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"Grapes of Wrath" Debacle---please help
Sorry this is long, but I'm in tears. I need to talk.
Today, I had to give a presentation on migrant farmers in California who were thrown off of their land because they couldn't pay the rent where they originally came from (the Middle Region of the US---Oklahoma, Kansas, etc) using a central primary document. I showed three 5-minute clips from "The Grapes of Wrath." I gave a 2-minute intro, showed the clips, and in between each clip, I talked about why the clip best represented the main points of my lecture.
I guess I was pretty boring. I'm very, very bad at giving lectures. I don't want any of the columnists to give me an answer detailing how to make lectures more interesting. I had my speech written out on an AlphaSmart and I read in a monotone, but that's just the way I talk. That's not an excuse for not paying attention.
I told my classmates to write down a question and I'd answer it at the end of the clip. For each clip, the same 4 people out of an audience of 11 asked questions, and they were mostly practical questions that didn't have to do with the Depression, like "Where did the Joads get gasoline?" Throughout the whole lecture, only one person asked a relevant question. Everyone else was bored out of their skulls. People yawned and gazed out the window. One girl was even reading behind her backpack.
And then came the discussion at the end. I had 3 discussion questions:
1. Do you think the migrant workers lived the promised California Dream? Why or why not?
2. In what ways were the migrant workers exploited by land owners?
3. Do you think that the workers were better off in California or their homeland?
We were supposed to have more, but my teacher said that if they are questions that can generate rich discussions, it would be fine. But there was no discussion. My classmates had been so bored out of their skulls that they hadn't payed attention the whole time. The same two people had anything to say.
The presentation was a disaster. And I'm going to be graded down because there was no discussion. I was supposed to have a lot of questions, but if I only had a few questions that were open-ended and debatable, then it would be acceptable. My questions were open-ended and debatable, but since there was no discussion, it doesn't count. I feel awful. I had hoped to get an A in History, and I had a B+ coming. This is a huge assignment. I'm going to get a B or B-, and I won't achieve my quarter goal. I wanted to get 2 A's on my report card for the first time, but now my chances are gone.
Anyone who at least tries to make me feel better gets a 5
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Maybe give some free advice about: School?
Well getting a B or B- isnt that bad first of all. I know its disapointing to not reach a goal, but you always have the next year, to try and reach it, and you'll have even more motivation.
Its not your fault your classmates didnt pay attention, or discuss things..
Maybe you should talk to your teacher about rasing your grade, tell her that the students didnt even pay attention, and explain how this whole situation made you feel,
teachers like it when you are humble and honest with them, and sharing your feelings.
But dont fret, summer is coming soon,
and I'm sure your presentation was great.
:}
<33
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Talk to your teacher. It seems to me, you put in a lot of effort and tried to have an adequate discussion. Most likely your teacher noticed that. It's unfair of him/her to mark you down for something out of your control, so he/she probably won't. Don't get yourself all down, you haven't even recieved the grade yet. One time I thought I did terrible on a presentation, I mean horrible. The skit was disasterous. Everyone was cutting each other off, we forgot to talk about things that were major points, ect. I was complaining to my dad about how I was going to fail, and I ended up getting a 96. So you never know, you might end up getting an A for your effort. Plus I'm sure your actual lecture had great imformation about your topic, and your whole grade won't be based on the actual discusion part. Just talk to your teacher and explain how no one talked and all that. He/she will listen to you and base your grade off dedication. Hope this helps and feel better.
-cindy <3
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It is always possible if your teacher thought you did a good job. Just because your classmates
didn't want to learn anything from your report did not mean it was bad. Sounds to me like you did a pretty good job of it.
So don't give up on it yet. Talk to your teacher and ask her what she thought of your report. Maybe ask what you could have done to generate more interest from your classmates. She may give extra points because of your effort. :)
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