Month: November 2021

So…the turkey is eaten, your Slow Project is finished, and Black Friday is in the books. No doubt about it, the holidays are here — and with them comes a modern-day twist on a question that haunts mankind, and will serve as our guiding query for the next few weeks: Given our 24/7 news cycle, the rise of social media and the ubiquitous nature of cell phones, can there be peace on earth?

Nov. 29-Dec. 17:  The Big Holiday Debate

During your first post-Thanksgiving class, you’ll select a group, and I’ll assign your team to either the “Yes, There Can Be Peace on Earth ” Team or “No, There Can Be No Peace” side of the debate. Then, working with your team, you’ll build your research-supported primary case answering this burning seasonal question, with several key deliverables, listed below. Finally, you’ll debate for your ACP grade.

The requirements?

In the wake of nearly two years of a global pandemic, the turn to in-person school, and the crazy pressure of Ms. Townsel’s class, we can all use a break. A little time to put down the phone; do something low and slow; reconnect with family and friends; and enjoy taking it just a little bit easier. In that spirit, and in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, you’ll work over the weeklong break to complete what I like to call The Slow Project.

Slow Project Requirements

By midnight Sunday, November 28, select and complete one of the following tasks:

1. Select a beloved family recipe, engage the services of your mom and/or a few family members (or dear friends), then shop for ingredients, prepare your recipe, and serve and eat your dish — all the while talking, laughing and engaging with family members. The catch? None of you are allowed to use your phones for the entire time it takes to obtain ingredients, cook, eat and clean up after your feast. When you’re done, click through and complete the project reflection Google form. It will send you back a copy of your response, which you’ll need for the upcoming debate and a future writing project. Remember, low, slow and technology free.
2. Identify a beloved relative, family friend or friend who lives far away, then find or make some special stationery and hand-write them a four-page letter –– recalling special memories, telling them how much you love them, outlining your hopes and dreams…whatever you’ve got. The catch? You have to put your phone away — far away, in another room, or give it to a parent or sibling. After it’s written, hand-address an envelope, find a stamp, and mail  your letter. When you’re done, click through and complete the project reflection Google form. It will send you back a copy of your response, which you’ll need for the upcoming debate and a future writing project. The last part, if you choose to write a letter? You have to call the recipient a week after you mail it, talk to them about the experience of writing and receiving the letter, and take notes of your call so you can use it as part of our upcoming debate. And remember, through it all, low, slow and technology free.
3.  Babysit a child  10 years or under — neighbor, relative or family friend — for at least half a day. The catch? No technology. For any part of it. Play in the backyard, go to the park, bust out the Monopoly set — but no videos, video games, or cell phones. You can bake a cake, write letters to Santa or make a game out of organizing the toy room — but you’re going to kick it old school while you do any or all of that.
4. Upgrade your bedroom, the place where you (should) spend the most time recharging. Disconnect, then spend the day cleaning out your closet, rearranging your bedroom, painting a picture for your wall — just DIY something, anything that will make your life better. You may play the good old-fashioned radio while you work, but don’t touch the cell phone, the TV or other high-tech distractors.
5. Plant a winter flower bed or container garden for your family to enjoy. Enlist a parent, sibling or friend; go lay in your soil, mulch and plants; then plan, plant and water your winter garden. And, since you don’t want your phone to get dirty, put it away for the entire time you work.
6. Buy fabric and a pattern, then cut, sew, iron and model your new, handmade addition to your wardrobe. And, again, you may listen to the radio as you work, but that’s it — no cell phone, no
7. Spend a day volunteering at a nursing home or senior citizen’s center, and do whatever’s needed — without your phone. Talk to the folks around you. Listen to their stories. Help them with some basic chores. Ask them what they need and like and, perhaps, consider becoming a regular volunteer.

Enjoy your low and slow project and, when you’re done, discuss the project in detail with a parent, guardian or good friend. Then, click through to this Google form and reflect and report back on your experience — and come ready to talk about it in class.

