We have been studying how to get more out of our favorite stories and songs by analyzing them in a literary fashion, using literary terms and noticing the piece's genre. Specifically, today, we looked at Genesis 1-3 and unlocked its structure and themes. We also noticed that it is a combination of genres: it begins with a creation poem and then (2:4) it breaks into a prose "account" of creation. We've discussed how the creation poem differs from the creation account, and how poetry asks for a different kind of reading than prose asks for. Your extra credit assignment is to identify a few more spots where the Genesis 1-3 narrator breaks into poetry - and tell me WHY you think this happens, how an elevated sense of emotion, imagery, or figurative language is called into play.
Isn't it interesting to see how a literary reading of God's word reveals so much?! I want you to learn this year that the Bible measures up, on the scale of great literature, to a level of artistry and complexity matched by no other work. The Bible is richer than Shakespeare - so, if you need a lot of expertise to read Shakespeare, you need at least as much to really appreciate the Bible. Enjoy the journey!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Top Ten Class Policies!
1) Late work is accepted at 5 points off or 10% off per day, whichever is greater.
2) Cheating earns a zero.
3) Point deductions will be taken for basic editing errors, including spelling, punctuation, run-ons and fragments. One "free" basic skills mistake is granted per 3 pages of text.
4) Essay revisions count separately. Each draft submitted should be the best draft possible at that time. Each draft's grade is final. Please follow the essay format as prescribed on the classroom poster, with former drafts stapled behind the newest version.
5) Extensions are available in stressful circumstances if requested in advance of the deadline. Only emergengies will justify extensions after the due date has arrived or passed.
6) Bathroom visits during class are not allowed during quizzes/tests or lectures/presentations.
7) Absentees are fully responsible for any missed due dates, pop quizzes, scheduled assignments, notes, and lecture materials. School policy allows 2 make-up days per 1 day of excused absence. Make-up tests are subjective, which means they tend to be harder than the original version.
8) Tardies beyond 3 will earn lunch detention. Missing class repetitively for any reason is likely to impact learning, and therefore grades.
9) Concerns or objections must be raised privately and respectfully. Try to stay positive in the classroom.
10) Extra credit will be accepted only when a student has fewer than 3 zeroes for the quarter. Extra credit is not meant to compensate for irresponsibility.
2) Cheating earns a zero.
3) Point deductions will be taken for basic editing errors, including spelling, punctuation, run-ons and fragments. One "free" basic skills mistake is granted per 3 pages of text.
4) Essay revisions count separately. Each draft submitted should be the best draft possible at that time. Each draft's grade is final. Please follow the essay format as prescribed on the classroom poster, with former drafts stapled behind the newest version.
5) Extensions are available in stressful circumstances if requested in advance of the deadline. Only emergengies will justify extensions after the due date has arrived or passed.
6) Bathroom visits during class are not allowed during quizzes/tests or lectures/presentations.
7) Absentees are fully responsible for any missed due dates, pop quizzes, scheduled assignments, notes, and lecture materials. School policy allows 2 make-up days per 1 day of excused absence. Make-up tests are subjective, which means they tend to be harder than the original version.
8) Tardies beyond 3 will earn lunch detention. Missing class repetitively for any reason is likely to impact learning, and therefore grades.
9) Concerns or objections must be raised privately and respectfully. Try to stay positive in the classroom.
10) Extra credit will be accepted only when a student has fewer than 3 zeroes for the quarter. Extra credit is not meant to compensate for irresponsibility.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Archetype Blog
Please select either a folktale from your personal cultural heritage OR a movie which you might call an "all-time favorite." First, summarize the folktale or movie briefly. Next, analyze the piece for the presence of archetypes (universals). Finally, identify what is unique or culturally specific in the piece. There will be three short paragraphs. Due Monday Sept. 30.
In the Scottish folktale Redemption from Fairie Land, a young wife is stolen away from her home during childbirth. The next morning, what appears to be a corpse is discovered. However, her husband learns that the faeries have her spirit, and the "corpse" is nothing but wood. He is given instructions for how to rescue her and his infant son. He must first gain forgiveness for his wife (for telling him the secret) and then the woman's brother must wrestle her away from the fairie spirits. In the end, the woman and her newborn son are returned home.
