You Are Nothing Special

http://theswellesleyreport.com/2012/06/wellesley-high-grads-told-youre-not-special/

• Click on the link above to hear the commencement speech. (12 min. long)

• Next, go to the the AP website for this class: https://sites.google.com/site/kapaahighaplang/home and open up the Rhetorical Terms.  You will find this on the left side on the Home Page.  It will lead you to an attachment.  You may print the attachment or toggle back and forth as you read and use the terms.

• Now read the speech below and address the following:

1.) Identify One Scheme: Choose from Balance, Unusual Word Order, Omission or Repetition.  Copy the sentence or sentences and then name the scheme using your handout "Style: Schemes and Tropes"
2.) Identify One Trope.  Choose from Comparison, Word Play, or Exaggeration.  Copy the sentence or sentences and then name the trope using your handout "Style: Schemes and Tropes"
3.) After identifying a Scheme and a Trope, now  discuss if you agree with the speaker, disagree with the speaker ( referred to as refutation, the act of refuting or disagreeing), OR if you agree with some of the speech  but disagree with other parts of it.  (This is the concept of Qualifying an argument in which you do not totally disagree or agree.)
So Agree, Refute, or Qualify the speaker's comments in a supporting paragraph that specifically references part of the speech.

Due Date: Posting by Monday, September 30th. (40 Pts)

No response to a classmate necessary.

Weak responses will receive minimal credit.

Commencement Speech for 2012 Graduating Class

Dr. Wong, Dr. Keough, Mrs. Novogroski, Ms. Curran, members of the board of education, family and friends of the graduates, ladies and gentlemen of the Wellesley High School class of 2012, for the privilege of speaking to you this afternoon, I am honored and grateful.  Thank you.

So here we are… commencement… life’s great forward-looking ceremony. (And don’t say, “What about weddings?” Weddings are one-sided and insufficiently effective. Weddings are bride-centric pageantry. Other than conceding to a list of unreasonable demands, the groom just stands there. No stately, hey-everybody-look-at-me procession. No being given away. No identity-changing pronouncement. And can you imagine a television show dedicated to watching guys try on tuxedos? Their fathers sitting there misty-eyed with joy and disbelief, their brothers lurking in the corner muttering with envy. Left to men, weddings would be, after limits-testing procrastination, spontaneous, almost inadvertent… during halftime… on the way to the refrigerator. And then there’s the frequency of failure: statistics tell us half of you will get divorced. A winning percentage like that’ll get you last place in the American League East. The Baltimore Orioles do better than weddings.)

But this ceremony… commencement… a commencement works every time. From this day forward… truly… in sickness and in health, through financial fiascos, through midlife crises and passably attractive sales reps at trade shows in Cincinnati, through diminishing tolerance for annoyingness, through every difference, irreconcilable and otherwise, you will stay forever graduated from high school, you and your diploma as one, ‘til death do you part.

No, commencement is life’s great ceremonial beginning, with its own attendant and highly appropriate symbolism. Fitting, for example, for this auspicious rite of passage, is where we find ourselves this afternoon, the venue. Normally, I avoid clichés like the plague, wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole, but here we are on a literal level playing field. That matters. That says something. And your ceremonial costume… shapeless, uniform, one-size-fits-all. Whether male or female, tall or short, scholar or slacker, spray-tanned prom queen or intergalactic X-Box assassin, each of you is dressed, you’ll notice, exactly the same. And your diploma… but for your name, exactly the same.

All of this is as it should be, because none of you is special.

You are not special. You are not exceptional.

Contrary to what your u9 soccer trophy suggests, your glowing seventh grade report card, despite every assurance of a certain corpulent purple dinosaur, that nice Mister Rogers and your batty Aunt Sylvia, no matter how often your maternal caped crusader has swooped in to save you… you’re nothing special.

Yes, you’ve been pampered, cosseted, doted upon, helmeted, bubble-wrapped. Yes, capable adults with other things to do have held you, kissed you, fed you, wiped your mouth, wiped your bottom, trained you, taught you, tutored you, coached you, listened to you, counseled you, encouraged you, consoled you and encouraged you again. You’ve been nudged, cajoled, wheedled and implored. You’ve been feted and fawned over and called sweetie pie. Yes, you have. And, certainly, we’ve been to your games, your plays, your recitals, your science fairs. Absolutely, smiles ignite when you walk into a room, and hundreds gasp with delight at your every tweet. Why, maybe you’ve even had your picture in the Townsman! [Editor’s upgrade: Or The Swellesley Report!] And now you’ve conquered high school… and, indisputably, here we all have gathered for you, the pride and joy of this fine community, the first to emerge from that magnificent new building…

But do not get the idea you’re anything special. Because you’re not.

The empirical evidence is everywhere, numbers even an English teacher can’t ignore. Newton, Natick, Nee… I am allowed to say Needham, yes? …that has to be two thousand high school graduates right there, give or take, and that’s just the neighborhood Ns. Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools. That’s 37,000 valedictorians… 37,000 class presidents… 92,000 harmonizing altos… 340,000 swaggering jocks… 2,185,967 pairs of Uggs. But why limit ourselves to high school? After all, you’re leaving it. So think about this: even if you’re one in a million, on a planet of 6.8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 people just like you. Imagine standing somewhere over there on Washington Street on Marathon Monday and watching sixty-eight hundred yous go running by. And consider for a moment the bigger picture: your planet, I’ll remind you, is not the center of its solar system, your solar system is not the center of its galaxy, your galaxy is not the center of the universe. In fact, astrophysicists assure us the universe has no center; therefore, you cannot be it. Neither can Donald Trump… which someone should tell him… although that hair is quite a phenomenon.

