Group Task: Supporting a Line of Argument

Working in groups you are going to develop support for or against a particular line of argument in relation to Louis Nowra’s play, Cosi.

Below are FIVE different arguments in which a specific position on the purpose of Nowra’s play is taken. You will be given a number in class. This is your group.

ONE: The play ‘Cosi’ is about the fraglity of identity.

TWO: At the heart of the play ‘Cosi’ is an exploration of madness and sanity.

THREE: Nowra’s suggests that being creative often requires a touch of madness

FOUR: The main focus of the play ‘Cosi’ is on love and fidelity.

FIVE: ‘Cosi’ reminds the audience of the need to have genuine, fulfilling relationships with others.

Task 1: In your group brainstorm you must choose whether you agree or disagree with the statement. Now find support for your position. Use the brown piece of paper that you are given to brainstorm your ideas. To do this effectively, you must find:

FIVE quotes from the play to support your argument

THREE dramatic techniques used by Nowra to present this idea (e.g. monolougues, characterisation, foil characters, symbolism, colloquial language, sexual innuendo, costuming, props, stage directions, soliloquy, lighting, setting)

TWO links to Nowra’s context that support why he would examine this idea (e.g. Vietnam War, Women’s Rights Movement, Civil Rights Movement)

Task 2: Write a post for edmodo outlining your position and your three different types of supporting evidence.

A History of Madness: Research Task

A History of Madness

In preparation for your study of Cosi (a play set in a mental institution) you are to complete some research into the history of ‘madness’. What does it mean to be called ‘mad’? Has our understanding of ‘madness’ changed over the last 2000 years? Is it ever really possible to be called ‘sane’? Is it possible that the world is one big asylum populated by mad people?

TASK 1

In the play Cosi Nowra represents both male and female characters suffering from mental illness.

The following activity will help you to answer the question: Is madness gender-defined?

Your answers to the following questions need to by typed and ‘turned-in’ via edmodo in response to the TASK ONE assignment.

Mental Illness During the Victorian Era

Visit the website: Mental Illness During the Victorian Era

a. What were mental asylums like before the 1850s? How did they treat patients? Why?

b. What were mental asylums like after the 1850s? How did they treat patients? Why?

c. What was the cure for Hysteria in women according to early ‘doctors’?

d. What is nymphomania? What is your reaction to this diagnosis in women and the reason for women being labelled ‘nymphomaniacs’?

Mental Illness During the Twenty-first Century

Visit the website: Depression in women

a. How many women suffer from  depression according to this article? Why do you think there are so many more than men? What does the article suggest is the reason for this? Do you agree? Why or why not?

Task 2

The methods used to treat ‘madness’ have changed drastically over the last 1000 years.

a. Do some research into the types of treatment mental patients have received between 1000 and 2010.

Here are some websites that may be handy:

Asylums and Care for the Insane

Bedlam

The History of Mental Illness

A Brief History or Mental Illness

b. Create a time-line of the methods for treatment of the ‘insane’. The time-line is to be presented on a glogster poster – www.glogster.com (you will need to register and log-in) and post it to our class group on edmodo.

Due: Friday, Week 1

Task 3

2. Use the internet to find a definition of the following:

* bedlam

* asylum

* lunatic

* madness

* insane

* psychosis

* bi-polar

* lobotomy

* electro-convulsive shock treatment

These definitions should be typed into a Word Doc and saved as ‘Madness_Definition_(yourname)’. This is to be sent to be ‘turned-in’ via edmodo. The Assignment is called ‘Task 3’.

Task 4

Choose three of the words above and include them in a 100 word micro-story exploring the concept ‘madness’. Be creative – try to engage your reader’s senses: sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing. Focus on using strong verbs and shorter sentences.

This is to be posted to our class edmodo group. Due: Wednesday, Week 2.

