Blog Archives

Difficulty/Curiosity Essay Work Time

10/13/2017

IMPORTANT CHANGE TO ESSAY PART 2!
For your essay part 2, I am removing the minimum word count. If you have fully addressed all the points on the essay handout and you are not to 350 words, that is fine. Please do not fill up the space with filler and nonsense! Word counts still stand for other sections.

Starter 24- Writing Workshops Survey
What kinds of writing workshops would help you the most? (Setting up quotes, MLA citations, transitions, punctuation, MLA formatting, etc.?). What do you want to do in your writing, but don’t feel like you know how to do?

Social Mobility
Ask students what focus they’re most interested in when it comes to social mobility. Put your name on the board under the topic you’re most interested in.

Work Time

Work on finishing Parts 1 and 2 of your difficulty/curiosity paper
Put your strategy into place, as you...
Read your book

HOMEWORK

RD Difficulty/Curiosity Paper Parts 1 and 2: Monday, 10/16, Start of Class
Read: Finish book by Monday, 10/23, Start of Class

Inequality Summit and Essay Work Time

10/12/2017

Starter 23- Inequality Summit 4 Corners
Take a few minutes to write before we go into discussion!

Economic inequality is one of the biggest problems facing America today.
It is our responsibility as citizens to make our country more equal.

Inequality Summit

Summarize your answers to the following two questions, in writing. These should be 2-3 sentence answers ONLY.
1. How unequal are we?
2. What are the most important themes you found in your research?
In table groups, discuss your responses. Where is there overlap? Where do you differ?
In table groups, craft a joint statement of 200 words or less that accurately summarizes the state of inequality in America today. Think carefully about phrasing, what to include, and what to leave out. What is most important?

Essay #2: Difficulty/Curiosity Paper

Work on writing Parts 1 and 2 (RD due Monday)

HOMEWORK:

RD Difficulty/Curiosity Paper Parts 1 and 2: Monday, 10/16, Start of Class
Read: Finish book by Monday, 10/23, Start of Class. As you read, make sure you are implementing your strategy from from your essay!

Social Class Project Brainstorm

10/11/2017

Grading Discussion
Proposal = A or F scale. Essentially, you complete all the required elements of class, and show us that you are working hard, and you get an A. Don’t complete them, have an F. You will still get feedback on your work, but as long as you are completing the work in good faith you will receive an A in the class.

This takes the pressure off in many ways. Privilege afforded to you because you guys don’t NEED the stick of grades to do good work. Idea = focus on learning, not the grade.

If we do this (and we’re probably going to) for the rest of this semester, how might this change your behavior? Your stress? Talk about it in small groups, then we'll debrief

Starter 22- What is the point of all this learning?
We’ve been learning about a complex subject in a way that many people don’t. What good is that knowledge? Who benefits from knowing things? What should be done with this knowledge?

Brainstorm Framework
We’re going to think about what we want to do with our knowledge in three distinct (but inter-related) ways. All these pieces need to be present, but as we continue, we may find that one is driving the other two. They don’t all need to be equally emphasized.

What can we do to make a difference?
1. For this piece, the focus is on connecting with the larger community, figuring out what needs there are, and taking steps to address those needs.
2. Facilitators: Rollin, Lily, Kaitlyn, Kai
What can we produce?
1. For this part, the focus is on gathering information (in a broad sense), and creating a tangible product.
2. Facilitators: Oakley, Izzy, Ben
What kind of experience can we create for others?
1. For this portion, the focus is on creating an experience for other people that is a one-time event.
2. Facilitators: Grace, Caity, Corry

Brainstorm Instructions for World Cafe

Facilitators will guide you through this process!
Everyone should have a whiteboard marker
Students will start in one room, then move to the others. Each round will be 15 minutes.
Final Round: Students return to their original room, or the room they are most drawn to.
1. What are the ideas that are valuable, that they want to follow up on?
2. What questions need to be answered next? What steps need to be taken? (Contacts, knowledge, skills)
3. Get these on a google doc, share with Kyle and Lori
4. Take pictures of the whiteboards, share with Kyle and Lori

HOMEWORK:
Finish Inequality Notes if you didn't finish in class on Tuesday. Share with Lori. DUE: Start of class, Thursday.