“But, Dave,” you cry, “Walt Whitman tells me I’m my own version of perfection! Epictetus tells me I have the spark of Zeus!” And I don’t disagree. So that makes 6.8 billion examples of perfection, 6.8 billion sparks of Zeus. You see, if everyone is special, then no one is. If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless. In our unspoken but not so subtle Darwinian competition with one another–which springs, I think, from our fear of our own insignificance, a subset of our dread of mortality — we have of late, we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more than genuine achievement. We have come to see them as the point — and we’re happy to compromise standards, or ignore reality, if we suspect that’s the quickest way, or only way, to have something to put on the mantelpiece, something to pose with, crow about, something with which to leverage ourselves into a better spot on the social totem pole. No longer is it how you play the game, no longer is it even whether you win or lose, or learn or grow, or enjoy yourself doing it… Now it’s “So what does this get me?” As a consequence, we cheapen worthy endeavors, and building a Guatemalan medical clinic becomes more about the application to Bowdoin than the well-being of Guatemalans. It’s an epidemic — and in its way, not even dear old Wellesley High is immune… one of the best of the 37,000 nationwide, Wellesley High School… where good is no longer good enough, where a B is the new C, and the midlevel curriculum is called Advanced College Placement. And I hope you caught me when I said “one of the best.” I said “one of the best” so we can feel better about ourselves, so we can bask in a little easy distinction, however vague and unverifiable, and count ourselves among the elite, whoever they might be, and enjoy a perceived leg up on the perceived competition. But the phrase defies logic. By definition there can be only one best. You’re it or you’re not.

If you’ve learned anything in your years here I hope it’s that education should be for, rather than material advantage, the exhilaration of learning. You’ve learned, too, I hope, as Sophocles assured us, that wisdom is the chief element of happiness. (Second is ice cream… just an fyi) I also hope you’ve learned enough to recognize how little you know… how little you know now… at the moment… for today is just the beginning. It’s where you go from here that matters.

As you commence, then, and before you scatter to the winds, I urge you to do whatever you do for no reason other than you love it and believe in its importance. Don’t bother with work you don’t believe in any more than you would a spouse you’re not crazy about, lest you too find yourself on the wrong side of a Baltimore Orioles comparison. Resist the easy comforts of complacency, the specious glitter of materialism, the narcotic paralysis of self-satisfaction. Be worthy of your advantages. And read… read all the time… read as a matter of principle, as a matter of self-respect. Read as a nourishing staple of life. Develop and protect a moral sensibility and demonstrate the character to apply it. Dream big. Work hard. Think for yourself. Love everything you love, everyone you love, with all your might. And do so, please, with a sense of urgency, for every tick of the clock subtracts from fewer and fewer; and as surely as there are commencements there are cessations, and you’ll be in no condition to enjoy the ceremony attendant to that eventuality no matter how delightful the afternoon.

ing life, the distinctive life, the relevant life, is an achievement, not something that will fall into your lap because you’re a nice person or mommy ordered it from the caterer. You’ll note the founding fathers took pains to secure your inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness–quite an active verb, “pursuit”–which leaves, I should think, little time for lying around watching parrots rollerskate on Youtube. The first President Roosevelt, the old rough rider, advocated the strenuous life. Mr. Thoreau wanted to drive life into a corner, to live deep and suck out all the marrow. The poet Mary Oliver tells us to row, row into the swirl and roil. Locally, someone… I forget who… from time to time encourages young scholars to carpe the heck out of the diem. The point is the same: get busy, have at it. Don’t wait for inspiration or passion to find you. Get up, get out, explore, find it yourself, and grab hold with both hands. (Now, before you dash off and get your YOLO tattoo, let me point out the illogic of that trendy little expression–because you can and should live not merely once, but every day of your life. Rather than You Only Live Once, it should be You Live Only Once… but because YLOO doesn’t have the same ring, we shrug and decide it doesn’t matter.)

None of this day-seizing, though, this YLOOing, should be interpreted as license for self-indulgence. Like accolades ought to be, the fulfilled life is a consequence, a gratifying byproduct. It’s what happens when you’re thinking about more important things. Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you. Go to Paris to be in Paris, not to cross it off your list and congratulate yourself for being worldly. Exercise free will and creative, independent thought not for the satisfactions they will bring you, but for the good they will do others, the rest of the 6.8 billion–and those who will follow them. And then you too will discover the great and curious truth of the human experience is that selflessness is the best thing you can do for yourself. The sweetest joys of life, then, come only with the recognition that you’re not special.

Because everyone is.

Congratulations. Good luck. Make for yourselves, please, for your sake and for ours, extraordinary lives.

By David McCullough, English teacher at Wellesley High School.

Your Directions Again:

1.) Identify One Scheme: Choose from Balance, Unusual Word Order, Omission or Repetition. Copy the sentence or sentences and then name the scheme using your handout "Style: Schemes and Tropes"
2.) Identify One Trope. Choose from Comparison, Word Play, or Exaggeration. Copy the sentence or sentences and then name the scheme using your handout "Style: Schemes and Tropes"
3.) After identifying a Scheme and a Trope, now discuss if you agree with the speaker, disagree with the speaker (This is referred to as refutation, the act of refuting or disagreeing), OR if you agree with some of the speech but disagree with other parts of it (This is the concept of Qualifying an argument in which you do not totally disagree or agree.)
So Agree, Refute, or Qualify the speaker's comments in a supporting paragraph that specifically references part of the speech.

Due Date: Posting by Monday, September 30th. (40 Pts)

No response to a classmate necessary.

 Weak responses will receive minimal credit.

The Hero's Journey

1. Read the explanation below about The Hero's Journey inspired by Joseph Campbell's research on mythology and then the short discussion on archetypes by Carl Jung. 
2. Next choose a film and identify the archetypes portrayed within the film.  Refer to the archetypes discussed by Carl Jung below.
3. As you identify the archetypes, have a discussion--not a list-- on how the film shares similarities with the stages of the hero's journey according to Joseph Campbell's work. YOU MAY NOT USE A WORK NOTED IN THE DISCUSSION BELOW--such as The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars etc. . . .
4. Finally, respond to one classmate's posting and discuss to what extent you agree or disagree with their analysis.

