Initial Post Instructions

Main Post Part 1: Read and Respond After thoroughly reading the Week 8 lesson and the required textbook pages, go back and re-read, specifically, the articles from the assigned Week 8 textbook pages. Ask yourself: In the textbook readings, which statements in these articles inspire me? How and why? Do any statements bother me? How and why?” Take careful notes, jotting down quotations and your reactions to them, based on those questions. After you have given good time and attention to this process, you will begin writing Part 1 of your discussion post.

A note: Keep in mind that your actual post will require that you express yourself openly. While correctness is always important, try to steer away from obsessing over strict “rules” so that you may focus on you and your feelings and passions. It is absolutely crucial that we step away, at times, from intellectualizing and dive, instead, into pure gut reaction, to what our heart says about what we are reading and into writing about that freely. This is the fertile soil for those big ideas that might turn into dreams, then into realities, in our future.

Instructions for Part 1: Identify two specific direct quotations from two separate readings in your assigned Week 8 textbook pages that you noted having a gut/heart reaction to. Be sure to use signal phrases and to cite these in-text and in an end reference.

In at least one full paragraph, write about one quotation at a time. Identify the first quotation, then truly let yourself go. Let your heart and gut speak. Why did you choose this first quotation? How did it make you feel? Why? Then, in the same paragraph, identify the second quotation. Finally, as with the first quotation, truly let yourself go. Let your heart and gut speak. Why did you choose this second quotation? How did it make you feel? Why?

Main Post Part 2: So…What Are You Inspired to Do? In another full paragraph minimum, still sticking to your heart and gut, freely write about what your reactions in Part 1 inspire you to do.

Note: Before composing this part of your post, you should brainstorm separately, in your own notebook or on a “brainstorming Word doc,” generating many possibilities: large, small, local, global, at home, in the community, with one person, with a thousand people, whatever occurs to you. Let yourself “go” and list, list, list everything that comes to mind as an action you might take in response to your feelings in Part 1. Some of your ideas may seem far-fetched; don’t be afraid to express them. Do not limit yourself to sharing just the practical, smart, reasonable actions. Have fun! Then, turn that into a good paragraph for your post.

Follow-Up Post Instructions Respond to at least one peer. Here, in reading others’ posts and replying to them, you will be exposed to reactions that may be very similar to your own and reactions that may be quite different from yours. You will hopefully also see some wonderful and eye-opening ideas for application. So, in your reply post, please focus on sharing similarities and differences in your reactions and help your classmates brainstorm for more actions that might be taken based on your classmates’ gut and heart reactions and on your own.

Writing Requirements

· Minimum of 2 posts (1 initial & 1 follow-up)

· Minimum of 2 sources cited (assigned readings/online lessons and an outside scholarly source)

· APA format for in-text citations and list of references