--Anthony, Washington DC - had trouble in school because he fell behind in school because his dad died of drugs
--Gloria , Anthonys grandmother. - does not want Anthony to go to public school because she doesn't want the other students to try to get him to do things like drugs, but she has no choice because she cant afford private school.
--Daisy, Los angeles - Wants to be a doctor/nurse because she wants to be able to help people in need
--Celeste bell, Daisy's teacher - explains how Daisy has already applied to a collage
--Francisco- wants to be a reporter, and says he doesn't like school because he likes math but none of the other kids do
--Maria, Francisco's mother- says that Francisco's school is one of the most over crowded schools around. she also says that she thinks that one of the reasons Francisco doesn't like school is because he does not have good teachers.
--Nakia, Bianca's mom - is willing to do anything so that Bianca can go to collage "I don't care how many jobs I have to get, but she (Bianca) is going to collage" and pays 500$ to keep Bianca in private school.
--Alibama only has 14% proficiancy in math
--Arizona 26%
--California 24%
--Washington DC has the worst score 12%
--Schools that have over 40% non graduation rates are called dropout factory's
--Eric - has preformed study's on the differences between bad teachers and good teachers in the public school system, and has observed that good teachers work and bad teachers cause failing schools.
--Teachers union contracts tie the hands of everyone involved in the public school system
--In the rubber room teachers who have court hearings are payed full salaries to do absolutely nothing while there case is solved
--study's and data show that high expectations and longer class room hours are effective at getting students to preform better but it relies on good teachers.
The way that the movie "Saving Superman" influenced the way I feel about education and the changes that are needed to the system was to give me some clear data and proof of things that work.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Chalk notes
-50% of teacher's quit within the first 3 years
-the movie shows the perspectives of many different teacher's
-most of the teachers are pretty new and having a tough time but rely on each other for support.
-the movie focuses on some of the hardships that teachers have such as-being home late-disruptive students-etc etc.
-the p.e. teacher is likes to make sure that the students and teachers follow the rules.
-the p.e. teacher is good at getting her students to believe that they are good at something even if they aren't that good, which causes them to have fun and do better.
-the assistant principle has a wide variety of things that she has to do including anything from paperwork to chasing students that aren't where they are supposed to be.
-the one of the history teacher's has a really rough time in the beginning of the year but reads some books and learns from the other teachers about classroom management.
-the history teacher tries to be overly friendly sometimes but he seems to be really good at teaching and getting his students to like him and do well.
-the other history teacher still has a hard time with teaching because he has bad social skills
-the teacher's are all very good friends
-even though the teachers are friends there are still grudges
-even though the history teacher has a good debate, and the students all liked him a lot he still didn't get teacher of the year.
-at the annual spelling hornet the other history teacher wins because his students help him learn some of the common slang before the competition
-by the end of the year the other history teacher has gotten to the point where his students respect him.
-
after watching chalk the first thing that comes to mind when I think of things that should change about the school system is that teachers should get to Know the students and their parents instead of just teaching them (this already happens but i don't feel that it happens enough).
-the movie shows the perspectives of many different teacher's
-most of the teachers are pretty new and having a tough time but rely on each other for support.
-the movie focuses on some of the hardships that teachers have such as-being home late-disruptive students-etc etc.
-the p.e. teacher is likes to make sure that the students and teachers follow the rules.
-the p.e. teacher is good at getting her students to believe that they are good at something even if they aren't that good, which causes them to have fun and do better.
-the assistant principle has a wide variety of things that she has to do including anything from paperwork to chasing students that aren't where they are supposed to be.
-the one of the history teacher's has a really rough time in the beginning of the year but reads some books and learns from the other teachers about classroom management.
-the history teacher tries to be overly friendly sometimes but he seems to be really good at teaching and getting his students to like him and do well.
-the other history teacher still has a hard time with teaching because he has bad social skills
-the teacher's are all very good friends
-even though the teachers are friends there are still grudges
-even though the history teacher has a good debate, and the students all liked him a lot he still didn't get teacher of the year.
-at the annual spelling hornet the other history teacher wins because his students help him learn some of the common slang before the competition
-by the end of the year the other history teacher has gotten to the point where his students respect him.
-
after watching chalk the first thing that comes to mind when I think of things that should change about the school system is that teachers should get to Know the students and their parents instead of just teaching them (this already happens but i don't feel that it happens enough).
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Material for Paper #1 (eventually rough draft, then paper itself)
(note: if you're reading this there is a good chance that your not going to understand a lot of it because most of it is writen similar to the way i think and not spell checked yet)
Questions for myself to answer.
1 - Why is the role of "Friend" the most important role a teacher can play?
