An Annotated Life

An Annotated Life

My colleague Diane McClain has her students reflect on not just what they have read but what they have experienced, watched, listened to, thought about during the course of the year. It is part of her end of the year work, a time when kids are looking at what they have learned and thought about. The idea grew out of a conversation with her class one day. She wanted them to write a annotated bibliography for the year, detailing what they read. One kid raised his hand and said, But reading is only one of the ways I've learned this year; I've had so many other experiences, and it seems there should be room to acknowledge those and what they taught me. What follows is one of the more impressive examples, this one created by Lindsay Rosenthal, a student I had the pleasure of teaching when she was a freshman. Samples of her work appear in The English Teacher's Companion and I Hear America Reading.

My Cultural Collage

Lindsay Rosenthal

May 19, 2000

English 6H-4th period

Mrs. McClain

Books

Aiken, Conrad. "Silent Snow, Secret Snow." 1932. 21 pages. Short-Story

****

"Silent Snow, Secret Snow," a psychologically in-depth portrayal of a young boy who creates a fictional world that revolves around snow. Conrad grabs the reader in with intense descriptions of Paul's (the boy) mysterious world, and the beauty and security he finds within it. The author creatively builds the plot around simplicity (the postman's footsteps), yet in its entirety the story is definitely more than one dimensional. I recommend this story for its imaginative idea development; "quality details consistently inform or engage the reader."

Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life’s Greatest Lesson. 1997. 192 pages. Memoir *****

Tuesdays with Morrie is the touching story of Brandeis professor, Morrie Stein. Morrie is interviewed in the beginning of the book on television about his new life with ALS. The show catches the eye of one Morrie's favorite student's, Mitch. Soon the two former teacher and student are reunited as they embark on their final course together: life's greatest lessons. Each chapter deals with a different aspect of life, everything from children to marriage to work. Overall, it is a sad, yet heartwarming story of one man's passion for life, even in his final hour. I recommend this book because of its incredibly strong voice; the writer's sense of connection to the reader is evident.

Amichai, Yehuda. Open Closed Open. 2000. 173 pages. Poetry *****

Open Closed Open is a soothing collection of poems that stem from the author's love for the land of Israel and the struggles of the Jewish people. Yet, overall Amichai's poems concentrate on the simplicities of the human soul and feelings that everyone shares. Each poem takes the reader to a new world, enticing him in with imaginative language and love. I recommend this book because of its outstanding voice and the images that Amichai's words create; the writing has energy and power.

Bierce, Ambrose. "The Boarded Window." 6 pages. Short-Story ****

"The Boarded Window" is a fine example of the influences of the American oral tradition. The story, a legend among the frontiersmen near Cincinnati, fascinates the reader with a cause for a boarded-up window in an abandoned log-cabin. The legend delves deep into the mysterious life of a man named Murlock; in particular the perplexing events that directly followed the death of his beloved wife and companion. While, the author evades directly telling the reader the cause for the boarded window, I would recommend this story on account of its strong voice and suspenseful descriptions; the writer's sense of connection to the reader is evident.

Buber, Martin. "The Judgment." 1955. 10 pages. Short-Story ****

"The Judgment," is mystical story with deep moral and religious themes that leave the reader feeling up lifted by these simple words of wisdom. The story centers around a legend concerning the ancient religious leader, the Baal-Shem of Eastern Europe and develops into a tale of an inn-keeper who knew not of the Baal-Shem's wisdom, but comes to realize his sagaciousness through a series of mystical events that culminate in a tremendous judgment. I would recommend this story not only for its moral and intellectual value, but for its uplifting voice; the writer's energy and passion for the subject drive the writing.

Faulkner, William. "Wash." 1934. 15 pages. Short-Story ***

"Wash," a short-story set in the Civil War South, is a tale of admiration and intense idolization. Wash, a poor white Southerner finds his admiration for Col. Sutpen back fire in his face when Sutpen returns from war and thickens the plot. I recommend this short-story because of its creative organization in terms of the setting; the sequencing and placement of details is extraordinary.

*Feynman, Richard P. The Meaning of it All: Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist. 1998. 122 pages. Lecture Series ****

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. 1925. 228 pages. Novel

****

The Great Gatsby is a dazzling story about one man's quest to win back his one true love. Set in the Roaring Twenties of New York's Long Island, the story focuses on the riches and desires of self-made man, Jay Gatsby. Filled with dramatizations of the lives of the wealthy Lost Generation of Long Island, The Great Gatsby in the very end develops into a string of unfortunate tragedies. I recommend this book on account of its enchanting detail; phrasing is original even remarkable, yet the language is never overdone.

