A Message to Garcia

Good morning! Section 101, here is your in-class assignment for Friday, September 1.

Start by reading the short essay A Message to Garcia (the essay can be found here, and under "Links That Don't Stink"). Elbert Hubbard, who wrote A Message to Garcia over 100 years ago, ranted about people who don't work hard, and raved about people who do. In short, he ranted about excellence.

Next, do these follow up assignments in your blog.

• Write your own essay in which you give your own interpretation of A Message to Garcia. Perhaps you would address some of the following themes: taking the initiative, incompetence, excellence, and inspiration. Write a good, thorough, descriptive essay, and proofread it well before you publish it.
• Then, construct a five point action plan, describing five specific ways that you will ensure that you have a successful freshman year at John Carroll. For example, don't just say "I'm going to work hard;" describe what you are going to actually do to improve study habits and skills.

Post all this to your blog.  You might finish the assignment in class; if you don't, it's homework, due before midnight Saturday night. This assignment counts as your blog for Friday's class.

Also, this assignment is worth 100 points; 50 points for the essay, and 50 points for the action plan.

Thank you, be nice to your sub, and have a great Labor Day weekend!

(Please note: The same assignment was given to you Honors students on Thursday; your assignment is due by midnight Thursday night. And you have a fine weekend too!)

setting up your blogs, and discussing the syllabus

Today in class, we devoted some time to making sure you have all set up your blogs and sent your URL to me. I am very happy to report that very nearly everybody is up and running, and that the whole process seems to have taken less time than usual. You guys are brilliant!

We also reviewed my syllabus, and although I hope I did a thorough job of explaining all the details, I will be happy to answer any lingering questions you may have. If you think your parents are interested in reading this document, feel free to share it with them. Inquiries welcome.

Also, a reminder that I will not be in class this Friday, but I will have some classwork for you to do. Please bring a fully-charged computer to class, ready to go. And remember to be nice to your sub!

One more thing - now that you have sent me your blog information, you do not have to email me every time you write a new post. You are good to go!

Finally, just as a point of reference, in case you were were wondering what a 200-word blog posting looks like: you’re reading one!

Welcome!

Welcome to Human Geo!  Here are some details about your very first homework assignment, due at the beginning of class Wednesday, August 30.

• Add my blog to your Favorites/Bookmarks.
• Set up your class blog through blogger.com.
• After you have created your blog, send the URL to rschick@johncarroll.org .
• Write your first blog post. In at least 150-200 words, describe the experience of your first days attending classes at John Carroll. Take your time; write well; proofread; rewrite as necessary. Impress me with this first (graded) example of your writing talent. 
• Carefully read the Class Syllabus, found under "Links That Don't Stink" just to the right of this post.

I'm looking forward to reading your posts, checking your HW, answering any questions, and getting this class underway! Let's go!