The role of "Friend" is the most important role a teacher can play because, it is a lot easier for a student to learn from someone they consider a "friend", students are more likely to succede because they don't want to dissapoint there "friends", if you are someones "friend" they are going to listen to you when you point out flaws in their believes.
2 - How have I seen this/these things in both teachers from the movies?
The way that I saw this in Mr. Escalante is how he tried to be involved in the lives of his students both inside and outside of school, his students also liked him a lot because he was the first person in their lives to expect exelence from them, he also was very skilled at convicing the studends that they "already knew how" to solve the problem they just needed to "think about it" instead of just giving them the answer.
3 - How does being a "friend" affect the way that the teachers interact with there students?
one of the ways that being a "friend" affected the way that Ms. Watson interacted with her students is how when she was new to the class and was not friends with anyone she had to be a lot more carful with how she presented her lessions and teachings if they werent directly on the sylabus, but after she got to be friends with the girls (exept betty) she was able to be more direct because she knew that they liked her and wouldn't go to there parents and try to get her fired (...betty you were a pain...).
4 - (Need to be thinking about how I am going to arrange the information)
5-What is my thesis?
Role - Friend
Positive
Name of Teacher #1 - Mr. Escalante
Positive
Name of Teacher #2 - Ms. Watson
Mr. Escalante is a good example of being a friend is because, even during the first day when the students are being disrespectfull and trying to bully him he is trying to make friends by telling jokes and figureing out how to deal with each individual students problems. He is also a good example of being a friend because over the course of the year he not only helps the students to realize how much potential they have but he also helps them fight the low expectations of their parents and the other teachers. Another example of why Mr. Escalante is a good friend to the students is when there test's were denied because they all had the same wrong answers he wasn't mad because that reflected badly on him, he was mad because he knew that his students didn't cheat and he did everything in his power to help them get there scores reinstated (even after the all passed the second time he wanted there origonal scores back). Mr. Escalante is also a good example of being a good friend because of some of his personality charecturistics, such as how he was good at getting his students to have fun, and made math look like it was "cool". Other charecturistic examples of why Mr. Escalante is a good example include, his attitude of always wanting the best for his students, how when he accidentally hurts there feelings he is genuinly sorry and tries to fix the damage (example of this is when he makes fun of the girl for having to many boyfriends and she runs out of class, he chases after her because he knows that he was wrong and he wants to fix the damage that he accidentaly caused).
Ms. Watson is a good example of playing the role of friend to her students because, not only does she have a naturally nice and easy to get along with personality, but she also does her best to chalenge her students to think for themselfs without offending them (she isn't always succesfull but she does her best). A good example of how Ms. Watson chalenges her students to think for themselfs is how on the second day of school instead of following the sylabus to the letter (like all the other teachers do) she takes a completely different path, comeing up with her own points and lessions so that the students can't just read the material in the book and know everything before the class even starts. Another good example of how she gets her students to think for themselfs is when Joan comes to her after class to ask why she got a C and she tells her that she basically copied another writer instead of coming up with her own material, then she gives Joan another chance as well as some advice. One of the biggest ways that she comes across as "naturally nice and easy to get along with" is how even though she is chalenging the beliefs that the girls have grown up with, she does it in a sweet gentle way (most of the time) which causes most of the students to like her even if they dont agree with what she is saying all the time (one example of someone who doesnt like her (untill the end) is betty, because she is so set in tradition that she can't look past Kathrines politacal views to see the person behind them).
Conclusion: Usually, if the body compare the points you're discussing (emphasize similarities), your conclusion will contrast the items, or examine the differences between the items. if the points contrast (show differences between two items), the conclusion demonstrates any similarities between two. ("While Mr. Johnson and Ms. Garcia are very different in terms of XYZ, they both provide excellent examples of the most important role teachers play in their students' lives, because they are both ABC.") Write out the first sentence of your conclusion here:
Now follow that up with the rest of your Conclusion, which is often a mirror image of your first paragraph:
not sure what my conclusion/intro is going to look like yet, i still need to figure out what my thesis is.
Questions for myself to answer.
1 - Why is the role of "Friend" the most important role a teacher can play?
The role of "Friend" is the most important role a teacher can play because, it is a lot easier for a student to learn from someone they consider a "friend", students are more likely to succede because they don't want to dissapoint there "friends", if you are someones "friend" they are going to listen to you when you point out flaws in their believes.
2 - How have I seen this/these things in both teachers from the movies?
The way that I saw this in Mr. Escalante is how he tried to be involved in the lives of his students both inside and outside of school, his students also liked him a lot because he was the first person in their lives to expect exelence from them, he also was very skilled at convicing the studends that they "already knew how" to solve the problem they just needed to "think about it" instead of just giving them the answer.
