End-of-semester scenes

Tater and Tot don't like the cold weather, but aren't they adorable?


Martin's ready for the move


Sarah got carried away while packing up my room


My new classroom


Look, lockers! Like a real school!


Nanis likes bacon


JCD and his molten chocolate cake


My awesome Christmas gift from Ms. Calderon

Argument Essay Discussion Thread

Hello, my little monsters. I've missed you. :)

I admit right now, I am stealing this idea (and some of the words) directly from my dear friend Ms. Hunter at Southwest. She's the bomb. She may be the biggest reason I got through Michael Jackson's funeral in one piece, but that's a story for another time.

The first component of your argument paper is due Monday, December 6th. Between now and 10 p.m. this Friday (the 3rd), you need to post some of your thoughts on this blog. Do not wait until Friday night to make your initial posts, or it will do you very little good.

The purpose of this post is to provide a virtual discussion board for questions, tips and useful links (for sources) as you are writing and revising your argument essay.

Make at least 2 comments to this thread this week. As far as content of your comments, you may choose from the following:

• Specific questions about an element of your essay
• An excerpt of your essay that you need help revising for syntax and diction.
• Links to online articles or video clips that would serve as reliable sources
• Detailed responses to someone else’s question
• Recommended revisions to someone else’s essay excerpt

Remember, if you post a question, leave an answer to someone else’s. This won’t work if everybody ASKS for help, but nobody GIVES any.

If you want to see this being done well, visit Ms. Hunter's blog and see what the Mavericks are doing. The link is on the right side of this page. I know they'd love it if you participated in their thread, if you are so inclined.

Your involvement in this blog (and hers, if you choose) will go toward a participation grade.

Happy writing!

November blood donors

Thanks to brave Wizards like you, YES Southeast donated 78 units of blood in our most recent drive.

Kid Fears 11.9.10

One of my kid fears / current fears is roaches. I hate roaches and always have. They are dirty, ugly, dark, shady, creepy, weird, slimy, grimy, nasty, weird, odd, disgusting, lying, hungry, big, and did I say scary?!?! They are ugly, dirty, and shady. Every roach should be stepped on. Kill them all. Put them in a fire and watch those suckers BURN! Feed them to birds; feed them to people who eat roaches. Let cats and dogs make their lives a living hell. Have a holocaust for roaches. Throw in the rats, and call me Hitler. Hope that I offend you, offer no apologies. That was to all roaches and rats.

-O'Shea Woodhouse

Good Morning, Vietnam extra credit

This is for you, Chace.

Review the dialogue that is exchanged when Adrian Cronauer realizes his friend Tuan has betrayed him.

Adrian: Listen, I gave you my friendship, and my trust. And now they tell me that my best friend is the enemy.

Tuan: Enemy? What is an enemy? You killing my own people so many miles from your home. We're not the enemy. You're the enemy.

Adrian: You used me to kill two people. Two people died in that bar.

Tuan: Big deal! My mother's dead. And my older brother, he's dead. Shot by Americans. My neighbor, dead. His wife, dead. Why? Because we're not human to them. We're only little Vietnamese. And I'm stupid enough to save your life at An Lac.

Discuss Tuan's motives, and attempt to answer his rhetorical question: what is an enemy? Can you make a case for justifying Tuan's actions? It's true he did assist in the bombing of Jimmy Wah's club, but he also risked his life to save Adrian and Eddie when they were sent into enemy territory. Why would he perform these contradictory acts?

Answer in 4-6 sentences by Monday at 6:00 p.m.

My vote for your Class Song

This is the way the world ends...

Not with a bang, but a whimper

What's Eating Gilbert Grape? Extra Credit

If you stayed after school Monday to watch What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, please respond to the following before 9:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 3.

Choose one character from the movie, and compare/contrast that character with one from The Grapes of Wrath. Give at least three connections that demonstrate the similarity you see. Don't think along black-and-white lines; go deeper. As always.

F1RST awards dinner

Carbs and Ayari were chosen to represent the senior class as this year's first F1RST students. We all know they're awesome, but did you expect them to rise to the Pounder Challenge at Fuddrucker's?

