Lifelong+Learning

= Lifelong Learning Unit =
 * The assignment handout and rubric are available for your perusal on the course handouts/assignments page.

**List of Book Selections: Please add in your author and correct the title if it is incorrect.**
Adam Sage, Musicophilia, Oliver Sacks Anastasia Jakub, The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch Mat Beaulieu, The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell Ian Downie, //Freakonomics,// Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner Madison Brown, Life: The Odds, Gregory Baer Calantha Babineau, A History of Terror, Paul Newman Kellsie Bonnyman, God Delusion, Richard Dawkins Christine Watt, Blink, Malcolm Gladwell Tori Street: Here Comes Everybody: The power of organizing without organizations, Clay Shirky Sara Stephenson, Talent is Overrated, Geoff Colvin April Umbenhower, The 7 Worst Things Parents Do, John C. Friel and Linda D. Friel Deana Civcic, // Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls // by Rachel Simmons Danielle Holder: //Just Because It's Wrong Doesn't Make it Right// by: Barbara Coloroso Clara Eaton: //The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life,// Twyla Tharp Ellora Jones, Night by Elie Wiesel Ainslie Robertson, Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom Abigail Davis, Creating Minds, Howard Gardner Bailey Dalton, The Romance Of Risk: Why Teenagers Do The Things They Do, Lynn Ponton Hannah Beckett: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin Hayley Pilkington: Separate Lives by Judy Dunn and Robert Plomin Karl Bartlett: Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzche Stephanie Ellis: Touch the Top of the World, by Erik Weihenmay Silas Chinsen: Emotional Intelligence - Daniel Goleman Jasmin Vanderheyden: //No Logo// by Naomi Klein Rebecca Janes: //Birth Order & You// by Dr. Ronald W. Richardson & Lois A. Richardson Faith McQueen: //The Power of Now// by Eckhart Tolle Caleb Bray: //The World in Six Songs// by Daniel Levitin Kayla Cooke: //Barbie and Ruth by// Robin Gerber Brad Winch: //The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die// by John B. Izzo Pearse Flynn: //We Did Nothing// by Linda Polman David McCann: //Inventing the Future// by David Suzuki Sjoerd Vermeyden: //Whose Bright Idea Was That?// by Matthew Richardson Ben Candy: //Outliers// by Malcolm Gladwell

== Wiki Discussion: Post your discussions right here. Check the due dates and look at the RUBRIC for Wiki Discussions (found under the Course Assignments Grade 12 tab at the left - called [|Wiki Senior Drama Online Communication Rubric.doc]==

Wiki Response Feb. 22

 * Post your book title and author's name.
 * Explain how your book "enriches, enlightens and edifies" - i.e. What is the author teaching? What themes and ideas are explored in the text?
 * Comment on/participate in discussion of classmates books.
 * Make sure you sign your name to any posts and/or discussion contributions you make

Part 2 Wiki Discussion - Post by Feb 29th 2012

 * Post some information about your author's background. What inspired him/her to write this book?
 * Comment on/participate in discussion of classmates' books.
 * Make sure you sign your name to any posts and/or discussion contributions you make

Part 3 Annotated Bibiliography - Post by March 20

 * Think about the lessons/objectives of your book. What does the author want to teach his/her readers? Keeping these themes/lessons in mind, research three (3) other resources on similar subject matter and prepare an annotated bibliography with a total of four **(4)** titles. (Your book and three other resources.)
 * Use the package Ms. McGregor gave you during our info Library session as a reference.
 * See RUBRIC below for evaluation criteria

=Part 4 Oral Presentation - In class March 20-23 and March 26-27 =
 * Prepare to talk about your book - what was helpful, what “spoke” to you, and/or what you didn’t like. Orally summarize a list of approximately five elements of the book that you found most helpful. Use quotes, or paraphrase to keep these ideas brief.
 * PLEASE **do not read** your notes. If there is a particularly meaningful (and brief) passage from your book that you would like to share, feel free to read directly from the text.
 * You should expect to talk for about five (5) minutes.
 * See RUBRIC below for evaluation criteria

Please note-You **MUST** be in class on your assigned presentation day. If you have a conflict, please make arrangements with one of your classmates to trade time slots and then notify us. Thanks.

