There are two things about group projects that I recognize every time I have to do one. The first being about my own way of working and the second about the general benefits of group projects.
Jane Eyre will not be my favorite book, but just one I will remember. So, I realized that with books I don't actually adore, but still have to do projects on...I like working in groups. Although I like working in groups, I still have the burning desire to run the whole thing and do stuff how I want to do it. Luckily, I've somewhat learned to suppress that idea and try to collaborate. I didn't have a group I thought I was going to end up with, but it turns out that we worked pretty well and got things done when they needed to get done.
The benefits of group projects is that you can not pinpoint exactly what one group member did or said, so Mr. Allen, if you decide not to like something, you won't know if it was me or my other group members who said the said thing. But, for group projects that shouldn't really happen because groups help generate more ideas and thoughts you wouldn't create on your own.
So, that's what I felt about this project other than the yearning for a different day to have it due...I really like actually having my day off, be offfff.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Metacognition: Jane Eyre
Mr. Allen, you were right. This book was lengthy and didn't have an action packed plot line, but I got through it. There were 3 things I had happen to me or I did while reading this book. 1, I tried to not skim the pages. 2, I tried to put my frame of mind in a 19th century women. 3, soak up the conversations we had in class.
This book was loooonnngggg. It had details and details about things I wouldn't normally care about in a book. In 8th grade, I read the book Pride and Prejudice and it had the same feel. There were details about the path she took or the room she was in and to be honest, I just did not care to hear about that at all. Those details had very little direct impact to the plot and I'm an impatient person, but for some reason, I got through passages without skimming the pages. So...that's one I tried to think about.
Second, I tried to make myself a person, as Taylor mentioned, would be ok in the kitchen. I like cooking, and I like saying the word "sammich" but I'm not going to just make you one. Reading this book made it difficult for me not to just annotate the page saying..."omg Jane, just kick him in the shin with your Uggs cuz Uggs happen to be a great weapon." I had to remember that not all places and times are what we have today. In Jane's time, she would be ok with submitting-to a degree-and that was that.
Thirdly, I realized when I totally don't understand the book while reading it, the class discussions help a lot. At some points I'm very narrow minded and can not get out of my one way of thinking. The discussions made me put my views on the drawing board and mold them to something more radical or just more logical.
Overall, Jane Eyre wasn't the worst one this year, it was a close second to HoD though. I like chick flick stories and all, but I'd rather watch the Bourne Ultimatum or any Harrison Ford movie, that's just who I am...but I got through it. Yay me!
This book was loooonnngggg. It had details and details about things I wouldn't normally care about in a book. In 8th grade, I read the book Pride and Prejudice and it had the same feel. There were details about the path she took or the room she was in and to be honest, I just did not care to hear about that at all. Those details had very little direct impact to the plot and I'm an impatient person, but for some reason, I got through passages without skimming the pages. So...that's one I tried to think about.
Second, I tried to make myself a person, as Taylor mentioned, would be ok in the kitchen. I like cooking, and I like saying the word "sammich" but I'm not going to just make you one. Reading this book made it difficult for me not to just annotate the page saying..."omg Jane, just kick him in the shin with your Uggs cuz Uggs happen to be a great weapon." I had to remember that not all places and times are what we have today. In Jane's time, she would be ok with submitting-to a degree-and that was that.
Thirdly, I realized when I totally don't understand the book while reading it, the class discussions help a lot. At some points I'm very narrow minded and can not get out of my one way of thinking. The discussions made me put my views on the drawing board and mold them to something more radical or just more logical.
Overall, Jane Eyre wasn't the worst one this year, it was a close second to HoD though. I like chick flick stories and all, but I'd rather watch the Bourne Ultimatum or any Harrison Ford movie, that's just who I am...but I got through it. Yay me!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
360 degrees: Branching Out
**Disclaimer: I love my friends. I've known a handful of them since kindy, a few from 5th grade-8th grade and a bunch I met last year-I wouldn't trade them for the world.**
I'm starting to get tired with my life's routine. Weekdays: School then track. Weekend: Possible movie with the same people. It's been the same since about 6th grade when I was really allowed to just hang out with my friends without a parent around, and I'm getting tired with it. If any of you have noticed, I'm kind of an impatient person and I get bored easily. So, I've been thinking of branching out to more people and things. But why do people put on a sour face when I mention it to them?
