You must post 12 times during the semester. Three of these posts should be “Peer Response Posts.” Three should be “Close Reading Response Posts.” Three should be “Through the Lens” posts.
The remaining three posts are “Free Posts.” In a “Free Post,” you are free to contribute as you like. You may do an additional one of the structured posts, or you may decide to compare a class reading to a contemporary texts. Or you might decide to offer a piece of your own creative work.
The only requirements for a free posts are:
i. You mark the post as a free point (checking the appropriate box when you post).
ii. You include in your post an explanation of what you’re contributing and how it specifically links up to the reading and/or the class discussion.
This semester we are discussing the topic “school isn’t everything.” It happens to be very ironic since Professors usually persuade students to attend school, making it seem like the most important thing for his or her development as a teenager. This idea relates to our class on Monday, August 31st. In class we watched a music video of Kanye West singing a song that is part of his album “College Dropout.” This song was about Kanye singing to kids about dropping out of College and just getting by. It also involves drugs and profanity.
Now although people may believe this song is inappropriate to say to students, it is a positive thing in a way. It gives these students the prior knowledge that there is life beyond school. School for them should be a means to get to your ultimate goal; success. I believe that the selection of this course topic sends the same message. We are all in school to attain everlasting knowledge but it is not everything. The truth of that statement goes so far as to the teacher being able to admit it herself.
We are reading a novel, Secrets of a Buccaneer Scholar which elaborates on this notion of life beyond school. Written by a college dropout who led a group in Apple Inc., this novel should be really interesting.