Friday, December 15, 2017

Tweet by New Pages on Twitter

New Pages (@newpages)
#Writers, don't forget online #litmag @trampset wants your brave, honest work of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction for publication in future issues. ow.ly/Yb4w30hfAN7 pic.twitter.com/M2KjBqThLS

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Paul R. Koch

Friday, December 8, 2017

Tweet by New Pages on Twitter


New Pages (@newpages)
#Writers, remember @criticalread is accepting true stories of the fine, literary, and performing arts. Check out pieces online and consider submitting your own personal essays. ow.ly/9ybp30gHldY pic.twitter.com/Zu1OX7X9am

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Paul R. Koch

Thursday, November 30, 2017

The Danger of a Single Story

Of Mice and Men Socratic Seminar


Prepare for the seminar by reading the text, preparing your notes, and thinking about connections between this story, other stories we have read in class and other stories you, or your classmates, researched during the project.

________________

The Setup



__________________

The Rubric


Why do you think the novel Of Mice and Men named after this poem?

List 5 stereotypes for men and 5 stereotypes for women.  Where do stereotypes come from?  How are women portrayed in the novel?  Why does the author portray women this way?

What is empathy? Why is it an important human characteristic?

Why is it important to society for people to be accepting of those who are different? What lessons can we learn from those whose live lives different from our own?

What is an individual’s duty to others?

Why is it important for people to feel like they belong?

What can the struggles of others teach us about ourselves? How can people’s struggles define who they become?

What are the elements that build a strong friendship? Lennie and George had an unusual friendship - how are people transformed through their relationships with others? How do you know if a relationship is healthy or hurtful? What can we learn as readers from the relationship between George and Lennie?

Can mercy killing be justified?

How are the experiences of migrant workers like Lennie and George similar to what people go through today?

What is the American Dream and to what extent is it achievable for all Americans? In what ways does the American Dream mean different things for different Americans?

BY ROBERT BURNS
ON TURNING UP IN HER NEST WITH THE PLOUGH, NOVEMBER, 1785(A farmer ran over a mouse nest with his plow while tending to his fields)

Wee, sleeket, cowran, tim’rous beastie,
O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!

Thou need na start awa sae hasty,

          Wi’ bickerin brattle!

I wad be laith to rin an’ chase thee

          Wi’ murd’ring pattle! 

I’m truly sorry Man’s dominion

Has broken Nature’s social union,

An’ justifies that ill opinion,

          Which makes thee startle,

At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,

          An’ fellow-mortal! 
I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen-icker in a thrave
          ’S a sma’ request:
I’ll get a blessin wi’ the lave,
          An’ never miss ’t! 
Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!
It’s silly wa’s the win’s are strewin!
An’ naething, now, to big a new ane,
          O’ foggage green!
An’ bleak December’s winds ensuin,
          Baith snell an’ keen! 
Thou saw the fields laid bare an’ waste,
An’ weary Winter comin fast,
An’ cozie here, beneath the blast,
          Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
          Out thro’ thy cell. 
That wee-bit heap o’ leaves an’ stibble
Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!
Now thou’s turn’d out, for a’ thy trouble,
          But house or hald,
To thole the Winter’s sleety dribble,
          An’ cranreuch cauld! 
But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
          Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
          For promis’d joy! 
Still, thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But Och! I backward cast my e’e,
          On prospects drear!
An’ forward tho’ I canna see,
          I guess an’ fear!



Sunday, November 26, 2017

Tweet by the Same on Twitter



the Same (@__the_Same__)
Call for submissions: We are now open to #poetry #submissions ! Send us your best work, Ladies! (All work accepted before the end of the year will be considered for the annual print #anthology, regardless of publication date.)
theSame.submittable.com @submittable #womenwriters pic.twitter.com/Emt0zFVTwy




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Paul R. Koch

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Bullying: Why Zero-Tolerance Policies Don't Work | HuffPost



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Paul R. Koch

The New Stephen Curry: How the Warriors’ Super-Shooter Has Transformed His Game in the Playoffs «


http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-new-stephen-curry-how-the-warriors-super-shooter-has-transformed-his-game-in-the-playoffs/


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Paul R. Koch

Modern Family: “A Hard Jay's Night”

https://tv.avclub.com/modern-family-a-hard-jays-night-1798180020


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Paul R. Koch

Review: In ‘Between the World and Me,’ Ta-Nehisi Coates Delivers a Searing Dispatch to His Son - The New York Times

Review: In ‘Between the World and Me,’ Ta-Nehisi Coates Delivers a Searing Dispatch to His Son - The New York Times:




'via Blog this'

12 Creative Writing Templates for Planning Your Novel

https://blog.evernote.com/blog/2017/10/02/12-creative-writing-templates-planning-novel/




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Paul R. Koch

Monday, October 30, 2017

In the Spirit of Halloween...

