Rand today!

Here are three articles that discuss Rand and her beliefs in relation to things going on today.

Many of you may recall that within the disaproval of Obama, words like "socialism" and "communism" have been spread around in regards to his ideas for a universal health care system, modifications to taxes and the banking system, and government control of big businesses. Whether you agree with these thoughts or disagree is one thing, but it seems to speak of Rand's main ideas of the government looking to limit some from seeking their individual potential. Again, these ideas are very radical and extreme, but they do question how things should be run.

Many of the following articles relate more to her other book, Atlas Shrugged, which many believe to have been an almost identical scenario to that of our current economic situation. Start off with the first article to fully understand it's main points.

--> Missing the Point of Atlas Shrugged

--> The Ayn Rand Renaissance

The following article is written with less emphasis on politics and the economy, and more with individuality which we discussed a few days ago.

-->Be unique like everyone else

If none of these seem interesting enough for you, try to find your own Rand-related article to write about. You can find many on the Ayn Rand Institute website, as well as on any news search engine (news.google.com, news.yahoo.com, etc...).

Make sure you comment!!

The Relevance of Rand

Read some of the articles on the Ayn Rand website and try to find one that you feel can connect well with what you have read from Anthem thus far. Respond in a manner that helps me to see that you understand the book as well as how it relates to current events.

Ayn Rand Institute - News and Highlights!

Wikipedia Revolution

We've all been there at some point, whether intentionally or just by chance. Wikipedia is a rapidly growing encyclopedia that is managed by any readers who wish change an entry. Your own school has a page!

One author writes about the newfound reliance on Wikipedia and how it has affected our lives, while critics of the site ask: Are we dangerously dependent on Wikipedia?

The Wikipedia Revolution

Respond to this article:

• How is Wikipedia beneficial?
• How is it relevant?
• In what ways is it reliant? How is it not?
• Any other thoughts you may have...

Take the day to catch up on things you have not completed and/or work on your own personal blog! Make sure that by now you have some clear ideas as to what you're interested in writing about on your blogs and that you have begun working with them.

HEY GUYS--BEFORE YOU BEGIN READ THIS!!!!

Hey there--before you start your work today, please read the comment I made at the end of the thread from last week--the post with the pictures of German soldiers. I think this comment is very important and some of you really need to take it to heart.

It's the fourteenth comment at this link.

http://englishii3.blogspot.com/2009/03/look-at-pictures-taken-of-german.html#comments

Thanks,

Ms. Biondi

Returning home...

Here are two articles that talk about the difficulties faced by soldiers who come home from the war. You can choose either one to write about in your response!

MN Guard helps Iraq Vets Leave Soldier Life behind:
http://www.dma.state.mn.us/press_room/e-zine/articles/index.php?item=1010
This is an article about a program to help soldiers ease into their return from the war. There comes a point in which soldiers are no longer familiar with civilian life and they need that extra support to make the transition. The Minnesota National Guard is trying to provide that service...

For Veterans Returning Home:
http://www.jmu.edu/counselingctr/Resources/veterans.html
James Madison University has a very helpful guide on their Counseling Center website about the transition that soldiers must make. It talks about the common feelings towards their life at war in comparison to that from at home.

Take the time to analyze these articles in relation to the novel, All Quiet on the Western Front. Here are some GUIDING questions (note: do more than just answer these questions).

1. How might these kinds of programs/articles help Paul and his fellow soldier?
2. Why does not every soldier participate in helpful programs like these?
3. Having read this article, what would you do and say to help prepare a veteran returning to civilian life?

Look at the pictures taken of German soldiers during World War I. Study them and respond to all the following questions in detail.

What do you think of when you look at these pictures?

How do these photos relate to situations and events in the story we are reading? Be sure to choose at least three or four scenes from the novel we have read so far and describe them in relation to the pictures.

Coming Home: The Effects of the War on U.S. Soldiers

Salon.com has put together a really interesting project, called "Coming Home," collecting the stories of U.S. soldiers during the current war. Some reveal the military's neglect for soldiers well-being, others prove that some soldiers never should have been in combat, and others just show the destruction the war has caused on many lives.

These articles do have some language and those you object to you do not have to read. You have the choice of any of the articles in their project, acknowledging that you need to keep this school appropriate. Even if you choose a piece with language, we cannot have you repeating it unless you do it in a mature and scholarly fashion.

Here is the link to the "Coming Home" page:
http://dir.salon.com/topics/coming_home/


Questions/Ideas to Explore:

• Tell us about your soldier that you read about?
• What were some of the positive portrayals of the military?
• What were some of the negatives?
• How did the war affect the soldier(s) you read about?
• From this project, what ideas/feelings/thoughts about the war do you think Salon was trying to establish in publishing these stories?

If you still have time, read other stories before returning to the checklist of things you needed to make up (if you have not finished).

