Final Reflection

Final Reflection - Please incorporate these nine questions into your final reflective blog for the school year. Keep in mind these questions should be focused on your time in Mrs. Larson's Accelerated English Language Arts classes.:)

1- What are the three most important things you learned this year?

       One thing that I will definitely carry on with me into the future is the time management skills I have learned this year. With more and more work coming from this class and several others, it has been vital to manage my time and make sure not to do everything last minute. Last year I would save everything for Thursday nights and yet this year I have begun my assignments earlier this year. With time management I have realized how much less stressful I can make the end of my week. The homework will only come in larger amounts in high school so I will definitely hold on to that. Another important thing I learned this year was about the rising troubles with terrorist. With all the AoW activities I have learned so much about ISIS and even the re-rising of al-Qaeda. Without the articles I probably would only know basic information about ISIS but the activities have allowed me to learn several aspects of the terrorist group and really how terrible they are. Before this year, where we have focused more on AoW's I wasn't as aware of things happening around the world and important things. Part of the reason is because the news on TV often publicizes the wrong things so the AoW's have given me the opportunity to really learn. Finally I learned in depth coverage and personal experiences from the Holocaust. The lessons we did on the Holocaust really allowed me to further understand and realize the true terrors of what happened. Not only this but I really enjoyed "Night" because it was the first chance at looking at a first hand experience of the Holocaust which made it easier to connect and made it all more real. It has allowed me to understand the situations that they went through.

2- What is something we did this year that you think you will remember for the rest of your life?

       One thing we did this year that I will remember was when we were allowed to bring food in and have a little party among ourselves. I have never had a class or teacher that let us do this so it was really fun to get a break from work and relax with our classmates. I felt as though we were being appreciated in a way because being in this class, well it brings a lot of work and dedication. The parties were nice breaks and I felt as though we had earned our right to do it. Plus eating food is fun as well so it was a really memorable moment I had with my classmates that I will remember. 


       Another thing we did that I think I will remember for the rest of my life is the "Tuesday's With Morrie" reading because it really allowed me to see a new aspect of life and it was a really inspiring story. Well I'm not going to say more cause I talk about it later.

3- What was the nicest thing someone in our class did for you this year?

       Well it has been several people but the nicest things people have done for me have been, helping me understand or figure something out. In this class we have read pieces and done work that has been more complex and that I haven't understood. The people in this class have been so generous and helped me in times where they could have been doing their own thing. Or during the Holocaust Research people helped me find information or websites that related to the question, which was a big help when I was lost. Another project that I feel my peers were a big help in, was the poems because for me, I tend to struggle with poetry. Whether it be analyzing it, or making a drawing out of what the author says, I struggle. But thanks to the amazing students in my class, I was able to get help and make a project I was proud of. Every student in our class is very smart and nice, so I felt very comfortable asking and getting help because of how kind and willing everyone was. So thank you class mates for helping me.

4- What is something you taught your teacher or classmates this year?

      I don't really remember teaching anyone directly during this school year in Language Arts. Umm since we have to pick something I guess I'll do something that was kind of indirect. I think I taught everyone to pay attention and not talk low and monotone. The pay attention thing was because I often would not know the answer to something Mrs. Larson asked me and it was a bit embarrassing. In my defense at times I actually was paying attention but I just didn't know. The other part was about talking in a low or monotone voice because I often did this when speaking, asking, and answering questions. When I did this I would often have to repeat myself, which once again was a bit embarrassing. So I think everyone learned to pay attention and have a good answer. Plus to speak up and be a little more excited about what you are saying. 

5- In what area do you feel you made your biggest improvements? What is something you accomplished this year that you are proud of?

       I think that my biggest area of improvement has to be in my ability to analyze a quote or part of a book/article and further interpret it. This has been the main focus for the past two years I have felt and it has really allowed me to grow and become a better writer. For AoW's and writing assignments when I look back, I have gotten so much better about getting a powerful quote or statistic to add on to my writing. Not only this but being able to write a few sentences on the quote and its importance has been something that I will appreciate and use in high school. I think my best example in which you see this was in my SeaWorld/Blackfish essay. I was able to take research and use it to support and contrast two sides of a debate which I felt was a tough thing to do, but I was really proud of how I did. 

