paper #3

Our schools and teachers face many challenges with the educational system. From not enough pay to little resources that are available. Everyone tries to point the finger at eachother for the problems. Teachers are not teaching, school is under funded, the students refuse to learn. What does that solve? in order to solve the problem we must first face that everyone is to blame. When we look at teachers, we see educators creating the world of tomorrow. We need strong passionate teachers who are dedicated and motivated to our students. Many children tend to fall behind in class, miss class and drop out altogether. Students are struggling to stay motivated in class which can lead to poor grades and failure. Student's are losing interest in education and teacher's are failing in attempts to teach. Drop out rates increase and proficiency stats decrease as we see in the film Waiting for Superman. In the film they show statistics of proficiency in reading, in which our nations capitol has the lowest of 12%. To ensure the motivation and dedication, teachers should be annually reviewed to see how well they are teaching, to their performance in class.

In the movie Stand and Deliver we see Mr. Escalante teaching his class. Like any normal class, they do not seem interested at all. They rebel and taught him all the time. But we see that he is motivated to get these students to learn. He finds new ways to make the kids interested and when they were interested they learned something. He had used real life examples in his teaching methods. He used an apple to teach the students fractions, when they were able to see the apple and realize what one half meant, they were able to learn and understand one-fourth and two-thirds of the apple. His students have beomce more interested and their self confidence has greatly increased. Mr. Escalante became a friend to the students and inspired them to try harder. In the beginning the class was unmotivated and willing to fail. But as we saw towards the end, the class was much more motivated and willing to take the AP test. Mr. Escalante was dedicated to the student's, this is true when he pushes the class into signing contracts to be in class and to stay late. Also when he has a heart attack and disobeys the doctor and goes back to teach when he shouldn't. As we see in Chalk Mr. Stroop is the complete opposite, he shut his student's down. We see a scene in which he is talking to two of his students. He tells them to not use big words and to not be smarter than he is. This is an example of what a teacher shouldn't be. Mr. Stroope cares to much about his image, he was even more focused on winning the teacher of the year award. Even had student's spying for him. Schools have played the same role as teacher's who only think about themselves. In Lewis Black's rant about public education he points out that a school has spent billions of dollars on the buildings and making it looks better, instead they could have used the money to buy resources for the classrooms. Schools have to be focused on educating the student's than repainting its walls. What does the building have to do with student'ts education?

In the movie Chalk coach Webb was very motivated and dedicated to her class. She wanted to make the class feel better about themselves and to think more positively about what they can do. She believes that if you can make them think they are good in something and have potential in that they will soon think they can do it. She also says that if you hold them at a level of expectation even though you may think they cannot do it, you make them think they can and they will perform at that level. Even though it was her first year teaching, she was ready to go and knew that she could be great for her class. On the other hand Mr. Lowrey was dry and tasteless in his class, he would benefit greatly if he had other teacher's support. Great teacher's are passionate and love what they do. Mr. Lowrey ended his teaching career after his first year. Great teacher's teach 150% of the curriculum, and bad teacher's only teach 50%. Those teacher's do not dedicate themselves to the job and do not care wheter they teach or not. Reviewing each teacher can help pick out the ones that need help and the ones that don't.

Talking about teachers getting reviewed, Mrs.Watson from Mona Lisa Smile was contantly watched over and reviewed. Her goal was to help her class think out side of the box. The whole point of school and education is to pass the student's on so they can do great things. Mr.Watson was trying to make the girls think that their is more to life, though her intentions were good they did not follow certain guidelines the school had. The federal government passes laws and fund schools, the states however also fund schools and pass their own standards that often conflict. Mr.Watson was dedicated to her students and wanted them to succeed, she had even filled out an application for a particular girl. Even though her methods conflicted with the schools, like the laws do she was able to teach the students and they were able to open their minds and become more interested in themselves. Mr.Watson was able to realize that this may not have been the place for her, if we can review teachers and find the problem we can start to understand why and fix the issues.

Akel, Mike, dir. Chalk. 2007. DVD. 18 Mar 2013.

