"Between the Pages" -- Period 4

W10, #5: Curious about Epiphanies

This is a wide open question that allows you to consider anything we've discussed in class this year. Absolutely anything.

All of you are extremely bright and have figured out a remarkable range of ideas along the way.

Sometimes the realizations -- or 'epiphanies' -- may have been purely based on the plot or text. Other times they may have been about something that is in the real world. Whatever it is, I'm curious about one 'big idea' or realization you've had this year (that continues to stick with you) because of anything that was discussed in class. Sometimes they've been a mixture of both plot and real world.

Challenge:

Tell us about one thing that really made an impact on you as a person (and student).

It is up to you how long the response is.

My guess? The more important it was, the longer your response. Just a guess. I'm funny that way.

W9, #4: Where Do You Want to Go?

One of Mr. Long's favorite stories of all time -- whether for fun, for serious intellectual play, or for simply confused wonder -- is "Alice in Wonderland". Hands down, this is as good as it gets both in terms of childlike imagination and pushing the brain to work very hard to 'get it'.

As most of you know, a young girl named Alice ends up falling down a 'rabbit hole' into a 'wonderland' of oh-so-strange creatures, conversations, and ideas.

One creature she meets on her adventure is the Cheshire Cat. Alice is lost and meets the odd cat perched on a tree limb. The larger-than-life grin on the cat's face suggests that anything he says must be looked at in a wide range of ways if you want to make sense of it.

The following 'conversation' takes place between the Cat and a lost Alice:

Alice came to a fork in the road. "Which road do I take?" she asked. "Where do you want to go?" responded the Cheshire cat. "I don't know," Alice answered. "Then," said the cat, "it doesn't matter."

Response of 5+ sentences:

Part 1: What do you think the cat's words really mean?

Part 2: And how can you apply this idea/theory to your own life -- either past or future?

Image link.

W9, #1: Pushing Your Thinking Forward

Of all the books and stories we've read this year, which one really developed your thinking -- as a student, as a reader, and as a writer -- more than any other?

Answer:

Identify the book or story.

In 5+ sentences, explain why this book or story truly developed your thinking as a student, as a reader, and as a writer.

Get beyond the plot. Talk about how reading it affected your thinking as a 'thinker'.

Image link.

W7, #5: Just One Day, Just One Bit of Advice

If you could go back in time to re-visit the YOUNGER YOU for ONE day, would you?

If you could give the YOUNGER YOU one piece of advice, what day would that be? 

And if you could, what advice would you give yourself?

Challenge:

• Answer the questions.
• 7+ sentences.

W7, #3: Predicting the Future of School

Ever wonder what school might be like in the future?  In 10 years?  In 50?  100?

Recently I had the chance to read a set of predictions found in Ladies Home Journal from the year 1900 (in other words, 108 years ago!).

I was surprised to find -- among predictions about growing peas as big as beets and cars being cheaper to buy than horses -- a section on education called "How Children Will Be Taught" filled with a range of interesting guesses about the future of life in school.

You can see it below (or to read it more easily, double-click the image or click the link above to read the original).

Your Challenge:

• Read the paragraph entitled "How Children will be Taught" (and feel free to read some/all of the other predictions, too).
• Create your own predictions based on changes in technology, culture, and anything else:
  • What changes will happen to schools (or universities) in  the next 5-10 years?
  • What changes will happen to schools (or universities) in 50-100 years (when your grandchildren are adults)?
• Explain your predictions/ideas.
  
• Length:  7+ sentences TOTAL (for everything, not each)

Just for Fun: 

Watch the following recent cell phone commercial on YouTube. You can see how the company was using the same ideas with a little 'reverse psychology' thrown in.  If you can't view it, don't worry -- it is not necessary to answer the original questions.

W7, #1: Can a Dictionary Really Be Cool?

UPDATE: Finally figured it out. The link right below is the correct link...and should work for you no matter where you are! Thanks for your patience. Try it.

UPDATE:  Click this link to watch video on TED site.

***

Go ahead, admit it.  You own a dictionary.  A real one w/ paper pages, too.

And you love it, too!

 

No?  You don't? 

Well, can you imagine a dictionary -- in the future, anyway -- actually being called "cool"?

Lexicographer Erin McKean -- who happens to be the Editor in Chief of the Oxford American Dictionary (something almost unheard of at her young age) -- certainly can. 

