So, I went and did it. I wrote a reading quiz and made you take it. While no one asked why you had to (and you promised you would), the reasoning I gave in class was this:

1. Some of you are motivated by grades, points, etc. While I do my best to dissuade you from this, hoping that you’ll instead enjoy the book, many of you remain steadfast. That’s cool; we have quizzes.
2. It gets us all thinking about the same scenes from the novel while maintaining our own opinions of them. In years past, I would open with “So what happened?” and someone would give a synopsis. This worked fairly well, but colored everyone’s interpretation. I want to know how each of you read it, not come to a consensus.
3. Some of you are smarter on paper, or unwilling to speak up in class. I’ve always been in the former group, so I feel your pain. Writing out your thoughts gives you a chance to organize them. For the quiet ones, you get your opinions to me, though the rest of the class misses out. I may read some of your responses in class. If you are worried about this, just let me know.

Bookmark the previous post (the reading schedule) so you don’t have to go searching every night. Some students copy it into their reading journals or on a bookmark so they always have it. Do whatever you feel is best.

“How I Came to Be a Teacher”

Fifth hour (and anyone in third hour who is interested): I’m really excited that you decided to write your own story similar to mine. It will be due Friday in lieu of an essay over the book. Remember that it does not have to be about you as a student. Here are some ideas:

• How I came to believe…
• How I decided to change my life/outlook/attitude.
• How I came to the realization that…
• How I came to be friends with…
• Post below if you come up with more.

The only parameters are that it should be about something you have achieved, or something you are doing/living now. While “How I decided to become a _____ when I grow up” would be an interesting story, focus on something that has changed in your recent past.

As always, email me with questions.

(at least in high school.)

We’ve all done it before—sometimes an elusive word is on the tip of the tongue, but we can’t seem to come up with it. So, we type in a similar word, right-click, and hope the synonym list jogs our memory. The right correct appropriate word pops up, the writer’s-block crisis is averted, and we’re on our way. Good times. Sometimes, though, the synonym doesn’t quite fit, or is the wrong word altogether.

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We will culminate this year with creative projects based on your chosen archetype. So far, you have discovered many examples (at least 50) of your archetype in literature ancient and modern, in music, in film, and in television. You created a visual representation of this archetype, combining elements from all of these sources in an attempt to discover the “essence” or most basic characteristics. The papers you have just completed not only further illustrated the ubiquity of your archetype, but also showed that the way an archetype changes over time can also reflect changes in cultures (father and damsel archetypes after WWII is an excellent example of this).

Your final job in this project is to continue the story of your archetype. You have seen where they’ve been, you have seen how they are being portrayed; now it’s time to continue the story. The parameters of this part of the project are broad, so I will be working with each of you closely in the next week to guide your progress. The only requirement that applies to all projects is that you must tell a complete story that reflects your archetype. That’s it.

Some thoughts to get you started:

You may choose your medium (play to your strengths). Short story, fable, song (with lyrics), visual art (must tell a story; that is, it must be more than one “panel” long), movie script, television show pitch… The possibilities are endless.

As far as ideas go, you should look back at how your archetype has been/is being portrayed. Do you like it? If not, change it! The power to control your archetype’s fate is in your hands as the author. Want to take her back to her roots? Do it. Want to completely re-interpret it? You can.

Have another idea? Post it in the comments area; you may inspire others.

Find something like this on the Interwebs, on youTube, etc? Post a comment for the same reason.

I’m excited. We’re finishing strong.

(Not a calendar that is the epitome of calendar-ness, just an overview of what we’ll be up to in the coming weeks. Click to expand)

This is going to be a fantastic close to your senior year; archetypes are (by definition) apparent in every culture around the world and can be seen in every story ever told. For the past two years I’ve emphasized that “everything’s connected”; now it’s time to see just how closely.

This will be a four-step project with plenty of benchmarks on the way. (More specifics to come.) Today I have you an overview of how to learn/do research with index cards.  Trust me on this.  Follow my instructions and you’ll have no problems.

Your homework tonight is to choose an archetype that you wish to study.  I’ve given you lists, and here are some more. And some tropes from television. And here’s a t-shirt.

After you’ve chosen, read the two stories I included with the “Index Cards are Your Friends” handout and compare. Mark the similarities and the differences, and anything else you find interesting about them.  Make index cards for them if you’d like to get ahead for tomorrow, but I’ll walk you through the process in class.

And please, for the love of the class, let me know if I’ve made a mistake on this calendar. (All dates subject to change with advanced warning. Things happen.)

As we’ve been reading Into the Wild, we have returned to one question again and again:

• Why did he do it?

Now, I turn this question to you. Your first writing assignment of this session is an explanation/exploration of your own life. Chris McCandless realized that there was something amiss in his world, and he attempted to fix it.  Whether he found his answers is not something we can ever know, but we can take the lens we’re using to study him and turn it on ourselves.

I ask that you write a piece on your own life.  It may take the form of an analysis, a narrative, a treatise, even an anthem.  Do some freewriting, look over your journals, create an outline of ideas (we’ll talk about this tomorrow), then decide which form would be best. I’ll talk with each of you individually about your outlines on Friday (13), so have a solid start by then.

Here are some questions you might consider (add more to the "Comments" section if you think of others more pertinent):

• Why do you do ______?
• What do you want to do with your life?/What goals do you hold?
• What plans do you have to achieve these?
• What obstacles do you foresee?/What obstacles are in place now?
• How can you overcome them/turn them into opportunities?

This is not a simple assignment, nor is it a chance for you to rant against the wrongs done to you, but an exploration of your aspirations and current situation. Remember, if we’ve learned anything so far,it’s this: When you’re heading into the wild, better have a map…