Annotated Bibliography: Due in class __ (Thursday May 12, 2011)
== Sample Annotated Bibliography == == Annotated Bibliography Rubric [|Annotated Citation Rubric.rtf]==

Book Talk Rubric [[file:rubric book talk.rtf]]
Stephanie Ellis: Touch the Top of the World, by Erik Weihenmayer //Touch the Top of the World// is about a young boy with a terrible sickness that causes his sight to slowly diminish from the time he is 3 until 13. In those years, he experiences many things that cause extreme difficulty for him, that other people would consider "normal" (such as learning to read or ride a bike). As his vision gradually decreases to complete and utter darkness, Erik learns that he needs to just accept the fact that he is blind, at the age of 13. However, he also realizes that just because he accepts this fact, doesn't mean that he is unable to live a decent life. With the help of his parents and friends, he learns that he can do anything he sets his mind to, including climbing Mt. Everest. This book helps me to look at the world around me with new eyes. It is very easy to take not only our sight for advantage, but any of our other senses, and this book encourages the reader to be thankful for their senses. But that is not the only aim to this novel. Erik Weihenmayer helps the reader to remember that just because you have a disadvantage of any kind (not just physical), it doesn't mean that you cannot live life to the fullest. Almost anything can happen if you put your mind to it. (And I say "almost anything" because no matter how many times you tell yourself you will fly after jumping off the kitchen table, your body will always land with a thump on the kitchen floor.)

Danielle Holder: //Just Because It's Not Wrong, Doesn’t Make it Right//. By: Barbara Coloroso.

Barbara Coloroso takes a unique approach while writing this book. She combined psychology and ethics to produce this interesting read/ parenting help book. She helps parents recognize the “right way” to raise their children while giving insight into how everyone should live their lives. She believes that empathy and sympathy are the two fundamentals that a parent should instill in their child- to ensure the child is morally right and will live a happier life. Barbara Coloroso challenges the idea of bribing children or rewarding them with superficial items when they make the right decision. It is interesting to see how her beliefs of parenting approaches are different to how most parents raise their children. She also says that if you instill the idea to think about what is truly “right” than to follow the law/ norms, you will help your child to become a more self-sufficient, caring individual. Although there are some ideas I do not agree with, I think her points and reasoning make an interesting argument. I somewhat believe that rules are made to be broken and that sometimes the right thing to do is not always allowed. As I continue to read, Barbara discusses how she believes teaching children “true” empathy and sympathy can solve most world issues and problems with the humankind. This book has certainly had me ponder the fact that some of her ideas could in fact be correct.

Ian Downie: //Freakonomics,// by Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

//Freakonomics// is a novel that explains pop culture social phenomena through economics. The novel discusses a diverse set of topics which include: why sumo wrestlers cheat, the Ku Klux Clan, the dealing of crack cocaine, and the effects of parenting on education. Levitt and Dubner tackle these subjects by analyzing what causes people to do certain things. By reading this book, one can gain perspective on our world. Freakonomics challenges many facets of conventional wisdom and allows one to understand what is truly happening. The novel explains that human society responds to, and is based around incentives. It then attempts to find these incentives in different situations via techniques used by economists. By reading, //Freakonomics//, one realizes that substantial events are often caused by seemingly unrelated and hidden influences. More importantly though, it teaches us how to unravel and understand our complex world.

Kellsie Bonnyman: //The God Delusion//. By: Richard Dawkins

//The God Delusion// is a book by the renowned atheist, Richard Dawkins, which means he is against all forms of creationist explanations of life. The book's purpose is to enlighten all people, even people of faith, that the belief in a "personal god" qualifies as delusional. He defines this delusion as a persistent belief in something that has strong evidence against it's existence, such as a supernatural creator. One strong theme that Dawkins continues throughout the book is the God Hypothesis, which states that the existence of God is something that can be tested and falsified, just like any other hypothesis. In this book, Dawkins explores the roots of religion and how it spread from all parts of the world, why it has been successful, and why people do not need a religion to be morally good. He is trying to get the reader to understand these forward thinking discussions, and he states that being an atheist should not make people cringe or be ashamed because atheism is evidence of a healthy and independent mind. He argues that people should be cringing at the children who are labeled by their parents religions; Muslim children, Catholic children, Jewish children. His reasoning is because they have been brainwashed at such a young age and were not able to make a choice about religion for themselves. Richard Dawkins raises many controversial points in //The God Delusion//, but I think he's brilliant, and these topics should be raised more frequently, as they are becoming important to our society's identity. A great deal of atheists are 'coming out of the closet', and I think it's about time.