Guggenheim, Davis, dir. Waiting for Superman. 2012. DVD. 18 Mar 2013

Newell, Mike, dir. Mona Lisa Smile. 2003. DVD. 18 Mar 2013

Black, Lewis, dir. Back in black. 2010. Film. 18 Mar 2013

Menendez, Ramon, dir. Stand and Deliver. 1988. Film. 18 Mar 2013

Waiting for superman: Notes & in class blog post

many parents who want to put their child in a good school, rely on luck. their childs name is put into a lottery, random numbers on a ball, computer or picking a name out of a bowl.
daisy wants to be a nurse, doctor and a vet. she already wrote a letter to her college asking to attend, she says to find different ways to make learning fun.
reading scores and math had flat lined, and the schools pay double for each student.
franssico is in the 3rd largest school in the district thats over crowded in the bronx
biancas mother will do anything for her daughter to go to college, she wants her to get an education, career and make a difference.
arizona 26% and california 24% proficiency in math
our nations capital has 12% proficiency in reading
only 3 out of 100 students at roosevelt will graduate with the proper classes to get into a 4 year college.
40,000 didnt graduate over 40 years at alan locke high school
failing neighborhood might be blamed for failing schools
oliver high school drop out factor, 68% of inmates in penn are drop out students.
for the money they spend on one inmate they could have sent them to a private school from k-12 and had money left over for college.
the government will give the schools money but the state also funds the schools and has certain criteria of their own that may counter what the government has. which can block the schools from teaching the students properly
a bad teacher covers 50% of the curriculum per year, a good teacher covers 150% and they both get paid the same.
public school teachers tenure has been automatic whether they teach or not, and you cant get rid of them no matter how bad or what they do. but university professors may never get it.
teachers that are good cannot be paid more because its not in the contract, so bad teachers are paid for being bad and it doesnt change.
schools trade off bad teachers hoping the next one was better than the last.
teachers under trial still get full pay for being in a room for 7 hours a day waiting for a hearing.
1 in 2500 teachers lose their teaching credentials
geoffrey canada became a good teacher in 3 years and a master teacher in 5 years.
charter schools, public money, public education but privately run. and children enrolled from lottery.
US ranks last in average scores but first in confidence.
schools havent changed but the world around them has changed.
kids can learn, if you apply the right material and stuff the kids will learn
we have tried money, laws and reforms, but you cant have a great school without great teachers.

after watching the movie, my thoughts about education has been altered. The movie showed so many sides to one story, good teachers and bad teachers, and the fact that you cannot get rid of a bad teacher because of the contract, if you cannot teach, you shouldnt be a teacher. That charter schools are so much better yet only so little people can get into them, if they are so good, more children should be able to attend the schools. A big factor though is teachers, teachers are the ones that parents rely on to teach their child, we need great teachers and great schools, in the movie they showed families trying to get their kids into those great schools, we need our public schools to be just as good. Geoffrey Canada had made a point about whether kids are getting dumber each year or is it the school, to me I think that students are part of the problem as well, whether they choose to pay attention in class, do the homework and make a effort, as one of the kids had said he wasnt doing so good in school because he never came home and studied, but when he started studying he became a better student, but of course its up to the teachers to engage the students interest to help them make that effort. In the movie they showed a lot of examples that teachers get paid whether they teach or not, so if a teacher isnt teaching the students, the school is going to continue to fail the students. The whole point of education is to pass the students so they can go on to do great things we need teachers who are passionate and willing to do their job and not sit around to help those students pass and not be failures and drop outs and go to prison for the rest of their lives. With Fransico, his teacher had told his mom that he had trouble with reading, but yet she would work with him at home and read with him and he would do just fine, she had taken him to reading tutors who had said that he could read and knew what the words had meant, and yet his teacher refuses to communicate with his mom and send home his folder.

Gilyard & Arizona bans

In Gilyards article he starts off talking about visiting elementary school students who are in a creative arts program. In the program they do singing, dancing, poetry, and oral interpretation. Activities that occur less and less in schools. The article continues to talk about the program being cut and that the students will be doomed. Same in the NEA article, the MAS program would be cut. which was a very successful program that had graduated ninety-seven percent of the students who had participated in the program.  Taking away these programs have had a negative affect on the k-12 curriculum. Such classes are good for students, to teach them to think one another level beside just learning math and science which is good. But creative art classes are good for students who enjoy the classes, they learn better when intrigued and captivated. These articles are important because they pertain to our main topic of k-12 curriculum changes, whether it needs to be changed or something added to it.