The clearest archetype present in the tale is resurrection. The woman, although married, conveys the maiden archetype, and the husband plays her hero (monomyth). All evil takes place during the night, and goodness/realization come about in the morning, therefore illustrating a light-dark archetype. Also, the wife's ghostly form is dressed in white. Finally, the faeries function as evil tricksters, replacing the woman's body with a wooden corpse.
This tale is specifically Scottish in that the tricksters are faeries -- Scottish mythology features characters including faeries, brownies, mermaids, etc. Also, the Christian heritage of Scotland comes up in that the Reverend is the one who recognizes the evil deeds of the faeries. Often, Scottish faeries are defeated through Christian means. I wonder if the book in his pocket is a Bible, which he refuses to throw in the moat. The setting of the story is also quite Scottish (moat, bushes and brambles) and has a distinctly Scottish "feel" to it.
In the Scottish folktale Redemption from Fairie Land, a young wife is stolen away from her home during childbirth. The next morning, what appears to be a corpse is discovered. However, her husband learns that the faeries have her spirit, and the "corpse" is nothing but wood. He is given instructions for how to rescue her and his infant son. He must first gain forgiveness for his wife (for telling him the secret) and then the woman's brother must wrestle her away from the fairie spirits. In the end, the woman and her newborn son are returned home.
The clearest archetype present in the tale is resurrection. The woman, although married, conveys the maiden archetype, and the husband plays her hero (monomyth). All evil takes place during the night, and goodness/realization come about in the morning, therefore illustrating a light-dark archetype. Also, the wife's ghostly form is dressed in white. Finally, the faeries function as evil tricksters, replacing the woman's body with a wooden corpse.
This tale is specifically Scottish in that the tricksters are faeries -- Scottish mythology features characters including faeries, brownies, mermaids, etc. Also, the Christian heritage of Scotland comes up in that the Reverend is the one who recognizes the evil deeds of the faeries. Often, Scottish faeries are defeated through Christian means. I wonder if the book in his pocket is a Bible, which he refuses to throw in the moat. The setting of the story is also quite Scottish (moat, bushes and brambles) and has a distinctly Scottish "feel" to it.
Archetypes: Good Dreams
Archetypes are story elements -- character types and symbolic images -- that recur across time and culture. Is their presence a clue about God???
Romans 1:20 says that "since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." We can experience the grandeur of nature and study the complexity of creation to see God's eternal power. And, perhaps, God has also written his divine nature into the heart of man.
C.S. Lewis (author of the Narnia books) believed that God imprinted humans with a divine subconscious message. In Mere Christianity, he said: "And what did God do? First of all He left us conscience, the sense of right and wrong: and all through history there have been people trying (some of them very hard) to obey it. None of them ever quite succeeded. Secondly, He sent the human race what I call good dreams: I mean those queer stories scattered all through the heathen religions about a god who dies and comes to life again and, by his death, has somehow given new life to men."
So, in summary of Lewis, we could say that God revealed his divine nature into the subconscious mind of man by (1) giving us a natural sense of right and wrong and (2) imprinting us with certain expectations, desires and hopes. We could call these "good dreams" archetypes. Archetypes include the universal expectation of a hero, the desire for light in the darkness, and the hope for triumph over death. There are many archetypes.
But let us not stop there. Let us also joyfully acknowledge that he revealed himself most specifically through his son, Jesus, who fulfilled the archetypes. Where humanity had previously been dreaming, Jesus was the dream "come true."
ARCHETYPES YOU SHOULD RECOGNIZE: monomyth, hero cycle, journey/quest, maiden, wise old man, sidekick, crone, trickster, shadow, storyteller, light/dark, colors, numbers, forest, garden, desert, snakes, birds, water, fire, resurrection
Note about character archetypes: Many character archetypes were originally expressed out of a paternalistic framework (i.e. men are heroes and mentors, women are victims and witches). Modern expressions of archetype often swap gender. This is OK!
Romans 1:20 says that "since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." We can experience the grandeur of nature and study the complexity of creation to see God's eternal power. And, perhaps, God has also written his divine nature into the heart of man.
C.S. Lewis (author of the Narnia books) believed that God imprinted humans with a divine subconscious message. In Mere Christianity, he said: "And what did God do? First of all He left us conscience, the sense of right and wrong: and all through history there have been people trying (some of them very hard) to obey it. None of them ever quite succeeded. Secondly, He sent the human race what I call good dreams: I mean those queer stories scattered all through the heathen religions about a god who dies and comes to life again and, by his death, has somehow given new life to men."
