| kevin |
yeah the whole color of paper thing went over my head |
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| Dan_Snyder |
nothing that i know of. |
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| Jenn |
nothing |
| Melissa |
okay well thats good |
| ship |
just relax and talk about the poem for today |
| leigh |
where are the questions located? |
| Jenn |
calendar |
| Dan_Snyder |
Go to calendar and go to today. |
| ship |
there are questions posted under assignment that someone can discuss |
| ship |
I'll start |
| leigh |
ok go |
| ship |
who is the speaker? |
| Tiffany |
okay |
| leigh |
I think a student |
| kevin |
a student |
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| Melissa |
a young black student |
| leigh |
in a college or university |
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| Dan_Snyder |
I'm going to have to agree. |
| leigh |
yeah def. balck or of some color |
| ship |
good....how do you know the student is African American? |
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| Tiffany |
that sounds good to me |
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| Jenn |
a colored student |
| Tiffany |
it says |
| kevin |
he talks about he's the only color kid |
| russell |
because he says so |
| Melissa |
yeah I wonder how old he's suposed to be |
| Dan_Snyder |
Because he puts a lot of emphasis on how the prof is white. |
| ship |
line 2 |
| leigh |
cause he says he is the only colored student in his class |
| Crystal |
he is 22 |
| ship |
of the oem |
| Tiffany |
he says hes 22 |
| ship |
of the poem |
| Melissa |
oh |
| Melissa |
duh |
| Melissa |
I see that now |
| ship |
and he mentions it again at line 5 |
| Crystal |
how long ago would you say it was written |
| Jenn |
i think he is trying to show how we ar all conected |
| ship |
what is the school that he speaks of? |
| Dan_Snyder |
1951 |
| Melissa |
probably in the 60s or 70s |
| Jim |
1951 |
| leigh |
maybe in the 40-50's |
| Jim |
hah |
| kevin |
1951 |
| Jim |
says at the bottom |
| Tiffany |
what is the next question? |
| Melissa |
oh |
| ship |
Dan, made a good observation on the bulletin board...that it's during
the Civil Rights area |
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| ship |
who is the speaker specifically addressing? |
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| Jenn |
what do you think the prof. would have thought if he handed it in |
| Melissa |
whenb was that |
| leigh |
the pro I think |
| kevin |
his prof or maybe himslef |
| ship |
okay |
| Tiffany |
yeah...and since he is the was the only black student, he probably
really felt out of place |
| Dan_Snyder |
I think it depends on whether or not the prof was racist. |
| leigh |
I think he should have handed it in |
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| Melissa |
or how the other kids went about things |
| ship |
do you think from the poem that that idea can be found? |
| Melissa |
if it was in the 50s |
| Dan_Snyder |
If he wasn't he would have loved the paper, if he was he would have
hated it becuase the compares himself to the prof. |
| Melissa |
then they were probably not treating him to well |
| ship |
too well |
| ship |
:) |
| leigh |
yeah, whats the next question? |
| kevin |
maybe he was trying to get across to the prof that no matter his race
or the color of the paper they were connected |
| Jenn |
i agree |
| Dan_Snyder |
I'm sure that's what he was trying. |
| Tiffany |
and that race really doesn't matter |
| ship |
what is the speaker trying to say? |
| kevin |
he used somthing as simple as the color of the paper to relate to the
color of there skin |
| Melissa |
right, except the fact that he thinks that the rest of the class is
more free than him |
| Dan_Snyder |
So the prof probably was racist, otherwise he wouldn't have put so
much emphasis on color. |
| cletus |
he was sayin they were all americans n color doesnt matter. even tho
they didnt want to be a part of eachothers race |
| Melissa |
yeah, thats cool |
| Jenn |
h never really said that melissa |
| Jim |
I think it also has to do with a little more than race |
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| Jenn |
i don't think the prof. was necessarily racist |
| leigh |
yeah neither do i |
| cletus |
hard to say |
| ship |
where is he attending to school? |
| Melissa |
I dont either actually |
| russell |
harlem |
| Jenn |
harlem |
| leigh |
cause then he wouldn't have written this poem |
| Jim |
really doesn't matter anyway :) |
| leigh |
yeah |
| Crystal |
i think he was just tring to get the point across that they are all
equal, to make himself feel less out of place |
| ship |
what school sits on Harlem hill |
| Crystal |
and more at ease |
| kevin |
yeah |
| Tiffany |
i don't know.... |
| Jenn |
i think the prof would have liked it because to me it seems as though
the page did come out of him and was true |
| Melissa |
probably |
| Jenn |
like the assignment says |
| Melissa |
yeah if he wasnt a currupt teacher then he would appreciate it |
| Tiffany |
yeah, he said what he really felt, and that's cool |
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| Melissa |
but just the way hewords his assignment leads em to belive that he's a
cool guy |
| leigh |
I agree |
| kevin |
yeah he said what he felt and use good description |
| cletus |
back then was a little diff though |
| leigh |
ok whats the next question |
| Jenn |
what meaning do you make form the speakers assertion that
"sometimes perhaps you don't want to be a part of me, nor do i
often want to be a part of you |
| Crystal |
what do you think the first line means? |
| Crystal |
I wonder if its simple? |
| Jim |
we're all different and that's ok |
| Tiffany |
that each of us are our own person |
| leigh |
that he is proud to be what color he is but at times he might want to
be white |
