Day 10

So, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown." You may ask what this has to do with anything yet it truly does. The Peanuts gang may be seen as transcendental, well at least some of them. Which of the characters truly are transcendental or individualists? Why do you think this? What about Charlie Brown? Personally, I do not think he is so transcendental. What do you think? Why?


Please note that next week there is no Monday blog so you will have to do all other days (obviously no Tuesday blog as there is no school).

Day 9

Good job in the discussions today. For this evening:

Please respond to the following:

Define popularity & how this concept affects your life? How can this idea be trascendental?

Day 8

Make sure that those questions are completed so you can actively participate in the discussion tomorrow.

For this evening:

Why do you think "Into the Wild" became a bestseller? What was it about this story that hit readers to the point of it selling so many copies, making it into a movie and using it in classrooms? What themes and values made people feel riveted to the story?

Day 7

As always, we shall be looking at current events this evening. Please pick wisely and do not choose entertainment or sports unless you can related back to a strong current event. Remember, the summary should be brief while the connection should be longer. DO NOT FORGET TO CITE!

Day 6

Make sure that you have completed the reading of the novel by Wednesday. We will be doing some class discussions as well as some reading circle discussions over the rest of the week.

What do you think of the many people in "Into the Wild" who seem to be living as transients or squatters (if you do not know what these mean look them up!)? Does the freedom of their lifestyle (or of Chris') appeal to you? Do you think they should attempt to establish stable homes and livelihoods? Why or why not?

Day 5

How tragic for Neil to be so fearful of his individuality in the face of his father. How sad that sometimes people impress upon us their hopes and dreams to the point that they want to live through us and not let us live for ourselves. Neil's suicide was far more than his own personal death but the death of his individuality (metaphor). I truly hope that in your lives you learn to counterbalance your need and desire for individuality with the times when conformity also comes into play. These two can co-exist as long as you are making the choices which are best (and safest) for you.

What do you think you would want to say to Chris/Alex if you were his father? His mother? His sister? Remember to related specific items from the story in your answer.

Day 4

There seem to be many similarities between Chris/Alex, Mr. Keating, the boys in "Dead Poet Society," Thoreu, and Emerson. Please discuss how some or all of these people follow the ideas of transcendentalism with examples from each of the stories or movie that you talk about.

Day 3

Hope you were able to begin and understand the movie. Even in the beginning, it is evident that there is a friction between the ideals of an individualist (Robin Williams character) and the "societal" beliefs of the establishment.

Please respond to the following quote:

Archibald Macleish:

The dissenter (look up this word if you do not know what it means) is every human being at those moments of his life when he resigns momentarily from the herd and thinks for himself.

Day 2

As today was grammar and vocab day we all know what that means: Current Event blog day! Yeah.

Remember to cite your source and no entertainment or sports unless there is a clear reason why you are talking about them.

Cardmarking 2, Day 1

This may take more than 7 sentences but deal:

What do you want to experience in your life? Give 3 experiences that you hope to have that are more than just superficial. Based on this information, how do your desires compare with Thoreau's wish to live simply and deliberately in the woods? Do you see any of yourself in Thoreau or Emerson? Why or why not?

Day 27

Today we looked at the reading "Walden Pond" by Thoreau. Imagine you, like Thoreau, went and lived in a place like Walden Pond. After one month, your parents have asked you to come back to town, get a real job and settle down. Write a letter to them explaining why you want to continue living at Walden Pond. Make sure you touch on the ideas of individualism and transcendentalism, if this fits your ideals, in the letter.

Day 26

One of the things we discussed was the idea that just because you follow transcendentalism, or individualism, does not mean that you are a selfish person nor does it mean that you are not out to be a part of society. It just means that you do things on the terms that are acceptable to you. Based on this idea, respond to the following:

What does stand and be counted mean to you? You may use a personal experience to explain.

Day 25

Decent discussion today. It would be helpful and beneficial if people would be more willing to discuss. IF this does not happen, then I will begin to assign points to discussion. I would prefer not to do this as it seems to be treating you like kids not young adults.

For this evening, ponder the following:

How do you rebel against your family, school, and community values? If you say you do not, why? Is rebellion a form of non-conformity based on the discussion from "Self Reliance?"

Day 24

As today was grammar and vocab day we all know what that means: Current Event blog day! Yeah.

Remember to cite your source and no entertainment or sports unless there is a clear reason why you are talking about them.

Day 23

Please discuss with us what you think it means to be an individualist. What are the pros? The cons? In what ways are you an individualist?

Day 22

Remember to study for vocab and grammar this evening. Make sure you are reading through chapters 7-9 and doing your post its.

For this evening:

Tell me, how would you describe your ideal world? This could include things as the people in your life, government, etc. Think about why you think Chris McClandess would want to walk away from his situation and discuss if you would ever walk away from what you have or what makes someone make a drastic decision such as this.

Day 21

Give me your impression of Alex/Chris. Talk about his relationships thus far and how these relationships guide him. Maybe touch on the theme of independence and whether he may or may not be taking it to an extreme.

Day 20

How are there only 9 entries from yesterday? I guess that means many of you will be blogging tonight and not using it as your off day.

Since it is Tuesday, we shall be doing a current event. You know the drill so make sure you have the brief summary and the connection. Also remember, NO CITE, NO POINTS.

See you tomorrow!

Day 19

Hope you got some reading done today. We will be discussing the book beginning tomorrow if we finish grammar and vocab or on Wednesday.

For this evening:


"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
Mark Twain

What does this quote mean to you and then explain how it relates to what you have read about Chris thus far.

Day 18

Free blog this evening. You must write something different or a different topic than the last free blog. Have a great weekend and GO EAGLES

Day 17

Hope you understood transcendentalism today and the fact that people who follow this philosophy are free thinkers who want to try things and do not want to be pideon holed into a box. There are many pros and cons to thinking this way and we will discuss them in several contexts over the next few weeks.

For this evening:

Life is constantly moving at a quick pace and we are often just trying to keep up. How do you escape the hectic world around you? What things do you do and do you do them with people or alone? Is it better to be a part of the world or escape from it?