       Something I have really been proud of has been getting A's all year in this class without (I think), having to redo anything. This class has been challenging for me and a goal I set for myself this year was to get A's on the first try so that it would make my life easier and create less stress. So this year I worked really hard on projects and assignments the first time so that it would pay off later on and if I do well on this assignment I will have gotten A's all year in this class which will be a big deal for me.

6- What was the most challenging part of this year for you?

      The hardest part of this year has definitely been keeping up with all my work while still playing sports and doing other activities. There was one point where I had a basketball game after school at 5 on a thursday and I knew I had so much homework that I did a blog on my phone during the bus ride and while I waited in the bleachers for our game to start. There have been nights where I have been up until 2 or 3 in the morning working on homework or projects that I had started at like 6 in the afternoon. Especially with more and more homework coming in from every class, it has become harder to keep up but with time management I have been able to turn everything in. 

       There was another point this year where I just wanted the year to end because I was very negatively minded about school at the time. I think it was because we were in the middle of the year and in a sort of weird stage where is is just week after week of work which really effected me. But as we came towards the end of the year everything got better.

7- What was the best piece of writing that you did this year? Why do you think it is your best?

      My best piece of writing I felt was my SeaWorld/Blackfish Essay. I think one reason was because I felt it was the hardest, and longest paper I have written. I worked on it for a long time and felt that I gathered good information to support my writing. I had never really done a debate paper like that so it presented something new and challenging. It was a harder topic for me because I didn't really know how to write it at first. With the help of my classmates and Mrs. Larson however I was able to research and find evidence to support my side of the argument. With everyones help and my determination to write a good paper, I came out with a well written piece that I was proud to have written. 

      I think it is my best because it was an example of how much we have grown in this class. I went from paragraphs of 5 short sentences to being able to write a essay with evidence and clear thoughts. It is my best paper that has the TIQA format and not only has one side, but shows the other and tries to counter it. It was a long piece that I am proud to say is mine.

8- Of the books you read this year, which was your favorite? Why?

       My favorite book this year was Tuesday's with Morrie. I felt as though when I was reading it really touched me and I felt myself thinking about a lot of things. In fact there have been times during the day where I will be doing something and often think about Morrie's aphorisms which is odd for me because I have never really had a book stick to me like that. I feel as though this is a book that can influence my decisions and stay in my mind for a long time. I have never read a book that has offered these kind of things so I definitely have to go with "Tuesdays with Morrie" as my favorite book for this year. Thank you Mrs. Larson for introducing it to us.

9- What advice would you give students who will be in this class next year?

       DO NOT PROCRASTINATE because it will make the end of your week or the time given for the project feel dreadful. At first you may think I'll save this for Thursday but chances are that there will be other homework, which will just add more hours of homework. You will be a lot less stressed and it will be easier if you do your homework throughout the week. Not only this but then your not exhausted on Friday when you have vocab tests and most likely other tests. When I'm tired I perform worse so I would suggest getting your work done throughout the week. Good Luck guys.

Morrie's Aphorisms - Final Project

“So many people walk around with a meaningless life.They seem half-asleep,even

when they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.” (p. 43)

1- Explain the aphorism in detail. what was Morrie's main message?

     He is trying to tell the world that we get caught up in our work too much and focus too much on things that aren't as important. For example like jobs and our reputation within them can deprive you from being able to have experiences that are so much better. To Morrie the people you love are the most important things and he feels that work often distracts you from them. Another part of this has to do with money. Morrie feels that our society is so focused on money and expensive items that it often distracts us from what has real value in life. His message is to not focus and devote ourselves to our work or material items, but instead to those who we love, to our community, and to our passions that actually help us. He probably realized for himself as well that he wasted some time or close people did because they were too involved in work or personal business. I believe his main message is to not get distracted from our family and things we love by jobs, money, and materialistic items because these things could disappear at any moment while family and love does not.

