Sonny's Blues
Last night nine COA students and friends went to see the Lorraine Hansberry and Word for Word production, of James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues," which has been extended through next week. We stopped at Lori's dinner on Powell first for dinner and then walked up to the theatre for a marvelous production. Afterwards several of us stayed for the conversation with the actors and director of Word for Word, Susan Harlow. Susan then gave me a copy of a collection of Baldwin's stories which includes Sonny's Blues. I will make copies of the story available to any students who'd like a copy.

I videotaped the artist talk, but don't know how to upload it. When I do, I will give you the link to it. As we walked up the street, I couldn't resist a shot of a store window selling beauty :-)

Today in class
Yesterday, in both classes we broke into groups according to where people were in the text. In the second class we had 4-5 groups: up to chapter 10, chapter 12, chapter 20, and chapter 34-40. The homework was to read at least 5 more chapters and to bring in a photo of something you think is beautiful. We shared our ads selling beauty yesterday in the 9-10 a.m. class.

Today in the first class we shared our ads and/or pictures of what we thought was beautiful. Deon shared from a magazine called DQ and Dominique shared from a Spanish language magazine, Angel shared an ad by Dove which looked at alternatives to the popularized notions of beauty. Melissa shared the same ad campaign with us yesterday. Marty added an observation about mannequins that were too large to fit model's clothing at a fashion event she attended. If the mannequins were about size 4; what size were the models? It was great the way students in the first class admitted to being seduced by the ad. The idea that one could buy Russell Simmon's ex-wife by purchasing the jewelry she was wearing (and nothing else), was certainly a consideration. Deon's premise was the use of beauty to sell products.

Some people call this exploitation of women and girls, and it's not beauty, it's sex. I'll show you a video on this.

I gave the second class an initial planning sheet handout. For others I have put them in a folder outside my office. You have seen the questions before. I forgot to mention in the second class the section in Hacker which looks at "invention strategies." Check out The Writing Process page 10: 1b Experiment with ways to explore your subject. Questioning is one of the strategies listed. Also included in this section of the book is a planning guide, how to develop an outline and when it is useful. Section 2 (19) looks at writer's block, pages 20-38 look at developing effective thesis sentences. Do the exercises on page 23 for practice and online (24). There are sample essays which have been revised you can look at, along with (if you continue reading) a section on developing effective paragraphs. It's a great section.

Freewrite and Cyber Assignment
The second class arrived at different times. Many students had forgotten that we meet in the Writing Center on Thursdays. Today in both classes we developed an essay outline from the introduction posted on the blog on the topic beauty. Some students didn't have copies of what they posted, so I printed copies. The freewrite was to develop an outline for the body of the essay and then let a classmate write the conclusion and then each student re post everything: Introduction, two paragraph outline with evidence and the conclusion. Students were instructed to put the author's name in parentheses. In the second class Melissa and Marty planned to email each other their essay outlines and develop conclusions and then email this back to each other for posting.

I reiterated to students that they were not starting from scratch, that they had other sentences to use developed earlier this week during the topical invention exercises we did in class and shared. If you are confused read the other posts first. Please post at the 2/25 link.

If you haven't looked at Diana Hacker's Rules for Writers, now is the time. Read The Writing Process, Document Design, The Basics, Grammar, Clarity, Punctuation, Research, etc. We will look at argument next week (344).

Monday, March 3. I will show you a video on argumentation. There will be a handout from Hacker on Argument for you to read, along with an assignment you will complete in groups on Tuesday, March 4, (367-8) and then we'll talk about it. There will be another handout, Propaganda Techniques with a Cyber-essay response. The questions are at the end of the essay. This essay is due Thursday, March 6 on the blog. I will give you a separate place to post for this by Wednesday afternoon sometime.

Your essay plan for the Alice Walker: A Life essay, along with the outline is due Wednesday for peer review. The first draft of the essay is due: Tuesday, March 11. The final draft plus a peer review, reading logs and other writing is due, Thursday, March 13.

