Reading For Treasure: Before The Election:

Reading for Treasure is my list of articles (and other readings) that are worth your attention. Click here for an introduction!

How can we tell what is “real” or “fake” news? For most of us, our social media feed is primarily populated with opinions similar to ours. Wired’s article, “How to Break Out of Your Social Media Echo Chamber” provides some good suggestions about how to change our use of Facebook, Twitter, and other online sources so we can get a more balanced and complete picture of our world – not just a confirmation of what someone thinks we want to hear.

A second Wired article explores the problem of fake news, specifically the use of deep fake videos. How can we recognize news sources designed to fool us? Maybe, “America Needs A Ministry of Truth.” The author explains that this is not going to be the same as the one in Orwell’s 1984, but more along the lines of the EPA, FDA, or other agencies that protect the public. As I read this, I thought about a media Underwriters Laboratory; an independent agency that puts their stamp of approval on information. Regardless, we are soon going to need help separating the fact from deep fake.

The great scientist Carl Sagan wrote about “The Fine Art of Baloney Detection” and provided some very specific advice in his book, The Demon-Haunted World. His route to critical thinking has been the subject of several articles, including “The Baloney Detection Kit: Carl Sagan’s Rules for Bullshit-Busting and Critical Thinking” from brainpickings. The article summarizes his rules and provides Sagan’s take on logical fallacies as well. If you are interested, here is the complete chapter of the book.

While a lawn sign may tell which of your neighbors supports which candidates, Lifehacker provides us with tools that let us “See Who Has Donated to a Political Campaign With These Tools.” If we want to avoid the echo chamber or make certain that a source is being sincere in support, it might be good to know if they put their money there, too.

Two articles answer the question I hear a great deal, “how could THEY believe this stuff?” Medium’s “Why Your Christian Friends and Family Members Are So Easily Fooled By Conspiracy Theories” and the Independent’s “I grew up in rural, small-town America – and I can tell you the real reason why people love Donald Trump.” While not entirely unbiased, they do give a glimpse into these specific points of view.

The Washington Post recommends, “Stop fretting about Trump and do something about it. Right now.” This article is good advice regardless of your political leanings. It is basically a guide to how to check your voter registration and make sure you can vote - and get others to vote!

I am currently reading The Regional Office is Under Attack by Manuel Gonzales.

Summer’s Here and the Time is Right for Dancing in the Tweet

In my English classes, one student takes notes every period. S/he records what we do, the assignments, and the handouts and materials we used. This student also gives me feedback on the lesson, and records some impressions. At the end of class, our note-taker chooses one idea, thought, or summary statement to share with the world on our class Twitter account.

I have not included every tweet from the year. Go here if you want to see all of them from all three classes. Instead, here is an edited list that gives a flavor of my 2012-2013 school year.