2-     Relate the aphorism to a movie, song, historical event, current event, personal experience, etc. and explain in detail how the example you have chosen relates to the aphorism.

     In my personal life I have experienced periods of time where I spend very little amount of time with my family over homework, being on my phone, or doing other things. Towards the middle of the year of this past 8th grade I remember coming home from school or a game and starting homework, then not finishing up until 10 or 11 o'clock at night. The reason this relates to Morrie's aphorism is because throughout the week I would get caught up in school work and personal life that I didn't get to spend much time with my family. I would do things like be on my phone, which is far less important than spending time with family. I also think that it relates to a lot of movies, not just one in which the children aren't paid too much attention to. There has been several movies and even friends I have had whose parents get so wrapped up in themselves and really don't bother to go to any of their child's events. Some of the kids are stars at whatever they are doing but their parent's are so stuck in their own world that they miss the opportunity to witness a special moment of their child's. 

3-     Evaluate the aphorism by explaining why you agree/disagree with it. Give specific reasons for your position and specific evidence from the text to support your position.

     I agree with the aphorism because of my personal experiences and the way Mitch was living before he once again reunited with Morrie. For example in the book Mitch is so caught up in work that he didn't have time for his wife or time to start a family. In fact he was so caught up by the way he described it that I thought that his wife had left him but that was not the case. He instead wasted his time on material items such as money or cars which didn't give him the same joy that being with Morrie did. The part I am going to focus on in my personal life is the part about devoting ourselves that gives us purpose and meaning. For me this aspect of life is basketball because although I can say school, I feel like school is different because it is an obligation to start with. Basketball has always been a passion of mine that has helped me, introduced me to new people, and gives me purpose. The feeling you get when you see how much practice has paid off is something irreplaceable. Not only this but the people I have met through the sport have been such a large influence on my life. 


     I am creating a separate paragraph because this is a combination of numbers 2 and 3. There is this song called Wesley's Theory by an artist named Kendrick Lamar in which he expresses his ambitions before blowing up in the music industry. This song proves Morrie's aphorism wrong in a way because Morrie says that the most important things in life are family and love, that money often blinds us. Yet this song and the rest of his album shows that sometimes money is the only way out and only thing that can make a family happy. Especially for those who grow up in poor, dangerous communities that need to get out. Sometimes the only source of happiness is making it out and being able to buy your mom a new house. So Morrie for the most part is correct but I feel as though Morrie doesn't think people should care about money and clothes but I think everything is based off of how you grow up. 

4-     Take a picture of your aphorism to use as your graphic. 

My Aphorism: Mentality is everything. Your mentality will be what puts you ahead or leaves you behind.

Which 'Tuesday' Has Inspired You?: Week of 2-27-15

Based on the 6 Tuesdays you have read about in Tuesdays with Morrie, choose which topic (The World, Feeling Sorry For Yourself, Regrets, Death, Family, or Emotions) that has had the most impact on you or inspired you. On your blog discuss the importance of this topic with your own opinions, including textual evidence (direct quotes) from the book. 


The Fourth Tuesday where they talked about death was definitely most influential on me. Not necessarily because of what he said about dying but because of his quote about sleepwalking. Morrie says "most of us all walk around as if we're sleepwalking." He is basically saying that we don't fully appreciate everything and experience everything we can. This message stuck with me because when I thought about it, I realized how true it was. For me I sometimes live life very routinely, sometimes even planning my day out the day before. I would literally plan; wake up, go to school, do this for this class and this class, go home, get a bit of free time, eat, homework, and take a shower. On a lot of days I just did my work and ignored other things, just going through life in a routine fashion. The problem with this is that I often ignore some things or am to focused on school that I forget to appreciate everything. With that quote I think I will learn to become more appreciative and take advantage of more opportunities. I think as a young person you think that you have all the time in the world. It allows me to sometimes just waste time and go on without really appreciating many of the aspects of my life.

