Student discussion and learning outcomes

Ling, Peter. "Jefferson and the Environment,"

Consider asking questions about the ways Ling conveys his attitude while still imparting reliable facts. You might also ask whether Ling is right about the impact Jefferson's farming practices have had on our economy.

Ling details the changes Jefferson created in America's ecosystem, but carefully pairs those facts with different aspects of Jefferson's legacy in a specifically resonant way, such as the importation of plants with the import of Native Americans to new territories. He does this to underline his fundamental contention that Jefferson's philosophy was that the land should be shaped to help us, rather than existed as something whose dictates we must obey. Jefferson's embrace of navigation and measurement made the land more easily saleable and governable, more like the land we know today. Ling uses data, like the greater destructiveness of the foreign species Jefferson introduced to the environment, to subtly question the Founding Father's attitude. And it is also possible to see in Jefferson the legacy of our current industrial farming, another heroic attempt to transform the soil and bend nature to our needs, rather than the other way around.

Schlosser, Eric, "The American Flavor Industry," pg 125

Again, consider asking about the ways Schlosser conveys his attitude while still imparting reliable facts. You might also ask about the positives and negatives of the flavor industry overall. Military students typically think instantly of MRE's when reading this article.

Simply by listing the types of chemicals that are in Grape Kool-Aide and other processed foods, Schlosser makes a persuasive case for how repulsive it is that most of the flavors we taste in food are completely artificial. A "dapper food technologist" rather than a baker applies sprinkles -- salty, sweet, and other flavors exist in tubes, rather than naturally in foods themselves. Schlosser tastes chemicals that recall the experience of eating a hamburger without bun, meat, or any real food substance at all. Our palates have become so trained to enjoy this type of artificiality since childhood we can no longer appreciate the real foods themselves. While food preservation might be helpful in some instances (such as MRE) and in some limited instances such as fortifying cereals with vitamins to guard against malnutrition, numbing our palates to the extent that fast food and processed food becomes addictive has had an undeniably negative impact upon our health in the form of the fast food industry.

Kolbert, Elizabeth. "Unchartered Territory" pg 136

This essay is more partisan than the others. I want you to each to lead one of the opposing viewpoints readers could express in response to Kolbert on the discussion board. I want you to ask questions about the charter school system and Kolbert's assertions about this particular group of schools. I also want you to question Kolbert's position that the charter school system is under-supervised and invite conversation about failing schools in general.