Your response should be at least 500 words, but no more than 550 words.  Part of this assignment is to practice precise writing; therefore, pay close attention to your word count as you write.  Create your response in a Word doc. Verify your word count and type the number of words at the end of your response. Next copy/paste your response with the word count into the blog post.  

Warning, at this point if you are not having some kind of discussion with significant commentary to your peer, then you will not receive credit for your response to a peer.  So please work at thinking.  Look for similarities within another film that might be close to the one your peer analyzed or compose a polite disagreement.  Just please have something intelligent to say other than the fact that you agree with their analysis or not.  Learning the art of conversation on paper will make the difference between an AP score of a 3 or a 4.  So please really stretch the manner in which you respond to your peer.


First Posting Due: Monday, September 23  (50 Points) 
Response to a Classmate Due: Friday, September 27 (20 Points)

THE HERO’S JOURNEY

Joseph Campbell, an American psychologist and mythological researcher, wrote a famous book entitled The Hero with a Thousand Faces. In his lifelong research Campbell discovered many common patterns running through hero myths and stories from around the world. Years of research lead Campbell to discover several basic stages that almost every hero-quest goes through (no matter what culture the myth is a part of). He calls this common structure "the monomyth."
 
George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, claims that Campbell’s monomyth was the inspiration for his groundbreaking films. Lucas also believes that Star Wars is such a popular saga because it taps into a timeless story-structure which has existed for thousands of years.

Many followers of Campbell have defined the stages of his monomyth in various ways, sometimes supplying different names for certain stages. For this reason there are many different versions of the Hero’s Journey that retain the same basic elements. THE ORDINARY WORLD
 
Heroes exist in a world is considered ordinary or uneventful by those who live there. Often the heroes are considered odd by those in the ordinary world and possess some ability or characteristic that makes them feel out-of-place, such as:
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Dorothy in Kansas
The Hobbit: Bilbo Baggins in Hobbiton
Star Wars: Luke Skywalker on Tatooine
The Lion King: Simba at Pride Rock

THE CALL TO ADVENTURE For heroes to begin their journeys, they must be called away from the ordinary world. Fantastic quests don’t happen in everyday life. Heroes must be removed from their typical environment. Most heroes show a reluctance to leave their home, their friends, and their life to journey on a quest. But in the end they accept their destiny.

Usually there is a discovery, some event, or some danger that starts them on the heroic path. Heroes find a mystic object or discover their world is in danger. In some cases, heroes happen upon their quest by accident. Campbell puts it like this, "A blunder—the merest chance—reveals an unsuspected world."

The new world the hero is forced into is much different than the old one. Campbell describes this new world as a "fateful region of both treasure and danger… distant land, a forest, a kingdom underground, beneath the waves, or above the sky, a secret island, lofty mountaintop, or profound dream state… place of strangely fluid and polymorphous beings, unimaginable torments, superhuman deeds, and impossible delight". This description may seem pretty vague, but think of all the various fantasy realms characters have entered throughout the years: Middle-Earth, Oz, Narnia, Wonderland. It could even be outer space, a haunted house, or the Matrix. Regardless of the details, the new world is sure to be filled with adventure.  For example,  The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The tornado ; The Hobbit: Gandalf the wizard arrives; Star Wars: R2D2’s cryptic message.

REFUSAL OF THE QUEST During the Call to Adventure heroes are given a task or quest which only they can complete. They are faced with a choice: accept the quest or deny it. Their choice might seem like a no-brainer. If they don’t accept the quest, there won’t be much of a story—or will there? Actually there are stories where heroes don’t accept their destinies. When this happens, the stage is set for disaster. There’s a reason why the powers-that-be have chosen a particular hero. A refusal of the quest only brings trouble.

King Minos, the monarch of Crete who antagonizes the Greek hero Theseus, does not do what the gods ask of him. Poseidon, Lord of the Seas, sends him a beautiful white bull. The god’s only order is that Minos must sacrifice the creature back to him. After seeing the magnificent beast, Minos decides he just can’t bring himself to do what the god asks and keeps the bull as a personal trophy.

Enraged, Poseidon vows revenge and causes Minos’ wife to burn with lust for her husband’s prized beast. The rest of this story is strictly NC-17. It results in the birth of the Minotaur, a creature half-bull, half-human, a curse to his father King Minos.

Campbell notes that heroes who refuse their quest often become characters in need of rescuing or in Minos’ case, the villain of another hero’s journey.  For example, in  Star Wars: Luke refuses the quest until he learns his aunt and uncle are dead; The Lion King: Simba refuses to return to Pride Rock and accept his destiny Groundhog Day: Example of the negative cycle caused by refusing the call

ACCEPTING THE CALL:
Once the adventure is accepted, the heroes advance into the next stage of their journey.

ENTERING THE UNKNOWN As they embark on their journey, the heroes enter a world they have never experienced before. Very often it is filled with supernatural creatures, breathtaking sights, and the constant threat of death. Unlike the heroes’ home, this outside world has its own rules, and they quickly learns to respect these rules as their endurance, strength, and mettle are tested time and time again. After all, it is not the end of the journey which teaches, but the journey itself.

The Wizard of Oz: Dorothy must learn the rules of Oz

The Matrix: Neo must come to grips with the realities and unrealities of the Matrix SUPERNATURAL AID  
Supernatural doesn’t have to mean magical. There are plenty of hero stories that don’t have wizards or witches per say. Supernatural simply means "above the laws of nature." Heroes are almost always started on their journey by a character who has mastered the laws of the outside world and come back to bestow this wisdom upon them. This supernatural character often gives them the means to complete the quest. Some of the time the gift is simply wisdom. Other times it is an object with magical powers. In every instance it is something the hero needs to succeed. As Campbell says, "One has only to know and trust, and the ageless guardians will appear." The job of the supernatural assistor is to give the heroes what they need to finish the quest—not finish it for them.

