The American Dream

What does the American Dream mean to you? Write a couple of paragraphs discussing your perception of the American Dream. Will you realize it? Is the American Dream available equally to all Americans, or do some Americans have different or better access than others? Consider the ideas presented by Michael Gawenda in his essay, "What Happened to the Dream?" on page 582 in your text.

Racism in the News

Extra, extra! Read all about it!

Find a current article that discusses any issue of race relations in the news. Download, print, and annotate the article. Your annotations should include:
1. Circle and define five vocabulary words.
2. Highlight main ideas and underline supporting ideas.
3. Make a minimum of five margin notes/comments.

Then, write a new blog post which includes an illustration (photo, chart, graph, etc.) with a caption and a link to the article that you read. Your written post should have a minimum of two paragraphs, the first being a summary of the article (include the article title, which is linked to the original course, the name of the author and the name of the source-organization or web site where you retrieved the article), and the second being your personal reflection/response to the content of the article.

Mizzou Students and Faculty Take a Stand

In this Aug. 26, 2015 photo, Jonathan Butler uses a megaphone to encourage others to stand and chant during a "day of action" celebrating graduate students and draw attention to their demands in Traditions Plaza on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia, Mo. Butler began his hunger strike on Nov. 2 to call attention to racial problems at the state's flagship university. (Photo: Daniel Brenner, AP)

Too often, when it comes to talking about racism, people want to know what they can do to make a difference. Well, students at the University of Missouri have been in the news recently for the actions they have taken to combat racism on their campus. First, students sent an open letter to the president of the University calling for him to take action against campus racism. Then, over the weekend, 30 Mizzou football players announced, with their coaches' support, that they would no longer attend practice or play in an football games until the University president stepped down. Late Monday morning, November 9, 2015, President Tim Wolfe, announced his resignation.

Read and annotate the articles handed out in class, and write a blog response. What did you think about the student and faculty actions? Do you agree, disagree? Why or why not? Do you think these kinds of protests are valid? Are there other ways to address racism? What are they?

Your response should be 250-350 words long.

Check out the articles here:
Black football players at Missouri: We'll sit out until system president resigns
(http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/08/us/missouri-football-players-protest/index.html)
and
University of Missouri President Quits After Faculty Walks Out
http://college.usatoday.com/2015/11/09/university-of-missouri-president-quits-after-faculty-walks-out/

Police Brutality in SC

Yesterday's video of a South Carolina high school student being subdued by a campus security officer has gone viral. Read the article about it published on Salon today. See the video here.
Post a response to the article on your blog. What was your reaction to the video? To the article? Is there such a thing as "white privilege"? Is the author implying that all white people are racist? Are they? What responsibility do white people have in this incident and others like it, if any?

Derogatory Language in Literature

Check out this blog on a website devoted to teaching tolerance. The N Word: To Teach or Not to Teach?
We are going to read the book Blood Done Sign My Name this semester. This book contains many derogatory references to African Americans. Should students read books with this word in them? How does it make you feel when you read to yourself? How does it make you feel when you hear parts of this book read out loud? Should books like this be banned? Should the word be replaced? 
Read this article which talks about using the N word as well.

Do you agree with the authors of these blogs? Why or why not?

Your post should be approximately 250-350 words)

Strengths and Weaknesses

All writers have strengths and weaknesses. Reflect on the aspects of writing that are easy or fun for you and on those that you find difficult. Identify at least two strengths and two weaknesses and explain how/why you find these aspects of writing to be your talent or shortcoming.

Welcome

Welcome to DRE 098!

The purpose of this course is to provide you with the necessary skills to prepare you for college-level reading, writing, and thinking. These three skills will be developed over the next eight weeks. I will be teaching you strategies to improve these skills, but you should be aware that the only way you will get better at them is, in fact, to read, write, and think.

All of the coursework that you complete will be centered on the theme of Race Relations. This topic covers a wide variety of issues, many of which may expose difficult or uncomfortable feelings. People develop their belief systems or personal values based on two primary factors: social influences (including family, culture, religion, education, economic status) and experience. The beliefs and values that each of you brings to the conversation will help illuminate the variety of perspectives that exist about these issues. I challenge you to include, along with your personal influences and experiences, an open mind and heart as we embark on this journey together. 

I am also excited to announce that this semester we will join many other classes in reading a non-fiction book. We will read Blood Done Sign My Name, by Timothy B. Tyson.

The next eight weeks will be interesting and challenging. 
I look forward to meeting each of you on October 19!