relates to the texts and discussions. There will also be many "Emergent" small scale homework and classwork assignments. You will be expected to produce your best work possible...and have fun doing it!

TEXTS:

Touching the Void, film

Night, Wiesel

The Metamorphosis, Kafka

Death of a Salesman, Miller

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, film

Parable of the Sower, Butler

Hamlet, Shakespeare

TBA poetry

TBA visual art

Attendance:

You are expected to attend every single class, be on time event though the class follows lunch and be prepared (having done the readings, homework, have the necessary materials). Obviously, Life Happens and everyone will end up missing a day or two. If you miss a day, it is up to YOU to talk to your classmates and get notes, assignments, etc. You can also check Kurtattrillium.blogspot.com for major assignments and syllabus updates.

You are considered to be absent if you are more than Ten (10) minutes late.

Absence issues will be dealt with on a case by case basis and may involve different consequences for different students including but not limited to behavior contracts and being dropped from the class.

Consequences for being Tardy (from 1 sec - 9:59 min late) will be dealt with on a case by case basis.

Five skipped classes and you will be dropped from class with no grade given.

Skipped Class = You leave class for more than five minutes without instructor acknowledgement or permission OR you have been in the school for the previous period and Block A4 but do not attend this class.

Grading Policy:

The grading is based on a point system with a possible 100 points being the maximum. Completion of the course awards .5 Language Arts credit.

Active Participation (discussion and attendance) 15

Paper 1 10

Paper 2 10

Paper 3 10

Homework, class work, emergent assignments: 15

Art Project 20

Final Exam 20

Breakdown:

100 A+

99 - 92 A

91 - 90 A-

89 - 88 B+

87 - 82 B

81 – 80 B-

79 – 78 C+

77 – 72 C

71 – 70 C-

69 – 60 D

59 – 0 F

NOTE: While it is officially “passing”, Oregon colleges (as well as some others) do not accept credit for classes that receive a D grade or lower.

Final Exam:

A multiple choice/essay test at the end of the term will be administered to cover plot, character, author’s purpose, sub-text, symbolism and metaphor, and how each selection reflects specific and general ideas that we developed as a class during discussion and lecture.

Papers:

Three papers will be assigned. All are required. All papers must be typed, using standard margins and fonts and meet MLA formatting and style guidelines. Students will be able to select from a set of provided essay topics or present their own (based on instructor pre-approval!). All papers turned in after the due date will be penalized with 10% off the final grade for each school day they are late. All papers are due at the START of the class on the day they are due. The instructor reserves the right to suggest or REQUIRE A RE-WRITE. If a re-write is assigned the student and instructor will agree upon a new due date with the same late penalties as before. Suggested or required re-writes will earn new (better!) grades if the work improves.

Art Project:

One art project will be assigned. Rubric TBA, but each student will create a piece of visual art (painting, collage, interpretive dance, etc.) that interprets, demonstrates and/or questions the themes and general ideas that we have discussed as class and received through lecture. All Art Projects will include an essay that interprets and explains how the work of art fulfills the given criteria.

COURSE CALENDAR

Please note that due to class interest, teacher illness, unforeseen events, etc., the texts themselves, the assignments and the due dates are subject to change. As you can clearly see the Syllabus often lacks specificity. Those of you who know Trillium will understand that this lack of structure will further allow for more time to follow avenues of study as they arise (re: Emergent Curriculum) as well as to make other adjustments as needed. Specific reading assignments (by chapter and/or page) will be given on a daily and weekly basis once the semester begins.

