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Year 10 English Protest Unit - Harrison Bergeron

Ok, so for the past few weeks my Year 10 students and myself have embarked on a unit designed by various English bodies as an exemplar for the new Australian Curriculum syllabus. For those teachers who are interested, you can find the unit at http://e4ac.edu.au/units/year-10/index.html

Late last week, we started Activity 2 of Unit 3 which had students explore the short story Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut. We also looked at a short film version of the text which can be watched on YouTube at http://youtu.be/-4-hEfqpxIg

After exploring this text, in the following lesson, students were required to write a blog post reflecting on our current political and social environment and to philosophise upon the concepts of equality, handicap and intelligence that are explored in the text. Is it a warning? Can we truly be equal? What does equality look like?

The blog posts were to be approximately 600 words in length and to be posted on our class Edmodo page. Students were then also encouraged to pass comment on other people's responses as a form of formative feedback. Many students initially struggled, as many were not use to the idea of 'thinking for themselves' or with the concept of 'there's no real right or wrong answer.' So in order to put my money where my mouth is, I volunteered to complete the task also.

However, there were conditions. I wasn't allowed to post my completed blog post on the Edmodo page in entirety (as they didn't want to have to compare my post to there's) and I had to submit my work by the same deadline.

So, to my delightful Year 10 students (and any other's who may be following my blog in the wider education community) here is my homework...

Reflection on Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron

The year is 2014...and everyone is finally equal. Well, in order for that statement to be true, we would have to have a shared understanding of what equality is. So, what is equality? What does it look like? Is it something that can actually be attained, or is it some mythical creature like Big Foot which everyone swears is out there, but somehow we have no real evidence of seeing?

I think the theoretical notion of equality in itself is problematic. In order to define it, everyone needs to be on the same page as to what that definition is. But who decides what the standards are? And who decides who makes the decision? Is the definition of equality universal or is the definition subjected to variation between different cultures and societies?

When using the word equality, I think most people would define it as all individual having the same opportunities and treatment within society; or the same status. But when trying to establish equality, a set of benchmarks need to be made. It is from these benchmarks that a person can be valued as either being privileged or underprivileged in a particular area of there being. So for example a person who has no home or job is not being seen as equal to a person with a home or job. However, our society has determined that the desirable outcome is the latter as opposed to the former. The person without the job or home is classified as underprivileged in our society, as we value these two possessions. When a person is seen to be underprivileged, we typically offer support in order for this person to be 'equal'.

This is where I go back to how equality is problematic. How equality is distributed seems to be directly influenced by what society values. Or more precisely, what the people in power in our society value. If those in power value the marriage of man and woman, then they would allow the opportunity for all men and women to marry. However, this does not demonstrate those in power valuing marriage as a whole, as they are not giving same sex marriages the same level of value or equality as heterosexual marriage.  

When reading Harrison Bergeron, I kept thinking of Orwell's Animal Farm, and the commandments of the pigs. Those in power create a set of rules in order for all animals to be 'equal', but they then kept amending the rules to benefit some over others. In the end it can be summarised by this image:

In Harrison Bergeron, they had the 'Handicap General'; a person who had ultimate power to oversee and ensure that society was 'equal'. By but empowering an individual to do this, in itself creates inequality.

The year is 2014, but we aren't equal. And who's to say that equality would be better in the long run? To truly create equality it would mean that some individuals would be better that current circumstance, but then others, in theory, would be worse off. I the short story, Vonnegut depicts how those who are 'better' are handicapped and impaired to try and make them more equal to those who are disadvantaged. Here he shows how intellect and knowledge is seen as dangerous, and those who possess these qualities could shift the balance of power.

Harrison Bergeron demonstrates how equality doesn't demonstrate justice, and how sometimes in the attempt of creating an equal world it could be detrimental to society. And through Vonnegut's story, we can gain an understanding of just how subjective the concept of equality actually is.

What are your thoughts? Can we ever be truly equal? How would you define equality?

Yr 10 English Shakespeare and Romeo & Juliet

Hi all,

I thought I would start by adding some YouTube videos and such for you to peruse  at your own leisure.

Enjoy.

Mrs P

Yr 10 English Persuasive Print Media

Hi All,

I apologise for not posting as often as I would like.

Here are some resources to assist you in creating of your print media texts:

The Art of the Open Letter  - This blog post shows some examples of open letters and some tips on writing your own.

How To Construct an Editorial - The guy on the video might not have the most engaging voice, but what he says is worth listening to.

How to Write an editorial - I would recommend watching this video on mute, unless old timey music is your thing. Some very useful writing tips though.

How to write letters to the editor - Another short you tube video about the construction of this text type.

Smart Tips for writing a great feature article - This doesn't appear to have any sound, so put on your favourite tunes while looking/reading the hints and tips.

How To write a Feature Article - May seem like deja vu, but the gut from the first video again explains the features and language devices of this text form.

Rhetoric devices - Here's a vid made by some students demonstrating there understanding of some rhetorical (persuasive) devices. Contains clips from popular movies so quite engaging.

BONUS ROUND!

What Aristotle and Joshua Bell can teach us about persuasion - Here's a TedEd video explaining the theories developed by Aristotle about persuasion or rhetoric. This hasn't been covered in class, but it is great literary theory and metalanguage you can using moving into your ATAR courses.

Hopefully this is enough to help you along the way. If you need more support, leave a comment below or email me direct.

Happy Writing.

Mrs P

Year 10 Travel Blogging

Hi All,

Here is a copy of some resources we have covered in class to help you along with your blog writing.

Getting serious about travel blogging

Come back again soon for more updates and resources.

Mrs P