3 - How does being a "friend" affect the way that the teachers interact with there students?
one of the ways that being a "friend" affected the way that Ms. Watson interacted with her students is how when she was new to the class and was not friends with anyone she had to be a lot more carful with how she presented her lessions and teachings if they werent directly on the sylabus, but after she got to be friends with the girls (exept betty) she was able to be more direct because she knew that they liked her and wouldn't go to there parents and try to get her fired (...betty you were a pain...).
4 - (Need to be thinking about how I am going to arrange the information)
5-What is my thesis?
Role - Friend
Positive
Name of Teacher #1 - Mr. Escalante
Positive
Name of Teacher #2 - Ms. Watson
Mr. Escalante is a good example of being a friend is because, even during the first day when the students are being disrespectfull and trying to bully him he is trying to make friends by telling jokes and figureing out how to deal with each individual students problems. He is also a good example of being a friend because over the course of the year he not only helps the students to realize how much potential they have but he also helps them fight the low expectations of their parents and the other teachers. Another example of why Mr. Escalante is a good friend to the students is when there test's were denied because they all had the same wrong answers he wasn't mad because that reflected badly on him, he was mad because he knew that his students didn't cheat and he did everything in his power to help them get there scores reinstated (even after the all passed the second time he wanted there origonal scores back). Mr. Escalante is also a good example of being a good friend because of some of his personality charecturistics, such as how he was good at getting his students to have fun, and made math look like it was "cool". Other charecturistic examples of why Mr. Escalante is a good example include, his attitude of always wanting the best for his students, how when he accidentally hurts there feelings he is genuinly sorry and tries to fix the damage (example of this is when he makes fun of the girl for having to many boyfriends and she runs out of class, he chases after her because he knows that he was wrong and he wants to fix the damage that he accidentaly caused).
Ms. Watson is a good example of playing the role of friend to her students because, not only does she have a naturally nice and easy to get along with personality, but she also does her best to chalenge her students to think for themselfs without offending them (she isn't always succesfull but she does her best). A good example of how Ms. Watson chalenges her students to think for themselfs is how on the second day of school instead of following the sylabus to the letter (like all the other teachers do) she takes a completely different path, comeing up with her own points and lessions so that the students can't just read the material in the book and know everything before the class even starts. Another good example of how she gets her students to think for themselfs is when Joan comes to her after class to ask why she got a C and she tells her that she basically copied another writer instead of coming up with her own material, then she gives Joan another chance as well as some advice. One of the biggest ways that she comes across as "naturally nice and easy to get along with" is how even though she is chalenging the beliefs that the girls have grown up with, she does it in a sweet gentle way (most of the time) which causes most of the students to like her even if they dont agree with what she is saying all the time (one example of someone who doesnt like her (untill the end) is betty, because she is so set in tradition that she can't look past Kathrines politacal views to see the person behind them).
Conclusion: Usually, if the body compare the points you're discussing (emphasize similarities), your conclusion will contrast the items, or examine the differences between the items. if the points contrast (show differences between two items), the conclusion demonstrates any similarities between two. ("While Mr. Johnson and Ms. Garcia are very different in terms of XYZ, they both provide excellent examples of the most important role teachers play in their students' lives, because they are both ABC.") Write out the first sentence of your conclusion here:
Now follow that up with the rest of your Conclusion, which is often a mirror image of your first paragraph:
not sure what my conclusion/intro is going to look like yet, i still need to figure out what my thesis is.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Mona Lisa Smile real time notes.
-The name of the main charecture is Kathrin Watson.
-Teaches Art history
-It is a verry formal school, for example at the beginning of the year they have a cerimony to open the school.
-as far as i can tell its a girls school (no men allowed to even visit)
-the area is very sterio tipically conservative
-even though the school is supposed to be well manered some of the girls are trouble makers.
-even though Kathrin is supposed to be teaching the class the girls seem to already know everything she is planning to teach.
-Kathrin Watson's first day of school is a disheartening experience because not only because the students already new the whole class, but also because they behaved extreemly differently then the students from where she grew up. it is also a bad day because the board members are rude and expect her to already know how to deal with the class before the first day.
-The biology teacher has her own unique way of helping Kathrin, for example she remarks how everyone in the area has their own bite.
- Kathrin gets the class to debate about art.
- The second day of school is much better for Kathrin because she has figured out how to teach her students.
-The girtls only know how to say and act like someone else tought them.
-Betty Waren does not like disobedience.
-Betty has enough power to get pretty much any teacher fired that she wants.
-things are done certain ways simply because Thats the way its always been done.