The Hobbit: Gandalf Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi

 Cinderella: Fairy Godmother


TALISMAN:
A Special (and often magical) items that assist the heroes on their quest.

The Wizard of Oz: Ruby Slippers
The Hobbit: The Ring

Star Wars: Lightsaber

ALLIES/HELPERS

Every hero needs a helper, much like every superhero needs a sidekick. Without the assistance of their companions and helpers along the way, most heroes would fail miserably. For example, in the Greek hero story of Theseus, Minos’ daughter Ariadne, after falling hopelessly in love, helps Theseus navigate the Labyrinth. She does this by holding one end of a golden thread while Theseus works his way inward to slay the Minotaur. Without her help, Theseus would never have fulfilled his quest or found his way out of the maze once he did so.

Lord of the Rings: Samwise Gamgee

The Wizard of Oz: The Tin Woodsman, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion


TESTS & THE SUPREME ORDEAL The heroes progress through a series of tests, a set of obstacles that make them stronger, preparing them for their final showdown. At long last they reach the Supreme Ordeal, the obstacle they have journeyed so far to overcome.

All the heroes’ training and toil comes into play now. The journey has hardened them, and it’s time for them to show their prowess. Once this obstacle is overcome, the tension will be relieved. The worst is passed, and the quest, while not officially over, has succeeded. Star Wars: Blowing up the Death Star

Lord of the Rings: Mount Doom

The Wizard of Oz: Defeating the Wicked Witch
 

REWARD AND THE JOURNEY HOME
Typically, there is a reward given to heroes for passing the Supreme Ordeal. It could be a kingdom. It could be the hand of a beautiful princess. It could be the Holy Grail. Whatever it is, it is a reward for the heroes’ endurance and strength.

After the heroes complete the Supreme Ordeal and have the reward firmly in hand, all that is left is for them to return home. Just because the majority of the adventure has passed doesn’t mean that the return journey will be smooth sailing. There are still lesser homebound obstacles to overcome. The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies

The Lord of the Rings: Return to Hobbiton
 

MASTER OF TWO WORLDS/ RESTORING THE WORLD Success on the heroes’ quest is life-changing, for them and often for many others. By achieving victory, they have changed or preserved their original world. Often they return with "the exilir," an object or personal ability that allows them to save their world.

The heroes have also grown in spirit and strength. They have proved themselves worthy for marriage, kingship, or queenship. Their mastery of the outside world qualifies them to be giants in their own. Lord of the Rings: Frodo saves the Shire

The Wizard of Oz: Dorothy rids Oz of the Wicked Witch
 
THE MONOMYTH: NOT JUST FOR MYTHOLOGY While Joseph Campbell’s monomyth works best with the traditional form of the quest—folk and fairy tales, myths, legends, and other fantasies—it can be applied to many different genres or types of stories. A quest does not have to include swords and monsters. It can just as easily occur in the real world. The monomyth, ageless and universal, exists anywhere and everywhere.

ARCHETYPES APPEARING IN THE HERO’S JOURNEY

 

Joseph Campbell was heavily influenced by the Swiss Psychiatrist Carl Jung whose theory of the collective unconscious involved archetypes—recurring images, patterns, and ideas from dreams and myths across various cultures. Below are several archetypes often found in myths.

HEROES: Central figures in stories. Everyone is the hero of his or her own myth.

SHADOWS: Villains, enemies, or perhaps the enemy within. This could be the repressed possibilities of the hero, his or her potential for evil.

MENTORS: The hero’s guide or guiding principles.

HERALD: The one who brings the Call to Adventure. This could be a person or an event.

THRESHOLD GUARDIANS: The forces that stand in the way at important turning points, including jealous enemies, professional gatekeepers, or even the hero’s own fears and doubts.

SHAPESHIFTERS: In stories, creatures like vampires or werewolves who change shape. In life, the shapeshifter represents change.

TRICKSTERS: Clowns and mischief-makers.

ALLIES: Characters who help the hero throughout the quest.

WOMAN AS TEMPTRESS: Sometimes a female character offers danger to the hero (a femme fatale)

Mythology Teacher.Com.  Jan. 21, 2103.  Web
http://www.mythologyteacher.com/documents/TheHeroJourney.pdf

1. Read the explanation above about The Hero's Journey inspired by Joseph Campbell's research on mythology and then the short discussion on archetypes by Carl Jung. 
2. Next choose a film and identify the archetypes portrayed within the film.  Refer to the archetypes discussed by Carl Jung below.
3. As you identify the archetypes, have a discussion--not a list-- on how the film shares similarities with the stages of the hero's journey according to Joseph Campbell's work. YOU MAY NOT USE A WORK NOTED IN THE DISCUSSION BELOW--such as The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars etc. . . .
4. Finally, respond to one classmate's posting and discuss to what extent you agree or disagree with their analysis.

Your response should be at least 500 words, but no more than 550 words.  Part of this assignment is to practice precise writing; therefore, pay close attention to your word count as you write.  Create your response in a Word doc. Verify your word count and type the number of words at the end of your response. Next copy/paste your response with the word count into the blog post.  

Warning, at this point if you are not having some kind of discussion with significant commentary to your peer, then you will not receive credit for your response to a peer.  So please work at thinking.  Look for similarities within another film that might be close to the one your peer analyzed or compose a polite disagreement.  Just please have something intelligent to say other than the fact that you agree with their analysis or not.  Learning the art of conversation on paper will make the difference between an AP score of a 3 or a 4.  So please really stretch the manner in which you respond to your peer.


First Posting Due: Monday, September 23  (50 Points) 
Response to a Classmate Due: Friday, September 27 (20 Points)

Reality Check

Below is a syllabus for a Florida State University freshman composition writing course that was given during summer.  Either copy/paste the document into a word doc and save it to your desktop, or read the entire document within this blog  and then answer the questions written in red in a thoughtful manner by using evidence from the document.  Do Not Post Your Response.  Instead, email them to: aplangkhs@gmail.com.  Identify your Academy and your first and last name within the Subject section of the email like this: Hopes Jack Thompson or Ideas Gianne Morrow. 

