Sam's Blog

This is NOT for ISRP. If you are in Geometry, or not, but thinking ahead... this article is on the importance of proof.  It's pretty cool: http://rjlipton.wordpress.com/2010/08/18/proofs-proofs-who-needs-proofs/

In class, we handed in the essays, discussed the last Morals and Ethics assignment, and started the new one; here: Morals and Ethics II . It is due the first Monday after winter break, January 7th.  The absolute longest this should take is 3 hours, which is one hour per week... and even that is too long.  The point of the assignment is to get you to think about how you make decisions, and what makes something right or wrong... it's not meant to bind you to a desk for your holiday. Have a great break.

Edit 12/6:  As discussed in class, citations will not be a large part of your grade, so don't stress too much about this.  The most important thing to do is somehow give credit to your sources. Today we learned how to cite sources using footnotes/Chicago style.  We discussed, and students turned in their Morals & Ethics assignment (a lot of them ignored the instructions: at least 3 sentences per response, and it has to be typed - if you were one of the instruction-ignorers, remember that you want to get that assignment in TOMORROW done correctly), and I gave back the rough drafts of your essays. The homework is to write the final draft of your essay.  It is due next Monday, 12.10.12.     If you were absent, you need to go into Liz's office and get your rough draft that is pinned to the board by Liz's printer. As promised, here are resources for citing in the Chicago Style, and how to use footnotes. Resources How to Cite, Using Footnotes; Using the

For those of you who still  haven't: get me your essay as soon as possible! Today we went over some peer editing guidelines (brief summary: do your best to help your friends make their essay better), then peer edited, then went over the homework. Handout Links: Peer Editing checklist Morals and Ethics Homework (Proper credit:  M&E homework is from this page ). To be clear about the homework instructions: 6th graders respond to any 6 of the 10 prompts, 7th graders respond to any 7 of the 10 prompts, 8th graders respond to any 8 of the 10 prompts. Please type your responses, and follow the (brief) instructions on the handout. What you can expect next week: I will collect the Morals and Ethics responses, you will do more peer-editing, then you will take home your edited essay and write the final draft for the following class.

Having completed the body of their outline at home, students spent class finishing the outline (i.e., completing the Introduction and Conclusions of their outlines) and beginning their rough drafts.  No handouts today!

I think that one of the best places to go for information about religion is  ReligionFacts .  It has a similar scope to Wikipedia, with a less academic (that is, more readable) tone.  Here are topic-specific links: Buddhism:  http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/intro_bud.htm http://www.pbs.org/edens/thailand/buddhism.htm Christianity (specifically, concepts of salvation in): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvation#Christianity http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/beliefs/salvation.htm Mother Teresa: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1979/teresa-bio.html Hinduism: http://www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/overview.htm Christianity (and the Protestant Reformation); http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/denominations/history.htm Mormonism (and race and gender issues within): http://www.religionfacts.com/mormonism/beliefs/13_articles.htm http://www.exmormon.org/mormwomn.htm h

While I met individually with students to discuss their theses and come up with a plan to finish the outline (the form I posted last week), the other students were working or watching the movie God in America (part one).  

So, as mentioned in class, I wanted you to mark one of those 15 questions from the Pew quiz as being on a topic you are interested in learning more about.  Now, this week, I would like you to read more about the topic you chose (some people have chosen Mother Theresa, Mormonism, Buddhism/Nirvana, Hinduism, etc), and try to pick a thesis (some of your classmates who have already picked one are doing "Was Mother Theresa a Catholic?" and "Mormonism is a racist, sexist religion").   Fill out the third line, thesis statement, on this sheet. We also read more about the Pew Survey this assignment is based on.   Here is what we read.  I also included some interesting tables: this one , this other one , and a third one .

Here are the answers to questions 6-15 of the packet.  However, they are not in order, so you have to figure out which answer goes with which question, and write it in the appropriate spot.  You also need to look up the answers to questions 2-5.

Here is a link to the packet that was handed out in class yesterday, October 1.  There was a class- and home-work component to it.  The instructions are written on it, if you have questions.  If you weren't here and want a copy, you can download from that link, or see Liz for a copy (they are in my box in her office). I also shared this NYT article with the class.  It's a quick read; I recommend it.

Super excited for this geometry project .  Jobs are assigned, and I have high hopes about the finished product. Also, since students are interested in LaTeX, I gave the handout with the latex code, which looks like: % Geometry first project - make a chess board illusion like on the cover of their textbook \documentclass[11pt]{article} \usepackage{graphicx} % Default margins are too wide all the way around. I reset them here \setlength{\topmargin}{-.5in} \setlength{\textheight}{9in} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{.125in} \setlength{\textwidth}{6.25in} \begin{document} \title{(Im)possible Chess Board} \author{\em Course: \rm Geometry\\ \em Instructor: \rm Sam Havens \\ \\ Topanga Mountain School} \maketitle \noindent \em As a group, we will construct an apparently impossible chess board, modeled after the cover of \underline{Geometry: Seeing, Doing, Understanding}.  The division of labor will (ideally) reflect student interest. \\ \\ \thispagestyle{e

In a page or less, write something that communicates to me your answer(s) to the question(s): “What is real?” and/or “what is right?” It does not have to be an essay, it can be a story, a dialogue, a poem, or something else!  Feel free to add some drawings!  The only criteria is that, once I've read it, I should have a better understanding of your world. Due Monday, September 24 th .

This is the second assignment for ISRP.  It is due October 1. Introduction:  Your second homework assignment in this course is to take an online quiz; this serves two purposes.  It both gives you, the student, and me, the teacher, some idea of how much background information you already have; it also requires you to demonstrate basic technology skills.  Answer the quiz questions to the best of your ability, but realize that your score will not affect your grade - it is just to let me know from where we are starting, as a class. If you have any problems with the computer skills that are required for this assignment, please ask a parent.  If they can't help, ask a friend.  Then try a google search.  If none of these help, feel free to email me with your question. Warning:  Do not look up answers to the questions.  If you don't know an answer, the best thing to do is get it wrong.  This test is a diagnostic, and if you cheat on it, I won't be able to diagnose the class&

This is an experiment.  I have really high hopes for it.  I think together we can learn a lot, and enjoy it. Requested Homework: Read:   http://www.cantrip.org/gatto.html Answer (please copy the questions into a text file, type your responses, and email them to me): (0)  Do you have any thoughts about what you just read?  Do you agree with Mr. Gatto? (1)  What are you passionate about?  Would you do that more if you weren't in school? (2)  Do you want to study Geometry? (3)  Can you think of any ways to work your passion into the study of Geometry (don't worry if you can't - I will help; that's my job)?  An example: if your passion is art, you could suggest doing art projects with geometric themes, like these . (4)  How do you think your grade in this class should be determined?  An example: if you would like a very traditional math class, you could suggest your grade to be 10% homework, 10% participation, 30% final, 50% quizzes/tests.  Or, another