Greetings, Class of 2016

Happy Summer, rising seniors.  I hope you're able to stay dry and safe this week.

You will see below this five separate posts where you should write your responses to the essays in the summer reading section of your textbook.  If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me (Rayburn) any time before July 7 and after July 21.  I will be away during that time and unlikely to respond.

All posts are due by 10 p.m. on Sunday, August 2.  Do not be late in meeting this deadline.

In addition, remember that you are expected to read one of the following full-length memoirs and be ready to participate in discussions and writing activities based on them the first week of school.

The Sum of our Days	Isabel Allende
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius	Dave Eggers
The Year of Living Biblically	A.J. Jacobs
The Liars’ Club	Mary Karr
Kaffir Boy	Mark Mathabane
The Wild Truth	Carine McCandless
Angela’s Ashes	Frank McCourt
Hunger of Memory	Richard Rodriguez
Wild	Cheryl Strayed
I Am Malala	Malala Yousafzai

"Beauty" Essay Reactions

Below, you should respond to one or both of the beauty-themed essays:  Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self by Alice Walker and Beauty by Scott Russell Sanders.  You should not write formulaically, and we should be able to hear your own unique voice in your response.

"Power" Essay Reactions

Below, you should respond to one or both of the power-themed essays:  The Four Freedoms by Franklin D. Roosevelt and The Evil Empire by Ronald Reagan.  You should not write formulaically, and we should be able to hear your own unique voice in your response. 

"Race" Essay Reactions

Below, you should respond to one or both of the Race-themed essays:  What to the Slave is the Fourth of July by Frederick Douglass and The Myth of the Latin Woman by Judith Ortiz Cofer.  You should not write formulaically, and we should be able to hear your own unique voice in your response. 

"Gender" Essay Reactions

Below, you should respond to one or both of the gender-themed essays:  The Case for Birth Control by Margaret Sanger and The 2012 Address to the Australian Parliament by Julia Gillard .  You should not write formulaically, and we should be able to hear your own unique voice in your response. 

"Death" Essay Reactions

Below, you should respond to one or both of the Death-themed essays:  How to Know if You're Dead by Mary Roach and/or On the Fear of Death by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.  You should not write formulaically, and we should be able to hear your own unique voice in your response. 

Never Say Goodbye

My dear Goonies,

The past year with you has been one of the best years of my life, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you did to make it so.  Your class maintained such a genuinely warm and respectful attitude all the way to the end, and we are talking about a school year that never seemed like it would really end. 

Now that it has, I find myself missing our time together, laughing about the dynamics each English section had, and my heart skipping a little each time I see a friend or follow request on social media from you.  In fact, as I type this, I received a grammar question via text from one of you.  And that makes me happy.

Truly, I hate nothing more than the idea of saying goodbye.  On that last day, as Field Day closed, all your teachers were surprised that you hung around so long, tearfully saying goodbye to each other and us.  That's not usual.  Most of the time, seniors/graduates do the whole "peace out" thing.  As I watched all of you struggle a little to see your time at YES officially end, I felt encouraged that maybe you had gotten more out of your education than grades, acceptances, and scholarships.  That's the whole point.

The title of this post is after a cheesy 1980s song by Bon Jovi.  Y'all seem to be fans of the band, so it seems appropriate to borrow from them once more. 

I love y'all.

And I'll see you again.