For some reason only a few students turned up for the class today. I read a few great papers, Marty's was one of them. Hers is on a muralist who with her husband founded the Precita Eyes organization in SF's Mission District.Post your final drafts on the blog where you posted the prewriting exercises. I'd like to see the essay correctly formatted so you can give it to me on a diskette of jump-drive.
I don't want them emailed. It gets too confusing.

I'm taking students on a field trip tomorrow afternoon. We'll be going to the Museum of the African Diaspora to see Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, author of a new book on Martin Luther King Jr. 40 years after his assassination. If you're interested, we'll met in the Writing Center Lab at 11 a.m. and then carpool over to Lake Merritt BART.

See the post below for the details.

April 30, 2008 Michael Eric Dyson - Lunch time chat and book signing from 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm at The Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco.

Preceded by an introduced by Dr. Julia Hare, Mr. Dyson will read excerpts and sign copies of his latest book, April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King’s Death and How It Changed America. Professor Dyson examines King's death and its impact on the nation.

The Museum of the African Diaspora is located at 685 Mission Street (at Third),
San Francisco, California 94105, (415) 358-7200. The person who put the event together told me it's free. I am not certain. Sspire students and anyone else who wants to attend, let me know. Do not let money deter you from going with us. We leave at 11 a.m. Meet me in L-235.

Admission is $2 (special discount for COA that day)

Related Dyson events:
Free Talk & Book Signing Scheduled:
Wednesday, April 30, 6:30 PM East Bay Church of Religious Science
41st Street and Telegraph, Oakland, CA

We will meet in the Writing Center tomorrow for peer reviews.

Notes from the Writing Center

Hi everyone,

I saw a couple of students this morning in the Writing Center. Both were working on Angela Davis as a social entrepreneur.

I found some useful desktop programs at the Writing Center. One is also on-line. These programs or databases can help students with grammar and writing, also research. The Expressways has a research component. Students save work on a jump drive or diskette, which is available in the Lab. Ask for one.

These are the programs:

http://www.townsendpress.net/ (reading comprehension and vocabulary enrichment)

Grammar 3-D (grammar in context practice)

Bedford Handbook 6.0 (all areas of the writing process)

Expressways 5.0 (Writing and Research. Great as a brush-up and for guidance on the research process)

Missing Link (reading and spelling)

Mavis Teaches Typing

I'll be around tomorrow, Friday, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon in the Writing Center: L-234. If you have any questions or want feedback on your essays before Tuesday, come by. Also, I will be hosting a writing workshop Monday from 8-10 a.m. in L-234, shifting to the other lab afterwards. Bring your papers by for critique.

Homework tonight: Evaluating a Website
Please post the answers to your evaluation of one website listed in the handout, I gave you, (the one with the initial research questions. The questions were handed out on a separate sheet). You have the handouts.

Happy Earth Day! A friend of mine, retired Laney College professor, and award winning poet and writer, activist, Rafael sends me poetry. I wanted to share it with you for Mama Earth's Birthday Party today. I wonder how old she is?

We will be working via cyber-space Wednesday, April 23, Thursday, April 24 and Monday, April 28. We meet again, when your essays are due, Tuesday, April 29. On Tuesday, students will read each other's essay and respond.

Today from 12:30 - 2:30 p.m. in the F-Bldg. there will be a staged reading of Quilombo, the Play. Drop by, it's a great story of resistance and faith set in Brazil.

Don't forget, Nikki Giovanni is reading her poetry at the Oakland Museum Thursday, April 24. Visit www.oaklandlibrary.net or www.wandaspicks.com.

If We Do Not Speak

If we do not speak to praise the Earth,
it is best we keep silent.

Praise air
that fills the bellow of the lung
& feeds our heart's blood;
that carries light,
the smell of flowers & the seas,
the songs of birds & the wind's howl;
that conspires with distance
to make the mountains blue.

Praise fire
that lights the day & warms the night,
cooks our food & gives motion to our wills;
that is the heart of Earth, this fragment of a star;
that burns & purifies for good or ill.

