IF YOU are missing the work with the poems (marked missing in the grade book), it is bolded below (the last three lines or so of today's class work).
4/12: HOMEWORK: reflection for this week is due either tomorrow or the Monday we get back from vacation. In class: we worked with "Blankets" and "Monosonnet for Colonialism, Interrupted"). To start: revisit each poem. For each, make a list of 3 insights you had when you worked on it last night and 2 stumbling blocks." Students then met in groups to share ideas about the poems. Finally, the goal for using these poems was to deepen our understanding about the relationship between whites and Indians in this country, and to think about how that might help us to more completely think about captive narratives and what's left out. Choose the poem that most helped you to reach this goal and tell me why (be specific).
4/11: HOMEWORK: Please spend a little time reading through and marking up both Alexie poems (see "Blankets Alexie" attached below - it's double-sided). In class: We talked about the reflection assessments and the need for a nuanced understanding of the material, specific evidence that is part of the whole, clarity of writing and deeper thinking about the ideas in class. Next reflection due this week (either by Friday or by the Monday after break). We also worked with Louise Erdrich's "Captivity" (attached below).
4/10: HOMEWORK: Please read two pages (based on the pages people in your group chose) of the excerpt of Mary Rowlandson's narrative. Mark it up, look for echoes of what Lepore write about, what we discussed in class and other items of interest, In class: See "Rowlandson questions (Lepore)" attached below.
4/9: HOMEWORK: See "Rowlandson murals and Lepore chapter" for assignment (the reading is attached "Jill Lepore's Rowlandson chapter"). In class: We watched the first five minutes of Jill Lepore's talk about King Philip's War, then headed out to look at the murals. See "Rowlandson murals and Lepore chapter" for the work.
4/6: HOMEWORK: See "Reflection Assessment Am Lit" attached below. In class, we continued to work on Bradstreet - looking at her as a poet (and at her skills as a poet) and as a Puritan who is wrestling with her faith and her reality.
4/5: HOMEWORK: Work with Bradstreet's poem "Verses Upon the Burning of our House" the way we did in class today - look up words you do not know,, let images guide making sense of the subject of the poem, dive deeper into Puritan ideals: where does she adhere. where does she challenge?
We worked today on Bradstreet poems - "Bradstreet poems (text)" attached below.
4/2: See "Puritan work in groups" (attached below).
3/29: HOMEWORK: Please read the two Roger Williams excerpts, attached below. As you read, think about how Williams fits into the Puritan world we've been discussing and about the unique perspective he brings to his work. In class: we worked in groups reexamining the Puritans through the more informed view after listening to Hutchinson and rereading Vowell. In groups, we brainstormed what, according to Puritan religious beliefs, was expected of personal behavior, of behavior toward the community, and all what they needed to do to establish a stable and sustaining colony.
3/28: HOMEWORK: Please see "Revisiting Vowell" attached below + the Anne Hutchinson podcast (see 3/27 HOMEWORK). In class: we reviewed the differences between Pilgrims and Puritans and worked on the poems. OUR GOAL: come to a deeper understanding of the complexities of: Puritan faith, their relationships with each other and with God, the humility and superiority they feel, etc.
3/27:HOMEWORK: Listen to this podcast about Anne Hutchinson. On the front of the notecard: take notes about Hutchinson, about her life, her relationships, her conflicts with the Bay Colony (pay attention, as well, to the way the podcast honors the idea of Baldwin's quote by placing the past in our present) , etc. On the back of the notecard: Reflect on what you have heard and about Hutchinson's life, about her legacy, about how her story sheds light on your understanding of the complexities of Puritan life and their legacy. Fill the back of the notecard.
3/23: HOMEWORK: For Tuesday, work your way back through Sarah Vowell to think about the Puritans and about the speech, as she presents them. THINK about legacy and history and both of the quotes. Write a reflection about each quote as it applies to what you read (and what we’ve discussed). For Baldwin, THINK about how this history is our present and is who we are and why that matters (what must we do to confront that). For Robinson, THINK about the ideas about democracy, and especially about the making of something new and about how human respect fits in). Please write about a page for each quote, using specific ideas from the text.
IN CLASS: We talked about Vowell's excerpt and the light it shed on the Puritans and especially their connections to us now. We also revisited the Baldwin and Robinson quotes to better understand them. We sharpened our understanding of Baldwin by recognizing that he is NOT writing about history repeating but is rather with is and still happening (perhaps in other forms) and that pretending (choosing to act so as to make it appear that something is the case when in fact it is not) otherwise is shameful and morally wrong. Robinson talks about democracy as being made (crafted by human beings) and needs to continually made (I use the potter's wheel idea) and that part of the making requires a respect of every person's humanity. Only in that way can we potentially reach our ideals.
