Work for the Week! April 20-24

We decided to wait until after Spring Break to post the new work for ERWC.  :)

There is quite a bit of talk about Google Classroom among teachers and administrators, and we are wondering whether we should switch this class to Google Classroom.  I was hoping that this blog would continue to do the job, but there are (always) some kids who seem to struggle with posting to the blog.  Am I describing you?  I think we may have to go to Google Classroom just to make sure that all kids who want to participate in class can do it.  

If you are still befuddled by the blog, get in touch with us.

Choose Just One.  Or Two.  Or all Three!

Language, Gender, Culture

Read and annotate the next article, "Honor Code," by David Brooks.  Be sure to establish context through your analysis using SOAPS:  Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, and Subject.  Write a blog post in response, taking a position or posing a question.  Minimum 300 words.

Creative Writing

Go through a junk drawer, or an old backpack, or a basket of odds and ends, and find some little thing-a-ma-jig that you have had for a long time -- some weird thing that you have kept in your drawer or in a box under your bed.  A green marble.  A sea shell.  A note.  A magic 8-ball.  A mood ring.  What is it?  Describe it.  Why have you kept this thing?  Explain it.  What does it mean to you?  Analyze it.  200 words should do it.

Reading

If a "shelter in place" order isn't a good time to develop that reading habit, I don't know what is!  Find a book that interests you, and get to it!  Write a short response (minimum 250 words) to what you read this week.

Ms. Cole-Edwards discovered that AUDIBLE.COM is free to students during the pandemic!  You'll have to do some pointing and clicking to get past the children's titles, but you can do it.

None of this work is mandatory, but if you do it and post it to the blog, we will give you credit for the work to help boost your grade.  If you do not do it, nothing in the gradebook changes for you.  But we'll be worried about you, and will reach out to find you.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

       During the first two weeks of no school, I started to read a little every day and sometimes a lot. It was very odd because I was never a reader and reading was never a hobby until now. I really do enjoy reading as it happens to occur for about a month already. However, now due to homework and getting reading for the AP exam next month, I only have time to read Spanish literature that might be in the exam. I also enjoy reading this type of literature mainly because it's all classic.
     One of the two books I read during the two weeks is called A Thousand Splendid Sun by Khaled Hosseini. This book contains 367 pages and each chapter is very small. It is a novel and the narrator is an omniscient narrator. The book is divided into four sections and is done for a reason. The first section talks about the childhood of a young girl named Mariam, her family dynamic, and the great obstacles she had to face as a child. The second section is also about a young girl named Laila who's life in someway seemed better then Mariam's, however she stilled had many challenges as well. The third section demonstrates the connection between Mariam and Laila, which was very unexpected. The fourth and final section was the closing to the life of both adult women. The setting of this story takes place in Afganistan during the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. At this time, Afganistan was in control by a leader and its officials that were taken off their throne by a rebellion group who were against their corruption. Nevertheless, after the rebellious group took power, they started to fight for power and territory between each other. This is based on true historical events in which many innocent people died due to this war between groups who wanted to take control of the land. I really did love this book and it touched my heart. This book highlights and is descriptive about the culture, beliefs, and traditions of the ethnic group, which is totally different than our culture but very interesting to learn. It also reveals and really does illustrate the pain, fear, and troubles the people of the country had to face due to being in between the war. At moments it is very difficult to understand how is it possible that there is so much suffering. This is mainly because even though the story itself isn't real, it is a fact that there are many true stories similar to this one. It is a very realistic story for so many human beings in this world. I received my consolation throughout this story by the hope and faith of the characters in order to continue living and getting the best out of every small special moment.

Analysis of "The Manly Jobs Problem"

What would you consider a "manly job"? In the article The "Manly" Jobs Problem by Susan Chira, she explains how she researched and noticed the problems of how some jobs are considered only for males. She saw the professions that are mainly male dominated have a high harassment rate towards females, including insulting, groping, assault, and even sexual harassment towards them. She believes this is influenced by how society views these jobs as masculine and considered "dangerous" to women. She also states that this might be due to men being "threatened" by women, taking over their definition of being masculine, strength, and the manhood that it is thought to be placed upon these jobs due to how it was considered the foundation of the modern American economy.
She also mentions the otherside of jobs that are considered "feminine" and usually filled with female workers. An example would be nursing, which is a field that saw men as only "nurturers" in the earlier times of the profession. This was due to the way society saw women as better, just like society saw men as better in more physical jobs.
I believe the stigma that comes with women in male-dominated jobs, and males in women-dominated jobs should not be there, especially in the way society is headed towards today, with more equality toward women. The thought of having a "manly" job is wrong in today's society due to how diverse a community could be with all the information readily available to anyone who seeks it. The problem is not society, but the big ego men may have when it comes to women being able to do the same thing as them. This ego driven problem that men have makes them more prone to being threatening towards women in what used to be a masculine job in the past.

