Finding Meaning at the End of Life Viktor Frankl, Zach Sobiech, Morrie Schwartz (Monday)

Choose one or more of the questions below to respond to: Write for 15 minutes--at the end of seven minutes, put a star or line after your thought and then keep writing. Yes, this does count as a journal. To the best of your memory, at what age were you first aware of death? When you were a child, how was death talked about in your family? What most influences the way you think about death now? Has religion played an important part in the way you think about death? How often do you think about your own death? What does death mean to you? What thing about your own death bothers you the most? If your doctor knew that you would die from a disease and had a limited time left to live, would you want the doctor to tell you? If it were possible, would you want to know the exact date on which you were going to die?

“You don’t have to find out you’re dying to start living.” “Most people live kind of in the middle [between life and death]…it is a very comfortable place to be.”

My Last Days: Zach Sobiech Zach Sobiech, 18-year-old teen from Stillwater, Minn., was never far from his friends, and his guitar.Upon his diagnosis of terminal cancer in May 2012, Zach turned to music in a big way - writing and performing songs as a way to say goodbye, at first to his friends and family, and then to the world when millions who became affected by Zach’s heartfelt lyrics and irresistible positivity in the face of adversity.When Zach passed away on May 20, 2013, his fans pushed ’Clouds’ to up to #1 on iTunes, Spotify and the Billboard charts – a fitting tribute to a remarkable young man.Zach bravely battled osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, with which he was diagnosed at age 14. As the disease progressed, doctors had no more effective treatment options to offer him a cure. Still, Zach decided to live like he always had, with a smile on his face, embracing every day with hope and joy. Zach and his and his family started the Zach Sobiech Osteosarcoma Fund at Children’s Cancer Research Fund, and directed proceeds from his music and other fundraisers held in his honor to help researchers find better treatments to prevent and cure this devastating disease.

Tuesday’s With Morrie Tuesday;)

Agenda Summary Hand Out Books Decide on Reading Schedule and Discussion Schedule Sign up for Discussion Days Read Teacher Poem Write Teacher Poem (Journal Entry) Read the rest of the hour

Summary Maybe it was a grandparent, or a teacher, or a colleague. Someone older, patient and wise, who understood you when you were young and searching, helped you see the world as a more profound place, gave you sound advice to help you make your way through it. For Mitch Albom, that person was Morrie Schwartz, his college professor from nearly twenty years ago. Maybe, like Mitch, you lost track of this mentor as you made your way, and the insights faded, and the world seemed colder. Wouldn't you like to see that person again, ask the bigger questions that still haunt you, receive wisdom for your busy life today the way you once did when you were younger? Mitch Albom had that second chance. He rediscovered Morrie in the last months of the older man's life. Knowing he was dying, Morrie visited with Mitch in his study every Tuesday, just as they used to back in college. Their rekindled relationship turned into one final “class”: lessons in how to live.

Reading and Discussion Schedule Responsibilities: As the discussion leader for your chapter, you will be responsible for: Creating 5 discussion questions to ask the class Leading the class in a focused discussion on the text Bringing in an outside connection to the chapter (song, picture, news segment, article, etc.) Writing a journal on your specific chapter / connection as well as the process of leading discussion (this can all be the same journal)

Questions Which way should we do discussions: Whole class discussions with discussion leaders (15-20 minutes a piece) 2 per hour that are longer discussions 3 per hour that are shorter discussions Small group discussions Rotate from discussion to discussion Leaders would lead the same discussion multiple times but with different groups

Tuesday’s With Morrie Wednesday

Wednesday Agenda Finish signing up for discussion leadership Sample Discussion Questions Grading Poem Reading Time or work time in lab (1-301A)

Reading and Discussion Schedule Responsibilities: As the discussion leader for your chapter, you will be responsible for: Creating 5 discussion questions to ask the class Leading the class in a focused discussion on the text Bringing in an outside connection to the chapter (song, picture, news segment, article, etc.) Writing a journal on your specific chapter / connection as well as the process of leading discussion (this can all be the same journal)

