I believe I have actually completed the essays, first round. If you have not heard from me, Sulekha yours is coming, and Courtney, I don't see your essay submission. If you did not get an essay back, this means I did not see if for some reason.

Shoot me an email tonight with your work, so I can read it before class.

If you have sent me the revisions, make sure the graded essay is there along with your narrative discussing, in great detail what changed between drafts. Tomorrow we will review the exercise and then I will grade a few essays revisions to give you a feel for what a passing essay needs to possess.

All the other parts of the portfolio follow just as with the first submission: peer review, planning, etc. The history follows the new work.

Homework was to follow the assignment sheet. Today students hadn't completed their planning. I can tell when a student has just completed the assignment a step ahead of the student called on just before. Even though we are not talking about They Say, keep up with the reading and assignments there as well.

The handout from Writing with a Thesis is also due up to the letters of complaint. For Wednesday, read the two student essays. If you were absent, make sure you get copies of these handouts.

For the Half the Sky essay, I am going to grade for how well students integrate citations into the text as well as the MLA in the essay, which includes the works cited page. Of course the essay has to make sense and the grammatical errors cannot include: comma splices, run-on sentences, be-verb errors, sentence fragments, subject verb agreement errors, vague pronoun references, use of contractions, numerals instead of the words for numbers 1-10, confused words, misspelled words, pronoun agreement errors, pronoun case errors.

Everyone had the opportunity to come to my Pidd Intensive Workshops this semester and chose not to, so if you fail the course because you do not know how to edit your work, drop now and take a grammar class or get a tutor and do not turn in drafty drafts to me.

Today in class we completed a worksheet from Hacker looking at MLA citation (55a). I also handed out a chapter from Writing with a Thesis. Students were to read up to page 10 and complete the exercises.

We spoke briefly about Half the Sky, which we have completed. The essay assignment is on the blog. I will give students copies of the assignment tomorrow.

I have posted the essay assignments for the balance of the semester with due dates. I will give you paper copies of all the assignments. This is just a FYI, also the Half the Sky assignment is last, as I posted it first, next is the Book Report Essay Assignment and the last is the Social Entrepreneur Essay Assignment, in two parts.

This will take us to the end of the semester. This does not include They Say, which we will complete and any related Hacker assignments.

I hope this is helpful in student planning and scheduling of assignments and readings.

Social Entrepreneur Essay Assignment, Note the multiple components

Cyber-Assignment 1
Frontline World: Engaged Citizenry Cyber-Assignment. Complete between March 22-April 12.

Visit http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/socialentrepreneurs.html

This assignment will help students better articulate what a social entrepreneur is, although you have met many in the pages of Mighty and Half the Sky.

Assignment: Respond to 3 stories from Thursday, March 22 to Thursday, April 12. Bring in headphones for the computer 3/22. Post your Frontline World Responses (3) here (on the blog).

Answer the following questions in your response to the program.

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?

5 Why did the person decide to address this issue?

6.What is the local component?

7.How does the community own the process, that is, feel as if they are integral to the success of the venture or business?

2. Social Entrepreneur Essay Worksheet: Assignment: Social Entrepreneurs: Engaged Citizenry

Students need to explore the terms, entrepreneur, engaged citizenry, business, social good to grasp fully what it meant by the term: social entrepreneur. Another related, but different term is philanthropy. An entrepreneur is not necessarily a philanthropist. You need to know the difference and do not choose a philanthropist.

The social entrepreneur for this assignment needs to be female, a woman or girl. The person has to be documented, which means she cannot be new to this field. The person profiled cannot be you (smile) unless you meet all the criteria and present a convincing argument to me first (smile). I used to say the person couldn't be related to you, but that's okay as long as the other criteria is met.

The entrepreneur needs to live in Northern California and be alive.

Introduction

Open with the problem statement. Be descriptive.

The thesis sentence names your social entrepreneur as a person who is addressing the problem identified in the introduction.

Body paragraphs

Background on the social entrepreneur and what brings them to the work. You can cite statistics here to illustrate the problem

Introduce the organization or business venture. Does the work grow out of the community? How do the SE and the community interact?

