Fantasy/Science Fiction

As we start reading Blake Crouch's Dark Matter, my students are going to be replying to the following questions, so I thought I would respond as well.

• Do you like to read fantasy or science fiction? Why or why not?
• What fantasy or science fiction location from a novel (or movie) is your favorite? Would you want to go there yourself? Why or why not?

I love to read fantasy. As a kid, I felt like reading was a great escape from everyday life. I appreciated the opportunity to leave the ordinary behind and experience life in someone else's shoes. It was even better if those shoes were worn by a hobbit trying to reclaim a mountain, a group of children getting lost in a wardrobe, or a neglected girl who discovers telekinetic abilities. If you're going to read and experience something new, why not make it amazing and extraordinary? Now, when I write, most of my ideas do involve some type of fantastical element because it lends more possibilities. Fantasy just has so much to offer!

If I could go anywhere, it would hands down have to be Hogwarts. I love the wizarding school, and I prayed for a letter of acceptance that never came on my eleventh birthday. As described by J.K. Rowling, the world of Hogwarts is an insanely cool building with magical rooms, magical creatures, and tons of mystery, history, and intrigue. Of course, it also helps that if I were to be there, I'd get to learn magic and charms. Who wants to walk across the room for food when you can summon it right over. Accio, Double Stuff!

Hogwarts seems to be an obvious choice, but I would like to share the possibility of a different location as well: Brakebills Academy. This is the setting for Lev Grossman's The Magicians, which is now a trilogy. Brakebills is a magical college that actually have applications and entrance tests. What's nice about this location instead of Hogwarts is the real life possibility. I have a much better chance of going here than Hogwarts. In order to be a magician in this series, one just needs to be super smart and open-minded. All of magic in their world can be learned through study and practice to unlock what the universe has to offer. Memorize some hand gestures, learn some gestures, and study some old books, and there you have it! Brakebills also has it's own fun magical elements from hidden passageways to live-action animal topiaries in the garden. If Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia had a baby and that baby went to college, you would get The Magicians. (Fun fact: It's also currently got three seasons of a SyFy show, and season four premieres this January.)

Infographic Debate Project - Voting 2018

[Edited Thursday, October 4 to reveal the debate results.]

Now that the infographics have been made, it's time to pick a winner for each debate!

Check out these debates below, review their arguments, and vote for the winner by commenting on the blog of your choice. (Example: "This one is the winner", or "I choose this one for my vote", etc.)

1. Does technology get in the way of learning?
        YES: Chris
        NO: Reed
Click on their names to view their blog posts and infographics.

WINNER: TIE

2. Should voting be mandatory?
        YES: Jack
        NO: Mr. Davidson
Click on their names to view their blog posts and infographics.

WINNER: Mr. Davidson

3. Can money buy happiness?
        YES: Nick
        NO: Nate
Click on their names to view their blog posts and infographics.

WINNER: Nick

4. Should college athletes be paid?
        YES: Connor
        NO: John
Click on their names to view their blog posts and infographics.

WINNER: TIE

Infographic Debate Project 2018

This is my infographic for the debate project in Contemporary Literature. See a description and reflection below.

Description

This is my infographic debating that voting should not be mandatory. It starts with information on mandatory voting around the world and voter turnout in the United States before getting into the larger issue of mandatory voting. Voting should not be mandatory because it is unconstitutional, it creates a rise in ignorant voters, and it is difficult to enforce. There are other ways to encourage an increase in voter participation in the United States, but making it mandatory is not one of them.

Reflection
Because there is an odd number of students in this year's Contemporary Literature class, I paired up with one of my seniors to debate this topic. As the teacher, I let the student pick the topic and the side he wanted to debate. I honestly don't recall every giving this topic much thought before, yet after doing the research, I do believe with the side of this debate that I was assigned.

There was an abundance of research on this opinion. While I was able to find articles and websites that completely devoted themselves to the idea that voting should not be mandatory, there were even more articles that focused on both points at the same time as a type of pro/con list. Most articles wanted the readers to be informed of both sides, which made separating the information more difficult, but there were also some passionate writers and politician out there that were completely devoted to this side of the issue and didn't bother to share the ideas of the other side.

To make things easier, I used a template already available on Piktochart.com to create my infographic. I chose it because of the graphs and charts they suggested but also because I was attracted to the color scheme. I thought about doing a red, white, and blue color scheme, but then that seemed a bit over the top. I made sure my main ideas were in bog, bold, and colored letters so they were easy to see at a glance. I tried to add pictures along those themes to help connect the ideas in my readers' minds. The text below with my research is smaller and a different color for anyone who felt the urge to stay and learn more about my major points against mandatory voting.

I think my infographic is ultimately persuasive at proving my topic, but we will see if my students agree when it is time to go head-to-head in class. The one thing that I think could be improved is that my infographic is a bit text-heavy. I probably should have limited my research or picked a format that spread out the research a bit more with space for more images. While effective as a researched argument, it could be improved as a more effective infographic.

Narrators (2018)

Today, I am asking my students to reflect on their favorite narration to help prepare for when we start to read Garth Stein's The Art of Racing in the Rain this weekend. It's a great family story, but it is unique in the sense that it is told from the point of view of the family dog. Their favorite narrator can be a first person narrator that is a character in the novel, or it can just be a novel whose third person perspective is unique or clever.

1. Who is your favorite narrator? What is your favorite narration?
2. Tell readers about the novel and the narration.
3. Why is this your favorite? Why might others appreciate it as well?

