Monday, April 24, 2017

Anticipating the Next Book

2. If you are in a position of power, you are happy.

Response: Many examples from the books we have read either contradict or prove this statement. Something that proves this statement is, in Lord of the Flies we saw that as Jack began to gain followers of his own the power went to his head and he was, in a sense, happy. I think that just because you are in a position of power, it doesn't mean that you are necessarily happy. Someone could easily be unhappy while in a position of power.

5. Women are more compassionate and less violent than men.

Response: Men are thought to be more violent than women in today's world, but women are capable of doing most of the same things men are. In ancient times, the men left their villages to hunt and gather food, and women stayed inside and cooked or wove cloth, but just because things were like this then, doesn't mean that they are incapable of violence. From my perspective, women and men can be equally violent.

Hits and Misses

This year in English, I have struggled through many writing projects, but I have also done well in some. Some assignments that I think I have done well on were the conjoined project with World History and the literary analysis on Lord of the Flies. I feel that my best writing was shown in these pieces of writing. For the project we completed with our World History class, I think that the reason my paper was thorough and well-written, was because I was interested in the topic that I was writing about and was enjoying the research of this topic.

Although I have done well in some writing assignments, I have struggled to complete some to the best of my ability. For example, I think that my skill was lacking in the personal narrative and most of the blog posts. My focus was on other subjects at the time of the personal narrative, and I think that affected my ability to write a well thought out essay. For the blog posts my main struggle has been keeping up with my submissions and completing the two paragraph requirement. Overall, I feel that I could have done better in all of my writing assignments and hope to try harder to put forth my best effort next year.

Monday, April 10, 2017

Book Update 4/10

Now that we are reading Purple Hibiscus by Cimamanda Ngozi Adichie, I have come up with what I think is a good way to gain all of the needed information and annotate thoroughly. I have ben reading each chapter first, and then later going back to annotate. I do this so that I can already have an idea of what's happening so I can make good notes. This does take a little bit more time than annotating while reading, but it's worth it in the end.

I haven't really faced very many challenges throughout the book so far, but I have found it difficult to keep up with the reading assignments. I am a relatively slow reader, so with all of these fast-paced assignments I've had a hard time getting finished on time. I have tried my best to improve my reading speed, and I think I am finally becoming a better reader overall.


Prompt 4/10

What advice would you give younger kids about
middle or high school?

If I had to give some advice to a younger student, then I would say to always put forth your best effort and try not to procrastinate. Just get all of your work done before and then do something fun. Don't wait until the night before to study, study the week before every night to keep the information fresh in your mind. Put yourself in a place where there are no distractions. For example, don't be near your gaming console while you're doing work, you may be tempted to grab your controller and play. 

Throughout middle school, be sure to be focused in class, sometimes you can be distracted and miss crucial information. If you are missing class for some reason, either call a friend or e-mail your teacher to find out what you went over in class. If needed, the next day during a free period, go to see them and talk about any material you don't understand. Most importantly, stay organized and keep your work in places you can find it in.

Monday, April 3, 2017

Blog Comments 3/30

Alex W - Music

Trevor H - Marijuana Should Be Legal

Political Response

The article that I chose to respond to is about how the house republicans are pulling the health care bill. The main ideas that are focused on in this article are how the Republicans have tried so hard and finally achieved their goal to eradicate Obamacare. This article also tells of how Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House, was threatened by Trump to vote for the repeal bill of Obamacare. Trump posted online that Obamacare was exploding, and a new healthcare system needed to be created for the people. 

I personally am not affected by this choice in that my family is not involved with Obamacare. Although, I do feel that Trump went too far by threatening Paul Ryan. I chose this article by looking up recent political news on CNN and I found this interesting. One reason I am not really affected by this is that my family is mainly Democratic so I don't really keep up with the recent political news.


Source Link

I was unable to get into my blog and e-mailed it to you on time.

