School Reform: Public Schools that work. The case of Finland.
By Diane Ravitch
[Diane Ravitch won the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences in 2011 for her “careful use of social science research for the public good.” (March 2012)]
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Good Magazine is a great source for ideas that are worth sharing. Linked in this post is an argument for the value of a positive school environment. How important is it to you? What if your school environment is hostile? Would you be able to succeed there?
http://www.good.is/post/a-city-education-a-positive-school-environment-can-keep-students-motivated/
-BE
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It was a usual Monday morning. Students strolled into class remembering “Oh it’s Monday, time to write an essay.” Today we analyzed a passage by Virginia Woolf. We were supposed to analyze how her use of language conveys the lasting significance of her childhood summers.
Before most of us started writing Eldridge emphasized a few key points:
That being said, you cannot write if you don’t understand the meaning, if you don’t understand the meaning you aren’t reading analytically.
For a future reference, read carefully and analytically and you should understand the meaning. Therefore you can now write.
Tone packet was due, and that’s pretty much it. 
Marissa ( :
Ulises Ceja
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WE ARE WAY TOo QUIET!!!
- Our sound level, well let’s put it this way… we don’t make any noise! Mr. Eldridge once again reminded us that it IS ok to make some noise… plus I don’t think we can compare to the ways of last year’s period 5, who would climb and wrestle one another for a spot of the comfortable sofa!
I would actually like to know if anyone in our class has actually even sat in the sofa???
Random facts of the day are:
Apart from all the random side conversations I overheard, here are some educational things we did learn:
You need to register on the yellow/orange Bedford sight. Google: Bedford Reader Ninth Edition and register again if you accidentally registered on the blue sight. Make sure to use Mr. Eldridge’s hotmail email instead of his school email!
We started the day with the detail worksheet of Alberto Alvaro Rios “The Iguana Killer.” In question one we discovered that the man is refilled with youth when he plays his tuba. The details such as purple cheeks, and 1,000 wrinkles show that the tuba is more than a hard instrument to play, but makes the man feel happy again. In question two, we had to compare whether the original sentence added attitude to the main character or if another, or rather ordinary, sentence did. The original sentence had more attitude, because it emphasized the joy of youth, unlike the second sentence which only showed hard it was to play the tuba. The apply section was rather great, because we learned from Hadley that water and oil don’t get along, and I learned that I somehow implied a great metaphor within my sentence… thank you Mr. E!
Moving on from the worksheet Andy started his antithesis presentation with “Ok guys, here I go!” This part of class was rather entertaining as Mr. E and Marilyn were captivated by Andy’s words and the whole antithesis lesson “was a fun time.” We did learn, however, that antithesis is Greek for “setting against,” and it is a figure of speech involving the juxtaposition of two words, phrases, clauses, or sentences contrasted in meaning and often in a balanced grammatical structure. Ex) “To err is human, to forgive, divine.” – Alexander Pope, An essay on Criticism
In closing with the day I quoted some useful words by Mr. Eldridge
P.S…. Mr. Eldridge WILL NOT be in class on Thursday and Friday due to a camping trip with his neighbors and friends!
Chao clase,
Karly Chapman
☺The bell rang.
☺Mr. Eldridge wore a pink shirt, with khaki pants, and a purple tie.
☺Worksheet of the day focused on Detail, quoting on a tuba player named Don Tomasito
☺Mr. Eldridge said something about Cherry Creek?
☺Mr. Eldridge clarified the Bedford quiz website.
☺Roy was gone, Kate stated that her heart isn’t full. She texted him love notes but he didn’t text back.
☺Mr. E made a mistake and began reading yesterday’s worksheet on detail with the gross man excessively sweating and whatnot.
☺Simone discussed question #1. She believed the first sentence was simple and boring, and the second sentence illustrated the first.
☺Everyone has wrinkles.
☺Another student added to Simone and said that when Don’s wrinkles disappear, he reverts and goes back to his youth.
☺Old age hurts.
☺Ockham’s razor- The simplest answer is the best one.
☺Paul said “beauty has no name” about his desk partner…after Mr. Eldridge told Paul to say so.
