8/31

Warm-up - Evaluate Einstein's effectiveness (or lack thereof) in appealing to his audience through ethos, logos, and pathos.

Classwork - LOC pages 10-26 - visual analysis and arrangement

Homework - Study for quiz on pages 1-26

8/30

Warm-up:  How do you change your writing for different audiences?  Why?

Classwork:  Read pages 1-10 of The Language of Composition (LOC)

Homework:  Study the terminology in the first Chapter of LOC - Quiz on Wednesday on pages 1-26.

8/27

Warm-up - Quickwrite Prompt - What was your reaction to Nickel and Dimed?  Were your perceptions of working class and the working poor transformed or verified by reading this book?  Explain.  To what extent were your perceptions about the world of work changed or reinforced?

Classwork - Whole Class Discussion of Nickel and Dimed (see attached notes)

Homework - Define rhetoric



PD 2 Discussion
Did you think her experience was equal to conditions other working class people endure? What advantages did she have that they did not?


• Equal to an extent , some worse than her & vice versa. Had advantage of this not being her real life & she actually had own job

• Didn’t have the same experience as those who actually had to endure this in their real lives. No family,

• Could easily relocate and switch jobs if she had to, had savings money in comparison to people who did not have these savings and would have had to work harder

• Hard to not use previously attained knowledge when in work force. Subconsciously used knowledge. Ex- interviewed better

• Had a car & was paid off. Low wage workers most likely have taken out loans if they even had a car

• Had the option of healthcare & the money to take care of random sickness or condition. Ex- rash

• Entire experience inauthentic, “fake life”, no back up plan for regular low wage workers. Regular people had a multitude of problems that she would have never faced.

• Referred to it as an experiment and constantly repeated this instead of trying to fully immerse herself into the life of a low wage worker in those respective places

• Dramatized/ had to because she knew it was fake and emphasis was necessary to keep reader interested

• Cant “buy” struggle & cannot be put into situation legitimately

• Too many perks and lavish things to fully endure low wage life

• Exploiting experience of real low wage workers.

• Credit to Ehrenreich for actually trying and experiencing events detailed in novel

• Didn’t completely forget about those who she worked with & tried to help with minimum wage standards




Why do you think that poverty is cyclical?
• So many obstacles to endure, once past one obstacle another comes up

• Poor tend to not have education and cannot save up money due to lack of sufficient funds

• Always discouraged to attempt to better their situation due to regulations, don’t want the stress of being let down repeatedly

• Cannot afford to not have a job if they wished to search for a better & high paying job or opportunity to raise level of education.

• Tend to be unhealthier because healthier foods cost more & those living in motels & other living arrangements do not have the luxury of a kitchen that includes a stove.



Pd 3
Did you think her experience was equal to conditions other working class people endure? What advantages did she have that they did not?

• Experiences real, lifestyle was basically equal. Not totally authentic because it was not her regular lifestyle. Partial advantages.

• Disadvantages also, convenience of travel. Previous money saved before. Wasn’t accustomed to the lifestyle.

• Major advantage of car. Without mobility, tasks that Ehrenreich did would be not as easy

• Major advantage was the confidence and energy she had to approach the job

• Ehrenreich had no children to feed or other family members to support

• Extra leftover money from previous jobs was an advantage

Drug testing

• Drug testing is for good reason

• Drug free workers are more productive

• Background tests should also get attention along with drug tests

• Background tests done mostly

• Drug tests are often inaccurate and easy to get around

• Drug addicts could get around tests easily

• Random testing could be adequate alternative

• Weaknesses in targeting specific groups and possibility of missing drug users

• Drugs are not the only threat for employers

• Not announcing drug tests affects behavior profoundly

• *off topic sorta* airplane testing random people, often viewed by people as profiling

• Profiling is still prevalent issue

• Profiling is human nature

• If not human nature, it is instilled generally very early in life

What do you think that Ehrenreich should be given credit?