• And not only that, she actually knows what "lexicographer" means.  Really.  She does.  You could, too.  And use it the next time you're sitting at lunch on Burger Basket day!  (That's right.  Mr. Long went there!)
• You'll also learn that the tiny little word "set" has over 30 different definitions in the big daddy of all dictionaries, the Oxford English Dictionary (or OED).  30 of 'em.  For one tiny lil' ol' word we don't even think much about.  Not sure what the OED is?  Well, the OED is "the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium."  Wow!
• Plus, you'll hear her offer a pretty cool answer -- thrown in around the 8min 40min mark -- to the "I Think, Therefore Am I?" prompt you were asked to react to last week, and she does it by talking about children's storybooks.  Yeah, like Curious George and other monkey books.  Funny how many things in life are connected in Mr. Long's world. 
• Oh, and if you watch her 2007 TED Talk video, you'll also hear why she says, "Paper is the enemy of words."  Enemy?  Really?  Sounds like dictionaries can be pretty intense, something that might even make dear ol' Macbeth a little paranoid if those witches had brought them into the conversation! 

Challenge:

• Watch the video.
• Tell us what you think about her overall argument.
• Oh, and tell us at least one thing that you learned, too!
• Length:  5+ sentences (yup, a little shorter than normal, but you've just watched a 16 min video, so I'm feeling like that's a fair trade)

W6, #6: Dr. Stewart Responds

You'll be pleased to know that Dr. Stewart (from Austin College) has just responded to your reactions to "The Experience Machine" question.

Challenge:

• Read his response to Period 3 by clicking on this link.
• Then come back to this prompt's page to leave a 'response' to his new questions.
• Minimum of 5+ sentences if you choose to do this prompt.

Bonus:  If you're curious how Dr. Stewart responded to the other classes, too, here are the links to his other comments:

• Period 1
• Period 2
• Period 3

You'll be pleased to know that Dr. Stewart (from Austin College) has just responded to your reactions to "The Experience Machine" question.

Challenge:

• Read his response to Period 3 by clicking on this link.
• Then come back to this prompt's page to leave a 'response' to his new questions.
• Minimum of 5+ sentences if you choose to do this prompt.

Bonus:  If you're curious how Dr. Stewart responded to the other classes, too, here are the links to his other comments:

• Period 1
• Period 2
• Period 3

You'll be pleased to know that Dr. Stewart (from Austin College) has just responded to your reactions to "The Experience Machine" question.

Challenge:

• Read his response to Period 3 by clicking on this link.
• Then come back to this prompt's page to leave a 'response' to his new questions.
• Minimum of 5+ sentences if you choose to do this prompt.

Bonus:  If you're curious how Dr. Stewart responded to the other classes, too, here are the links to his other comments:

• Period 1
• Period 2
• Period 3

W6, #5: Pull Out the TV Dinners!

Imagine you could have a private dinner with ANY 3 people of your choice.

Oh, and they can be alive or dead.

Who would they be?

Challenge:

• List the 3 people you'd invite.
• Tell us why.
• Sentence count?  It is completely up to you.  Just be as specific/interesting as possible.
• Oh, and tell us 3 questions you'd ask EACH one of your dinner guests.

W6, #3: I Think, Therefore Am I?

Here's an 'easy' challenge for you, my budding philosophers:

Prove that you actually exist.

Seriously.  Can you? 

Can you -- only through words/writing -- actually prove that you exist? 

Can you do it in 7+ sentences and actually convince your reader that you really, really, really do exist?  Can you? (he smiles)

W5, #1: The "Experience Machine"

NOTE: Mr. Long will not be replying to any responses to this particular entry until after Monday when all entries are submitted.  He wants to make sure that his answer/ideas do not bias any student replies.  Plus, he's really impressed by how solid the answers are so far...and doesn't want to screw up that mojo!

***

Let's be honest, sportsfans.  You knew this one was coming.   

Didn't you?

During our visit to Austin College this past Friday, Dr. Rod Stewart (from the Philosophy Dept.) presented a striking question to us based on Robert Nozick's thought experiment commonly known as the "Experience Machine".

Background:  The experiment came from Nozick's 1971 book, Anarchy, State, Utopia.  The link gives you the entire book for free if you want to start reading now -- wink, wink; nudge, nudge.

Want to learn a little bit more before reading the entire book?  Check out this link for the Wikipedia article associated with this part of Nozick's research.  Pretty interesting.

Okay, let's get back to us.

I thought it'd be interesting to have us discuss the "Experience Machine" a bit more since so many of your classmates had their hands in the air last Friday even though we didn't have nearly enough time for everyone to add their voice. 

I also thought he'd be interested in reading your responses now that you've had a few days to think about the original idea, too. 

Here is the original question Dr. Stewart asked us:

"Suppose there were an experience machine that would give you any experience you desired. Superduper neuropsychologists could stimulate your brain so that you would think and feel you were writing a great novel, or making a friend, or reading an interesting book. All the time you would be floating in a tank, with electrodes attached to your brain.