Cosi by Louis Nowra

The play’s title ‘Cosi’ is drawn from the opera ‘Cosi-Fan-Tutte’ by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

About the playwright:

 

• Louis Nowra was born on 12^th December 1950. He was born in Melbourne as Mark Doyle but he changed his name in the 1970s. He still lives and works in Australia.
• He is one of Australia’s most successful and prolific playwrights, having written over 32 plays. He has also written novels, screenplays, memoirs and even libretti (this is the written text for an opera).
• His early plays were set in obscure places outside of Australia and dealt with dark and often ambiguous themes such as spirituality and renewal.
• Nowra’s more recent works have featured more local settings, often in familiar Australian landscapes such as suburbia. These works often include compelling lead characters, many of whom are women or more traditionally silenced characters such as Aboriginal people.
• Key themes in the works of Louis Nowra include the power of love to restore hope, the ability for individuals to transform themselves, the nature of madness, the importance of creative expression and resistance.

Type of text

Louis Nowra writes plays. Cosi is a drama text.

Context of text

• The play Cosi is set in Melbourne, Australia in the early 1970s. This was a time marked by a youthful rebellion where Australia’s young people were taking to the streets to protest Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. It was also a period of ‘free love’ where the traditional morals and ideals were being questioned, and often rejected by the younger generation. Women had access to the new contraceptive pill and this made it easier for women to engage in sexual relations outside of marriage. This brought about a questioning of the need for marriage and fidelity.
• During this time period mental illness was still viewed as something ‘other’ that was not spoken about publicly. People suffering from mental illness were tagged as ‘mad’ and ‘loonies’ and state run institutions were put in place to provide care for most of these people.
• By the 1970s drug use was prolific amongst young adults, particularly those who formed part of the counter culture movement referred to as ‘hippies’. This is evident in the character Julie, who is a heroin addict, and the character of Zac, who is addicted to pharmaceutical drugs.

Audience

This play is written mainly for a young adult and adult audience as it deals with mature themes such as sex, drugs and the nature of love and insanity.

Purpose

 

The purpose of this text is to entertain the audience through comedy, but also to inform the audience about the ineffectiveness of categorising people as being ‘mad’. The play also encourages the audience to reconsider the value of love and fidelity in a modern world.

How should you read this text?

• The reader must remember that this is a text written for the stage and because of this dramatic techniques should be identified when discussing how meaning is shaped by Nowra in Cosi.
• If possible the students should see a production of this play in performance as this will help develop a better appreciation of the physical comedy that forms the basis of the play. The play was made into a film in 1997, with Nowra having written the screen-play. Students should note that the plot has been altered in this version.
• Even though Cosi is a comedy following closely along the lines of a traditional farce, it has a more serious meaning underpinning the humour. Nowra desires to create a piece of art that captures the often ambiguous distinction between sanity and insanity in the modern world. Through humour Nowra encourages the audience to reconsider their own attitudes.
• It is important to remember that this play was written in a different context to the one in which it was set. The student should reflect on why Nowra chose the 70s to set his play and whether this was simply because of his own biography.

Getting in touch with nature: geocaching

Last Monday we had out very first class excursion! We spent the morning hanging out at The Cascades, part of Garigal National Park.

It was great fun to get outside and get in touch with nature – even if it was extremely early on a Monday morning!

This activity saw the class participating in ‘geocaching‘. My husband – Lee – is a big fan of this activity, he pretty much makes the boys and I do it every weekend in summer. In fact, this excursion was mostly his idea – he thinks geocaching is a great way to get you guys out of the classroom and into the local environment. I reckon he’s right – classrooms can be damn boring! Anyway, here’s a definition of geocaching from the website:

Geocaching is a real-world outdoor treasure hunting game. Players try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, using GPS-enabled devices and then share their experiences online.

I had planted five caches around the Cascades walking track that our class had to find. The first large cache was a whole-group cache and within this cache was a series of coordinates for four mini-caches that each team needed to find.

It didn’t take long to find the whole-group cache thanks to the ‘assistance’ of Balin. Everyone got to sign the log-book and take a small trinket from the cache. From there it was time to split up and find the group caches. Partly because of my terrible instructions and a little bit of confusion about the coordinates, only a couple of groups ‘found’ their caches using their GPS, but the other two groups managed to find them with the help of Balin and Keenan.

