The IVC Borderline Literary Journal

Back to the Future of Music: 50 Years of Sgt. Pepper's - by Erma Lopez, Josephat Carillo, Neyda Jimenez, and Leslie Verdugo - English 110

I know. I know.  We are not a history class, but I recognize a hunger in  my students to look to the past.  Last semester, we read a sixties novel and wrote about Cesar Chavez, John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King.   Students were engaged.  The writing was insightful.  So, this fall upon the 50^th anniversary of The Beatles release of their Sgt. Pepper’s album, I asked my students to take a listen.  The following is a group analysis.  Erma, Josephat, Neyda, and Leslie combined their musical knowledge and historical perspective to explain the legend of Sgt. Pepper.  They addressed the art, the culture, and the politics of the Beatles.  Why do many to this day consider their work a revolution in pop music?  I recognize the critical thinking in their writing.  I hear the excitement in their voices.  50 years later, and I see the Beatles are still attracting new fans.

To read this group's complete essay of the The Beatles and Sgt. Pepper's, please CLICK on the following link:

https://www.ivcborderline.org/2018/07/back-to-the-future-of-music-50-years-of-sgt-peppers-complete-group-essay-by-erma-lopez-josephat-cari.html

To see review how The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's album changed music forever, please CLICK on the video below:

 

 

 

Feminist Icons - by Cayeli Diaz - English 008

In English 008, I encourage my students to explore issues that impact them the most. We reading a novel about a young woman coming of age in the sixties.  Inspired by the writing,  I often receive essays on Gender Equality, Women’s Rights, Domestic Violence, Sexual Harrassment – mostly from the women in my classrooms, but some from the men.  Below, Cayeli shares her sixties research paper.  She searched for the origins of the Women’s Movement.  She began with Betty Freidan and ended with Michelle Obama. Her paper reflects the key components of their leadership.  From her readings, Cayeli now defines herself as a feminist.   With these types of essays, we want to build a bridge from the classroom to the community.  Today’s IVC Friends of the Earth seek to be tomorrow’s “lideres.”

    To read Cayeli's research paper in its entiriety, please CLICK on the following link: http://www.ivcborderline.org/2017/03/feminists-icons-research-paper-by-cayeli-diaz-english-008.html

    To watch a cool trailer of a PBS special on the Women's Liberation movement, please CLICK below:

 

50 Years of Conspiracy: The Assassination of John. F Kennedy - by Erma Lopez - English 008

    In English 008, we read the novel Motorcycle on the Sea of Tranquility.  It’s all about the Sixties. We discussed the Moonlanding, The Pill, The Beatles.    The story is about a young girl trying to make sense of  her brother’s return  from a tour of duty in Vietnam.  Clearly, she loved him more than anything, but the guy who comes back is not the same guy who left.  His eyes are lifeless. He has no soul.  Her heart is broken.

    At the end of the semester, I assigned Sixties historical research papers. Erma decided to conduct her own investigation of the Kennedy assassination.  According to her findings, Lee Harvey Oswald could not have acted alone.  In her essay, Erma provides thought-provoking evidence to reveal a conspiracy behind the president's murder.

    To read Erma's complete essay, please CLICK on the following link:

http://www.ivcborderline.org/2017/03/fifty-years-of-conspiracy-the-assassination-of-john-f-kennedy-by-erma-lopez-english-008.html

    To see a recreation of the Kennedy assassination from the movie JFK, please CLICK on the clip below: 

 

Woodstock: Love for Life - by Josaphat Carrillo - English 008

In English 008 we read a novel about a young Latina coming of age in the year 1969. When her brother returns from Vietnam broken and distant, Yoli tries to make sense of the chaos in her world.  From this story, Joseph was inspired to develop a historical research paper based on the legendary Woodstock three-day concert held in upstate New York August 15–18, 1969. Josephat captures the tumult of the times.  After all, this was the height of the Vietnam era.  Students were rioting in the streets in opposition to the war.  Race riots were spreading across the country. Rebellion was in the air.  But, despite these headlines, 400,000 young bonded together for three days of peace and music.  Josephat writing reflects both historical insight and personal admiration.  Why couldn’t something like Woodstock ever happen today?  ( When we really need it! )

