English Explorations Discussion 1

We Are Each Other's Business - Eboo Patel

Freedom to Worship Norman Rockwell

I am an American Muslim. I believe in pluralism. In the Holy Quran, God tells us, "I created you into diverse nations and tribes that you may come to know one another." I believe America is humanity's best opportunity to make God's wish that we come to know one another a reality.

In my office hangs Norman Rockwell's illustration Freedom of Worship. A Muslim holding a Quran in his hands stands near a Catholic woman fingering her rosary. Other figures have their hands folded in prayer and their eyes filled with piety. They stand shoulder-to-shoulder facing the same direction, comfortable with the presence of one another and yet apart. It is a vivid depiction of a group living in peace with its diversity, yet not exploring it.

We live in a world where the forces that seek to divide us are strong. To overcome them, we must do more than simply stand next to one another in silence.

I attended high school in the western suburbs of Chicago. The group I ate lunch with included a Jew, a Mormon, a Hindu, a Catholic and a Lutheran. We were all devout to a degree, but we almost never talked about religion. Somebody would announce at the table that they couldn't eat a certain kind of food, or any food at all, for a period of time. We all knew religion hovered behind this, but nobody ever offered any explanation deeper than "my mom said," and nobody ever asked for one.

A few years after we graduated, my Jewish friend from the lunchroom reminded me of an experience we both wish had never happened. A group of thugs in our high school had taken to scrawling anti-Semitic slurs on classroom desks and shouting them in the hallway.

I did not confront them. I did not comfort my Jewish friend. Instead I averted my eyes from their bigotry, and I avoided my friend because I couldn't stand to face him.

My friend told me he feared coming to school those days, and he felt abandoned as he watched his close friends do nothing. Hearing him tell me of his suffering and my complicity is the single most humiliating experience of my life.

My friend needed more than my silent presence at the lunch table. I realize now that to believe in pluralism means I need the courage to act on it. Action is what separates a belief from an opinion. Beliefs are imprinted through actions.

In the words of the great American poet Gwendolyn Brooks: "We are each other's business; we are each other's harvest; we are each other's magnitude and bond."

I cannot go back in time and take away the suffering of my Jewish friend, but through action I can prevent it from happening to others.

Reflection Instructions: When formulating your response, know that I’m expecting a complete and original answer. Your answer should be of at least seven to ten  sentences with a thesis statement, topic sentences, explanations and examples to prove your point. After posting, you will respond to two classmates' posts. Your response should either agree or disagree with the posting while also illuminating or adding to the dialogue in a meaningful way (approximately four to five sentences).

DP Language A: Literature Discussion 1

1. The last word of the first line is sometimes translated as bug, cockroach, or insect, but Kafka intended it to be “vermin.” Definition for vermin: “Vermin is a term given to animals which are considered by humans to be pests or nuisances, most associated with the carrying of disease. Disease-carrying rodents and insects are the usual case but the term can also apply to larger animals, on the basis that they exist out of ecological balance with their environment.” Why did Kafka leave the term abstract? What might the bug transformation symbolize?

2. Who is to blame for Gregor’s metamorphosis? Why does the metamorphosis take place?  What things are left unexplained? Why do you think Kafka left them unexplained? Do you have sympathy for Gregor? Do you have sympathy for his family? Why or why not? How does the Samsa family’s life change after Gregor is transformed into an insect? In what ways has it remained the same?

3. How does Gregor’s metamorphosis goes hand in hand with a description of the world around him as he sees it in his new state? What did Kafka try to express through the metamorphosis of Gregor Samsa? What is the point of the novella (if any)?

4. Kafka said, “Great antipathy to Metamorphosis. Unreadable ending. Imperfect almost to its very marrow.” (quoted in Introduction to Everyman’s edition, page xv, written by Gabriel Josipovici) What do you think about the ending? What were your reactions to the entire novella?

5. What is the effect of Kafka's matter-of-fact assertion of the bizarre incidents with which the story begins? How does Kafka keep the way it came to pass from becoming a major issue in the story? 
How do you view the reactions of Gregor's parents to their first view of his metamorphosis? What circumstances in ordinary life might elicit a similar response?



6. What symbolic objects or other details appear in the story? Do they have connections with earlier mythologies or legends or literature? How does this story compare with other transformation stories or animal stories we are studying? What makes the narrative approach of this modern story different from a folktale?

7. The Metamorphosis has been read and interpreted in many ways – as an example of existentialist philosophy, a depiction of man’s condition in the modern world, Marxist approach (Gregor’s work has dehumanized him), a presentation of psychological neurosis, feminist approach to the story (the women take on the main work), and as a theological parable (a martyr that is example of human suffering, apple is guilt, etc.). Discuss these possible interpretations.