First, the more people you know, the more connections you can make. Both my parents know a lot of people-it takes 30 minutes to get out of church. Although that seems annoying, it could lead to a job connection, vacation, college advice...anything. Life is a lot easier when there are some more doors open for you.
Second, everyone needs some different life experiences. I shouldn't be thrust into the real world with only experiencing one type of life style. My future life will probably not resemble anything I'm doing right now and so I should learn to adapt and deal with other styles now.
Third, it is just high school. I'd like to say that I will keep talking to all of you after we graduate, but chances are I won't. We will all fall into new lives and probably only keep in touch with the ones we really have a deep connection with. So, whatever happens will really only hurt your friendship for about two years or so, and after that, chances are you wouldn't have kept that relationship anyway.
So, I've decided I should probably branch. I'm not going to scratch my morals and ethics, but just experience things in a different way. Metaphor time!! Branching out reminds me of a tree. You will always have the trunk and the major branches, but new branches and leaves grow all the time. So, I don't think of branching as a negative term anymore. In other words...Dear friends, I'm not replacing you, I'm just adding more to my life. Love, Mary.
I'm starting to get tired with my life's routine. Weekdays: School then track. Weekend: Possible movie with the same people. It's been the same since about 6th grade when I was really allowed to just hang out with my friends without a parent around, and I'm getting tired with it. If any of you have noticed, I'm kind of an impatient person and I get bored easily. So, I've been thinking of branching out to more people and things. But why do people put on a sour face when I mention it to them?
First, the more people you know, the more connections you can make. Both my parents know a lot of people-it takes 30 minutes to get out of church. Although that seems annoying, it could lead to a job connection, vacation, college advice...anything. Life is a lot easier when there are some more doors open for you.
Second, everyone needs some different life experiences. I shouldn't be thrust into the real world with only experiencing one type of life style. My future life will probably not resemble anything I'm doing right now and so I should learn to adapt and deal with other styles now.
Third, it is just high school. I'd like to say that I will keep talking to all of you after we graduate, but chances are I won't. We will all fall into new lives and probably only keep in touch with the ones we really have a deep connection with. So, whatever happens will really only hurt your friendship for about two years or so, and after that, chances are you wouldn't have kept that relationship anyway.
So, I've decided I should probably branch. I'm not going to scratch my morals and ethics, but just experience things in a different way. Metaphor time!! Branching out reminds me of a tree. You will always have the trunk and the major branches, but new branches and leaves grow all the time. So, I don't think of branching as a negative term anymore. In other words...Dear friends, I'm not replacing you, I'm just adding more to my life. Love, Mary.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
An Inconvenient Truth: Crying
Since I purposefully left this post until last minute (I'm sorry but it's my break), there were many things I could talk about. Also, I'm doing what Taylor did and the title is to grab you in. Crying is relatively what I'm going to talk about...but the good crying.
I had two parts to my break. Part 1 was in Georgia and part 2 was in St. Louis. Part 2 had a lot of crying. My papa is 94 years old and lives in St. Louis. In the past two weeks, my papa, aunt Patti, Aunt Ellen, my sister, my cousins Katie and Brenden and my cousin once removed-Molly had a birthday...and yes, it's all the same side of the family. We all decided to come to St. Louis, so my papa doesn't travel, to celebrate all the birthdays.
In my two days there, I probably gained 10 pounds, but lost a lot of tears. My family is very close and this was just another time for us all to catch up. The best part was when my Papa got to see his great-grandchild for the first time. Once my aunt started to cry, we all broke down. My Papa isn't a man of many words, but he spoke the the little one like there was no tomorrow.
That instance made me think about family in general. I know that my family is probably one of a kind. For we sit in the lobby of the hotel screaming at the basketball games and laughing at old stories, but that's just who we are. Every family has their own way of getting together and enjoying themselves. They'll be with you forever and you can't just forget about them. So I guess the real inconvenient truth is that although your family might have many layers and be real complex, you're all still a family. Cliche, I know, but most cliche things are true.
I had two parts to my break. Part 1 was in Georgia and part 2 was in St. Louis. Part 2 had a lot of crying. My papa is 94 years old and lives in St. Louis. In the past two weeks, my papa, aunt Patti, Aunt Ellen, my sister, my cousins Katie and Brenden and my cousin once removed-Molly had a birthday...and yes, it's all the same side of the family. We all decided to come to St. Louis, so my papa doesn't travel, to celebrate all the birthdays.
