Riddle Me This...

This comes from Rockelle...don't cheat and look up the answer online, use your own intellectual ability.
I am the start of war and the end of sorrow. You can't express wisdom without me, but I am at the heart of dimwits. You may find me in waves, but never in oceans. What am I?

I will post the answer to Rockelle's riddle next Monday (someone please remind me).

Evolution Socratic Circle

You can use this post to discuss/debate/question what is going on in the poem "Evolution" by Sherman Alexie. Remember that our Socratic circles should be rich with connections and reflections on how this poem relates to our ideas of individuality and society etc.

Student Ideas for Blogs

I am still waiting for some students to come up with ideas to blog about. If you have an idea please write it down and give it to me. Thanks

Twins and the Door to Happiness

sorry, forgot to post the answer to the riddle. The question you would ask is "If I asked your brother what door leads to happiness, what would he tell me?"

For the premise of the explanation, let's say that door 2 leads to happiness.

If you ask this question to the brother who tells the truth, he will tell you that his brother will tell you to pick door 1 because his brother is a liar. Therefore, you should pick door 2 in this scenario.

If you ask the question to the brother who lies, he will tell you that his brother will tell you to pick door 1 because his brother would tell you the truth and say that you should pick door 2, but you are talking to the brother who always lies so he will tell you that his brother would recommend door 1. Therefore you should pick door 2 in this scenario as well.

Therefore you know that to choose the right door, you simply pick the door opposite of the answer to your question.

question from Fri

For some reason the post I put up Friday with the answer to the word puzzle didn't post so....the answer is "The Knight" didn't get wet...."One knight, a king and queen were on a boat..." Get it?

December Books of the Month

Remember: After you finish reading a Book of the Month pick, you must write a commentary on this blog post and then tell me so that you can get your "thumbs up" to put on the bulletin board. If you don't do this, you won't get your extra credit points at the end of the month.

Mrs. Lever's Picks:
The 10 p.m. Question by Kate De Goldi
The Midnighters by Scott Westerfeld The Midnighters is a series of books, all books in the series count as books of the month.

Mr. Horvath's Picks:
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Partner Pick:
A Wrinke In Time by Madeline l'Engle

Classic Picks:
The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
The Pearl by John Steinbeck

Celebrity Pick...Mrs. Johnston:
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba

Author To Know:
Scott Westerfeld - any Scott Westerfeld novel that you read counts this month as a book of the month!!!

Jockey Hollow Book Club Pick:
The Fetch by Laura Whitcomb

"The Pedestrian" Socratic Circle

"The Pedestrian" is a classic Ray Bradbury short story. As you read it you will find that it fits perfectly with our MP2 theme of The Individual and Society. Be sure to read and annotate the story fully using the RICE method.
Don't forget to think of the story and all of your responses in terms of the place of the individual in society. What kind of society does the old man live in? What are their values? How can you tell? Does this mirror our society in any way? Be sure to make connections between this story and other texts, the real world etc...think of different themes relating to individuality and society etc.
You should use this post as a place to start getting your ideas out and thinking through what you want to talk about in Thursday's circle.