Portfolio Conferences for 6/9 and 6/10.
No regular class meeting, bring all essays for discussion about what will go in portfolio.

Portfolio covers sheets are attached to this message. Click below where it says "2 attachments" and open the appropriate sheet and attach it to your essay.

there's lots of work to be done. Check the schedule for what's expected over the next few days--mostly the summary and some responses to the major details of the fourth chapter and the topic you think you will be arguing. Be sure to respond to the topics posted by some of the others in class. I'll see you all Friday in the library, room 211, for a library introduction. I hope to respond to all argument topics before then, but I just learned I may not have a lot of internet access while in the Great Falls area. I'll get on when I can and get back to you to answer any questions that come up.

One thing of note: your third essay is in an envelope hanging outside my office door. You can pick it up there, and you should do that so you can start revising. I'll decide upon a revision due date once I get back and look over the schedule. Your grade to date, the average of the three essay grades, is written on the comment sheet so you can see where you stand at this point. Some who are missing revisions received a reminder note about that.

The Teachers of Tomorrow Club is sponsoring a "Human Rights Forum" and luncheon on Tuesday, May 26, in Lounges A, B, and C from 11:30 to 1:00. Our speaker will be Dr. Jim Waller, and the topic is "Dignity and Justice for Us All." The focus will be related to the "United Declaration of Human Rights." This buffet luncheon is free to anyone interested in the topic. Contact Sandy Ross for a ticket if you'd like the lunch: sandyr@spokanefalls.edu or 533-3551. You can attend without a ticket, but don't count on lunch.

Pick up your second essay and first essay revision with grades from my office area and sign up for a conference. Come ready to discuss which essay will go into your portfolio. Also, read all the material for essay three. Email me if you have any questions.

Last quarter we weren't able to use computers as much, so this is the only draft I can find that gives a sense of what this assignment should look like:
http://bleckblog.org/comp/node/3240/

It's not great by any means, but provides a sense of how one could approach the assignment.

Draft!

The issues that matter in our nation are increasingly complex and interwoven. One such issue is the manner in which power is generated, and where the various fuels come from in order to generate the power we so often take for granted. Because nearly every fuel source pollutes in some way, and more and more everyone across the nation and around the globe seek to be "greener" and more sustainable, there is often contradictory information promulgated by those seeking to advance their views with regard to green energy. John Stuart Mill, in chapter two, "Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion" in his essay On Liberty, argues that it is important to have as much information on any issue as possible in order to come to even a reasonable partial truth with regard to that issue. He writes that "If there are any persons who contest a received opinion, or who will do so if law or opinion will let them, let us thank them for it, open our minds to listen to them, and rejoice that there is someone to do for us what we otherwise ought"(53). One group of people we need to thank are those who have filmed and published an expose of mountain top coal mining. They provide a number of truths about coal. The "I Love Mountains" organization, a group opposed to the removal of mountaintops in the Appalachian region. Through the use of a number of devices, the video "I Love Mountains" documents the modern mining practices that are destroying our environment, urging the viewer to save the mountains and promote more sustainable power sources.

• depicted actions--blowing up mountains, flooding streams, etc.
• Music, sounds and voice over
• Props of flags showing all the mountains
• appeal

Please post your major detail summaries in the blog so we can have a look at them. See you in class on Wednesday.

At this point, you have probably struggled enough with teh summary and may be wondering just how well you have done. It's a tough call, no matter the text being summarized. To help, here is the summary I have come up with. Yours need not match mine, but this is a good guide. I won't bother with attributing the material to Mill, which is something you need to do.

Have a draft of your essay posted in the blog. Please use your name as part of the subject line, so it will be "brad's essay one draft" or something like that.

Also, if you read all of the material attached to the assignment, you'll see a draft of an essay that should give you an idea about how to structure yours. The draft is in no way perfect, but it has the general format (intro with thesis, summary, response and conclusion) that you want to use. One place it falls short is the response is under-developed, so keep that in mind as you work on your draft.

Remember, that the draft need not be perfect, but should be the best you can do up to this point. We will have time to work in class and to have mini-conferences on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a final review on Thursday before the essay is due Friday.

Please have your summary posted in the blog before the start of class Friday. As I indicated, even if you think you understand nothing, put up your best guesses because when you read summary materials that may be more the result of more accurate readings than yours, it should make better sense to you. If you have questions about particular passages, and would like to know what they mean (assuming I can make sense of them as well!), first tell me what you think they mean and if need be, I'll offer a correction. You are welcome to post those questions here at any time.