Are there any partnerships with other organizations and/or government?

Are there any peer reviews or industry reports?

What are the measurable results for the community? Share a story here.

What are the measurable results for the SE. You could quote the SE here.

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 (the length of time is negotiable; see me).

You need to locate 5 sources on your subject to form a bibliography; you don't have to cite them all. The sources can be published or broadcast interviews, books, articles, and films or you can interview them yourself. You can work in groups and share data. In fact, I encourage it.

You will have three citations: 1 in-text citation, one paraphrase, and one block quote in the essay. The rest of the writing has to be your own. The essay should be about 4 pages (English 1A); 2-3 pages English 201. This does not include the works cited page or bibliography.

This paper is your final.

English 1A Social Entrepreneur

Library Planning Sheet (handout) due by Thursday, April 26 (share)_____________

List of sources (5) minimum in MLA format due April 26 (share in class)___________

Essay: Initial Planning Sheet, Outline, Thesis is due: Monday, April 30 ______

An introduction and conclusion are due Tuesday, May 2 ________

First Draft May 4-6 (Wednesday-Thursday, May 2-3 peer review)__________

Final Draft Monday-Tuesday, May 7-8 (set up appointment with professor to check off essay components Thursday, May 10______________

SE Presentations: May 14-16___________

The presentation is a quarter of the grade.

Supplementary Assignments

On-line Frontline World (cyber-responses 3) due by April 12_______

Library Research sheet: Wednesday, April 26 _______________

Website Evaluation completed (worksheet) by April 22 (in-class)_____________

Book Report Assignment

This semester we are looking at Women’s Stories

Each student was asked to choose a book by a woman author or about a woman. The author needed to be alive and living in the Northern California and if the book was about a woman the woman profiled needed to be alive and also living here, the San Francisco Bay Area.

If the author is a woman, and you want to talk about her fiction writing, this is okay. I need to approve the book in advance so bring it in this week so you can start reading it. Most of the reading will be between now and over Spring Break; the essay is due shortly thereafter.

For each essay, students need to find three articles: a published book review or analysis, and for the author, if she is a woman, see if there is something on the author in Literary Criticism, (on-line in the Library Database and in COA library (public libraries as well). Third, find an article that addresses one of the themes in the book. Include all of these sources in your works cited page.

The essay will be 2-3 pages and in it you will summarize your book’s major themes and analyze them. If your author is the woman you are profiling, talk about her life and her source or impetus for writing the book you are sharing. If the book is a biography, feel free to tell us something about the author and how he or she comes to know the person he or she writes about. (Avoid plot summaries.)

Abstract
The presentation is weighted heavily here, so prepare well, and please include an abstract which includes the title of the book, the key points you plan to make and any arguments you’d like us to consider. Bring in copies for each student.

Book Report
Planning April 19___________
Planning Sheet, Outline, Thesis___________
First Draft Monday, April 23___________
Final Draft Wednesday, April 25 via email____________
Presentations: Monday-Wednesday, April 23-25___________

Book Report Presentations: Monday-Wednesday, April 23-25
Grade is an “A “for all presentations or “-0-“ for opting out. The presentation is a quarter of the grade for this assignment

Half the Sky Essay Assignment
Spring 2012

We have been reading Half the Sky for over a month now and have had many discussions in the class about the issues raised about global gender equity. It is now time for students to formulate their thoughts and develop a question to answer in a persuasive essay.

If students like some of the topics we have already explored and their freewrite responses, certainly they can expand on previously contemplated topics such as microfinance as a way to purchase freedom for many women in the world of Half the Sky, the benefits of education, and the power of alliances with other women and men within and without one’s society.

Other topics we have explored are the semantics of freedom—what is “power” or “empowerment”? Does the definition change when we compare regional change in the worlds of the women we meet in Half the Sky, or is the definition relatively consistent?

Is there a prototype or archetype for this philosophical empowered woman? What does she look like? Can we do selective breeding and mass produce these women so that the world changes overnight? Can we inject girls with a serum to prevent oppression once and for all? (I am not being literal here. Pun intended where applicable (smile).