-Kathrin wants her students to think for themselfs for example when she is talking to the student that is in pre law.
-Kathin also goes out of her way to help her students, for example when she gives one student a second chance on writing her paper, another example is when she got an aplication for yale for one of her students.
-A lot of the school is focused on preping the girls for marrage rather then living on their own.
-Even though Kathin knows how to think for herself she has trouble making up her mind.
-Kathrine used to be engaged until pearl harbor happened.
-betty tries to get kathrine watson fired the same way that whe got the other teacher fired.
-the story that betty writes for the paper, along with many other things causes katrine to realize just how resestant most of the people in the school are to change.
-the school is only going to let kathrine come back because there are so many girls signed up for her class next year, but because they are opposed to her views they are only going to let her come back under strict conditions which places kathrine in a difficult spot because she doesnt want to conform to the rules but the girls that she loves want her to stay.
-kathrine eventually decides to not come back to welsley but instead goes to europe.
-
-Teaches Art history
-It is a verry formal school, for example at the beginning of the year they have a cerimony to open the school.
-as far as i can tell its a girls school (no men allowed to even visit)
-the area is very sterio tipically conservative
-even though the school is supposed to be well manered some of the girls are trouble makers.
-even though Kathrin is supposed to be teaching the class the girls seem to already know everything she is planning to teach.
-Kathrin Watson's first day of school is a disheartening experience because not only because the students already new the whole class, but also because they behaved extreemly differently then the students from where she grew up. it is also a bad day because the board members are rude and expect her to already know how to deal with the class before the first day.
-The biology teacher has her own unique way of helping Kathrin, for example she remarks how everyone in the area has their own bite.
- Kathrin gets the class to debate about art.
- The second day of school is much better for Kathrin because she has figured out how to teach her students.
-The girtls only know how to say and act like someone else tought them.
-Betty Waren does not like disobedience.
-Betty has enough power to get pretty much any teacher fired that she wants.
-things are done certain ways simply because Thats the way its always been done.
-Kathrin wants her students to think for themselfs for example when she is talking to the student that is in pre law.
-Kathin also goes out of her way to help her students, for example when she gives one student a second chance on writing her paper, another example is when she got an aplication for yale for one of her students.
-A lot of the school is focused on preping the girls for marrage rather then living on their own.
-Even though Kathin knows how to think for herself she has trouble making up her mind.
-Kathrine used to be engaged until pearl harbor happened.
-betty tries to get kathrine watson fired the same way that whe got the other teacher fired.
-the story that betty writes for the paper, along with many other things causes katrine to realize just how resestant most of the people in the school are to change.
-the school is only going to let kathrine come back because there are so many girls signed up for her class next year, but because they are opposed to her views they are only going to let her come back under strict conditions which places kathrine in a difficult spot because she doesnt want to conform to the rules but the girls that she loves want her to stay.
-kathrine eventually decides to not come back to welsley but instead goes to europe.
-
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Real time notes on the movie Stand and Deliver.
they are in los angales. the teacher seems to be a soft spoken man. he is teaching math 1a. the class is rambunctious. it appears that he is good at adapting to the situation in order to get his students to listen. there is a gang in the school that thinks they can bully/threaten the teachers into doing what they want. the teacher has a good sense of humor. the teacher is passionate about math. the teacher holds a high standard for his students. he doesn't allow his students to be disobedient and knows how to get them to listen to him. he likes to have fun with his class, to keep them interested. the teacher always does what he thinks is the best for the students. The teacher is really good at inspiring his students to meet and exceed his expectations. even when the teacher is having health problems his only concern is for his family and his students. even when the students are accused of cheating and basically have their hopes crushed they still are able to be nice things for there teacher. the teacher is willing to go to any lengths to help his students succeed.
(omg my notes are messy)
(omg my notes are messy)
Main idea of my first paper.
The main idea that I want readers of my first paper to learn is that your body is important, and that if you don't protect it bad things will happen to you, no matter how skilled you are.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
"Educational Narrative"
Your body is one of the most important things in your life, something you need to protect with your life or... lose your life. Now that might seem obvious to you, but some people need to learn that the hard way, and I was one of those people.
I have always been a very physical person willing to through my body through anything that had a less then 70% chance of hurting me. Even a few years ago (when I was not nearly as strong as I am now) I could probably climb 60 feet in a tree faster then you could run the distance, swim faster, outlast and outplay you at soccer, then go inside and kick your butt at any video game I had, all with a "tooth pick" body and almost no food.