K-12 education: changes

In my opinion the most important change to the k-12 education is, inspiring students to learn, to want to learn something more and to think. When viewing chalk I noticed that the students in the history class of mr Lowrey's, did not want to learn, as one of the students had said something around the lines of we don't need to know this stuff. As I look back on other movies and articles, I remember the movie stand and deliver mr escalante was able to inspire his students to learn and go beyond what they thought they could, in which they did. Also in Mike Roses article I just want to be average part two, he speaks of a teacher that had "hooked" him, inspired something in him to do better. Inspiring students to learn and do more can help them in school and outside of school, making students to better themselves in the real world and to overcome challenges.

Chalk: Notes

50% of teachers quit within the first 3 years
coach webb got the students to do an activity to fall back and trust the person catching them. that is a good way to have the students interact with eachother and for the teacher to interact with the students.
the histroy teacher mr lowrey has been teaching for an hour and ten minutes. He came off as a little harsh and nervous.He was struggling on his first day, asking students question that he hasnt explained yet. He has no control over his class, they do not pay attention to him. They do not listen to him, two class mates started yelling at eachother and they did not stop even when he asked. Another classmate had left the class when he was talking to him. They hid his chalk, and the students just laughed.
mrs reddell first year AP, not prepared she was a choir directer before. she spends many hours working at her job, she gets home usually after 10. She doesnt fully understand what she can do about certain disciplinary actions, when a student said something mean to her, she didnt know what she should do with the student, and I believe the man she was talking to just said that she shouldnt take everything to heart. later on in the movie, she talks about how she cant handle all the teachers coming up to her and complaining.
mr stroope 3rd year history, he is funny with the students. gets to know them by asking about their summer. his goals were working on sarcasm, cleanliness and organization, lesson plans. He sometimes teaches on the fly but the students seem to like it. He needs to be more detailed on his lesson plans. He wants the students to trust him and know that he cares for them. He doesnt like it when the students use bigger words that he doesnt understand, and that the students may not understand. He talked to two students to tone it down.
There is a teacher that does not follow the tardy policy,
coach webb wants to make the students feel like they are good at something and to make them want to do what they are good at. To make them think they are good and they will perforom at that level.
mr lowrey has tried to incorporate humor in the classroom.
the teachers seem  to have a good relationship with eachother.
mr stroope took command and told the teachers to stop borrowing things that dont belong to them, like money, paper, or leaving the classroom while in class. Teachers are suppose to be role models.
mr stroope called will's parents, about his grade, will gave the wrong number. Will did not respect or listen to his teacher.
teaching, you do your best, your not gonna get every kid. you practice, hone your skill.
mr lowrey asked the students to not bring the phones to class, one student did, he wouldnt give up his phone, so he sent the student out, and the student said he was a horrible teacher. He his having a hard time teaching his class. his students still disrespect him
Mr stroope was nominated for teacher of the year.
Mr. lowrey went to his students house to talk to his mom, she started to help him loosen up and to help him get respect from her son.
coach webb thought mrs reddell would be the gap between the administration and teacher, that the teachers can come to her and talk to her and get help.
Mr. Stroope did not win teacher of the year. He is talking to his students about the bright side, next year, he is over reaccting about getting last place. most of his attention went to winning this position than teaching his students and giving them his full attention.
Mrs. Reddell misses being a teacher, she enjoys going in and being a sub.
There is a spelling hornet, where all the teachers spell the slang words the student use.Mr. Lowrey decided to do it and his class is coaching him. he made it to the final round. Mr. Lowrey won the spelling hornet. his students and him are starting to bond and get along. They were all spitting rhymes with eachother before class ended. He was making a connection with the kids, that only took a whole year to make. Though he thinks he hasnt found his groove, he may not come back next year, he doesnt know if he likes it that much.
coach webb learned she needs to approach teachers differently. that she does come off as pushy and very opinionated and she understand that some of the teacher may be more sensitive and she needs to be more easy going and soft when approaching other teachers.
mr stroope lost the election, but what was worse was he lost it in his class. he was a bad role model for his students, he cared more about himself than he did for his students, such as telling his students to not use bigger words because he doesnt understand and not to act smarted than him, tossing a desk in class and yelling at his student for saying "second place is not last place" and he insulted the student by saying i may not be good at math but i do know that second place out of two places was last place.
mr lowrey said being a teacher is a gift, that maybe it can be learned, but noone taught him. I feel that not everything a teacher knows or does was taught to them, they learn it as they go. through experience and practice.