• ·      First tweet of the year: write on the walls!
• ·      Got started on a great year!
• ·      The writing expedition begins.
• ·      I saw a bug!
• ·      Effective techniques of readers
• ·      After discussing our awesome names, we are going to have a great weekend!
• ·      Learning how to annotate a paper.
• ·      What do Dennis the Menace, Hemingway, and Hamlet have in common?
• ·      My Father's Voice! Woohoo!
• ·      Pretty table brightens the whole room!
• ·      Mind your p's and q's! #grammargirl
• ·      We made curry!
• ·      What helps and hinders discussion?
• ·      Two words...dashes, essays           
• ·      What happened to Jenna Fox?
• ·      #Worstcollegeessays
• ·      Why won't http://turnitin.com load?           
• ·      Loud means "I need help" not "tell me to be quiet."
• ·      A quote sandwich with cheese.
• ·      Zim, zir, z's drive me crazy!
• ·      Imagery is the key and focus is the lock to a great essay!
• ·      There was no lunch period today, so we ate quote sandwiches.
• ·      Solo synchronized swimming! Now can I kill the bunny?
• ·      Jenna is a toaster.
• ·      Twinkle, Twinkle, Blessed House
• ·      Cranky old lonely people.
• ·      Is she human?
• ·      Do the "write" thing
• ·      :( What is the answer to the puzzle?
• ·      It's like musical chairs, but with quote sandwiches.
• ·      Sexy is our big winner! #surprising
• ·      The English teacher felt odd after being fired: it was post grammatic stress syndrome.
• ·      Flirt outside of class.
• ·      Star Wars or Star Trek? Star Trek, of course!
• ·      The interpreter of interpretations.
• ·      Shift happens.
• ·      Frame by frame.
• ·      Updating your daughter.
• ·      Telepathic check!
• ·      Red rover, red rover, let us come over!
• ·      The phone farted!
• ·      You only have one body, unless you are Jenna Fox.
• ·      You married your mom and your children are your siblings.
• ·      Everyone wave to the tomato!
• ·      A prophecy always comes true.
• ·      Too many books! Which do we choose?
• ·      Hurricane Sandy can’t stop us!
• ·      Happy Halloween, Antigone!
• ·      Deconstructing our essays.
• ·      Where is Hamlet?
• ·      It’s okay to show up late to the play.
• ·      A foil is an important literary tool, it's also great for wrapping up food!
• ·      Another day, another essay…
• ·      Wei Chen, the wingman!
• ·      I want it that way.
• ·      #Rockets Back dorm boys
• ·      Explicating Creed
• ·      What’s the truth behind the disappearance of Chris Creed? Will we ever know? Hi Mom! We know how to English!
• ·      Greasers, detective work, “you should dump him.”
• ·      Don't lean back on rolling chairs!
• ·      Research project 2012
• ·      Drinking, fencing, swearing, quarreling, drabbing galore!
• ·      To be or not to be?
• ·      Acceptance is…
• ·      Mock quiz!
• ·      Hamlet..put on hold for now.
• ·      Tasty cakes and kinder. #hashtag
• ·      Process paper fun!
• ·      Thesis - pass it on.
• ·      How can you REsearch even before you have searched before?
• ·      Chris Creed takes Facebook! #facebook
• ·      And then there were none.
• ·      Let's kill Hamlet!           
• ·      Psycho psychic!
• ·      We can have a pep talk and have cupcakes for finals.
• ·      Bob Haines? Creed suspense level #increasing!
• ·      Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Charlie Brown.
• ·      Four year planning!
• ·      He's alive! Chris Creed is Torey Adams? It's all so confusing!
• ·      More and more research! #lungevity
• ·      We talked about safety and taking care of each other. #sandyhook
• ·      Presentations finished! (Well...almost).
• ·      Theses rhymes with feces.
• ·      Revise, revise, revise!
• ·      We have to memorize fifteen lines?
• ·      Write in Yoda speak, you should not.
• ·      Santa is dead now. #happyholidays
• ·      Taking to walls!
• ·      Book circles! #yah!
• ·      I like my book!
• ·      Everybody get an ARC conference. #finals
• ·      Field trip to learn about English electives.
• ·      Shakespeare = death
• ·      Ransom note poetry and Romeo and Juliet!
• ·      Translucent stilettos hoard!
• ·      Line and stanzas versus sentences and paragraphs. Posts and Facebook versus tweets and Twitter.
• ·      Don't be a Charles!
• ·      Meet Queen Mab!
• ·      Poetry Out Loud!
• ·      Romeo and Juliet field trip <3 span="">
• ·      Marwage, marwage is what bwings us together, today.
• ·      #Mountains beyond mountains beyond mountains beyond mountains beyond
• ·      Translations + lockdown #scary #silence
• ·      All humor comes from body fluids #onlyinenglishclass
• ·      The four point (icon) challenge.
• ·      ziuq drawkcaB           
• ·      How we know you are texting: nobody looks at their crotch and smiles.
• ·      We should invest in snare drums for all these puns!
• ·      In class essay, woo hoo!
• ·      Is this a kissing movie?
• ·      So much poison!
• ·      Thesis! Thesis! Thesis!
• ·      Romeo and Juliet is being rewritten by a lot of people!
• ·      Pondered the answer to questions of life.
• ·      Time for graduation...speeches!
• ·      Field Trip to Romeo and Juliet!
• ·      Do good grad speeches. Don't blame the traffic lights. P.S. Don't miss the musical.
• ·      Tell us when to wear good pants for re-read.
• ·      Mr. Scott did it!
• ·      How to not be a nervous-nilly.
• ·      Drawing Tale!
• ·      Research senior project properly: Don't waste time!
• ·      My boots are dirty!
• ·      Good FAQs are the key to success! #seniorproject
• ·      We love thunderstorms!
• ·      Why would Mr. Hirsch want essays without names on them?
• ·      It's not a tale of two cities, it's about two cities at different times. #Ilovelucie
• ·      French revolution fun and topping it off with character chart chaos.
• ·      We all shared one Google Doc! #taleoftwocites
• ·      Essay 1, Episode 3: Return of the King!
• ·      Let's play hang lamp!
• ·      Experiential learning is fun!
• ·      "Crunching" out more mysteries! #punintended
• ·      Wish I was here for Senior Symposium - looks awesome!
• ·      Blog post and learning activities. Kapish?
• ·      Never ending Tale...
• ·      Senior presentation: a slideway to hell!
• ·      People don't kill people, sneezes kill people. #knitting
• ·      The end is near! #seniorproject
• ·      Keep calm and blog/write/read/analyze on; who actually reads this...? Help! I'm trapped in an English class!
• ·      Cly is sly!
• ·      "It was the best of times..." No... It wasn't.
• ·      Goodbye Cara! We will miss you :(
• ·      Tale Day tomorrow!
• ·      #getreadyforfinals #lastdayoffreshmanenglish We'll miss you Mr. Hirsch!
• ·      Tweet review! Course and teacher evaluation.
• ·      Last day of class! :(