The final draft is due, I repeat—with all your notes, Thursday, March 13, on a disk or jump drive. You can give me any notes as paper copies. Do not give me original work. We will have our conferences next week also to discuss your body of work so far. We are officially finished with the book, Alice Walker: A Life, Monday, March 3. Our prewriting exercises will be exploring the theme students would like to address in their own essays, not mine practice one: “beauty.” Use the thesis sentences we developed in class to complete the assignment and post the introduction to an essay on beauty, two topics sentences and their evidence, and a conclusion at the post for Monday, February 25.

Some students have indicated that the language used in Alice Walker: A Life, is hard to grasp or comprehend. If you have been having trouble come see me in my office hours. Also, a tutor would help. Utilize the Tutoring Center and the Writing Center. It's too bad students have waited until we completed the book to say something. It might be too late to catch up.

Extra Credit
I told students who attend the event today in the Student Lounge from 12-2: Books not Bars not Death they can have extra credit. Please post comments on the event here.

Theatre events
We are going to see Sonny's Blues at Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, 620 Sutter Street in San Francisco, tonight. (Powell Street exit, walk up, Sutter crosses Powell, turn left at Sutter and the theatre is inside Art Academy University on your right). We will meet at the Lake Merritt BART station in Oakland at 6 p.m. inside at the attendant's booth by the ticket machines. Call me on my cell phone if you are running late or can't find us.

Thursday, March 6, we will attend Come Home at The Marsh, in San Francisco. The play begins at 8 p.m. and is 70 minutes long. I'm going to see W. Kamau Bell Curve on Sunday, March 2 at the Berkeley Jewish Community Center of the East Bay. The event begins at 7 p.m. It is $20. If you bring someone of a different race, he or she gets in free. See www.wandaspicks.com to read about these plays. The review of Sonny's Blues is in the archives. There is an interview with the director, Margo Hall in web exclusives.

Oops! I got busy yesterday morning and forgot to post the assignment for last night's homework. We have been looking at "beauty" and developing thesis sentences: analogies, definitions, consequences and testimonies. Yesterday we used these sentences to write an introductory paragraph on "beauty" per Alice Walker. The homework was to bring in an ad selling beauty. Tomorrow's homework is to bring in a photo of someone or something we consider beautiful.

Homework last night was to post thesis sentences: a best of. Students posted the sentences they liked or felt strongly about. I actually requested a few such as Daniel's, Melissa's, Rudy's, and others. Students were also to post their introductory paragraphs. For those who didn't share, I didn't have a record of their presence :-)

Students were to continue to read Walker and get up to Chapter 40. We are finished with the book Monday and the essay is due shortly afterwards. I asked students to bring in Letters from Mississippi. We'll postpone this until we finish The Color Purple. I am not going to photocopy the book, so get a copy of Letter's from Mississippi, from the library if you can't afford a copy of your own. Ask the COA librarian to purchase a copy for you. It is available on Amazon and at Marcus Books they have it on back order with the publisher.

Today, we are supposed to spend time discussing the text. We will also talk about inductive and deductive arguments and fallacies. I have a handout for you called: Propaganda Techniques. I will show you a video next week on Argumentation. You will need to bring your grammar style books to reference the section argument. I will have copies from my book for those who have a different book.

A few of us are going to see Sonny's Blues at the Lorraine Hansberry theatre in San Francisco tomorrow evening. I have 9 tickets for Rudy, Makda, Kenton, Angel, Theresa (2), Karl, and myself. The show begins at 8 p.m. Next Thursday, March 6, we will got to the Marsh, also in San Francisco to see Come Home. It begins at 8 p.m. and is 70 minutes long. We're going to get together earlier to have dinner. We can do the same next week. We'll meet at Lake Merritt BART at 6 p.m. 2/28 and 3/6.

Homework is to continue reading. We looked at Topical Invention, the theme "beauty." We developed sentences, declarative sentences that answered questions which led to developing definitions, analogies, consequences and tomorrow we will look at testimony. There was a handout. I put extras in the bin near my office L-234.

Sonny's Blues @Lorraine Hansberry Theatre
The play has been extended. Next Thursday, Feb. 28, there are only 9 seats, so I would like to arrange our trip for March 8 instead. Is this agreeable? Let me know via email if you'd like to go and how many tickets you'd like.