Let the Night Bring You Sweet Dreams
     When the old woman with wispy gray hair saw the baby at her doorstep, she was tempted to leave the child to die. The old woman never liked children and never had or wanted any of her own, but she was not cruel enough to leave the child. She would have gotten rid of the scoundrel, but no one lived in the woods where the old woman’s cottage sat, so she hesitantly took the baby in. When the old woman first held the baby, she did not gaze, but rather studied the child with disgust, expecting the vomit to erupt at any moment. Despite the old woman’s resentment for the child, even the old woman could not deny the baby was beautiful. She was a perfect baby girl, chubby cheeks and smooth, pale skin. The little tuft of hair on her head was a soft black and her mouth was the prettiest shade of pink. She was the doll every little girl wanted when the old woman was a child, every little girl except for the old woman, of course. Every part of the baby resembled an angel, except for her eyes, which were the purest obsidian, the color of the darkest night.
     The old woman’s disgust for the child lessened, though rather slowly. But as the old woman’s feeling of disgust lessened, a feeling of unsettlement began to settle in its place. The old woman could not deny the baby appeared an angel, but whenever she looked at the baby, the back of her neck would begin to tingle. The child merely sat. She did not cry, babble, giggle nor coo. She sat. Lips closed. Emotionless. Silent as the night. The old woman told herself she did not mind this. She did not desire a screaming red-faced abomination, but the sickening, prickling sensation would not go away.
     The old woman created a makeshift cradle from an old wooden drawer, which she kept by the fire. Every night, the old woman would sit by the fire and rock the child in her arms back and forth, back and forth, the soft cadence slowly lulling the baby to sleep. The old woman could not bring herself to gaze at the child, so she would stare at the child until the baby fell asleep. She would then look into the fire until the last ember’s glow faded into the night. Then she would take the little child and lay her in the cradle. Soon after, the old woman would fall into a dreamless sleep.
     One night, the old woman sang the baby a raspy lullaby and watched as the baby slowly drifted to sleep. She watched the baby for a few more moments in silence, then turned toward the dancing flames, entranced by its flickering tongues. When she finally turned back to the baby, she was surprised to find the small child staring back at her with wide dark eyes. The old woman frowned and said, “Go to sleep now, little child.” The baby stared back, expressionless. The old woman repeated, ever so slightly kinder this time, “Go to sleep now and let the night bring you sweet dreams.” The baby remained frozen. Then she smiled, but her eyes didn’t twinkle like the stars in the clear night sky. Her lips simply curved up at the sides, her eyes still and unchanging. The old woman found this a bit strange. This was the first time she had seen the baby smile, and she had not been expecting this. As the last ember’s glow faded into the night, the old woman laid the little child in her crib. The old woman then took her candle and walked back over to the crib to find the peculiar smile still on the child’s lips. Then the old women headed off to bed to fall into a dreamless sleep.
     The next night, as the old woman rocked the baby to sleep, she again became distracted by the flickering, scarlet tongues. When she looked back down at the baby, she saw the child’s wide obsidian eyes again, but this time, she noticed the slight smile on the baby’s lips from the night before. “Go to sleep now, my little child, and let the night bring you sweet dreams,” the old woman said to the baby. The child stared back, unmoving. Then the corners of her mouth curled upwards, ever so slightly, her eyes unchanging. The woman turned back to the fire and as the last ember’s glow faded into the night, she laid the little baby back into her cradle. The old woman then took her candle and walked over to the crib where she stared at the little child’s smile. Then she fell into a dreamless sleep.
     On the third night, the old woman rocked the baby to sleep. She stared at the flickering tongues until the last ember’s glow faded into the night. Then the old woman carried the little baby to her cradle. The old woman went back to her rocking chair and taking her candle, turned back to the cradle, only to find it empty. The old woman searched every corner of her small cottage, but she could not find the child. She checked her bedroom, looking behind her pillow and under the bed. Still, the baby was not to be seen. As the old woman walked back down the hallway to check the crib once more, she saw a faint glow and a soft flickering. The old woman slowly approached the growing light, and finally came into view of a roaring fire and sitting in front of it... a little child. The old woman stood, unmoving, and then the little baby turned her head. The child’s smile grew into a leer with a full set of glowing white teeth. Then the baby spoke. “Go to sleep now and let the night bring you sweet dreams.”