Can't Stop the Tweet

For the third year, my English students wrote a tweet at the end of each class session. Some of these tweets summarize what we did. Some capture a specific moment. Others respond to a school event. Some are just fun. I didn’t include all of the tweets my students wrote. If you are interested in seeing the uncut list, go to my online classroom. Here is my 2011-2012 school year in tweets:

• Decode and analyze ideas.

• We read music! Tweeting with Big Bird.

• Fon’t dorget hour yomework!

• Curry with a side of shiny happy purple packet.

• Dashing through college essays. ‘sigh’

• Insider info on college essays from Mr. Shanley.

• Read essays and made funny noises.

• Use quotes like cayenne peppers.

• Learned about RSS and revision.

• I am a more intelligent person because Interpreter of Maladies showed me to show not tell.

• We shared the discussion equally.

• He loves her, he loves her not.

• Became a real durwan.

• Splendid!

• Blots of lack in class.

• Burned some DISCs

• The anvil meets the wordsmith.

• Gifting shears and making A plus essays.

• Shopping at the Lahari buffet.

• Another essay, another drag!

• Switched again!

• How long is the perfect kiss?

• What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening?

• We learned of a man who killed his dad and married his mom.

• Purged our emotions of pity and fear: catharsis!

• Got a vision from a blind man!

• Everything's an argument - no it's not.

• Principal Griffith observed class.

• Fate is always a step ahead!

• No sneezing!

• Oedipus is shellfish!

• Roll with the flow!

• We became guinea pigs for Mr. Hirsch's writing throughout the grades experiment.

• Witty tweets and Greek theater (re?) don't mix too easily. So we'll leave it be.

• Commas save lives!

• Oh, man, our futures are in our hands...Don't mess up!

• What's your major?

• Facebook in English!

• Passionate about apple pancakes.

• Act 1, scene 1 will come, but not in one lump slump.

• Shakespeare invented the TV drama teaser; watched start of Hamlet!

• A wedding, funeral, and a ghost?

• Who ya gunna call? The ghost of Hamlet's father!

• Turn the other cheek!

• Hamlet for adulteresses.

• "Awesome discussion!" - Mr. Hirsch

• Define the line!

• To eat or not to eat - that is the question: whether tis nobler to obey the computer lab rules or the pangs and arrows of outrageous hunger.

• Let the games begin!

• Beware of madness when reading Hamlet.

• Revenge is a dish best served cold - but karma can be cruel.

• Hamlet comes to an end.

• Speed dating - LOL!

• Download the argue-o-meter app for the iPhone today!

