by Mr. Quale on August 17, 2010
by Mr. Quale on August 17, 2010
The Los Angeles Times seems to be preparing for Ray Bradbuy’s 90th birthday by publishing his most recent angry remarks. This one caught my eye (I love it when people pluralize “Internet”):
“We have too many cellphones. We’ve got too many Internets. We have got to get rid of those machines. We have too many machines now.”
In contrast, in my A2 English class we reviewed some of our media studies ideas by looking at an article by James Harkin, writing for The Observer, who reviews Kirkpatrick’s book chronicling Facebook’s rise in popularity. In the book, titled The Facebook Effect: The Inside Story of the Company That is Connecting The World, he cites Facebook’s founder Mark Zuckerberg’s philosophy behind his website:
For [Zuckerberg], Facebook is primarily a social movement: as he tells it, he is motivated not by money (he refuses to sell up) but by a passion for radical transparency. Sharing our data and making our lives publicly available to each other turn us, he believes, into better people.
Lastly, Peggy Orensten writes an article titled, “I Tweet, Therefore I Am,” for The New York Times, and suggests:
Each Twitter post seemed a tacit referendum on who I am, or at least who I believe myself to be.
and
The expansion of our digital universe — Second Life, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter — has shifted not only how we spend our time but also how we construct identity.
Does Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest help us weigh in on these ideas? What would Chief Bromden think about all of this? Is it all just part of the Combine? And what about Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains”?
by Mr. Quale on August 15, 2010
Two years ago the The New York Times published an article about Gatsby’s dreams and how these relate to our own. The article brings up ideas about how we connect to this abstract and dated story, arguing that teachers think that their “students see in ‘Gatsby’ glimmers of their own evolving identities and dreams.”
These teachers take pains to present the book with a great deal of social and historical context, and they say it crystallizes for many students questions about both the materialism of Gatsby’s dream and the possibility of attaining their own versions of the dream, especially in today’s highly stratified economy.
“Gatsby’s Green Light Beckons A New Set of Strivers,” by Sarah Rimer (The New York Times)
Also check out “The Eggs,” via Google Maps, in order to situate ourselves geographically.
by Misplaced Intentions Staff on June 25, 2010
We are pleased to announce that the first issue of Misplaced Intentions is now available as an online Google Document, and in a PDF format for download. In keeping with our attempts at remaining a carbon neutral publication, we ask that if you download the PDF, you keep it as such on your computer and resist the temptation to print. Hard copies have already been printed on gently-used, recycled paper are still available upon request.
The Misplaced Intentions Staff would like to thank all of its contributors, with a special thanks to Ms. Svihus’ art class for providing us with so many wonderful prints for the back covers of our publications, and to Ms. Svihus in particular for her help with the project (and giving us a crash course in book binding). Lastly, we would like to thank Dan Thomas-Glass and his journal With + Stand for inspiration.
As we look ahead to the next school next year, I think we see an issue two in the works.
Until then,
Revise Rework Reimagine
by Mr. Quale on May 19, 2010
We have been enjoying Aronofsky’s first movie Pi as a nice starting point for our exploration in TOK of Mathematics as an “Area of Knowledge.”
After viewing, students will respond to one of the following questions in the comments below, incorporating an idea from Pi into their responses:
- How do the knowledge issues in Pi relate to one of the Ways of Knowing we have studied this year?
- We can use mathematics to model real-world processes. Is this because we create mathematics to mirror the world or because the world is intrinsically mathematical.
- Consider how Pi relates to #5 or #10 of “The 10 TOK Essay Titles for 2010-11.”
To what extent are the various areas of knowledge defined by their methodologies rather than their content?
A model is a simplified representation of some aspect of the world. In what ways may models help or hinder the search for knowledge?
by Mr. Quale on May 19, 2010
Read the following linked article from The Boston Globe titled “Caught in the act: Juveniles sentenced to Shakespeare” (the text), and then post a comment below on my site intended for the “Letters to the Editor” section of the newspaper (this will be your response). You will need to analyze and evaluate ideas and details from the article, being sure to include specific references to the article in your response.
When responding to any text, it is useful to consider the intended audience of the text, the purpose (What was the intent? To inform? Persuade? Justify?), and the form (was it an article, letter, op/ed piece, etc.). For this assignment, you should compose your response in a Word or Google doc, cut and paste your response to the comment box below, and lastly print out a copy for your Writing Folder.
I have included an example that I wrote below, which should help you understand the format that I expect. My response turned out to be 600 words, and I feel like I only scratched the surface, however yours does not have to be so long. I do expect a letter format, divided into paragraphs, with some sort of beginning and ending. The skills that we reviewed when investigating formal emails will be useful here.
By Louise Kennedy
The Boston Globe
May 18, 2010
LENOX — Tonight, 13 actors will take the stage at Shakespeare & Company in “Henry V.’’ Nothing so unusual in that — except that these are teenagers, none older than 17, and they have been sentenced to perform this play.
The show is the culmination of a five-week intensive program called Shakespeare in the Courts, a nationally recognized initiative now celebrating its 10th year. Berkshire Juvenile Court Judge Judith Locke has sent these adjudicated offenders — found guilty of such adolescent crimes as fighting, drinking, stealing, and destroying property — not to lockup or conventional community service, but to four afternoons a week of acting exercises, rehearsal, and Shakespearean study.