I had no idea. Carbs put his away in about seven minutes, whereas Ayari probably worked on it all night. You can see in the photo that Mr. Dies wasn't kidding about it being the size of her head.

Congrats to both of you!

Little angels

You know how parents love to watch their babies sleep?

I love to watch y'all write timed essays. Like right now. You look so smart and diligent.

(No photo because it would distract you.)

Independent Book Selections, Round 1

More on this in class soon...but, you will be choosing a British novel for your first independent book selection. For the record, here are your options. You will need a copy of the book in your hot little hands by October 4, so consider this plenty of advance notice.

For each class, no more than two people will be allowed to choose the same novel. You will sign up starting September 27. Take this opportunity to do some research on Amazon or with the readers in your life. Ask some of your teachers for recommendations; they may have a favorite in this list that you'd enjoy, too.

A Room With a View, E.M. Forster
A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
Atonement, Ian McEwan
Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson
Dracula, Bram Stoker
Dubliners, James Joyce
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
Lord of the Flies, William Golding
Middlemarch, George Eliot
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
The Passion, Jeanette Winterson
The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro
The Time Machine, H.G. Wells
The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, Christopher Marlowe
Under the Net, Iris Murdoch
White Teeth, Zadie Smith
Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte

Amy Tan Bid Trip

I've purchased three tickets (for me and two other people) to attend author Amy Tan's reading at the Wortham on Monday, September 20th.

In addition to writing the vignette Fish Cheeks, which we've read in class, Tan is the author of several ah-mazing novels, such as The Joy Luck Club, The Kitchen God's Wife, and The Bonesetter's Daughter. I own all of these if anyone is interested in borrowing one/two/all.

I'll take the highest bidders to Chinese food beforehand and to the reading. Bidding will start on Monday, September 13.

Signing the Last Beam

August Blood Drive

It was a huge success! Thanks to all who participated and supported the event. Despite the huge downpour in the middle of the day, all went smoothly.

Extra Credit: Trouble the Water

For the 31 (!) of you who stayed Friday afternoon for the showing of Trouble the Water, I thank you for taking time out of your weekend. Below, you will see several quotes from the movie. You will also see a couple broader questions below the quotes. I would like for you to expound (elaborate) upon one quote, and answer one of the questions here on this blog. Your answer should be thoughtful, but may be concise -- approximately 200 words total.

A robust response will earn you an extra ten points on your lowest quiz grade. Trust me, that's better than it sounds.

Our next movie will be Thursday, September 23.

Quotes

"The Lord is upset with New Orleans; I don't blame him." - Kimberly Rivers

"At this time, they're not rescuing. The police aren't coming out until the weather conditions get better." - 911 operator

"I never thought God could use a man like me." - Larry (Kimberly's brother)

"IRAQ 'FANTASTIC' COMPARED TO NEW ORLEANS" - headline from the New Orleans Times-Picayune

"Katrina's still trying to do damage, but she won't get through. Not through this heart." - Larry, upon his return to New Orleans

"If you don't have money and you don't have status, you don't have the government." - Kimberly's cousin

Questions

If you were a resident of New Orleans whose home had suffered the kind of damage that the Rivers home did, would you go back? Why or why not?

Respond to the scene outside the convention center.

Faith was a consistent theme throughout the documentary. How did Kim, her husband, and brother maintain faith in the face of such devastation?

Why did the producers choose to juxtapose footage of the news with camcorder footage? What was the effect?

Scenes from August

So it's been a long time since I've posted, but you guys are keeping me busy! It's been a great start to the year. I know you were in your fourth week of school when everyone else on the planet was "going back to school," but you've been great sports. I know that September will bring even more fun and effort.

Pre-term

Okay, folks, I know what's going down next week. Here's the idea:

Monday and Tuesday: Much like last year, you will be with your families (the high school members), rotating through four seminars each day. There will be lunch and physical activity. There may even be a Mark and the Demerits performance in there somewhere.

Wednesday: Seniors will be divided into four small groups and will go through four senior-specific seminars, led by the 12th grade team. Lunch and activity time.

