"Safe Travels" - New Yorker Magazine, August 2018

NPR Piece on "This is America"

CLICK HERE and play the interview

Week of August 27th

Monday - Course introduction.

Homework - None.

Tuesday - "This is America."

Homework - Introductory questions due Thursday, August 30th.

Wednesday - "This is America" continued, and editorial articles.

Homework - Introductory questions due Thursday, August 30th.

Thursday - Art work discussion #1.

Homework - Read the editorials and respond to the guiding question (typed and double-spaced).  This is due tomorrow -- be ready to share your ideas in class!

Friday - Discuss editorials and art work discussion #2.

Homework - Bring your copy of The Color of Water Tuesday.  Finish reading it (or read it, or review it).  Our summer reading assessment will be Wednesday, September 5th (it's an in-class essay).  We'll then have discussion days on Thursday and Friday, September 6th and 7th.

Opening Questions

I'll use this blog to post weekly calendars and important documents for our course this year. Make sure you bookmark this site and get in the habit of checking it regularly. If you have a google account you can even designate yourself as a "follower." (Don't worry -- becoming a "follower" doesn't mean you're joining a creepy cult. It just means that you've designated this blog as a site you regularly visit.)

For Thursday, August 30^th, answer the reflection questions below.  Your responses should be typed and double-spaced and printed off. 

1. What is a figurative "bridge" in your life?  By figurative "bridge" I mean something that connects you to others and makes you feel like you're part of a group or community.  Identify the "bridge" and explain how it's a figurative bridge for you.

2. What is a figurative "border" in your life?  By figurative "border" I mean something that separates you to others and makes you feel like you're separate from another group.  Identify the "border" and explain how it's a figurative border for you.

3. Briefly describe a time you were able to bridge a gap between yourself and another person who seemed very separate from you.  How did you do it?  How was a figurative "bridge" built?

4. What are some benefits of having literal borders in the United States?  Consider "borders" as state line, country lines, or other things/institutions that clearly separate people or things.

5. What are some drawbacks of having literal borders in the United States?  Consider "borders" as state line, country lines, or other things/institutions that clearly separate people or things.

6. What are some figurative "bridges" that unite Americans?  These might be institutions, policies, or something else that unites all Americans as one people.

7. If there’s one thing that Lawler needs to know about you as a person – one thing that would help him be a better teacher for you – what would that be?

Be ready to share your thoughts on these questions in class on Thursday, August 30^th.  I expect to hear from everyone!  (Note: we won’t be sharing responses to #7.)

Welcome to American Bridges and Borders!

Let’s start with a quick quiz: how many of you know what the motto of the United States is? . . . . . . . If any of you correctly said e pluribus unum then you’re the big winner (I’ll bring you in a cookie as a prize).  Next quiz question: how many of you can translate e pluribus unum? .  .  .  .  .  .  . If you said it’s Latin for “out of many, one,” then you’re definitely going to a “good college,” will drive a fancy car some day, vacation in exotic locales, and – in general – are set for life (you also get a second cookie).

Why are we talking about Latin, of all things, the first day of the school year in an English class?  Well, it’s because unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 2 years (or holed up in your parent’s basement playing “Fortnite”), you’ve no doubt heard about how divided we are as a country right now.  Writers from all across the political spectrum seem to be latching onto the theory that now – 2018 – is as divided as we’ve ever been as a country, and many are arguing that the polarization will only get worse.  If there’s ever been a time to test the motto that we are, in fact, “one country out of many” then this is the time to test that theory.  But is it true that we’re living in a divided country right now?  Aren’t there shared values that we can agree upon as Americans?   

In order to explore the last two questions above we’ll take a thematic approach to our work this year.  Rather than calling this course “313” (or the equally lame “323” second semester), we’ll call this course “American Bridges and Borders,” and our guiding questions for the year will be: “What are the literal and figurative bridges that unite us as Americans?  What the literal and figurative borders that divide us as Americans?” 

The description above might sound more like a social studies or political science course description, but the English classroom is the perfect place to explore these questions because the study of literature is the study of different voices and stories, and it’s in the study of voices and stories that we’ll explore the questions of what unites us and divides us as Americans.  In addition to literature, we’ll study current events and look for common threads across these events and the literature we’re studying.  There may be no more important time in our country’s history than today to become a better reader, writer, thinker, speaker and listener.  These are the core skills of an English class, and it’s my hope that you’ll also see that these are the core skills for being a thoughtful participant in our democracy.  Have fun exploring America’s “Bridges” and “Borders” this year!