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Final Obligations

  By Second Semester Projects

Five months later, we return to the root of obligation — ligare, “to bind,” which can be positive or negative. Let’s talk about the former usage.

Repeated: What Our Makerspace Does

Core English courses that are not affiliated with the College Board nor a state or local college enjoy a bit of freedom from the traditional superstructure of high school. The foundation is the same — that’s why the district’s SCP looks just like our set of universal skills and traits — but what we build is different.

Through the end of Q2, this has meant dividing our year into skill-based units and units based on essential questions and authentic problems:

① The Age of the Essay
② What Is Literature For?
③ The Practice of Empathy
④ Organization: Getting Things Done
⑤ When the Truth Isn’t Sufficient

This structure derives from what a Humanities makerspace is. Read that explanatory post again. This time, pay attention to the following section:

The problems students face [in a Humanities makerspace] are the problems all of us face, and they are exactly the problems that the Humanities exist to solve:

What does it mean to be a human being?
What does it mean to coexist in a society?
What are my beliefs?
How do I want to live my life?

An English classroom is also the home of soft skills, including self-awareness and self-efficacy, which raises a few more questions for the makerspace:

What does it mean to be educated?
What is the purpose of school?
How does each of us learn best?
What are the most important skills and traits for our futures?

Like any makerspace, we experiment to find solutions to these problems and answer these questions. We collaborate, ask experts, do research. We try to think outside the box. We sometimes try to dismantle the box to build a better one.

The tools and components we pour out on the table are a set of universal skills and traits, our connections to other human beings, and the literature and nonfiction that best teaches us how to be human.

In your final semester, you might study whether video games can be art, whether obscenity has an objective definition, whether schools take care of mental health effectively, or any of a dozen other authentic issues. These might be part of a research paper, a book project, a speech, a presentation, or your own self-directed project.

You are making meaning now. It all comes down to you.

Repeated: Second Semester Projects

The major five projects are tied together through the concept of project-based learning and the underlying paradigm shifts of the Humanities makerspace. The instructional posts for all projects are listed here:

Each of these projects will be your best examples of what you are capable of in this learning environment. There may be formative assignments given to help you along, and individual assignments will be available according to need and interest.

On Google Classroom, the Stream, as always, will show you updates, newly posted assignments, announcements, and so on. Under Classwork, in order from the top, you’ll find the following resources and categories:

  • TPXA :: Brewster High School Library | Digital resources for every project.
  • Daily Calibration | Start-of-class worksheet, post, and check-in forms. You must set a specific daily goal here.
  • Second Semester Projects | Submission hub for all evidence related to the five major projects, plus an overview of the second semester.
  • Second Semester Formative Work | Checkpoint assignments, Google Forms, and other formative steps related to each project.
  • Individual Work | Appears as a category if you’ve been given an individual deadline, assignment, modification, etc. Reminder: Almost everything can be individualized.

Deadlines and Grades

June 2 is the end of GAP Q4B and the last official day for Senior Talk presentations. June 3–5 will be used for late presentations, second attempts, and other last-minute adjustments. June 5 is the soft deadline for all work

June 8–12 is when we will solidify final grades, including scores for the final exam, and final averages. Senior grades will be finalized and posted on June 12.

Except for your final exam, you control the deadlines and feedback you are given for each project. Feedback is the same as it ever was:

The process of grading you is also the same as it ever was:

Grades are based on evidence of universal skills and traits. Your feedback uses that same universal language. Grades and feedback are most dependent on your in-class focus and use of feedback, and you will do best when you focus on growth, collaboration, and transparency.

Exception: final exam

Your reflection on the Senior Talk is your final exam. Unlike the evidentiary approach of the GAP scoring process, this is the traditional assessment of a single artifact. It is graded through a writing rubric based on our universal writing process.

Here is a folder with a collection of these rubrics:

The two that will be used for the final exam are these:

You must follow all separate instructions and guidelines. As a final exam, this paper will constitute one-fifth of your final average.

Artifact Checklist

These are the artifacts due during the second semester. Consider the etymology again: An artifact is anything made with skill. Each of these artifacts will either be a formative step or part of a summative project.

