The Future of SRHS' AP English students

I would like to take this opportunity to request that we all post here where we will be attending school in the future. That is, I personally would like to know where you all will begin the rest of your lives! Its OK if its not certain. I hope that I am not the only curious one, right? Please include possible majors as well as the name of the institution and any relevant details like significant scholarships.
So I guess I will "begin at the beginning": I will attend Grand Canyon University in the fall as a pre-med student. Move-in day is August 26th!




(I hope this hasn't been posted yet) Thanks everybody!

Learning While Asleep: A Metaphor

"The Director walked slowly down the long line of cots. Rosy and relaxed with sleep, eight little boys and girls lay softly breathing... At the end of the room a loud speaker projected from the wall."

(Chapter 2, p. 28)

I would like to have a discussion about Huxley's idea of hypnoæpdia.

This certain society grows up learning everything they know in their sleep, unaware- when they are not cognizant of their environment.

"They'll grow up with what psychologists used to call an 'instinctive' hatred of books and flowers... A love of nature keeps no factories busy." (Chapter 2, p 23)

The people learning in their sleep is truly a metaphor for an entire society who is blind not only when they are in slumber, but also when they are awake. They are not allowed to read books- not that they know they exist, anyway- and are not allowed to go into nature for pure enjoyment. Knowledge and Nature are two of the most powerful entities that exist, we know that, and the Director in this novel surely knows that as well. Knowledge and Nature are so powerful because they garner passion and purpose in people- what the Alpha, Bettas, Gammas, et cetera are missing. They garner a religion. These two entities, or the lack there of, are what are keeping the people from their humanity, it is why they are utterly controllable. They stand for nothing, and so they will fall for anything.

Yet, have no fear! As we discussed in class, there are some minute flashes of humanity in the novel, thus far. Especially with those that seem different from the rest; Lennina Crowne, Bernard Marx, and Helmholtz Watson.

" I feel like I could do something more important...Can you say something about nothing," in this passage (p 70) we see Watson struggling to name what he believes is missing from his life. He wants something "piercing", something exciting, and most paramount, something "important." What he is looking for is his own religion, because religion is communal, it makes you feel that you are a part of something bigger.

Thoughts?

Off the Assembly Line

Alright, Forum. I want to know what you think about this statement.

 In Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, the sacred thing known as individuality has been stolen from mankind by the application of mass production to all aspects of life.

Do you think this statement is true or false, Forum? Tell me your answer to this question and why you answered that way. Thanks, Forum. Have a good one.

Worldly Post: World Water Day

March 22nd marks the 18th World Water Day,



It is a date "set aside each spring by United Nations proclamation to celebrate the importance of fresh water. For those living in the Developed World, it's a chance to remember that an estimated 900 million people globally still lack access to the minimum daily required amount of safe fresh water." Aside from that many governments have denied people their right to water as it show in the picture above.

Many events are held worldwide during World Water Day. These include:

•Visual art, theatrical and musical celebrations of water.
•Symposia for local, national and international leaders on water management and security.
•Educational events on the importance of clean water and protecting water resources.
•Campaigns and events to raise money for access to clean and affordable water.
•Excursions to local rivers, lakes and reservoirs.
•Special broadcasts on television and radio and the Internet.
•Walks, runs and swimming other sports competitions.

More on topic:
www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/218615/126928192870.htm
www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2010/03/blessed_with_water.html
www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/flashindex.html

Word of the Week!

Epigram: any terse, witty or pointed saying.

example:

She knows the cost of everything, but the value of nothing.

• Gandhi was well know for some of his epigrams for example:

"Forgiveness adorns a soldier."

• An epigram can also be a short poem with the same characteristics.

Candy is dandy,

But liquor

Is quicker.

Ogden Nash (Poets.org)

Alright guys lets see what kind of epigrams we can come up with. :]

Approaching Farewell

Well, guys and girls, here we are again. We're all about to start another block. However, unlike every single block before, this one is our last. Soon, we'll be graduating, then getting ready for college, then actually GOING to college. At the end of these next nine weeks, we'll be Freshmen again, but Freshmen in college. It's probably a little intimidating, perhaps even a little scary, but we're all about to enter a brand new life. It was once said that one journey's end is another journey's beginning. These nine weeks are going to fly by and, before any of us know it, we'll realize just how true that statement is.

Good luck to all of us.

Senior Thesis

So, I was wondering who was doing what.

As we all know, during this last block we will working on a 9-week long essay- our senior thesis paper. The paper, though we do not have the format/guidelines yet, will be about a certain literary device/plot/theme/idea that we feel prevails in all the literature we have read- novels, poems, short-stories, memoirs, et cetera.

Have you guys though about it? I think I want to write my thesis on death in literature. Why is it that someone always seems to have to die in order for change to happen? My mind immediately goes to A Light in August, Of Mice and Men, A Tale of Two Cities, Wuthering Heights, Hamlet, Native Son, The Kite Runner, and many, many more.

I'm exicted!

March for Women: Womens History Month

CELEBRATING STRONG, INFLUENTIAL WOMEN FROM THE PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE.

Since this is an English
class,let us honor all the great women writers,
from Mary Shelley to Jane Austen.

Woo Hooo! Go Women!

Word of the Week( sorry it is so late. I am not tech savvy)

Colloquial

characteristic of or appropriate to ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing; informal

Basically it is just slang

Here is an example: Mark Twain uses Colloquial in many of his writings, like the novel Huckleberry Finn

So, why dun y'all post sum of y'all bes Colloquial sayin's!!

Research Presentations

Students who were part of the audience for the AP English Students' presentations should post a comment here. What did you find interesting? What do you have questions about?