The LHT is in San Francisco on Sutter. The play begins at 8 p.m. and ends about 9:30 p.m. It is near the Powell Street BART. Email me and let me know if this date works for you and how many tickets you'd like.

I almost forgot to check-in today with everyone. We had a great class this morning. We looked at themes in Alice Walker: A Life, then got in pairs and looked in the book for supporting evidence for the themes. We defined themes as, reoccurring ideas carried throughout the text. Some of the themes listed and explored were: family, racism & hostility, relationships, intimate, fraternal and professional, activism: the Civil Rights Movement, NAACP, SNCC, etc., poverty, womanist/feminism, education, land, sexuality.

We are going to take these themes and explore them in an essay. Tomorrow we'll continue to share. Continue to find sections in the text that illustrate your themes. Keep reading. By Monday, February 26, I'll like everyone to be up to chapter 36. We'll finish the book by Monday, March 5. Your first draft of your essay is due March 12, final draft March 14. The planning phase will take place the week before where we will develop an initial plan, an outline and find evidence to support our claims. The second book we will read is The Color Purple.

We'll come back to Baldwin afterwards. I plan to talk to each of you before the essay is due about your work, now that you have a significant body of work to look at to see what your style is and what areas of composition you need to work on. We'll do this towards the end of next week, into the following week.

I'd like you to share your thematic explorations here between now and next week. I'd also like you to share your thesis sentences and outlines as they are developed. We will review the Grammar Quiz tomorrow.

The Day After
Today in class we spoke about MLK Jr. on love and shared responses in the 8-9 AM class. In the second hour, some students thought they were to complete the response in class, so I allowed those students to do their assignments in class and others took the opportunity to read Alice Walker: A Life where we are up to Part 3. While reading Alice Walker: A Life jot down notes about the chapters, vocabulary, questions and themes that reoccur that interest you. We will be looking at Alice Walker, the writer and what this means for her.

Rudy posed the question about Walker's abortion and her potential suicide. Angel said that she wondered about Walker's speed to correct any slights or misinterpretations about her writing, and her patience or tolerance or even, nonchalance about personal slights or misunderstanding.

Post the King responses where the assignment is. You can tell you are correct because other students have posted assignments there. Don't forget to respond to another student's Love assignment tomorrow sometime. I will be posting another Walker Cyber Dialogue tomorrow for reflections up to Part 2.

Oh, Vasquez and Faraj were looking at Youtube videos interviews on MLK Jr. on Malcolm X and Malcolm X on MLK Jr. The two perspectives were provide an interesting take on the theme "love." I think both men loved black people and wanted the best for them. It was the strategy that differed. I listened to an audio recording where Malcolm X told Martin King's wife that he supported King and didn't want to detract from his work with his presence. If I can find the book with the audio recording, I'll bring it in and let you hear it and see the photo of Malcolm X and Coretta Scott King. I told the early class that I have a James Baldwin essay where he reflects on King. Baldwin loved Martin King and supported his work also.

The divisions created between leaders are often fictional, spurred on by media and propaganda. This is why it's important to check one's sources. I also told the early class when we were talking about Alice Walker's brief class with Headstart teachers, that I have an essay where she talks about this job (In Search of My Mother's Gardens).

We'll read them when we have more time. Start thinking about topics you might want to explore in an essay based on this book: Alice Walker: A Life.

In the early class we referred to Baldwin's letter to James and what he says about love.

What is Love?
We had a great time in both classes sharing what love means to us. Yesterday was Marcus' birthday and today was Rudy's. The freewrites generated a great conversation. The choices were to write about the antithesis of love or free associate on the term. If anyone wants to post their freewrite here, please do so. I wished I'd recorded the class comments. I don't know why I didn't think about it. My tape recorder was in my office :-) You can post anonymously. Some students didn't want their photo taken, so I just photographed their object. (I still plan to post the photos when I get home.) I was surprised to find out that we have students from as far away as Nepal and Ethiopia in the class.