In my two days there, I probably gained 10 pounds, but lost a lot of tears. My family is very close and this was just another time for us all to catch up. The best part was when my Papa got to see his great-grandchild for the first time. Once my aunt started to cry, we all broke down. My Papa isn't a man of many words, but he spoke the the little one like there was no tomorrow.
That instance made me think about family in general. I know that my family is probably one of a kind. For we sit in the lobby of the hotel screaming at the basketball games and laughing at old stories, but that's just who we are. Every family has their own way of getting together and enjoying themselves. They'll be with you forever and you can't just forget about them. So I guess the real inconvenient truth is that although your family might have many layers and be real complex, you're all still a family. Cliche, I know, but most cliche things are true.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Dialectics: Tab and Males
Well, first I should probably explain to you what Tab is. Tab is a soda pop drink. It is almost like Coca-Cola, but it tastes worse. It's in a pink can and it supposedly was the "female" drink. My mother is also the only reason it is still around; she literally drinks 7 cans a day.
With what I said before, Tab is the "female" drink. It was made by Coca-Cola and it was actually meant for those who wanted to keep "tabs" on their weight. So yes, this is the perfect female drink! No calories and it was PINK! It is the "beautiful drink for beautiful people". But what does this have to do with the other gender? The people that probably wouldn't drink something from a pink can to save their life?
Other than the fact that men probably created this drink, nothing. Tab is not for men, plus my mom has it all, so they couldn't try it if they wanted to. Most men won't drink diet coke...they'll be men and drink all the real Coca-cola. Most men have gotten over the "real men wear pink" phase, and most men don't know what it is. But the fact that this drink has nothing to do with men, has everything to do with men.
For light years now, men have had millions of things that have nothing to do with women. Power drinks, the protein powder stuff, race car driving, football and tuxedos. I, myself, am totally ok with that. Every person needs something of their own. If everyone shared, the world would go mad. When you have something that someone else doesn't, you can start a discussion, have bets, and more. I'm not trying to be anti-feminist, but if men started playing tea party because they wanted something that only we had, I'd probably question what they had to eat for breakfast...so why must women always try to have everything men have? Having things seperate from one another may actually benifit us. I could have my own things, and I could also try to learn about something new later on.
Tab is like football...you just let it stay where it's at. Tab is like males...they have their own things, too. I, in particular, just don't want Tab for the female thing. It really does taste really bad.
With what I said before, Tab is the "female" drink. It was made by Coca-Cola and it was actually meant for those who wanted to keep "tabs" on their weight. So yes, this is the perfect female drink! No calories and it was PINK! It is the "beautiful drink for beautiful people". But what does this have to do with the other gender? The people that probably wouldn't drink something from a pink can to save their life?
Other than the fact that men probably created this drink, nothing. Tab is not for men, plus my mom has it all, so they couldn't try it if they wanted to. Most men won't drink diet coke...they'll be men and drink all the real Coca-cola. Most men have gotten over the "real men wear pink" phase, and most men don't know what it is. But the fact that this drink has nothing to do with men, has everything to do with men.
For light years now, men have had millions of things that have nothing to do with women. Power drinks, the protein powder stuff, race car driving, football and tuxedos. I, myself, am totally ok with that. Every person needs something of their own. If everyone shared, the world would go mad. When you have something that someone else doesn't, you can start a discussion, have bets, and more. I'm not trying to be anti-feminist, but if men started playing tea party because they wanted something that only we had, I'd probably question what they had to eat for breakfast...so why must women always try to have everything men have? Having things seperate from one another may actually benifit us. I could have my own things, and I could also try to learn about something new later on.
Tab is like football...you just let it stay where it's at. Tab is like males...they have their own things, too. I, in particular, just don't want Tab for the female thing. It really does taste really bad.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Blogging around numero tray-ss (3)
Katie Blog.
Hers is about being excited for the short story unit, whether it be reading or writing them.
"Katie, I'm with ya on short stories. I'm excited for this unit as well because I've always liked seeing someone go through different mind-sets. In poems you only get to see one little part of their thoughts or just one little scene. Also, short stories are a little bit easier to read than novels just because they are short, but can still have the same lasting affect like a novel. Well overall, I'm probably just as excited as you."
Anna's Blog.
Anna's was about the "aha" moments we get in life and how they might not always be like what we see on TV.
"I love seeing those mind-blowing moments on TV, but you're right. The world isn't anything like TV. You're also right in the sense that most aha moments affect you long term rather than short term. This made me think about most things in our lives, not just our aha moments. Most things in our lives build up to make us who we are today. I don't know of many things that only affect our short term lives, except for maybe food choices or something. Now though, I'm going to put my thoughts in better categories to help build up my long term life rather than my short term."