Inside the mini-caches was a laminated card with a series of activities to be completed as a team. These tasks were designed to get you thinking about and describing the natural environment of The Cascades. You also needed to think about the types of people that have inhabited the area in the past and present and those who might in the future. The hope was that you would begin to appreciate what it means to personally connect/belong to the wider world, nature, community, your team and the class as a whole.

Here’s the list of activities:

1. Take a photograph of TWO significant features of this environment
2. Write ten adjectives to describe this environment
3. Write 10 verbs that describe actions that occur in this environment
4. Write a 100 word micro story that captures the mood of this environment
5. Write a description of THREE types of people that would frequent this place
6. Research the original people that lived in this place
7. Write a description of the behaviours of the original inhabitants of this place
8. Describe your connection to this place

I was really pleased with the way you guys took on the challenges of this excursion – even Axel went bush-bashing despite the spiders – and I am really looking forward to reading your finished work.

Here are some completed pieces that I have been sent to edmodo already.

Hannah’s micro-story:

The sun rises through the tangled trees, clawing at my already sun kissed skin. The smell of impure, bacterial water fills my nostrils and instantly a displeased aura radiates from within. This is not paradise. A serpent of black tarmac leads me onwards, deeper into this wilderness, deeper into the mess of Mother Nature. Spider webs sling across my body, flies encircle my face. Where is Mother Nature hiding the tranquillity in this hell? The serpent drops away, replaced with a hill littered with sun-bleached rocks and sand. Crushing my feet to the floor, I find the tranquillity in sound.

Bree’s micro-story:

Tranquillity oozes from the place I sit, greenery catching my vision in every direction surrounding me. Shadows dancing through the crevices made my tree branches above giving off the illusion I’m not alone. Reality leaving my thoughts as my imagination sets in; this place takes you to a new mind set with the sounds of water playing off rocks heightening a silent symphony of various insects and wildlife in the neighbouring foliage. Every second that ticks by displays the sun entering through cracks in the leaves. Echoing voices in the distance creep into my mind shaking my imagination back to reality.

Sunny’s adjectives:

– Quiet
– Crackling Branches
– Deep
– Evergreen
– Dull
– Flitering light
– Dense
– Hot
-Thick
– Massive

Here are some photos taken on the day by Jake and by me:

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Ten Canoes: more conceptual statements

We had the most wonderful time connecting with nature and the local community down at The Cascades on Monday, however I will write a post about that on the weekend when I have more time.

For now I want to document the INSANELY AMAZING statements you guys have created about Ten Canoes. These conceptual statements are sophisticated and insightful. So proud of you all! They show a very good grasp of the complexity of belonging …

Identity:
– The unity of a group creates an identity in which everyone associates.
– Difference in identities causes a lack of acceptance and isolation
– Relationships with others can result in a change of one’s identity.
People:
– Separation from people important to us can affect an individual making them feel excluded and experience a sense of not belonging.
– Attachment to like-minded people creates feeling of security and comfort.
– Self- imposed alienation arises from anxiety about one’s status in society or within a group.
Relationships:
– Attachment can improve the relationship between two people.
– Kinship can aid in one’s ability to find who they are and where they belong.
– Connection is a valuable aspect of relationships as is a responsible for encouraging people to belong.
Acceptance:
– Involvement in the customs/behaviours specific to a group can enhance feelings of acceptance and thus belonging.
– Conformity represents a willingness to accept the ways of thinking of a group.
– Enrichment of an individual’s sense of self occurs as a result of being accepted by others.

Place:

– Disconnection from certain places occurs as a result of social status: The stranger, Yeeralpiraril
– Spiritual connection to the land affirms an individuals life purpose: death of Ridjimiraril, vagina scene (narrator)
– Connectedness to nature informs customs, traditions, culture: making the canoes, gender roles – hunting + gathering

We’re going to be using these in class today and on Monday to write some detailed STEEL paragraphs … I’ll post the finished products to this blog on Monday night! 🙂

Ten Canoes: conceptual statements

Having watched Ten Canoes in class on Monday, today’s lesson was all about working as a team to summarise what the film aims to communicate about the concept ‘belonging’.