Jasmin Vanderheyden: //No Logo// written by Naomi Klein

My book describes brands. It is that simple. Klein opens with the history of the ups and downs of different "brand-name" companies, and then proceeds to explain the ideas and science behind having a brand. She talks about how a brand is not a form of advertisement, but that advertisement is a form of branding. To advertise, you must first have a brand to put out there. Advertising is a way to increase the social value of your brand. I personally love reading about how different companies take knowledge about human kind and use it to warp us into being slaves to different brand names. Know a friend who can't shop anywhere but a brand name store? I know I have a friend like that. More than one. //No Logo// points out different techniques that companies use to get inside your mind, and point a finger at the brands who do it best. It is helping me realize just how controlled we are. I never knew how much money companies put into advertising their brand (millions and millions of dollars) just to make us feeling like a product is not a product, but a way of life. She gets to the root of advertising and marketing and talks about how we are really being manipulated by the big companies to be good little consumers who buy all the right things and are brainwashed by ads. Now, I know that Klein could have skewed her statistics and facts to show how the big companies are "bad", but she tells it in an entertaining way that I am enjoying very much. I hope this brief telling will spark someone elses' interesting, like it has mine, and maybe, just maybe, we can see how the big companies are bullying us.

Ainslie Robertson: //Tuesdays with Morrie// By: Mitch Albom

Tuesdays with Morrie is a true story of Mitch Albom recounting time spent with his 79-year-old sociology professor, Morrie Schwartz, at Brandeis University, who was dying from Lou Gehrig`s disease (ALS). Albom, a former student of Schwartz, had not corresponded with him since attending his college classes 16 years earlier. The first three chapters incorporate an ambiguous introduction to the final conversation between Albom and Schwartz, a brief flashback to Albom's graduation, and an account of the events Albom experienced between graduation and the reunion with his professor. Albom is a successful sports columnist for the Detroit Free Press despite his childhood dream of being a pianist. After seeing Schwartz on Nightline, Albom was prompted to travel from Michigan to Massachusetts to visit Schwartz. A newspaper strike frees Albom to commute weekly, on Tuesdays, to visit with Schwartz. The resulting book is based on these fourteen Tuesdays they meet, supplemented with Schwartz's lectures and life experiences and interspersed with flashbacks and allusions to contemporary events. Schwartz and Albom's conversations canvas acceptance, communication, love, values, openness, and happiness. Albom emphasizes the importance of forging a culture of one's own to transcend the tyranny of popular culture, suggesting that the media is preoccupied with death, hatred, violence and depression. Quoting his favorite poet, W. H. Auden, Schwartz insists we must "love each other or perish". Throughout the text Albom's character changes as Schwartz's stories inspire him. Albom uses his personal life and story to try and teach the readers that a person is a person even if they have a disease.

Calantha Babineau: A History of Terror: Fear and Dread Through the Ages By Paul Newman

A History of Terror is, quite simply, a history of terror. Paul Newman explores reasons, forces and affects of fear on society and individuals. It ranges from the Prehistoric and Middle Ages and their fears of ancestral spirits to the 20th Century and our fear of kidnapping. The book is controversial, informative, humourous, engaging and makes good usage of illustrations, and, so far, has impressed me with a large amount of information. Mankind has always shown fear but the causes of our anxieties are shaped by our emotions and are constantly changing; psychopaths, wild animals and spirits are examples. Paul Newman does an excellent job of charting the shapes and sizes of fear throughout history in this book and it covers many fields such as literature, psychology, history and philosophy. This book, on the social history of fear, is a very intriguing study.

Sjoerd Vermeyden: Whose bright idea was that by Matthew Richardson

//Whose bright idea was that// by Matthew Richardson is an interesting book that lists seemingly random events or inventions that were firsts. The book is divided into several categories such as “ARTS AND MUSIC”, “FOOD AND DRINK” and “TRANSPORT AND TRAVEL”, other than these categories the book does not have any real form of organization or order of events other than what flows. Each entry of a first is a small story that generally links in with the other stories to create a continuous set of tales with paragraphs being created when two events can no longer be related to one another. Matthew Richardson has a great sense of humor and uses it to create a vision into the past and present about human nature. W//hose bright idea was that// is a great resource to historians and psychologists alike and I hope to finish it quickly so that I can share it with others.