Should you plug into this machine for life, preprogramming your life's desires?...

Of course, while in the tank you won't know that you're there; you'll think it's all actually happening. Others can also plug in to have the experiences they want, so there's no need to stay unplugged to serve them. (Ignore problems such as who will service the machines if everyone plugs in.)

Would you plug in? What else can matter to us, other than how our lives feel from the inside?" (Anarchy, State, Utopian, 43)

Your challenge is to answer the 3 following questions:

A. Tell us if you'd 'plug in'.  No combined answers.  You have to pick one.  And remember, if you choose to 'plug in' -- for the sake of our conversation -- it is forever (or at least far longer than any normal life we could have now).

B.  Tell us why in 7+ sentences.  Remember to stay focused on the experiment.  As tempting as tangents are, it is far more interesting if all of us remain focused on the original conversation so we can see how our ideas really overlap.

Psst.  Here comes the biggie.   Here comes the one where you have to peel back the layer beneath the layer beneath the layer beneath the experiment itself.  In other words, here comes the is-your-thinking-cap-on question.

C.  What was Dr. Stewart really doing by involving you in this question last Friday?

W4, #6: Educating Inspired Leaders

What does it mean to be a 'leader' and to educate 'leaders'?

In many ways, it is tempting to believe that we come to an independent school like this in order to 'get into a good college'.  Seems logical.  And certainly this is a key part of the future that all of us are focused upon.

At the same time, a school like ours serves a larger purpose...one that has the opportunity to influence the world around us.  This is an influence that extends far beyond the grades you receive, the colleges you get into, and the jobs you one day you'll have.

Ultimately, a school like ours exists to develop 'leaders' and 'critical thinkers' that will be in a position to positively influence the world around us and truly 'serve humanity'. 

With that in mind, watch the following TED video that showcases Patrick Awuah, an ex-Microsoft executive who lived in Seattle and later became the founder of Ashesi College, a small liberal arts college located in Ghana that seeks to educate Africa's next generation of leaders.  The first class graduated in 2006.

 

Your challenge:

• Based on watching this video, answer the following questions:
  
  • a) What does it mean to develop a true 'leader' in the world we live in today? 
  • b)  Additionally, what is the value of an education like the one you have today and what you are seeking to do in college, and what is the relationship it will have to the 'leader' you will become in your future? 
  • c)  Should societies be 'intentional' about how they develop leaders that are 'ethical', have 'integrity', can face 'complex' problems, and come up with innovative 'solutions' in an ever-changing world?
  • d)  What recommendation would you make to the teachers/administrators of our school to help your classmates become true 'leaders' -- as well as successful academic students -- over time?
• Write a 7+ sentence response that considers some or all of these questions.

W3, #1: An Image of Humanity

As the video we watched of Mr. Dunlap's story about Sandor Teszler reminds us, the 'human' story seems beyond words.  Many of you, however, expressed with true passion and wonder what Teszler's story says about being human...in spite of remarkable challenges.

With that in mind, I want to share with you yet another unexpected 'story'. 

This time the video is a story told in photographs taken by Phil Borges, a photographer who travels the world trying to document "endangered cultures".  These are cultures that are on the verge of disappearing entirely due to changes in language, political strife, and simply a lack of respect.  As you can tell by the Phil Borges' respect shows for these individuals and cultures, we still have a chance to preserve "endangered cultures" that would otherwise be lost forever.  Maybe just by being aware.

Challenge: 

• Watch the video (18:45 min).  Write a 7+ sentence reaction. 
  
• What should you write about?  Tell us what your reaction was to the photographs and stories shared by Phil Borges.  What do you think it tells us about the 'human' story we all share? 

W2, #5: A Story of a Passionate Life

If you have 20 minutes, watch the following video.

What is this video about?  Well, I'm going to let you discover most of this on your own. 

What I will tell you now is that you're going to meet Ben Dunlap, the speaker you'll listen to.  Mr. Dunlap -- the President of Woffard College -- tells the story of Sandor Teszler, a Hungarian man he met at Wofford College years ago, a man who has much to teach all of us about justice...and what it truly means to be a lifelong learner.

Challenge:

• Watch the video (you'll need 20 minutes).
• In 7+ sentences, share your reaction to the story of Sandor Teszler.

Want to learn more about other speakers -- like Mr. Dunlap -- who speak every year at the world famous TED Conference held in California each early spring?  Try this link.  I think you'll find some amazing voices, stories, and ideas, many that you may never be able to forget once you see/hear them.

My only request?

If you find another TED video that you love, share it with me.  Thanks!