Friday, January 31, 2014

"Superman and Me"

Read the following essay, "Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie.
http://www.qcounty.com/SCC/Spring10/Eng305_10035/Readings/ShermanAlexie--Superman.pdf

It is both an eye-opening account of what life was like for an intelligent child on an Indian reservation and a skillful rendering of the moments surrounding language acquisition, the spark for reading and writing, and the influence on a child of a well-loved parent.  Use any or all of these avenues for discussion of the essay.

 Also comment on what rhetorical devices Alexie uses in the essay.  For example, by using the analogy of a paragraph to a fence, Alexie is providing a visual connection that all readers can understand in order to express his moment of epiphany that opened him to the world of reading: an understanding that words "worked together for a common purpose".  The use of this visual analogy between a paragraph and a fence lends meaning to the extension of his analogy in the remainder of paragraph 3.  As Alexie explains his understanding of the reservation as a paragraph within the country, his home and neighborhood as paragraphs on the reservation, and each member of his family as a separate paragraph yet part of a larger "essay of seven paragraphs," the reader grasps Alexie's inherent desire to write and his identity as a writer.  This is just one example.  You should find and cite at least two. Do your best not to repeat the devices used by other students.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Allegory of the Cave

Allegory of the Cave

So, here is the written and narrated version of Plato's Allegory of the Cave.  Since you are all young, energetic, intelligent and future college grads, how does this theory apply to you?  Figure out what it means and apply it to yourself as a future leader of society.

(Under the title on the link you can click on the blue subtitle and watch a version while you read along.)

Friday, January 17, 2014

Using Logic in Writing

Craft a logical sequence into a written argument.  Begin with a logical syllogism.  Expand the argument with concrete evidence and then draw a conclusion.  This does not need to be research based.  It can be  a topic about which you are well versed.  It should not be long and involved.  See examples of this exercise on the Purdue OWL under Logic in Writing.  You can access the document through the link I provided in the email sent Friday.

When you are viewing the arguments of your classmates, be sure to be on the lookout for any logical fallacies.  If you see one, call them out on it by naming the logical fallacy you found in the comments under his or her post.  If there are no logical fallacies in his or her argument, comment on what you consider the strongest piece of evidence in his or her argument.  Good Luck!

Friday, January 3, 2014

The Great Equalizer

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/367460/great-equalizers-rich-lowry



Read this article and give me, and your classmates, your reaction.  How does this article apply to you, your family and your generation?