Morrie captures this exact mentality when he says "once you live how to die, you learn how to live." I think its this idea that when you learn you are going to die soon, you begin to appreciate and take advantage of every minute. Thats what I haven't done, I often lay around and do things that have no importance instead of doing something that will help me. When it comes to something like homework I am really bad about wasting time. It often takes me a long time to actually focus in which wastes like an extra 30 minutes. I really want to become more focused on not wasting my time and that quote helped me realize that a little better.

Overall I have taken parts of all of Morrie's lessons. In a lot of ways what he says I feel if I focused a little more I could become a better person. I wanted to share something from Morrie that wasn't from the actual Tuesday meetings but from the Nightline interview. Its two parts, when he says "Accept the past as the past, without denying or discarding it" and "learn to forgive yourself." This for me were things that really stuck because of the way I am. I often dwell on mistakes or past events in which I could have or should have done something different. I often spend too much time and it affects the way I act and often makes me feel a little worse. I think if I can learn from those quotes it would make me feel better overall and could really help me.

Tuesdays With Morrie

What are your initial reactions to what you have read in Tuesdays with Morrie thus far? One of the main themes developing in Tuesdays with Morrie is not to take your life for granted. Based on this premise, what is on your Bucketlist? You can write a paragraph leading up to a bulleted list of what you would like to do/accomplish in your life.

Tuesdays With Morrie has been an easy, yet highly enjoyable read. What I really like is the fact that it is a true story, not some fictional character. I'm learning about a real person who really did teach these morals and learn these things. It makes it easier to connect to the story and learn morals from the book. Not only this, but how crazy that Mitch actually ever went back to visit his old professor in the first place. He happened to see him on the TV, which chances are that was really rare and because of that I'm guessing it changes his life. The future is what I'm really looking forward to. In the book, Mitch turns out to be about money and his job. It takes over his life and that is exactly what Morrie had warned his students not to do. I think after Morrie passes away and even while he is still alive that Mitch will change his lifestyle because of Maurie. 


Morrie has been a person, who I find very interesting. The way he carries himself and lives his life is inspiring. Yet I understand some of the concepts that he is telling Mitch. For example when he says that he is lucky and Mitch is confused I understood it the more I thought about it. He is lucky because he knows he is going to die so he gets to decide how he is going to live out his life and picks who he wants to see before he dies. While others who die suddenly or at a young age don't get to see certain people before they die and don't get to say goodbye to all those they care about. Another part I found really intriguing about Morrie was when he cried about people dying across the world. Nowadays we see death on the news and hear about it all the time, yet it is so normal to us that no one really cries unless the person is famous or close to them. When Morrie cried it was odd to me, he didn't know them at all. It really made me think and its still stuck with me. 

This book has really made me think about celebrities and the media. Mitch follows them and reports about them, but I think when he writes about how they do nothing for us it got to me. I mean we idolize all these people and yet they have never done anything for us, and we have never seen them. I mean its crazy the way our society works. The people who do all these things for us everyday, we take for granted. The stars we see on TV we buy shirts of, buy their things, and praise them, even though we've never meet them. They have done nothing for us. This book really for the first time made me think about that to a further extent.

Okay I have never seriously thought about a bucket list or written anything down. To me it seems like something to do when I get older or not really something I have too much interest in. For me I want to get through school and find a career before I plan out crazy things or interesting things I want to do. I mean I'm sure as I get older I'll have more interest and want to do things but right now I don't have too much. Since I have to make a list I guess here it is:

-Go to a Super Bowl (Hopefully the Bears make it)
-Meet Michael Jordan
-Go to a Kendrick Lamar concert
-See the Wall of China
-Start a shoe collection
-Go to college on a scholarship or with help
-Play basketball in college
-Go to Carnival in Brazil
-Coach basketball one day (any level I guess)
-Dunk (especially on someone)
-Zip Line
-Bungie Jumping
-Go on a cruise
-Buy my parents and grammas better houses or improve them
-Sit court side at a bulls game
-Run a marathon

Life Is Beautiful vs. Night: Week of 4/13

Based on the Holocaust literature and poetry we have read, what connections can be made between Life is Beautiful and our reading?  What events, scenes, or situations are similar or different? What is similar or different about the mood or tone of the pieces?

