Semester One Journals
Prompts |
Responses |
How did you feel about your individual presentation? What skills do you feel are strong? What skills do you feel you most want to practice/improve? Describe and respond to the experience of the hot seat. (250) |
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10/29/15
Oedipus Presentations How did you feel about your group presentation? What skills do you feel are strong? What skills do you feel you most want to practice/improve? Describe your successes as a group and as an individual with your presentation. What changes would you make if you were to start this project over? Describe in detail what you did as an individual in this group and if you are deserving of the same score as others. (250 words minimum) |
I feel as if my group’s presentation went well, although, if we had more time to present, we could, and would, have included more information and spent more individual time on each slide. I feel as if my group’s research skills are strong, but we should practice and strengthen our "time on presentation" skills. Such as shorten or lengthen the amount of time we spend on a slide so we can fill a time period to the best of our abilities. Personally, I feel like I want to learn how not to rely on notecards and outlines as much. I believe my strengths included voice level, voice projection and eye contact.
If I were to start this project over, I would include more gods/goddesses, superstitions, male versus female religious activities and more information on how religion affects society. As an individual, I researched information on the gods, looked for most of the pictures, updated the background (with Manda's help), and I made MLA sources for the pictures and some of the websites. Work wise, yes, I do believe I have earned the same grade as the rest of my group, but presentation wise, I believe that I was the weak link, and that I could have done better. My goal, as normal is to improve my presentation skills |
11/4/15
Oedipus First Impressions What first impressions do we have of Oedipus as a leader? Use quotes with line numbers from the text to support your opinions and ideas. (250 words minimum) |
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4. 11/10/15
Oedipus and Creon How do you anticipate Oedipus will react toward Creon? How would you react in his situation? How have you reacted in the past when you believed someone was “out to get you?” (250) |
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5. 11/19/15
Multiple Translations Using the different translations of the Chorus’ response to Oedipus’ situation, identify key differences/similarities. You may also identify which translation was most accessible to you and why. Use quotes when referring to the different translations: VIU, Kafkas, Harcourt Press, Gutenberg. (250) |
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6. 11/30/15
Essay Writing Describe your experience with essay writing assignments: how they were presented to you, the steps you took, topics you wrote about, editing, peer workshopping. (250) |
In past experience, teachers have given me essay writing assignments before and after book lessons, to understand me at the beginning of the year, and critic me at the end. I have been given essay assignments to describe a unit, or object. Often the essays are between five hundred words and three pages, usually easy lengths.
Like everyone, I have written amazing essays, and those that are not so amazing. I remember once that I wrote a story for freshman English about myths for the Greek God’s. It was terrible! While I wrote well enough, I missed the goal of the assignment. After presenting it, I finally realized my mistake when my classmates giggled about how bad my essay was. When writing an essay, I tend to just write. I don’t take any particular steps, I get the assignment, think for a bit, and start typing. I edit when I’m done, reading through a few times, then having a peer read through it. And after the assignment is written and edited, I turn it in. Writing like that is easy enough for me that I normally don’t have to re-write or edit major sections, it's already done. I hate peer workshopping. While I like to have people critique me on my work, and I like to critique others’ for ideas, it drives me insane when people write on my paper, or change something I purposely write down because they didn’t like it or agree with it. I also don’t like peer workshopping because it makes me feel insecure with my writing, like I could do better, even though I could easily receive a perfect grade. |
7. 12/1/15
Honors Behavior Describe what you envision as Honors Behavior. Do you feel you have been exhibiting those behaviors? How so? What are the advantages to acting in those ways? (250 |
I envision honors behaviors to include being respectful, responsible and cooperative. A student should follow directions and listen without needing to be reminded of their position, a student should take responsibility for their actions. A student should not lie, cheat, or steal. A student should act their age, and an honors student should act more mature than their age normally entails.
I believe I have done a decent job following these expectations. And excluding a few instances, I have strived to follow these classroom “rules”. Although, no one is perfect, and I have talked and read during lessons, and not given the teacher (or other students) my complete attention. I do believe that I honor my belief of students being cooperative, responsible, and respectful to the best of my ability. Most of the time. There are bad days for me (often enough I can’t really use them as an excuse, I apologize) and there are days where I’m so depressed or tired I can barely function. (I am going back on depression medication soon, and I try to get as much sleep as I can). I do not lie other than to not hurt another’s feelings, I do not cheat, unless you count asking Cameryn to see a math problem so I can see what I’m doing wrong cheating. I do not steal, I try to act my age, and I think I do well on that, more often than not. When a student is responsible, respectful, and cooperative with a mature attitude, I believe he or she acts the part of an honors student. Some advantage to this are pride for oneself, and one’s peers, when in a public or monitored setting. Treated like an adult, even as that isn’t always the best thing for a teenager, and the ability to be given more privileges. |
8. 12/2/15
Free Write Must be school appropriate (250) |
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9. 12/3/15
Seating Seating (charts) and effects on the classroom/learning (250 with research) |
According to k12 Teacher Staff Development, seating charts are a great way for a teacher to maintain control of a classroom. A quote from their website says “Therefore, seating arrangements may be a cause for the decline of student performance as attention span, concentration, comprehension and the retaining of information can be influenced by where the student chooses to sit.”