Here is the Syllabus:

Freshman English Composition Course Syllabus 

ENC 1101.17 Investigating Communities: How We See Ourselves and Others

Summer Session C, 2008

11-12:15 M-F Williams 217

Instructor: Lucy Littler

Office: Williams 329

Office Hours: Tuesdays 2-4pm, Thursdays 2-4

Email: clr07d@fsu.edu

First Year Composition Mission Statement

First-Year Writing courses at FSU teach writing as a recursive and frequently collaborative process of invention, drafting, and revising. Writing is both personal and social, and students should learn how to write for a variety of purposes and audiences. Since writing is a process of making meaning as well as communicating, FYW teachers respond to the content of students' writing as well as to surface errors. Students should expect frequent written and oral response on the content of their writing from both teacher and peers. Classes rely heavily on a workshop format. Instruction emphasizes the connection between writing, reading, and critical thinking; students should give thoughtful, reasoned responses to the readings. Both reading and writing are the subjects of class discussions and workshops, and students are expected to be active participants of the classroom community. Learning from each other will be a large part of the classroom experience. If you would like further information regarding the First-Year Composition Program, feel free to contact the program director, Dr. Deborah Coxwell-Teague at dteague@fsu.edu.

Our Course Goals

This course will help you to grow as a writer and a critical thinker by encouraging you to investigate and to write about communities that have played a role in shaping you as an individual. In addition to looking closely at yourself, you will take a close look at others within the communities around you and study larger communities you currently participate in or hope to join.

 This course aims to help you improve your writing and communication skills in all areas: discovering what you have to say, organizing your thoughts for a variety of audiences, and improving fluency and rhetorical sophistication. You will write and revise three papers, give an oral presentation, write sustained exploratory journals (both in and out of class), work directly with an audience of your peers to practice critical reading and response, and learn many new writing techniques.

 We will begin the semester with Paper #1 which asks you to examine your own literacy history and how you see yourself as a member of the writing/reading community. From there you will use community as the lens with which to examine and write about someone else in Paper #2, and then in Paper #3, you will examine a larger community you are currently a member of or one you think you would like to join. To conclude our course, we will focus briefly on oral communication as each student will organize and present his/her favorite paper from the term to the class. You will not read your paper to the class, but you will convey what about the process of writing the paper was most enjoyable, challenging, memorable, etc.

Required Materials:

On Writing 3rd Edition, FSU Edition (Bishop 2008)

The New McGraw-Hill Handbook (Maimon, Pertiz, Yancy, 2007

Our Own Words available at http://english3.fsu.edu/writing/oow

Access to a Computer (the university provides a number of computer labs)

Electronic Storage device (flash/thumb drive, disk, etc) for use in and out of class

Requirements of Course

All of the formal written assignments below must be turned in to me in order to pass the course. Attendance is also a requirement. More than four absences in a 6 week course is grounds for failure. Three "tardies" will constitute an absence.

Three papers, edited and polished

Oral presentation

Multiple drafts and revisions of each of the three formal papers

 Exploratory journals, some in-class & some out-of-class

Two individual conferences

Thoughtful, active, and responsible participation and citizenship, including discussion, preparation for class, in- and out-of-class informal writing

Check email and course Blackboard site daily

Evaluation

Rough drafts will be graded on completeness and potential—not on editing, coherence, or other mechanical issues. If you miss a scheduled workshop or show up to a workshop without a complete and thoughtful draft (or the requested number of copies, etc), your final paper grade will be lowered by 1/3 (this means a final paper that would normally be a B would become a B- if you missed one workshop, a C+ if you missed two workshops, etc. Please note that showing up without a draft, without a draft that addresses the given assignment, without having posted your draft on Blackboard, or without bringing the required number of copies of your draft all carry the same penalty as missing the workshop altogether. No exceptions. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO LISTEN TO/CHECK BLACKBOARD FOR DIRECTIONS AND COME PREPARED TO ALL CLASS MEETINGS AND WORKSHOPS.)

Final papers will be graded on audience-awareness, organization, thoughtfulness, and editing. Each final paper will be handed in with a packet of required materials (rough drafts, process writing, etc).

If you fail to hand in a final paper on time or with the necessary required materials, your final paper grade for that assignment will be lowered by a full letter grade. All other written and oral work (quizzes, journals, presentations, etc) will be graded on meaning or content and appropriateness to the assignment.

 Paper 1—Personal Exploration: How You See Yourself as a Writer (20%)

Paper 2—How You See Another: Community Member Profile (30%)

Paper 3—Featured Article: How You See Yourself and Others within a Community (30%)

Oral Presentation—Writing Process: Your Favorite Paper from our Course (10%)

Journals—Writing activities, in and out of class (10%)

ALL FORMAL PAPERS AND THEIR DRAFTS MUST BE COMPLETED AND TURNED IN TO EARN A PASSING GRADE IN THIS COURSE.

Attendance

I keep strict attendance and will adhere to the First-Year Writing rule that an excess of four absences in a 6 week class [that's the equivalent of 20% of this course] is grounds for failure. You should always inform me, ahead of time when possible, about why you miss class, but letting me know you will be out of town or that you don’t feel well, etc. does not "excuse" the absence. All absences, no matter what the reason, count toward the total number. Save your absences for when you get sick (it will happen, trust me) or for family emergencies. If you are late to class (and/or conference) three times, it will be counted as an absence. Not showing up for a conference counts as an absence as well.

Please keep in mind that attendance in this course means being here both physically

and mentally. Sleeping, not participating, or detracting from the progress of the class is grounds being asked to leave for the remainder of the class meeting and counted absent for the day.

