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David bowie - jamboard

EDITOR'S NOTE: Why the title "Oh! You Pretty Things"? I'm glad you asked. My mother's favorite movie is The Breakfast Club. The soundtrack for this movie begins and ends with “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by the Simple Minds. I read that the Simple Minds had chosen their band name after a line in the David Bowie song "The Jean Genie." David Bowie often comes up in classroom discussion. His song "Oh! You Pretty Things" relates nicely to our classifcation essay. That sounds good to me. Now you know!

Classification - jamboard - rickey

JAY'S CLASSIFICATION JAMBOARD: Before we began writing our classification essays, we shared our brainstorming on our Class Jamboard. I asked my students to break down their collections into three interesting categories. To see the final product of their efforts, you can "click" on a title below:

Film history research project - jay's intro-1

JAY'S FILM HISTORY RESEARCH PROJECT: This semester I asked my students to explore the real-life drama behind their favorite historical films. Students compared what they saw on the screen to what they researched in the campus databases. The result was a five-to-eight page MLA-formatted reseach paper. Above are three film history topics selected by past students: The Murder of Selena, The Sinking of the Titanic, Jackie Robinson Breaks the Color Barrier.

Student news conference - josh - glasses - fall 2022

JAY'S STUDENT NEWS CONFERENCE My Fall 2022 students at IVC shared their favorite writing of the semester in front of a live audience in the library patio. We brought in a professional podium. We reserved a large screen for students to support their discussion with meaningful visuals. In a brief three to five minutes, they highlighted the most interesting aspects of their writing projects and writing experience. At the end of their "talk," they took questions from the audience.

Shek - cropped

JAY'S ORIGIN OF NEWS CONFERENCE IDEA: This Student News Conference idea came to me at the beginning of the Trump presidency -- from watching news clips of Trump, Nancy Pelosi, Sara Saunders, Rod Rosenstein, presenting important information to a roomful of reporters. And taking questions! I thought what a great format to generate and perpetuate student engagement at semester's end. The communication goes two ways. Everyone wins! I envision our Student News Conference as an exciting, non-threatening collaborative atmosphere to reinforce our semester learning and motivate my future students to do the same. I call it a “Celebration of Student Writing.” Above: Shekina Carillo.

Nina simone - soundtrack

EDITOR'S NOTE: I find MUSIC helps me connect with my students. We all come from diverse backgrounds. Our influences are different. Everyone has something to say. At the end of the semester we are all pretty exhausted from our writing projects, but, I find our discussions about music are always invigorating. Below I offer you excerpts from our Soundtrack to Our Reading. You will once again see David Bowie. We never tire of David Bowie.

David bowie and bo decker
Blogs we follow

BLOGS WE FOLLOW Each semester, I worry for the isolation of my students in our online classes. College should be about interaction. My goal for my students is to develop important interpersonal skills that will spur their growth in the classroom and the professional world. Hopefully, the writing activities I design will help them develop the confidence to collaborate with others and deepen their participation in their own communities. In my online classes, students share their work on our class discussion boards; they discuss the challenges of writing, encourage each other, and share their ideas. The result each semester is the creation of a new classrroom blog. Below, you can see the Blogs We Follow. Our writing brings us closer together.

(CLICK on the IMAGE of each BLOG to see STUDENT WORK).

JAY'S MUSEUM OF COLLEGE WRITING (SMALL)
Blog banner images - jay's tatt cafe
Jay's Movie Definition Dictionary
Jay's Project marilyn - snip
Jay's Film History Research Paper Festival - with title at bottom
Jay's Sixties Research Trip
Jay's Project marilyn - snip
Sidebar immage - jay's film history highlights - snip

EDITOR'S PICKS: This year's festival provides my students a creative way to respond to their research. The goal is to represent their understanding and analysis of their reading in as many ways possible. This is for Fun and Balance. Below, I provide a few Highlight Snips from their essays:

Sidebar image - titanic quote

QUOTE SANDWICH: At one point an employee of the white star line of the Titanic mentioned “Not even God himself could sink this ship” (Archives 11). The people who manufactured the ship were very confident and maybe even cocky. Despite the extremely high hopes and expectations for the ship, it went down like a rock. (From: Julian Beltran, "The Luxurious Wreckage.)

Fernanda - rubrix puzzle

DEFINITION OF ENIGMA: Enigma is a person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand. It also applies to behavior or patterns that are very difficult to interpret. An easier way to understand enigmas is by looking at examples of it such as "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" Enigmas are things people try to solve every day. The word Enigma first appeared in 1449 and its origins are from Greek. It comes from a Greek word that means to speak in riddles. It was actually used to name a machine believed to be impossible to crack. Such as the Enigma machine, was considered so secure because it was able to hold crucial information that the Nazis kept secret. ( From: Fernanda Chavez-Ibarra. "A Conundrum of Riddles: Cracking the Battle of World War II").

Camila - character analysis - jay gatsby

CHARACTER ANALYSIS: Jay Gatsby is a self-made millionaire from the midwest and he is the embodiment of the Jazz Age. Behind his charming smile, manners and dapper suits, there is a misunderstood and lonely man. From a young age, he knew that he was destined for something greater than what was expected of him. Gatsby’s ambition can be considered as a representation of the American Dream, a common theme in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work, and this is highlighted in the green light that we see in the first and final scenes of the film. Green is often associated with power and greed, people have always wanted to be powerful and rich. ( From Camila Canez. "The Great Gatsby: A Portrait of the Jazz Age.")

HANNAH G.- the ramones

RESEARCH PARAGRAPH: New genres, bands, styles, songs shaped the way people remember the 70s. Punk was the most influential genre of that time making it a staple in New York & London. Bands like the Ramones, Blondie, & New York Dolls were taking over the punk scene in America while the Sex Pistols & The Clash were influencing the punk scene in the UK. I think if punk was the main focus of music somewhere else like in Los Angeles during the 70s the outcome of it influenced culture would be different.In the mid to late 70s is when punk became popular in other places. After the 70s the music scene totally changed with Rock & Heavy Metal being the main focuses of music and most of those bands involved in those genres of music came out of Los Angeles. (From: Hannah Gutierrez. "The Influence of Punk: The Good and the Bad Times of the 70s")

Kimberly b - the patriot - wide

MOVIE POSTER ANALYSIS: The blue sky and sunset show can resemble hope for whatever situation this man is going through. The man riding on his horse holding the flag can resemble someone on their way to fight for something. I believe that the creator of this poster wants his audience to sympathize with the character on the cover; his eyes reflect sadness or hopelessness. The poster shows a man, we don't know what has caused him to look this way. What is being left out is that this man's life has been turned upside down. He has lost his home, his memories, and his employees to a cruel man who is the leader of the British army. ( From: Kimberly Baitres. "The American Revolution: The Fight for Independence.")

Jonathan g - bruce springsteen - my hometown - new jersey - leaning against a tree - cropped - alex espinoza

SOUNDTRACK OF OUR READING: Despite being born in the United States and growing up all his life in this country, writer Alex Espinoza had the courage and interest to search out his Mexican roots, where his family came from. The song "My Hometown" by Bruce Springsteen speaks not only for many Americans, but many Mexicans and their families. In his essay, "An American in Mexico," Alex Espinoza describes these feelings for his own origins that he did not know. Like Bruce when he talks about his hometown and everything that happens and how in the end he teaches that origin to his own son, Alex discovers his native home and how his parents suffered to get to the place where they are now. (From Jonathan Garcia. " Bruce Springsteen sings to Alex Espinoza in "American in Mexico"

Mind map - marilyn - andy warhol - cropped

JAY'S MIND MAPS To organize our research, I ask my students to create MIND MAPS of their writing. They like this assignment. The Mind Map helps them focus on the Big Picture of of their research projects. Some use HEADINGS in their MLA OUTLINES to divide their maps - That Works! Branches, lines, arrows, and colors can be used to show connections and relationships between ideas. The best part, of course, is the opportunity to share both our knowledge and creativity on classroom discussion boards.

M-butterfly-poster

WHAT'S NEXT? In the spring, I assign David Hwang's controversial play M. Butterfly. Set during the Vietnam War era, it’s a love story between a Western man and an Eastern woman. The year is 1961, and President Kennedy is sending troops overseas to check the Chinese National influence in the region. I try to present a historical perspective, but most of the class seems focused upon Race and racism. Sex and sexism. We closely follow the relationships in the story to write about injustice, discrimination, harm, dominance, suffering and misery. Many of my students think the “male lead” Rene in the play is a real cabrón. He’s like a predator, they say. He feels a power in the dynamic of his relationship with Song. The play’s author David Hwang explores the stereotypes that underlie and distort relations between Eastern and Western culture, and between men and women.All Rene wanted in his dreary life was to LOVE and be LOVED: "You see," he says, "I have known, and been loved by the Perfect Woman..." What's wrong with that?

JFK - cover page - pilar - english 009

WHAT'S NEXT? (Part Deux): My writing assignments often skip and jump from one class to another. For example, in one class, we write about the death of Marlyn M in our exploration of the sixties. In another, we write about Marilyn when we research mental health issues. This semester, I expect to see students write about President Kennedy, for a variety of differen reasons. In English 105, my students will present their essays in project research binders at the end of the semester. OLD-SCHOOL! It's going to be fun!

Jco - connie - mind map

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS: When you read, do you ever tap your foot? Does music ever spark an idea in your head? Joyce Carol Oates wrote "Where Are You Going Where Have You Been?" after hearing Bob Dylan on the radio. This short story we read in many of my classes is all about a young and pretty high school girl named Connie. Everything is about Connie's selfishness. Connie loves her music and her mirror; she doesn't seem to care about anyone or anything else. JCO touches our hearts. We all have known Connies in our lives. We all know what's going to happen to Connie. The only one who doesn't see what's coming is Connie herself. Spoiler Alert: The results are sad and tragic.

10/17/2023

12/13/2022