HW Due October 8 and October 10, 2013

Homework: Poorly Funded Public Schools (continued)

Thursday, October 3

HW: Answer three of the questions related to your paper focus three different ways for each question. Write a paragraph for each answer. You will have 9 paragraphs once this assignment is finished. All of your paragraphs should be written in PIE form. Post on your Blog by Tuesday, October 8, 2013.

And Read 211- 247 of SI

Tuesday, October 8

Flex Day: No Class

Read: 248 – End of SI

Answer another (one more) question connected to your paper focus three different ways. Write a paragraph for each answer (3 paragraphs total). All of your paragraphs should be written in PIE form.

Compile all the writing you have done on your topic including the blog we did on 10/01/2013.

Read them all and come up with three counter-arguments for some of the assertions you make. Write a paragraph for each counter argument (3 paragraphs total). Add theses three paragraphs to the others you have compiled.

You will have at total of, at least, 21 paragraphs once you have put them all together.

Bring a printed copy of this to class of Thursday, October 10, 2013

HW: Due October 3, 2013

Answer one of the questions connected to your paper focus three different ways. Write a paragraph for each answer. You will have 3 paragraphs once this assignment is finished. Your three paragraphs will be in PIE form!

Another way to say this is:

Come up with three different answers to one of the questions I posed under the paper topic you chose to focus on. Write a paragraph for each answer. You will have 3 paragraphs once this assignment is finished. Your three paragraphs will be in PIE form!

For paper topics and questions, see the handout or blog post titled "Poorly Funded Public Schools."

Remember, the more you write the better it will be for you in the end.

Type, print out this assignment, and bring it to class. 

HW: Due October 1, 2013

Over the weekend, research persistently low-achieving schools in the Bay Area (you can find a list of them on the Eng. blog: http://ccenglish1a.blogspot.com) with your focus in mind. Compare what they have in common to schools in the book. Post a blog stating what the book and the research you found have in common and how some of the information you found relates to you paper focus. Remember to separate your points. Write a minimum of three paragraphs. Due Tuesday October 1, 2013. Create a written summary of the information you found (about a paragraph, can be more) and attach your 3 blog paragraphs to that summary. Print it out and bring the assignment to class on Tuesday. 

Poorly Funded Public Schools: Essay #2

 In this section of the course, we are looking at the repercussions of poorly funded public schools. The book Savage Inequalities has given us a view into the problems caused and enabled by having only bad schools as an option in some communities. What is a bad school, what happens to the children that attend these schools and what solutions to the many problems can I offer are all questions you should be asking yourself while developing your paper. Also, think of the documentaries we have or will watch. They are texts that you will be able to reference in your essay as well.

Pick one of the following topics to focus on and use the questions below to get you thinking:

School resources (this can include small things such as crayons all the way up to library books and workout equipment)

·      Do materials really matter? Why or why not?

·      Are there circumstances in which they do matter and times that they do not?

·      How does a child feel when he/she does not have them and why?

·      How does a child feel when he/she does and why?

·      What can we do for schools that don’t have materials/supplies if no one else will help?

·      What types of citizens are produced from a lack of materials in poorly funded public schools?

Bad Teachers (remember if you define what is a bad teacher you must say what a good one is and how he/she could make a difference)

·      What schools are prone to having bad teachers?

·      Why do bad teachers exist?

·      What affects do bad teachers have on a child?

·      Why can’t we get rid of them?

·      What standards should we hold teachers to?

·      Are bad teachers just as bad as bad parents?

·      What types of citizens are produced from a lack of good teachers in poorly funded public schools?

Protecting the wealthy by providing a lesser education to the poor.

·      What makes this observation true?

·      Who is mostly affected by this practice?

·      How are they affected?

·      Do you believe this is a problem or a necessity? We need people to fill entry-level jobs. What’s wrong with making sure a certain demographic fills them?

·      If a public education system’s pedagogy is heavily influenced by big business, what types of citizens are produced?

You may also submit your own paper topic proposal. If you do so, you will need to give me your focus as well as five questions you will ask yourself to help you dig deeper into your ideas.

***For any of these topics, you should ask yourself where your thoughts come from. For example, if you think a bad teacher is one that limits children’s hope for the future, tell me where that opinion came from. What did you reach for in your mind to form your opinions?

Persistently Lowest-Achieving Schools in California

Check out all the Bay Area Schools on the list.

http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/pl/

How to Construct a Thesis

Here are the multiple components you want in your working thesis:

•Your point of view/opinion/argument•Why your point of view/opinion is important
               What are you trying to make better by shining a light on the topic you chose to focus on?
•A very general idea of how your paper is organized

A working thesis is malleable, which means it can be easily changed if your paper takes some unexpected turns. When you are finished writing, look at your thesis and see if it still fits. If it doesn’t, change it.

The working thesis is just a guide that helps to keep you focused. 

What is a Synthesis Essay?

The main purpose of a synthesis essay is to make insightful connections. Those connections can show the relationship(s) between parts of a work or even between two or more works. It is your job to explain why those relationships are important.  In order to write a successful synthesis essay, you must gather research on your chosen topic, discover meaningful connections throughout your research, and develop a unique and interesting argument or perspective. A synthesis is not a summary. A synthesis is an opportunity to create new knowledge out of already existing knowledge, i.e., other sources. You combine, “synthesize,” the information in your sources to develop an argument or a unique perspective on a topic. Your thesis statement becomes a one-sentence claim that presents your perspective and identifies the new knowledge that you will create. 

Before writing your synthesis

1. Narrow a broad or general topic to a specific topic:

In a short essay, completely covering a large topic is impossible, so picking a specific, focused topic is important. For example, the broad topic of global warming would need to be narrowed down to something more specific, like the effects of automobile exhaust on an ecosystem.

2. Develop a working thesis statement:

A working thesis statement should include a rough idea of your topic and the important point you want to make about that topic.  Writing this statement at the top of a rough draft or outline and looking at it often can help you remain focused throughout the essay.  However, the thesis statement that you begin with is not set in stone.  If you find that your essay shifts topic slightly, you can change your thesis in later drafts so that it matches your new focus.

3. Decide how you will use your sources:

After completing your research and gathering sources, you may have a large or overwhelming amount of information. However, the purpose of a synthesis essay is to use only the most important parts of your research, the information that will best support your claim. At this point, you must decide which sources, and/or which parts of those sources, you will use.

4. Organize your research:

Now, decide the order in which you will present your evidence, the various arguments you will employ, and how you will convince your readers. 

(http://bellevuecollege.edu/asc/writing)