I hope you enjoy this experience AND your entire Thanksgiving break. See you Monday, 11.29, for Swift project presentations and Slow Thing discussions!

As we’ve discussed so far in class, most scholars consider Jonathan Swift’s  “A Modest Proposal For Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public” (1729)  to be the most brilliant satire ever written, addressing as it does the injustices the English had heaped upon the poor Irish — in particular, poor Irish catholics — for centuries. In the nearly 300 years since its publication, “A Modest Proposal” has inspired countless films (including this short offering out of Norway, numerous rock songs and a rap version) and, quite recently, served as the subject of a BBC podcast that should listen to at least the first 10 or so minutes of before you engage in your project work this week.

A complete and extremely effective Aristotelian argument, Swift’s satirical work still looms large, regularly making its way into modern-day political headlines — most notably, perhaps, a decade or so ago when Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich suggested that schools could save money by replacing their custodial staffs with their poorest students. The quintessential example of Juvenalian satire,  Swift’s hyperbolic essay suggests that the impoverished Irish might ease their economic troubles by selling their children as food to rich gentlemen and ladies — in the process mocking heartless attitudes towards the poor as well as British policy toward the Irish in general. Published anonymously, “A Modest Proposal” sparked outrage in England and Ireland by readers who failed to appreciate his satiric intent — and at least one of his contemporaries turned the tables, suggesting that the proposal would be a way he could alleviate a debt he owed Swift.

Between now and the start of Showcase, we’ll be analyzing Swift’s essay, and you’ll work — either solo or with a group of your choosing — to make a commercial or advertising poster inspired by Swift’s classic satiric essay.

The Assignment, Due MIDNIGHT TUESDAY, 11.16:

FIRST: Click through and read and watch all the FRESH materials linked in this post, above. “A Modest Proposal” is an essential part of our Western canon of literature, so you’ll want to understand it completely. It WILL come up again in college English, history and economics classes.

SECOND: Select a group of up to 2 partners — or opt to work alone if you prefer — on a video commercial  or electronic poster for a product, idea, or social concept inspired by Swift’s essay. Opt for the commercial, and you’ll need to upload your work to YouTube, make it viewable so I can take a look, and provide me with a link when you’re done; opt for an electronic poster, and you’ll create your work in Canva,then share it with me.

Some things to consider as you decide how you’ll work and who you’ll work with: 

• Carefully consider your plan. Make sure you can work with the people you choose. Pick an unreliable friend, and you’ll be stuck with the lion’s share of the work. Elect to work alone, and you may end up feeling a bit overwhelmed.
• There’s no need to include yourself or members of your group in the video you create; you can collaborate remotely using video shot separately, stock footage, stock sound, etc. — but you ALL need to contribute equally to the final effort.
• As you commit to a plan, IMMEDIATELY set up your systems for communicating and collaborating.

Your requirements for either deliverable, DUE MIDNIGHT TUESDAY, 11.16:

1. In a single comment per group at the bottom of this post, list the names — properly spelled and capitalized — of all members of your group, or tell me that you’ll be working alone. If you elect to work in a group, everyone in your group must participate equally and be able to explain their specific role in the project.
2. Your project must be CLEARLY inspired by Swift’s satire in an immediately obvious way.
3. Your submission MUST include every part of the Aristotelian argument — and every one of Townsel’s required writing elements — to persuade your audience to do something specific — for example, buy a product, support a cause, join a group. It’s up to you, but from exordium to peroration, appositive phrase to power sandwich, ethos to pathos, it all needs to be there.
4. In lieu of our standing class Seminar discussion of Wu’s The Attention Merchants, your work must clearly evidence a tie to or inspiration from Chapters 13-15 of the book.
5. If you use graphics, video, sound our sources that aren’t your own work, you need to credit every bit of what isn’t you or your group’s original work or brainwave in a Works Cited page at the end of your video.
6. You’ll submit  either the work or the link to your group’s work to this Google folder.

Submit, and you’re free to enjoy a relatively worry-free Thanksgiving (well, except for the Slow Project)...unlike our small friend, below…