Jesus's Last Words

Choose one the 7 last "words" Jesus said and reflect on one. Also, make an argument about why Holy Week is the climax of the liturgical year.

1.

“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.”
(Luke 23:34)

Do you really believe God has forgiven your sins? Do you take time on a regular basis to confess your sins so that you might enjoy the freedom of forgiveness? Do you need to experience God’s forgiveness in a fresh way today?

2.

“I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
(Luke 23:43)

Have you staked your life on Jesus? Have you put your ultimate trust in him? Do you know that, when your time comes, you will be with him in paradise?

3.

“Dear woman, here is your son.”
(John 19:26)

What does Mary’s presence at the cross evoke in you? Why do you think was it necessary for Jesus to suffer physical pain as he died?

4.

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
(Mark 15:34)

Have you taken time to consider that Jesus was abandoned by the Father so that you might not be? What does this “word” from the cross mean to you?

5

“I am thirsty.”
(John 19:28)

How do you respond to Jesus’ statement “I am thirsty”? What does this statement suggest to you about Jesus? About yourself?

6.

“It is finished!”
(John 19:30)

 Do you live as if Jesus finished the work of salvation? To you have confidence that God will finish that which he has begun in you?

7.

“Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!”
(Luke 23:46)

Have you put your life and, indeed, your life beyond this life, in God’s hands? How do you experience God’s salvation through Christ in your life today?

Gone Too Soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CrOL-ydFMI

Listen to Wallace’s speech and read the transcript again.  Please articulate what you believe is the main point that Wallace tries to convey to the graduates. In your answer, you may, of course, write about more than one of the ideas that Wallace uses to help him make his point. Do you agree or disagree with what Wallace says? Be sure to use examples that are not taken from the speech to support your agreement or disagreement.

Education and YOU!

Minority education is something we have been discussing in regards to Baldwin's "A Talk to Teachers". Compare this discussion of minority education with Alexie's discussion of the same topic in "Superman and Me". Both pieces touch on similar themes, and comparing the two essays should lead to complex thinking about the purpose and value of education in America. So, first write about how the two essays are similar and why, and then, write a paragraph about the purpose and value of education in America, according to YOU!

It Only Takes a Spark

Read the following essay, "Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie.
http://www.qcounty.com/SCC/Spring10/Eng305_10035/Readings/ShermanAlexie--Superman.pdf

It is both an eye-opening account of what life was like for an intelligent child on an Indian reservation and a skillful rendering of the moments surrounding language acquisition, the spark for reading and writing, and the influence on a child of a well-loved parent.  Use any or all of these avenues for discussion of the essay.

 Also comment on what rhetorical devices Alexie uses in the essay.  For example, by using the analogy of a paragraph to a fence, Alexie is providing a visual connection that all readers can understand in order to express his moment of epiphany that opened him to the world of reading: an understanding that words "worked together for a common purpose".  The use of this visual analogy between a paragraph and a fence lends meaning to the extension of his analogy in the remainder of paragraph 3.  As Alexie explains his understanding of the reservation as a paragraph within the country, his home and neighborhood as paragraphs on the reservation, and each member of his family as a separate paragraph yet part of a larger "essay of seven paragraphs," the reader grasps Alexie's inherent desire to write and his identity as a writer.  This is just one example.  You should find and cite at least two. Do your best not to repeat the devices used by other students.

Debate Topics

Open this link and scroll down to the bottom where you will find a video on 12 different debate topics. If you are one of the first half of the class to respond to the blog, you may choose a topic and make a position statement on the topic of your choice. If you are blog poster #7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12, you will have to respond to a position statement already posted. Only one response per debate topic, so we will end up having a pro and a con argument for three different topics.  IF YOU ARE A LATECOMER, you must take what is left. Only six topics can be discussed.

For your comments, you are to:
1. write a rebuttal to your partners position statement.(under their original post)
2. Respond to your partners rebuttal of your argument (under your original post)
3. Write a position summary(Under their original post)


Your blog response should be posted separately even if you are responding to a topic already posted,  but you should begin the blog by stating your subject and position in all caps.

For example

COUNTRY LIFE IS BETTER THAN CITY LIFE-PRO
(Then continue your argument here).