Saint Crispin's Day Sonnet: Video

Here's our "performance" of the sonnet/dialogue we wrote, complete with realistic props and professional acting.

Making a Case for Memorization Alternatives

When Kris and I pitched our idea to Dr. Preston (admittedly, it was on the day of presentations, after we had gone through with it...) his main concern was that although it adhered to the idea designing our own course, our method could potentially set a dangerous precedent for short-cutting.  This post is an attempt to alleviate some of those concerns, as well as explain how we came up with our solution.

Yesterday afternoon, Kris Green and I came up with an alternative to memorizing the Saint Crispin's day speech.  This was the result of a conversation we were having about whether memorizing poems was an effective learning strategy.  It started out as us complaining about it, but it eventually turned into a legitimate assessment.

Before going any further, I'll be frank.  Time saving was definitely the primary motivation for our decision to seek an alternative.  However, it was not a matter of laziness or an unwillingness to do work.  By the time we came up with the idea, I had memorized almost half of the speech.  Granted, having half of the poem memorized the day before is not an ideal spot to be, but rest assured that I would have pulled the late-night memorization spree if I thought it was necessary (this is what I did for To Be or Not To Be, after all).

Saint Crispin's Day Sonnet Dialogue

This is a sonnet that Kris Green and I wrote. We decided to do something different and follow the sonnet structure while making it into a dialogue. This is a hypothetical conversation between Westmoreland and the King. Obviously, this is not word-for-word what happens in the play, but we did our best to capture the essence of the speech.

W: O that we had but one ten thousand more.
K: For what need have we for that kind of man?
W: We are outnumbered, almost ten to four!
K: No matter, they are not of our brave clan.
W:  Some say it be sin to covet honour.
K: Better honour than avarice and gold.
W: Despite this, it doth make my gut feel sour.
K: Die for glory now, or wait till you're old.
W: Right, now.  Let us write a tale for the ages.
K: Our men shall bear these honourable scars,
W: It is with blood that we will ink the pages,
K:The myth shall be told in lyrics of bards
K: A tale of we few, we happy few, away
K: Fighting for glory on Saint Crispin’s Day!

W = Westmoreland
K = King


Check out the video here.

Literature Terms 1-5

Allegory: a tale in prose or verse in which characters, actions, or settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities; a story that uses symbols to make a point
And now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened.

Alliteration: the repetition of similar initial sounds, usually consonants, in a group of words
Dastardly definitions and sordid sentences.

Allusion:  a reference to a person, a place, an event, or a literary work that a writer expects a reader to recognize
[see "anachronism"]

Ambiguity: something uncertain as to interpretation
"Wow, so annoyed right now..."

Anachroism:  something that shows up in the wrong place or the wrong time
Dinosaurs on a spaceship!

Spring Semester Plan 1

When making goals for this semester, I was mistaken about the point (as were some others, apparently).  While doing more work for the Collaborative Working Groups is genuinely something that I want to accomplish this semester, it is hardly the type "dream big" goal that we discussed in class.  Besides that, it wasn't very specific.  So, here's my revised goal.

A year ago, I started working on a small computer game with a group of people.  Mechanically, it wasn't terribly complicated (meaning that it is certainly feasible).  We slung around some neat ideas and laid down the groundwork for it, but school became problematic near the end of the semester and work petered off.  I'd like to finish it.  Although not all of the group is available, Justin Thompson also plans to work on it.  Funnily enough, it seems that he has a similar goal for the semester, so perhaps that is where the Accountability of this S.M.A.R.T. goal will come from.

AP Prep Post 1: Siddhartha

1.  In the novel, Siddhartha encounters several people who aid him in one way or another toward achieving enlightenment.  Can you discuss at least one important person on Siddhartha's journey who aids in his self-discovery?
(Source -- Mrs. Armstrong and Mrs. Braasch)

I don't have the answer to this one, despite having read the novel before.  Obviously, it requires some more knowledge of the characters.  I decided to include it anyway because it provides an interesting foil to our in class discussion.  The moment of Siddhartha's awakening is accompanied by the realization that he is completely alone.  Analyzing the people that used to be part of his life and why they are no longer there is a potentially enlightening (pun entirely intended) discussion.

The following questions are taken from here.  They're (AP) student made, and there's a ton of them.

What's In This For Me?

With the new year and the new semester, it is time to set some goals.  In the few years that I have made a New Year's resolution, I have been notoriously bad at following through for more than a few weeks.  The problem, I found, was associating the goal with New Year's day.  After that holiday spirit wore off and I was back at school, I was back into my daily schedule and quickly lost interest in the resolution.  So, I'll be writing goals for the year of 2013, even after it's not exactly a "new" year anymore.

I've said on other occasions that I particularly enjoyed the collaborative working groups in this course. Consequently, I have "joined" a small handful of them.  Unfortunately, I have not been nearly as active in them as I would like (which is entirely my fault).  This is not for lack of interest.  My problem is that there is a fairly wide variety of things I am interested in, so when I am confronted with the opportunity to join a relevant group, I am quick to accept.  Because of this, I can't devote as much time as I would like to them.  I am sure other members of the groups have become irked with my deadline issues.

This can be solved in two ways.  The first is to simply cut down the number of groups I participate in.  Theoretically, this should free up more time.  However, my time management (or rather, my lack of it) is probably a more significant issue.  The more responsible solution would be to stop procrastinating on things.

I'm pretty sure this has been my New Year's resolution for the past couple years, which is incredibly ironic.  Also, the fact that I am posting this at 10:00 PM on the last day of break does not bode well (but it could be worse!).  Regardless, I'll do my best to get out of such bad habits, as they are clearly detrimental.