☺Ryan Bender discussed his trope ANTITHESIS.
☺Have you heard of the term dovetail?
☺Mr. Eldridge spilled his water on his twelve year old brief case.
-Sarah Davidson ! 9-15-09
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Hey Period Five!
Today in class each of our groups were assigned a different question regarding The Great Gatsby.
Questions:
1. How do time and family incur in Chapter one?
2. Find three examples of Nick’s elevated diction and imagery.
3. Find at least two examples of how dialogue characterizes each character: Nick, Daisy, Tom.
4. Why/How are the valley of the ashes and Myrtle’s apt. juxtaposed?
5. Characterize Myrtle through her actions and dialogue.
6. How does the tapestry function?
7. What is Nick’s tone in Chapter two?
Mr. Eldridge suggested that when reading a novel the first sentence in the novel is often times the most important. The narrator in the novel is Nick and the author is F. Scott Fitzgerald. Mr. Eldridge then asked the class when does Nick show up to Daisy’s house?
The answer to this was June 21st=longest day of the year/summer solstice.
We then went over the answer to question one. Callie answered the question. Callie’s answer included that New Haven –Yale years, Midas, Civil War reference, Autumn=rebirth, interring adolescent and time to New York, summer=passion. We also went over that at the end of summer plants begin to die and in autumn fruit falls off and fruit is ripe.
Important facts:
1. Tone in paragraph four=discontent, unaffected, disdain and scornful
2. Nick is disillusioned and let down.
3. Nick is romantic.
4. Sometimes in movies and books the beginning/first chapter gives away most of what the book/movie is going to be about.
After going question three we skipped over to question three.
1. Nick: Knows Tom from New Haven.
2. Nick seems to be reserved and observant.
3. Nick jokes about Daisy in Chicago. Pg 19 2nd paragraph.
1. Tom is having an affair with Myrtle.
2. pg 22 Daisy is sarcastic about being sophisticated.
3. Daisy is only concerned about what people think of her back home.
1. Tom lies and says that Daisy is Catholic.
2. Tom believes that racist book is scientific.
~Keren Mahgerefteh
* Truth vs. Beauty
o There was a line from some piece of literature (I forgot what it was) that contained the quote, “Beauty is Truth, truth beauty, and that is all you need to know.”
* Romanticism = emphasis on emotion over logic
* New England in 1920
o business-centric
o alcohol illegal
o no real police (mostly run by gangs)
o lots of poor people
o trying to fix, or progress past, the gilded age
o poor living conditions (unsanitary cities and tiny apartment houses)
* Most of the story takes place in Manhattan
* Nouveau(x) Riche show their wealth and are looked down upon by the “old money,” the families who have plentiful inherited wealth
* Nowadays, we have an open society, but back then wealth was mostly dependent on family ties
* Nick is a character in the story as well as the narrator, so we as readers must take into consideration that what we read is filtered through Nick’s perspective
Also, we went through some pictures on Mr. Eldridge’s website(s). Mr. E. said that since some of us didn’t read the assigned chapter, we may be having to take some surprise reading quizzes, to which the class responded with some dissatisfied moans. Anyway, chapters 1 and 2 are due tomorrow, so get20reading!
Love, Keith
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We then went over the multiple choice exam we took yesterday. Apparently E told Ms Austin that we can do two passages and go over them or do three if she wants to and she chose to do three. Anyway, it seems as if a lot of people did badly, hearing from the tables around me. But E says that the practice ones we have been taking are harder than the actual test so we have hope, YAY (:
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Here is the selection from Benjamin Franklin’s speech about the appointment of salaries:
“It is with reluctance that I rise to express a disapprobation of any one article of the plan, for which we are so much obliged to the honorable gentlemen who laid it before us. From its first reading, I have borne a good will to it, and, in general, wished it success. In this particular of salaries to the executive branch, I happen to differ; and as my opinion may appear new and chimerical, it is only from a persuasion that it is right, and from a sense of duty, that I hazard it. The Committee will judge my reasons when they have heard them, and their judgement may possibly change mine. I think I see inconvenience in the appointment of salaries; I see none in refusing them, but on the contrary great advantages.”
