The End of Geoff Klock’s Spring 2020 Classes!

These are three goodbye videos I made, so you can choose your own ending to the class! These have nothing to do with your grades so you can also ignore them!

The Meaning of Life:

(also in this video I ended by saying it doesnt matter what you pay attention to but don’t pay attention to racists and anti-Vaxxers and flat-earthers and 9/11 “truthers” and MRA people and stuff that is generally inimical to life).

Stay in Touch:

A poem, because I like poetry and how are you going to stop me from reading a poem in my own house if I want to?

101 Paper 4 (also known as the Final Exam) Instructions!

What I call Paper 4 the English Department calls the ENG101 final exam but it is the same thing — this is the essay that is going to be 500 words, 

where you are going to get 3 questions but you are only going to answer ONE, 

With reasons and examples

and as PART of your answer you are going to quote 

(and put in your own words, and give your opinion on, with reasons and examples) 

at least one thing from David Foster Wallace 

and one thing from Michael Pollan 

(you can agree or disagree with any part of what they wrote!). 

Make sure each paragraph you write ties back into YOUR answer to the the question you are answering. 

To do this you are going to log into Blackboard here

https://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/academics/elearning/blackboard-for-students/

Here are instructions about what to do when you get there

DESKTOP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QljjZJCb9qc

MOBILE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROM2jUeiAiU

The three questions will be there at 6am on May 14. You have until 6am on May 17 to submit your essay. You can start and stop any time in between those two dates/times. So you could start it at noon on the 14th and work on it for two days but if you wait until 5am on May 17 to start you will only have an hour to work on it. 

Ask questions below or email me if you want to know anything! Good Luck! 

Tips for all my students writing papers!

To all my students, this is a quick note to say that the syllabus has a page about tips and tricks for doing well on papers for me — as this is the time of year to turn things in maybe find that in the syllabus (and if you can’t find it you can email me and I will email it to you).

Talking points for Paper 4 on DFW and Pollan

Talking Points !!!
“Listed here are the talking points for the final exam readings. As you may already know, the Composition Committee pulls together these talking points after we write the final exam questions. Here I have included a brief definition or description based on the readings”

• Dilemma —
  a dilemma is when a difficult choice has to be made between at least two possibilities, 
 usually equally undesirable possibilities
• Omnivore —
  a person or animal that can eat both plants and animals for food (The worksheet for Pollan further defines terms like vegetarian, vegan, herbivore, and carnivore.)
• Ethical Decisions and Responsibility —
  the process of evaluating and choosing something with the desire to do what is right regardless of the cost
• Consumption (food and in general) —
  the using up of a resource (food or other materials); the total amount of food that is available to eat in a town/state/nation; the total amount of food a person eats; 
• Culture —
  the customs of a particular people, nation, or other social group
• Conviction —
  a firmly held belief or opinion
• Production and/or Products —
  the process of making something
• Moral Justifications —
  a process of evaluation where a person attempts to make a morally questionable act seem right

Problem Fixed!

There was a problem with the videos where you could not play them but that problem has now been fixed!

The end of the FINAL CLASS READING!

I take you through THE END of our FINAL READING for ENG101— Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma! Let’s finish the term! Plus I am filming from a NEW AND EXCITING LOCATION

CREDIT/NO-CREDIT AKA PASS FAIL

So these links have an insane amount of information — too much really — but basically the way this works is if at the end of term you do not like your grade you have 20 days to go into CUNYFirst and change your grade to PASS/FAIL so that the class grade will not effect your GPA. But if you got above an F you can make the class PASS which means you in addition to not effecting your GPA you will get credit toward graduation and not have to take the class again and if you needed to pass the class to get into other classes you will be able to do that and if the class fulfills a requirement you can consider the requirement fulfilled! 

Policy: www.cuny.edu/coronavirus/credit-no-credit-policy/
FAQs: www.cuny.edu/coronavirus/credit-no-credit-policy/faq/

Starting Pollan, our LAST READING OF THE TERM!

Let talk about the Michael Pollan article, The Omnivore’s Dilemma!

Let’s finish David Foster Wallace

The end of David Foster Wallace! And some real questions for you to think about!