| kevin |
i think it means we all have our own opions and they change from time
to time pending on the situation |
| Dan_Snyder |
That each of us has our own problems. |
| leigh |
but never would he totally want to be like his prof |
| Melissa |
he can understnad that white people dont want to be liek him, and he
wants them to understandthats hes proud and he doesnt necesarily want to
be liek themeither |
| russell |
i agree |
| Tiffany |
yeah...i think it's pretty clear that he is proud of who he is |
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| Crystal |
he just wants every one to be treated equal and forget color |
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| Melissa |
sure he'd liek to be free like them |
| kevin |
me too |
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| Jenn |
yes he is proud of his culture and who he is |
| Dan_Snyder |
He's saying that no matter what you think about a person it doesn't
matter, it's how they act, not what color they are, and people need to
accept that. |
| Melissa |
but he wouldnt becoem white to acheive that |
| Tiffany |
it's the person that matters, not their race |
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| leigh |
also, that during this time period, the prof would def. not want to be
like his student |
| Melissa |
right |
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| jenn |
i changed my mind |
| Dan_Snyder |
that's true. |
| Jim |
he doesn't have any regrets |
| leigh |
yeah |
| jenn |
he is talking about how they are connected and how they are part of
each other but sometimes dont' want to be |
| kevin |
it seems he's trying to fit in but represents his culture at the same
time |
| Dan_Snyder |
I don't think he wants to fit in, I think he just wants to be treated
like a normal person. |
| leigh |
I agree with that, it is also showing that there is a feeling of
resentment maybe |
| Crystal |
to be respected |
| kevin |
as he said he's the only colored student so he would like to fit in
but he not trying to be white |
| Melissa |
dan, isnt that what fitting in is? |
| Tiffany |
yeah, i think he wants to have respect from the people around him |
| Dan_Snyder |
yup |
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| kevin |
so he is trying to fit in then |
| leigh |
I says that he feels the same and hears and sees the same as everyone
else |
| Melissa |
whats the next question |
| Crystal |
i don't think he wants to be like them,just treated the same |
| leigh |
so therefore he should be seen as equal |
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| jenn |
i don't think it has anything to do with that |
| kevin |
so he should be treated the same as a dif color of paer would be
compared to a white colored paper its the same really |
| jenn |
i mean it does, but nor do i often want to be a part of you |
| cletus |
i think he is just trying to show that just because his skin color is
different he as a person is not so different |
| Dan_Snyder |
It's not the same, it's different, but that shouldn't change how
people look at it. |
| kevin |
that sy he uses the color paper thing to show there is no dif between
color |
| Melissa |
wel there is a difference but it has nothing to do with the inside of
a person |
| kevin |
right |
| Dan_Snyder |
no, there is a difference, but a poem written on white paper isn't
automatically better than a poem on black paprer |
| Melissa |
and so he feels he should be treated the same way cause hes got the
same thing inside as everyone else in his class |
| Melissa |
right |
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| Tiffany |
that's good dan |
| Dan_Snyder |
He should be given a chance. |
| kevin |
exactly mellissa |
| russell |
the color of the paper doesnt matter |
| Tiffany |
what it says really matters |
| leigh |
I don't thik it has anyhting to do with the color of paper |
| russell |
neither do i |
| leigh |
its just a metaphore I htink |
| ship |
I am not sure how much ground you have covered, but I want you to post
a short answer to the following question: Why did I have you read this
poem specifically for this class? |
| russell |
its a metaphore |
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| Crystal |
then why does he have the point in thereabout the paper being white
neer the end |
| ship |
once you post a short answer, you are free to leave and I will see you
on Friday |
| Jim |
if we had lots of differnet colored paper, we could maybe something
purdy :P |
| russell |
on the bulletin board? |
| Jim |
make |
| Melissa |
I think that you wanted us to read this poem because it shows what
somone felt inside themself and wrote down on paper. Much like the
meditation you want us to write. |
| kevin |
ok hes saying heres a black piece of paper here a whit epiece of paper
the only thing that differs is what swritten on it and he wants to be
treated as the black paper he's only dif. is what in him he's feeling
ect... |
| Jim |
true |
| Tiffany |
this poem is a metaphor, very much like the title of this class,
Swimming with Sharks...there is more to the title than what is first
seen....it is also a meditation that we have to write |
| leigh |
he is describing the scene in great detail and then explaining why it
is important to him. just like the meditation we have to focus on this
week |
| Dan_Snyder |
You had us read the poem because it has lots of metaphors about life,
especially around the time of the civil rights movement, not to mention
it would be a very controversial time for a black student in college. |
| russell |
where are we supposed to post our short answer |
| Crystal |
because he goes to his own room and writes how he feels and i think
that he feels safe in his own room, like the begining is him tring to
get to the safety of his place, just like the place that we are supposed
to write about |