Mike Rose & Lewis Black

These men have made me think about education differently. Being a student, I went to school to learn, I did the best I could to learn everything the teacher was teaching. I never questioned whether there was a problem with my school, or if a teacher was not doing their job correctly. A problem with education is the children, whether they learn the information or not. You can talk and teach to someone but its up to them if they want to learn it. Teaching should engage their attention and be interesting enough that the kids who are not fond of school can be interested and learn. Lewis Black made a comment that a school  was worth half a billion dollars. They say that schools do not get enough money and they are on a budget, yet this school is worth so much. The building is not a factor whether the education is good or not. He also states that our schools are broken and that it is not hard to see that. He is all for charter schools, they offer a great education, but for all the other kids in public schools. How can we make the education better? A lot of students go to public schools, we want our kids to achieve, but what does that mean? after viewing the reading, I believe that achievement has been lost, to me we cannot rely on our "high test scores" to prove that our education is getting better. And that teachers are effective, you cannot judge the greatest of students and teachers on a test, though it may look good on paper, does it really make the students feel good knowing all they have to do is pass a test? students need to be challenged. Engaging and challenging, but of course the first thing to do to make education better is to figure out the big problems and solve them, not put a band aid on it. Like Mike says, if you fire 10% of the bottom and replace with the top 10%, will you have to do that every year? that to me is just a band aid. This just makes me think what is really wrong, and what could possibly be done about it.

John Gatto

I have never thought that a teacher could get bored. To me, being a teacher must have been exciting. With all the different students they have for each class. I wouldn't have thought it got boring to them, though I can see that if a student didn't care to learn it can be boring to teach someone something they love to a student who just wants to pass the class. Parents have a choice wether to send their children to school or not, but it is important for a child to grow and to learn. We have school so that all these kids can learn and grow, and to better themselves. Some people may disagree that schooling is not needed yet education is important. But how else will these students learn if there is no "forced schooling?" who is willing to teach these kids if they were not to go to school. We have teachers for a reason, to teach the kids what they need to know to survive in this world. Schooling helps a child mold into what they need to be when they grow up. John Gatto believes that we have become a nation of children, in some ways I can agree with that. Especially since people are so easily manipulated. Talk about ads on t.v, people watch those day in and day out and they buy them. Even if they are completely useless to them, they still buy them. We believe what we see and what people tell us.

WS 48 & 49

Section 48 talks about classification. Explaining how items in a series are similar and different from other items in the same series. For our next paper this can help us when classifying students and teachers in k-12. We can classify the students by gender, hair color and behavior. The thing being classified should have certain characteristics in common. For the paper we are suppose to add or change the k-12 curriculum to better deal with the students behavior and success. Every student is different so classifying can help narrow down what needs to be changed or fixed. If the students are disruptive and do not pay attention we can argue the school should discipline more. Section 49 talks about comparison and/or contrast, for our next paper we can compare and contrast how the teachers feel about the school and the children. We can compare and contrast the teachers and their views. Some teachers may feel that the school is failing the students, in contrast some teachers say its the students that are failing.

Final draft paper #2

Teacher’s play an important role in a student’s life, they are with them throughout the most important time in their life. They teach us not only what we need to know to pass high school and college and to succeed in life, but to teach us how to behave and respect other people, how to think out situations and how to act. Every teacher has a huge impact on a student because of the teacher’s personality. Students can relate and bond with the them. An old saying says it takes a village to raise a child and part of that village is a teacher. The most important role a teacher can play is that of being a friend to the student. Mrs. Campbell is a great example of this role, as Mr. Powell is not the best example of being a friend to the students.

Mrs. Campbell was a great teacher; she was very understanding. To play the part of a friend you have to be understanding. Mrs. Campbell was very understanding. She knew if something was wrong and was there if you needed to talk to someone. She would just sit there and listen to you without making a sound. She would nod her head and encourage you to continue talking until you felt better. She was a wise women and some times she knew exactly how you felt. It was easy to talk to her when she could relate to your situation. If you came to class one day and talked to her privately about a traumatic incident that happened yesterday and you couldn't finish your homework because of it, she would understand and give you more time to do it. She would not get angry because the homework didn't get finished; she knows that things like this can happen to anyone and cannot always be prevented. Instead she would ask how you are, if she can do anything to help, and give you more time to finish any of the homework that you didn't finish. She was strict at the same time. She may have given the student’s another chance, but they only get so many chances. Then Mrs. Campbell would have to say tough luck and dock points. 

