English I Honors students first began by looking at the feedback from teachers and peers about their “Decoration Day” assignment. Here are a few examples discussed in class regarding assuming what one is proving  (begging the question):

• In addition, in the play of Romeo and Juliet the story line is based on “two households” sharing an “ancient grudge”, which causes the brawl at the opening of the play. This shows that the feud has been going on since the beginning of time, and the two don’t have a clue as to why. Juliet and Romeo are not entirely sure why the families hate one another, they’ve always just been told to.
• For example, the narrator in “Decoration Day” says that the Lawsons “never knew” how the “problem with Holland” and the Hills began because the feud was started “before [they] were born”. Since the families did not know how the fighting got started, they have been fighting for a very long time. The currently living Hills and Lawsons were not alive when the feud began, and the reason the families are fighting could have changed, since a large amount of time has passed since the beginning of the feud.
• For instance, in the song Decoration Day, the speaker “never knew” how the “ problem with Holland[…]” began. This shows that the Holland family and Lawson family are not getting along well. It also proves that the beginning of the disagreement is unknown.

Afterward, students went through the act 4 presentations.

English 8 students had an excellent day working through the challenges of Frederick Douglass’s Autobiography, working through challenges such as long participial phrases and pronouns with antecedents which are not immediately obvious.

Homework

• English 8 Studies: none.
• English I Honors: 
  • complete the play (you should have read all of act 4 and act 5 by tomorrow);
  • begin working on the last two songs from the soundtrack project.