The Home Stretch!

Hard to believe, but this is the last day you'll have in class to work on your philosophy project.  By the next time we meet, it will all be done and we'll have a few days left together before you graduate.  I have been so impressed by all of the hard work and thought you have been pouring into these essays.  There have been deep conversations all around the room and individual people challenging their own thinking and arriving and new realizations and questions.  I'm so excited to read them all!

The last thing you'll need to know from me is how to submit it - it's simple.  I've set it up as an assignment on turnitin.com and you can just click there and upload it.

Now, if you have been working with the sections as separate files, you'll need to merge them before you do that.  Just be sure each section is labelled so I know where it begins.

You do not need to worry about putting page numbers on it all, but if you can, I'd appreciate it.

Do be sure your philosopher section includes the names of the texts you read - that way you don't need a separate works cited page.

Lastly - do take a moment to give it a title - something more than "my philosophy paper" - you have been working on this for a month and it deserves better - something catchy with a sense of what the reader is in for.

It is due on Monday by midnight.  If you turn it in after that, you will have to take the final, and there will be a grade reduction.

That's it - good luck with it all today and this weekend.  You may feel busy and overwhelmed now, but think of how great it will feel to have it done - a true sense of accomplishment from living the examined life.

The Final Push!

Here we are - Wednesday - a week and a half left of Senior year - and five days until this project is due.

What should you be doing now?

Finishing the different sections - Re-reading, Editing, and re-writing them as needed - Making sure you are turning in your best work.

Do take the time to look back at the handouts as necessary to double-check the requirements and structure for each section.

Let me know if you want to talk through any of it!

Let's Start to Finish

Thought for today - keep writing!

You should be finishing drafts of sections 1-3 today, and section 4 (the dialogue) is already in the bank.

Here's what the step-by-step guide says about section 5:

• Summation section takes the time to fit all of these together. In many ways, this is the heart of your paper – take the time to show how the literature and philosophy of another thinker enhanced your own understanding, then give a sense of where you are now and what your “final” thoughts on the question are.

This is the section where you will put all of the sections into dialogue with each other.  You are re-quoting what the literature, philosopher, and your dialogue peer had to say about your questions, then comparing and contrasting them while revisiting your own thinking about the topic.  You are using first person here in a grand hybrid to finish the year.

As always if you want to talk about any of these sections, let me know!

Write! Write! Write!

Wow - and then there were two - only two weeks of classes left to go - hard to believe.  

I hope you had a great weekend - and I hope you made some headway with your essay.  This is the week where it all comes together.  Several of you have AP tests and other things pulling at your time this week - make sure you plan it all out!

There is no specific task for today - just choose a section and keep writing.

A few quick thoughts on sections two and three:

• Section two shows the ways in which your selected novel / play answers your question.  
• There is no first person voice in this essay - it is not a comparison / contrast with what you think - that will come in section five.
• I think it is best to focus on a main character, or perhaps show the similarities and differences between how two characters.    In most cases they probably do not specifically say anything about your question or act in a way that explicitly shows their beliefs - all of that will come from your interpretation.  Be thorough - don't just look at one example from the text - show several - this is why you are writing 4-5 pages here.
• Section three explains what your selected philosopher has to say about the topic.
• There is no first person voice in this essay -  it is not a comparison / contrast with what you think - that will come in section five.
• The goal here is to be specific - quote and explain the person's thinking extensively.

As always, I ham happy to discuss any part of it with you.  Keep on keeping' on!

Let's talk about it!

It's dialogue time!

For section 4 of your project, you will engage in a written or typed dialogue with a peer about your topic.  The concept here is the idea that it’s important not only to have the courage of your convictions, but also the strength to have them challenged.

The two roles here are the “writer” and “responder.”  

Here is the structure for today:

1. Open a new Word document (ideally we would do this on the blogs, but it would involve a lot of complicated steps, so we're going with the "classic" version).  Create a name for it (“philosophy dialogue” perhaps) and save it.  You will want to be sure to save your work at each step.
2. Write an “opening statement.”  This paragraph needs to include both your question and a general sense of how you are answering it at this point.
3. Switch computers.
4. Responder reads this statement and responds with a paragraph that includes their answer to the question and reasons / justifications for it.  Then, the responder will ask a question, trying to dig deeper into the beliefs of the writer.  The responder may, but it not required, to use one of the following questions we’ve previously used to expand / focus philosophical questions:
1. What are its assumptions and premises?
2. What are its implications?
3. What different types or contexts exist?
4. When does / doesn’t it work?
5. What do the specific terms mean?
6. What are the reasons underlying the questions / answers?
7. Who else shares this belief or perspective, and why?
5. Switch back to your original computer.  Make sure you save your work.
6. Writer now responds to this question with a combination of ideas, reasons, explanations, and examples.  This should conclude with a question back to the responder.
7. Dialogue continues this way for the rest of the period.  Both sides are encouraged to challenge the ideas and beliefs of the other person.  The idea behind that is to push the writer’s thinking, to consider new possibilities, and to potentially reach new conclusions.
8. Be sure to save your work after each exchange. 
9. Print out a copy to turn in with the rest of your work.  Please be sure to list the name of the responder.

Keep moving along

Today's step asks you to have a sense of the overall structure of your project. 
Hopefully by now you:

• know your question and sub-questions
• started writing part one to explore and clarify your own views on these matters
• found a philosopher (or 2 or 3) whose work you'll use in part 3
• know which novel / play / book you'll use in part 2

Are you starting to see how it is all coming together?  Perhaps.  Today is a day to move forward with one of the sections that needs work, either part 1, 2, or 3.

Tomorrow in class will be the "dialogues" - for these you will have a chance to discuss and explore your ideas in electronic conversation with a peer (or more than one).  I'll give you all of the details about how that will happen in tomorrow's post.

You're all doing an excellent job so far!  Keep on keepin' on!

What's your story?

Happy May!


Can you believe it?  By the end of this month your life will (probably) be very different than it is now, in many ways.  You'll wake up on June 1st and wonder where it all went.
That's exactly why we're taking the time to pause and think, before it's all over, before the final steps on this path are taken and the first steps on the next one begin.  Of course there's no true moment of that - many of you have been making that transition for a long time now, others of you still have no idea what that even means for you.  So take a moment to examine what you have and what you are thinking.


Today's goal is to do just that - Step 6: Determine which “personal experience” you will write about. As I noted in my commentary on the handout:

• Many of you already have a sense of the personal story you will be using for this essay, but you should spend some time thinking about which elements of it you will use.  Think about the sub-questions you have created, and how your comments about your own experience will “engage in dialogue” with your analysis of the literary text and philosophical essay.

Remember the goal of section one is to take stock of where you are at the outset of this project - what do you think about your question? What led you to it? What experiences of yours or others shaped your understanding of it? What other questions come to mind as you think about it? What are you unsure of, or want to know more about?

This section can be messy - tell stories, ask questions, explore possibilities, show uncertainty, be emotional, share your beliefs, discuss examples, and more. All of it adds up to a sense of where you are at the start of your journey - you're not proving a thesis here - you're stepping back and giving your reader a clear picture of you and your thinking to bring them into your project.

While this is not necessarily a public document, parts of it might appear in the dialogue you'll be having about your topic on Thursday.


And if you've actually read this far, here's a link to a great mix of new music from Gorilla vs. Bear, one of my favorite music web sites: April Mix