Miners work inside the Gold King Mine, near Silverton, Colorado, in 1899. - Source: https://www.cpr.org/news/story/gold-king-mine-1887-claim-private-profits-and-social-costs#sthash.sy0zsmvG.dpuf


Goals for today

• Refine a list of questions to guide our #AnimasRiverSpill project
• Understand the difference between perspective and bias and evaluate the perspective and/or biases of various "voices from the Animas"
• Understand the StoryCorps' mission and relate it to our work at hand

Today's Pre-Starter Logistics
1. Turn in the signed last page of your syllabus

***Those that are already done with these tech logistics, please read the Wikipedia page on the Gold King Mine spill, in particular, the section on the background.  What new information does this provide that you didn't already know?  If time, click on the links at the bottom of the page and read up!

2. Bookmark my DP:  jessicaahs11.blogspot.com
3. Create a Google Doc called "FirstName LastName Digital Comp Book."  Share it with me, giving me at least commenting rights.  You will begin to use these for most daily work, starters, freewrites, and note-taking.  I will try to highlight entries in the digital comp in light blue on my DP.  Also, see the Table of Contents when you are absent or behind.
4. Join my Google Classroom! 

• Log-on to classroom.google.com (or click Google Apps symbol in top right corner of Googleland, scroll down to "More" and find "Classroom")  and join my classroom by entering code t59dlf (to do this, click the + sign on the top right corner of your google classroom start page)
• Test run:  Can you post something in the stream?  What does it look like when you turn something in?
• Complete the Google Form assignment through Google Classroom
• Turn in your "Tell Me a Little Bit About Yourself" through Google Classroom if you have not done so already

Starter 8.31:  What perspective on the Animas River Spill is being satirized/exaggerated in this clip?  What is your personal reaction to this clip?

• Conan O'Brien's satire of the Animas River spill. Warning: There is some strong language here. Earmuffs, kids
• SATIRE: the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

Project: "Lives Streaming: Voices from the Animas"
Gold King Mine (Map, date of establishment: 1894)

TAKE SEMINAR PREP NOTES IN DIGITAL COMP BOOK: Here is a template to organize your notes in the coming days. Cut and paste its contents into your Digital Comp Book. Feel free to take notes differently if you are so inclined. Let me know if you want a printed version of this.

Review Brainstorm
1.  How are the two cartoon engaged in political discourse with each other?

2.  What are the people saying? What were some of the perspectives your group talked about?
3.  Get with your group again too try to refine some of the inquiry questions that shook out of this brainstorm.  Your questions seemed to deal with the following areas....

• Questions that deal with FUTURE IMPLICATIONS:  resolution and future prevention
• Questions that deal with CAUSE and “Could it have been prevented?”
• Questions that deal with SAFETY of the river, human health implications
• Questions that deal with IMPACT, ecological and economic
• Questions that would benefit from historical context of the mine

IN SAME GROUPS:  How can we phrase these as open-ended inquiry questions?  As a group, fill out this Google Form with 3-5 refined questions that you would like to see guide our study.

Perspective vs. Bias: Analyzing Dan Olson's commentary on the #AnimasRiverSpill

Distinguishing between perspective and bias

Perspective

• Definition: a particular attitude toward or way of regarding something; a point of view
• Synonyms: outlook, view, viewpoint, point of view, POV, standpoint, position
• Etymology: perspicere ‎(“to inspect, look through”),  from per- ‎(“through”) + specere ‎(“to look at”)

Bias

• Definition: prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.
• Synonyms:  prejudice, partiality, partisanship, favoritism, unfairness, one-sidedness
• Etymology: 1520s, from French biais "slant, slope, oblique," also figuratively, "expedient, means"

Evaluating perspective (and bias?) in Dan Olson’s MSNBC Interview

(Dan Olson is Executive Director of San Juan Citizen’s Alliance in Durango-  they are an environmental advocacy organization)

1. Watch Dan’s interview on MSNBC

• Discuss with a partner: What is his perspective on the river situation?  Does he seem biased?  How so? Which of the above political cartoons do you think more accurately represents Dan's bias?

2. After the video, read this critique of Dan Olson’s message.  

• Discuss with a partner: Do you feel that the author of the critique made valid points? Does the author's bias seem to match one of the political cartoons?  Do you find yourself agreeing more with Dan Olson or with the critique?

Diving in to Storycorps
1. Review the StoryCorps mission. 
2. What do we mean by "empathetic listening"?
3.  Sample episode of podcast:  Listen Closely
4.  FREEWRITE in digital comp book, labeling the entry "Storycorps Freewrite 8.31" (prompt below)

HOMEWORK: 
Storycorps Freewrite 8.31 (in comp book):  

• How does this episode fulfill or exemplify the Storycorps mission?
• What is your personal reaction to listening to this episode of Storycorps?
• How might this relate to our project?

 OPTIONAL

• Consume media about the Animas River
• Listen to more Storycorps interviews
• Check out Honors to see if you are interested