Playing Catch-up

I understand that in the last few weeks of only coming to the library once a week, you may have fallen behind on a comment or two. Don't fret! Here is a list of things you will need to take care of today:

1) Take care of any technical issues you have had!!

2) Follow the class blog - Here on this blog, there is a link on the right hand side of the screen labelled, "Follow this blog." If you have not already clicked this and became a follower, then do this! This way, you do not have to type in the class blog URL every time after you log into blogger... instead, it will be on your Dashboard.

3) Comments - You must have a comment for each post and its article (there are 4 to complete). If you have finished writing these comments, return to them and make sure that your comments are relevant to the topic and go beyond basic knowledge. They should be analyzing the major ideas within the articles and can even prompt new questions to consider. If you have any questions about how to expand on a given comment, ask Ms. Whelan or Ms. Biondi. (Note/Encouraged: respond to other student's comments)

4) Give us your information - If you have not given us your email address and blog URL (www. ? .blogspot.com), you need to do that today! With that information, everyone can explore each other's blogs very soon.

5) Publish a Post - Post about a particular topic that you find interesting. How do you do this? Look up that topic and find a site (preferably an article) that presents it and try to capture your reader's attention. Get them invested into the main ideas and make them want to read the article themselves, even though you will also be giving them a thorough explanation (2-3 paragraphs, including your thoughts).

6) Comment on THIS post - Once you have finished all of the above, comment on whatever you still don't really understand about the blog, what you're excited about, and/or what topics you're considering exploring.

7) Your blog - Work on personalizing your blog. Format and organize your page's layout and the information you would like to see on it. You can add gadgets that aid your blog (and not cause people to get off-task).

Note: We shouldn't see anyone not working or hear anyone saying "I'm finished." Again, if you're struggling with this, ask one of us for assistance.

Are Girls More Resilient?

This article presents an interesting study that explores how different children react to stressful and dysfunctional upbringings (just read the first part of the article, up to the headline, "Outdoor Time..."):

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/ae/s_611932.html

In An Na's novel, A Step from Heaven, Young Ju is raised in a dysfunctional family, struggling through her father's abusive behavior and the common difficulties faced by many immigrants.


Here are some questions to explore:

• What are your thoughts on this article?
• How is it relevant to the story that we are reading?
• From what you have read so far, what can you infer about the effect that Young Ju's upbringing will have on her? Will she too be resilient or will she crumble under the weight?

Mob boss denied funeral Mass

Think that only ancient Greeks had controversy over burials? Think again.

What if someone were to deny Catholic burial rights to a practicing murderer? Would it be just? Such is the conflict behind the Gotti family's dispute with the Catholic Church over the rejected burial Mass of mob boss, John Gotti.

Here is the story:
http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/Catholic/2002/06/Gotti-Denied-Catholic-Funeral-Mass.aspx

Questions to explore:

• Should there be any sympathy towards Gotti or his family? Why or why not?
• How is this controversy different from that of Antigone's attempts to provide her brother ith his rights?
• Where do you stand? How would you resolve it?

Note: Comment as "Google Account" (or your Google name, if you signed in first). Should you have any trouble signing in (forgotten passwords, misplaced email, etc), comment as "Annonymous" and sign your name at the end of your comment.

Accidental Incest - How could they know?

A couple's marriage in England was immediately annulled (pronounced illegitimate) after a disturbing discovery: they were twins.

How might this happen, you may ask? These siblings were separated at birth in closed adoptions, raised completely separately without knowing of each other's existence. Meeting later in life, they felt an immediate attraction to one another and later decided to wed.

It makes sense why they might feel that pull towards one another --that's human nature. People are attracted to people like themselves... but this is another story. Can you imagine finding out AFTER you've married to someone for a few weeks that you are, in fact, siblings? and TWINS! How traumatizing would that be?

Here's the story:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/01/11/twins.married/index.html

One more interesting point that the article makes... How do you track people who were conceived by donor sperm or eggs? Confidentiality in this, as well as the closed adoptions, could cause more accidental incest in the future.


Apparently Oedipus and Jocasta are not the only ones to make this mistake...

Here are some questions to explore (Note: you are free to ask your own questions as well)

• What do you think about this story?


• What does it say about the concept of fate and destiny?


• How does this situation relate to the conflict in Oedipus Rex?

Welcome

Again, welcome to our blog! Blogs have become a popular new way of expressing your thoughts, opinions, and emotions, especially in reference to current events.

To start the class blogging, we will be working in the library/lab for a short period of time about once a week. Each week we will have a new assignment for you to accomplish. Let's get started!

This week's assignments:

• Before we go any further into the new semester, we want to know more about you. Tell us a little about yourselves. Give us your name and tell us what kinds of hobbies and interests you have. How do you feel about the new semester? Reply to these requests by clicking "Comments" below.
• Answer the poll on the right hand side of the blog. Check all of the answers that apply to your experiences.