Grapes of Wrath Socratic Seminar Final Reflection

      Grapes of Wrath Socratic Seminar Final Reflection

 

 

      The Grapes of Wrath Socratic Seminar influenced me to think of The Grapes of Wrath more than just a book about a families struggles but rather a bigger struggle in society and the lessons learned throughout the novel are life lessons that you can carry with you through minor struggles or major struggles like these. One thing said that I hadn't thought of so much in depth is the drought at the beginning and the flood at the end representing that destruction ultimately leads to revival of certain things that have died.

        One statement I agreed with the most out of my peers is the opinion about the conception of the "American Dream" is different to everyone. The statement that I agreed with the least is that the "American Dream" is unattainable. If every one perceives the "American Dream" differently, then most likely they set it to a standard that is attainable. I said all that I wanted to in the Seminar so there is nothing that I wish I would've said.

        What really worked for the seminar is the fact that we split the chapters to 1-15 to 15-30 and we had different objectives so we wouldn't be redundant when one group goes after the other. Also another thing that worked well is that we all had different questions and different ideas. It was smart to make up our own questions so we aren't limited to questions that perhaps aren't as in depth as we want them to be, but rather we show our creativity and our own opinions through our questions as well.

        What needs improvement in the Seminar is focusing on the topic. When in a seminar we tend to get carried away and off topic which wastes time rather than talking about what's really important and having a beneficial discussion.

Chapters 23-27: Family Discussion Reflection #4

Part II: Research
1. Topic: "What the Great Recession Has Done to Family Life"
2. The Article tells about the recession that was recent, which was in 2007, when jobs were hard to find and wages were tight. It also gives statistics of how unemployment was at its highest and skyrocketed what they were after WWII. Also it states that people are given more hours than ever at this time, women have shorter maternity leaves, and divorce-seeking couples stay together for financial stability.
3. This text connects to the assigned reading by it relating to the concept of jobs being tight and a lot of people are looking for jobs. This article about the recession in 2007 can not even compare to the Great Depression for the Great Depression was far more worse. Grapes of Wrath and this article both talk about the hardships they come across and sacrifices made to maintain financial stability.
4 MLA Citation: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/magazine/08FOB-wwln-t.html?_r=0

Part III: Philosophical Questioning
1. What can be seen by a mans ability to survive a struggle as difficult as the great depression tell about his spirit?
2. What do you think motivates this man to struggle and make it through?
3. Would you be strong in this situation if you had nobody to live for but yourself?

Part IV: Discussion
Discussion with my mother

Part V: Reflection

      The most memorable part in my discussion is how relatable my mom is to the situation of struggling and making it through the struggle for her kids and it truly shows what kind of woman she is and what women are capable of. She tells about stories of her struggling to find a job but she worked all the jobs she possibly could to take care of us until she was more financially stable, which being a single mother of three is especially essential. My questions were good this time but they could be better by connecting more with the text and more well thought out.

Socratic Seminar Final Reflection

      The Socratic Seminar influenced me to think about the text in a more in depth way. The Seminar helped me to get my peer's point of views which influenced my answers because I then realized which questions were wrong and the reasoning for those I got wrong. One thing that was said that made me think more in depth is the meanings of certain phrases and how significant they are. Also the Seminar made me think more in depth because I am always falling for "the distractor" so thinking more in depth helps me choose the best answer instead of the vaguely right answer.
      A statement I agreed with the most among my peers is  that its essential to look back in the text. When I completed the PIA I didn't really look back in the text, I was almost rushing, so doing the Seminar I could actually take my time and dissect the answers and have a better chance at getting the correct answer. One of the statements that I don't agree with among my peers is when one of them said a strategy to use would be to read the questions first. That would throw me all the way off because then I wouldn't actually read the story, I would read it just for the answer; and plus, the questions that are asked are more along the lines of analysis rather than word for word in the text. I said everything that I wanted to say in the Seminars, so there is nothing that I wish I said.
     What worked well for the Seminar was a sharing of opinions because a lot of people shared their answers with confidence and gave reasonable reasoning which helped other people open up to different ideas which is always a good thing because you can compare and contrast answers and eventually come about with the correct answer.
     I don't think anything about the Seminar needs improvement.