8. Expressionism was an aesthetic movement of the early 20^th century. It focused on distorting and magnifying the shape of reality in order to express a higher order of emotional reality beneath the surface. It assumes, like many of the major movements of modern art and literature, that art based predominately on visible reality is inadequate. German Expressionism’s features include the following: the distortion of surfaces, the obsession with the inner life, and the relationship between the individual and authority (especially the conflict between fathers and sons). How is Kafka’s Metamorphosis similar to Expressionism?

Metamorphosis Discussion:

Instructions: When formulating your response to the assigned question, know that I’m expecting a complete and original answer. Your answer should be of at least twelve sentences with a thesis statement, topic sentences, explanations and examples to prove your point. After posting, you will respond to three classmates' posts; when responding to your classmates' posts, you must choose a topic/question that you did not write about. Your response should either agree or disagree with the posting while also illuminating or adding to the dialogue in a meaningful way (approximately five to seven sentences).

1 = B

2 = C

3 = D & F

4 = G & K

5 = M

6 = N & P

7 = R & S

8 = T & W

BP English Discussion 1

Bystander Effect Discussion

Choose one major controversial bystander effect event with your own research or one of those covered in class. Drawing on your knowledge of social influences, norms, conformity, or bystander effect, discuss the following as it relates to your chosen event:

1. How might these effects account for the (real or alleged) mistakes that were made (be specific and detailed - what evidence appears to be present)?
2. How could this situation or resulting violations have been prevented? Specifically, what are some changes that could have been made in the decision-making process that might have led to better results?

Format: Your analysis of the event should be in at least twelve sentences combined A and B and include: a summary of the event; topic sentences, explanations, examples, and concluding thoughts. You may choose to include everything within one paragraph or divide it into two to three paragraphs. After posting, you will respond to two classmates' posts. Your response should either agree or disagree with the posting while also illuminating or adding to the dialogue in a meaningful way (approximately five to seven sentences).

IB Film Discussion 1

Many people approach movies as passive observers receiving something from passive creators (the director). In reality, every visual text, like every written text, is carefully crafted by its author.  We often feel the presence of a particular creator through the use of music, camera angles, editing and other film techniques, but it’s important to be able to recognize that these techniques are used to specifically shape how we feel in order to avoid being manipulated.  

1. In the past one hundred years film has become a vitally important part of contemporary culture as it , which today is becoming increasingly saturated by visual media.  We are called to acknowledge and analyze our greatest sources of entertainment and information as they effect our lives.  Comment on the ways that visual media is both saturating and influencing our lives. 
2.  Analysis of media arts is essential to the health of democratic society.  Our culture depends on literacy of the electorate–the electorate which gleans its information largely from visual media. We must hone our skills as critical viewers by being knowledgeable in the most popular art form of our time and possessing the analytical skills to understand and interpret film.  Comment on how the ability to analyze media is relevant to the literacy of the electorate and why our democracy is dependent on it.
3.  Film consists of codes, images, and messages, just as traditional literature does, and we develop our means to make meaning when we study this form of expression. Film and literature share similarities and differences that can be compared and contrasted, illuminating both forms.  For example, symbolism and setting in a literary text are analogous to and may be demonstrated by color and lighting in a cinematic work.  Point of view, another key element of literature, is effected in film by camera angle. And so on.  It is no surprise that many filmmakers in recent years as well as in the early days of cinema have turned to classic literature and reinterpret their plots on the silver screen. Comment on studying film as a work of literature and if film can be just as or even more relevant than a literary text. 
4.  One aim of film analysis is to help us gain a better understanding of the director’s intentions. By examining camera movement, camera angle, sound, editing, time manipulation and other aspects, and then discussing and writing about these elements, we consider the narrative and the choices the director made in a critical way that leads to his purpose.  Further, we can consider how well the elements work to the director’s end. Comment on the value of examining a director’s intentions and an evaluation of a director’s intentions can change a viewer’s response to a film.  
5. Because film as an immediacy and all-encompassing manner, it is all too often passively viewed.  We as the audience need to develop not only an appreciation for it to move us but realize how and why it does so. Finally, it is important to view films that require more from viewers that to simply watch the picture play.  As foreign, art, and independent films increase their audiences in our country, a new culture is rendered–a culture by which we may be inspired, challenged, enriched, and delighted. Comment on how films can inspire, challenge, and enrich the viewers and use specific examples where applicable. 

Instructions: When formulating your response to the assigned question, know that I’m expecting a complete and original answer. Your answer should be of at least twelve sentences with a thesis statement, topic sentences, explanations and examples to prove your point. After posting, you will respond to three classmates' posts; when responding to your classmates' posts, you must choose a topic/question that you did not write about. Your response should either agree or disagree with the posting while also illuminating or adding to the dialogue in a meaningful way (approximately five to seven sentences). 

A/B=1

C/G/J=2

M/N/P=3

R/T=4

V/W=5