Creating Discussion Questions Good Discussion Questions: Are rooted in the text Move beyond yes or no responses Make connections between the text and self, text, or world Have more than one answer

Sample Discussion Questions “No grades were given, but there were oral exams each week. You were expected to respond to questions and you were expected to pose questions of your own” (1). The class with Morrie is experiential and clearly beneficial. Do you think we should have more experiential classes rather than traditional? What are the benefits of each? “I’m visiting with my old pal now, let them call back” (33). When was the last time that you gave your undivided attention to someone in your presence, not allowing yourself to be interrupted by the buzz of a cell phone? Do you think this has become a problem in society today that we accept this as a social norm? Have we lost anything as a result? Connection to essentialism. Connection to Sherry Turkle--TED Talk

Discussion Questions Continued “When I saw my stories in print each morning, I knew that, in at least one way, I was alive” (44). Why do you think we focus so much on external validation in our lives, even when we know there are more important things? p. 42-43: Albom talks about how he and Morrie both build a culture, but the differences between the two. As we read about inspiring people, what we continuously do not hear is how they deal with idle time. Can you give, give, give without any selfish tendencies? When and how do you find time for yourself to refresh?

Connection→ Sherry Turkle: Alone Together It matters to me because I think we're setting ourselves up for trouble -- trouble certainly in how we relate to each other, but also trouble in how we relate to ourselves and our capacity for self- reflection. We're getting used to a new way of being alone together. People want to be with each other, but also elsewhere -- connected to all the different places they want to be. In what way do Morrie and Mitch exemplify or defy this? How does Morrie teach Mitch to put away distractions?

Sherry Turkle COnnection Continued When I ask people "What's wrong with having a conversation?" People say, "I'll tell you what's wrong with having a conversation. It takes place in real time and you can't control what you're going to say." So that's the bottom line. Texting, email, posting, all of these things let us present the self as we want to be.We get to edit, and that means we get to delete, and that means we get to retouch, the face, the voice,the flesh, the body -- not too little, not too much, just right. How can you sense Morrie’s discomfort with having a conversation? This took place years back, do you think that technology has made this more or less difficult in recent years? How do you go about changing this?

1 Developing 2 Capable 3 Proficient 4 Mastery Discussion Leadership (one score) -Lack of preparation is evident -Surface level discussion of content is present -Classmates take over conversation rather than discussion leaders -Preparation is not thoroughly developed -Only content within the novel is discussed / referenced. -Lack of leadership allows discussion to become informal, distracted, or off topic --Demonstrates preparation through development of questions and material -Outside source are referenced -Demonstrates evidence of preparation through thought-provoking questions and development of material -Outside sources are consulted and referenced -Smoothly transitions the conversation, building of classmates responses and stepping in to redirect if the discussion goes off topic Discussion Journal -Journal is mostly a plot summary -Connections are made but not elaborated on -Questions are asked but no attempt is made to answer -Predictable observations are made -Reflection of process is sparse or vague -Makes general reference to text to support questions, claims, comments -General connections are made -Reflection of the process is completed -Uses text evidence to support your claims, questions, comments -Connects to life, world, experience other texts, etc. -May reference other classmates’ contributions to discussion -Reflects on the process of leading discussion in a thoughtful manner A level four mastery meets the requirements of the three but also includes a developed real world application, artistic development, or incredibly sophisticated understanding of the text with a personal voice that is loud and clear -Thoroughly reflects on the discussion process and the effectiveness of leadership

Assigned Journal Entry: Write a Poem to your Teachers Sample Poem: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/l esson824/sones-poem.pdf Poem Format: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/l esson824/sones-form.pdf Challenge: Think outside the box--which “teachers” outside of the classroom have taught you how to life your life?

For Friday: Read: Beginning of the book- 58 (large print) Beginning -66 (small print)