One of the reasons that I could do all of this was because of my iron will power, and the desire to win at everything I did. But the main reason that I could do all of those things is that I would push myself to keep going regardless of the consequences to my body. I can still do all of those things, but I try to keep a more relaxed and passive attitude because I have learned the hard way that doing those kind of things can have some major consequences.
Back about 4 years ago I went to a Christian summer camp with a youth group from Hansville Washington, this summer camp was held at lake Roosevelt in East Washington almost every year and this was my first time going. Lake Roosevelt is about 60 miles long and is one of the best lakes for inner tubing in Washington. There were a lot of different activity's held held at the camp, some of which included volleyball, swimming, inner tubing, capture the flag, and other assorted games. Naturally as soon as we started the first game I began to push my body beyond its natural limits, which was even more dangerous then normal because I'm extremely weak to the heat and it was about 90-100f. As the day went by I began to get hotter and weaker, and about the time that I would have gotten heatstroke we went down to the water for swimming and inner tubing. After about an hour of swimming the boat was ready to go and we all took turns riding behind in the inner tubes. This went on for a couple of days, and we were all having a blast! Our boat driver was very skilled, and would give you the choice of three different levels of difficulty on the rides. A level one ride was a fairly slow basic ride that was all but impossible to fall off of, level two was a decent speed and often took some skill to not flip the tube. Now you might think that a level three ride would be just one step above that, but no that was not the case. A level three ride was more then just a step above that, at level three the driver would put all of his experience and skill to the test, staying on one of those rides was all but impossible, and there was only one guy who could do it, even though it often involved him staying completely submerged in the water for over a minute at a time. On the second or third day that we went out I decided that I wanted to try one of the level three rides, and it was a lot of fun. Well it was a lot of fun until I fell off and landed wrong injuring my back. I remember as soon as my head came out of the water I let out a scream and all but stopped moving because not only was I in shock but my back hurt so bad I thought I was going to die. As soon as they heard me scream they turned the boat around and got me out of the water as fast and safe as they could, then they headed straight for the shore. By the time we got to shore I was no longer in shock, although my back was still in a lot of pain I was able to stand up and walk on to the shore where I spent the next couple of hours laying on a towel recovering. After laying there for a while we did some range of motion/mobility tests and decided that I didn't need to go to the hospital (although I probably should have while it was still a fresh injury). I remember going through what had just happened in my mind trying to figure out why I was injured when no one else was, realizing that I had hit the water before curling up into a ball causing my back to be overextended backwards. After that I refused to ride the inner tubes anymore for the rest of the week, and the next year I was extremely cautious only going on level one rides. That experience started me on the path to learning a lesson that I had needed to learn for a long time, it completely shattered my self confidence as well as the illusion of invincibility that every young boy seems to have. Because of this when I got home I began to pay attention to the risks involved in doing some of the thing that I would do on a regular basis. After a while the pain in my back began to disappear the lessons learned were forgotten and I went back to pushing myself to do a lot of dumb things. In the process of doing all of these things without realizing it I began to make my back worse and worse instead of letting it finish healing. This went more or less unnoticed because I would chalk it up to simply being sore from whatever I had done the day before. After a while I started to notice that instead of being sore for a day or two then getting better my back was just getting worse and worse. As the pain got worse I began to distance myself from doing a lot of challenges in an effort to let my back heal, but instead of healing my back continued to get worse. After a couple months of this I told my parents about my back and they decided to take me to the chiropractor who adjusted my back bringing the pain level down to a manageable level. Ever sense then I have been in a cycle of pain that has forced me to change to a much more laid back life style. Not only has this changed my life style but it also caused me to begin exercising and stretching regularly in order to minimize the risks of something like that happening again. These changes have caused me to realize just how much "living on the edge" affects your body, things like how I used to suffer from migraines almost weekly but now I almost never get them (although I still have a constant headache because of my heritage). It has also caused me to start being the problem solver instead of the problem causer in groups.
(please remember that this IS a rough draft and I AM an inexperienced writer)
I have always been a very physical person willing to through my body through anything that had a less then 70% chance of hurting me. Even a few years ago (when I was not nearly as strong as I am now) I could probably climb 60 feet in a tree faster then you could run the distance, swim faster, outlast and outplay you at soccer, then go inside and kick your butt at any video game I had, all with a "tooth pick" body and almost no food.
One of the reasons that I could do all of this was because of my iron will power, and the desire to win at everything I did. But the main reason that I could do all of those things is that I would push myself to keep going regardless of the consequences to my body. I can still do all of those things, but I try to keep a more relaxed and passive attitude because I have learned the hard way that doing those kind of things can have some major consequences.