*Groopman M.D., Jerome. The Measure of Our Days. 1997. 226 pages. Memoir *****

*Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. 1850. 254 pages. Novel

**McCullers, Carson. The Member of the Wedding. 1949. 118 pages. Play ***

Morrison, Tony. Beloved. 1987. 275 pages. Novel ***

Beloved is Tony Morrison's story of a mother who is forced to come to an ultimate crossroads when she finds out that she can only save her children through drastic measures from returning to slavery in the South. The story is further developed and explored when one of her children, Beloved, returns in the form of a ghost, as Morrison details the intricacies of this most complex mother and child relationship. I recommend this book because I believe Morrison's complex idea development is superior; the story creates a vivid impression.

Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Fall of the House of Usher". Year. 22 pages.

Short-Story ***

"The Fall of the House of Usher" is typical Poe, in mood and overall descriptive components. Every detail is described to the utmost extent, with a gloomy setting overshadowing every aspect of this short story. The story focuses on the narrator and his visit to his ailing boyhood friend, Roderick Usher, the proprietor of the house of Usher. I recommend this short-story because Poe uses excellent word choice to detail every gloomy and mysterious aspect of the story; attempts at colorful language are full of promise.

Porter, Katherine Anne. "He." 1930. 13 pages. Short-Story ***

"He" is a sorrowful tale of poverty and a mothers struggle to do what is best for her handicapped son. The son, interestingly referred to as He, provides major conflicts for his family, especially his mother, who seems to care deeply about what others will say of how she treated "Him." And while the author creatively portrays the mother in the beginning of this short-story as being deeply devoted to her troubled son, the reader learns that things are not really as they seem in the end. I would recommend this story on account of its riveting voice and passion; the text is open and revealing.

Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de. Le Petit Prince. 1943. 113 pages. Novel ****

Le Petit Prince is a delightful compilation of everything that is silly about adults. It is a timeless classic in which each chapter takes the reader to a new planet to learn something new about the inhabitants of that planet, yet in the end one recognizes that each chapter is really a metaphor for something in our world today. Focusing often on the materialistic forces between humans, this book succeeds in waking the reader up to the really important things in life, beyond the material. I recommend this book because of its impressive idea development; “it creates a vivid impression... without bogging down on trivia.

*Sparks, Nicholas. The Notebook. 1996. 213 pages. Novel ****

*Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 1884. 283 pages. Novel ***

**Wright, Richard. Native Son. 1940. 502 pages. Novel ***

*Books I read last semester.

**Books I read for summer reading.

Lindsay Rosenthal

4/1/00

English 6H-4th period

American Short Stories: Annotated Bibliography

Poe, Edgar Allen : "The Fall of the House of Usher" © 1839

Bierce, Ambrose : "The Boarded Window" © 1891

Mayer, Judith : "The Starving of the Soul" -2000

Rosenthal, Lindsay : "A Messenger of Solace"-2000

Bruni, Sara : "The Meaning of a Friend"-2000

Miguel, Tim : "Room 82"-2000

Kane, Danielle : " Gossip"-2000

Hart, Naomi : "Enlightenment"-2000

Walter, Amanda: "The Visitor"

Wong, Kimberly: "The Wait"

Chappell, Rebecca: "Crossed Paths"

While the list of the sixteen American short stories above is somewhat eclectic, I think it fairly represents the genre of short stories (Isn't everything American eclectic?). Short Stories are unique in that they can often tell a tremendously long and involved tale in a matter of a few pages. Like a novel, short stories are amazing in the pure realization that an author begins with blank pages and ends up creating a different world. But short stories take that imagination and creativity to new heights, as the author must confine his or her new world to a short time period and length. Overall, short stories tell of a conflict or a transformation (or both) among characters that alters how the reader perceives the new world that the author originally set out to create.

The essentials of a good short story include a strong specific gravity, a conflict or transformation, and a distinctive voice. While character development is key, it is often difficult since a short story is just that short. In most short stories the main characters are developed fairly well, while other, more minor characters, are left just to be briefly described.

Plays

The Lady in the Van

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare in 90 minutes

Spend, Spend, Spend

All of the plays, or at least the ones I can remember at this time, I saw in London over winter break. So, for this assignment, they don’t help a lot with the American culture aspect. However, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare in 90 minutes was performed by a group stationed in London at the moment, but originally from UC Santa Cruz. It was hilarious and often over-the-top with comical devices, but still very entertaining. More importantly, I could tell that most of the people in the audience were tourists from the US. Thus, it seems that the American tourists were interested in getting a quick fix, rather than a more intellectual interpretation of Shakespeare while in London.