–Benjamin Franklin, “Speech in the Constitutional Convention on the Subject of Salaries,” June 2, 1787.
How does he construct the ethos of a man we should listen to?
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§ We got a diction worksheet which had an excerpt from “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,” by Annie Dillard, who always writes about nature
§ Enthymeme: a syllogism where a premise or conclusion has been excluded
o We often enter an argument with prejudices (which can be strongly held beliefs) and prefer it when the argument confirms our prejudice
o Dillon brought up the issue of satire and asked a question that went over my head, but it led to a discussion about Stephen Colbert, a comedian who acts ridiculously conservative in order to satirize conservatives like Bill O’Reily. However, if you share the prejudices Colbert are satirizing, you might believe he’s actually telling the truth. Like that one guy did (White House Correspondent’s Dinner 2006. Youtube it.)
§ Fallacies of Reasoning
o hasty generalization: basing assumptions off of an inadequate sample
o missing the point: arguing your conclusion
o post hoc (false cause): Means “after this, therefore because of this.” When one assumes that things that occur after an event occurs because of that event.
o slippery slope: argues for a chain reaction
o weak analogy: self-explanatory (hopefully)
o appeal to authority: referring to someone or something that must be true
o ad populum (“to the people”): everyone does it, so you should to
o ad hominem and tu quoque: attacks a person, not an argument
o appeal to ignorance: if something has not happened, the opposite must be true
o straw man: attacks a watered down version of an opponent’s argument before the opponent presents his or her argument
o red herring: going off tangent of an argument, distracting the audience
o false dichotomy: you must choose A or B, one extreme or the other
o begging the question: asks you to accept an argument without any evidence and depends on a premise similar to the conclusion
§ We then applied what we learned by reading an article criticizing critics of pornography and feminists, and identifying the fallacies of reasoning contained within the article.
HOMEWORK:
Remember to sign up for AP tests!!
Read Freakonomics/Fast Food Nation/Nickels and Dimed
Hey Girl Hey
So, today’s class was a little interesting. Mr. Eldridge opened the class discussion buy asking us what were “Things that people assume everyone knows, cause they’re already proven.” Some answers flew out as stereotypes, Zach Glasser shot back with “Postulates” but the true answer was “Prejudice” as Eldridge announced. Rachel, sitting next to Callie and I, no more then 6 feet away from Mr. E, hollered “I said PREJIDUCE like 6 TIMES!” Eldridge shot back that he unfortunately couldn’t hear her and that she should speak up more often leading into a tangent discussion on how Alex Dessouky never speaks quietly then going to how all men never can talk in an “inside-voice” do to there pitch of tone (how low their voice is) for lower pitch travels farther then higher; coming to the drawn out point that all women should speek louder because having a higher pitched voice, their sound does not travel as far. (My oppinion Rachel, you should just yell I guess from now on haha).
The conversation then got turned to the topic of REFORM and how it is very painful to change. Soon the subject pushed onto how people like to blame anyone but themselves for why bad things happen in their own lives or the public as the whole discussing how we haven’t been in this much debt to income sense the Great Depression.
We then were supposed to get out our BLUE syllogism/enthymemes packet but before we could focus on our packetwork, we began to discuss studies and how if people are interested with them they should loook into them to prove their truth. We then reached the topic of smoking campaigns and how they bring up statistics in their propaganda. Someone stated that they heard that thos propoganda suggesting not to smoke only adds to the people beginning to light up. Eldridge obliged saying that that lay true with the teenage population for we tend to “defy authority”. Dessouky then said “YES!” which left people pondering about why he was so in agreement to Eldridge’s statement. (You go Dessouky! haha). Alex then brought up a study he heard about that “80% of people in the US have smoked weed.” which Jay Lee then claimed to be very truthful leading to the classes laughter, along with Mr. E. Although Dessouky may have heard “80% of the population” Zach Glasser then stated he believed it to be 40% (I’m sorry Alex, but if Glasser is saying otherwise I’m gonna lead towards him….I mean, it’s Zach Glasser: if he says it’s true…ITS TRUE hah *nurrrrrr). Eldridge then brought up the point of pot being semi-legal leading to some students wondering what “semi-legal” means. I then explained that people can get weed prescribed to them for many reasons such as sleeping trouble (insomnia) and they can go to a weed “clinic” and retrieve their legal weed. Alex then stated that he “heard” a story of someone getting pulled over and receiving a ticket even though he had a prescription for pot….(we kinda diverted discussing his story any farther and moved onto falicies) haha
We pretty much discussed most of the fallacies in the packet that’s been laying on our tables for the past 2 days.