Life is Beautiful and Night both have stories of a father and son connection. In both instances the son is what keeps the father going and fighting for another day. Guido from Life Is Beautiful doesn't show the hard work and pain he has gone through, for the sake of his son, which keeps him strong. In Night the father doesn't hide the fact that he is getting old and taking a beating, but he continues to fight for his son. A large difference that I noticed between their bonds though, was the fact that in Night the relationship doesn't develop until they are separated from the rest of their family and only have each other. While in Life Is Beautiful Guido is already very protective and passionate about his son. For example when the sign on the shop says no Jews allowed, he makes up a lie to his son that you can keep anyone out. While Elie's father in Night wasn't really a big part of his life, he had other importances to deal with. Another difference is the ages of the two sons, one being 13 the other being a young child. Therefore Elie also had to work and struggle among his father, see the realities of the camp. The child in Life is Beautiful has no idea of what is going on because of Guido's ability to make a story and hide his child from reality. Finally the last similarity between the father-son connection is the fact that both fathers die, right before liberation. They both die without their sons knowing of it, but both have to move on.

 The second big connection between both is that it shows their lives before the actual concentration camp itself. Both characters were living relatively happy lives, with passions of their own. Guido's being his passion towards his what would be wife and son. Elie having his whole religion concept. Yet the difference between the two characters is the way they treat their passions once they enter the camps. Elie begins to question god and by the end has completely gone against and forgotten it all. Guido on the other hand is still determined to contact his wife, which is dangerous but he still continues to do it. 

The mood/tone for both stories is completely different. Although both leave you sad in a way at the end, the entire story is completely different in mood/tone. In Life is Beautiful the entire story has humor within it, even when some of the horrid things about the camps are mentioned. While in Night there is no humor, instead a dreadful mood. Guido the entire movie makes up things and games out of everything for his son, but its funny for the audience. Even after his father dies the audience laughs because of the arrival of a tank. Or when Guido jokes about wearing his prison-mates as his clothes. The audience realizes its a terrible thing, yet I feel its taken a bit more lightly because of the way Guido presents it all. On the contrast in Night its a story of the deprivation and painful journey. Since its actually a real story there is no humor, because in the camps no one laughed because of the state of everyone. The book of Night is more precise, therefor there is no added humor. While in Life is Beautiful the humor is added because there is also a story of family. This allows the writer to add humor because its not just a holocaust story. 

I feel like the poem I had "It All Depends at How You Look at It" and Life is Beautiful are actually fairly similar in a few ways. In my poem it started off by saying the Terezin is full of beauty. Not because of what is in it, but because of what it makes us appreciate is the message I understood. In Life is Beautiful when in the camp he made a beautiful story because of the way he was able to keep his son safe and innocent, not because of the camp. Secondly in my poem the fact that the entire world is unfair makes the author and those in the camp feel a bit better. In the movie it is Guido's son that makes him feel better and continue to fight on. 

How is life shown as beautiful throughout the film. Pull out at least two examples from different parts of the film and explain your rationale.

I felt in watching the film a second time, that there are instances throughout the entire movie where life in some way is beautiful. The way I saw life as beautiful was Guido's passion towards his wife and son. It's beautiful the troubles he goes through for his family and how much he risks to protect them. For example at the beginning when he shows up as the inspector its the start of a true passion. They are both always happy to see one another and Guido is determined to see her. I think you really see life is beautiful in the instance where she goes under the table and tells him to take her away. You see how happy he makes her and that she is willing to give up everything else. It shows how they felt about each other and that everything would be good when they were together. Finally I want to go to the end of the movie. We all know about how Guido protected his son throughout their time in the camp but the end really shows it all. Although Guido dies his son didn't bear any terrible, scarring memories from the camp and he is reunited with his mother. It shows that Guido did complete his goal and that life is beautiful because his son and wife are safe, which he would have been happy about.