So, in summary of Lewis, we could say that God revealed his divine nature into the subconscious mind of man by (1) giving us a natural sense of right and wrong and (2) imprinting us with certain expectations, desires and hopes. We could call these "good dreams" archetypes. Archetypes include the universal expectation of a hero, the desire for light in the darkness, and the hope for triumph over death. There are many archetypes.
But let us not stop there. Let us also joyfully acknowledge that he revealed himself most specifically through his son, Jesus, who fulfilled the archetypes. Where humanity had previously been dreaming, Jesus was the dream "come true."
ARCHETYPES YOU SHOULD RECOGNIZE: monomyth, hero cycle, journey/quest, maiden, wise old man, sidekick, crone, trickster, shadow, storyteller, light/dark, colors, numbers, forest, garden, desert, snakes, birds, water, fire, resurrection
Note about character archetypes: Many character archetypes were originally expressed out of a paternalistic framework (i.e. men are heroes and mentors, women are victims and witches). Modern expressions of archetype often swap gender. This is OK!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Wordy Wednesdays Fall '08
VOCABULARY SCHEDULE
KEY: L=Lesson, ex=exercises, rev=review exercises
You are not required to do exercises asking for original sentence or paragraph composition
9/17 - L 1 ex
9/24 - L 2 ex, L 1-2 rev
10/1 - L 1-2 test
10/8 - L 3 ex and know roots through L 4
10/15 - L 4 ex, L 3-4 rev
10/22 - L 3-4 test
10/29 - L 5 ex and know roots through L 6
11/5 - L 6 ex, L 5-6 rev
11/12 - L 5-6 test
11/19 - L 7 ex and know roots through L 8
11/26 - L 8 ex, L 7-8 rev
12/3 - L 7-8 test
1/7 - cumulative test on L 1-8
(no more vocab till 2nd semester)
KEY: L=Lesson, ex=exercises, rev=review exercises
You are not required to do exercises asking for original sentence or paragraph composition
9/17 - L 1 ex
9/24 - L 2 ex, L 1-2 rev
10/1 - L 1-2 test
10/8 - L 3 ex and know roots through L 4
10/15 - L 4 ex, L 3-4 rev
10/22 - L 3-4 test
10/29 - L 5 ex and know roots through L 6
11/5 - L 6 ex, L 5-6 rev
11/12 - L 5-6 test
11/19 - L 7 ex and know roots through L 8
11/26 - L 8 ex, L 7-8 rev
12/3 - L 7-8 test
1/7 - cumulative test on L 1-8
(no more vocab till 2nd semester)
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Hero Essay
This is a formal essay assignment, not a blog assignment. It will be submitted on paper, typed, labeled with your name, date, and an essay title, edited to the highest standard possible, and consisting of 2-3 pages. Save your document for future revision.
TYPE OF ESSAY: Personal
TOPIC: anything related to heroes or heroism
DUE: Tuesday 16th (any time that day)
Please be creatively open-minded about your topic. What you write needs to be personal and specific to YOU. It should be drawn on your own memories, imagination, or opinions. Don't bore me.
TYPE OF ESSAY: Personal
TOPIC: anything related to heroes or heroism
DUE: Tuesday 16th (any time that day)
Please be creatively open-minded about your topic. What you write needs to be personal and specific to YOU. It should be drawn on your own memories, imagination, or opinions. Don't bore me.
Examples: a memory or description of a hero in your own life, an imaginative description of the hero you would be or wish for, an introspective exploration of some aspect of heroism (self-sacrifice, being bold, etc. - check out your hero blogs for ideas). ANYTHING goes, as long as it's PERSONAL in some way.
Examples from Mrs. Kirk's friends' blogs:
Monday, September 01, 2008
Hero Blog
You are to select a hero -- from movies, literature, or real life -- and identify its name, where it's from, and what heroic qualities it represents for you. As you complete the assignment, please sign my blog list (on the "paper table" beside my desk) so I will know where to find your work online!
Since I love books and movies so much, it's very hard for me to complete my own assignment! Two characters that come immediately to mind are Atticus Finch and King Arthur. But the one I will write about is Aslan from the Chronicles of Narnia. In reading these tales again as an adult, I find this symbolic depiction of Jesus to be emotionally grabbing as well as theologically illuminating. He is regal, wise, kind, and frighteningly fierce, all at the same time.
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