 Drafts and Workshops

FSU believes that writing is an on-going process that includes stages of invention, drafting, revision, and editing. These stages don’t always happen in a set order, nor do they necessarily happen only once during any given writing task. To encourage this process-approach to writing, each paper in ENC 1101 will consist of several drafts. These drafts will be due on designated workshop days—days on which you will be expected not only to receive feedback on your own work but also to generate feedback on the work of your peers.

 You are required not only to attend workshops with a completed and thoughtful draft, but you are also expected to contribute to the workshop by giving your peers’ drafts your full attention and offering them honest, helpful criticism.

 You should submit your draft to our online Blackboard site (please use .rtf format) well in advance of class time so you will be prepared to share your work as soon as class begins. Sometimes you will be expected (you will have ample time to prepare) to bring one or more hard copies of your draft to class.

I will take up drafts at various times during the course and provide written and/or oral feedback. I will not tell you what to do because your writing should be a reflection of your choices as a writer--I will offer suggestions by discussion with you how your work has affected or reached me as a reader.  I will act as a "sounding board" on which you can flesh out your ideas and bring your intentions as a writer to fruition from the initial invention stages of an assignment all the way to editing and polishing your final drafts.

For more information on this approach to teaching composition, please see Brannon and Knoblauch’s "On Student’s Rights to Their Own Texts: A Model of Teacher Response"

Please see the

Evaluation section of this course information sheet for the penalties associated with missing a workshop or coming to a workshop unprepared.

 Journals

Each week, we will engage in a number of journal assignments. Some of these assignments will be completed in class, others will require that you spend some time reading, reflecting, and writing outside of designated class meeting time.

First-Year Composition Course Drop Policy

This course is NOT eligible to be dropped in accordance with the "Drop Policy" adopted by the Faculty Senate in the spring of 2004. The Undergraduate Studies Dean will not consider drop requests for a First-Year Composition course unless there are extraordinary and extenuating circumstances utterly beyond the student's control (e.g.:death of a parent or sibling, illness requiring hospitalization, etc.). The Faculty Senate specifically eliminated First-Year Composition courses from the University Drop Policy because of the overriding requirement that First-Year Composition be completed during students' initial enrollment at FSU.

Reading/Writing Center

The RWC offers one-on-one help for students with their writing, whether they need help with a writing problem, understanding what their teacher wants, or just want to do better on their writing assignments. The Center is staffed by teaching assistants who are trained in writing and teaching. Make an appointment by calling ahead (644-6495) or stopping in (222-C WMS). The Writing Center is open 9:00-4:30 Monday-Friday. Online tutoring is also available. The Center is a great asset; please take advantage of it.

 Plagiarism

Plagiarism is grounds for suspension from the university as well as for failure in this course. It will not be tolerated. Any instance of plagiarism must be reported to the Director of First-Year Writing and the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Plagiarism is a counterproductive, non-writing behavior that is unacceptable in a course intended to aid the growth of individual writers. Plagiarism is included among the violations defined in the Academic Honor Code, section b), paragraph 2, as follows: "Regarding academic assignments, violations of the Academic Honor Code shall include representing another's work or any part thereof, be it published or unpublished, as one's own." A plagiarism education assignment that further explains this issue will be administered in all first-year writing courses during the second week of class. Each student will be responsible for completing the assignment and asking questions regarding any parts they do not fully understand.

Gordon Rule

Successful completion of all writings in this course and a final course grade of C- or better will allow you to satisfy the Gordon Rule requirement. The University requires you to write 7,000 words, but you will be writing much more than that in any FYW course.

American Disability Act

Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations should in the FIRST WEEK OF CLASS 1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC) and 2) bring a letter to the instructor from SDRC indicating the need for academic accommodations. This and all other class materials are available in alternative format upon request.

 Description of Paper Assignments

(These descriptions are subject to modification as I see fit)

Personal Exploration: How You See Yourself as a Writer (20%)

This essay should explore the aspects of what makes you who you are as a writer. As a person, and as a member of your larger communities, what has shaped you as a writer, and a student of writing, to this point? Who has influenced your attitudes and perceptions toward reading, writing and academic education? What decisions or events in your life have determined your literacy? How did you become the writer you are today?

 For this essay, explore all of these questions by considering and reflecting on your past experiences with reading and writing. Think of the communities you belong to (home, school, hobbies, social groups, etc.) and how those communities have contributed to your evolution into the literate person you are today. You may choose to focus on a turning point, such as a time when a teacher influenced you, the first great book you read that introduced you to the joys of literature, or the influence of a friend or family member on some aspect of your literacy history. Or you may choose to focus on a practice you have developed, or an experience related to your literacy that has impacted you. Your focus might be positive or negative—you may relate a struggle connected to reading or writing (perhaps it was never something you liked), or you may want to discuss a discovery you made (perhaps you enjoy a particular genre of literature) that changed your perspective.

 Whatever your focus, this essay should contain a significant amount of analysis and interpretation of what has shaped you. Tell your story in this essay, but move beyond narration to reflect upon and articulate why and how the experience(s) was(were) significant for you. How were you shaped as a person and within your larger communities by this experience/event/discovery? The essay should provide a level of detail, through example, anecdote and explanation, which enables a reader to relate to your experience and to understand your perspective. It should provide significant insight into what or who has made/makes you who you are as a writer, reader, student and person of your world.

The various drafting stages of this assignment will ask you to focus on using sensory detail and description, using dialogue, and taking risks through radical revision.

 The final draft will be 5-7 typed, double-spaced pages. You will use 12 point Times New Roman font, 1 inch margins, MLA Style headings and page set-up.

 Paper Two – Community Member Profile: How We See Another

As our class is focused on community, this essay asks you to examine a community in relation to one of its members. Before you start work on this paper, you will want to consider what a community is, how it functions, what traits its members have, and why this community exists.

In your first paper, you wrote about yourself; now, you are being asked to closely examine another person and write a profile. Unlike a biography that catalogs the major events in a person’s life, a profile looks at a person through a specific lens. The lens you choose dictates which traits and experiences will be highlighted. A profile based on a person’s job will look very different than a profile looking at someone’s childhood.

