Friday, February 17, 2017

Week 22 - Archigram and ice capades


This week, we began digging into the issue that will drive many of our Place Out of Time conversations over the course of the semester. It concerns an Italian court decision that overturned the conviction of a homeless man who had shoplifted a small amount of food. The court declared that his act couldn’t be considered a crime because he was in a state of need. To unpack the issue a bit, we went through an extremely simplified example of how societies function. (Ask your child about the desert island example.)



On Wednesday, we took a field trip to see the Archigram exhibit in downtown Ann Arbor. It was recommended to us by Amy Kulper, who met us at the exhibit, sent us on a scavenger hunt, and guided us around some of the work. Take a more detailed look at some of the work we saw here. The exhibit ends this weekend, but we’ll be processing some of what we learned in the weeks after the break.




We also spent some time writing this week. Everyone has posted their Place Out of Time resumes on the site, and have moved on to responding to some prompts. One asks each character to talk about a turning point in their lives. Another asks what they brought with them to this strange (and imaginary) gathering. We also responded to a journal prompt, considering this quote from Albert Einstein: “It’s not that I’m smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”

In math group, we wrapped up with Flatland, celebrated some math milestones with a game day, and spent some time working on our Singapore progress. Students are more than welcome to take their books home over the break to make further progress, if your/their plans allow it. Have a wonderful break!



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