Over the next couple of weeks you will be working in teams to complete a series of challenges. These challenges are designed to help you strengthen your understand ideas relating to ‘belonging’ and how these ideas are represented in texts.

These are our teams for Weeks 4 and 5:

Team Ridjimiraril:
Teri, Bree, Joe, Andrew, Ryan

Team Dayindi:
Nate, Corinne, Nic, Jake

Team Minygululu:
Grace, Alex, Mark, James, Giuliana

Team BirrinBirrin:
Jorja, Sunny, Axel, Hannah

In class you were asked to select ONE aspect of belonging from our Belonging Wall – identity, relationships, understanding, acceptance, people, place, groups, experiences, wider world – that you thought was evident in Ten Canoes. You then had to select THREE conceptual nouns from the Belonging Wall that related to this word and were evident in the film Ten Canoes. Using these words your team needed to create THREE conceptual statements about belonging as evident in the film Ten Canoes.

I had to leave you a bit early, so I didn’t get to see the end result of two of the groups. I hope they’re on the whiteboard this morning. I was pleased with the first draft of work from two groups, and these teams will get ‘CONCEPT COMMANDER’ badges in edmodo. They will also get team points.

Here’s their work:

TEAM DAYINIDI:

ASPECT: Identity

Unity
– The unity of a group creates an identity in which everyone associates with.

Difference

– Difference in identities causes a lack of acceptance and isolation.

Change

– Relationship’s with others can result in a change of one’s identity.

TEAM RIDJIMIRARIL:

ASPECT: Relationship

Kinship
– Kinship can aid in ones ability to find who they are and where they belong
Attachment
– Attachment can improve the relationship between two people.
Connection
– Connection is a valuable aspect of relationships as it is responsible for encouraging people to belong.

These are great statements and with a little bit of work can form the basis of wonderful arguments about the film Ten Canoes and what it expresses about experiences of belonging and not belonging. Well done guys!

Ten Canoes: What does it teach us about what it means to belong?

The prescribed text for our class is the film Ten Canoes, directed by Rolf de Heer. I really love this film because it helps remind me of the beauty of our land and the beauty of the culture that thrived here for thousands of years before white settlement. It reminds me that we are all human, with shared human experiences from the little things like fart jokes and talking about sex, to the big things like fidelity, loyalty, grief and family.

Here is a nice little taster video from youtube:

When we watched the film in class I asked you to take some notes about what the film is trying to tell us about belonging/not belonging and what it means to belong. As we watched me and a couple of you added out notes to edmodo. Below are those notes.