Click HERE to read my post about Christopher Francis Boone from Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

Click HERE to read my post about John Dowell from Ford Maddox Ford's The Good Soldier.

Click HERE to read my post about Budo from Matthew Dick's Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend.

Read one and let me know what you think in the comments!

      

Taking Action (This I Believe 2018)

Voice Recorder >>

There’s a time-old saying that you need to keep an ear out for when Opportunity comes knocking on your door. You need to be ready to open said door and welcome Opportunity instead of keeping it waiting out on the porch, considering to try your neighbor’s house instead. Don’t let Opportunity pass you by – that’s the lesson. Now, I’ve seen chatty Jehovah’s Witness, can-collecting boy scouts, cookie-selling football players, and a pesky vacuum salesman at my home in Clawson, yet not Opportunity. That’s because Opportunity doesn’t knock. You need to chase him down.

The summer of 2018 was only okay. While the general takeaway was positive, there were three lonely weeks in July that tainted the overall experience. During this time, the grad party social circuit slowed down, and my summer school duties picked up. Teaching summer school is a pretty sweet gig. Monday through Thursday, I taught two sections of incoming freshman students for two hours, from 8:00 – 10:00 AM. After that, my days were wide open. It was awesome! I read books and streamed television shows like you couldn’t believe. New Girl, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Younger, Succession – I watched entire seasons and series off of family members’ passwords and accounts for Hulu and the like. However, it gets old.

Sitting back in the Alex-shaped hole in the couch, I started to ponder my summer activities in between loading episodes to screencast from my phone onto the TV. Had I left my house this weekend? When was the last time I saw my friends? Have I even talked to anyone besides students and my mom this week? I began to get depressed. What the heck? Why weren’t people calling me? Where were all the friendly texts? Sure, all my other friends don’t get summer vacation like I do, but surely, they could be inviting me to something! Where were my crazy summer nights that John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John sang about? After three weeks, things were getting dire.

Scrolling through my inbox of old text messages, it finally hit me. Yes, there were no new incoming texts, but guess what – there were also no outgoing ones either. That’s when I realized the error of my ways. I had been waiting around on my butt for Opportunity to come knocking, and it got me nowhere. I was done waiting.

I decided to conquer Butler County’s Donut Trail in Ohio, crossing off an epic item from my bucket list and reuniting with a college roommate and his wife as a stop on my road trip. In just a few more texts, I had plans to go to the movies, I was buying tickets for Broadway musicals in Detroit, I was grabbing ice cream with a former classmate in Ann Arbor and reconnecting with a childhood friend at a piano bar in Royal Oak. The opportunities were endless, but I had to take action rather than wait for them to come find me.

After coming to this realization, I haven’t stopped kicking myself for those wasted three weeks in July. Instead of wallowing in negativity, there was so much time I could have been filling if I chose to. I will make sure I don’t make the same mistake again. I won’t be waiting around for Opportunity to come knocking on my door. I believe in taking action.

  

After visiting 12 local donut shops in Ohio, I was able to turn in my completed "passport" for a t-shirt from the Butler County Visitors' Bureau.

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For other examples of "This I Believe" blog posts, check out these links to some past favorites:

1. Unmade Beds (Mr. Davidson, 2017)

2. Millennials (Mr. Davidson, 2016)
3. Rock and Roll (Evan, 2015)
4. Filling Water Bottles (Peter, 2017)
5. Detroit (Ryan, 2015)
6. Naps (John, 2017)
You can also check out even more examples at the official website for the program: thisibelieve.org

Fantastic Four

I am excited to be teaching my fourth semester of the Contemporary Literature elective here at U of D Jesuit High School for the 2018-2019 academic school year. To start off the first unit on Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore (Robin Sloane), I am asking my students to reflect on the following questions below. It's only fair that I answer them, too, right?

1. What have your previous experiences with English classes been like?
2. Do you like to read? Why or why not?
3. What do you hope to get out of this Contemporary Literature class?

I have always loved my English classes. Sure, there have been some anomalies that stood out, but overall each English class was a positive experience that led me to some title or other that was special to me. This summer, I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and the following quote stuck with me: "Perhaps there is some secret sort of homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers. How delightful if that were true." For me, however, it was not the books' homing instincts that brought new titles to my doorstep; it was my teachers. I remember My Father's Dragon with Mrs. Carolin, Great Expectations with Mrs. Carapellotti, and The Sun Also Rises (my favorite) in both high school and college. I love English classes because it is a group of readers being able to discuss books. What's not to love about that?

I love reading. Ever since my mother started reading to us when we were little, reading has been one of my favorite activities. I always found reading to be a wonderful escape. To introduce another quote, "Reading is a discount ticket to everywhere." In each book, there is a world to explore: Camelot in King Arthur, Westeros in Game of Thrones, Hogwarts in Harry Potter, and more! I love to read because I am a collector of stories. I love to open myself to new experiences, and reading allows me to do that without leaving the comfort of my own home (or corner Starbucks table).

I try my hardest not to play favorites, but no matter how hard I try Contemporary Literature ends up being my favorite part of my day. I'm hoping that this group of seven students will be as strong of a community as years past. Eventually, we become a tight-knit book club, and my goal is to ensure that these relationships based on books and reading continue during this semester. I look forward to working with this great group of students and having an awesome semester.

Mr. Davidson's 2018 Summer Reading: