Syllabus


 * EAST HARTFORD ADULT EDUCATION **  ** English Literature Syllabus ** *    ** Fall 2011 **

6:00-6:15 – Introductory Packet; review of syllabus; Introduction Activity (Name Game); write out expectations of course, teacher, self (on colored index cards that instructor keeps and re-addresses the day of Final Exam); introduction to semester Project Matrix assignment; Midterm Exam questions and expectations; collect everyone’s e-mail addresses and phone numbers 6:15-6:20 – R: //Dream Variations// by Langston Hughes 6:20-7:00 - D: Think-Aloud Activity (use G’s example); think about what the poem means and jot down an outline of what it might mean; discuss as class (type Think-Aloud activity, then write discussion points on board) 7:00-7:30 – J: Write your reaction to the Langston Hughes poem based on outline, class discussion, and journal model to hand in at the end of class HW: Read //A Tribute to John Howard Griffin//; complete the “Anticipation Guide”
 * // Day 1 //**

6:00-6:25 – Explanation and modeling of a journal entry on Colorism by using Think-Aloud method (hand everyone a notebook). Colorism is discrimination in which people are treated differently in social settings based on skin color, often getting translated into economic status because of opportunities for work. What is your reaction to the following statistic: Light-skinned Blacks have a 50% better chance of getting a job than dark-skinned Blacks (Black Star Project). 6:25-7:00 – //Black Like Me// by John Howard Griffin (Preface-November7) 7:00:7:30 – Review “Anticipation Guide;” Vocabulary Concept Mapping HW: Half the class will read //Skin Deep Discrimination (ABC News)// and the other half will read //Black Males and Violence// by William Oliver, Ph.D., highlight important parts to share with the class next week, and write a 5-questions quiz about the article
 * // Day 2 //**

6:00-6:15 – Define reflection, and model response (//Gibran Response//); clarify that their reflections will start between 150-250 words/half a page and progress to 250-250 words/a whole page written to a page and a half 6:15-6:30– J: Write a150-250 words reflection on //Black Males and Violence// OR //Skin Deep Discrimination// 6:30-7:00 – R: //Black Like Me// by John Howard Griffin (November 7) 7:00-7:30 – COMPUTER: Video Jigsaw Activity and Discussion Sheet (“Bicycle Experiment,” “Shades of Black-Colorism, Skin Color, and Discrimination,” “Dark Girls Documentary,” and “What Would You Do: Racism in an Upscale Store”) HW: Read //Nigger//: //Language, History, and Modern Day Discourse;// write a 150-200 words reflection on the following blogger’s question ( [|www.fluther.com] ) [NOT on // Nigger // : //Language, History, and Modern Day Discourse]//: // Why don't all who perceive minorities insult themselves the way that black people do? //// … The Arabs I know never call themselves “Camel Jockeys” or ” Ragheads.” The gay people I know never call themselves “Fags” or “Homos.” The Hispanics I know (fabulous soldiers by the way) do not call themselves “Beaners” or “Greasers.” The Jews I know (my sister is married to a Jewish guy) do not call themselves “Kikes” or “Heber.” Occasionally, the black folks I know call each other “nigger.” That is their business. // // But… What is that all about? //
 * // Day 3 //**

6:00-6:15 – J: Write a reflection on the Cato article // Nigger // : //Language, History, and Modern Day Discourse// 6:15-7:00 – R: //Black Like Me// by John Howard Griffin (November 8) 7:00-7:30 - Read and discuss //Intragroup versus Intergroup Usage of Nigger// and // Nigger // : //Language, History, and Modern Day Discourse// as a class (or in groups) HW: Read and write a 200-250 words reflection on //White People and Nigger/Nigga// (censored)
 * // Day 4 //**

6:00-6:15 – J: Is there such a thing as non-verbal racism? In other words, can someone show a person of another race racism without saying a word, only by his/her body language, gestures, and facial expressions? Explain your response. 6:15-7:00 – R: //Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin// (November 10-12 – November 14, p52) using DRTA 7:00-7:30 – Gallery Walk: choose one of the Birmingham 1963 photos and write a reflection on what you think is going on, who are the people involved, and how you would react to the scene if you were in it (group work alternative) HW: DRTA Student Worksheet
 * // Day 5 //**

6:00-6:15 – J: What do you think is worse: people discriminating against or insulting other people who are different from them (e.g. a Red Sox fan mocking a Yankee fan) or people discriminating against or insulting other people who are the same as them (e.g. a person from the south end of Hartford criticizing someone from the north end of Hartford)? Explain your answer. 6:15-7:00 – R: //Black Like Me// by John Howard Griffin (November 14, p53-p64) 7:00-7:30 - RWPS (Read-Write-Pair-Share) p56: “The bus stopped at the outskirts… Spanish and Japanese.” HW: Write a 250-500 words reflection, comparing and contrasting the attitudes and actions of Christophe, who is a Negro, with the author, who is a White man pretending to be a Negro; complete the Venn diagram provided, and hand in with the reflection
 * // Day 6 //**

6:00-6:15 – J: Describe an incident in which you have been discriminated against for whatever reason (skin color, gender, social class, clothing, clique, sexual orientation, etc.). *Explain the term //–ism//. If you have never been discriminated against, what do you think is the motive for discrimination and why is it still tolerated today? 6:15-7:00 – R: //Black Like Me// by John Howard Griffin (November 14, p65-p78) 7:00-7:30 – Student Questions for Purposeful Learning (SQPL): White people should be excused from their racist and prejudiced attitudes of the past because they were simply following the cultural norm of the time. HW: Write a150-250 words reflection on one of the challenging statements discussed in class (SQPL)
 * // Day 7 //**

6:00-6:15 – J: Describe what it would be like to be the hated by so many people. Then describe what it would be like to be the person hating. 6:15-7:00 – R: //Black Like Me// by John Howard Griffin (November 15-November 19) 7:00-7:30 – Shades of Meaning Activity HW: “Test-Taking Assessment” and “Test-Taking Tips;” read and respond to “Beliefs Underlying Racism”; study for Midterm Exam
 * // Day 8 //**

6:00-6:15 – J: Is a person who allows a crime to be committed just as guilty as the person who commits it? For example, should a person (bystander) who watches a bully beat on someone else be just as guilty as the bully? Explain your answer. 6:15-7:00 – R: //Black Like Me// by John Howard Griffin (November 21-November 24) 7:00-7:30 – INSERT Activity: model excerpt, class activity (bottom of pp91-mid p93) HW: Write a 200-300 words reflection based on one of the points on your INSERT or one shared by a classmate during the INSERT Activity; study for Midterm Exam
 * // Day 9 //**

6:00-6:15 – J: Express whether you feel this course has met your expectations so far and honestly determine how you studied for the midterm and how much time you set aside to study in these past two weeks (based on “Test-Taking Skills Assessment”) 6:15-6:30 – Midterm Exam Review 6:30-7:30 – Midterm Exam; update on Project Matrix HW: Read “Fig. 2: Youth Action” and write a 150-200 words reflection on your interpretation of Figure 2 and the excerpt
 * // Day 10 //**

6:00-6:15 – J: Do you believe that the youth of today can be change-makers, young people who make a difference by creating change of social justice issues like racism, homophobia, gang violence, hunger, housing, etc.? 6:15-7:00 – //Black Like Me// by John Howard Griffin (November 25-December 1) 7:00-7:30 – Daniel Blanchard OR Fishbowl Discussion HW: Divide class into two groups for each reading: “Building Youth Movement for Community Change,” and “Increasing Student Voice and Moving Toward Leadership;” be ready to discuss it in groups
 * // Day 11 //**

6:00-6:15 – J: Briefly explain how much you know about the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. If you know nothing about it, explain why you do not know anything about this important era in American history. 6:15-7:00 – “Building Youth Movement for Community Change,” and “Increasing Student Voice and Moving Toward Leadership” Jigsaw Summary 7:00-7:30 – Daniel Blanchard OR Fishbowl Discussion HW: Write a 250-500 words reflection on what constitutes the successful Black person today (i.e. what makes a Black person successful nowadays?) 6:00-6:15 – J: What do you think the following quote from Shakespeare means: “Every fool in error can find a passage of Scripture (not just the Bible) to back him up”? 6:15-7:00 – R: //Black Like Me// by John Howard Griffin (December 2-December 7) 7:00-7:30 – “Character Development Story Map” HW: Based on the “Character Development Story Map” write a brief explanation about at least two reasons why the character changed throughout the novel (150-200 words)
 * // Day 12 //**
 * // Day 13 //**

6:00-6:15 – J: Explain why you agree or disagree with the following quote: //“I hate it when people throw around the terms reverse racism. I can be prejudiced but not racist. To be a racist, you have to be able to oppress another race. To do that, you have to have economic and political power. Blacks don’t have that; whites do”// (Dawn Kelly, an African American student activist and president of the student government at University of Illinois at Chicago,1992). 6:15-7:00 – //Black Like Me// by John Howard Griffin (December 9-March 18) 7:00-7:30 – Read “Richest African-Americans 2011-Forbes” HW: Choose one of the richest African-Americans (not necessarily the ones we looked at in class) and write a 200-300 words biography on her/him; use the “How to Write a Biography” worksheet as a guide
 * // Day 14 //**

// PLAY: // [|//http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/iml04_vid_music///] 6:00-6:15 – J: It’s difficult to stand up to your own beliefs when they differ from those of the majority. But it’s even harder to stand up to someone else’s beliefs knowing that, regardless of whether you agree with them or not, the majority of people do not and hence treat this person badly or even threaten him/her. Describe a time when you had to decide whether to defend someone else for their beliefs or just stay out of it. If you have never had to experience this, express whether you would be able to stand up for the “little guy” against the majority. 6:15-7:00 – R: //Black Like Me// by John Howard Griffin (April 2-August 17) 7:00-7:30 – Civil Rights Movement concept mapping (individually in journals, or on chart paper in groups); update on Project Matrix HW: Write a 250-350 reflection on one of the points presented in the Civil Rights Movement Concept Map
 * // Day 15 //**

6:00-6:25 – J: Write a response on how sensitive you are personally to your consciousness (with examples) based on the PBS video clip “Bernard Lafayette on Conscience” 6:25-7:00 – R: //Black Like Me// by John Howard Griffin (Epilogue-p171) 7:00-7:30 – COMPUTER: “Freedom Riders Bio Graphic Organizers” Jigsaw activity ( []  ) HW: Parallel Case Assignment
 * // Day 16 //**

6:00-6:15 – J: Freedom Ride “Human Timeline” activity ( []  ) 6:15-7:00 – R: //Black Like Me// by John Howard Griffin (p172-p188) 7:00-7:30 – “The Freedom Riders and Popular Music of the Civil Rights Movement” Introduction ( []  ;  []  ; ) HW: “Civil Rights Movement Song Analysis: Understanding the Message”
 * // Day 17 //**

6:00-6:15 – J: Briefly explain whether you believe voting and education are cornerstones to freedom. 6:15-7:00 – “TLC: Writing a Critical Analysis” and “How to Write a Critical Analysis” 7:00-7:30 – Critically analyze contemporary protest songs (R.E.M.’s //Final Straw//, Pink’s //Mr. President//, Lenny Kravitz and Kazem Al Sahir’s //We Want Peace//, Beastie Boys’ //Right Right Now Now//) HW: Find a contemporary protest song that discusses a social or civil rights issue (title of song and name of band/singer), such as the ones we analyzed in class, and write a 250-300 words critical analysis on the song’s message (look up “protest songs” on Wikipedia)
 * // Day 18 //**

6:00-6:15 – J: You have just witnessed the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing of September 16, 1963 that killed four little girls in Birmingham, Alabama by Klu Klux Klan members. After witnessing this, how would you react? How would you feel? What actions would you take in response to the bombings? 6:15-7:00 – Read Around of protest songs’ critical analyses 7:00-7:30 – Project Matrix HW: “Reaction Guide” and work on Project Matrix
 * // Day 19 //**

6:00-6:15 – J: Write a reflection on the entire course, collection of HW assignments, re-address expectations, and online Spring 2011 Evaluation 6:15-6:30 – Final Exam Review 6:30-7:30 – Final Exam
 * // Day 20 //**

* This syllabus is tentative and subject to change.