Essay #2 and Inequality Research

10/10/2017

REMINDER for WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE!
Meet in the LORI'S ROOM 3rd and 4th period. My room will be open for quiet work time from 9-10:15.

Starter 21- Difficulty and strategy

What, for you, makes a book or article difficult to read?
What are some strategies you use to overcome those difficulties?
What do you do when you run into something in a book or text that makes you curious?

Difficulty/Curiosity Essay
We are cutting book groups for the next two weeks in favor of more writing time on your next essay- the essay is focused on the book, so you will still be spending time with it, just in a different way.

Review essay assignment as a class, go over important points

Work Time: You should prioritize your work today in the order below. Only move on to the next item on the list when you have finished the previous one!

Inequality Research (finish your notes). Show Lori when you are done!
Essay RD, Parts 1 and 2
Read the book

HOMEWORK:

Inequality Research (3 sources): Thursday, 10/12, Start of Class

How unequal are we, really?

10/9/2017

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCMENT: WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE
Okay Seniors, we're ready to start thinking about what we do with all this knowledge we've been gathering about social class and inequality. To that end, this Wednesday's schedule the entire Senior Class will be meeting in the Commons for 3rd and 4th period only. My room will be open for quiet work time from 9:00-10:15 if you want to come in and read, work on your essay, or finish your inequality notes.

Jess Adams here for 30 minutes to calm your fears (seriously, calm down!) and talk about transcripts.

Starter 20- Writing Goals Reflection
Write one paragraph about how your social class essay narrative shows growth towards at least one of your writing goals. Make sure that you use specific examples from the essay to prove your point. In other words, quote the thing! This will be used to determine your grade for the final category of the rubric, so be honest.

Inequality Data and Notes
You must use at least THREE sources (though I suggest you look at more!). Honors folks, one of your sources must be an academic journal article (check the links in the article from Scientific American, or find one yourself using google scholar or the library database). For each of your required sources, you must have notes that include:

Source: What source is this (title and source)?
Summary: What new data did this give you about inequality in the United States? Summarize the main points.
Evaluation: How reliable is this data? Why do you think so? Think about the source, their study methods, etc.
Connection: How does this connect to your other sources? Does it confirm other sources? Build on or add to them? Conflict with them?

Remember, we're working towards answering the following big questions on Thursday:

How unequal is the United States? Look at income and wealth, and any other data you think is relevant to answering this question.
How sure are you of your answer? What factors make you more sure? What factors make you less sure?
What are the most important trends you see here? Explain why you think these indicators are more important than others.

Read Books
Remember, you need to be to chapter 10 in Hillbilly Elegy, and chapter 16 in Evicted by tomorrow!

HOMEWORK:

Read books (Hillbilly Elegy- through chapter 10, Evicted- through chapter 16). DUE: Tuesday

Essay Revision and Reading

10/6/2017

FINAL DRAFT ESSAY IS DUE MONDAY!
To turn it in, you just need to share it with me. If you have already shared it with me, you do NOT need to share it again. Just make sure that the version I have is a clean and finalized copy by the start of class on Monday.

PM CLASS ONLY: Starter 19- Inequality Research

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve found so far?
What questions do you have about income or wealth inequality based on our research? List at least three.

Book Groups
If you didn't meet in your book group yesterday, meet today and discuss the reading questions from yesterday's blog post.

Writing Conferences
Lori holds writing conferences. Today's conferences are:

AM Class: Grace, Lyric, Mark, Maya B., Cairo, Colin
PM Class: Conor, Mattie G., Clay, Victoria, Kate, Rollin, Maddie S.

Work Time:

Revise your essays
Read your books (see below for reading assignments)

HOMEWORK
Reading:

Hillbilly Elegy- Chapters 6-10 (to page 177) by next Tuesday.
Evicted- Chapters 9-16 (to page 203) by next Tuesday.

Writing:

Revise your social class narrative. DUE: Monday, 10/9, start of class. Make sure to check formatting guidelines! Make sure you have shared or emailed it to Lori.

Poverty Panel, Inequality, and Book Groups

10/5/2017

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!
Based on feedback from stressed-out seniors, we are going to just focus on the essay and the book for the rest of this week. We will return to the inequality research next week when you will be better able to focus on it.