 You will use community as the lens with which to examine someone. Choose someone to profile whom you think belongs to an interesting community or whose relationship with that community tells a lot about the person. There are any number of opportunities to find a unique view of this person through his/her involvement with a community—you may choose generation, culture, profession, etc.

 You will want to explore both the community and the person. In what ways does this person interact with this community? What traits do all members of the community possess? How does this person reflect this community? How would this person be different if he/she didn’t interact with this community?

 In order to discover the answers to these questions, you will want to interview this person (maybe more than once). The interview(s) will allow you to integrate direct quotations into your paper.

Here are a few examples to keep in mind:



Maria is from Cuba and extremely religious. A profile could examine how religion, especially aspects of Cuban Catholicism, helped her when she immigrated to the U.S.



 

Bruce is a civil engineer. He is obsessed with structural safety and has spent 20 years traveling around the country examining structures. His profile could focus on how his career has influenced his hobbies, lifestyle, and thought processes.



 

Susan was born in the 50s and grew up during Vietnam. She saw a picture in a magazine of a girl in Vietnam running from a bomb. Her profile could center on her loss of innocence during that era, an era when it is often argued our nation lost her innocence as well.

 

Your essay will most likely include description, narration, analysis, and reflection; it is up to you to decide how these will all be integrated. You will not merely describe the person and his/her community, but you will analyze the relationship between the person and the community, paying special attention to why this relationship deserves to be explored in a profile. Why is looking at this person in this light particularly interesting, important, or insightful?

 

The various drafting stages of this assignment will ask you to focus on thoughtful representation of your subject matter, your audience’s perspective, description, analysis, and using interviews as source material.

 

The final draft will be 5-7 typed, double-spaced pages. You will use 12 point Times New Roman font, 1 inch margins, MLA Style headings and page set-up.

Paper Three –Feature Article: How We See Ourselves and Others Within a Community

We began the semester by looking at ourselves and what shaped us in a community of readers and writers. Next we interviewed another person and examined a community in relation to one of its members. Now we will examine a larger community we are currently a member of or one we think we would like to join. We will expand our writing lens to include a much larger, broader focus that will now cover a more expansive community.

 You will research your topic with the intent of publishing your essay as a feature article for a college magazine. You will inform and describe some of the important ideas behind your academic or professional goals for people who might want to pursue the same avenue. Some questions you might consider: What is my academic or professional goal? What kind of knowledge do I need to understand this goal better? What types of classes will I need to take? What characteristics do I need in order to successfully obtain these goals? What are the societal stereotypes that I might need to overcome? How will these stereotypes affect me? In order to answer these questions, you will need to interview people in your field in academia or working professionals.

 You will also need to examine questions about yourself: Why do I have these goals? Where do they stem from? Am I secure and/or comfortable with my goals? Do they fit with what I want to do with my life? How do I know this for sure (reflect and research)? What do I know about myself that will be conducive for this field? What stereotypes might I need to overcome to succeed?

 Finally, you will need to reflect and respond: What did I already know and what did I learn as a result of my research?

 The various drafting stages of this assignment will ask you to focus on thoughtful representation of your subject matter, your audience’s perspective, description, analysis, and using various types of source material (interview, ethnography, periodicals, the web, etc).

 The final draft will be 5-7 typed, double-spaced pages. You will use 12 point Times New Roman font, 1 inch margins, MLA Style headings and page set-up.

Description of Oral Presentation

During the final days of our course, each student will share with the rest of the class what he or she has learned about his or her personal writing process through an analysis of his or her favorite paper from our course.

 Using your favorite paper (and any writing or materials you used while developing that paper) from our course, you should analyze and explain to your peers in an organized oral presentation what you have discovered about your writing process. What helps you write? What gets in your way? What do you like or dislike about your writing and why? How does this particular paper illustrate your process, or what you would like your process to be? What will you take from this paper with you into future writing situations?

 Though you should cite your own writing (such as drafts, journals, process letters, etc) in your presentation to illustrate your points, you should not plan to simply read your paper to the class. The purpose of this oral presentation is not to summarize the paper itself but to help you analyze and share what discoveries you made during the writing of this particular paper that you feel were valuable to you in some way. This assignment will serve as a bridge between ENC 1101 and whatever courses and writing experiences await you in the future as it encourages you to recognize and examine what works (and what doesn’t work) for you as a writer.

 Your oral presentation will be between 4 and 5 minutes long and it will include a visual aid. You must be present and attentive for all presentations in order to get credit for your own.

Tentative Schedule

(All readings, assignments, and due dates are subject to change. Check Blackboard DAILY for updates.)

Week 1

Monday, June 30th

 

Syllabus, ENC 1101 Expectations?

Read "What Goes on in First Year Writing" by Devan Cook, Our Own Words 1998-99 Edition http://english3.fsu.edu/writing/?q=node/444

Section 2A in The New McGraw Hill (p 21-23)

 Tuesday, July 1st

Discussion: What are your expectations for ENC 1101? College writing in general? Writing beyond college? How does Cook’s text affect what you think/expect?

What is process writing?

Introductions

Read Paule Marshall’s "The Poets in the Kitchen," Amy Tan’s "Mother Tongue" and the Introduction to Chapter 2 in On Writing

Section 11 in The New McGraw Hill (p 237-241)

 Wednesday, July 2nd

 Introducing Paper 1

Discussion: How has language affected Marshall’s life? How has language affected Tan’s life? How is language related to or reflective of community?

Invention Strategy: Timelining and Looping

Read Richard Straub’s "Responding—Really Responding—to Other Students’ Writing" in On Writing and Section 5A in The New McGraw Hill (p 90-93)

 Thursday, July 3rd

 Discussion: What’s the point of workshopping, and what should we expect to get (and give?) in a peer review?

