Journal Question #8

When the new year arrives, many people make "new year's resolutions," meaning they promise to improve themselves in some way during the coming year.  For instance, this January 1st people may say they will quit smoking or learn a musical instrument or lose weight or be kinder and gentler in 2017.  In that spirit, what is your new year's resolution for 2017?  Explain why you are making this change.

Journal Question #7

The winter solstice comes December 21st.  It is the shortest day of the year, but it signals the return of light to the earth, and since ancient times, humans have celebrated it.  The solstice may be the reason Stonehenge (pictured above) was built in England thousands of years ago.  The question is, why is sunlight so important to us?  Today, we have all sorts of artificial light, yet people miss long hours of sunlight; some even suffer from a kind of depression due to lack of daylight.  How about you?  Does the darker time of year bother you?  Why or why not?

Journal Question #6

Thanksgiving is coming soon, and it is a celebration of food.  Millions of people in this country will eat too much on Thanksgiving.  At the same time, millions will go hungry, both in America and throughout the world.  According to the World Food Programme, 1 in 9 people in the world don't have enough food for a healthy life.  Many of them are children.  So, here are some questions: is food a human right?  If it is, how can we ensure that everyone gets enough food to eat?  Hunger is a huge problem.  Is there anything an individual - you or me, for instance - can do to help people who don't have food now eat?

Journal Question #5

On November 8th, Americans will decide who will be the next president after Barack Obama.  It is therefore a good time to talk about leadership.  What makes a good leader?  What does the leader of a country tell the world about that country's values and goals?  If you want, give an example of someone you consider to be a great leader; explain why you think he or she is (or was) an excellent leader and representative of his or her country.

Journal Question #4

What's more important, getting good grades or having friends?  Or put it another way: should a student focus more on academics, test scores, and getting into a good university, or empathy, kindness, and community service?  Let me know your opinion.

Journal Question #3

The Homecoming Dance is this Saturday, October 8th, so it's a good time to ask about school dances.  First, are there school dances in your county?  Did you go to one at your former school?  Are you planning on going to the Homecoming Dance?  Why or why not?  One last question: Do you think school dances are a good idea: is it important for schools to host dances?  Let me know your opinion of school dances.

Journal Question #2

Students tell me that they don't tell their parents everything - for instance, a student won't say he's sick to mom and dad because he doesn't want his parents to worry about him.  In other words, students keep secrets from their parents.  We all keep secrets, and not only from parents; we also keep secrets from roommates, friends, classmates, teachers, you name it.  Do you keep secrets?  From whom?  Why?  Also, can you keep a secret that someone tells you?

Journal Question #1, 2016-2017

 

What is school for?  Why has every society decided to create this place where it sends its young people for as much as 12 years?  Is the purpose of high school different than the purpose of elementary or middle school?  How?  Why do you go to school?

Journal #18

A character in a story we read in ELL III this year says, "For Beauty is why we live."  For this last journal of the year, step back from your day-to-day concerns and consider the question, Why do I live?  Another way of phrasing it is, What's most important to me?  The painting above, by the way, is called "Christina's World," and it was painted by Andrew Wyeth, who spent a good deal of his time in Maine.

Journal Question #17

 

What has been the greatest challenge for you this year at TA?  Think of new relationships (e.g., with teachers, roommates, coaches, homestay parents and siblings, friends, etc.) and situations (the classroom, the dorm, social events, etc.) that have been hard for you at times.  Please be as specific as possible: for instance, instead of saying, "Learning English," you might say, "Understanding my homestay mother, who talks really fast and with a strong Maine accent.  For the longest time, I didn't even know that 'Come he-uh, de-uh' means "come hear, dear," which is her way of saying she wants to me to sit down and talk to her."  

Journal Question #16

Spring is a short season in Maine.  Winter's finally over, and summer's coming.  Spring can be cold, wet, and muddy, but also unexpectedly hot and sunny.  The earth changes, of course, and so do people.  What do you like about spring?  Enumerate three aspects of spring that you most enjoy, and maybe one part of spring you don't like.

Journal Question #15

A  lot of you mentioned sports as an important part of your ideal school (Journal 14).  Let's explore this topic further.  Why should sports be part of school?  What do sports do for you, besides giving you exercise: Do they make you a better person?  How?  What if a student doesn't like sports - should he be made to take a sport?  Is there a problem if a school is too sports-obsessed?

Journal Question #14

  

Imagine you could create a school.  Describe one or more of its features: curriculum, schedule, faculty, buildings, rules, requirements.  What would your school have - or not have - that schools that you have gone to don't have (or do)?  For instance, maybe your school would have class sizes no larger than 15 students.  Or maybe your course requirements would include two or more world languages.  Maybe students could take only classes they wanted to take... Let your imagination take over! 

 

Journal Question #13

This has been one of the warmest years on record - and surely one of the warmest winters - and there is no question that the Earth is getting warmer.  Most scientists agree that humans are responsible for this climate change, largely through our burning of fossil fuels (oil, coal, natural gas, etc.).  One sign of our warming planet is the loss of ice in the Arctic, which in turn causes sea levels to rise all over the world.  If humans, as a species, wish to exist on Earth into the future, we must address this problem; everyone must be part of the solution.  So here's the question: what can an individual, a society, and the countries of the world do to reduce and even reverse climate change?

Journal Question #12

Politics.  At the moment, there is a lot of attention given to American politics because a presidential campaign is underway: six Republicans and two Democrats are trying to persuade the American people that they are the best choice for next president of the USA.  Internationally, conflicts in places like Syria as well as the refugee crisis in Europe receive a lot of press.  Do you pay any attention to politics, either in your own country or internationally?  In other words, is politics important to you?  Why or why not? 

Journal Question #11

Valentine's Day (February 14) is an occasion to celebrate people you love, not only boyfriends, girlfriends, wives, and husbands, but also friends and family members and other acquaintances.  So, take this opportunity to "send a valentine" to a person or people for whom you are grateful.  I'll start: I'm grateful to all the students in my teaching life, past and present - they are amazing, challenging, funny, infuriating, intelligent, difficult, frustrating, inspirational, complicated - in short, they are human, and they make my life interesting!

Journal Question #10

This is an etching, a self-portrait, of Rembrandt when he was still a young man - already, it's clear that he is a master visual artist.  The topic for this first ELL Journal of Semester II is art, specifically visual art.  I admire Rembrandt and the Dutch Masters of the 16th century (among many other painters).  How about you?  Do you have a favorite artist or a favorite style of painting?  Feel free to include a picture in your post - or a link to a website that features your artist or art.

Journal Question #9

 

Perhaps the greatest American speaker and leader of the 20th century was Martin Luther King, Jr.  Each year, on the third Monday of January, Americans celebrate Dr. King and his message of nonviolence, equal rights, peace, and justice.  On one hand, you can argue that America - and the world - has made progress in creating a more equitable, just society; on the other, police killings of unarmed people of color, discrimination against muslims in the wake of terrorist attacks, and calls by politicians to prevent immigration into the USA tell us we still have a lot of work to do.  Tell me about your country: are minorities treated equally and fairly?  Do you believe your society is peaceful and just?