American Encounters- Anticipation Response

Part II Anticipation Guide

Journal 250 word response to one statement from part I of your anticipation guide explaining why you have the belief you do. 

World Ex 12/20 Wiesel's "A God Who Remembers"

A God Who Remembers by Elie Wiesel

April 7, 2008
I remember, May 1944: I was 15-and-a-half, and I was thrown into a haunted universe where the story of the human adventure seemed to swing irrevocably between horror and malediction. I remember, I remember because I was there with my father. I was still living with him there. We worked together. We returned to the camp together. We stayed in the same block. We slept in the same box. We shared bread and soup. Never were we so close to one another.
We talked a lot to each other, especially in the evenings, but never of death. I believed — I hoped — that I would not survive him, not even for one day. Without saying it to him, I thought I was the last of our line. With him, our past would die; with me, our future.
The moment the war ended, I believed — we all did — that anyone who survived death must bear witness. Some of us even believed that they survived in order to become witnesses. But then I knew deep down that it would be impossible to communicate the entire story. Nobody can. I personally decided to wait, to see during 10 years if I would be capable to find the proper words, the proper pace, the proper melody or maybe even the proper silence to describe the ineffable.
For in my tradition, as a Jew, I believe that whatever we receive we must share. When we endure an experience, the experience cannot stay with me alone. It must be opened, it must become an offering, it must be deepened and given and shared. And of course I am afraid that memories suppressed could come back with a fury, which is dangerous to all human beings, not only to those who directly were participants but to people everywhere, to the world, for everyone. So, therefore, those memories that are discarded, shamed, somehow they may come back in different ways — disguised, perhaps seeking another outlet.
Granted, our task is to inform. But information must be transformed into knowledge, knowledge into sensitivity and sensitivity into commitment.
How can we therefore speak, unless we believe that our words have meaning, that our words will help others to prevent my past from becoming another person's — another peoples' — future. Yes, our stories are essential — essential to memory. I believe that the witnesses, especially the survivors, have the most important role. They can simply say, in the words of the prophet, "I was there."
What is a witness if not someone who has a tale to tell and lives only with one haunting desire: to tell it. Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future.
After all, God is God because he remembers.
Independently produced for All Things Considered by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman with John Gregory and Viki Merrick.

Salem Witch Trials - The Story - DiscoverySchool.com

Salem Witch Trials - The Story - DiscoverySchool.com

World Ex- Found Poem Links

Ghettos

Camps

Victims

12/14 World Ex- Bear Witness

In a well-organized, five sentence minimum paragraph, respond to the following prompt.

"for the dead and the living, we must bear witness." — Elie Wiesel

What does the phrase "bear witness" mean?  Why is it important to Wiesel?  What could 21st century teens do in order to 'bear witness" to the Holocaust?

Am Enc 12/7- Civil Disobedience

As you know, civil disobedience is the intentional refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and rules of an authoritative power.  Choose an issue about which you feel strongly.  It could be in the school, local, or national community.  How could you use nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience to prompt change or bring attention to your issue?  Write a well-organized, paragraph response using proper conventions, grammar, and mechanics in which you detail your stance regarding the issue, your plan for civil disobedience (what law, demand, or rule are you disobeying?), and explain how it would help your cause.  Be sure to follow the eight rules of civil disobedience we examined yesterday.

Am Enc 11/30- Role Models

In a well-organized five sentence minimum paragraphy with proper spelling, grammar, and mechanics, respond to the following prompt.  Please remember to type your name on your blog.
Name someone whose morality and choices you admire.  Why do you admire this person?

World Ex 11/29- "Harrison Bergeron"

In a minimum four sentence response using proper grammar, spelling, and mechanics, respond to the following:
Are equality and sameness synonymous?  Why or why not?

World Ex- "This Too Is Everything"

 Keeping a positive frame of mind is easier said than done, but it is key to our overall happiness and success in life. In our society, often reports of genocide, starvation, violence, and hate outbalance those of respect, love, and kindess.  Therefore, my question for you is simple- how do you stay positive in such a negative world?

Am Enc- Describe your 9/11 memories.

American Encounters- The Unwounded

"In war there are no unwounded soliders."  -Jose Narosky

In one, well-organized paragraph, explain this quote.  What does it mean?  How can claim be possible?   Use examples from things you have read, heard, or experienced to connect this to your everyday life.

World Ex 11/15- Right and Wrong

The pre-reading question today is two-fold-
1) Is it ever wrong to do the right thing?
2) Is it ever right to do the wrong thing?
Give examples of each in your response. 

World Ex- Challenges

Why do some survive a challenge or difficulty while others do not?  Respond in a five sentence paragraph with your name at the top.

Rip Van You!

Suppose that you walked into the woods one day and met some strange-looking people. After having drunk their liquor you sleep for twenty years. What changes do you see in society after a twenty year sleep? Entitle your narrative “Rip Van (your name).”