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Roya’s POL Analysis

3 challenge words
2 statements of plot - who what when where why
1 illustration

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Headlights

There’s something about the way the headlights illuminate the road ahead that sends a shiver down your spine. They’re too bright. Too artificial. They only allow you to see a few feet ahead of yourself, like the darkness ahead is running away from the yellow beams chasing after it. It bends around the automobiles barreling down the road and pounds on the windows, begging to be let in, but still keeping secrets hidden in the feet in front of you. It doesn’t seem like real life, the edges of the road erased along with the forest surrounding it, erasing all the familiarity you had with the road. The asphalt bleeds into the overbearing blackness and joins it, morphing into a vacuum broken only by your obnoxious headlights. Those two bright rays disrupting the new, silent world created by the night. A world you’ve never been invited to be a part of. Maybe that’s why it scares you, because you’re the one out of place here. The world has gone to sleep, but you’re still wide awake. And your high beams are bringing light to where darkness deserved to be.

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Poems

The word smile.
It’s an action.
It’s idea.
It’s an option.

Joy.
It’s a simple word.
That puts happiness in it’s place.
That replaces sadness.
That shows laughs and smiles.  
But some people don’t want joy.
They want satisfaction.


You can’t fight if you have nothing to fight for.
You can’t win if you don’t want to.
You can’t dream if you don't work to achieve it.
You can’t play if you don’t take it seriously.
You can’t let life loose if you don’t get up and fight back.


After all these years,
After all these months,
After all these days,
After all these hours,
After all these minutes,
After all these seconds,
After all these miliseconds,
You still haven’t realized,
I have given up everything for you.
Some of those everythings,
Cannot be returned.

Let the summer days bring joy.
Let the spring days bring calm.
Let the fall days bring chill.
Let the winter days bring enjoyment.





When I look at you,
I get butterflies.
When you look at me,
You look at me as if I did something wrong.
When I talk to you,
I’m a nervous wreck.
When you talk to me,
You show no interest.
When I laugh with you,
I act like I’m in love with you.
When you laugh with me,
You’re actually laughing at me.
So why I do love you?
I have absolutely no idea.

Chains.
They lock us.
They trap us.
They restrain us.
They slowly,
But surely,

Kill us.

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Anticipation Guide—Romeo and Juliet

Rate all of the following on a scale from 1 to 5: 1 being strongly disagree, 2 being somewhat disagree, 3 being neutral/not sure, 4 being somewhat agree, and 5 being strongly agree.  Then provide a 3-4 sentence explanation defending your position. 


           



1.  The punishment for murder should always be death.

            1          2          3          4          5

Rationale:





2.  Teenagers can’t understand what true love really is.

            1          2          3          4          5

Rationale:





3.  Killing someone in revenge for killing a close friend of yours is okay.

            1          2          3          4          5

Rationale:





4.  Good friends should stick together at all times no matter how wrong a friend may be.

            1          2          3          4          5

Rationale:



5.  Parents should make the decisions about their children’s lives.

            1          2          3          4          5

Rationale:




6.  It is possible to fall in love at first sight.

            1          2          3          4          5

Rationale:




7.  Telling lies or hiding the truth is acceptable for the right reasons.

            1          2          3          4          5

Rationale:




8.  Family feuds only affect adults.

            1          2          3          4          5

Rationale:







9.  Loyalty to your family is more important than love.

            1          2          3          4          5

Rationale:





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Socratic Seminar - Community/Justice

Why do we feel the need to belong?  How do we maintain our individual identities and be part of a community? What are the benefits and draw...