  1. Self-Prescribed Book Choice | Completed online through a Google Form.
  2. Self-Prescribed Book Project | Presentations, projects, discussions, etc. Submitted in class and/or online according to individual needs.
  3. Research-Driven Essay Focus | Completed online through a Google Form.
  4. Research-Driven Essay | Final draft and links to any online publishing. Due on Google Classroom.
  5. MLA-Formatted Research-Driven Essay | Properly formatted submission to Turnitin.com.
  6. Commencement Address | Final draft and links to any online publishing. Due on Google Classroom and Turnitin.
  7. Pareto Project Student Work | Presentations, projects, discussions, etc. Submitted in class and/or online according to individual needs.
  8. Pareto Project Final Self-Assessment | Completed online through a Google Form. Two parts.
  9. Senior Talk Statement of Purpose | Completed online through a Google Form that also sets the time for the actual presentation.
  10. Senior Talk Script | Final draft due through Google Classroom. Must also be submitted to Turnitin.com.
  11. Senior Talk Presentation | Presented to an audience in a space of the presenter’s choosing.
  12. Senior Talk Reflection & Final Exam | Final draft due through Google Classroom. Must also be submitted to Turnitin.com.

 

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Immediate Obligations

  By Opening Salvo

The root of obligation is ligare, “to bind,” and it helps to keep in mind that this can be positive or negative.

Repeated: What Our Makerspace Does

Core English courses that are not affiliated with the College Board nor a state or local college enjoy a bit of freedom from the traditional superstructure of high school. The foundation is the same — that’s why the district’s SCP looks just like our set of universal skills and traits — but what we build on it can be practical in a different way.

For the most part, this will mean dividing our year into skill-based units, like this one on self-control and assiduousness, and units based on essential questions and authentic problems. Read the explanatory post on the Humanities makerspace, and pay attention to this section:

The problems students face are the problems all of us face, and they are exactly the problems that the Humanities exist to solve:

What does it mean to be a human being?
What does it mean to coexist in a society?
What are my beliefs?
How do I want to live my life?

An English classroom is also the home of soft skills, including self-awareness and self-efficacy, which raises a few more questions for the makerspace:

What does it mean to be educated?
What is the purpose of school?
How does each of us learn best?
What are the most important skills and traits for our futures?

Like any makerspace, we experiment to find solutions to these problems and answer these questions. We collaborate, ask experts, do research. We try to think outside the box. We sometimes try to dismantle the box to build a better one.

The tools and components we pour out on the table are a set of universal skills and traits, our connections to other human beings, and the literature and nonfiction that best teaches us how to be human.

We might study whether video games can be art, whether obscenity has an objective definition, whether schools take care of mental health effectively, or any of a dozen other authentic issues.

Outstanding Obligations

It’s all part of training for the real world. Fortunately or unfortunately, there will always be obligations outside of the space, some of which are more authentically derived than others. That is the way it is.

For seniors, there are two immediate and pressing obligations to consider: the college essay and summer reading. There is also a third obligation that comes due in the last month of school.

① The College Essay

If you were a junior at this high school last year, you have already written a college essay. You will need to share a copy of that through the appropriate Google Classroom assignment, and you will probably want to edit and revise to some extent.

If you were not a junior here in Brewster, or if you simply would like to take another crack at the college essay, you will need to go through the writing process. Either way, you will benefit from reading the following:

This is adapted from a universal writing process that we will use throughout the year to inform essays, short stories, poetry, and any other written work1.

Your are obligated to take care of this if and only if you plan to go to college next year. An alternative assignment is available.

② Summer Reading

Your other obligation is to the summer reading assignment outlined here:

Click on the embedded page or this link to revisit the summer assignment. An assignment will be given related to this reading during Q1B. You can always see the course grading calendar for information about what that means.

③ Senior Talk

At the end of your senior year, you will present a “senior talk,” which is a requirement for graduation. It is most like a TED Talk, although there is a lot of customization and personalization possible.

You can read coverage of some of last year’s talks here. In our class, these talks are likely to be built on a long-term project you’ll begin almost immediately:

The Pareto Project: Complete Guide

During Q1A, you will design a passion project through that guide. You’ll have the option to retool, reboot, etc., as the year progresses, and you’ll always know that the senior talk fits a passion project perfectly — which is by design.

Use the space below to ask questions about this, and watch Google Classroom for formal deadlines, assignment specifics, and the like.

  1. You can read the history of that writing process here, in a post contextualizing the most recent version. ↩