Mr. Powell was not the most understanding teacher. He didn’t understand the student’s and their privacy. Most student’s would be embarrassed when it came to test scores and not doing good. Mr. Powell would read everyones test score out loud to the class, without their permission. He couldn’t relate to us, which can make it hard to grab the classes attention.  He had high expectations that every individual must meet. If a student was to fall behind in homework because they didn't have enough time, something big happened which prevented them from doing the work, or they just didn't do the work. Mr. Powell would simply take away your homework points which lowers your grade. He would not ask what was wrong, why you didn't do your work, or if an arrangement could be worked out to get the points back. Most teachers would try to work something out so that you can gain some points back. Mr. Powell was not that teacher. If someone forgot to do the work, they could not make it up. That can be really stressful on a student if they cannot finish the work. Accidents do happen and when they do, students rely on having a fall back option. Whether it is full points or some points. It all matters to the student. Being a student once, Mr. Powell should have understood what it’s like to miss work and to give the students a second chance. 

Mrs. Campbell was a very sweet teacher. She was very friendly and fun to be around. When a teacher is friendly and fun to be around, it makes the classroom setting relaxing and less intimidating. She rarely got angry, even if the class was acting up. She was calm when handling the situation. She took the time to get to know us on a personal level. That was the start of her becoming our friend. She took a whole class period to let each student talk about themselves and share experiences with the class. This was the bonding time that took the class to a whole new level. We felt like we could be ourselves in her class and not have to worry about other classmates judging us because we were all friends and kind to each other. She would give everyone a nickname and crack jokes with the class. We all had fun while learning and laughed with each other. She was really kind to all her classes and the faculty. At the end of the year the class had to write a thank you letter to one of their teachers. Almost all the class had picked Mrs. Campbell.

Mr. Powell on the other hand was completely opposite. He was a kind person if you met him outside of school, but inside school he was rude he wasn't rude all the time, just when he thought it was the right moment. He liked to interrupt students instead of waiting for them to finish answering the question. One day some students were talking before class and he happened to hear what they were talking about. They were talking about a project that they were doing for ASL at the elementary school. Mr. Powell came over and told them that ASL was a joke and that it wasn't even a language. He said the teacher shouldn't work so hard because the student’s just take it for an easy grade. It was very rude of him to say that. If you don't have anything good to say, you shouldn't say anything at all. Mr. Powell was a good teacher, most of the students had passed his class. He was good about making sure the students passed quizzes and test. He was smart and knew a lot about his subject and taught it well. He just never took the time to get to know the students on a personal level. He kept everyone at a distance, he believed that we are here to learn not to be friends. Student’s learn better when there is a connection between teacher and student, they feel more interested in what that particular teacher has to say and they feel more secure and ready to learn in the classroom. 

Being a friend is a hard thing to do. You have to be kind and caring, understanding and friendly. Teachers who are friends to students are the best teachers of all. They care about the students and want them to succeed. They became a teacher so they can help student’s grow, they are passionate about their job and are in it for the students. Not the money, not because its just a job and pays the bills, which it does. Great teachers chose to be a teacher because they love their subject and want to pass down that love and passion to the student’s. To inspire the students to become something more and to do what they love to do. A teacher who is a friend affects the students more because they look up to them and view them as more than a teacher, but as a friend and mentor.

WS 47 & 48

Section 47 talks about enumeration and chronology. In other words, what are you saying, what order is it in. It is helpful because we are not writing a process, we are not writing to tell someone how to do something but more in the terms of why this teachers plays this role. Chronological order is important in writing this paper. We start with the teacher and the role they play. Then we would explain why and use examples. If this wasn't in order it might get confusing. Using these in our writing will make it easy for the reader to follow. Section 48 talks about classification. Classification explains how items that are in a series similar or different from the other items. This can help us by classifying what the two teachers are. Teachers can either be strict and disciplinary or loving and caring.

WS 45&46

In the sections 45 & 46 the sections talk about definitions and the writing process. For our paper the definition would be what we think the best role a teacher plays is. Although when writing about that, a simple definition does not suffice. We need to be able to define that role in our own words. This helps us to explain and use details to define that particular role. The writing process is explaining to someone how something works. For our paper that would be explaining why the teacher plays this role and how. Using characteristics such as caring, passionate, strict. Defining and writing a process will help us to write a good paper and using the examples and characteristic in the write way.