Maria gave me a chocolate rose--it's my birth month flower. She's been showering me with presents since I met her last semester: angels her mother makes, a ceramic container filled with candy for Ancestor Day and a box of cookies on the day of our final--this was a great present because I had students working late that afternoon into the evening and the cookies and pretzels and candy were a great snack. I still don't understand why another man in her family couldn't present her to the world at the celebration of her 15th year. (I can't spell the name of the ceremony.)

Students in both classes shared poetry, presents from parents like rings and wallets and cell phones and angels and a Holy Qur'an: Rudy, Sushil, Rajiv, Ali, Daniel, Dung, William, Melissa, and Maria. Faraj shared a peace sign. Teneya brought her daughter to class and shared a poem after all of you left :-) She connected love to time and showed me a lovely heart-shaped watch. Other students had heart lockets like Maria. Aisha shared a cup her grandmother made for her mother when her parent was a child, while Aiko shared a painting he did in art class based on one of his favorites by Salvador Dali. Marcus shared a singing card he's sending to his girlfriend. Marty shared a photo of one of her two 14 pound felines. Makda shared a poem and brought her bible written in Amharic. Inside there were photos of her parents. Kevin shared a score he loves and spoke of his passion for music. Michael brought in CDs for a group he loved called "the Mob" I think. Joe shared tattoos and so did Angel. Dominique shared a photo album with pictures of her grandfather who passed not to long ago. Deon shared his Tasmanian Devil (I think that's what it's called).

Lauren sent her poem, so I pasted it in the comment section. I also shared a poem, which I posted in the comment section. I encourage all of you to share your comments here. Have a great weekend. Don't forget to read Walker over the long break.

Reading

Keep reading Alice Walker: A Life. We'll spend Tuesday and Wednesday discussing the text, so bring your books in and be prepared to talk in small groups about the assigned reading. Not many of you responded to the second Walker reading assignment. You were to develop questions for your peer to answer, while you answer theirs. It was the role of Discussion Director we were exploring.

Finish Part 2 (page 282)
There is a lot going on toward the end of this section: Walker's fame, shift in relationships between mentors and teachers, her husband, the move from Mississippi

Today we reflected on the theme "love" in a freewrite. We then read James Baldwin's letter to his nephew and talked about arguments posed, along with the thesis. Rudy brought in a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation and read it. In looking at the date the Letter was published, we concluded that Baldwin’s letter reference January 1, 1863.

In the second English 1A class, Mung shared his drawing portfolio and then we sang Happy Birthday to Marcus, who is now 19. The discussion then turned to the syntactic subtleties in the terms: fact, explanation, opinion, interpretation, assumption, and conclusion. We also spoke about the role of individual experience and how this shapes our perceptions and biases. We tried an experiment in definition to see if we could agree on "survival" and what one would need to survive. After air, water, food, and sunshine, it went downhill fast as the list took on a life of its own depending on who help its reins. Love, like survival is an abstract term, which cannot be evaluated empirically, which makes such concepts hard to agree on.

I am looking forward to seeing what objects you will bring in tomorrow that symbolize love. We spoke about the typical ones: chocolate, red roses, champagne, presents, cards.... in another class. In that class we also looked at the Greek terms for the more common facets of love: Agape, Eros, and Philia.

The thesis for the Baldwin essay on page 7 which says that love is what survival is all about. James, Baldwin's nephew is thriving despite the forecast, because he is "loved hard, at once, and forever, to strengthen [him] against a loveless world [a world that thought him worthless just because he was black]. If [his family] had not loved each other," Baldwin writes, "none of them would have survived" (7).

Alice Walker's life is testament to this love also. When I think about the discrimination of black community in this country over and over again in the name of urban renewal, development and dubious progress, I think about the dismantling of an important support system, one Baldwin deemed necessary for our survival: black community a place filled with love.

Look at the demise of so many young people today. I think it can be traced to the absence of love in their lives because 145 years after Emancipation there are those who believe that "James' imprisonment makes them safe" (9). Hurricane Katrina was a reminder that black people are not considered citizens. Baldwin tells James, "[W]e with love, shall force our brothers to see themselves as they are, to cease fleeing from reality and begin to chance it. [T]his is your home, my friend, do not be driven from it" (10).

