Agenda- February 27 th , 2014

1. Agenda- February 27th, 2014 • Freshmen: • Poetry Response • Myth of the Day • Calypso’s Island- Odyssey film • Juniors: • Kindling Question • Close Reading Activity: American Dream Vs. American Reality

2. Reminder! • Transcendentalism Final Project due TOMORROW. • This is a long-term project, and I will not accept late work. • Essential Question: How does Transcendentalism show up in modern culture? • At least 3 examples with explanations • Email/Jump Drive/ Physically turn in • Ask NOW, not tonight!

3. My lungs longed to breathe her in, even as she longed to be taken into them. Every highlight in her hair was a star in my sky, and I’d watch her tremble as she struggled to swallow the words she found hidden in my eyes. Maybe it’s the way that she keeps me warm when she wraps herself around me that makes me think she’s my security blanket, even though there’s no security because she’s prone to running. I meet her gaze and beg her golden eyes for answers. She says, “I’m terrible at communicating,” I say, “me too,” she tells me, “I run,” I tell her, “I chase,” she says, “Ashley, listen. I’m afraid.” I’d like to hold her hand and tell her it’s okay but I can see it on her face that her thoughts are far away so I don’t touch her. Perfect Amount of Insane by Ashley Wilde Title- Ponder the title before reading the poem List words and phrases that seem important or stand out Paraphrase- translate the poem into your own words Connotation- contemplate the poem for meaning beyond the literal Attitude-observe both the speaker and the poet attitude (tone) Shifts- note shifts in speaker and in attitudes Title- re-examine the title again, this time on an interpretative level Theme- determine what the poet is saying

4. I watch the way her tears ebb and flow from the corners of her eyes and her hair is the tide, stained blood red to prove that she’s alive. I can feel her tremors through the space that is between us. Her radiance is an epicenter and I am just an aftershock, but I’ll be whatever I need to be if I can keep a piece of her. Even if it’s just a shard of broken glass from a window in a building in her heart that used to stand tall. She says, “I hate every single cell that belongs to my sister,” I say, “you don’t know how many times I’ve said the same about my brother,” she says, “my body has known the hands of someone meant to protect me,” I say, “I always managed to convince myself it wasn’t that bad,” she says, “I never knew my father,” I say, “I wish I never knew mine.” She says, “cancer took my mother,” I say, “my father took his own life,” she says, “sometimes I miss her so badly,” I say, “I didn’t even cry.” I watch her close her eyes and I whisper, “maybe we can get lost in the beauty of our mutual dysfunction.” They say you’re not supposed to date anyone crazier than you, but someone should tell them it doesn’t do to date someone more sane either. I’ve been on the crazy side of every relationship I’ve ever been in and I’m sick of being the stone that sank the ship. She looks up at me and says, “we could be a movie.” I say, “we already are a poem.” We are the perfect amount of insane. Maybe it’s the way I can’t tell myself that she’ll stay that makes me want to hold on as tight as I can. Or maybe it’s that I’ve always been the one to walk away that makes me so uncomfortable to know with her I can’t. And maybe my mouth is writing prescriptions my heart can never fill but all I can say is what’s inside me, and that’s the only thing that’s real. She says, “I won’t ever be perfect,” I say, “I wouldn’t want you if you were.”

5. Kindling Question • Is it still possible for anyone born in America to reach the American Dream?

6. “America touts itself as the land of the free, but the number one freedom you and I have is the freedom to enter into a subservient role in the workplace.  Once you exercise this freedom, you’ve lost all control over what you do, what is produced, and how it is produced.  And in the end, the product doesn’t belong to you.  The only way you can avoid bosses and jobs is if you don’t care about making a living, which leads to the second freedom:  the freedom to starve.” – Tom Morella  VERSUS

7. 1. “According to the United Nations Gini Coefficient, which measures the national distribution of family income, the US had the highest level of inequality of the highly industrialized countries, based on the data available in 2008.  It was ranked slightly more unequal than Sri Lanka, and on a par with Ghana and Turkmenistan.  • 2. Since 1980, the richest Americans have seen their incomes quadruple, while for the “lowest” 90% of us, incomes fell.  The average wage is lower today than it was in the 1970s, while productivity has risen almost 50%.  • 3. In 1983 middle class debt held at 67% of income.  In 2007, middle class debt had gone over the falls to 157% of income. • 4. In 1950 the ratio of the average executive’s paycheck to the average worker’s was about 30 to 1. Since 2000 that average has ranged from 300 to 500 to one • 5. Between 1978 and 2008, almost 35%  of America’s total income growth went to the top one-tenth of one percent of “us.”

8. 20 Facts about Income Inequality that everyone should know • https://www.stanford.edu/group/scspi/cgi-bin/facts.php

9. Close Reading:American Dream • ALL READ together: It Didn’t End Well Last Time/The Great Gatsby Curve (L1240) • Read as a Group: • 1. Keeping the Dream Alive- L1290: History of the American Dream from our beginnings • 2. American Dream is Elusive for New Generation- L1280: A story of one millennial and his struggle to find a job, along with data and statistics on the struggles of other young adults • 3. Whatever Happened to Upward Mobility?- L1240: A Time article that explores economic inequality, the causes and effects, as well as how it hinders social mobility

10. It Didn’t End Well Last Time • Directions: Read the article and annotate: • Yellow: Causes of Economic Inequality • Cultural beliefs • Government policies • Other: Effects of Economic Inequality • Ex. The top 1% of Americans received 21.8% of the nation’s income • Wages • Ways people’s lives change

11. The Great Gatsby Curve • Directions: Underneath the text, answer the following: • 1. Explain the relation between income inequality and social mobility. • 2. How does economic inequality affect the American Dream? VS.

12. Group Activity • Split the article into sections. Using a highlighter, annotate important facts that are relevant to the discussion and important to understand. • After you have finished your part, share with your group what you have highlighted. • On your Kindling paper, write a short paragraph (4-6 sentences) summarizing the key points of the article. • Your group gets a participation score for bring up relevant information during debate and discussion

13. Debate next week • Topic: Income Inequality • Is income inequality a problem in the United States, and what are the possible solutions? • Has income inequality damaged the American Dream? • Preparation: • Read: One of the following • 1. Average- A SuperPower In Decline- Is the American Dream Over? (L1130) • 2. Advanced- Suffering Under the Weight of Inequality (L1320 ) and Majority of American Support Government Action (L1110 ) • 3. Master- Social Inequality in America: Widening Income Disparities (L1680)

14. Ticket Out the Door • Interpret one of the following political cartoons about income inequality. • What is the artist trying to say, and how does he or she do it? • 3-4 sentences Example: This cartoon depicts the devaluing of the Euro. For years Europe has united its economy under the Euro. Now that their economy has tanked, the value of the Euro had fallen. Though companies are continuing to be bailed out, the Europe “ship” is sinking quickly.