Civil Disobedience- Looking at examples.

These four articles all deal with recent examples of Civil Disobedience.  In a way they have all been successful because they brought enough attention to their cause to make the news, but some are more likely to create real change than others.

Read through the articles. Think about what you know now about Civil Disobedience. Evaluate which of these cases is the most likely to result in real changes.

Write an entry in your English Journal to explain which case of Civil Disobedience is the most likely to result in change and why you think that.

UC Fee Hikes
Cindy Sheehan
Nuns Arrested
Blue Shield

Stride Toward Freedom -King

 We have seen how Thoreau's ideas on civil disobedience influenced Gandhi. Today we will see how those ideas were used during the American civil rights movement.

"Prior to reading Gandhi, I had about concluded that the ethics of Jesus were only effective in individual relationships. The "turn the other cheek" philosophy and the "love your enemies" philosophy were only valid, I felt, when individuals were in conflict with other individuals; when racial groups and nations were in conflict a more realistic approach seemed necessary. But after reading Gandhi, I saw how utterly mistaken I was."  -MLK

We will read an excerpt from Stride Toward Freedom by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. You will work with a partner to read the text and answer the questions on this form about what you read.

Following the train of thought...

  If you've been with us you should know by now what Emerson said in "Self Reliance", and what Thoreau said in "Civil Disobedience". Today we will see their thinking magnified by Mohandas K. Gandhi.

 You know that America was once one of many British colonies. India was also a British colony. In the 1930's Gandhi used his ideas about civil disobedience, his word was satyagraha, to help free India from British rule.

Today we will read a short excerpt from his speech on Civil Disobedience if you would like to read the full text you can find it here.

There is a copy of the text in your shared folder to read with your group. Only use the link above if for some reason you can not access the text in docs.

Discussing "Civil Disobedience"

Good morning,

You've been doing an excellent job discussing Emerson (Self Reliance) with your group in an on-line chat. Today I want to let you talk to each other face to face again.  We are going to look at the writing of one of Emerson's friends, Henry David Thoreau.

Thoreau wrote an essay called "Civil Disobedience"  We are going to read parts of it. This is what Gandhi said about "Civil Disobedience".

"Thoreau was a great writer, philosopher, poet, and withal a most practical man, that is, he taught nothing he was not prepared to practise in himself. ... He went to gaol for the sake of his principles and suffering humanity. His essay has, therefore, been sanctified by suffering. Moreover, it is written for all time. Its incisive logic is unanswerable." - Mohandas Gandhi

We are going to read excerpts of "Civil Disobedience". Between each paragraph I will give you a few minutes to discuss the text with your group. Remember what you have learned about discussing literature from your on-line discussions.

Writing about "Self Reliance"

So we spent two days reading and "discussing" Emerson in groups. Today you are on your own. You will probably need to open your copy of Self Reliance in Google docs, but do not use the chat window today. (I'll be watching.)

Open in docs:

• Your English Journal
• Your copy of Self Reliance (Do not open the chat window. Yes, I am repeating myself.)

Then do all six below. Work quickly, but be sure to explain your choices well.

1. Choose your favorite line from Self Reliance. Paste it into your EJ and write about what it means and why it is your favorite.
2. Chose a line from Self Reliance that you would quote while arguing with someone. Paste it into your EJ and write about what it means and why you would use it.
3. Choose a line from Self Reliance that you think people should pay attention to today. Paste it into your EJ and write about what it means and why people should pay attention to it today.
4. Choose a line from Self Reliance that you think is the most poetic. Paste it into your EJ and write about what it means and why you think it is poetic.
5. Choose a line from Self Reliance that you disagree with. Paste it into your EJ and write about what it means and why you disagree.
6. Explain in your own words what Emerson's point is in his essay. What are his big ideas? What is his advice to people?

Chatting about theme and evidence

So today we read a new story called "Passing Days". If you weren't in class you can find it in the shared folder for your writing group. Each group read the story on their own and then 'chatted' about it in the chat window on the doc. I didn't let them talk or sit together they had to type all their comments and communicate about the theme and evidence only through the chat window. Most groups did a great job and liked working this way. If you missed class you missed out.

PS This is my first post to the blog from an iPad.

Still looking for THEME and EVIDENCE

Good morning,

Your homework last night was to read "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin. Today you will work with your writing group to read it again. I put a copy of it in your writing group shared folder. Open docs and go to your shared writing group folder.

Work together to:

1. Find the theme of the story (try to agree on one)
2. Highlight evidence from the text to support your opinion.
3. Insert comments about the things you highlight to explain why you think those parts are evidence.
4. In your own English journal write a paragraph to explain the theme and the evidence you found to support it. (Your group can work together on the thesis.)