7th Say, Mean, Matter Entry!

Say, Mean, Matter Discussion Forum—You will contribute one Say, Mean, Matter post online each week. You may choose the content of your post. Consider the following possibilities:

a.     Important newspaper articles, which you can find online or in a print newspaper 

b.     Textual quotes from the literature you are reading 

c.     Any contemporary issue that intrigues you 

You will then analyze the content in terms of “What does it (whatever you chose) SAY?” This is a summary, so put the content into your own words. 


The next section will be titled, “What does it MEAN?” This is an interpretation. This is where you determine what the content means. This is YOUR interpretation based on your background knowledge and your knowledge of the subject matter, etc. 


The final section is the “What does it MATTER?” This is the implication piece. What are the possible outcomes? How will this content impact you, the community, the nation, the world? See columns below. There will be a sample SAY, MEAN, MATTER post online for you to consider while you compose your own. Your SMM post is due online each Friday at midnight. 





Please use your first name and last initial and YOUR CLASS PERIOD. You will NOT receive credit if there is no class period listed. 


Example: Shelia S., period 1


SEE MODEL  SAY, MEAN, MATTER POST BELOW!


Gregory Boyle, in TATTOOS ON THE HEART, wrote, "You stand with the belligerent, the surly, and the badly behaved until bad behavior is recognized for the language it is: the vocabulary of the deeply wounded and of those whose burdens are more than they can bear"(179). (This is cited in MLA format.)

Say:

This says that bad behavior is a way of communicating one's pain and that standing with the badly behaved is necessary until the pain is revealed and understood.

Mean:

My interpretation of this passage is that it means that when people act out and misbehave that they are doing so because they are in tremendous pain. Either they've been neglected and their own needs are not being met, or they have been abused or hurt in some way, or perhaps they've suffered a loss that is too big for them to bear. Instead of using their words about how much pain they're in, they act out by doing things that are inappropriate and often illegal (This is a book about gangs.)

Matter: 

This passage matters because it offers an explanation for bad behavior and challenges us to see beyond the behavior to the heart of the matter. If we can do that, then we may feel more empathy, and as a result, be able to stick it out with those who are acting badly rather than quickly dismiss, judge and abandon them.