Praise water
that makes the rivers & the seas;
that gives substance to the clouds and us;
that makes green the forests & the fields;
that swells the fruit & wombs our birth.

Praise earth
that is the ground, the mountain, & the stones;
that holds the forests & is the desert sand;
that builds our bones & salts the seas, the blood;
that is our home & place.

If we do not speak in praise of the Earth,
if we do not sing in celebration of life,
it is best we keep silence.





© Rafael Jesús González 2008

The Color Purple
We will continue reading Alice Walker's book. Bring in questions on your essays. We will begin each day with critique and suggestions. It will be in workshop format. If you make copies of your essay or item we can respond on paper, otherwise you can read it to us and we can discuss it verbally. It's your choice. The deadlines this week are nonnegotiable.

Just in case you have forgotten
Post your planning sheets (1), outlines with sources identified (2), introductions and conclusions (3) here. Also, post your first draft (4) here Thursday, so students can respond to them. The first three can be one post. The response to the essay nees to look at the 5 areas identified in Hacker. Begin by noting three aspects of the essay that work well and that you would encourage the writer to continue developing. Afterwards, comment where neccessary on the five areas identified in Hacker. Please number the areas.

I'd also like the writers to ask their peer specific questions for comment about their writing. Peer reviewers, use sections from student writing to illustrate your points.

Respond to one other students post(s). Identify an aspect of the research you like or want to know more on.

Due dates:
The planning sheet and 5-10 sources are due Thursday, April 10 to share.

An outline is due: Monday, April 14.

An introduction and conclusion are due Monday, April 21.

The first draft is due Thursday, April 24.

The final draft is due Tuesday, April 29. This draft needs to include a peer review and a review by a writing center teacher or tutor (this does not mean you have to change your paper, just consider their comments in answer to the five areas we consider when reviewing another’s work (Hacker handout) or specific questions you might have.)

You will post the essay, the planning sheet, and all the works cited and bibliography pages on the blog that day in class.

Checking in
I've gotten complaints that I haven't posted anything since last week. Okay, so here's what's going on: today we did document searches in the 9-10 AM class. Students need to have 10 varied sources-- books, articles, multimedia, etc.

Students should already have developed an Initial Planning Sheet. After you do the document search begin reading, so you can develop an outline for the essay. Remember the main rhetorical form is problem solution. You can ask the same questions of your topic that you asked when viewing the Frontline World programs.

In both classes we have been reading Alice Walker's The Color Purple. This is not homework, so you don't have to read it at home. You can choose Walker as your artist/activist.

Annoucenments
Barack Obama will be in downtown Oakland, Saturday, April 19, 12 noon to 2 p.m. If I can get reserved seating I'll post it here. Otherwise, arrive early, he packs the arena.

I passed out programs for the San Francisco International Film Festival beginning April 24. Screenings are in San Francisco and at UC Berkeley's Pacific Film Archive. I highly recommend the festival. Directors come and audiences have an opportunity to engage them in conversation, which adds a nice dimension to the entire cinematic experience.

You can visit the webiste for the SFIFF. There, you can read about the various programs and watch short segments of films you are interested in. I went to see a film last night, The Body of War, which was excellent.

This weekend it opens in San Francisco at the Clay and in Berkeley at the Shattuck (I think). The directors will be present after the first screenings at both. The film is about a Iraq war veteran who returns home paralyzed from the chest down. He is 25. It is a great story.

You can read about it at their website: www.bodyofwar.com

Quilombo, The award-winning movie by Brazilian Director Carlos Diegues becomes a stage play. The staged reading of Quilombo is Tuesday, April 22nd, 12:30 – 2:30 PM at the College of Alameda

The rehearsal schedule is: April 10, 15, & 17th, 6 – 9 PM in the F-Bldg. The event is free to the public.