Reading/ Life As We Knew It

This week, my mom has been bothering me about being lazy and losing motivation, which is very true, towards school and my education. Instead of getting in an argument about it, I decided to just pick up a book and read to prove her wrong. Luckily, the random book I picked ended up being super interesting. Life as we know it is a book by Susan Beth Pfeffer about a large-scale event that changes the whole world and "life as we know it". Sound familiar. The horrific event involves an asteroid hitting our moon which causes it to draw closer to earth. This causes natural disasters to strike the whole world with hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and anything bad you can think of. The main protagonist, Miranda, writes in her diary telling us about how this is effecting her life and the people around such as her family, friends, school crush, and neighbors. A quarter the way through the story I found it so funny how similar the things going on in the book are to how things are right now with Covid-19. Many schools are cancelled throughout the world, grocery stores are being raided, and everyone is bored out of their minds! With everything going on with Miranda she feels like she didn't appreciate her normal life until it was gone. Same here. Later on in the book things start getting really bad for her. One of her friends passes away and their family is officially needing to preserve food. They are allowed one meal a day. Miranda's anger and sadness overtake her and she eats the families last bag of chips. Her Mom scolds her for this because she was saving those for her brothers birthday. Filled with guilt and regret, Miranda breaks down and cries. The next day after hearing about Miranda's friend's passing, her neighbor comes and comforts her for the whole day, taking her mind off the issue. I think we all need to be the nice neighbor in our current situation. Be kind to the people around you and work together. If you know an older couple lives next to you, offer them help with food, water, or supplies. We can only get through this together.  

-Andrew Ferrer

ERWC

Period 5

AF: Here's the work for the week -- choose one

Next Google Meet Up:  Wednesday, April 15 @ 11:00 a.m. (extra credit for just showing up!)

Check your school email every day.  Any announcements from school will come to you that way, and follow Mayfair ASB on Instagram.  

Have you seen the "We Miss You" video??

Choose Just One.  Or Two.  Or all Three!

Language, Gender, Culture

Read and annotate the first article, "The Manly Jobs Problem," by Susan Chira.  Be sure to establish context through your analysis using SOAPS:  Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, and Subject.  Write a blog post in response, taking a position or posing a question.  Minimum 300 words.

Creative Writing

Find a current story from a reputable and established news source from the past two weeks.  Read through it, and find an angle from which you can branch off and write a short short story -- 400 words or less.  Remember, a story needs a conflict, and plot, characters, a setting and a story arc (exposition, conflict, climax, resolution).  That's a lot to do in 400 words, so write bigger, and edit down.

Reading

If a "shelter in place" order isn't a good time to develop that reading habit, I don't know what is!  Find a book that interests you, and get to it!  Write a short response (minimum 250 words) to what you read this week.

Ms. Cole-Edwards discovered that AUDIBLE.COM is free to students during the pandemic!  You'll have to do some pointing and clicking to get past the children's titles, but you can do it.

If you are still befuddled by the blog, get in touch with us.

None of this work is mandatory, but if you do it and post it to the blog, we will give you credit for the work to help boost your grade.  If you do not do it, nothing in the gradebook changes for you.  But we'll be worried about you, and will reach out to find you.

AF: Look at this! April 1!

If you need a device to access the internet -- something bigger than a phone! -- look!  Mayfair High School is coming to the rescue!

AF: Dear Seniors,

First of all, I miss you so much.  There is so much uncertainty in the world, and my heart is aching for you kids.  You deserve a senior year.  I also feel so...CUT OFF.  It is my retirement year.  I worked 20 years at Mayfair, and I wanted a chance to say goodbye to you.   I hope that I get to see you again! 

Meanwhile, today is Monday.  Normally, we would be reading.  What are you reading?  Don't stop reading just because it's COVID-19-Pandemic-School-Closed-Day-Number Eleven. 

I just finished Furious Hours by Casey Cep which was fantastic with a few slow spots -- I reviewed it on GoodReads.  And I am starting The Dreamers which honestly might be hitting a little close to home just now, since it's about a mysterious sleeping sickness that sweeps through a college town.  We'll see.  I just started it.

I'll be posting again tomorrow.  This is a time for you to take care of yourself -- not only physically and emotionally, but also intellectually.  Keep reading.  And keep writing!  Think of this:  you are a first hand witness of a historically significant moment.  Your day-to-day thoughts and activities will be of great interest to future generations!  Primary sources, y'all!  So keep your diaries and journals open and active.  I have revived my blog at alexfaye.com.

Anybody want to participate in a Google Hangout next week??