Cultural traditions supported by women often continue oppressive practices many men are opposed to. How do women participate in their own oppression and disempowerment (if this is a word)?

Half the Sky is a sobering look at women abroad. It is written, however, in a way which makes most readers look for inequities at home, that is, gender-based inequities at home. Yet, despite the huge job in front of us (empathetic readers) the writers seem to balance despair with hope. How do they accomplish this task? Look at the text’s organization for clues.

Rape is one of the worse forms of violence against women. In societies which have centered its core values in the chastity of its women, a rape mares the reputation of the entire family. Rape dishonors the family name and often causes irreversible harm to the woman’s status thereafter—no one will marry her. These women and girls are often tacitly encouraged in some cultures to end their lives. In Half the Sky, though, we are introduced to women who do not think their vaginas are symbols of their worthiness. Who are these women and how are they fighting back?

Feel free to develop your own questions to explore. We will talk about this further in class. Each question needs to look at Half the Sky as a primary resource, of course, and then use two articles outside the book to support the movement or thinking connected to issues (moving outward). Students could also try to find a local or western first world nation connection in ones search for related materials. Use the library database where possible. Students do not have to cite the sources in-text, just read it.

The essay will be between 3-5 typed pages long. This includes a works cited page. Each essay will include 3-5 citations (1-2 per page); two of the 3-5 citations should be a block quote and another, a free paraphrase. Students also have to use ellipses in their block quote or in-text citation. I need to see that students know how to use these devices.

NOTE: The 3 page essay can only have 3 citations. 1 citation per page.

If students cannot develop their own question, so by all means use one of mine. If you want to develop your own, let me see it first, perhaps when you bring in the Initial Planning Sheets March 26, 2012.

Questions (Choose 1)

1. Identify three women who prove the authors’ thesis or purpose for writing the book. Be sure to state that thesis in your argument. (Do not retell the story. Use only what you need to prove your point.)

2. How do WuDunn and Kristof define empowerment using the lives of women in their book, Half the Sky?

3. Choose one or more of the successful interventions that save and improve women and girls' lives. Use profiles of women cited by the authors to show its success and why.

4. Half the Sky is a book that takes its reader on an emotional roller coaster. This is one of the criticisms students have cited in the past when critiquing the text. Talk about the authors use of emotional appeals to convince us of their issues urgency. Do you ever feel manipulated and if so, where in the text is this more evident than elsewhere? Is manipulation ever fair to an audience? Why or why not?


Half the Sky DUE DATES:

1. Essay Initial Planning Sheet due: March 26
2. Outline due: March 27
3. Introduction due: March 22
4. First draft due: March 29
5. Final draft due: April 9 via email coasabirenglish1A@gmail.com

In the Half the Sky essay portfolio include freewrites and reading logs. Turn all of this in with essay. Students can email me the essay and print a copy of the essay for me as well.

Today we read a package of poems entitled: War Poems. Students were to reflect on the voices, imagery or themes in one poem or multiple poems and respond in a freewrite on the anniversary of the War in Iraq.

The website no longer has the package on-line. I found the website and an excerpt from a film: http://www.poetsagainstthewar.org/content/poets-against-war and a link to another website http://voiceseducation.org/

I also gave students a copy of the blog post from yesterday. I handed back the essays I read yesterday. I should be finished by tomorrow. They are pretty good (smile). Even if your grade is a C-, don't worry. You can revise for a passing grade.

Check Hacker for a review of documenting sources. I give specific feedback. Read my comments. I am making suggestions when I give you language, but there is no negotiation--you have to address the issue.

I want to share an on-line screening today at 1 p.m. http://ovee.itvs.org/screenings/a4wlw

Social Screening of Taking Root

Welcome!