Night: Week of March 30

Focus Question: How do Elie's experiences during the Holocaust change him as a person?

Elie Wiesel changes drastically during his time at home, to when he is being liberated from his last concentration camp. The two aspects in which I thought you saw clear progression throughout the whole book were in his belief/practices of religion and his relationship with his father. To start the book, in his town he is obsessed with his religion, wanting it to be the main part of his life. On page 1 he "asked my(his) father to find me(him) a master to guide me in my studies of the cabbala." His father responded in telling him that he was too young for that. Clearly he was so obsessed that he was going beyond what was usual for his age, because he wanted to learn more. When he has been moved to Auschwitz you can see that he begins to question god but isn't really fully swung into not believing or having hope. Elie says "I did not deny God's existence, but I doubted His absolute justice." The key word in this sentence is doubted, because doubted doesn't mean denying, but it means that there is a feeling of uncertainty. At this point there is still some belief that god is good, but he is really beginning to question it all. Then I think it is when they are at Buna in which they witness hangings. Then it was either on New Year when Elie says "As I swallowed my bowl of soup, I saw in the gesture an act of rebellion and protest against Him." At the beginning of the book he praises god and wants to know all about his religion, while the concentration camps have driven him to not only question God's justice but rebel against him in a way. When the time of his liberation has come, his father is no longer with him. His only will, was to eat, and he no longer mentions god. I think his father was what kept him going mentally and the fact that he was gone, caused him to not really think about anything anymore. His family was dead so in a way there was no point in living for Elie anymore. At the beginning Elie is obsessed with religion and god. Then as the book progresses he questions and goes against go because of his silence, in allowing all this to happen. Yet by the end of the book he no longer speaks of god, because he has nothing left.


Also having to do with his father, is the way their relationship develops throughout the book. At the beginning of the story he and his father are distant, his father is more concerned with the community and doesn't pay all that much attention to his son. AT the beginning when he is describing his father, he says "He was more concerned with others than his own family." Then when they are actually sent to the concentration camp everything changes. There is no longer a community, but I think what brought them together the most, was that they were separated from the rest of their family at arrival. When they are transported to Buna, Elie has the opportunity to go to a better working area. He responds in saying "I certainly do. But on one condition: I want to stay with my father." Just a week or so earlier, he and his father were hardly together, yet now thats what mattered. I feel as though in this instance, had the person said no, that only Elie could go, Elie would have turned it down to stay with his father. Later on his father was selected to be killed but after better inspection he was not killed. Before he was sent to better inspection he gave his son, some valuable items at the time, showing that they were looking out for one another no matter what. You see their relationship really develop. They talk more and every decision is based off of one another's best interest. Then after they are leaving their last real concentration camp, where his father was alive, you see how much they mean to each other. Elie says "My father's presence was the only thing that stopped me... I had no right to let myself die." At this point either of them would have given up, had it not been for the other person. They are basically living for one another, not because of God or hope, but for each other. When his father dies, Elie no longer really shows any sense of emotion. He isn't physically dead, yet you feel as though mentally he has died. He has nothing left. Throughout the book when Elie even thinks about leaving his father he immediately feels ashamed, which shows their bond. There are other foils of their relationship that really bring out how special they are to one another. One is when Rabbi Eliahou comes looking for his son. Elie knows that his son left him on purpose to lose the burden of worrying about his father, but doesn't say anything. Then there is an extreme instance in which a son kills his father over a piece of bread. These instances really show how strong Elie and his father were and the bond that they had.

"It All Depends on How You Look at It" by Miroslav Kosek Butterfly Project

Comments: Nadrian, Gabe, Jesus, Elenia