Blog Archives

Whose Right Is It?

4/23/2019

Read the article and watch the clip above, then come back over here and tell me what you think about this current issue. Not from an ethical or moral standpoint, but from a legal standpoint. Does the government have the right to impose interference on personal choices that women make?

I also want to know your opinion on "trigger laws" and whether you believe this is just another "strong arming" method also imposed by the government. What's the point? What will be the consequences if the law is overturned? Again, I want to know what you think, not from an ethical or a moral standpoint, but from a legal standpoint.

1. INCLUDE: Last name, THEN first initial AND class period.

2. Respond in no more than 10 sentences and no less than five.

3. You MUST respond to at least TWO other posts from any student. Your replies cannot be identical comments on different posts and posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will earn you a zero. Make sure your reply addresses the comment that you are responding to.
Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

CAUTION!! Do NOT embarrass me, yourself, your class, the English department, the school or your parents with tasteless, meaningless comments. This is for a grade.

DISCLAIMER: If you do not respond AND comment on TWO others, you will not receive credit for this assignment. It's all or nothing.

Due: Fri., Apr. 26, 2019 11:59 p.m. CST

If you would like to submit a topic for discussion, submit it here.

Lock Up!

4/15/2019

Watch the vid above in its entirety. Consider it, then comment intelligently, academically and with fidelity.

1. INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

2. Respond in no more than 10 sentences and no less than five.

3. You MUST respond to at least TWO other posts from any student. Your replies cannot be identical comments on different posts and posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will earn you a zero. Make sure your reply addresses the comment that you are responding to.
Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

CAUTION!! Do NOT embarrass me, yourself, your class, the English department, the school or your parents with tasteless, meaningless comments. This is for a grade.

DISCLAIMER: If you do not respond AND comment on TWO others, you will not receive credit for this assignment. It's all or nothing.

Due: Fri., Apr. 19, 2019 11:59 p.m. CST

If you would like to submit a topic for discussion, submit it here.

What Are You Afraid Of?

4/11/2019

Many people ask me all the time why I'm always starting a business. Aren't I afraid to fail? Be broke? Lose all I have? My answer is always, "No." I think that's why I will start a business in a New York second. I always ask myself, "What do you have to lose?" And the answer to that question is always, nothing and everything. Then I self-talk and remind myself: And if I lose everything, so what? What's going to happen? My answer? Keep living. Keep trying. Keep doing. Until I get something right.

I've had friends with incredible ideas, but they don't profit from that thing because they say they have kids or a mortgage or a car note, etc. They are afraid. Except for the kid, I've had and lost all that, even almost lost a kid to gun violence. But guess what? I'm still alive to start all over and try life again and again and again.

A turning point for me was when I lost everything in 2004. My house, truck, money, relationship...everything and had to move with my children into a two-bedroom town home, and all with no job and a baby on the way. I became depressed, withdrawn, my confidence waned. The whole nine. Then one day, my then 13-year old son, "Gemini," who's now 26 said this to me.

"Mama, why are you so sad? So what if we lost everything and we don't have money any more or our house? We love each other don't we? So even if we live in a box, as long as we're together, we're rich!"

That changed everything. Then everything changed. At that point, I started asking myself, What are you afraid of? What's going to happen if you fail? If this doesn't work? If people don't support? If people talk about you?

My answer? Nothing. The world will keep spinning, I'll keep living and my ideas will keep coming. In that moment, I realized my biggest fear was probably what others would think of me if I failed. Again. Now, I realize, people's opinion of me is none of my business.

As a high school student right now, what are you afraid of when it comes to doing your school work? Or focusing on school? Or making sure you learn one thing every day? Will you be labeled a nerd by your peers? If you are, so what? Are you a nerd? If you are, so what? What's going to happen if you do it all wrong? If you do, so what? Get clarity and do it over. Get in the habit now, while you're still young of asking yourself what's going to happen? and so what? whenever you feel lazy or lack confidence in something or some work you want to do or be great in.

Finally, I want you to watch this vid of Gary Vee (Gary Vaynerchuk), who I think, is one the smartest gurus ever! He'll definitely inspire you no matter your age, and I hope you begin to follow him on social media on all his networks. He is phenomenal.

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

CAUTION!! Do NOT embarrass me, yourself, your class, the English department, the school or your parents with tasteless, meaningless comments. This is for a grade.