In celebration of International Women's Day and Women's History Month, Women and Girls Lead presents a special social screening of the documentary Taking Root. The film tells the dramatic story of Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai, whose simple act of planting trees grew into a global movement. This screening is presented in partnership with 350.org and the Greenbelt Movement and will include special guest panelists Stephen Mills, Director of the Greenbelt Movement U.S., and Kelly Blynn, Co-Coordinator of 350.org. See more films presented in the Women and Girls Lead Online Film Festival Here: http://itvs.org/women-and-girls-lead/film-festival Learn more about the Women and Girls Lead campaign here: http://womenandgirlslead.org/

Video Description

March is Women's History Month, and to celebrate we're bringing you 10 films as part of the Women and Girls Lead Online Film Festival. Watch Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai, the dramatic story of Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai, whose simple act of planting trees grew into a global movement.

Duration: 55min 25sec

Today in class students who braved the storm shared their responses to Exercise 1 in They Say, and to Exercise 2.

Students will sit in the groups they sat in today. We will meet in A-202 again tomorrow or Thursday not in A-232.

Reading: Read chapter 9, "Is Islam Misogynistic?" After the They Say review of "Mighty" essays, students will shift to talking about Half the Sky.

All They Say assignments are not cyber-assignments. I appreciate students posting their work; however, the exercises for today were not to be posted. See below for current They Say assignments. We will continue with them on Monday.

They Say Assignments (from an earlier post)

Homework for Monday, March 12, Read They Say, 55-67; for Tuesday, March 13, 68-77. Read an essay referenced in Half the Sky or the essay you summarized in the Cyber-Assignment. The exercises 67:1 & 2 are due Tuesday; Exercises 75-76:1 & 2 are due Wednesday, March 14.

Students do not have to post the response to 75-76:1. Write in the book.

Note change.

For Week March 19-22: Reading 78-91. Monday in class we will complete Exercise 1 (90). Bring Mighty to class for (2:91).

Monday's homework: Reading 92-101. Exercises 100:1 and 101:2 (use "Mighty" essay). Bring to class Tuesday, March 20, to share.

Chapters 8-9; March 26-29 Chapters 9-11; April 9-12 Chapters 11-12; April 16-19 Chapters 13-14. The assignments will be given during class.

We will probably do all the exercises. Students can print them out and turn them in for credit where applicable.

Essay due dates:

Half the Sky Essay due week of March 26. (We will talk about this further).

Book Report Essay due week of April 16.

Social Entrepreneur Essay due week of May 7 followed by presentations.

Today in class students shared their responses to the argument(s) pulled from Half the Sky. Students then talk about Chapter 6 and/or wrote another argument.

Post those additional responses to an argument: "Yes/ No/ Okay/ But" (From Chapter 4, They Say (55-67.)

Homework is to read chapter five (68) and do exercises 1 and 2. Bring in your Mighty essay for 2 (76-77).

In Half read chapter 7, "Why Do Women Die in Childbirth" (109).

Today in class we will use They Say, I Say to respond to Half the Sky. Students will profile a character that illustrates an argument from one of the many stories the author's tell and practice agreeing or disagreeing using citations (3) in a 3 paragraph response. State what they say first, that is, state the argument. An argument is a claim that is debatable.

Students can do this activity as a group and then post it. It is also homework. Chose another character and respond in 3-paragraphs incorporating citations: 1 free paraphrase, 1 short quote, 1 longer citation or block quote.

Readings, etc.

Continue reading from Half the Sky. We will check in on page numbers. I will post the assignment for the essay after class here as well with due dates and sample questions students might consider. Yes, I am still reading Mighty essays. Don't worry, you will have a week to respond. For those students who have already received grades and comments, get the essays back to me with the narratives and the graded drafts.

International Women's Day Reflection

"I'm Every Woman" is iconic re: Woman's empowerment. It might be the unofficial anthem (smile).

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/chaka+khan/im+every+woman_20028809.html

Here is Chaka Khan singing with others: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z56l7ZN2w0Q
From her CD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8xuUdI1an0

Party
On the last Wednesday of March, March 28, 2012. Bring in a favorite song, video, artifact, photo, recorded interview excerpt, poem plus food to share that day.

Any videos need to be on DVD. Any music needs to be on a CD, so we can play it. Technology is not guaranteed.

Today students met in discussion groups and talked about Half the Sky, though many had not completed the homework in They Say.

