Hil, THANK YOU. That is exactly the kind of thing I need. I will be using that article some time next week.
If anyone else can think of a particularly good article about recent immigration, biased perception of US history, or the current economic situation most Americans are struggling with right now, PLEASE post them or send me links. I would be eternally grateful.
Reading level can be relatively advanced, but since I have a pretty wide range (from students who really struggle to students who dropped AP Lit because of their schedules), accessible would be a plus. They also tend to react best to stories with some narrative they can connect to.
What I really want to avoid is the pity parade. It's not enough for them to know that many people across the world flee to the US, or try to; I want them to understand that most immigrants have pride and purpose and work their asses off. They may be in need of help, but not pity.
There's always Lopez Lomong, as a sample story to lead into the whole "lost boys" phenomenon.
Since we're talking schools - have you guys heard about what's going on with the backdrop for McCain's speech the other night?
It appeared to be a large mansion (um?) with a big green lawn but actually turns out to be a middle school in LA. Which middle school? Walter Reed. Which kind of begs the question - which Walter Reed do you suppose they
intended
to have displayed behind McCain?
Seriously idiotic.
Kristin, that class sounds fascinating. Maybe you could do an online version? (Kidding!)
David, that just sucks. I'm sorry it didn't work out.
That would be the MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL RECORD SETTING BRAD ZIEGLIER!!!1!
Damned straight.
Pix, I've got some articles bookmarked at home from when I was helping my cousin with her thesis research (her topic was immigration, with an emphasis on the LA area).
My CEO brought me over a signed baseball today. No big deal, 'cept it's his nephew, Ziggy, whose signature graces it. Very cool.
VERY COOL!!!! Just a wee bit jealous here. SO COOL.
VERY COOL!!!! Just a wee bit jealous here. SO COOL.
There's this kid I know, who just moved to Colorado, who could score this ball by not having any more principal-calls to his mom for the remainder of the year.
I inherited the course ("The Fractured American Dream") but not any guidance or material with which to teach it. I thought we'd do a few days on the mythos of "American Dream" and talk a bit about the ideal versus the reality through some essays about early US immigration before moving on to other facets of the dream,
Damn, Kristin, what I wouldn't give to come in there and give you a hand...
Kristin, that class sounds fascinating. Maybe you could do an online version? (Kidding!)
Heh. Thanks. So far we did a concept map using about 30 quotes about the "American Dream" that I pulled from all kinds of sources, read/analyzed Lazarus' "New Colossus" (the Statue of Liberty poem) and an excerpt from a critical essay about Lazarus' "conflicting citizenships," contrasted a photograph of the Statue of Liberty with Dali's painting of the Colossus of Rhodes (Bartholdi based the SoL on earlier depictions of the Colossus) to discuss artistic purpose and message and to contrast Victorian and Classical values, and read Mary Gordon's personal essay about a woman going to visit Ellis Island because it was the only "historical American landmark" that she felt any real connection to. The quiz today was to get them to synthesize all of this information into some early thoughts about the tension between the myth of the dream and the political realities. And the first day of class was Tuesday!
ETA: Java, thank you! And Barb, if you know of any good short essays or stories about Cuban immigration under Castro, I would love to see them.
ETA#2: Jesse, thank you!!
I just read that to him (hope you don't mind). He got a big goofy grin on his face and huge eyes. We will see. I'm not above bribery at this point.
