Minutes 2/20/12

Minutes Monday, February 8, 2012

Prepared by: Robert Yu

Present: Remington, Robert, Carmen, Leah, Brooke, Casey, Jordan, and Jacqueline

Leah went over minute

Announcement: speaker who is supposed to come on Wednesday is now coming Monday February 27^th. Persuasive letter writing has been moved to today, Blogging moved to Wednesday

Reference: Under syllabus it says read 5-7 blog entries for February 20^th, this has been moved to February 22^nd. Class for February 20^th is not in the syllabus, so that is the only written change.

Minute taker swap: Robert has been moved to minute taker for Feb 20^th, Casey is moved to the 27^th; this change has been reflected on the blog

Apology letters were turned in, Suzanne asked that names be placed on the top right of the letter. After great discussion it was concluded that Michael Hamroff, the recipient of the apology letters, is in fact Brooke’s father.

Topic

Suzanne discussed the persuasive letter, citing an example of a nonprofit board and the chronic problem of raising money. There was a big debate on the board and one member said that the members are into the mission, and not what it takes to raise money, which is to get people who are already philanthropists to donate to this cause. The way to attract these individuals is to have a gala. Other members disagreed and said that it is against the culture of the board. Peter Raven is the former head of the Botanical Gardens and he felt very strongly that the group should have a gala. The seven board members were asked to think about it, and after delivering a persuasive speech, said that the others should write a response as to why a gala should not be held while writing a letter himself about why they should hold a gala.

The letter was one page, had five to six good points, and persuaded Suzanne that they should have a gala. The event was held in the past weekend, was very successful, and served to convince a group coherently without being bogged down by constraints.

Use this pneumonic device for the elements of persuasive letter:

• O: Opinion – dear so and so, drop the opinion after a short introduction (A gala does not fit the culture of the organization)
• R: Reason – cite reasons (Mission clash, mission statement that is counter to sit down dinners)
• E: Example – give examples that are in tune with the persuasion (Shakespeare in the Park, example of gala type event that works well)
• O: Opinion (A gala does not fit the culture of the organization)

Double stuffed works even better (More reasons and examples)

Suzanne then showed two examples of persuasive letters, one not very persuasive, one that is better. Both examples are extracted from Letters of Note. The first is written by JFK as a little kid to ask for more allowance.

Discussion:

We judged poor 10-year-old JFK, who has exquisite cursive handwriting, on his hilarious but poorly conceived persuasive letter. We restructured the letter as following:

• Opinion – my allowance should be raised
• Reason – I am a Boy Scout, and I need to buy Boy Scout things
• Example – Canteens, searchlights, blankets, and ponchos

*Optional*

• Reason – Other Boy Scouts get raises
• Example – “We like” Ike got a 50c raise. Herbert got a raise AND a dog.

*End Optional*

• Opinion – Therefore, please consider GIVING ME MY RAISE PLEASE. THANK YOU

In the second example we see Hugh Laurie selling the show of Season 7 on House

• Opinion – Buy House S07
• Reason – It will make you loved and awesome
• Example – your coworkers will adore you and your lovers will want to be with you
• Opinion – Buy House S07

Assignment: 1 page letter based on article given, using the OREO guideline and the letter format in the book “how to”. Assignment is due February 22. 206 Seigle is the address. Create a policy in the classroom that governs how we use technology. Is it appropriate to text and e-mail each other and expect responses in a timely manner?

Last Example:

Dear So and So,

• Opinion – we should eat cookies and leave early
• Reason – It’s Girl Scout cookie season
• Example – Thin Mints is delicious and supports the young women
• Reason – It’s president’s day
• Example – There is sun shining and a horse outside with a man in a wig at the helm
• Opinion – a dynamic approach to learning today is sugar and sunshine.

Sincerely,

Rico Suave

Class dismissed early, double stuffed oreos were presented and enjoyed by all