Back about 4 years ago I went to a Christian summer camp with a youth group from Hansville Washington, this summer camp was held at lake Roosevelt in East Washington almost every year and this was my first time going. Lake Roosevelt is about 60 miles long and is one of the best lakes for inner tubing in Washington. There were a lot of different activity's held held at the camp, some of which included volleyball, swimming, inner tubing, capture the flag, and other assorted games. Naturally as soon as we started the first game I began to push my body beyond its natural limits, which was even more dangerous then normal because I'm extremely weak to the heat and it was about 90-100f. As the day went by I began to get hotter and weaker, and about the time that I would have gotten heatstroke we went down to the water for swimming and inner tubing. After about an hour of swimming the boat was ready to go and we all took turns riding behind in the inner tubes. This went on for a couple of days, and we were all having a blast! Our boat driver was very skilled, and would give you the choice of three different levels of difficulty on the rides. A level one ride was a fairly slow basic ride that was all but impossible to fall off of, level two was a decent speed and often took some skill to not flip the tube. Now you might think that a level three ride would be just one step above that, but no that was not the case. A level three ride was more then just a step above that, at level three the driver would put all of his experience and skill to the test, staying on one of those rides was all but impossible, and there was only one guy who could do it, even though it often involved him staying completely submerged in the water for over a minute at a time. On the second or third day that we went out I decided that I wanted to try one of the level three rides, and it was a lot of fun. Well it was a lot of fun until I fell off and landed wrong injuring my back. I remember as soon as my head came out of the water I let out a scream and all but stopped moving because not only was I in shock but my back hurt so bad I thought I was going to die. As soon as they heard me scream they turned the boat around and got me out of the water as fast and safe as they could, then they headed straight for the shore. By the time we got to shore I was no longer in shock, although my back was still in a lot of pain I was able to stand up and walk on to the shore where I spent the next couple of hours laying on a towel recovering. After laying there for a while we did some range of motion/mobility tests and decided that I didn't need to go to the hospital (although I probably should have while it was still a fresh injury). I remember going through what had just happened in my mind trying to figure out why I was injured when no one else was, realizing that I had hit the water before curling up into a ball causing my back to be overextended backwards. After that I refused to ride the inner tubes anymore for the rest of the week, and the next year I was extremely cautious only going on level one rides. That experience started me on the path to learning a lesson that I had needed to learn for a long time, it completely shattered my self confidence as well as the illusion of invincibility that every young boy seems to have. Because of this when I got home I began to pay attention to the risks involved in doing some of the thing that I would do on a regular basis. After a while the pain in my back began to disappear the lessons learned were forgotten and I went back to pushing myself to do a lot of dumb things. In the process of doing all of these things without realizing it I began to make my back worse and worse instead of letting it finish healing. This went more or less unnoticed because I would chalk it up to simply being sore from whatever I had done the day before. After a while I started to notice that instead of being sore for a day or two then getting better my back was just getting worse and worse. As the pain got worse I began to distance myself from doing a lot of challenges in an effort to let my back heal, but instead of healing my back continued to get worse. After a couple months of this I told my parents about my back and they decided to take me to the chiropractor who adjusted my back bringing the pain level down to a manageable level. Ever sense then I have been in a cycle of pain that has forced me to change to a much more laid back life style. Not only has this changed my life style but it also caused me to begin exercising and stretching regularly in order to minimize the risks of something like that happening again. These changes have caused me to realize just how much "living on the edge" affects your body, things like how I used to suffer from migraines almost weekly but now I almost never get them (although I still have a constant headache because of my heritage). It has also caused me to start being the problem solver instead of the problem causer in groups.
(please remember that this IS a rough draft and I AM an inexperienced writer)
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Cubing on my own.
Your body is one of the most important things in your life, something you need to protect with your life or you will... lose your life. Now that might seem obvious to you, but some people need to learn that the hard way, I was one of those people.
basically the short version is that i was inertubing when I fell off (which is what usually happens) but I didn't land on the water correctly, my back was injured as a result and I have had to live with the conciquences ever sense.
(the long version will obviously be my paper)
what im going to be cubing about is the human body to help me generate ideas and memories about the experience.
Analyze it- The human body can come in a limetless amount of sizes, colors, and mutations, but in general a body will have certain parts. Some of these parts are not neccicary for life (in todays society), such as the arms, legs, ears, eyes, appendix, etc etc. Some of the parts that are nececary for life though are the spine, brain, heart, etc etc, all of which need to be taken care of or we parish.
Describe it- What defines a human life? Is it the pressence of a random collection of cells with varieing energy come together by random chance to create something with order in this caotic world? Or is it more then that? Something held together, not by chance, but by design and soul? Well that is a topic for another time and paper so I'll leave you to make up your mind on that one. The average human has 2 legs, 2 arms, 1 head, 1 heart, 1 spine, 1 nose, 1 mouth, etc etc etc (there are a lot of "etc" because there are a lot of parts in the human body).