Interested in taking part in a stage reading at the College of Alameda ? If you're a dancer, actor, or musician that loves the Afro-Brazilian beat then come take part in the stage reading of Quilombo, an adaptation of Brazilian Director Carlos Diegues' 1984 movie Quilombo at the College of Alameda on Tuesday, April 22nd from 12:30 PM – 2:30 PM. The stage reading will take place in the Student Lounge, F Building, 555 Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway , Alameda , CA . If you're interested in taking part, you will need to attend at least 2 of the scheduled rehearsals at the College of Alameda , April 10, 15 & 17th from 6 – 9 PM. For more information, call (510) 681-5652.

Post your Frontline World Responses (3) here.

Don't forget to answer the following questions in your response to the program.

What is a social entrepreneur?
What is a philanthropist?

Outline:

1.Who is the social entrepreneur profiled?
2.What problem did the person profiled identify?
3.What is the name of the organization they started?
4.Describe their relationship to the community that they serve?

• Why they decided to address this issue?

5.What is the local component?
6.How does the community own the process?

Have a great weekend. Tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of Martin King's assassination. I said 50th in class today. I was wrong. Visit this link for a lovely slide show with score by Nina Simone:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Uy8cyVWU2A

There might be local and national events marking the end of what is called: The Season of Peace.

Today students watched a segment from the Frontline World series I mention below 4/2 on Social Entrepreneurs.

I suggested a organizations which use art as a social change tool as possible research topics. Students would have to arrange to speak to the founder or executive director(s) of the organization. They are Medea Project: Theatre for Incarcerated Women in San Francisco; DESTINY Arts in Oakland; Youth Speaks in San Francisco; La Pena Cultural Center in Berkeley; Cov Records, short for Covenant House; 100 Families Oakland; Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco; Soap Stone, I think in San Francisco; Play Back Theatre San Francisco Bay Area; Poetry for the People; and Writers Corp, San Francisco Bay Area.

Friday, April 4 is the 40th Anniversary of Martin King’s assassination. Take this day to do something proactive for freedom and justice. Watch the film, Talk to Me, starring Don Cheadle. The part in the film where the DJ, Petey Green stays up all night and calms down his listeners who are enraged that the man of peace is gone, brought tears to my eyes. Cheadle is outstanding in his role and the historic man, Petey Green is a fine role model for all persons in broadcast media.

Other events:
“Freedom is a Constant Struggle,” with host Kiilu Nyasha

Freedom Is A Constant Struggle, Friday, 7:30 - 7:52 p.m. PST, can be viewed on Cable 76 in S.F. and on the www.accessf.org. (SF2). As you probably know, April 4, 1968 was the tragic day when our beloved Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. We will commemorate King's death and remember as well Lil’ Bobby Hutton who was murdered by the Oakland police two days later on April 6.

Kiilu Nyasha’s special guest is Charlotte O'Neal, an internationally known visual artist, writer, musician and spoken word artist of many years experience. She's the mother of two children and co-director of the United African Alliance Community Center (UAACC) in Arusha, Tanzania, where she and her husband, Pete O'Neal, former Black Panthers from Kansas City, have lived since 1970. They serve this East African community through the all-volunteer, free programs of the UAACC which include a school, recording studio, radio station, transportation, and an orphanage. Mama Charlotte is presently winding up a three month Heal the Community Tour across America speaking about the UAACC, a continuing legacy of the Black Panther Party. www.uaacc.habari.co.tz

Paul Robeson: A Hero for All Times

Wednesday, April 9, 5-7 p.m. there is a reception for the exhibit: Paul Robeson: A hero for All Time at the Oakland City Hall Rotunda, 14th Street and Broadway at Frank Ogawa Plaza. The exhibition is up Monday, March 31-April 30. Exhibit hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The exhibit honors Paul Robeson, whose would have been 110 April 9. He was a scholar, athlete, singer, actor and fighter for freedom, social justice and peace. The exhibit materials are from the collection of the Bay Area Paul Robeson Centennial Committee. They are looking for other items. If anyone is interested in donating material contact the organization at research@bayarearobeson.orgThis email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .

Research Tools
These resources are referenced in the assignment below. You can get a paper copy of the forms from the reference librarians at COA. Steve Gerstle developed the research guide for this assignment. I will have paper copies on hand also. If you miss class check the bin outside my office.