Hers is about being excited for the short story unit, whether it be reading or writing them.
"Katie, I'm with ya on short stories. I'm excited for this unit as well because I've always liked seeing someone go through different mind-sets. In poems you only get to see one little part of their thoughts or just one little scene. Also, short stories are a little bit easier to read than novels just because they are short, but can still have the same lasting affect like a novel. Well overall, I'm probably just as excited as you."
Anna's Blog.
Anna's was about the "aha" moments we get in life and how they might not always be like what we see on TV.
"I love seeing those mind-blowing moments on TV, but you're right. The world isn't anything like TV. You're also right in the sense that most aha moments affect you long term rather than short term. This made me think about most things in our lives, not just our aha moments. Most things in our lives build up to make us who we are today. I don't know of many things that only affect our short term lives, except for maybe food choices or something. Now though, I'm going to put my thoughts in better categories to help build up my long term life rather than my short term."
Monday, March 1, 2010
Best of the Week: Side Conversations
First off..Happy March! Can anyone, at all, believe that it is March? This year has gone by so fast!
My blog is about side conversations. I know that they aren't polite and I'm really not a fan of them when I'm the teacher for my CCD class on Saturdays, but I have to hand it to this class when I say, we are not shallow-side conversation people...we're, for lack of a better word, nerds.
I first realized this while I was sitting in class this week. This was the day I decided not to talk as much because I shouldn't be using my vocal chords. I'm always listening. I'm a gossiper, I eavesdrop, and when I'm not talking...I can listen a lot better. So that day I was listening intently for anything interesting. The class discussion was nice, but not everyone decides to say how they really feel outloud to the class. I realized that people were actually talking about the book.
This has nothing against the book or the class, but normally students talk about something other than class when they're having a side conversation. What happens in other classes is that people talk about their weekend, a different class, their clothes, a stupid SNL skit, but that is not the case with us. Our class is a bunch of people who talk about the actual assignment in a side conversation.
This might not seem like a big deal to most of you, but to me it is a very big deal. I live in a town where the best jeans and hair are what's on most people's minds. This thing that I noticed in class shows me that in a lot of black and white, there will always be a sliver of color. I also understand that what I just said is probably the most cheesy thing I will ever say in my life. If a bunch of teenagers are ok with actually talking about school, in school, then it gives me hope that maybe this whole world isn't just one big fake. There are people in the world that don't have big egos, that don't push you to be someone you aren't. That class period gave me hope that I won't mind growing up because if there are 28 kids like that in about 4,000 people...there has gotta be about 2 million in the United States.
We might be nerds, but one day there will be too many of us that you can't call us nerds, and maybe side conversations won't be frowned upon.
My blog is about side conversations. I know that they aren't polite and I'm really not a fan of them when I'm the teacher for my CCD class on Saturdays, but I have to hand it to this class when I say, we are not shallow-side conversation people...we're, for lack of a better word, nerds.
I first realized this while I was sitting in class this week. This was the day I decided not to talk as much because I shouldn't be using my vocal chords. I'm always listening. I'm a gossiper, I eavesdrop, and when I'm not talking...I can listen a lot better. So that day I was listening intently for anything interesting. The class discussion was nice, but not everyone decides to say how they really feel outloud to the class. I realized that people were actually talking about the book.
This has nothing against the book or the class, but normally students talk about something other than class when they're having a side conversation. What happens in other classes is that people talk about their weekend, a different class, their clothes, a stupid SNL skit, but that is not the case with us. Our class is a bunch of people who talk about the actual assignment in a side conversation.
This might not seem like a big deal to most of you, but to me it is a very big deal. I live in a town where the best jeans and hair are what's on most people's minds. This thing that I noticed in class shows me that in a lot of black and white, there will always be a sliver of color. I also understand that what I just said is probably the most cheesy thing I will ever say in my life. If a bunch of teenagers are ok with actually talking about school, in school, then it gives me hope that maybe this whole world isn't just one big fake. There are people in the world that don't have big egos, that don't push you to be someone you aren't. That class period gave me hope that I won't mind growing up because if there are 28 kids like that in about 4,000 people...there has gotta be about 2 million in the United States.
We might be nerds, but one day there will be too many of us that you can't call us nerds, and maybe side conversations won't be frowned upon.
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