Compare it- The human body is a very unique thing, we lack almost any form of the tipical self defence displayed by animals, as a result of this we are very interdependent and rely heavily on our intelects for survival. Even though we are very different from most animals there are a few that display some of the same traits and some that even look similar! This list includes all mamals, especially monkeys.
Apply it- The body is used for litterally everything we do in some way or another. Everything from eating and sleeping, to designing computers and skydiving.
I'm going to go ahead and post this just to get it out there while I work on my actual rough draft.
basically the short version is that i was inertubing when I fell off (which is what usually happens) but I didn't land on the water correctly, my back was injured as a result and I have had to live with the conciquences ever sense.
(the long version will obviously be my paper)
what im going to be cubing about is the human body to help me generate ideas and memories about the experience.
Analyze it- The human body can come in a limetless amount of sizes, colors, and mutations, but in general a body will have certain parts. Some of these parts are not neccicary for life (in todays society), such as the arms, legs, ears, eyes, appendix, etc etc. Some of the parts that are nececary for life though are the spine, brain, heart, etc etc, all of which need to be taken care of or we parish.
Describe it- What defines a human life? Is it the pressence of a random collection of cells with varieing energy come together by random chance to create something with order in this caotic world? Or is it more then that? Something held together, not by chance, but by design and soul? Well that is a topic for another time and paper so I'll leave you to make up your mind on that one. The average human has 2 legs, 2 arms, 1 head, 1 heart, 1 spine, 1 nose, 1 mouth, etc etc etc (there are a lot of "etc" because there are a lot of parts in the human body).
Compare it- The human body is a very unique thing, we lack almost any form of the tipical self defence displayed by animals, as a result of this we are very interdependent and rely heavily on our intelects for survival. Even though we are very different from most animals there are a few that display some of the same traits and some that even look similar! This list includes all mamals, especially monkeys.
Apply it- The body is used for litterally everything we do in some way or another. Everything from eating and sleeping, to designing computers and skydiving.
I'm going to go ahead and post this just to get it out there while I work on my actual rough draft.
Cubing with the group.
a cell phone is made up of many parts all working together to preform functions both simple and complex. Because a cell phone is so small nearly all of its parts are necicary for it to function, some of the main parts include the battery, the sim card, the attenna, the mother bord, and the memory. while i dont know a whole lot about cell phones or the varius parts they are made out of i will do my best to describe the purpose of the parts i do know about. the battery (obviously) is used to power the phone and is almost always the biggest and heaviest part in the whole phone. the sim card is what is used to store your phone company's information (things like how many minutes you have), its also what is used to identify your phone when your making calls. the memory is used (somtimes the memor and sim card are the same thing) to store things like pictures and calendars. the attenna is (obviously again) used to get reception. and the mother board is used to tie all the pieces together so that they function with eachother and know what they are supposed to do.
A ziplock bag is a useful and vesatile tool unique in many ways. However there are a few items that can preform the same function as a ziplock bag and are often a better alternative. One of these items would be tubberware containers. These containers are much better for carrying things such as liquids and items that can be squeshed like a cupcake, they are also better for carying large items because even though ziplocks come in different sizes they can only open so far. even though tubberware may be the "better" choice people will often choose to use ziplock bags anyways simply because they are so portable and convenient to dispose of while tubberware is not.
notes that our group took.
Decribe it- Putting a vivid picture in to the listener's head. Describing the object with details. Learing about the subject.
Analyze- How the subject works. It's functioning parts and the purpose they serve that makes the device work as a whole.
Apply it- How to use the subject. Where and when the subject can be used.
Compare it- Going into detail as to how each bag can be used; for example the difference between using a ziplock and tubberware.
Apply it- Describe how ziplock's can be used.
Describe it- Describe what a ziplock looks like.
Analyze it- Describe what a ziplock is made out of.
P.S. I know there are a lot of errors but the I asked and the teacher said don't bother cleaning it up before I post it XD.
A ziplock bag is a useful and vesatile tool unique in many ways. However there are a few items that can preform the same function as a ziplock bag and are often a better alternative. One of these items would be tubberware containers. These containers are much better for carrying things such as liquids and items that can be squeshed like a cupcake, they are also better for carying large items because even though ziplocks come in different sizes they can only open so far. even though tubberware may be the "better" choice people will often choose to use ziplock bags anyways simply because they are so portable and convenient to dispose of while tubberware is not.
notes that our group took.
Decribe it- Putting a vivid picture in to the listener's head. Describing the object with details. Learing about the subject.