Love Assignment due 2/14 and 2/19 post
As you share thoughts on Walker, think about the power of love to change difficult situations and how powerful a value it has been in Walker's life, Dr. King, Coretta Scott King, the three Civil Rights workers killed, even Ben Chaney. When we think about love it's more often than not the romantic love that gets the most airtime, especially as we approach Valentine's Day.

Love objectified
What object represents love for you? How would you define love? How do you think Alice Walker defines love? The Greeks gave the different types of love names, a few of them are: agape, eros and philia. Which one do you think is most important? Bring the object to class 2/14. If it's alive bring a photo of it.

Martin King on Love Essay
Martin King delivered a great sermon on agape. In face, I think he delivered a few. Your assignment is to find one of these sermons and have a conversation with King on his views on love. Use the time Tuesday, in the library to locate a speech that discusses this theme.

You can be creative in your response. It can be in the form of a skit we can perform, a letter, or an essay. The assignment should be minimally 1 page or 250 words. It will be due, Tuesday, February 19. Please also respond to a student essay by Wednesday, 2/20. We might do this in class, it depends how the Alice Walker reading is progressing.

Comment on the thesis, supporting evidence, tone, style, and state three things you like about the essay and what impressed you most about the position the author takes, irregardless of whether or not you agree.

IF YOU EVER HAVE TROUBLE POSTING AN ESSAY EMAIL IT TO ME AND I DON'T MIND POSTING IT FOR YOU.

Planning tools:
It helps to plan your essays. Here are two tools.

Planning Sheet

What is the topic of your paper?
Who is your audience?
What is your purpose?
What question do you want you essay to answer?
What will be your main writing strategy?


Outline:

Thesis
Major point 1
Evidence

Major point 2
Evidence
Evidence

and so on...



Conclusion

Cyber Assignment for Ouida Barnett Atkins: Post Here. It is due 2/11. The assignment is below.

Cyber Assignment for Anne Reeb, post here

Read the assignment first. You are encouraged to bring everything we have read and everything you know, up to this point to any and all conversations. By the way, the name of the recently released on DVD film about the three civil rights volunteers, of whom, James Earl Chaney was one, is called Murder in Mississippi and stars: Blair Underwood, tom Hules, and Jennifer Grey. Don't forget to warch, "Eyes on the Prize," Sunday, 2/10, 12 noon to 2 p.m., on Channel 9.

Make sure you read everything. You are responsible for everything written in this space. I encourage questions. You can ask them in this format. Just click comment. I try to read the blog a few times daily during the week. I have time to read this weekend so I will be sending you comments on your essays submitted via-email. Re-cyber essays, I make general comments. If you want to know something specific, shoot me an email or ask the question at the end of your essay and I will read your paper with your quesition in mind. I don't expect polished essays in this venue. However, students are expected to do their best, which is why, except for the Alice Walker comments, compose away from the blog, then post. Your comments to each other are not read for correctness, rather for analysis. I want to see how well you interpret the text, and what kind of sophisicated analysis you bring to the discussion. I am also interested in how well you read: reading comprehension, as well as, what critical thinking skills you possess and what areas of I need to help students develop. If you know nothing about the culture we are reading about, you have to take the time to do the backgound research necessary to understand what the context is for the reading. I'd also enocurage you to ask questions for clarification.

I don't expect you to know the references mentioned by White or Baldwin. What I expect are questions. Ask questions of your peers in this format. You'd be surprised at the wealth of information housed in our collective consciousness. It's important to know what you don't know. Ignorance is not bliss or the road to academic achievement. It can be the difference between a C and an A.

Alice Walker: A Life, Part 1 cyber conversation continued

Continue your discussion of Alice Walker a Life here. This go round, we are all Discussion Directors. Look at the description in the Literature Circle handout. Develop questions that are open-ended, not yes and no. Reference the text specifically, talk about Evelyn White's ability to craft such an impressive depiction of Walker. How does she do this? Be specific in your analysis.

