Period Two’s Fabulous (better than period 5) Scribe

English today started out the way it usually does, we all got our computers out and Ms. Smith said a few humorous remarks. Then, surprisingly, three girls walked into our classroom and informed us on joining journalism or the year book staff. This is the jest of their speech:

• Encouraged us to do yearbook or journalism next year
• Flyers were handed out
• Meeting tonight at 7 in E-9
• You get credits in LA and practical arts
• Before the game, don’t worry!
  

Then after that very entertaining speech, Ms. Smith gave us a few reminders about up coming dates:

• If you didn’t sign up for this book to scribe you can sign up for the Farewell to Manzanar unit
• At the end of each unit you get 2-3 days to work on semester project
• Read ahead in 1984 because April is extremely busy:
  -Sophomore registration
  -A week with three fishbowls
  -MAP testing
  -ACT testing
  -Career Day
• There is a fishbowl tomorrow
• Schmity is gone tomorrow too

The very last thing we did as a group was that we discussed the Blog question from last night. The key points brought up in the discussion were:

• What let’s the government control the people?
• Fear – they make everyone fear them and then they will do what they want
• Necessary evil – the whole population needs to have a common evil (Goldstein) so they unite and think that Big Brother is their savior for protecting them
• Total control – they control the past, present, and future
• Don’t actually WATCH people all the time through the telescreen, but they have scared people into believing they are.
• No rules – kill you if you do something that they don’t like; no rules are more dangerous (don’t know what is wrong or right)
• Limit the knowledge of the people (ignorance is strength) – they change history and they don’t let people learn about the outside world
• War – all they think about is war; focus of society; distraction (mentally and economically)
• Propaganda (all of the posters) – “Victory” everything
• Mob mentality
• All adults are scared of the children
• Everyone is a “comrade” – no real relationships – no connections
• Intimidation – children turn in their parents, Big Brother, thought police
• Live by yourselves – need support to challenge the system and if there are no relationships you have no one to help you
  

The rest of the period was spent either reading 1984 or working on your grammar packet. Ms. Smith also told us that we needed to blog tonight on a new post on the blog. It was a fairly successful day!

• Homework:
• Grammar Exercises 8-9
• Be prepared for the fishbowl tomorrow
• Read in 1984 pages 37-69 (read ahead if you would like)
• Blog on the new post on Ms. Smith’s web page
• Challenge the System and Change the World (I know it seems like a lot but just try!)
  

I hope my scribe helped everyone out (it definitely helped better than Period 5’s if that isn’t too conceited) and I will see you all tomorrow!

PS- The font to this blog was really cool in the word document I typed it up in but when I copy pasted it into the post it wouldn't let me change the font...stupid technology (just kidding!).

Paige