Sjodin's Blog

The Reduced Shakespeare Company creates and performs abbreviated, comic performances of many Shakespeare's play! This brief scene primarily introduces the superstition that exists in theatre regarding the naming of the play. Check them out! Polanski's version of the witches prophecy. Student made video - Macbeth in Claymation! Mr. Bean as BlackAdder! Judi Dench as Lady Macbeth.

It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can't build my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery and death. -- Anne Frank. Hi All, Those of you reading Night might like to link to Elie Wiesel's page. Find out more about why it is he won a Nobel Peace Prize. To support your understanding of the events during World War II and what we have come to know as the Holocaust, you may also want to check out this Holocaust Memorial site. Folks reading The Boy in the Striped Pajamas may be interested to know that Mark Herman has just released a film version of this heartbreaking novel. It is sad how we, as humans, are capable of such destruction. Yet, so often, and perhaps paradoxically, the human spirit is also capable of rising beautiful and awe inspiring out of the ashes of desp...

Have you ever wondered about your rights at school? Been kept for a detention? Had your bag searched before entering a dance? The BC Civil Liberties Society has created a brief and understandable website on your rights as a student. Check it out!

A change has already come, we can never go back from here, a black man, a democrat, has been elected for the US presidency. Everything is different from here on. Sure, government may disappoint us, may let us down; but the people, the people will never be the same, for now new things are imprinted as possible.

Okay grade 8's, get ready to creep into fright and fear! Your assignment is due on October 30th/31st, and here's some stuff to help you! * Perhaps you will research old movies and work at figuring out why it is so many of us like, actually like, to watch films that frighten us! *Perhaps you will explore through interviews and research why it is that Stephanie Meyer's novel Twilight , is such a hit. http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif *Maybe your group is working on investigating true stories about haunted houses. *Perhaps you will study and present the works of a master; Edgar Allan Poe . Include in your presentation contemporary interpretations of his work. * Consider exploring the psychology of fear . What is its role in our society? * It could be your group chooses to explore the history of Halloween . Or perhaps research the role of ghosts and spirits in different cultures . Whatever you choose, be thorough in your research. These links are here to get you sta...

Check out this video referred to me by Mr.Williams. If you see him, talk to him about what you might like to change in the world. He is interested. Let me know if you would like to create something similar to this video for an assignment. The word structure is challenging and effective! For posted comments I pose these questions: What do you care about? Why? What attitudes to see portrayed about your generation? What would YOU like to reverse?

Yes, there are folks out there in the wonderful wide world making a living telling stories and performing poetry! Coming soon to the multi-purpose room is Brendan Mcleod , with guests from as far away as the land down under. Stay tuned to hear more about Miles Merrill and other accompanying word wonders! Follow the links to check out their biographies, or plan to see them, and others at the upcoming Vancouver Writer's Festival .

Hey All, This is just a reminder that in order to have your comments posted, you need to sign in with your first name or include your name at the bottom of your post. Also, try to pose questions and comments that will promote further thinking and dialogue on various issues. Cheers!

They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions... but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience. ~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird , Chapter 11, spoken by the character Atticus Re-reading Harper Lee 's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird has me thinking about a few things. For one, the world can use more men like Atticus Finch. Atticus strikes me as a true hero, a man who understands what it means to have integrity . His sense of justice includes being true to his conscience and what it means to do the right thing. Even when the right thing seems to go against the cultural wave . This has to be what he means when he informs his children that his conscience is not controlled by "majority rule". As Atticus's choice to defend Tom Robinson brings change to the "tired old town" of Maycomb, the Ci...

Moscrop has hit the news! Our local CBC has reported that three "disguised" individuals have been running an underground market of chocolate bars, seizing this entrepreneurial opportunity supposedly in response to new legislation that has banned unhealthy foods and snacks from schools. While the interviewed youths chose to identify themselves by pseudonym only, there is little mystery as to who they be in the school. Simply walk down the halls and look for the guys who are standing around making joyful and enthusiastic pleas to check out their fame on the CBC website or the group news on Facebook. I guess one can't blame folks for wanting to make some cash, who doesn't like a little pocket money, or heck, how about a whole lot of pocket money?! I suppose it's your business too, if you want to help make witty underground marketers rich. What's at stake here though? Some might wonder if schools are going to be sweating over how to find that extra bit of...

Not everything that happens in life is fair, and I'm not even certain that "fair" is what makes the most sense in every situation. What I do know though, is that many people over the centuries have worked hard (and continue to today) to ensure that all people are treated with respect and granted equality before the law. It was for this reason Unicef created The Convention on The Rights of the Child . Sadly, these rights are not always respected or protected. What the world needs is socially and personally conscious people;people able, at least sometimes, to voice opinion that goes against the wave. How will you contribute to building and nurturing a just world?

For your info: This website is intended to provide support to your curriculum. From time to time I will post videos, comments, questions, assignment material, and links to helpful websites intended to support your studies. Feel free to offer suggestions or feedback that are constructive in nature. You can do this by speaking to me in person, or clicking on the comments section of various entries. Please note that comments you make directly to me will not be posted, but will be taken into consideration. To contribute a comment intended for "classroom" discussion or dialogue topics you must include your first name. Comments made by pseudonym only will not be posted. This is to secure the integrity of this site. Take some time to become familiar with the various labels. These are links to resources designed to inform your studies and help save you time with internet research. When making comments for discussion be thoughtful to add your thoughts or ideas in a way that ...