Post you discussion questions, just 3-5, then annswer someone else's questions and post further questions yourself. Do this back and forth dialogue at least three times between 2/7 and 2/12. Begin reading chapter 13-25.

Don't forget to keep vocabulary logs for the reading and reading logs. Everyone is his or her won, summarizer (ref. Literature Circles)

Assignment for Anne Reeb due 2/7
Read the essay "Anne Reeb: Daughter of Reverend James Reeb." Consider the experiences of Ann Reeb and Angela Lewis, how do they differ? Post the essay at the post below this one that says: "Cyber Assignment for Anne Reeb"

Using the thesis, antithesis, synthesis formula for essays, develop a 3-4 paragraph essay on the Reeb essay. You decide what the argument is. The first paragraph is the introduction where you mention the title of the essay, where is appeared, in Children of the Movement by John Blake, and a few of the more salient points for your discourse or essay. The essay can be as short as the ones we wrote in class: five sentences each paragraph: each paragraph including a paraphrase or direct quote. Don't forget to utilize MLA documentation style. This is practice so have fun. After you have posted yours, comment on someone else's essay.


Monday, Feb. 11 Cyber Essay
Monday, you will do the some thing, write a short 3-4 part essay on the Ouida Barnett Atkins' essay. It is taken from the section of the Blake book called "Children of the Segregationist Leaders." The other two, Reeb and Chaney, came from "Children of the Martyrs." Other sections include: Children of the Icons --Martin King III is there and Malcolm X's daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz; Casualties of War, the Next Generation, and The New Radicals. It's a great survey of a crucial time in American and world history.

Reading is "Alice Walker: A Life," chapters 13-23 by Wednesday. We will meet in the Library at the reference desk 2/12 for a library orientation.

James Baldwin's essay
We will read James Baldwin's letter, "My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew," and talk about it. So little time :-) Bring The Fire Next Time to class 2/13. We'll read the letter aloud and talk about it. If anyone wants to bring a copy of the Emacipation Proclamation to class to share, you can get extra credit. If you want to post a link to it on-line and offer a comment, you still get the extra credit :-)

Grammar Quiz
Bring your completed quiz to class Wednesday, Feb. 13. We will discuss the errors and related references from your grammar style books. Bring your Grammar/Style book to class.

Love Assignment
As you share thoughts on Walker, think about the power of love to change difficult situations and how powerful a value it has been in Walker's life, Dr. King, Coretta Scott King, the three Civil Rights workers killed, even Ben Chaney. When we think about love it's more often than not the romantic love that gets the most airtime, especially as we approach Valentine's Day.

Love objectified
What object represents love for you? How would you define love? How do you think Alice Walker defines love? The Greeks gave the different types of love names, a few of them are: agape, eros and philia. Which one do you think is most important? Bring the object to class 2/14. If it's alive bring a photo of it.

Martin King on Love Essay
Martin King delivered a great sermon on agape. In face, I think he delivered a few. Your assignment is to find one of these sermons and have a conversation with King on his views on love. Use the time Tuesday, in the library to locate a speech that discusses this theme.

You can be creative in your response. It can be in the form of a skit we can perform, a letter, or an essay. The assignment should be minimally 1 page or 250 words. It will be due, Tuesday, Feb. 19. Again, I will create a separate place to post it. Please also respond to a student essay by Wednesday, 2/20. We might do this in class, it depends how the Alice Walker reading is progressing.

Comment on the thesis, supporting evidence, tone, style, and state three things you like about the essay and what impressed you most about the position the author takes, irregardless of whether or not you agree.

IF YOU EVER HAVE TROUBLE POSTING AN ESSAY EMAIL IT TO ME AND I DON'T MIND POSTING IT FOR YOU.

Planning tools:
It helps to plan your essays. Here are two tools. I will give you separate assignments for the essay due 2/11 and 2/14. Check the dates when responding to an assignment.


Planning Sheet

What is the topic of your paper?
Who is your audience?
What is your purpose?
What question do you want you essay to answer?
What will be your main writing strategy?


