Links and Notes

Hi Everybody! Here are the links I said I would post:

Voter Fraud in Isla Vista?

Wikipedia article on Rodney King

Also, here is an interesting article about Obama's rhetoric.

Also, here is a little video about Elizabeth Cady Stanton:




Have a great weekend!

Quotes for Close Reading

"More money is put into prisons than into schools. That, in itself, is the description of a nation bent on suicide. I mean, what is more precious to us than our own children? We are going to build a lot more prisons if we do not deal with the schools and their inequalities." -Jonathan Kozol

"Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilized by education; they grow there, firm as weeds among rocks." –Charlotte Bronte

"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them." –James Baldwin

"Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war." –Maria Montessori

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” –Nelson Mandela

“Leaders are more powerful role models when they learn than when they teach.” -Rosabeth Moss Baker

“If the rich and all the church people should send their children to public schools they would feel bound to concentrate their money on improving these school until they met the highest ideals” –Susan B. Anthony

“Why should society feel responsible only for the education of children and not for the education of all adults of every age?” Erich Fromm

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” – Plutarch

“Education is the progressive discovery of our own ignorance.” Will Durant

“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” B.B. King

“Education is what remains when one has forgotten everything one has learned in school.” Albert Einstein

“I suppose it is because nearly all children go to school nowadays, and have things arranged for them, that they seem so forlornly unable to produce their own ideas.” –Agatha Christie

“Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.” Gertrude Stein

“Study without desire spoils the memory, and it retains nothing that it takes in.” Leonardo DaVinci

“Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper of self-confidence.” Robert Frost

Paper # 1

English 110

Detorie Spring 2009

Assignment # 1

Paper Schedule:

2/4: Paper Assigned

2/9: Typed Thesis and Plan due for Peer Review (bring 2 copies)

2/11: Draft due for Peer Review (bring 2 copies)

2/18: Final Draft due at the beginning of class

Your purpose in this paper is to state and explain an idea based on a topic given below. You should first explore the topic, using some of the methods discussed in your Penguin Handbook. Your exploration should lead to a working thesis and a tentative plan for developing the thesis. Bring two typed copies of your thesis and plan to class on 2/9. After we review these plans in class, you will write a first draft. Bring two typed copies of your first draft to class on 2/11. The final draft, revised in light of the advice you get from your peers and your own careful review, is due on 2/18.

What I’m looking for:

Length 900-1200 words (3-5 pages)

Independent intellectual effort and thoughtfulness

A clear and wel1-focused thesis that is specific and interesting

A clear scheme of organization: introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion

Unified paragraphs with topic sentences and strong transitions between paragraphs

Backing up your ideas with examples from the text

Quotes that are integrated in way that demonstrates close, thoughtful reading

Skillfully constructed sentences

Evidence of reflection and revision

Choose one of the following topics:

1. How would Lao-Tzu critique the society in which you live? What would he recommend to you as worthwhile behavior and what would he condemn? Base your answers on an analysis of the advice Lao-Tzu gives in the Tao- te Ching. Would you find it possible to argue against his critique and maintain a worthwhile and virtuous path for yourself?

2. What form of government would Machiavelli feel is most stable and desirable? Base your answers on an analysis of the recommendations Machiavelli gives his prince. Consider his views of individuals in society and their roles and responsibilities in regard to the prince. What governments of today might satisfy Machiavelli’s demands for the way a state should operate?

3. Compare Lao-Tzu’s view of human nature with Machiavelli’s. Consider how this view shapes the ultimate purpose of government, the obligation of the leader to the people being led, and what seems to be the main work of the state. Which view do you favor? Why?

4. Compare the advice of Machiavelli or Lao-Tzu with the behavior/politics of a leader – past, present, or fictional – who you think exhibits the qualities described by Lao-Tzu or Machiavelli (pick one). Be sure to back up your argument with examples from both the text and the behavior/policies of the leader you describe. (Note: by “fictional” I mean a character from a story, not a leader who you have invented for the purpose of this essay).

GOOD LUCK!

English 110 Rubric

click to enlarge

Fun with Lao Tzu and Machiavelli

If you have no idea who Karl Pilkington is, or if you have never heard of Ricky Gervais, take a look here.



This video discusses Machiavelli in the historical context of the Italian Renaissance.

ETA: Karl Pilkington tackles one of the questions from the Proust questionnaire:



ETA: Conan O'Brien answers the questions we used in our ice breaker