AM CLASS ONLY: Starter 19- Inequality Research
(PM Class, we will do this starter tomorrow)

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve found so far?
What questions do you have about income or wealth inequality based on our research? List at least three.

Book Groups
Get in your book groups, discuss the reading assignments. Questions for discussion are listed below.

Hillbilly Elegy

Chapter 6
1. How did the instability of JD’s family (especially his mom’s relationships) impact him?
2. What role did faith and church play for JD and his family? What role does the church play more widely for people in poverty?
Overall Questions:
1. What advantages does JD have that help him become upwardly mobile? What disadvantages does JD have?
2. How does this story connect to the hidden values of class?
3. What questions do you have based on what you are reading?

Evicted

Chapter 9- Order Some Carryout
1. Why do tenants seem so unprepared for the eviction process? What struck you about this process?
2. What strategies did Larraine use to try to avoid eviction? How effective were they?
3. Why were some tenants who were behind evicted while others were not? Discuss in particular gender differences.
Chapter 10- Hypes for Hire
1. How do landlords benefit from the high rates of unemployment in poor areas?
Overall Questions:
1. What are you noticing so far about the eviction system and poverty? What stands out to you?
2. How do you see the hidden values of class reflected in this book?
3. What questions do you have based on what you are reading?

Writing Conferences
Lori holds writing conferences. Today's conferences are:

AM Class: Haley, Ben B., Jason, Ben M., Elena, Maya Z.
PM Class: Dylan, Lilah, Courtney, Oakley, Will, Teddy, Liam

Work Time:

Revise your essays
Read your books

Panel on Poverty- 5th Period
Attend the panel and ask questions!

HOMEWORK
Reading:

Hillbilly Elegy- Chapters 6-10 (to page 177) by next Tuesday. About 13 pages/day for the next 7 days.
Evicted- Chapters 9-16 (to page 203) by next Tuesday. About 13 pages/day for the next 7 days.

Writing:

Revise your social class narrative. DUE: Monday, 10/9, start of class. Make sure to check formatting guidelines! Make sure you have shared or emailed it to Lori.

Inequality in the United States

10/4/2017

Starter 18- Poverty in Durango
Look at one of the following about poverty and inequality in Durango:

http://www.city-data.com/poverty/poverty-Durango-Colorado.html (straight numbers)
https://durangoherald.com/articles/1539 (poverty and homelessness in Durango)

Brainstorm questions for our panel on poverty. We will have the following people here:

Wendy Javier- TRiO Talent Search Director- works with low income and first gen kids in middle school and high school
Jenn Wagnon-TRiO SSS- works with low income and first gen kids at FLC. She will also be bringing 2-3 college students
Jeff King- Works for Axis Health System coordinating care for low income population.
Casey- Firefighter, often provides last ditch services for low-income and homeless population

Describing with Data:
You are going to be using data to answer the following three questions:

How unequal is the United States? Look at income and wealth, and any other data you think is relevant to answering this question.
How sure are you of your answer? What factors make you more sure? What factors make you less sure?
What are the most important trends you see here? Explain why you think these indicators are more important than others.

Your job, by the end of this week, is to have answers to these three questions. On Monday, we will have you write your final answers to these questions in class, and discuss them with your classmates.

You must use at least THREE sources (though I suggest you look at more!). Honors folks, one of your sources must be an academic journal article (check the links in the article from Scientific American, or find one yourself using google scholar or the library database). For each of your required sources, you must have notes that include:

Source: What source is this (title and source)?
Summary: What new data did this give you about inequality in the United States? Summarize the main points.
Evaluation: How reliable is this data? Why do you think so? Think about the source, their study methods, etc.
Connection: How does this connect to your other sources? Does it confirm other sources? Build on or add to them? Conflict with them?

Resources for You
See the docs page of my DP for a list of resources and videos that could help you.

Writing Conferences
Lori holds writing conferences about social class narratives. Today's conferences are:

AM Class: Alex, Caity, Claire, Lily, Quinn, Robin
PM Class: Morgan, Todd, David, Grace, Kaitly, Corry, Avory, and Kai

HOMEWORK
Reading:

Hillbilly Elegy- Chapters 6-10 (to page 177) by next Tuesday. About 13 pages/day for the next 7 days. Read chapter 6 by Thursday.
Evicted- Chapters 9-16 (to page 203) by next Tuesday. About 13 pages/day for the next 7 days. Read chapters 9 and 10 by Thursday.

