Port+Huron+Statement+Assignment

Updating The Port Huron Statement Community Connections final assignment 2008

In Community Connections groups on Monday, May 19, we’re discussing the topics and issues that most concern your group as we think about setting an agenda for our own generation. Our model for this inquiry is The Port Huron Statement, in which students of another era proclaimed their vision of a participatory democracy built upon connection and empathy, fueled by “power and uniqueness rooted in love, reflectiveness, reason, and creativity.” In U.S. History class, you have been reading about the aspects of the world you are inheriting that unsettle you. Having thought about it for a bit longer, what are those things? Together with your Community Connections group, your final writing exercise of the year is to draw inspiration from The Port Huron Statement to create the manifesto of this group, speaking for this generation.

On May 19 with your Community Connections group in Graderoom, you will generate a list of topics that resonates with your membership, things that bother you about the world in which you are now coming of age. Inspired by this list, you will generate a written statement that captures your sense of urgency about the world you inherit. Here are the guidelines and deadlines for completing this project.

Part I. Write a well-developed paragraph that describes the topic of your Community Connections group as it now appears to you, and as it will continue to present challenges in the coming years. In doing so, you should clearly identify what it is that alarms you, and what you know about how it got that way. The metaphor that Hayden uses is that of an inheritance – something you didn’t have a hand in shaping, but it’s yours now and you have to live with it. How has the shaping of your topic up until now failed your generation? What residuals are you all left to deal with?

Part II. Write a second well-developed paragraph that envisions your response to Part I, as well as your hope for possible solutions or different approaches to the topic you outlined in Part I. How should things be? What would need to change? What paradigm shift would our society need to make? Hayden roots his vision in a call for participatory democracy rooted in humane relationships. What are you calling for?

As you approach this, please think about what you have learned about crafting a persuasive paragraph. • Write this in the style of a manifesto, like Hayden did – you are speaking to the world on behalf of your generation. Reach for an active tone of urgency and expectation. • Strong, opinionated topic sentences that use precise and descriptive language will go a long way towards making this piece good. Language like “One aspect of the problem is X” is really not strong language. • Cite evidence. In Port Huron, Hayden doesn’t shy away from naming names and programs that are and aren’t working in the Kennedy administration at the time the document was written in 1962. You too can cite evidence from your field visits in addition to what you’ve learned with your group and in class, pointing to the people in the past or present who have screwed things up (or the people who have the right idea). If you use a resource, cite your source in proper MLA format. • Bring closure to your paragraphs – your last sentence in each should be just as strong of a statement as your opening sentence. Think about bringing the ideas in the paragraph together into a powerful final statement that either sounds the alarm or trumpets the future. • Think big picture. If you’re writing about a narrow topic, try to make connections to bigger themes – how does your topic relate to the broader lived experience of people today? Deadlines: • By Monday, May 19, you must post your completed paragraphs on Moodle. There will be costly penalties for lateness. • In U.S. History class on Monday, May 19, you will join with students from other groups to develop a manifesto for your class, with an Introduction and statement of Values (like Hayden did in the original PHS). • Excerpts from your work will be published in broadside form around the Upper School on Thursday, May 22. • Thursday, May 22 is “Make a Statement” Day – on a white t-shirt (preferably your Community Connection t-shirt from the fall), write your own statement of your vision for a better future. It can be a quotation you like, a statement of your own conception, or some other expression that is linked to this project. No profanity or inappropriate language will be tolerated.

Evaluation rubric:

Grades for your written work will be recorded in your U.S. History course.

content

1. Part I develops how the world in which the author is coming of age is flawed with regard to a specific topic.

2. Part II develops the author’s ideas about how the present society needs to shift in order to envision possible solutions or different approaches to the problem(s) identified in Part I.

3. Both parts employ specific historical or contemporary references to describe the nuances of the chosen topic.

style

4. Paragraphs are written in the style of a manifesto – using an active tone of urgency and expectation.

5. Paragraphs utilize strong topic sentences and persuasive closure statements to advance a point of view.

mechanics and deadlines

6. Written mechanics are accurate throughout the paper – grammar, spelling, usage, etc.

7. Sources are properly cited.

8. Paragraphs not sent in by Monday, May 19 will suffer a 10% per day penalty.