First Day of School!

Summer Assignments Questions:

I brought mine on paper.  Do you want it?  NO.  We don't turn in anything on paper in this class when it can be turned in online.  I'm a crazy paper-saver and I don't want you killing trees in my name. =)  Besides, Turnitin is an awesome way to back up all of your projects (in case technology decides to spit in your face later on) and it makes them all accessible from wherever you are...regardless of where you created them.  If you haven't already gotten into Turnitin, enrolled in the course, and submitted your assignment--do it TODAY!!!

I don't have mine done. Do I have to drop the class?  No, but you can...maybe.   A few factors here.  Why didn't you do it?

• You started but haven't finished because you procrastinated too long.  So finish it.  See details below about how to finish it.
• You secretly hoped you could get out of doing it.  Try again. This is worth a huge chunk of your 1st quarter grade--more than half.  If you're going to take the class, you have to do the assignment.  If you don't want to work that hard, try to find another class now (if there are any and your parents and counselor will let you).  If you want to take the class, can work that hard but just hoped you didn't have to, get over that today, buck up, and get going on that assignment--details below.
• You had too many questions, felt overwhelmed, and shut down.  Welcome to college-level classes. =)  No, seriously, this is something you need to figure out--you need a better coping mechanism than shutting down because next year or the year after that you will have spent thousands of dollars to just quit.  Here's your freebie:  it's a summer assignment; I'm not expecting the WORLD from you--I'm expecting your best attempt.  Now give it to me. =)  (Details below!)
• You don't really want to take the class and you hoped not doing the summer assignment would automatically kick you out of it--then you wouldn't have to face/convince your parents/counselor to switch you.  Nice try.  It's been done a lot.  Unfortunately, if you're still sitting in this room, you may have waited too long.  Making that schedule change over the summer or even last week would have given you a better shot at finding an open seat in another English class.  Now you have to make an appointment, wait for that meeting, and hope there's still a spot available in a class you can actually take.  In the meantime, I'd suggest paying attention in class...because others like you have been stuck here all year when they tried this strategy.  On the other hand, get that appointment ASAP and maybe you can get out...though you will still have to convince your parents/counselor because I won't kick you out.
• I never got the summer assignment.  Again, you need to do it if you're going to stay in the class BUT if you just moved in, your assignment isn't late whereas everyone else's is.  Just follow the guidelines below and get it done as soon as possible.  If you're one of the people I tried to track down last fall via announcements, the intercom, your English teachers, or even your parents' email address, well, not having it really really sounds like the bullet above.

I need to make up the assignment (or parts of it).  What do I do?  Start with Fast Food Nation.  The rest of the class will be discussing and doing a rewrite assignment after your long Labor Day weekend.  Get the book read and your notes taken BY TUESDAY, SEPT. 3.  Then you can take advantage of the class discussion and rewrite guidelines to write your paper for the first and only time and turn it in when the class's rewrite is due.  As for Amusing Ourselves to Death?  You'll  need to finish the book, notes, assignment, and in-class essay by the end of the quarter.  It won't be easy--you'll have plenty of other reading, writing, and projects to do, but a handful of students do it this way (the hard way) every year so you can do it too. =)  Next time, just do your summer assignment!

What if I did really bad on this assignment?  First, I gave you a hard task:  over the summer with virtually no instruction or help, do these things and work with these terms that you've never worked with before.  You will not be graded harshly; you will not be expected to be perfect.  I'm looking for a good effort and to do the things you're capable of doing.  There will be opportunities for revision and rewrite.  Take advantage of them!!!

52 Mondays:

We'll look at the book and do some journaling.  This class is all about argumentation. In order to argue, you have to have some opinions.  This book is full of opinions and small arguments.  You might like some of them and you might think many are lame.  Here is a link to a 52 Mondays argument I made myself to introduce one of my opinions to you.

Journal Prompt:  What do you care about?  What are your pet peeves?  Passions?  What small thing do you think would make the world a better place if people just did it?