They Say provides an opportunity to writers to practice responding to text, whether that is integrating citations to developing appropriate responses to ideas surrounding the discourse one wants to enter--They Say is not "busy work" as one student suggested on the blog.

For those who do not do the exercises, you won't fail the class for this, just for writing essays that do not have the sophistication or polish they could have if the student writer had completed the reading and the practice assignments. These essays will not receive passing grades and when you wonder why, the answer lies in the books, They Say and Rules for Writers. There is no social promotion in college (smile).

I find that most of the students doing the work, are the ones who already have a level of expertise in college writing.

It is really important to be able to synthesize one's research and incorporate it, where appropriate into the text. This is a skill seasoned scholarly writers are adept at, and beginning writers are not.

Homework is to bring in an item that represents to you a favorable quality about a woman like lyrics to a song, a photo or work of art, a film, a play, a character in a novel.

Other homework is to read up to Chapter 6 (92). We will continue our discussion after the freewrite. If students want to share they will be able to. Students need to respond to 2-3 student posts on International Women's Day. The theme this year is: “Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty”. Many organisations develop their own themes that are more relevant to their local contexts. For example, the European Parliament's 2012 theme is "Equal pay for work of equal value".

Visit http://www.internationalwomensday.com/theme.asp and because we are interested in Women Entrepreneurs http://www.goldmansachs.com/citizenship/10000women/index.html

“Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty”. Many organisations develop their own themes that are more relevant to their local contexts. For example, the European Parliament's 2012 theme is "Equal pay for work of equal value".

Today we outlined the introduction and talked about the author's use of this template for the book. We didn't get to spend much time on the discussion of Half the Sky, so Wednesday will be spent doing this as students also share signal phrases from the text (homework).

We are up to Muktar's School.

The 5th Annual Hip Hop for Change Conference is this weekend, Saturday, March 10, 2012, in the Student Union, at San Jose State University, 1 Washington Square, San Jose, CA 94592. Free! Register at http://bit.ly/hhfc2012 The conference is co-sponsored by the University of San Francisco, Mills, and Santa Clara University.

Perhaps students could carpool?

Today in class we started reading the introduction. Complete the reading and read ahead to chapter 3 (46). For Wednesday read (47-69), Thursday, (70-81). Keep electronic or typed logs for each chapter.

Most students had their books, but many didn't bring their books or do the homework assignment from last week. Only one student commented on the student post. These assignments are not busy work.

We will read about 80-100 pages a week. The book is 254 pages. It is not a fast read, but it is also not a long book.

Homework, due March 7. Prepare to share in class.

Note the signal phrases and block quotes. For homework due Wednesday, March 7, read They Say (42-51). Give three examples of effective use of signal phrases by the authors and post here.

Couch the examples in a short prose narrative which speaks to why this signal phrase caught your attention and what the author(s), does well here. Look at the other questions asked in the exercise and respond to them as well (They Say 50:1).

For Thursday, March 8, reflect on your Mighty essay (51:2). Be prepared to share Thursday in class. Bring this exercise into class. Post both assignments here.

Future They Say Assignments

Homework for Monday, March 12, Read They Say, 55-67; for Tuesday, March 13, 68-77. Read an essay referenced in Half the Sky or the essay you summarized in the Cyber-Assignment. The exercises 67:1 & 2 are due Tuesday; Exercises 75-76:1 & 2 are due Wednesday, March 14.

Post assignments here. Students do not have to post the response to 75-76:1. Write in the book.
Reading 78-91. Thursday in class we will complete Exercise 1 (90). Bring Mighty to class for (2:91). It can be brought electronically.

Homework: Reading 92-101. Exercises 100:1 and 101:2 (use "Mighty" essay). Bring to class Monday, March 19, to share.

Week March 19-22 Chapters 8-9; March 26-29 Chapters 9-11; April 9-12 Chapters 11-12; April 16-19 Chapters 13-14. The assignments will be given during class.

We will probably do all the exercises. Students can print them out and turn them in for credit where applicable.

Essay due dates:

Half the Sky Essay due week of March 26.

Book Report Essay due week of April 16.

Social Entrepreneur Essay due week of May 7 followed by presentations.