• Poems, parts, photo, and Santa!

• "Ooh! Everyone is here again for the second day in a row! Let's take another picture!" - Mr. Hirsch

• Poetry out loud!

• We read to a wall.

• One more for posterity.

• I think that I shall never meet a poem lovely as a tweet.

• Finals, finals, finals!!!

• Plagiarism is bad.

• Library database > Google

• Are you reading about a repeatable routine?

• Learned about food blogging!

• Billy Lombardo reads!

• Turnitin.com - we're going paperless!

• English is cool!

• Mountains, daughters, butterflies, cuckoos, and a side of Pi a la mode.

• A case of the Mondays.

• Minimize your screen!

• Do it in four symbols.

• Senioritis... 2 lazy 2 tweet

• Older siblings are usually older.

• In-class essay tomorrow. Do the write thing!

• Getting excited for senior project!

• The answer is 42.

• We had to write a speech!

• As FDR once said, "All we have to fear is fear itself." He forgot about graduation speeches.

• Period 4 is blogging!

• Oh, your left!

• Thanks for flying technology lab!

• On time today!

• Pick a blog, any blog!

• Good thing we learned tweets are less formal than email today.

• Plan your project; piece the puzzle.

• What's the password? (in a Russian accent)

• "Look at me."

• Food free zone!

• Less talk, more research.

• First step: DONE!

• Enjoy prom, but not too much!

• Pigs everywhere!

• Doing something a little more English-y.

• Senior Ditch Day? Please, we're nerds. Senior Elite 2012!

• "Where have all the children gone? " There's 15 computers per kid in this class!

• Wise words regarding Anne.

• Almost done; full speed ahead!

• The end is near!

• We finished our projects!

• Great coffee presentation!

• Just wandering around school, asking people about books.

• Don't try to be great...you are not that special.

• I thankfully appreciate your gratuitous thanks.

• A book you'll love!

A Very Tweet School Year!

Classes are over and finals are around the corner; it is time to look back on the 2010-2011 school year. At the end of each class period, my students write a short statement that communicates something important about what we did that day. We publish these statements on the social network site Twitter. Here is a not-so-brief but still edited version of my school year in my students’ tweets:

• First day of high school writing and “My Name.”
• Listen to Sesame Street, discuss and journal.
• Today, we read some OF MICE AND MEN and got our papers back.
• Show don’t tell
• Write a great college essay…be you!
• Dashes, dos and don’ts.
• This video didn’t work, I believe.
• We annotated on our knees.
• Better to start applications sooner than later.
• Bloom Taxonomy questions
• Jigsaw and a blackout!
• We wrote bad essays.
• University of (insert name here).
• We talked about chapter 3 in double circles. Quiz! Balanced book on head.
• Revise! Revise! Revise! The key to a “perfect” essay is the R.R.R. criteria.
• Quizzes make us tired.
• Started ANTHEM in a shortened period and had some time for the Sunday Puzzle.
• Twinkle, Twinkle, little star.
• DISC and your clickers.
• We took a quiz and learned about pronouns, commas, and copyright.
• Talked about Equality’s qualities.
• For every pleasure, there is a pain.
• Learned about quote sandwiches.
• Memoir and looking back.
• “Third and Final Continent” was splendid!
• Swap!
• Analyzed essays and, surprise, a phone went off in a locker outside.
• Discussed graphic novels: comical day.
• Shopping for essays.
• Hodge podge.
• “Thebes is dying, look, her children stripped of pity…”
• Oedipus loves his mother.
• We had an awesome day! Talked about similarities.
• Thesis work: I Want It That Way, YouTube - Backdorm Boys.
• Cucumbers and sweater vests.
• Solved the murder mystery!
• Majors and minors – not chords!
• A bridge to where? To Antigone.
• MAJOR research.
• We worked on grammar, learned about the Joneses, and got the best project!
• Anthology of pros.
• Watched HAMLET Scene 1!
• A regular Monday always has a puzzle.
• Majors aren’t important and mock interview.
• Reverse thesis and the bests for research.
• “I would be fine living in a box on Adams if I am making a difference.” Is there a major for that?
• Fear not thy major, ‘stead search thee as a forest ranger.
• “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”
• We wrote about Chris Creed, researched the best and danced (according to Mr. Hirsch).
• End your relationship with Hamlet!
• “Go on.”
• New student, malapropisms, and Chris Creed
• Billy Crystal was meant to play the grave-digger.
• Course Fair!
• Watched the blood bath!
• Theses slips and Yorik!
• Today we played with the talk tix for the first time and discussed the Chris Creed book.
• It’s snowing!
• We need to make a Facebook page for Renee.
• We survived the essay test!
• Santa is not real.
• Explication!
• We tweet to the beat of the poem we roam.
• Memorize, remember, repeat…repeat, remember, memorize…
• Good job (we discussed the end of Chris Creed).
• Bright the sun, shone on this fateful day, poetry recitation.
• Purely Christopher Creed (and puzzle…but that doesn’t count)
• Poetry out loud!
• Stop looking at Twitter and study for your finals!
• We read a poem (together), hacked Infinite Campus, and learned about third quarter.
• Late! Starting our book circles.
• Poems, poems, poems! And final essay rubrics.
• Proposals give us wings and let us soar!
• Started TWELFTH NIGHT.
• Our tweets are better than yours.
• Snow day tomorrow; halls in a frenzy.
• Ken Kesey’s acid bus!
• We wrote in Shakespeare’s language and talked about the book.
• How has this Twitter stream affected our relationships among fourth period English? 250-500 words.
• We made ransom note poems.
• Another snow day. See you on Friday!
• We performed translated versions of Shakespeare.
• Pop tart!
• Studied quotes on note cards, learned about upcoming quizzes, and how Shakespeare coined words.
• Bad, bad, grad speech.
• Found out that the oddest things can be turned into poetry (even articles from newspapers).
• Two roads diverged in a wood & I –I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference. Be sure to put that in your speech.
• Three volunteers. Yeah for bravery!
• Today we summarized Act 4 in comic form and watched TWELFTH NIGHT.
• Ten years from now, I may be in jail.
• Quiz on Act 5, “stock” characters, the Globe and Carmelo Anthony.
• Where is everyone?
• Puns and project work.
• Simon says ...
• Essay contest, no puzzle.
• My apostrophe/Stop being used so wrong/For this angers me #grammarday
• Speeches, screeches, smeaches, beaches, leeches, bleaches, breaches, peaches, niches, squenches,
• Studied the anatomy of TWELFTH NIGHT.
• Puzzles, murder, thesis, oh, my!
• We’re having a fun time starting A TALE OF TWO CITIES.
• No homework over spring break.
• TALE OF TWO CITIES is recalled to life!
• When you don’t know the answer…google!
• Reenacted TALE OF TWO CITIES.
• StageWrite!
• Research, smearsearch (due Friday).
• Qook a tuiz, puzzle, and quoting the Beatles.
• Cantaloupe, antelope. :)
• Post not working, oh the irony!
• We learned about the French Revolution and got our first TALE quizzes back.
• Senior project, day 247
• Mysteries finally being solved in A TALE OF TWO CITIES.
• What’s a place of power that’s nine letters?
• Today was all about Tale and Mr. Hirsch got invited to karaoke with a student!
• Work or freak out…
• We read essays and revised essays.
• If you have less than 100 points, I will be calling home.
• We keep each other safe, so trust your instincts. Don’t forget about senior project!
• Done swapping essays and we got our new assignment.
• Who’s watching you…you will never know.
• Bush pigs in America.
• Don’t text and drive!
• Slaved all period making pictures.
• Products - done. Presentations - video problems. And then there was that hockey incident.
• A fantastic presentation on white privilege!
• Presentation and thank you notes!
• It's TALE OF TWO CITIES day!
• College transitions.
• TALE finished, end of the year is near, only need finals and we are done.
• Course and teacher evaluation. Thank you for flying Senior English.
• Watched some STAR TREK today.
• Working on finals!
• Last day of class, have a sreat gummer!

If you want to see all of my classes’ tweets, go to SeniorEngpd1, SeniorEngpd4, and FroshEngpd2 on Twitter.