Analyze- How the subject works. It's functioning parts and the purpose they serve that makes the device work as a whole.
Apply it- How to use the subject. Where and when the subject can be used.
Compare it- Going into detail as to how each bag can be used; for example the difference between using a ziplock and tubberware.
Apply it- Describe how ziplock's can be used.
Describe it- Describe what a ziplock looks like.
Analyze it- Describe what a ziplock is made out of.
P.S. I know there are a lot of errors but the I asked and the teacher said don't bother cleaning it up before I post it XD.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Comparing and contrasting essays by Malcom X and Benjamin Franklin
While both of the pieces are about educational experiences from the author's past there are many differences. One of the differences between the two essays is that Malcom X talks about a particular life experience, while Benjamin Franklin is laying the foundation for the rest of his story. Another difference is the language used by the two authors. Benjamin uses the language of his time (what some would call "Old English"), while Malcom uses a much more modern form of English. Another major difference is that Malcom tells how his experience changed him, while Benjamin's paper is cut off before he gets to that point. Other differences include the length, audience, tone, location, style, humor, details, purpose, and the length of their back-story's.
Even though these papers are different they have a lot of similarities. Some of these similarities would be that they are both about books/reading, they are both written in the language of the authors time period, and they both include personal feelings and thoughts from the experience.
Even though these papers are different they have a lot of similarities. Some of these similarities would be that they are both about books/reading, they are both written in the language of the authors time period, and they both include personal feelings and thoughts from the experience.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Pre-Writing
This might sound a little crazy but I have never actually heard of Pre-Writing before! This is probably because I have been home schooled all my life (these past 2 weeks have been my first "public" schooling of any kind), and have always written my papers in one go. There will probably be many more things that I have never heard of or tried before in my writing practices and I look forward to learning about them and putting them all to good use.
Malcolm X.
As a group we discussed how the Malcom X reading relates to our first unit, as well as our thoughts on the reading. First of all the story talks about an educational experience that Malcom X had during his years in prison. He tells a detailed story that provides a vivid picture in the readers head of what he felt and thought at the time, as well as including ways that this experience has affected him sense happening. Malcom also includes some information about the building and a little bit of history behind why the prison had so many books. This helps the reader to believe his story and definitley grasps their attention. One thing that was interesting from this story was the impact that the experience had on him, and how his new teachings changed his life. This would be great to mention in our own papers...How did my educational experience change me? What was the result of this experience? What did I learn From it? Is the reader going to learn anything from my experience? Malcom begins his piece with some backstory, such as how he was a hustler and could write without using slang, He finished his piece by telling the audience that he is a different man and his interests have changed. What we can take away from this is that in our own paper it would be good to tell the reader who you were before your experience, and how it changed you. I personally liked this story a lot because I have always been an avid reader, so hearing storys where the world of books is opened up to someone has always been special.
Understanding the First Paper Assignment Group Summary.
After discussing the first paper assignment within our group, our understanding of what we are supposed to do is that we must write about an actual educational experience from our past. That as a story the focus should be on our feelings and opinions, we should also be sure to include as many vivid details and thoughts that support our paper as we can. There are a lot of other things we should keep in mind as we write our idividual papers such as, what style am I going to use. Who is my audience. I was there but these people weren't are they going to understand what I am trying to say? Including these details and keeping these thoughts in mind will help make our experiences not only believable, but also enjoyable to read. We also believe that in order to obtain a good grade on our first paper we will need to follow the guidlines provided in the handout such as, using MLA style, and keeping the length of the paper between 1,200-1,500 words long. Some questions we should ask ourselves before beginning are, will my story be compelling? Is my topic/thesis strong enough? Will they understand my overall thesis?
Monday, January 14, 2013
How the short stories can help me write my own.
I appreciate that Joshua J. Romero starts by immediately pointing out how invasive Google can be, in order to put the task of separating yourself from it into perspective. I think this is an interesting style that I would like to use myself, but I must be careful not to drag the story on too long, as I feel he did.
I learned from Feross Aboukhadijeh's "How I Learned to Program Computers" that when you're telling a real life story and you want people to know you're not just making it up, it might be a good idea to include pictures, not only as proof but also to help make your paper more enjoyable to read. I also realized that when you're writing stories online making the words bigger makes it much easier to read. This is because a monitor is usually in a fixed position whereas a book is not. In my paper I will do my best to make sure that I make my point clear. I will provide as much proof and as many facts as I am able to. I will also provide as much entertainment as I can, so that I do my best to convince the reader that my story can have a positive impact on them. I need to be sure not to forget to include my thoughts and feelings on the subject.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
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