Example Student Paper

 Friday, July 4th

No Class, University Holiday

 Week 2

Monday, July 7th

Workshop 1

Make sure to post a copy of your electronic draft (in .rtf format!!) to the appropriate BB discussion board forum by class time and bring a hard copy of your paper to class with you

Read "Sing with Me Somehow" and "Knocked Up" from Our Own Words (2007-2008 edition)

 Tuesday, July 8th

Discussion: What choices have these writers made to convey their stories effectively? What risks might you take with your draft?

Invention Activity: Showing vs. Telling

Snapshots, Exploding the Moment

Example Student Paper

Read Anne Lamotte’s "Shitty First Drafts" in On Writing

Complete out of class journal (TBA) in preparation for your conference

 Wednesday, July 9th

 Conferences, no class meeting

Thursday, July 10th

 Conferences, no class meeting

 Friday, July 11th

 Invention Activity: Sensory Detail

Workshop 2

Make sure to post a copy of your electronic draft (in .rtf format!!) to the appropriate BB discussion board forum by class time and bring a hard copy of your paper to class with you

Week 3

Monday, July 14th

Final Draft of Paper 1 due by class time (Submit an electronic copy of your final draft to the appropriate Discussion Board forum on our BB homepage. Bring a STAPLED packet to class to turn in made up of your final draft, all rough drafts, and your process letter).

Introducing Paper 2

How to conduct an interview

Read "The Unsung Hero" in Our Own Words, 1999-2000 Edition http://english3.fsu.edu/writing/?q=node/150

Section 3A in The New McGraw Hill (p 35-45)

Tuesday, July 15th

Discussion: What decisions has this student writer made in profiling his grandfather?

Using a cultural artifact to guide an interview

Read Haunani-Kay Trask’s "Tourist, Stay Home" in On Writing and Section 4B-C in The New McGraw Hill (p 65-71)

 Wednesday, July 16th

 Discussion: How does Trask’s essay profile her community? How is language central to this community’s struggle?

Biography vs. Profile: Focusing through a specific lens

Paragraph length Profile

 Thursday, July 17th

 Sample Paper:

Seinfeld’s "The Soup Nazi"

Friday, July 18th

Workshop 1

Make sure to post a copy of your electronic draft (in .rtf format!!) to the appropriate BB discussion board forum by class time and bring a hard copy of your paper to class with you.

Complete out of class journal (TBA) in preparation for your conference

Week 4

Monday, July 21st

Conferences, no class meeting

Tuesday, July 22nd

Conferences, no class meeting

Wednesday, July 23rd

 Final Draft of Paper 2 due by class time (Submit an electronic copy of your final draft to the appropriate Discussion Board forum on our BB homepage. Bring a STAPLED packet to class to turn in made up of your final draft, all rough drafts, and your process letter).

 Introducing Paper 3

What is Ethnography?

Read "Life in a Box: The Psychological Effects of Dormitory Architecture and Layout on Residents" Blakely Louis Beals from Our Own Words 1999-2000 Edition

Thursday, July 24th

Discussion: What does this essay reveal about student life/living at FSU? How would you describe this author’s style?

Example Student Paper

Invention Activity: Cubing

Read "Freaks and Geeks" in On Writing and Section 3B-D The New McGraw Hill (p. 45-57)

Friday, July 25th

 Discussion: How does Reeves’ essay profile a community through one of its members? How does Reeves use interview? Ethnography? Cultural Artifacts?

Using Language to convey reality: Abstract Shapes

Week 5

Monday, July 28thLibrary Visit, Meet in the "Coffee Lobby" at Strozier at 11am. Don’t be late!!

Tuesday, July 29th

Workshop 1

Make sure to post a copy of your electronic draft (in .rtf format!!) to the appropriate BB discussion board forum by class time and bring a hard copy of your paper to class with you

Read Section 18B The New McGraw Hill (p 323-325) and Fulwiler’s "The Role of Audiences" in On Writing

 Wednesday, July 30th

Who is your audience?

Searching the Web for Usable and Reliable Information

Thursday, July 31st

Revision Workshop using "Glossing" and "Commentary"

Friday, August 1st

Workshop 2

Make sure to post a copy of your electronic draft (in .rtf format!!) to the appropriate BB discussion board forum by class time and bring a hard copy of your paper to class with you

Read Section 13 in The New McGraw Hill (p 248-253)

Week 6

Monday, August 4th

How to Give an Effective and Engaging Oral Presentation

Tuesday, August 5th

 Revisiting Process Writing in Preparation for your Oral Presentation

"Imagoes"

Wednesday, August 6th

Final Draft of Paper 3 due by class time (Submit an electronic copy of your final draft to the appropriate Discussion Board forum on our BB homepage. Bring a STAPLED packet to class to turn in made up of your final draft, all rough drafts, and your process letter).

Oral Presentation "Dress Rehearsal"

Thursday, August 7th

Oral Presentations

Friday, August 8th

 Oral Presentations

 

Your Assignment:  After reading the 12 page document--yes it was 12 pages, comment on the following:

1.  What surprised you the most?

2. Do you have a greater understanding on why assignments need to be completed on time and why you are being required to use technology at least once a week for this course?  Please explain by referring to the FSU syllabus, thus showing evidence of your understanding and why certain things are required within the AP Language and Composition course.

3. Reflect on why some of your AP assignments do more than just prepare you for the AP exam. 

DO NOT POST YOUR RESPONSE TO THIS ASSIGNMENT ON THIS BLOG SITE.  This time, email your response to aplangkhs@gmail.com.  In the subject column, identify your Academy then write your first and last name.  

Example: Hopes Jack Thompson  or Ideas Cyrus Morrow.

Make sure that your response remains in letter format and that you thoughtfully address the three items noted above.  Make sure that you use evidence from the sample syllabus to support your response.

 Once Again: Do Not Post Your Response. 

Assignment due no latter than Monday, September 16th, by Midnight.

Please accept my apology on the radical change in font size within this document.  While trying to copy/paste it within the blog site, it would not allow me to remove some formatting features.  My sincerest apology.
~Ms. Carlson