Prompt Suggestions?

Recently, it has come to my attention that not all of the blog prompts that I assign are not always favorites of yours. That is quite alright with me, but I also do want your input.  So this blog is simple - it does not even need to be 250 words (it does, however, still need to demonstrate good writing conventions and thought). For your ninth and final journal of the first quarter, you need to suggest four possible blog topics for the coming quarters.  Sounds easy, yes?  However, for your journal to be graded, you must also include at, least one good paragraph with each of your prompt suggestions persuading me to use this prompt. Some of you you may be asking yourself, "What does Mr. B consider a good paragraph?" And in response to this question, I would tell you that you need at least four sentences (that are not simple sentences) to constitute a good paragraph. So to sum this up: persuade me to utilize the prompts that you suggest for upcoming blogs.  Good luck.

The Eighth (Not on the 8th)

I was thinking about numbers this weekend.  Part of that could be because the Browns committed twelve (yes, twelve) penalties this weekend.  If that weren't bad enough, they only completed 17-42 passes.  Anyway, as I thought about numbers and attempted to get past these woes, I remembered an article that I read in college dealing with reading statistics.  And guess what?  I was able to find this article.  It comes from the Washington Post and is titled "One in Four Read No Books Last Year." The article is a little dated, but if we were to extrapolate the data presented over the years since the article has been written we would surely find even more shocking results.

For your blogs this week, you will need to read the article and respond to the following questions:
-What is most shocking to you in the article?  Why?
-If you read, why do you?  If you don't, why not?
-What is your favorite genre to read?  Why?
-What is your least favorite genre?  Why?
-Do tablet (iPad, Kindle) affect the amount of reading people do?  Why or why not?

Remember, you need to write at least 250 words (shoot for four good paragraphs) and demonstrate good writing conventions.

Very

As I was sitting down to my cereal (Cinnamon Toast Crunch) and coffee this morning, I came across a quote that is not championed enough from the Dead Poets Society:   "Avoid using the word 'very' because it's lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted.  Don't use very sad, use morose.  Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women - and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do."  I then began thinking about your previous blog prompt - you know, that one you all complained about?  This blog will not be about Giant Mustard, however, it will be about Giant Ketchup!  Okay, okay, so I jest.

More than anything, the previous quote dredged up my hatred for word about which Mr. Keating (played by Robin Williams) is complaining.  And more so, about the difficulty of thinking.  If you google 'difficulty of thinking' you will get "about 57,300,000 results [in] (0.18 seconds);" you don't need to do this, because I already did. Henry Ford even notes the difficulty in thinking: "Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it."

When we come in contact with a difficult activity, we are faced with two options: either give up, or practice.  Frankly, I am a fan of the latter because there is a great feeling of accomplishment after achieving something that seemed previously out of reach.  And let's be honest; how great is it to attain a feeling of fulfillment?

Continuing in this same vein, I am going to ask you to think for you blog prompt.  That's it.  Think.  You may be asking yourself "about what?" or be questioning my sanity, but I assure you this is your prompt.  You must write 250 words that demonstrate good writing conventions.  Pretty open-ended, eh?  Yes.  Take a chance.  Take a leap.  Meditate.  Think.

Oh, and one final note:  You may not use the word 'very.'

Elation: is there a word for that?

I am currently elated with the state of Cleveland sports.  Yes, this does not apply to all of you, but my excitement hopefully has spilled over (even if not for sport).  That being said, we have some wonderful blog topics coming your way this week.  At least one is set in the creative while the others may be a little more concrete.  This week, you will not need to do two blogs if you are in English 9 and English 10: you only need to do the English 10 blog. 

Now, for what you've all been waiting for:

English 10: We've just read "By the Water's of Babylon."  In this post-apocalyptic tale, John's quest should be obvious - you will want to remember the purpose of a quest.  In this case, John's quest is also a rite of passage, making this story a bildungsroman (a German word telling us that this is a coming-of-age story).  But, your prompt doesn't have to deal with that.  On his quest, John encountered many things that he was unable to name, or for which he did not have a word.  Your task is to write a short story from the point of view of something (I would choose my shark Herbie) that either goes on a quest or experiences something for which they do not have the words.

All You Others:  If the above topic seems like a fun choice to you, you may choose it as your blog topic.  If not, then I implore you to answer the following question from Tufts University's 2013 Application for Admission: "What does #YOLO mean to you?"  This should go without saying, but this needs to be school appropriate.  If you want my opinion of #YOLO, you need look no further than carpe diem.

Remember, you need to write at least 250 words while demonstrating good writing conventions.