Movies

Kadosh

American Beauty

The Red Violin

Erin Brokovich

Return to Me

The Cider House Rules

Sleepy Hollow

Anywhere But Here

Overall, I think, more than average years, the movies this year have been very well done. The movie industry has to become more and more creative it seems in producing movies that people will enjoy, but are not based on a formula plot that has been done before. Most of the movies I saw are pretty well-known. The only one that most people probably have never heard of is, "Kadosh." It is actually an Israeli film (I saw at the Star 4 on Clement and 23rd Avenue in The City, in Hebrew with English subtitles). Though, like many foreign films it was quite slow at times, it was a very radical and outspoken movie about the horrors of the treatment of women in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sects, especially in Israel. Out of the other movies on my list, I would have to say that American Beauty relates most to the American character and dream. In a way I think this film dug beneath the proposed American character and revealed the dysfunctional mishaps that take place in our nation, whether we like or not.

Museums

SF MOMA

British Library

British Museum

Tate Gallery

The Globe Theater

The Roman Baths of Bath

Israeli Airforce Museum

Yad Vashem

Herod's Quarters

The Tower of London

Churchill's War Rooms

others: see Sojourn to the Past section

I am beginning to like visiting art museums more and more after my visits this year. It took me awhile, but I can now appreciate a lot of different kinds of art, even modern art. I particularly like SF MOMA, sometimes purely for the architecture within the building of the museum itself. As one can tell from the rest of the list, I have also become an avid visitor of archaeological and historical museums. Being in Jerusalem last summer was amazing because I got to visit so many holy sites, but also because I began to comprehend the incredible age of many of the relics and sites. For example, the Kotel, or Western Wall, was built over four thousand years ago and is still standing today.

Concerts

Sheva

Though I have tickets for the Dave Matthews Band in August, the Sheva concert is the only one I made it to this year. Sheva is a group most Americans probably have never heard of, but this summer I fell in love with their music. "Sheva," in Hebrew means, seven; the group is made up of a mix of seven Palestinians and Jews from Israel, singing mostly songs about peace. The group is funded by a grant called the Abraham fund, which hopes to bring Arabs and Jews closer. Their most famous song is "Salam," which is Arabic for Shalom (Hebrew) meaning peace, hello, and good-bye. It is a really simple, beautiful song that we used to sing on a lot of our hikes. The day before I left Israel, I went to four music stores in Jerusalem trying to find the album with "Salam." I couldn't find it, but an Israeli friend promised to find it for me and mail it to me. A few months after I returned I got a postcard in the mail from the Bureau of Jewish Education that Sheva would be performing soon at the Great American Music Hall. I screamed!

I ended up going with a small group of close friends. We went nuts when they played "Salam!" I will never forget that night.

Sporting Events

Burlingame High’s Girls tennis team regular season matches, playoffs, and CCS individuals and team

Little Big Game

one or two Forty-Niner games

To me, even in high school sports, the true American competitive spirit always seems to surface. This year Burlingame's Girls tennis team was very successful: We won the league and made it to the third round in CCS, but were defeated by past state-champions, Menlo School. Rebecca Chappell and myself also competed and finished first in PAL individuals as a doubles team, and then went on to CCS individuals. This year I went to a limited number of Burlingame football games, because in the past they've been an enjoyable social event, and this year only a few of my friends went. I enjoy seeing my friends compete, but the team wasn't anything spectacular this year. In the fall, I’m often bitter that so much attention is focused on football and hardly any on tennis. While sports events overall are competitive and often rowdy, they can also be fun social events to share with family or friends.

Magazines

Newsweek

People

Like many things in my life that I enjoy, the two magazines that I regularly indulge in provide a delightful balance. While Newsweek is often straight-forward and politically based, People is some what more sensationalized and informal. In Newsweek, I find myself immediately flipping to the political cartoons each week when it arrives on Tuesday afternoon. They're funny, but they also help me keep up to date with front-running news stories and issues. More and more I find myself feeling extremely disconnected if I'm not keeping up with current events and news. Unfortunately, I see People magazine as more representative of the American style and culture. It's all about the stars and basically paparazzi photo graphs of people we pretend not to idolize, but often do. It's addicting. I'll admit it.

