Do you have a short attention span?

Don't worry. Here's a 9-part series, played out in 10 minute chunks.

Well, here it is...

...a sure sign of the end of the world as we know it.

Maybe we should go back in time and tell the Founders...oh, don't worry so much.  The people will eventually accept any benevolent leader that provides them with entertainment.  We the people don't really WANT a participatory democracy.  It's too much trouble.

Branded 2012 Trailer

Branded Trailer [WARNING: RATED R]

I saw the trailer to this movie a while ago and was reminded of our focus on the deterioration of society because of a certain corrupted control. Unfortunately it received horrible reviews, but then I still don't believe in reviews anyway. So, since I haven't watched it yet, I am still excited to see it. Has anyone? If so what did you think? Do you see any relevance between our concepts in class and the trailer?

George Sauders, "The Braindead Megaphone"

A link to the clip we listened to today:  Jim Fleming of "To the Best of our Knowledge" interviews George Saunders.

Happiness Advantage

There are several things we can work with to rewire our brains for top performance, to help us guard against the negative effects of stress, and to live a happier life right now.  We don't have to wait until some bright future, when we've finally reached goals, and we're holding the acceptance letter of the college of our choice -- because as Achor correctly points out, whenever we do achieve a goal, we merely reset, set a new goal, and push happiness "out beyond the cognitive horizon."  There is no end to the things you will want to achieve in this brief lifetime.  You will always be striving towards something!

Happiness is not defined here as some cheery emotion, some bright yellow paint that we slap over the rocky terrain of our inner landscape, denying or obscuring what we actually feel.  Rather, happiness is better understood as the energy and focus we feel when we are striving after our own highest potential, seeking our own best self.  It is a completely subjective concept -- only you can say what it looks and feels like for you.  It is not determined by outer circumstances  -- it's not grades or GPA (or later, money, position, or prestige).  To move our concept of happiness beyond a "cheery mood," Achor suggests that some of words that we might use to think about happiness are

• joy
• gratitude
• serenity
• interest
• pride
• hope
• amusement
• inspiration
• joy
• love

Study after study confirms that happiness precedes high achievement.  It is more than a good feeling: it is an essential element to our success.  In our class this year, let's think about happiness as more than a mood -- let's think of it as our work ethic.  We need to continually remind ourselves and each other of the proven, tangible strategies that offer us quick bursts of happiness, and that raise our baseline for personal performance.

Do you want to read about happiness for your first book project?   The two I have read are The Happiness Advantage, by Shawn Achor, and Happier, by Tal Ben-Shahar, the two men who taught the famous class in positive psychology at Harvard University.

I Heart Nonfiction

Want to be the smartest one in the room?  Read more nonfiction!

Some of these links are already in the list over there on the right margin, but I'll stick them here for your convenience.

This is the Shelfari Nonfiction book page I created for my AP classes...I haven't revised it in a while, so if you know of a book that I should add or delete, let me know!

And here is the Cal Berkeley's summer reading page from 2011...as you can see, there is a theme that I you are familiar with by now.  If you click around, you'll find all of Cal Berkeley's reading lists ("Education matters," "Best books about science," "Banned Books," and many more) which always yields good ideas for reading.

Do you know about Byliner.com?  I love this site, and often download high quality, short reads for about $2.    This may not work for your book project, but it might point you in a fruitful direction.

How about Librarything.com?  I have an account here, and try to catalog everything I read, and everything I intend to read, but frankly, it's an enormous time drain, and I start feeling overwhelmed.  But about once a year, I go crazy and catch everything up.

I like to browse Powell's for the award winners.  Look at everything, but be sure to check out the nonfiction.

Every once in a while, a student will come up to me and ask if they can read a novel.  Sometimes I say yes, so it's worth a try.  It really depends on the book; I want to assure you that you'll be back into the land of literary fiction next year with AP English Literature.  Let me encourage you to focus on nonfiction this year.  :)

Set up your portfolio like this!

This is what I like to see:

Upper left:

Through words and pictures, show your major life influences.  What people have influenced your life the most?  What ideas do you find inspiring and compelling?  What music, books, organizations have shaped your life?  How?

Upper right:

Draw or find a picture of yourself that best represents you.  Beneath that picture, write a brief caption that explains its significance.

Bottom left:  

Write one paragraph about your hopes, your dreams, your goals, your desires.  These may be dreams for yourself, your family, your friends, or the world.  I'd appreciate it if you wrote seriously about this topic.

Bottom right:

Make a list of five interesting or little known facts about you.  Be creative -- I want to learn things about you that I don't already know.