Discussing Pithy Quotes went well this week. It is very helpful for me to have the group discussions and to read the quotes that Mr. O'Leary projects up on the screen. Moby Dick is challenging for me to understand, so I pick up a lot from the discussions that I would have otheriwse missed.

Focusing on Herman Melville himself, not his book, made things interesting for me this week. I have just realized that without the author, there would be no insights, no pithy quotes, no book. Herman Melville was a weird guy and I enjoyed learning about what inspired him.

I always love the lining up. I feel pretty immature saying that but i know it is enjoyable for everyone. The best part of this week was when I found a zuegma in someone's pithy quote right after we went over them as a new literary device.

I enjoyed our line ups. You sort of learn interestng stuff about people but really its just fun.

I felt small group discussions went very well. I enjoy looking at and discussing the quote projected on the white board everyday, as long as we leave enough time for small group.

I liked some of the small group discussions that we had this week, though several had only glancing references to Moby Dick. Despite, or perhaps because of, the tangency, we had awesome talks ranging from everything to organized religion to the personalities of various fruits and vegetables. While this may not have directly intensified my love of literature or grasp of rhetorical devices, it did make for an interesting week.

I really enjoy going over rhetorical devices. I feel I learn so much when we take notes on a rhetorical device, like this week when we went over zuegma. I even went home and told my dad what it was!

I thought that it was good to have the large group discussions before the small group discussions. Whether it happened on purpose, or just because we ran out of time, it worked out well. When we do it the other way around, the large group discussion can get a little dull sometimes, and feel like we're just repeating the discussion that we had in our small groups with the larger group. With the small groups at the end of class, we can talk about our quotes without having to worry about whose we will share and remembering everything about it to tell the whole class.

I thought that pithy quotes in general went very well this week. We are getting very good at finding the 'pith' in Moby Dick, and sharing it in class. It is nice to look back and see the progress made over the past few months.

I thought that we had some very good discussions in class about Moby Dick. Overall, the class and the reading are definately becoming better, and our groups are getting more into the discussions.

I thought the small group discussions went very well this week.

My homework effort i thought went well as well as the lineups.

Our shorter readings and large discussion groups. Also. that chapter about the sperm whale's head. I liked that chapter a lot.

Our small group discussions of Moby Dick really helped me to understand and appreciate what I was reading at home every night. Everyone had a lot of interesting things to contribute. Plus line ups are always fantastic.

The small group discussion along with the large group discussions ofthe quote on the overhead quotes were really enthusiastic this week and i felt like there were some really good ideas shared.

There were many interesting and insightful large group discussions this week. Also the lazer pointer is a very nice addition to the Randomizer amry.

A couple of times the small group discussions were cut off by the end of class, it would have been nice to have some more time to finish them.

Despite the increasing quality of our discussions, I do feel the monotony of our assignments. We have to read a lot every night, and it can get a little tough to read Moby Dick so much.

For me the lining up took so much time that I think could have been spent doing Pithy Quotes. I like lining up, but sometimes it takes so long. I think some of the small pithy quote groups could have gone better if we were more awake.

I must say I didn't love the line-up topics this week.

I think that if we are going to do the small group discussions that we should start them sooner in the class. I enjoy them, but because we have been doing the large discussions first and then breaking off it feels as though we have already found most of the 'pith' and there is little left to discuss. If we simply did the small groups before the large groups this problem would be solved.

I think that the pithy quote groups, while entertaining, were not very helpful in actually accomplishing any task that was even remotely related to pithy quotes. I think that the mildly bland potato that is our class could use some butter and chives (CONCEIT!!!). Some intense new activities, possibly something along the lines of a break dance contest, would really spice up the class (Just kidding, but some variety would be good. Maybe some squash for a change)

I thought that everything went really well this week.

I, like before, like 'hands-on' activities and the pithy quote groups really are not. I feel like many groups do not try their hardest at this activity. However, I feel I can learn more in the smaller groups if I had to choose between the small and large groups because it is more one on one.

It would have been nice to do poetry again at least once this week, just to break up the schedule. It would also be nice to do something other than readinng and quotes every once in a while.

Small groups seemed to have lost all their flair this week. For some reason, it seemed that we had to struggle to even read quotes.

Something new. Please. Pithy quote discussions have had all the pith sucked out of them.

Something that could have gone better was the discussion time we had for little groups some day in the middle of the week. We had i think 45 seconds to discusss before the bell rang and so we just all yelled our quotes but didnt have time to go any further in to them.

The large group discussions could have gone a little better.

There was a little too much repition with the pithy quote groups.

This may be repetitive, and it may be something that we just have to deal with, but I am writing this for the sake of filling this white space. If there was one thing that could have gone better, I would say there could have been more variety in the class. NOT a huge problem at all, there are certainly other classes that I have that are much more boring and whose teachers don't even make an effort to change it.

Thursday small groups, it just went out of control and on tangents and everybody just started to talk about parties and what not.

We did the same thing every day.It got kind of boring after the first few days. We should discuss Moby Dick in a new way like performing skits of each scene and then analyzing them.