    To read Josaphat's complete essay on Woodstock, please CLICK on the following link:  http://www.ivcborderline.org/2017/03/woodstock-love-for-life-research-paper-by-josaphat-carrillo-english-008.html

    To capture the spirit of Woodstock, please TURN ON to the following video by one of the legendary acts of Woodstock, Canned Heat:

 

 

Students Find Their Voice: "These Times They Are a Changing" - by Natalie Soto - English 008

In English 008, we read the sixties novel Motorcycle on the Sea of Tranquility.   Author Patricia Santana writes of a young Mexican-American girl trying to make sense out of a tumultuous time in our nation’s history.   Below, Natalie shares a portion of her sixties research paper.  She discovered the 1968 “East Los Angeles Blowouts,” an event that inspired change in our education system.  Thousands of Chicano students, teachers, and administrators expressed their anger and frustration over social injustices by taking it to the streets.  If Motorcycle’s main character Yoli Sahagún had lived in L.A. and not San Diego, we know she would have been right in the middle of it.

Below, we provide you with a brief video that summarizes the 1968 student movement.  To see Natalie's complete essay, please click on "Justice for Education"

 

 

Fifty Years of Investigation and We Still Don't Know - by Danielle Soria - English 008

For fifty years, historians, journalists and other professional writers have been publishing their theories of the Kennedy Assassination.   In English 008, Danielle Soria added her own analysis.  We developed research papers based on important events that transpired in the 1960s.  Danielle chose to write about the day our president was killed in Dallas – November 22, 1963.  Below she explores the most likely suspects and explains why Kennedy’s murder is so important to us fifty years later.

To learn of the top ten reasons to believe why there was a conspiracy to kill the president, please watch the video below.  To read Danielle's complete essay, please click on "Death of a President"

 

 

Women's Liberation: Choosing Your Future - by Ana Venegas - English 008

The sixties were a time for change, especially for the fourteen-year old narrator Yolanda Sahagún of the novel Motorcycle on the Sea of Tranquility.  Yoli lives in a traditional Mexican-American family.  “That explains everything,” as Sandra Cisneros would say.  She learns hard lessons about what it means to be a woman in her culture.  As we read the book, we developed research papers.  Students wrote of Vietnam, Civil Rights, The Moonlanding.   English 008 student Ana Venegas chose to write about Gloria Steinem and The Women’s Movement.  It was all about breaking down barriers.   Women wanted to be free and independent like everyone else.

Below we provide you a PBS documentary trailer for the Women's Movement of th 1960s.  To read Ana's complete essay, please click on "Feminism: Women's Journey to Equality"

 

 

Tragedy in Dealey Plaza - by Michael Davies - English 008

In English 008, Michael read a sixties novel and then developed a research paper focusing upon the assassination of John F. Kennedy.  Here he takes us to the scene of the crime, Dealey Plaza.    This must have been the most challenging part of the assignment.  There are so many conspiracies out there.  We still do not know the truth. For Michael's part, he chose to stick with the facts: Lee Harvey Oswald, Dealey Plaza, the Texas School Book Depository, the sixth-floor window, the high-powered rifle... 

One dead president. 

The Blonde and The Redhead by Maria Utsler, English 008

Maria is attending IVC to accomplish her goal that is to become a medical assistant. In between classes and work – I don’t know how she does it -  she trains for marathon bicycle races.   Currently  she is  part of a Mexicali cycling team called “Rositas”.

The last time she was in a competition I cycled from Mexicali to San Felipe. This called for 19 hours of continuous cycling.  Here, in this compare and contrast essay, Maria shows the same type of discilpline in her writing.  She rides with abandon.  She writes with feeling. When she told me she was nervous writing the essay, I told her,  "Just Do It!

This Is What a Feminist Looks Like by Tina Perez, English 008

In English 008, Tina read a novel about a young latina teenager who struggled to assert herself. In her family, it was her brothers who had the freedom.  Her father made all the decisions for the women, and that was that.  Well, as we watched the main character Yoli grow, we saw Tina's writing mature.  Here she writes a  research essay that compares feminism of the sixties with feminism now.