Pride and Prejudice

The only opportunity for extra credit this 6 weeks is this weekend. See the THS Theatre production of "Pride and Prejudice" and you'll get daily grade extra grade extra credit. Write a 600-1200 word essay and you'll receive major grade extra credit. Here are the essay prompts:

1. Research the changes in the English social structure during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Show how attitudes in Pride and Prejudice toward the newly wealthy middle classes, who earned their money through trade and manufacturing, differed from those toward the landed gentry who inherited their generations-old wealth.

2. Research gender roles in the English social structure during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. how does Pride and Prejudice break conventions in its relationships between the sexes.

3. In a novel or play, a confidant (male) or confidante (female) is a character, often a friend or relative of the hero or heroine, whose role is to be present when the hero or heroine needs a sympathetic listener to confide in. Frequently the result is, as Henry James remarked, that the author sometimes uses this character for other purposes as well. Choose a confidant or confidante from Pride and Prejudice and write an essay in which you discuss the various ways the character functions in the play.

Remember, your well-developed essays are to be 600-1200 words (typed). Include quotes (may be from other works) and specific references to the play to support your thesis.

Below are some pictures taken during the publicity shoot for the THS production.

More information about the THS production of Pride and Prejudice is available here: http://www.thespiansr.us/

More on WW I

The picture above is of a child in Jefferson, Texas suffering from the flu in 1918 (photo courtesy Library of Congress). There's an interesting article in the Temple Daily Telegram today about how Bell County was hit hard by the 1918 flu epidemic. Read it here: http://www.tdtnews.com/story/2008/11/12/53632

The End of the War to End All Wars

Today is Veterans Day, originally called Armistice Day. Ninety years ago today, at the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, World War I ended. At the time, it was referred to as "The Great War", or "The War to End All Wars". Little did people know that the terms of the treaty would build such resentment among the Germans that they would eventually allow Adolph Hitler to come to power.

Since we just finished reading "All Quiet on the Western Front", and have begun to watch the film of the same name, I thought you might enjoy some links to World War I information. Here's a story about two Bell County men who both claimed to be the first to carry an American flag into battle in WW I. http://www.tdtnews.com/story/2008/11/11/53599

Here's a story about how cigarettes became popular as a result of WW I: http://www.tdtnews.com/story/2008/11/10/53578

Remember kids, don't smoke.

One more story: the Bell County men who died for their country during WW I. http://www.tdtnews.com/story/2008/11/09/53563

Finally, let's hear it for Frank Buckles. He is the only known American WW I survivor. He was only 16 when he enlisted in 1917. During the war, Buckles drove ambulances and motorcyles for the 1st Fort Riley Casual Detachment section of the U.S Army. After the Armistice in 1918, Buckles escorted prisoners of war back to Germany. He went back into the Army during WW II. He was captured by the Japanese when they overran Manila, The Phillipines, and spent 3 years in a prisoner of war camp. Today, Mr. Buckles lives in Charles Town (not Charleston), West Virginia. He's 107 years old!

Here's a picture of Mr. Buckles from earlier this year, with Defense Secretary Bill Gates:

Time Flies!

Has it really been more than 2 weeks since I last posted to this blog?
Sorry about that, guys, but things have been hectic.
It's a good opportunity to note the passage of time.
We are wrapping up the second 6 weeks.
Folks, it's time to wake up and smell the coffee.
Many of you have a C or D average in my class, which is unacceptable in a Pre-AP/IB course.
It's not too late to decide to turn things around.
I do not exaggerate when I tell you that I have seniors every year who tell me that they miss the Top 10 percent because of a low grade they made when they were freshmen or sophomores.
This isn't middle school--it counts. Every day you decide not to read, or you decide not to study, is another nail in your coffin. You are narrowing your choices, and you will regret it later. Imagine if you can't get into a good school, or if you can't get scholarships, because of your low GPA! By doing poorly in school now, you are literally costing your future self money that you will have to repay in the form of student loans. This is money that you won't be able to spend on things you want to buy.
Choices will be narrowed later because of choices you're making now.
Is what you're doing instead of studying really worth that much?
Or...what if you're not able to get into college at all because of a lack of academic performance?
The College Board says the median high school graduate age 25 and older earns $26,300, while the median college graduate age 25 and older earns $42,200. That college graduate earns an extra $15,500, or 59 percent per year.
Which salary would you prefer?