Week 1 9/14

Introduction, Syllabus review

I heard a fly buzz…

Touching the Void

Week 2 9/21

Night

Week 3 9/28 UPPER SCHOOL CAMPOUTS

Night

1^st Paper assigned

Week 4 10/5

Night

The Metamorphosis

Week 5 10/12

Death of a Salesman (DOAS)

Week 6 10/19

DOAS

1^st Paper due

2^nd Paper Assigned

Week 7 10/26

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Week 8 11/2

Parable of the Sower

Week 9 11/9

Parable of the Sower

Week 10 11/16

Parable of the Sower

2^nd Paper due

Week 11 11/23 NO SCHOOL Thanksgiving Break

Week 12 11/30

Hamlet

Week 13 12/7

Hamlet

3rd Paper assigned

Week 14 12/14 Intensives in the morning, afternoon TBA

Week 15 12/21 NO SCHOOL Winter Break

Week 16 NO SCHOOL Winter Break

Week 17 1/4/2010

Emergent Interest

Week 18 1/11

Emergent Interest

3^rd Paper due

Week 19 1/18 (NO SCHOOL on 1/18)

Emergent Interest

Art Projects Due!

Week 20 1/25 LAST WEEK OF FIRST SEMESTER

Review and prep for Final Exam!

What I'm teaching in the Fall of 2009

Unless there's a major, major shift in the next week or so, I will be teaching the following in the Fall Semester. The only possibility of change is in the period that it is offered but that will be indicated on the course descriptions that will be available online and sent to your homes via snail mail later in Aug. Be you a student or parent, please drop me a line if you're interested in more detail or have any questions other questions about the classes.

HS Literature: I'll be teaching a Writing Intensive, High School Literature class in the A3 block. That's the 1st afternoon class following lunch on Monday/Wednesday. .... see "official" course description below:

The End of the World:

What would happen if the world (be it physical, moral, religious, etc.) you thought existed, ceased to exist or changed for you in some major way? Your paradigm just didn't shift, it disappeared. How would you deal with it? Would you be able to adapt? Survive? Thrive? What would it change about you and what might it reinforce? We will explore these issues and others that develop through formal and informal discussions. You will use these discussions, questions and exchanges of ideas with the rest of your class and myself to develop several indepth papers. While every paper (probably 3 or so) will have suggested topics that I think are challenging and interesting to consider, each student will be encouraged to develop her/his own thesis that relates to the texts and discussions. There will also be many "Emergent" small scale homework and classwork assignments.

The texts to be studied will include but are not limited to the following: Night, Death of a Salesman, Hamlet, Parable of the Sower, Touching the Void, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Much will be asked from every student in this class. From daily participation in our class discussions, to well written papers, and a thoughtful art project in which you must combine several different media and forms of expression, you will be expected to produce your best work possible...and have fun doing it!

MS Daily class:

The Art of the Essay:

In this class we will learn and practice the art of writing a well organized, multiple paragraph essay. We will continually practice the fundamentals of expository, compare/contrast, argumentative/persuasive, and descriptive essays. There will be a mix of assigned and student selected topics. For instance, each student will be expected to write about a short story that we all read or write an essay analyzing poem we have studied and discussed together as a class. There will also be writing assignments in which in each student must choose her/his own topic and essay style. Expect to be challenged to raise the quality of your writing. Expect to become a better writer. EXPECT TO WRITE EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!

The Trillium Drum Choir will be offered in Block B4:

Lower School Drumming will be offered Block A4.

Art Project Rubric: 40 total points

Uses Appropriate spelling/grammar/MLA formatting: 5 points

Creates and accurately/effectively describes “Lead Piece”: 15 points

Creates and accurately/effectively describes two other pieces: 10 points (5 each)

Major Essay: 10 points

COL 49 Take Home Essay Test

Due: Monday, April 20 2009

This may be typed or hand written. It does not need to be MLA formatted.

1. Pick two (2) of the four (4) marked passages to write about.

2. You should write a short essay (paragraph form, long enough to fully respond) for each of the passages you selected.

3. For each passage you select, you will explain how it both exemplifies and questions Postmodern theory as we have discussed in class. When relevant, high quality essays will discuss AND EXPLAIN the concepts of:

• communication entropy 
  
• meaning 
  
• attempts and consequences to impose order on a chaotic universe
  

Always explain WHY, WHY, WHY!


4. You MUST cite directly from the passages to support your arguments.


5. Each of the two essays will be worth 5 points for a total of 10 points. This essay test counts as “Paper #2” on your syllabus.