Visit http://alameda.peralta.edu/projects/20013/EnglishSabirpathfinder.doc

http://alameda.peralta.edu/projects/20013/EvalWebWksht.doc for the assignment: Evaluating a web page.

Other resources
http://alameda.peralta.edu/Projects/20013/researchsteps.pdf



Exercises due by Friday, April 12:
Students need to watch minimally 3 segments and write a response and post it here on the social entrepreneurs profiled in Frontline World. Talk about the business the person developed. What problem they sought to address and what both the community and the social entreprenuer gained. These exercises need to be completed before Friday, April 12. On "Frontline: World," I saw a program about a micro-lending organization called KIVA where lenders who want to help small businesses in Uganda can make small loans on-line. Now KIVA is all over the world. All loans have been paid back 100 percent. Visit http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/uganda601/video_index.html to see the video.

Here is a link from this site to other entrepreneurs. Choose one's that interest you: http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/socialentrepreneurs.html

The organization is in San Francisco. There is a link to other Frontline programs about Social Entrepreneurs. Watch this program and over the week, watch two others. Respond to the following questions: What is a social entrepreneur? What problem did the person profiled identify? What is the name of the organization they started? Describe their relationship to the community they serve. Why did they decide to address this issue? What is the local component? How does the community own the process?

Even though the SE are from the business world, watching these programs will help you understand what is meant by social entrepreneur.

You need to define "social," "entrepreneur," and "philanthropy." This should be a part of your introduction to the essay due at the end of the month. We’ll watch one of these Frontline World segments in class April 3 in the Writing Center.

Social Entrepreneur Essay Assignment
Cyber handout: The Social Entrepreneur Essay research worksheet is a way to define what a social entrepreneur is compared to a philanthropist. We are looking at artists who are using their craft to better the community and the world we live in, a person such as Alice Walker.

See a librarian at the reference desk to help you define your search and identify the SE you'd like to profile in your 5-10 page essay. Use the handouts or the links to handouts to document the research process and to pace yourself. We will have serveral related assignments, from evaluating websites to developing a research strategy to help you find the information you need and then document it.

I created this assignment after seeing the program: New Heroes on http://www.pbs.org/opb/thenewheroes/. I wanted students to realize the power they possess to be the change in their communities they want to see, that one person can make a difference.

Use the library worksheet to define the terms: social, society,entrepreneur, "social entrepreneur", philanthropist and philanthropy. Be clear about the difference between a philanthropist and a social entrepreneur. Also define: hero, local, selfless, selfish, community, help, support, supporter. care, independence, money, wealth.

The question you want to ask after you have identified a person or two:
What motivated this person to want to change something in society? How did this person get the community's support for the project? What did the community gain? What did the social entrepreneur gain? Your essay needs to answer all of these questions, you can structure it like a typical problem/solution essay or cause and effect.

The person has to be alive. Try to find someone local, who is living in the San Francisco Bay Area or in California. The person has to have been doing this work for 10-20 years. You need to locate 5-10 sources on your subject to form a bibliography; you don't have to cite 10 sources. The sources can be published or broadcast interviews, books, articles, and films or you can interview them yourself. The person cannot be a relative. You can work in groups and share data. In fact, I encourage it.

Due dates
The planning sheet and 5-10 sources are due Thursday, April 10 to share.

An outline is due: Monday, April 14.

An introduction and conclusion are due Monday, April 21.

The first draft is due Thursday, April 24.

The final draft is due Tuesday, April 29. This draft needs to include a peer review and a review by a writing center teacher or tutor (this does not mean you have to change your paper, just consider their comments in answer to the five areas we consider when reviewing another’s work (Hacker handout) or specific questions you might have.)

You will post the essay, the planning sheet, and all the works cited and bibliography pages on the blog that day in class.

We had a great class today. We continued reading The Color Purple. English 1A, don't forget the references to The Color Purple from Alice Walker: A Life.