Writing:
Revise your social class narrative essay. Make sure to check it against the rubric! FINAL Draft due Monday, 10/9 at the start of class.

Economic Inequality in the United States

10/3/2017

Key Questions:

How unequal is the United States?

Bridge Announcement!

Bridge is AWESOME
Bridge is important
Dropping the ball on your mentee sucks
BRIDGE LUNCH ON WEDNESDAY
Talk to your mentee about where to find each other
Let them know if you won’t be here on Wednesday and RESCHEDULE a time to have lunch!!!!

Framing:
Our goal this week is simple: to be able to describe the current situation of inequality in the United States. Our goal is NOT to come up with solutions (yet!), or even to understand why this is happening (though you might get a taste of this). We just want to get a firm grasp on the statistics and data that show the growth of inequality in recent decades.

Starter 17- What do you know?

What do you know about inequality in the US? If you don’t know anything for sure, what are your impressions?
What questions do you have about inequality in the US?

The Basics: Wealth Inequality
Prediction

Imagine the US is divided into quintiles (groups of 20%)
How do you think the wealth of the US is divided between these?
How do you think the wealth of the US SHOULD ideally be divided between these? Why?

Wealth Inequality in America
Watch the infographic!

How did your prediction stack up?
How did your ideal stack up?
What do you think explains the difference between the ideal/predictions/reality?

Broad Sweeps: Notes

WWII to 1970s = economic growth and shared prosperity
1. Incomes grew rapidly and at roughly the same rate up and down the income ladder, roughly doubling in inflation-adjusted terms between the late 1940s and early 1970s.
2. The income gap between those high up the income ladder and those on the middle and lower rungs — while substantial — did not change much during this period.
Beginning in the 1970s, economic growth slowed and the income gap widened.
1. Income growth for households in the middle and lower parts of the distribution slowed sharply, while incomes at the top continued to grow strongly.
2. The concentration of income at the very top of the distribution rose to levels last seen more than 80 years ago (during the “Roaring Twenties”).
3. Wealth more highly concentrated than income.

Peer Critique
See the document linked above for critique groups and instructions. It should look familiar- it's very similar to the college essay process.

Finish your peer critiques. When you're done, sign up for a writing conference, then read or revise for the rest of class.

HOMEWORK:

Revise Class Narrative Essay (Final Due Monday, 10/9)
Hillbilly Elegy- Chapters 6-10 (to page 177) by next Tuesday. About 13 pages/day for the next 7 days. Read chapter 6 by Thursday.
Evicted- Chapters 9-16 (to page 203) by next Tuesday. About 13 pages/day for the next 7 days. Read chapters 9 and 10 by Thursday.

Lori Home Sick- Book Groups and Reading Time

10/2/2017

Hey everyone- I got hit with a stomach virus last night, and am in no shape to be at school today. Instructions for you are below. Lucky you, you get extra reading time in class! I will see you all tomorrow. Please feel free to email me with questions- I'll be checking my email periodically throughout the day.

No Starter Today

Peer Critique (60 min)
See the document linked above for critique groups and instructions. It should look familiar- it's very similar to the college essay process.

Today you should get through 3 essays. Each person needs 5 printed copies for critique. Please do NOT do this digitally- you will read more comprehensively on paper.

Book Group Discussions
I'm moving your first book group discussion to today, rather than Monday. See the document linked above for groups, instructions, and discussion questions. I understand that everyone may not be totally done with the reading assignment- that's okay, just get as far as your group can go right now, and we'll get back on the same page (hahaha) on Thursday.

HOMEWORK

Revise Class Narrative Essay (Final Due Monday, 10/9)

Hillbilly Elegy- Chapters 6-10 (to page 177) by next Tuesday. About 13 pages/day for the next 7 days. Read chapter 6 by Thursday.
Evicted- Chapters 9-16 (to page 203) by next Tuesday. About 13 pages/day for the next 7 days. Read chapters 9 and 10 by Thursday.

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