Freshman (First Year) Classes:
Science 1 (Ryan Patin, Instructor)
Stay tuned!
Composition 1 (Ryan Abshire, Instructor)
This week we spent more time on nonfiction, evaluating arguments, and expanding the reach of what nonfiction can be. The major writing assignment this week was a 600 word minimum nonfiction piece.
Monday: We reviewed the nonfiction basics discussed the previous week and read “Fish” by Nicole Walker. I passed out a detailed assignment sheet along with dozens of potential topics/prompts for the assignment.
Tuesday: We discussed sources and how we define purpose in nonfiction writing and students spent time in class brainstorming and outlining. Those who were uncertain about what to write about got one-on-one time with me to discuss.
Wednesday: We read an article from Nature magazine about the necessity and purpose of cooling breaks in World Cup matches to review the analysis and interpretation of an argument. The students definitely know more about the World Cup than I do! Then we talked about their writing assignments and spent some time in class writing.
Thursday: Students brought their drafts or partially completed assignments and shared the first few paragraphs in front of class. Then, we workshopped their introductions as a group and asked questions, giving constructive feedback and/or praise to try to sharpen individual work.
Friday: All students who wanted to present had the chance to read some or all of their papers and field questions. Then, we discussed goals and what the students were most interested in reviewing for the following, final week.
Humanities 1 (Chris Hebert, Instructor)
Shakespeare week! And the fifties were excited to step away from Plato (for now). Students were assigned parts and every day we read from “Julius Cesar”. Once clued into how the words were able to be played out, students loved how messy and slimy the characters were.
Monday-Friday: Shakespeare!
Sophomore Classes:
Science 2 (Ryan Patin, Instructor)
Stay tuned!
Composition 2 (Ryan Abshire, Instructor)
This week we reviewed and continued to study nonfiction, in its various forms, with emphasis on exploring non-traditional and non-research paper formats. (Many students still shockingly wanted to write research papers). The major assignment this week was writing a 750 word minimum original work of nonfiction.
Monday: We reviewed the nonfiction basics discussed the previous week and broke into groups, with each getting a short nonfiction piece from this group: “On Asthma and Death” by Seneca, “The Tide” by Hea-Ream Lee, and “Ways to Change your Life” by Margaret Grayson. I passed out a detailed assignment sheet along with a reminder of the basic steps of the writing process for nonfiction.
Tuesday: We discussed sources and how we define purpose in nonfiction writing and students spent time in class brainstorming and outlining. We also reviewed how to browse the McNeese library and academic databases for sources or inspiration. Those who were uncertain about what to write about got one-on-one time with me to discuss.
Wednesday: We read an article from Nature magazine about the importance of the humanities in science education. Then we talked about their writing assignments and spent some time in class writing.
Thursday: Students brought their drafts or partially completed assignments and shared the first few paragraphs in front of class. Then, we workshopped their introductions as a group and asked questions, giving constructive feedback and/or praise to try to sharpen individual work.
Friday: All students who wanted to present had the chance to read some or all of their papers and field questions. Then, we discussed goals and what the students were most interested in reviewing for the following, final week.
Humanities 2 (Chris Hebert, Instructor)
For Week 5, we started Sophocles’ tragedy of “Antigone”. To start the week, I gave students a background in how Greek tragedy (and theatre for that matter) worked in ancient times and how it is staged. We then moved onto a sanitized version of “Oedipus” and how it sets up “Antigone”. I posed the question to the Gifties, when it came down to it, would you follow your heart or do as you’re told? (Essentially the hypothesis at the center of this play.) Every day, I would take tally of who shifted from Creon’s side to Antigone and vise versa.
Monday-Friday: Greek Tragedy
Senior and Grad (Third & Fourth Year) Classes:
English (Jack Vanchiere, Instructor)
Early this week we finalized our plans for our end of summer projects. We spent time looking at a few more examples of Formal work to emulate and be inspired by, before submitting our proposals. In the middle of the week we tweaked our proposals a bit more, and I pushed the students to think critically about the function of their poems in relation to our investigations in form. The end of the week consisted of freely directed creative time, to get our first rough drafts done.
Monday, proposal submission. Tuesday and Wednesday, proposal editing and in class work time. Thursday, in class work time. Friday, I was absent, but the students continued working on their projects.
History (Carson Savoie, Instructor)
Stay tuned!
International Relations (Joshua Brown, Instructor)
Stay tuned!
Musically Gifted (MG)
Music Theory, History, & Practice (Brandon LaFleur, Instructor)
Stay tuned!