• Ehrenreich shouldn’t be given too much credit for actual experiment because many of the thoughts conveyed were not her own

• Ehrenreich good narrator overall, gets off topic often

• Ehrenreich may have come off as “rude” or “insensitive”

• Not credible source, had many advantages

• Had advantage of leaving jobs while her co-workers were stuck there

• Often very hypocritical? Conflicting thoughts by her

• Did try to understand and grasp certain challenges as best as she could

• Good choice by going to Maine and Minnesota because of the competition with other Caucasian workers

• Very weird when categorizing different feces (lol)

• Explicit details inserted in book to help convey the disgust felt by her

Why do you think that poverty is cyclical?

• People are born into poverty and its hard to break the cycle

• Once into poverty, it is hard to escape because the money that is made goes to essentials

• If one were to try to get a new job then they risk missing work at current job and losing money

• Education is key

• When born into poverty, mindset is very important

• Poverty is very communal, community can greatly influence individuals

• Motivation sometimes just isn’t enough when the funds aren’t there

• In certain areas, poverty weighs down on the one impoverished area, and life sometimes is expected

• A lot of times, poverty is adapted to and becomes instilled in their lives.

Should there be more or less regulations for business owners(such as health insurance)

• Health insurance should be made more affordable for small businesses and families

• Health problems are not by choice for the most part.

• Insurance companies can charge base premiums to their desire

• Consumers do not have the choice to receive the cheapest health coverage possible

• Companies would rather insure people with little health problems for most profit

• US should have health insurance

• Problem is that it conflicts with US constitution

• People are often prioritized in other countries government provided systems



Pd 4 Discussion

Do the advantages that Ehrenreich had invalidate her experiment or was she able to honestly experience the conditions of the working poor?



-stand up to bosses

-cars go further

-knew people to live with

-had something to back up on to

-no kids

-wasn’t starting from scratch

-had money for side problems (dermatologist)

-didn’t have fear of being homeless or starving

-wasn’t a real experience for her

-selfish and didn’t get the real idea

-doesn’t have the same mindset as those living in the low wage working class- transitioned from high to low

-journalistic and just her experiment to see if it was possible to survive off minimum wage.

-her experience was easier to relate to







How you think we should handle health insurance for the working poor?



-should be free for working poor

-they work the hardest

-can’t financially afford to pay for health insurance

-giving the working poor free insurance wouldn’t be financially possible for the government

-investigate on the people who receive free healthcare

-find out which people really need it

-some major employers should provide their employees with healthcare

-

Back to School Night

Reminder:  Back to School Night will be August 31st.  Please join us at 6:30pm.

8/26

Warm-up - Using your TASS book, find 2 sentences on the first 2 pages of Nickel and Dimed that match one of the patterns.

Classwork - Group discussions of Nickel and Dimed

Homework - Parent forms

8/25

Warm-up - Syllabus Anticipation Guide

Classwork - Discuss Syllabus, work in groups to discuss and present senarios from the 25 Ways to Infuriate Your Teacher, shared information from Student Surveys

Homework - Due Friday - TIPS worksheet #1 about Syllabus expectations, Parent Surveys, Student Release Forms

***If you will not see your parent or guardian before Friday, please send me an email telling me when you can turn in the work that requires signatures.***

8/24

Warm-up - Essay Topic Reflection

Classwork - Overview of AP essay rubric, composed essays on Nickel and Dimed

Homework - Student Survey (due tomorrow) 
Parent Survey and Student Release Form (due by Friday if possible)

8/23

Warm-up - Turn in The Art of Styling Sentences.  Review for tests.

Classwork - Take tests on Nickel & Dimed and TASS.

Homework - Prepare for Essays on Nickel and Dimed by outlining a response and/or selecting several relevant examples from the text. You can use this outline/brainstorming during your writing, and it must be stapled to your in class essay.
Possible topics:
1. What are the major obstacles with housing that low-wage workers face in the book?
2. To what extent are the low-wage workers able to be successful? What levels of success are they capable of achieving?  How are hard work and success connected?

Welcome To AP English Language and Composition

I am looking forward to getting to know each of you this year as we move through the challenging and exciting tasks of learning to read and write on the college level.  As we begin this magical year of reading and writing, please bookmark this blog so that you have daily access to assignments, discussion notes, and classroom documents.  Use the Helpful Links on the right side of the page to navigate to related content.  The site labeled classroom documents is a repository for any paperwork that you might need to access from home. 

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