Newspapers

the front section of the Chronicle everyday

the front section of the New York Times on Saturday and Sunday

The Jewish Bulletin

As I said above, a lot of my newspaper fascination and reading comes from a personal need to feel knowledgeable and connected to the breaking news stories that plaster the front pages of the two newspapers I read, The New York Times and the Chronicle. I recently became an avid reader of the New York Times after returning from Israel. Next to the Jerusalem Post and the Herald Tribune, the Times has the best Israeli news coverage of any other newspaper in the world. Keeping up to date with current events in Israel has become a hobby and passion for me this year, and of course, a way to still feel connected to the land I dearly love. Though much of the news in both these papers is similar, I tend to find the Times a bit less sensationalized, and more sophisticated. It seems more and more throughout the media these days that the tradition of yellow journalism has turned to one of obsessive,

paparrazi-like-journalism.

Synagogue

occasional Friday night service

program planning meetings for new groups or events

Now that I think about it, I find it strange after my experience in Israel that I have not spent more time in synagogue this past year. I guess in a way my time has been very limited. Also, I feel spiritually connected without attending regularly or even occasionally. While on the other hand, I find myself feeling a need to support my synagogue community through helping plan new programs and events for congregants like myself or younger kids. I think part of that stems from realizing how much I've gained from growing closer to my friends from synagogue and confirmation class, and wanting to pass that on to others. Overall, I see a polarization trend in religion among American teens. There are people like me, who are considered by their peers ot be very religious and open about their firm beliefs, and on the other side there are those who feel little connection at all, to any religion.

Sojourn to the Past

First off, the following are a list of books that I was required to read excerpts from for the trip, that I decided to include in this section of the annotated bibliography:

Bullard, Sara, ed. Free At Last: A History of the Civil Rights Movement and Those Who Died in the Struggle. Montgomery: Teaching Tolerance, 1989.

Davis, Townsend. Weary Feet, Rested Souls: A Guided History of the Civil Rights Movement. New York: W.W. Norton, 1998.

Lewis, John and Michael D'Orso. Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1998.

Washington, James M., ed. A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1986.

As one can see through my semester project, this trip had a huge impact on me. Much of what many of the civil rights activists went through is still so unimaginable to me. Even so, I know that what I learned and gained from the trip will never leave me. I realized the importance of teamwork, and more importantly the importance of tolerance. I realized that knowledge is key in any struggle, especially one for civil rights. And most importantly I realized that each one of us can truly make a difference if we really put our whole being into the cause that we choose.

While on the trip we visited countless archives, famous monuments, museums, and spoke with an incredible number of significant civil rights leaders. Each speaker seemed to have this amazing strength that emanated off of them in every direction, it was pure magic! Unforgettable!

In my opinion, the civil rights movement embodies everything good about America. The movement seeks to unify people of different backgrounds, while still allowing them to keep their own unique identities. Teamwork, determination, courage, and commitment caused the British to surrender to Washington and his men in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, and it was these same ideals that brought the institution of segregation to surrender to the civil rights activists and leaders of the 1950's and 60's.

Internet

Yahoo for searching

Yahoo Directions

The Internet in my life usually serves two main functions: a resource for school projects and assignments and an easy way of getting directions to new places. This year, with less and less time as a result of a lot of school work, it has been hard for me to get to the library to research. Thus, the Internet has been very handy for me in looking specific topics up and often as a starting place for research for a multitude of projects. Also, as a result of my somewhat new found freedom, driving, I find myself wanting to explore new places and night-time activities with my friends up and down the peninsula, and especially in San Francisco. Yahoo maps and directions have been perfect for directions of all shapes and sizes. Lucky for me, they've been almost perfectly accurate. The Internet is so versatile that I think it helps many Americans save a lot of time (or so they think) at researching information from everything from trips to cars. Moreover, the Internet is such a lifeline for communication and connecting people through e-mail, that I think more and more Americans are discovering that they have a lot more in common with each other than they think.

Dawson’s Creek

Friends

Though it may seem, I'll admit it... that these three shows are often corny,

over-dramatic, and typical "teenager dramas," they have served me well this year as a wonderful release at the end of the week. I say the end of the week, as most of the time, I find myself forced to tape these shows since I run out of time during the week with homework. I look forward to relaxing on my couch Friday afternoons after a long week in order to to plug into my three shows and detach from reality for two and half hours (minus the commercials, of course). The one show that I actually make a point of watching and not taping is ER. It has become a tradition in my family to stop pretty much everything and get together on the couch for ER every Thursday night at ten. While my dad consistently insists that we make him watch it, in truth I think we all not only enjoy the show, but the familiarity of the tradition and spending time together. In my opinion, unfortunate as it is, I think a lot of American families see watching TV together as quality family time.