Thinking About Ideas

I hand back your interview papers.  You record some information in your daybook.

We look at two videos.  The first is a little radical. The second is very radical.

This is your prompt:

We have discussed plagiarism and its consequences in school and in the real world.  Teachers try to enforce plagiarism rules in order to make students give credit for others' ideas. "Intellectual property" is a term that takes the idea into the courts, as the government attempts to define and enforce just which ideas belong to whom.

Think about the difference between "having" an idea, "using" an idea, and "stealing" an idea.  Come up with a statement reflecting how you think we should treat the ideas of others, and then support your thesis with two or three paragraphs.  Use specific, interesting examples to back up your views.

When I say how "we" should treat the ideas of others, keep in mind that you decide which "we" you want to discuss.  Are you referring to "we" here in school, or "we" as a nation and our laws, or "we" as everybody in the global culture that makes up the internet.

Today in class you have time to brainstorm for this short essay.  Tomorrow in class you have time to type and turn it in.  It is due at the end of class tomorrow.