Monday, February 11, 2019

Second Monday Post - Thursday's Discussion Questions

Lovelies,

Thursday you will all be participating in small group book discussions based on the essays you've read.  I haven't decided if the groups will be self-assigned or assigned by me so stay tuned.  In the meantime, here are the discussion questions you will be using.

To prep, you can go all in and write out answers and support with textual evidence or you can err on the side of minimal effort and just "think" about your answers.  (If only I could include a laughing emoji here.)


  • In Outliers, our second mandatory read, author Malcolm Gladwell posits that a person's phenomenal success can (to a certain degree) be a combination of preparedness and opportunity - essentially what we like to call "luck".  In the essays you've read thus far, what is each rhetor's "outlier" moment?
  • One of the main reasons I selected this text as a mandatory read is because of its obvious connection to Chimamanda Adichie's TED Talk "The Danger of a Single Story".  Even if you haven't connected per se to an essay, what "single stories" have your found in your reading?
  • Oftentimes, the ways stories are told in mainstream media stems directly from who has the power.  What books and movies from your childhood are the ones that "stand out"? What characters are beloved?  What movies resonated with you?
  • What do you know about your family's history/immigration story?  What is your origin story?
  • Many college application essays include a question that centers around identity.  What makes you you?
See y'all tomorrow.  

Love and Light,
Beltran

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