• Overhead panning shot of Arafura Swamp makes us feel like we are flying, a spiritual plane.
• The narrator excludes us from his story – this is my story – but invites us to be part of it by telling us the story of creation according to his people.
• The focus of the film is ‘the story’.
  The framing of the narrative is three-fold. The original colour of ‘now’ – the black and white of ‘my ancestors’ and then the colour of the ‘dream time’.
• The black and white shots are formal and stylised – the men are shown to be warriors with their spears and walking in a single-file line. But this formality is broken by the discussion of the men, ‘Everyone stop! I refuse to walk at the end. Someone ahead keeps farting’.
• Humour: ‘You’re rotten inside’ ‘I’m rotten inside’. ‘The talk about women, like always’
  Makes us feel connected to ‘the ancestors’ – fart jokes and talking about women are part of our shared humanity.
• Hunting the magpie geese: part of the customs/rituals of the Yolngu People. So too is making canoes.
• Story telling connects Dayindi to his past and teaches him to live ‘the proper way’.
• Direct address to the viewer ‘Maybe this story will help you live the proper way’. Connects us to the world of the text.
• “not your story, my story.” “help him live the proper way”
• ‘He had wives and children, just as we have now. And he followed the law, just like we do now.’
• starts off with an arial shot of the land- the aboriginal people believe that they are born from the land and when they die they go back to the land… “when i die i will go back to the water hole”
• Went back in time to the ancestors, the transition to the past is from black and white to colour.
• traditional making of bark canoes …. belonging to their customs?
• The three wives: introduced through a close-up shot. These are important characters. The smile of first wife shows her to be genuine, the second laughs and shows her to be untrustworthy, the third wife doesn’t smile – stares ahead, reinforces the narrator’s words ‘she was quiet as a baby’. Smile of Yerralparil shows him to be likeable. We are shown the actual practices of the indigenous people – giving us insight into their ways – helping us understand their way of life.
• humor engagement…belonging to the audience?
• BirrinBirrin belongs only to honey 😛
• Single man’s camp: ‘They lived there to learn the law and man’s ways.’
• Separation of those who are ‘different’ or considered ‘unprepared’ for the larger group.
• Yeeralparil challenges the group because he wishes to see Munandjarra … this causes problems for the tribe.
• The camera is unsteady as it approaches the stranger. It dollys-in to identify him as different. There is some mysterious music as it approaches as well. ‘Never trust a man with a small prick’. The shaking of his head makes him seem unstable.
• they dont trust the stranger with the covered prick…different language, appearence, clothing, dangerous… aspects= acceptance and identity
• The stranger does not belong because he speaks another language and has a covering.
• The imagine actions of the stranger is shown through a slightly different filter over the camera – the colours are lighter. The men are imagining the stranger using their ‘shit’ to work magic against the men.
  Graphic scene of bloody murder is confronting and shocks the viewer – helps us to understand the difficulty of being a different – the stranger is NOT accepted. He does NOT belong to the tribe because he comes from a different PLACE.
• Dayindi’s fear marks him as different – he does not connect to the PLACE – the swamp. His identity as an immature man who is only learning the ways of the men separates him from them.
• cultural differences between the tribes, from language and culture, e.g. language, clothing or lack of.
• Disagreements with others can force individuals to seek solace in nature. (Ridjimiraril leaves the wives to go hunting to get some peace and quiet)
  ‘Chattering like magpie-geese’: connects the women of the dream-time to women today. ‘With all his family, behaving like they always do – now we know why Ridjimiraril went hunting’.
• Difficulties of relationships with more than one person.
  Polygamy = marriage to more than one person. This causes issues for the men and women – jealousy. ‘He was always trying to be nice to all of them. Even sometimes to the younger one.’ (narrator about Ridjimiraril)
• Women bathing as a group in the waterhole – connection to group/people and place.
• ‘This story is now growing like a young tree that is flowering for the first time.’