..DISCLAIMER: The following two paragraphs are part of a praise war, and should be read with enthusiasm and passion. Nathan Potter is quite obviously the epitomy of the efficient, motivated, and dedicated literature student. His exemplary work and zealous dedication to academics show that he is the perfect student. Nathan's ever-evident passion and commitment to classwork make him the envy of his peers. Nathan even goes so far as to completely immerse himself in the sperm whaling experience by dressing up as Ahab and pretending to hunt whales in his backyard, using authentic equipment and costume. He spends many late nights at the computer, feverishly researching our current topic of discussion with almost lustful passion. His insatiable appetite for knowledge even leads him to take long, frequent excursions into the encycolopaedia, his brilliant blue eyes glowing pools of wisdom as they whiz across the pages. He will willingly pounce, often literally, on any opportunity to absorb more knowledge into his sponge-like brain. Although many mock his nasal voice, the truth is that transcendental truths continually flow from his mouth. I am sure that the molten, golden notes that spew forth from his oratory cavity will go down in the annals of history and be looked upon with reverence by future generations. Nathan also never lets anything get him down. When he left his pocket protector at home, as well as his D&D fantasy character generation manual, he took it in his stride and went on with his day, even though they are his most prized possessions. His gallant smile brought tears of joy to my eyes as the sun glinted off of his sparkling braces and he assumed a strikingly noble pose. Nathan is quite possibly the perfect human being. His lust for knowledge, drive for success, and insightful philosophies on life serve as examples to us all. If everyone were like Nathan, we could truly have a perfect world. Intelligent design must be true - how else could such a perfect being have come into existence?

.As his melodious voice cascades like sweet honey, I am drawn in like one of his computer game characters to a horde of monstrous orcs. His proud, prim appearance causes a swelling of school pride within me; it almost seems that he and Mrs. Dell, our great overlord, have swapped tips on how to captivate an audience. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I speak of our own god of the spoken and written word, proud owner of 5 framed AP Essay prompts bearing the awesome 9, the holy czar of prose, poetry, and rhyme, the diploma-bedecked, braces-bearing, rakish-haired Titan of language, Sam McIntire. Aphorisms, chiasmi, and assonance flow from his gidled throat like regurgiated fish from the mighty champion of flightless birds, the tuxedoed penguin. Like this amazing aqautic avian, Samuel Elliot Maurice McIntire, or 'Schmoel', as those among us worthy enough to call ourselves his devoted and eternally loyal friends are priviledged to call him, is able to glide effortlessly through a medium that leaves most animal aviators sputtering and occacionally drowning. He cruises in the often frigid waters, frolicking with such marine heroes as Santiago, Ahab, and Huckleberry. Let us stand and applaud this great man, for he has shown us all the power of true humilty and the humilty of true power. Hip-hip-horay! Hip-hip-horay! Hip-hip-horay!

Caroline Eichler is impressing, she thinks so much about the pithy quotes and their meaning that she comes up with astounding ideas that I would never have thought up!

Caroline impressed me this week with her thought provoking questions in both large and small group discussions.

Dear Lauren Houligan has impressed me this week with her enthusiasm. I really like to be around her in a deep conversation because she is always excited and feeds off everything people say. Every angle we take in class seems to tie in with her view and if she has ever had an instance of failure to understand, she hasn't shown it.

I am going to have to with Johanna, because of her insightful comments during large group discussions that really make me think. Thanks Johanna.

I believe Miss Caroline Eichler inspired me this week. She and I, as well as the rest of our group, had a great discussion on the significance of the paragraph ending with the 'dread goddess's veil at Sais'. After bouncing ideas off her, we came to the conclusiion that 'clear truth' can not be determined and such. I was really impressed at the way she connect bits and pieces of the paragraph together.

I was inspired this week by Michelle. In our small group when every one was doing nothing she actually stayed on task! I don't know how she does but congratulations. Please share your secret, we could use it. I was extremely unimpressed by the randomizer this week. 'Number of legs on an insect' 'favorite mall'? Come on you can do better.

Liam Holding impressed me this past week when I found out that he recieved a '9' on his AP Prompt. Usually, people that do well on these prompts are those that are notoriously strong writers. When Liam recieved this grade, I realized that the possibility of myself recieving such a grade was very realistic. Liam has both impressed and inspired me with his hard work.

Liam inspired me this week when he was in my discussion group several times. At first, I was a bit intimidated, because I didn't know him very well, but that soon changed as we had our discussions, in which he shared some really great quotes. His friendliness and interesting insights make me look forward to being in Liam's group in the future.

Mademoiselle Houlihan was inspiratonal. Instead of the average 'Mr. Herman says this, and Mr. Melville says that,' Lauren had her own ideas about Moby Dick. She also showed an exemplary interest in the ZEUGMA, both by writing everything furiously down and by laughing at the quote about Tom. Her enthusiasm was enthralling to behold.

Michelle inspired me this week with her enthusiasm and focus in pithy quote discussions. she kept our group on task and went above and beyond with choosing multiple pithy quotes. Nice job Michele!

Michelle inspired me this week. Though it seems like most of the class was a little apathetic during small groups, Michelle pushed us along and stayed on topic. She also often picks several quotes, beyond the one pithy and one device. That is inspiring.

Ryan Fotter inspired me this week. I was in small group with him one day, and he was asking what the sharks symbolize. I could tell that he had really been thinking about it and was generally interested in what they were meant to portray. I really appriciated how much thought he was putting into the reading and could tell he was working hard to get the most out of the book as possible.

Sam MacIntire really impressed me this week with his reading and time management. One time when he was in my small group I had a question about why Moby Dick was white. He had a lot to contribute because he had read ahead to the next night's homework knowing that he wouldn't have the time to do it that night. This made me realize that I should plan my reading more according to my schedule. Thanks Sam.

Sam McIntire impressed me this week. He is able to find meaning in nearly every quote. Often I come to small group with quotes that I don't fully understand. I know that there is something pithy in it somewhere, and Sam always seems to find the pith with ease. Thanks Sam.

Samanatha Bond seemed to have a great grasp of the book very well and wasn't afraid to speak her mind.