This is your first round of writing assignments for the magazine. The due date for issue one submissions is: September 22.
Reviews (only two per semester)
- Review an album released in the past two months. (.85)
- Review a film playing locally. (.88)
Interviews
- Interview a local politician about his/her opinion on a major state issue–education funding, taxes. etc. (1.1)
- Conduct an interview with a local member of the clergy about his/her perspective on one of the Biblical/Qu'ranic issues we discussed in class. (1.15)
Opinion Pieces
- Discuss what the concept of arete means in modern society. Look into sports, the war, politics, etc. (1.1)
- Analyze a specific educational issue facing high schools, or our high school. (1.0)
- Write an opinion piece supporting one of the candidates for office in 2006. (1.1)
- Write a piece discussing your attitudes towards the efficacy of your education. (1.0)
- Write a piece discussing freedom of speech issues for high school students. Should there be more restrictions on speech? Less? (1.1.)
- Does the banking model of education work? Is critical pedagogy a legitimate criticism of education? (1.2)
- Analyze the article by John Taylor Gatto that we read in class. You can support his argument, critique it, or write your own narrative about education. (1.0)
Literature
- Analyze the perspective of Homer in the Iliad about war. (1.1)
- Write a piece discussing how different cultures address the issue of pride. Consider the ancient Greeks, the authors of Beowulf, the author of the Ramayana, and American society. (1.15)
Profile
- Write a profile of a local achiever. You can write about someone in our school or community. (1.1)
News
- Write a news story about the changes in policy for Helena High this year. (.9)
- Write a news story about the Helena school district's efforts to improve graduation rates and academic achievement. (1.05)
- Write a news story about online learning opportunities for high school students. (1.1)
Fiction/Poetry (only two per semester)
- Write a short story/personal narrative about the concept of 'home'. Use the Edward Abbey piece we read in class as a model. (1.0)
- Write a thematically linked collection of three poems that connect in some way to something we have studied this year. (1.0)