Outline:

Thesis
Major point 1
Evidence

Major point 2
Evidence
Evidence

and so on...



Conclusion

Black History Month Programming on Channel 9
If you watch a program and write about it (250 words min.) you can get extra credit.

Other programs: 2/6: AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 9 PM and PRINCE AMONG SLAVES AT 11 PM; 2/10: COLORBLIND AT 2 PM; PIECE BY PIECE: HISTORY OF SF GRAFFITTI ART AT 6 PM; EVENING WITH ANDREW YOUNG AT 7 PM; 2/11: OPRAH'S ROOTS AT 10 PM; 2/13: A TALE OF TWO CITIES: ALLENSWORTH (A BLACK TOWN IN CA) AT 7:30 PM; 2/17: Soul of Justice: Thelton Henderson's American Journey, AT 6 PM; HIP HOP: BEYOND BEATS AND RHYMES AT 11 PM;2/18:FANNIE LOU HAMER AT 11:30 PM; 2/19: BANISHED AT 11 PM; 2/20: AMERICAN MASTERS: ARETHA FRANKLIN AT 4 AM. YOU SHOULD TAPE THIS TO WATCH LATER.

Check www.kqed.org/heritage. I didn't list everything, and there are also many programs on the radio this month too.

Black History Month at the College of Alameda
Each week during February: Tuesday, Feb. 5, 12, and 19, in Building F, Student Lounge, and Wednesday, Feb. 27 in Building A, Room 231, and Thursday, Feb. 28,back in Building F, from 12 noon to 2 p.m., there will be a variety of great programming for the entire COA community and community at large.

Today in class we looked at Martin King III and his willingness or unwillingness to accept the job he was assigned by his mom at 11 when his dad was killed. The essay in John Blake's Children of the Movement, looks at these tough choices a man who seemed most unlikely to succeed proceeds in life when his face and his name leaves him no other choice than to accept the path he was given.

In the early class we met in the Writing Center and first discussed the essay looking at themes, then addressed an argument from three sides: the thesis or pro argument, the antithesis or con argument and the synthesis or conclusion. Many students hadn't read the essay, so Rudy, Angel, Rajiv, Sushil, and Dominique shared their composition. The task was to compose three paragraphs: 5 sentences each, one a supporting direct quote from Blake. Given the short span of time (20 minutes) I think the composition: "11 Years Old Forever" was impressive and all participants get a VERY GOOD for the effort.

We decided to meet in the Writing Center (L-235) again Wednesday, February 6. We might just make this our new spot since it's warm and cozy. Let's talk about this more, tomorrow morning. Don't forget 2/7 and 2/11 your assignments will be cyber ones. We will not meet in class. I will also post information about "Sonny's Blues" and give you a copy to read. We will meet again Tuesday, 2/12.

Students who weren't able to complete the essay in a group setting, post it here.

The students in the 9-10 AM class were great! Most had read the asignment in advance and the compostion this time was expanded to include an introduction. We read through the segments twice, the second time through each component as tighter as the class had had the opportunity to learn from each other.

I have to say though, that the antithesis was excellent, and the conclusion was so well done, it was as if the students had written the entire essay themselves, so well did they incorporate the key elements of the discourse on "Martin King III lives off his father's name and reputation." We will write another essay tomorrow. The essay is "Ben Chaney and Angela Lewis: Brother and daughter of James Earl Chaney."

Again come to class prepared. On 2/17 on Channel 9, 12 noon to 2 PM on the finale of the Eyes on the Prize series, the program will address the murder of teh three Civil Rights Workers, of which, James Chaney was one.

Cite favorite passages with page numbers and discuss. Post your reflections and respond to other student responses. Don't forget to indicate your name and class time.

I handed out copies of the Literature Circle assignment, along with a copy of the English 1A rubric and a copy of Checklist for global revisions from Diana Hacker's Rules for Writers pp. 26-27 (5th edition).

Homework this evening is to read the MLK III assignment and be prepared to discuss it and write a brief reflection in class incorporating direct quotes and using MLA to cite the source in a brief works cited.