Isaac and Ishmael

Discussion Questions for this episode of The West Wing:

1. What did Josh mean when he said that “they” want to kill all of us the same amount?
2. Why does Josh’s analogy make sense: Islamic Extremists is to Islamic as KKK is to Christianity?
3. What are the specific grievances that terrorists have against us, as Americans?
4. What did Josh mean when he said that we live in a “Plural Society?”
5. Why did Sam say, “terrorists always fail?”
6. What are civil liberties and why are they important?
7. Why does the nature of war have to change because of terrorism?
8. What situations qualify as a breading ground for terrorism?
9. Why is racial profiling so prevalent?
10. Do you believe that by living our lives we actually hurt terrorists?

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09.25.06

Core 1:

1. Discuss-On: What do we learn about your brain (way of thinking) by reading your Stream-Of-Consciousness
2. Read your Stream-Of-Consciousness piece to at least two other people and ask them:
• Is this a true Stream-Of-Consciousness piece according to our definitions?
• What do you think I am able to do with this piece that I wouldn’t be able to do with another genre?
3. Do some Good Parts.

Core 2:

1. Write-On: Would the poem Statistics be written differently today? How?
2. Discuss as a class the questions you did for homework over the weekend:
• Why does Sandburg use the words “sarcophagus” and “mausoleum” instead of “coffin” or “tomb”?
• Why does Sandburg make a distinction between this war and earlier wars?
• Why is the title “Statistics?”
• Why did Sandburg write the poem?
• How does this poem add to our discussion of change and tradition?
3. How does the simplicity of Grass make it a more effective poem?
4. How does the symbol of grass in this poem make a tradition out of change?

Core 3:

1. Write-On: Do you have anything important to say?
2. Show off my Good Part from The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan, “Writing.”
3. Do some Good Parts.

Core 4:

1. Reflect-and-Write-On: How successful were you at persuading someone else to do your work for you? Was there anything else you could have tried? What was the most effective means of persuasion? (If you were unable to perform your experiment this weekend, please write out how you imagine your persuasive interaction would have gone.)
2. Share your persuasive experiences with two of your classmates. Listen for the most persuasive arguments.
3. Which is more effective at creating social change: Verbal persuasion or Written Persuasion? Why?

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