• ‘Back in that time maybe someone did the wrong thing. Maybe the spirits were angry for no reason … the lives of the ancients were about to change.’ Connection to the wider world – mystical/spiritual world/forces impacting on the lives of the people. Part of the culture.
• Connection to people and impact this has on our perception of the world and events.
  E.g. Possible reasons for the disappearance of Nowalingu – close-up of men’s faces whilst they propose their reasons then accompanied by the reenactment of this possibility.
• Relationships with others impact our identity. Ridjimiraril’s relationship with his wife, Nowalingu, is important to him as a man – her disappearance upsets him and he becomes serious and sad.
• A lack of understanding of his place within the world causes Dayindi to see the story rushed. The maturity of his brother Minygululu is demonstrated in his unwillingness to rush the story. ‘The story is growing into a large tree now, with strong branches.’
• The isolation and rejection of an individual who does not accept/understand the customs/laws of his people. E.g. the sequence of Yeeralparil hiding behind trees eager to see Munandjarra and his denial by the first wife. ‘Why don’t you go play with a female crocodile?’
• Connection to place: preparations of the ancestors in the swamp – they create a platform raised above the swamp to protect them from crocodiles. ‘the smoke of the little fires keeps the mosquitoes away’
• ‘He became, quiet and angry and sad. He became possessed by a bad spirit.’
  ‘The bad spirit that lived in his head escaped. That bad spirit made biggest trouble of all.’
• Loss causes a change in character, resulting in a difficulty to connect with others.
• Identity is reshaped as a result of a loss of connection to others.
• Zoom in on the Stranger and the sudden end of diegetic sounds creates a tense atmosphere. The viewer becomes concerned for Ridjimiraril and his people. This is reinforced by the aggressive stare of the Stranger, his angry speaking, dancing and pointing of the spear.
  ‘The only thing to do was to follow the law.’
• ‘A good story must have proper telling.’ Storytelling has didactic purpose.
• Dayindi’s lack of skill with the spears symbolises his immaturity. He is not prepared for life as a man and therefore the viewer acknowledges that he is not prepared for a wife. About Yeeralparil: ‘You’re too young!’ ‘You’re too inexperienced!’.
• ‘If he couldn’t have a wife, he may as well be dead.’ (Yeeralparil’s unhappiness stems from his failure to develop an intimate relationship.)
• The dancing of the brothers symbolises their connection …
• Sense of belonging changes over time: ‘Dayindi is now interested in all of the story. He waits to hear all of the story.’ (He feels as though he belongs to the whole story now – not just Yeeralparil’s story.)
• Night symbolises end of the journey – death. Connection to the wider world – shared human experience. Death, mourning.
• Lighting and music in the death dance scene creates a dramatic mood. Both celebratory and sad. He disconnects from the living, physical world and connects to the spiritual world of death.
  ‘The warriors finish the death dance for Ridjimiraril.’
  Connection to custom, culture, beliefs, community.  ‘All of his fathers will know that he is dying and come to him.’ Understanding of death, acceptance of it as part of the human experience. Connection to his people enriches his experience of belonging to a tradition. ‘He wants them to keep singing a bit longer, to help him find his ancestors.’
• Unity of the group through shared experience of mourning/grief: eerie singing as one over the body of Ridjimiraril.
• Exclusion from the world of the text: the after-death ritual. Does this prevent us from connecting to the text? These customs are unfamiliar. Continuation of the soul on its journey – overhead panning shot over the Arafura Swamp. Drop into the swamp symbolises the returning of Ridjimiraril to his birth-place. It is a cycle. The soul returns to the water hole. Mourning behaviour of Nowalingu – the throwing of dirt. Unfamiliar to us. What is our response?
• ‘Dayindi is learning to be patient’. ‘Finally he had the end of the story. It was not what he expected.’
• ‘All the proper things were done. At last, the spirit of the dead man was back where is belonging was.’ Voice-over as the camera pans over the water hole.
• ‘And they all lived happily ever after. Nah, I don’t know what happened. Maybe that Dayindi found a wife. Maybe he didn’t. It was like that for my people. But now you know my story. It was a good story, not like your story, but a good story all the same.’