Thursday: You will go to first through fourth period for syllabi collection, introductions, etc. Lunch and activity time.

Friday: You will go through fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth periods. Lunch and activity time.

So! Since I will see you for a shortened amount of time, I will not have an after-school tutorial for the summer reading assignment. I will help y'all with it on Thursday or Friday in class, and it will still be due on Monday, August 9th.

Any questions?

Getting ready

Back-to-school shopping is just about my favorite thing, especially when you have a hefty gift card with which to do it. :D

I got your journals covered. My stepdaughter and I rifled through all of them until we had 50 reds and 50 grays.

Summer reading tutorial

Hey '11 kids,
No idea if you read this, but updating anyway. Although we start school on August 2nd, your summer reading assignments are not due until Monday, August 9th.

Here's why. The week of August 2-6 will be half days, meaning you will be dismissed at noon. We won't be following a regular schedule on those days. I'm sure you have questions on what those days will be like, and I just don't know the answer to that yet. Hopefully I will soon. (I go back to school July 26, so I'll know that week.)

One day during that first week of half-days, I will hold a tutorial after school to go over the writing assignment that accompanies your nonfiction selection. I highly recommend you attend the session, which will probably include snack items. In the meantime, keep reading, and let me know if you have any questions.

And this is why I fall asleep reading a lot

I was scrolling through the pictures on my iPhone today and found this one. I had no idea my husband took it. I'm in our guest room (which I turn into my office each summer), and I really am in there, and I really am reading.

Are YOU reading?

The First 24

Summer is always an experiment in my stamina for hanging out with myself. I can get pretty annoying after repeated exposure (quit nodding). Because Husband works at home, I try to make myself relatively scarce during his work time, which fluctuates because he is nocturnal.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Yesterday, I finished the checkout process at school around 2:30. "Not with a bang, but with a whimper." I always hate the end of school, because people just flit off into the distance, scattered and distracted. There are no goodbyes, no plans made, just an empty classroom and several sweaty trips to the car. At the close of a year, it feels like someone should at least give you a handshake and a "have a good one," but it doesn't really work out that way.

So I took myself to Starbucks, because I'm still on Cloud 9 about their new decaffeinated frappucinos. (They used to serve them, then stopped, claiming it was too big of a pain. I wrote letters. I'm not saying that's what got them back, but I am happy either way.)

And not five minutes before I left escuela do I get an email from a student at Southwest asking for advice with their first prom. Really? On June 7th? My advice is give me another month before I even think about this.

So I have been out of school for, oh, 21 hours and I'm not sure what do with myself. Anyone else? I'm currently fighting the fleas that have infested my dog and consequently my house. That's no fun. I'm sitting here with a bandana over my face like a bank robber because I just fumigated the place (Max is at doggie daycare, getting a flea dip). Husband is asleep, so I closed the bedroom door and put a towel under it. I hope not to poison him.

I'm going to read for a while. I'm working on the Bill Bryson book, which is amazingly good - it's science for non-scientists, so I understand it. Did you know that the guy who created the periodic table was inspired by the game Solitaire? And did you know that it's only called Solitaire in North America? Everywhere else it's called Patience.

And there are your fun facts for the day. Back to my regularly scheduled summer.

Summer Reading

Raise your hand if you've already started your summer reading book. Good for you, Luis. ;)

I do hope that you guys will pick up your books before too long, however. I gave you a good list from which to choose. I know we didn't talk much about the actual assignment, but I hope what I wrote made sense to you. In my experience, rising seniors often wait until just before school starts to tackle the written assignment. Then, I get all kinds of emails and phone calls asking for help, when I am already up at school trying to get my classroom put together in time for you. If you wait until this point to reach out, I will be annoyed.

To that end, I will have a tutorial the week or so before school starts so that you know what to do. Because you do not want to turn in half-hearted writing to me on the first day of school. I can smell weak effort a mile away, and I will call you on it. Just ask a member of the class of '10.

In case you lost it, didn't make it to the meeting, or whatever, I am posting the reading assignments below.

