Monday Head Count: Four that Dwindled to One

Hello out there,

Today we did one full lesson, one that gave all of the answers to the universe. You missed out if you weren't here!

On the board we went over the main objectives for the unit. They are:

Essential Questions:
1. Why is storytelling important?
2. How does perspective affect a story?
3. What is colonialism, and how does it work?

You will know:
The definition of colonialism
That proverbs reflect human experience, and may be cross-cultural

You will understand that:
Storytelling is key to human history
Power determines which stories are told
Colonialism devastates some cultures and empowers others

To exemplify this, we read an excerpt from the book The Art of Travel by Sir Francis Gaxton (1822-1911). We read a few pages from the chapter The Management of Savages.

We discussed the following questions:

1. Who is telling the story and why?
2. What do we learn about the "savages" from the narrative?
3. Who is in the better position and why?

Then the bell rang, and I was left with one lone student, who joined another grade 12 class with more students.

The word on the street is that you will be here on Friday, so I will have a lesson planned for you.

Last week was a wash with low attendance by both you and me. We watched Blood Diamond with another senior class, being careful to view it with a critical eye.

I hope to see you Friday!