DISCLAIMER: If you do not respond AND comment on TWO others, you will not receive credit for this assignment. It's all or nothing.

Due: Sun., Apr. 14, 2019 11:59 p.m. CST

If you would like to submit a topic for discussion, submit it here.

Reading IS Fundamental

4/5/2019

In an article, "Study: Children Whose Parents Don't Read To Them Enter Kindergarten With A 'Million-Word' Vocabulary Gap," the title speaks for itself in revealing to the world the cost that is paid when people don't read.

It's sad.

As an English teacher, I noticed that each time I assigned a text to read, I got more moans and groans and less reception to the task. So I asked why. I was devastated when more than half of the teens I teach, including advanced academics students, proudly admitted they hate reading. One of the issues with reading in the demographic in which I teach is opportunity and access to quality literature. Teens said it's boring, irrelevant and outdated. While I do believe the outdated "canon" should be studied, teens need more contemporary works paired, added or spiraled with the Shakespeares, Melvilles, Thoreaus, Waldens and Hemingways of old.

Nevertheless, their honesty explained why I have 17- and 18-year old near-adults who read and write on a 4th or 5th grade level (and projecting their skill at that level is generous). It made me want to cry. What's worse is that when I attended professional development training, many English teachers also openly admitted that they do not like reading and/or do not assign novel studies in their classrooms!

It's devastating. Curable. But devastating.

As a possible solution, in October, 2018, I created an organization called #BrownTeensRead for the sole purpose of hosting fun, engaging and relevant events that appeal to teens and get them interested or re-interested in reading! With the right support, we will also offer professional development to teachers to show them how to effectively implement literature studies in their classrooms.

Unfortunately, we're only a small piece in a larger puzzle. Check out these other facts: from The Literacy Project:

“20% of Americans read below the level needed to earn a living wage.”
“50% of American adults can’t read a book written at an eighth grade level.”
“Six out of ten American households do not buy a single book in an entire year.”
“85% of juvenile offenders have problems reading.”
“Three out of five people in American prisons can’t read.”
Some states look at how well current elementary schools perform on reading tests to help determine the number of beds future prisons will require. It comes full circle.
One in four children grow up without learning how to read.
Three out of four food stamp recipients perform in the lowest two literacy levels.

So what does reading mean to you? How do these statistics effect you? Can you read well? If not, why not? What do you plan to do about it? (And please don't say you don't need to know how to read to make money or be rich because that's a whole other blog post.) Do you have younger siblings who struggle with or cannot read? What will you do about it?

Read the blog post above in its entirety. Consider it, then comment intelligently, academically and with fidelity.

1. INCLUDE: First initial AND last name AND class period.

2. Respond in no more than 10 sentences and no less than five.

3. You MUST respond to at least TWO other posts from any student. Your replies cannot be identical comments on different posts and posting shallow comments such as "I agree" or "I disagree" will earn you a zero. Make sure your reply addresses the comment that you are responding to.
Be sure to--

Be clear about your position
Provide specific support for your argument
Use rhetorical devices and other grammar elements
Write EPIC Content-Engaging, Powerful, Informative, Creative

CAUTION!! Do NOT embarrass me, yourself, your class, the English department, the school or your parents with tasteless, meaningless comments. This is for a grade.

DISCLAIMER: If you do not respond AND comment on TWO others, you will not receive credit for this assignment. It's all or nothing.

Due: Sun., Apr. 7, 2019 11:59 p.m. CST

If you would like to submit a topic for discussion, submit it here.

Mixed Ink

Mixed Ink is our class blog, the window into our souls. It was designed to improve students' writing, critical thinking and communication skills by giving them a platform to provide meaningful content based on their interpretation of what they see.

Although the students receive a grade based on a rubric for completing this assignment, they are not graded on complexity of thought. This is a place where students of all levels can freely, confidently and creatively express themselves and their opinions in a nonjudgmental platform. They are required to respond to and critique each other, but degradation, slander, lewdness, etc., will not be tolerated.

Bridge Builders

All subjects are vital to learning, but English is the bridge of communication. So let's build the arch, one word at a time...

Grading Rubric

Learning Objectives

Communicate effectively
Be aware of current events
Write concisely
Boost critical thinking skills
Be accountable
Follow directions
Have a voice about what goes on in the world around you