You will all read The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. On the first day of my class, you will come prepared to take a quiz and participate in a rigorous Socratic seminar over this novella.

In addition, you will choose one nonfiction book from the following list.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers
A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
An American Childhood, Annie Dillard
Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, Alexandra Fuller
In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, John Berendt
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Anne Fadiman
Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortensen

For the nonfiction selection:
1. Select three particularly powerful passages from the book you read. The passages may relate to tone, mood, character, or theme, or better yet, they may be rhetorically powerful, full of devices. Bring a one-page copy of these three passages (meaning that all three should fit neatly onto one sheet). You may either photocopy them from the book or type them out onto one document.

2. Perform multiple close readings of the passages, analyzing: details, imagery, diction, and syntax.

3. Write approximately 750 words (about two pages typed) about the impact made by the literary techniques named above.

4. Write approximately 250 words that answer the following: A classic is a book that has passed the test of time. It is still valued and valuable 100 or 200 years later. Why would readers 100 years from now consider this book a classic? Or, why would they not.

5. Write an additional 250 words that examine this book from a reader response point of view. Explain and describe your initial response to the book and your response as you concluded the book. (You should not worry about “giving away” the ending of the book in this paper; I’ve read them all. However, when we do book talks in small groups, you should guard against giving away the juicy parts. Remember that your classmates may choose to read this book for their next Book of Choice.)

6. As just mentioned, you will be presenting your book and insights with a small group of classmates on this day, in addition to turning in your paper.

7. To clarify, your paper should be ≤ 1,250 words. This will probably be three typed pages. I prefer that you use 1 ½ spacing instead of double. Use a standard 12-point font and an MLA heading.

A few words about the analysis of rhetorical devices:

DETAILS
The German architect Mies van der Rohe once said, “God dwells in the details.” Another somebody once said in order to pass off a lie, it needs one good detail. Indeed, they are what make stories vivid and real for the reader. Think critically about the details your author chose to include in the passages you chose: what does that detail add? Maybe it’s reader empathy, maybe it’s humor, maybe it’s believability. You figure it out and comment coherently on the effect.

IMAGERY
Imagery gets the reader’s senses and imagination involved in the process. Often, imagery involves the visual sense, but it can extend to the other four senses, as well. In your career as English students, you’ve learned many tools of imagery: simile, metaphor, alliteration, personification, symbolism. You should include an analysis of imagery in your paper.

SYNTAX
Syntax is concerned with the structure and pattern of sentences. Repetition, juxtaposition, inverted order, parallelism, polysyndeton, asyndeton, loose and periodic sentences (look ‘em up!) are all syntactical devices that make a difference in how a reader understands the author’s meaning. Punctuation makes a difference. (Take a look at the first three paragraphs of Poe’s Tell-tale Heart. Just the hyperactive dashes alone signal to the reader that the narrator is a crazy person.) The authors of all these books are masters of syntax, so you will find many significant observations to make about their use of it.

DICTION
I will tell you this a million times in class next year, but we never refer to an author’s diction unless we have an adjective in front of the word diction. Saying, “the author uses a lot of diction” is the same as saying, “the author uses a lot of words.” A tiny sampling of ways to categorize diction includes formal, informal, colloquial, slang, concrete, abstract, denotative, connotative, euphonious, cacophonous; and like I said, that’s a tiny sampling. Once you determine a way to describe the diction, you must then ask (and answer) why the author made such word choices.

For more clarity on any of these topics, you can Google “DIDLS,” which is an acronym for details-imagery-diction-language-syntax. Plenty of English nerds have written good stuff on rhetorical analysis, and it’s out there. Am I available to help you? Yes, but I want you to make significant efforts on your own before reaching out to me. Emailing me is best, but you may call if you must. 713.208.1524.

Transitions

Dear Darling Cherubs,
You are no longer seniors; you are once again freshmen. And so this blog rolls over to the new seniors, the Class of 2011. I'm still working on their nickname.

Thank you for a wonderful year, and do keep in touch. I know you will. Have a relaxing summer; we have all earned it!

Love you very much,
Rayburn

Last impressions

The whole album is on Facebook.

Kemosabe

Telephone

Conga line

Class song nominations

The top five are:

Beautiful Day, U2

I Gotta Feeling, Black Eyed Peas

I Hope You Dance, Lee Ann Womack

One More Time, Daft Punk

Power Rangers theme song

We will vote Friday in morning meeting.

The home stretch

Dear Sussy,
You are an amazing cook, and I love your restaurant. I'll definitely be back, with a posse.

Thanks to everyone who turned out today. And especially to Sami D. and The Uriel, who've been to all six sessions in the past three weeks. You guys rock.

UIL weekend

UIL trips and Buc-ee's go hand in hand. Next year, we should probably forgo having t-shirts made and just wear the beaver ones.

Congrats to Nancy, Karina, Emily, and Bianca on a great season. We'll miss you guys next year, for sure!

Class away from class

Metz, Nancypants, Bianca, and Yoali take their make-up exam at Starbucks tonight. Not pictured, but also present: Claudia, Brian, and Willy.

Let's just have class there the rest of the year.

Public service announcement

I'm not going to lie. When preparing for tonight's tutorial, I wasn't sure where to begin. Prepping for Friday Night Writes took no thought at all. I just sat there and sliced up your papers with you.

Some AP materials I ordered a while back arrived on Wednesday like manna from Heaven, complete with 20 ready-made lessons. And better yet, they are good lessons I don't have to tweak.

So I want to brag on my first five guinea pigs: Lupe, Bianca O., Nayeri, Sami D., and The Uriel. We had such a great time dissecting stuff on the cafeteria deck that the first time we checked the time, we'd gone ten minutes over.

I'm expecting about eight folks Sunday night at Starbucks and am really looking forward to it. If you want to add yourself to the list, just let me know so I have enough copies. Not turning anyone away. Am also not paying for your frappucinos. :D

In other news, if you haven't had a chance to see Mrs. Benavidez on Channel 2's segment today, watch this video. "Amazing" doesn't begin to cover it.

Good luck to everyone doing the MS-150 tomorrow! My thoughts will be with you. I'll put a mile in at the pool tomorrow in long-distance support. Enjoy your three-day weekend, lucky ducks.

Tutorial schedule

We have less than a month. You are required to attend at least one of these sessions. Any more than that, and it's all extra credit and warm, fuzzy feelings.

I'll give you a calendar tomorrow in class, but in case you lose it....

Friday, April 16: Room 7, 5 - 6 p.m.

Sunday, April 18: Starbucks on Rowlett Road (near Wal-Mart, the closest one to school), 6 - 8 p.m.

Wednesday, April 21: Room 7, 2:15 - 3:45 p.m.

Saturday, May 1: Starbucks, 10 - noon

Thursday, May 6: Starbucks, 5 - 6:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 8: Antonio's (6325 Lyons), 10 - noon. Because God forbid I stab Sussy in the heart!

Triplets

Happy Birthday, Alex and Gloria!

April blood drive

This blood drive was our sixth one since January 2009. It also marked the 1,000th life saved by Wizard donors. I couldn't be prouder of those of you who helped out. We had an enormous turnout today; I'm pretty sure it was a record number.

Over 50 percent of the senior class turned out, almost one-third of the junior class, and 20 sophomores came out for their first donation today.

Mrs. Johnson gave for the first time ever and was a champ!


Jesus shows off his purple armband, re: status symbol.


Eliud and Yesii are beasts!


Martin and Olga representing the Class of 2011:



And my favorite moment of the day was from the Delgado siblings. I must recreate the conversation that took place in my classroom this afternoon.

While discussing Shakespeare's malapropisms, the door opens.

Jesse: Did you faint?

Sami (across the room): Jesse, we're in class!

Jesse: Did you faint? I heard you fainted.

Rayburn: Come in and see her, Jesse.

Jesse crosses the room and talks to his sister: I fainted, too.

And then tough chica Sami D got teary and hugged her little brother. I had to take a picture. She wouldn't pose. We were all touched.

They are both fine, and they saved six lives today. The Delgados are rock stars.