Plagiarism

I am already getting plagiarized papers from students. I know this is a stressful time. I am going to grade as generously as I can. I want to pass you. I am looking for an excuse to pass you. If you can just have a point and some evidence and like 60% of the word count and you will at least pass — make the class CREDIT/NO-CREDIT and no one will see your barely passing grade, they will only see that you passed. But if you plagiarize I CANNOT PASS YOU. I cannot tell you how much smarter it is to turn in bad work that you did yourself rather than things you stole off the internet. There is a global pandemic. Don’t add to my bad feelings by putting your name on top of a paper that you didn’t write. I am FUCKING BEGGING YOU. Do you own work. Quote whatever you want — as long as you tell me where it is coming from and which part is someone else’s idea and which part is yours. I CANNOT EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH DO YOUR OWN WORK DURING THE GLOBAL CATASTROPHE I LOVE YOU ALL GIVE ME AN EXCUSE TO PASS YOU AND I WILL BUT I CANNOT PASS YOU IF YOU DO NOT DO YOUR OWN WORK.

BEGGING HERE. LITERALLY BEGGING.

DFW part 2!

Let keep looking at David Foster Wallace

Credit/NoCredit AKA PASS/FAIL

I have emailed you info on the Credit/NoCredit AKA PassFail option this term — if you did not get that email me and I will email you!

101: Let’s Start David Foster Wallace!

Let’s start looking at David Foster Wallace, which is going to be half of Paper 4, at the end of term. If you need it email me and I will email it to you. 

Spring Break?!

Guys I am gonna sort of observe Spring Break by not putting up any videos for a week. This will give you a chance to catch up if you are behind and MAKE COMMENTS ON ALL THE VIDEOS EVEN THE OLD ONES. You can also do papers that you need to get to me by May 14. Or you can just take the whole week off and do nothing related to my class.

BUT I am not GONE! I am still here to answer emails, I can Skype if you want to have like an electronic face to face and in this post I am going to say this — ASK ME ANYTHING IN THE COMMENTS!!!!!

Good luck everyone!!!!! You have done great things and are going to continue to do great things.

101: WE FINISH PLATO’s PHAEDRUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the last post before I stop making videos before Spring Break but THIS IS THE END OF PLATO! WE FINISH THE WHOLE DAMN BOOK

101: HOW TO PASS THE CLASS

In 101 there are four essays — to pass the class you are going to need to turn in all four by May 14. The good news is one you already have done! Each essay should be between 500-750 words.

1. An in class essay about Phaedrus that you already did a first draft of before school was moved online (feel free to email me the second draft of that at any time). 

2. An essay you are going to do at home that can be found here: https://geoffklockbmcc.blogspot.com/2020/03/eng101-paper-2-assignment-due-by-may-14.html

3. The research paper — I handed this out prior to school being moved online — if you don’t have this email me and I will email it to you! 

4. The timed final exam paper on the David Foster Wallace and Michael Pollan essays that I gave you before school was moved online (if you don’t have that email me and I will email it to you) — that will be something you do on blackboard around May 14 — I will let you know details about that when we get closer. For now you can read the David Foster Wallace and Michael Pollan essays, and look up words you don’t know and ask questions and make comments. There will be videos about these essays and I will answer all your questions about them. 

There is advice in the syllabus about how to do papers — read that advice.

Any essay you give me prior to May 14 can be re-written for a higher grade. B is the highest grade I can give first drafts. 

Commenting on the blog is class participation so do that! 

I recommend you make the class “CREDIT / NO CREDIT” (also known as PASS/FAIL) 

Any questions you have about this put it in the comments or email me! 

101: Socrates and WRITING

Ok one video here got messed up and looks weird. Then in two other videos I got cut off so they just suddenly stop, but its ok I pick them up in the next video! I know there are too many videos here but some are like 2 minutes long cause I got cut off. Anyway I think this is the most interesting day of class so far! 

A quick video about CREDIT/ NO CREDIT

Credit / no credit AKA pass / fail — this is a quick video about that option which i HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

101: Phaedrus and Socrates pgs 19 and 20

We look more at the art of speaking and writing — after this we only have THREE MORE PAGES you guys we are GOING TO FINISH THIS THING!

Comment at any time!

I got a question today from a student who asked “is it ok if I comment on an older blog from like a week ago” — YES OF COURSE! The whole point of this is that you get to it when you have time — thats why I am not doing Zoom classes at a particular moment. So whenever you get around to seeing a video comment on the video — I get an email letting me see the content of EVERY comment so your comment will not be missed! Also, again if you are having trouble commenting just email me your comment!