Mind-mapping what it means to belong

As mentioned previously, you have a major assessment task for our current class focus, ‘Belonging’. The first task of the ‘Belonging Portfolio’ is to create a mind-map that documents your developing understanding of belonging. In an ideal world this mind-map would have been started from Week 1 of this term. But, alas, we do not live in an ideal world and therefore we only started looking at the mind-maps in class last week.

Here’s a definition of a mind-map (or concept map) from JCU Study Skills Online:

Mind mapping (or concept mapping) involves writing down a central idea and thinking up new and related ideas which radiate out from the centre. By focussing on key ideas written down in your own words, and then looking for branches out and connections between the ideas, you are mapping knowledge in a manner which will help you understand and remember new information.

The key words for you are CONCEPT (for your study, this means ‘belonging’ and ideas relating to it) and CONNECTIONS.

In class we looked at some examples of mind-maps on the web and also had a look at an example I drew on the board. Below is a short youtube clip in which the creator of mind-map, Tony Buzan, explains what mind-maps are and why they’re helpful:

To make an effective mind-map for belonging, it’s a good idea to think about what you think are the central aspects of belonging and make these your main ‘prongs’ on your mind-map. Some possibilities include:

• people
• place
• community/groups
• wider world
• identity
• relationships
• understanding
• acceptance

From each of these main ‘prongs’ you will add a more specific idea. Typically these are one or two words – conceptual nouns such as ‘isolation’, ‘joy’, ‘friendship’, ‘customs’, ‘restrictions’, ‘freedom’ etc. You may then like to move to the next level of connection and add the name of a text in which this idea about belonging is evidenced. A final prong might identify a character, scene or event from the text that provides further support to your points.

Here’s an example I created using a free trial of iMindMap which is pretty cool!

Check the ‘Mind-map’ folder in the AOS Belonging group on edmodo for more helpful resources!

Belonging: A Clean Well-lighted Place

Today was the first time that we’ve looked at a text in relation to the concept of belonging. The text I introduced to you was quite challenging, but you all did really well to understand its main ideas and how it relates to belonging.

For those of you who sadly missed our lesson (I’m looking at you Nate!) this is the text I’m talking about, the short story A Clean Well-lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway. You can read the story here and also check out some cool analyses of it here.

After reading the story Nic asked what other stories Hemingway had written. I couldn’t name any – a bit sad for an English teacher. So here is a link to his Wikipedia page, might help answer that question, Nic!

The story is essentially about three characters, the old man, the young waiter and the old waiter. The narrative occurs over the space of a few hours and the action takes place in only two locations – a cafe and a bar. I like that about this story – it has a certain stillness and simplicity to it that I think gives it a realistic feel. Do you like that style in stories? I think it works well in short, short stories like this.

As you listened to the story being read out you were asked to think about the concept ‘belonging’ and the way that Hemingway writes. You highlighted parts of the story relating to the concept in YELLOW and parts that you thought were well-written in PINK. This relates to our Belonging Wall where all CONCEPTUAL words are in YELLOW, all CRITICAL words are in BLUE and all CREATIVE words are in PINK. I was really impressed with how well you thought about this story and could identify the conceptual and creative elements of the story.

Some of the things you identified as a team were:

– the old man is depressed, lonely, aware of his approaching death, experiencing an ‘existential crisis’, feels a sense of connection to the cafe

– the younger waiter is arrogant, confident, alive, connected to his wife, disconnected from the old man and the cafe, belongs in his relationship and his home

– the older waiter is losing hope in life, he is depressed, lonely, seeking a purpose in life, he is connected to the cafe, understands the old man’s thoughts and feelings, feels disconnected from the wider world

Your homework task is to write a blog post reflecting on this story and what Hemingway is telling us about belonging to place, people and the wider world. We identified some conceptual nouns to use in your responses: disconnection, alienation, isolation, difference, understanding.

I’m really keen to read your responses – there is no pressure to structure it in a particular way – you just need to focus on your ideas about belonging.

Belonging: Considering the concept

Well another double period has come and gone.

This was a fairly busy double because we covered a lot of material. Together we established much needed expectations for work – both at home and in class. We decided that completing homework was pretty important, but homework shouldn’t be too onerous or complex. Fun homework would be more effective as a motivator than un-fun homework. That being said, it was agreed that a failure to complete homework three times in a term would result in a letter of concern. No one wants one of those, so we’ll all work together to make sure homework is complete.

I then showed you this blog and spoke about the importance of keeping a written record of your developing understanding of the concept ‘belonging’ … and further on keeping a record of your learning in English as a whole. The challenge you were given is to create your own personal blog (that will be linked to this one via the blog roll over there —>) – this is the first piece of Year 12 English homework. Let’s see how many do it!

This blog is designed as a place where I will keep a record of what happened in class, and provide you with a bit of a summary of the key learning that  *should* have occurred.

After all of this *fun* teacher-centred stuff, you worked in small groups to create a mini-presentation of your understanding of belonging. You were asked to provide real-world and literary examples. Following the presentations – which were very funny – I created a list of key concept words and created a ‘Belonging Wall’ for our classroom. This will be complimented with a wallwisher ‘online’ wall.

Here is an image of our Belonging Wall in Week One: