Transcendentalist Book Clubs, Day #1: November 30, 2017

Focus: What does it take to be self-reliant?

1. Warming up by exploring your transcendentalist blogs and connecting self-reliance to your books (15 minutes)

• Priority #1: Finish your blog entries for "Self-Reliance" (and make sure your blog is accessible). Here are the directions from yesterday:
• Journaling...
  • Find 3-5 lines from the essay you appreciate/love/agree with. Enter them in your blog journal.
  • For each line you've chose, reflect and react. You can simply write, you can create a short video, you can draw and upload your drawing, or you can include a combination of photographs and writing. 
  • Use your reaction to figure out why you're connecting to the lines you've chosen. Why does this matter to you? Why should this matter to everyone?
  
  • "To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature...The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and the heart of the child." -- from Emerson's "Nature"
  •  I chose this image of my three-year-old and five-year-old, bundled up in sweaters, jackets, and hats, because they beg me each morning and afternoon to go outside. They enjoy the quiet darkness of a winter morning. They can't wait to kick their legs on the swings in the summer. In the fall, they chase leaves, In the spring, they taste rain and leave sloppy footprints in the leftover snow. When did I stop going outside to play? 

• Priority #2: Leave comments others' blogs. Intellectual reflections? Emotional reactions? Questions? Please be specific and thorough (much like Fishbowl blogging).

• Priority #3: In your book club book, try this out: Flip through the reading you've done in your book so far. Are there any lines in your book that connect to "Self-Reliance"? Or to the idea of transcending something? Mark them on comment in the margins, or add them to your blog or syllabus.

• As a class: According to Emerson, what must we do to be self-reliant?

2. Engaging in your transcendentalist book clubs: Day 1 (30 minutes)

3. Completing a quick exit ticket on your bookmarks:

• Name one success from today: What's one thing your book club should keep doing?
• Name one failure (if applicable): What's one thing your book club needs to do to improve?

4. Selecting one-minute speech topics for Friday

• Your speech needs to be 60 seconds long. You will have a 10 second grace window.
• You may have a prop or slides (not required, but you may wish to practice).
• It's preferable not to have notes. However, if that's too scary, you may have one index card.

HW:
1. Prepare to give your 60 second speech for tomorrow. You may bring a prop and/or use slides, but this is not required (yet). You are encouraged to try this without any notes at all, but you are allowed to bring one index card (don't use your phone). Bring headphones to class tomorrow.

2. Assigned book club reading and syllabus-creating for next Tuesday.