Sunday, March 19, 2017

Learning Reflection

This year I have learned that I am actually not bad at writing poems. It is not something that I typically picture myself doing in the long run, but I think that I may be exceptional at writing. I never really enjoyed writing but when I have a prompt and I can get involved in it, I could write a good amount. For writing prompts on tests and essays, I can't get involved in them so my writing is not typically me best.

I have tried just free writing or maybe even writing my own stories and I feel that my work is not bad for someone my age. I don't like showing others my writing because I tend to be embarrassed of my writing. I don't want to go into the writing business, I think that I will only do it for my own enjoyment.

Free Post

This year has gone by so fast. It feels like just yesterday I was coming into high school for the first time and meeting my new teachers. I can not imagine how the seniors are feeling with graduation right around the corner and college not to far ahead. I know it's early but the recurring question in my head is, what do I want to work on for the rest of my life.

I'm only a freshman but I still can't help to think that I won't be able to figure out what I want to do. I know that I definitely don't want to do something that will bore me for the rest of my life. Figuring out what I want to do will also help me figure out what kind of college I want to attend. I've always enjoyed acting, but that's not a solid profession, and the odds of me making it in that industry are slim to none. Anyways, I still have three more school years to figure it out.

Monday, March 6, 2017

Analysis of Ice Ice Baby

The first time I heard Ice Ice Baby I was hooked instantly and I knew that I wanted to analyze this song. In this song there are many references to the underprivileged life. This song has many types of rhyme and poetry, but one that is the most prevalent throughout the song is End Rhyme. This song contains a story of how there is a party and the police have arrived on the scene and shots have fired.

I think that this song really speaks to me and I feel that this is the epitome of today's modern world. The reason that I chose this song is that Vanilla Ice is one of my favorite artists and I happen to love his music.

Mardi Gras Break

During this Mardi Gras break I went to Driver's Ed at Stop 'n' Go. I have to say that it was one of the most boring experiences of my life. The instructor, Ms. Kay, would not stop talking about herself and honestly I'd rather be learning how to drive than be learning about her personal life. I did meet some people that are now my friends, and I was accompanied by Bea and Jack.

The actual material was not that difficult and I learned it pretty quickly, but with Ms. Kay nonstop talking I decided to take it up myself and finish the workbook. Others never finished chapter six, and I think that gave me an edge when it came to exam time. Overall it was an interesting experience in that I made new friends and learned new things. Finally I ended up passing the exam with an 85%.

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Blog Comments 2/23

Makenzie - Skill(s)Z i have learned surfing the inter webs for project research

Ella Clair - Vocal Words

Prospering Man

In the dawn, on the field, where the willows flow with the wind
A man lay, tall and thin
On his face a long, broad grin
For he had finally taken time from his busy life
To appreciate all that was good and right

To stand would be a waste of good energy
If he moved he would venture out of serenity
To leave this placid, peaceful place
Could surely be classified as a disgrace
For he was the last of the human race



I used Assonance, End rhyme, and Alliteration.

Vocabulary.com Words

This year has consisted of many impediments, some in the form of sports and others in the form of distraction and procrastination. Throughout my classes so far this year I have been struggling with english the most. For some reason I have trouble with grasping the material and problems remembering it when I do finally grasp it. Something about english class just doesn't entice me like the others.

I have learned to love math over the years and caught on quite fast, but I haven't been able to do the same with english. I hope that I am able to learn to love english in the future. In the future I will try to take as many precautions as I can to make the best grades and put forth my best effort.

Monday, February 6, 2017

Research

My research has been moving at quite a slow pace. One thing I have learned so far throughout this process are that writing a research paper is much more than just sitting down and typing, you have to write an outline and refer back to your sources. Another thing that I have learned in this writing process is that at first I thought that this process would be overwhelming but in truth it wasn't that bad. 

I think that the project and paper being a part of both World History and English was a good idea because we can get them out of the way now and not have to do two separate projects for these two separate classes. One thing I would like to learn more about is a good way to manage the amount of information that I put on my notecards. I think that the amount of information that I ended up putting on the notecards was a little insufficient.