Sunflowers sit sleepy at their desks Here in the brick building set on Salish land, wondering why the pen feels painful propped between the pulse of finger and thumb “Ms. Sjodin?” one asks, “Is this for marks?” My naaame is Leanne. Marks?! marks making material from ethereal and pushing pondering and process to the realm of meaningless meaning less in a system of reward and what do you think anyway? so what while one sleepy flower coos softly from under his finally so close to getting out fine feather blanket his fingers fold, hold the pencil bitten at its end I can see the wood chips splintered between his teeth and I wonder why he doesn’t just spit them out once in a while like Randy Jackson getting’ his groove on over a good beat and a dance crew steppin’ out into the screw you with a see my feet fly so high over the ingratitude and the flat hand on the head top no stop suddenly, there’s a crackle and a voice pops soft over the PA I hear it, the question “Why? Why Santy Clause, w...

poewar/essay writing!

hysteric Definition hys·teric (hi ster′ik) adjective hysterical Etymology: L hystericus hysterical noun a hysterical fit; hysteria (sense ) a person subject to hysteria To learn about the Salem Witchhunts click on this link to a National Geographic educational tour of Salem in 1692.

irony at its best

Check out this blog! www.write101.blogspot.com/

Martin Luther King once said: "Just as it is the duty of all men to obey just laws, so it is the duty of all men to disobey unjust laws". [Presumably he meant women too! ;)] It seems true that rules and laws play a pivotal role in maintaining some sense of social order. What if there were no laws? Would chaos unfold? Would the world as we know it fall apart? Or would life take on some new kind of structure, maybe something we haven't imagined yet? What is the role of rules and laws in our society? Is there ever a time when some rules or laws should be broken? Why?

Pre writing assignment for Ken Kesey 's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Normal : - adj . 1. conforming to a standard; regular, usual, typical. 2. to flee from mental or emotional disorder. 3. Geom . (of a line) at right angles, temperature etc. [Latin normalis: related to norm] - Oxford Dictionary What is normal? Should everyone be normal? Who gets to decide what is normal and what is not? Why? Is there a purpose to opposing the construct of normal? You are invited to post comments that reflect on the idea of normal.

From the Greek lego , to speak “The object of a dialogue is not to analyze things, or to win an argument, or to exchange opinions. Rather it is to suspend your opinions and to look at the options – to listen to everybody’s opinions, to suspend them, and to see what all that means.” “Take part in truth.” David Bohm, “On Dialogue”

I encountered this graffiti one night when I was out looking for photo ops. What do you suppose the artist means by this message? (Note to students: please remember to post your comments by first name only. Pose a personal response, argument or question that will contribute to creating a forum for thoughtful discussion.)

I have been checking out a cool website by another teacher somewhere in web world. You can check it out if you want at thereflectiveteacher.wordpress.com/ . Anyways, I am borrowing one of his activities. Try boiling down your full day into one sentence. Post your sentence as a comment. Kudos for those of you who manage to utilize figurative devices or new vocab in your sentence while keeping true to the sentiment of your day!

An excellent Hamlet resource!

(Still looking for the full text of his poem to post here. Please refer to your notes :)) Jon Silkin 's poem "Carved" is interesting with its blunt, colloquial tongue and bare presentation of image. The rhythm is simple, yet poignant with the message it carries. As far as I know, every living thing dies at least once, and yet, we fear this passage. Silkin has us pause to gaze upon this fear. He forces us to see the "dead black bird" as it is, "very dead". And as we stare at the unsympathetic "red ants" devouring the fallen creature, we witness a strange transformation. The dogs bark, as if at the gates of Hades, as the live ants become "red death" and the black bird becomes a "thing" personified and uncaring. A metamorphosis has occurred, the live ants spill over the bird like blood and the black bird becomes larger, like a shadow, a "thing", perhaps fear itself. * Try mimicking Silkin's poe...

Your booklet is to include your four best poems written during this unit of study. Three of these must be the poems we have "workshopped" in class, modelled from what I am calling the "Mentor" poems. These are as follows: I. Seen From Above — by Wislawa Szymborska SEEN FROM ABOVE —Wislawa Szymborska On a dirt road lies a dead beetle. Three little pairs of legs carefully folded on his belly. Instead of death's chaos—neatness and order. The horror of this sight is mitigated, the range strictly local, from witchgrass to spearmint. Sadness is not contagious. The sky is blue. For our peace of mind, their death seemingly shallower, animals do not pass away, but simply die, losing—we wish to believe—less of awareness and the world, leaving—it seems to us—a stage less tragic. Their humble little souls do not haunt our dreams, they keep their distance, know their place. So here lies the dead beetle on the road, glistens unlamented when the sun hits. A glance at him...

www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com/programs/vanslam

(Image: Oil Painting by Kirsti Ann Wakelin) The other evening I dreamt I found a dead crow caught behind the cushions of my sofa. Disturbing. How did it get there, in my dream, so concrete and visible? And what does it mean? Carl Jung would have me analyze the significance of this dream as it connects to our collective consciousness. What do crows symbolize in our culture today? Was this a visit from Poe? Has a Haida raven dropped by to keep me on my toes? Or is the recent death of my grandfather somehow "couched" in my internal dialogue? He was a storyteller. Even more intriguing is what happened when I relayed this dream story to my grade 8's. Picking up a new book of poetry and opening it randomly the first poem I fell upon was Jon Silkin's "Carved", the first two lines: Two small dogs stood by a dead black bird And the black bird was very dead. There is no denying death. The dead are dead. As with Silkin's black bird. As with...

Billy Collins, The Dead, Video Poetry