Hasty Generalization
Missing the Point
Post hoc (aka false cause)
Slippery Slope
Weak Analogy- “Don’t be guilty of a weak analogy” – Eldridge
Appeal to Authority
Ad populum
Ad hominem & tu quoque
Appeal to Pity
Appeal to Ignorance
Straw Man- (Wizard of Oz?….Callie Aaker?.. haha)
Red Herring
False Dichotomy
Begging the Question
Equivocation
We then got a 2 page handout which wasn’t stapled together (“evil secretaries!”-Eldridge) and Mr. E then read an argument about porn, prostitutes, pleasure, and Playboy on the projector showing us all the possible writing faux pas you could possibly commit.
The bell then rang and we ran screaming from the room to our next class, sport, or like me, home haha.
By the way, Hope ya like that Cherry Garcia Ben and Jerry’s Mr. E.
ALEX DESSOUKY”S FOURTUNE FROM PANDA
“You are a fun-loving person and will find much happiness”
Yours truly,
Barbie
***Mr. E. I couldn’t go to Norstrom this week. My dad is cooking all the food for our huge choir competition we host this weekend and my mom said I needed to stay home and help. I’m sorry. I hope ya still love me!***
Make sure your next day is GREAT! Wake up and recite the words “Chettoh, Macaw, Pudding!” It’s a garanteed way to start your day off, well, great!
-Ellen Degeneres
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Apparently, it can’t be considered a classic any more, unless “The Simpsons” produce it. Here it is:
via videosift.com
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What about Hamlet’s strange outburst during the play-within-the-play? He yells, “Get on with it, murderer. The croaking raven doth bellow for revenge!” It is an odd line and seems out of place. But what has actually happened is that Shakespeare has played a number of jokes simultaneously with this very pregnant line:
Meethinkes their ghoasts comes gaping for revenge,
Whom I have slaine in reaching for a Crowne.
Clarence complaines, and crieth for revenge.
My Nephues bloods, Revenge, revenge, doth crie,
The headlesse Peeres comes preasing for revenge,
And every one cries, let the tyrant die.
The Sunne, by day shines hotely for revenge.
The Moone by night eclipseth for revenge.
The stars are turnd to Comets for revenge,
The Planets change their coursies for revenge.
The birds sign not, but sorrow for revenge.
The silly lambs sit bleating for revenge.
The screeking Raven sits croking for revenge.
Whole heads of beasts come bellowing for revenge.
And all, yea all the world I thinke,
Cries for revenge, and nothing but revenge.
But to conclude, I have deserved revenge.
Consider how refined Hamlet’s conceptions of right and wrong are, how nuanced are the images in Shakespeare’s lines, and how the lines above work much like a jack-hammer: pounding remorselessly into one’s ears a simplistic dudgeon.
Now for Hamlet’s lines right before he visits his mother. She is very angry with him. But he has proof that the Ghost’s story is true and he must move forward with his plans for revenge. Notice the violent anger that is in Hamlet’s words, but there is also a gentleness and an awareness in his being, too. He is conscious of his feelings, his plans, and his aims–and how appearances may achieve more than actions. Also notice the subtlety of the imagery and the historical references (Nero planned elaborate murders of his mother that failed, finally being forced to send an assassin to simply dispatch with no pretense at it being an accident).
Hamlet: ‘Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn, and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world: now could I drink hot blood,
And do such bitter business as the day
Would quake to look on. Soft! Now to my mother.
O, heart, lose not thy nature; let not ever
The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom:
Let me be cruel, not unnatural:
I will speak daggers to her, but use none;
My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites;
How in my words soever she be shent,
To give them seals never, my soul, consent!
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