Class+Journals+-+E9

Each week - generally on a Friday - will be Current Events Friday, a day for critical thinking, critical writing, and open and spirited debate. Generally, you will be discussing and debating current(ish) issues in education, society, politics, culture, and entertainment. Occasionally, you will be discussing, debating, and reflecting on what's "current" in the class. Questions are designed to be open for debate with no "right" answers.

Instructions:
 * 1) Complete the assigned reading/text/whatever.
 * 2) Read the question or prompt.
 * 3) Find your page below; this is the page on which you will keep your class journals . Respond to the week's assignment there.

These journals will be open to all members of the class for comment, other teachers, and administrators, so please keep in mind that what you write may be shared with a wider audience.


 * ~ Student Journals - 1st Period ||
 * Carrington || Annika || Annetta || Jordan || MegBrad ||
 * NatBrow || Casey || NatCar || Angela || Anna ||
 * Douglas || Valerie || Alexa || Ashley ||  ||
 * Bryce || Kathryn || Connor || Savannah || MegMun ||
 * Jessica || Elizabeth || Rohith || Allison || Kyle ||
 * MegRoo || Hyoung Jun || Ashlyn || Ryan ||  ||


 * ~ Student Journals - 4th Period ||
 * SavBea || Kevin || MegCham || Sharod || Emily Margaret ||  ||
 * Sarah || Haseena || Noor || JayKae || JayKro ||
 * Caleb || Alli || Mathew || Gabriel || Daniela ||
 * Lauren || Shane || Kaitlyn || Kayla || Atticus ||
 * Evelyn || James || Jocelyn || AshVan || Fernando ||
 * ChrisSmith || Kristen || Nuredin ||  ||   ||


 * ~ #CurrentEventsFriday ||
 * = Week ||= Readings ||= Assignment ||
 * = 1 || [|"Brother Ali: The Intersection of Homophobia and Hip Hop: Where Tyler Met Frank".] Brother Ali, __The Huffington Post __. 7 Sep. 2012.

Summary: Rapper Brother Ali discusses his changing views on using hurtful words in his rap lyrics. || In a class completely about words and word choice, one would expect an English teacher to say highlight the importance of good diction. However, what about outside of the classroom bubble? Specifically, what about in music, entertainment, and popular culture - is it crucial to be critical of the words we say and the words we hear?

If so, why? And if not, why not?

Read the essay from rapper Brother Ali regarding his use of homophobic slurs. Be sure to give background information on the subject and cite the articles in your discussion. Write not only from your own experience, but from what you've read. ||
 * = 2 || [|"Gendered Politics and Clothing"]

Summary: In the "For Your Entertainment" section are two articles about the clothes we wear and the way they define our place in society || In a few days, we will be reviewing //The Odyssey// and exploring what that text can tell us about the society that lead to its creation. The question is, can we think critically about texts from our society today?

Read the following two articles about gender and clothing choices. Then, on your wikipage, you will write two paragraphs - one paraphrasing each of the articles, and one explaining what we can learn about society from the clothing options explored in each of the articles.


 * [|Clothing for boys...and girls] ... Sexist or just a stylistic choice? No big deal, or the problem with society? You decide.
 * [|Wear What Where?] A father examines his daughters' clothing choices and wonders where to stand between making his daughters look "nice" and allowing them to define themselves. ||
 * = 3 || [| Miley Cyrus: World's Biggest Feminist]

[|Open Letter to Miley]

[|Jennifer Lawrence: "For Some Disgusting Reason"] || Epic Role Models:

If epic hero archetypes like Odysseus are supposed to be the best of the best, a role model for us all, then who are the heroes of today and what are the values that our society upholds as models for "ideal" character traits?

Read the two articles with opposing view points and then decide for yourself what characteristics we should prize in our society for women and for men. ||
 * 4 || Reflection (5/14) || Your Project:

This week you're going to write a reflection that project you just completed. [|Instruction documents] are located online and can be found here: (https://wcpss.edmodo.com/post/253376241) ||