While k12 Teacher Staff Development gives concrete evidence on why seating charts are conducive to student attention and learning experience, it struggles to represent the arguing side. Education World gives both sides with easier to follow verification. Education World gives this quote by Marlynn Elliot Fulton to support the debate for seating charts: "I agree that the physical arrangement to seating and the assignment (or lack thereof) to such is basic classroom management, there is a very delicate balance between the teacher communicating a sense of territory (teacher in charge) and the students feeling comfortable and at home, each of us has to find the balance that best suits us and the class we are teaching. Just think of the differences between the cozy reading corner with rocker and rug found in most kindergarten classrooms and the rigidly organized rows one sees in certain high school classrooms. Each has its place and purpose." Education World also gives reason not to have a seating chart. Students are people too, and people don’t like to be controlled by others. Why are students being subjected to assigned seating to be more manageable and easily controlled by teachers any different? Phil Clinton, a principal in Moscow, Russia, gave a small speech about this topic at a Listserv debate not long ago. "All this talk about control in the classroom is very interesting but more than a bit disconcerting. Is it really a question of controlling our students? Not that I'm for education in chaos, mind you, but is control really the aim here? What about the belief that those students are actually people and that none of us likes to be controlled? There is research and experience to show that students who have a voice in establishing the rules are much more likely to internalize and truly support/follow those rules." In conclusion, there is debate and research showing that assigned seating shows teacher dominance and can persuade student involvement, but also reasons showing why seating charts are not conducive to student learning. |
10. 12/9/15
Free Write Must be school appropriate. (250) |
I feel the need to become a fan-girl for a few minutes. The Game of Thrones season six teaser trailer aired about two weeks ago, and I am beyond excited.
Game of Thrones is set in a world where magic roams free, one might say. And a well-known running gag for it is that George R.R. Martin loves to kill off characters. There are seven main character lines (Daenerys, Tyrion, Bran, Jon, Cersei, Sansa, and Arya) and multiple sub-lines. Daenerys is the daughter of the mad king, a previous king on the Iron Throne in Westeros. She went into hiding with her older brother Viserys, and was later sold by said brother to a Kahl in the Dothraki tribes in exchange for an army to take back their throne from the Usurper, Robert Baratheon, friend to Ned Stark, Lord of the North, and father to Bran, Jon, Sansa, Arya, and more. Khal Drogo, Daenerys husband later kills Viserys due to the boy’s rudeness towards his sister. He kills him with gold for his crown, the one thing he wanted he didn’t have, and couldn’t get without the aid of the Kahl. Daenerys received three dragon eggs (thought to be preserved stone from the age of them) and later brought them into a funeral pyre with her when she burned her husband and her husband’s killer. She emerged unharmed with three baby dragons as her surviving children. Later, by deception for the cause of justice for those who don’t have voice, acting against slavers, for the slaves, she became queen with an army thousands strong. Tyrion, also called the Imp, is a dwarf, and the youngest child of the three Lannisters, who the daughter, Cersei, is the King Robert’s wife. Tyrion is clever beyond measure, and is the reason his nephew the second King Baratheon, Joffrey (may he burn in the Underworld for eternity) won the war. He is also suspected of Joffrey’s murder, which he did not commit, but wishes he had. Tyrion was convicted of his nephew’s death, and after murdering his father (his first cold-blooded kill) he left the City of Kings with the spy master and sailed towards Queen Daenerys, who he now serves as her clever adviser, and her weapon against the usurper and his children. If I were to go any farther into the storylines and characters of Game of Thrones, this would become a very confusing, very fantastical book series (finished before George R.R. Martin, may he live long enough to finish his works of wonder) and we would be here for days. |
11. 12/16/15
‘Tis the Season What are some of your favorite memories of the season? What do you struggle with at this time of year? (251) |
I don't have many happy memories of the holiday season. I do have memories I am fond of that are remnants of my shitty childhood, but they are few. Normally the Winter Holidays, such as Christmas and New Years, are stressful and frustrating. I guess I struggle the most with my family. I am...estranged from some, and others absolutely annoy me.
Most of my family is Christian, either Catholic or Lutheran, with some baptist in the mix, so the holiday Christ was born is important. I just wish they would listen to reason. Such as Christian religions are new, on a timeline of religion, and many of their holidays and beliefs can be seen earlier in history. Such as Christmas is a Christian view of the Pagan Yule. The calendar and the way days, weeks, months and years are set up now is different than how they were set up three thousand years ago, when Jesus was said to be born. His birthday really should be in spring. So besides my views on religion, polarized from most of my family’s, I tend not to get along with them also. I rarely talk to my dad, as he is always working and his...job can be dangerous. I believe he doesn't want enemies, such as Isis, finding out he has children, so he doesn’t call often, and he never visits. His wife, Jessie, and her family all hate me, and I dislike them, so we never talk. Jessie’s mom sends me a card for Christmas, normally with a Christian ornament, and she sends my brothers a card, gift, and often money on the side, because they have never openly said anything against her religion, political views, and they don’t act differently from social standards. My mom’s family is barely better. They are all wealthy snobs who have done everything to be sure they get that promotion, or become the best doctor or lawyer they can be. My mom, brothers and I are looked on as embarrassments, because my mom dropped out of med school due to a major depression problem. My grandmother doesn’t believe in mental illness. Another reason they only ever speak to us when something big is going on in their lives, is because my mom doesn’t make much money, and can’t travel on the family vacations, or go to all the fancy weddings. I have stopped celebrating Christmas, instead I celebrate Yule some years, and nothing others because I don’t want to become the person my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins want me to be. I don’t identify to any religion, which makes me an anomaly in a family where religion means a lot. The holiday season is not a time for me to be happy and joyus. It's a time for me to be disappointed and lonely and hyped up on depression medication. |