3/22: In Class: We started by pasting the Baldwin and Robinson quotes into the cover of the journal and reflecting on these quotes (see "History is not past Baldwin + Robinson" attached below). Then, we turned to the idea of legacy (from reflection and homework) and posted key ideas on the wall. We close rad pages 6-11 of chapter 1 of Mayflower to strengthen understanding of what the Puritans believed about God, their relationship to God, their duty, and their reasons for travel and talked through how that might inform their attitudes to day to day life. This led to a discussion/examination of Mayflower Compact and a transition to "Model of Christian Charity" (attached below).
3/21: HOMEWORK: Please read the excerpt from Mayflower about the Mayflower Compact (attached below " Mayflower Passengers + Compact"). In class: please see "Mayflower discussion instructions" attached below).
3/20: To begin, please read the preface of Philbrick's book. Pay attention to his ideas about the myths handed down by the stories of the pilgrims and Wampanoags and their lasting legacy for us. Compare these ideas to your answers from the homework (you can jot down notes about these ideas on the excerpt). Then, meet together in groups of three (no pairs, please. If a four is necessary, that's o.k.). Please share with each other the values* you saw yesterday (some of you have great connections; others did not seem to get there, so please add to your notes), how Philbrick added to your ideas and what you discovered in your homework last night. Remember that our goal here is to examine how the roots of our ideas about who we are as Americans, how we see ourselves and our destinies and dreams were planted in the 1600s with the arrival of English speaking settlements. Look for patterns, for similarities and challenges in your ideas, in Philbrick's introduction, in what we talked about last week, etc. HOMEWORK (get started on this in class if there's time): Please read the rest of the Philbrick excerpt. The first chapter focuses on the Mayflower's passengers, their relationships, plans and leaders while the third chapter (I have skipped the 2nd chapter) focuses on the Wampanoags. Mark up the text and take notes: keep our goal in mind, look for examples that reinforce some of the values you talked through together, pay attention to the "gaps" in your knowledge/understanding of the story and to the complexities of the pilgrims and the Wampanoags, etc. What are you learning that you did not know and why does it matter? Make sure to make note of questions too. Come to class ready to talk about all of this.
* When you are thinking about values, remember that these are usually presented in positive rather than negative language. For example, several people noted that women seemed to be treated as lesser than men in the Thanksgiving drawing. Pilgrims would not have called that a value (it's more of a byproduct). The value there is more likely a belief in defined roles to make the community work or a belief in a strong patriarchal government.
3/19: HOMEWORK: Please think/write about this prompt: What is the legacy of these early settlers (OR of the stories of these early settlers) handed down to us as Americans? How do (or do) the pilgrims and/or puritans stories shape our view of America today (OR argue that they do not influence who we are/how we see ourselves today)? The reflection should be a solid 1/2 to 2/3rds of a page. THEN, please ask two other people in your life (of different ages) the same question and jot down notes about their answers. In class: We are going to spend some time exploring how we use our shared mythology about the Pilgrims and Puritans as a way to understand our values and we'll look at a more complex view of their arrival, their actions etc. and what these can tell us about who we are now. To start, please look at the Mayflower painting and the First Thanksgiving drawing (attached below). For each, describe what you see (please do this in a google doc that you share with me at cathy_nicastro@wrsd.net), then use those descriptions to analyze the values being presented in each painting, as a way of understanding what values we take, as Americans, from these founding myths of our country (I am not using myth as false, but rather in the more expansive way that indicates that myths are stories of a people which define for those people their relationship with the world around them and the cultivation of their beliefs about that world, themselves, their values, etc. It's about Big T truth, not fact). Check your list of values against the Allitt principles we started with, to see if any of these have their roots in the story conveyed by these paintings. Then, read the preface of Mayflower, by Nathaniel Philbrick. Pay attention to his ideas about the way the myth has affected our understanding of ourselves and to the way he presents the first 50 years or so after the Mayflower lands and how that view reshapes your understanding of the values we have inherited from the Pilgrims. After you've finished reading, reflect (in the google doc) about what you've read, what is new to you, why it matters, what values you see and how these match up (or don't) to the values presented in the artwork (which I would say are the ones we typically associate with this history). Write at least 2/3rds of a page, being as specific as you can be. If there is time, please talk with each other (groups of three) about what you wrote today and add new ideas from classmates to your notes (keep in mind why we are doing this).
3/16: We worked on understanding the changes after the reformation and the beginning of Calvinism (see "Pilgrims + Puritans board notes" attached below).
3/12: We started back at the 1600s to trace the development of what becomes the American Dream from the beginning (see "Board notes - tracing our way back to Pilgrims + Puritans" attached below). We'll be using Sarah Vowel''s quote from The Wordy Shipmates as a guide: " The only thing more dangerous than an idea is a belief. And by dangerous I don't mean thought-provoking. I mean: might get people killed."