Rough Draft

Teachers play an important role in a students life, they are with them throughout the most important time in a students life. They teach us not only what we need to know to pass high school and college and to succeed in life, but to teach us how to behave and respect other people, how to think out situations and how to act. A lot of teachers have a huge impact on students because of the teachers personality and the student can relate and bond with the student. An old saying says it takes a village to raise a child and part of that village is a teacher. The most important role a teacher can play is that of being a friend to the student. Mrs. Campbell is a great example of this role, as Mr. Powell is not the best example of being a friend to the students.

Mrs. Campbell was a great teacher; she was very understanding. She knew if something was wrong and was there if you needed to talk to someone. She would just sit there and listen to you without making a sound. She would nod her head and encourage you to continue talking until you felt better. She was a wise women and some times she knew exactly how you felt. It was easy to talk to her when she could relate to your situation. If you came to class one day and talked to her privately about a traumatic incident that happened yesterday and you couldn't finish your homework because of it, she would understand and give you more time to do it. She would not get angry because the homework didn't get finished; she knows that things like this can happen to anyone and cannot always be prevented. Instead she would ask how you are, if she can do anything to help, and give you more time to finish any of the homework that you didn't finish.

Mr. Powell was not the most understanding teacher. He had high expectations that every individual must meet. If a student was to fall behind in homework because they didn't have enough time, something big happened which prevented them from doing the work, or they just didn't do they work. Mr. Powell would simply take away your homework points which lowers your grade. He would not ask what was wrong, why you didn't do your work, or if an arrangement could be worked out to get the points back. Most teachers would try to work some thing out so that you can gain some points back. Mr. Powell was not that teacher.

Mrs. Campbell was a very sweet teacher. She was very friendly and fun to be around. When a teacher is friendly and fun to be around, it makes the classroom setting relaxing and less intimidating. She took the time to get to know us on a personal level. That was the start of her becoming our friend. She took a whole class period to let each student talk about themselves and share experience with the class. This was the bonding time that took the class to a whole new level. She would give everyone a nickname and crack jokes with the class. We all had fun while learning and laughed with each other. She was really nice to her students and the faculty. At the end of the year the class had to write a thank you letter to one of their teachers. Almost all of the students had picked Mrs. Campbell.

Mr. Powell on the other hand was completely opposite. He was a nice person if you met him outside of school, but inside school he was rude. He liked to interrupt students instead of waiting for them to finish answering the question. One day some students were talking before class and he happened to hear what they were talking about. They were talking about a project that they were doing for ASL at the elementary school. Mr. Powell came over and told them that ASL was a joke and that it wasn't even a language. He said the teacher shouldn't work so hard because the students just take it for an easy a. It was very rude of him to say that. If you don't have anything nice to say, you shouldn't say anything at all.

Illustrating

Teachers who get frustrated or insult students, do not make great teachers. Mr. Escalante was a good/bad teacher compared to what I think makes a good teacher. He does insult his students, which makes him mean and not a very good teacher. He insults a girl infront of the class which makes her leave the class. He insults a bunch of guys, which makes one of them realize what he is doing with his life and how he can make it better. Even though he insulted the students, he was always there for them if they needed him.
Teachers should also teach you life lesson that you can use in your future that can be related to the subject you are learning. He taught them what they needed to know about math but he always taught them real life lessons and combined it with what they were learning in class. Using real life as a tool can make a very good teacher. Teachers should be able to bond with the students, Mr. Escalante really bonded with his students, during summer and after spending two years with his students, he really knew them. He took time to get to know them and there family too. He would have some of his students over to his house to study. There was one student in particular, who went to his house with his mom for dinner. His students started out misguided and didnt like him one bit, now they adore him and they are on the right track.

Dan Brown suggest that a great teacher is not born, but molded into a great teacher. He learned that it takes a village to build an accomplished teacher. Shadowing great teachers to gain experience and knowledge can make a great teacher. Mr. Escalante has never taught before, he didnt have the option to shadow a teacher or have a mentor to help him prepare to teach a class. He had a job with computers, and he quit that job to go and teach, he was suppose to teach computer science, and instead was given a math class. Having a supportive principal can make a great teacher, and other supportive teachers can help to create a great teacher. In the film, Mr.Escalante goes to a meeting where he says he wants to teach calculus and to give the students the AP exam to earn college credit. The teachers do not agree, they do not support him in this idea and they dont believe the students are capable of learning calculus.Being able to share and grow from each teachers can make you or break you. Great teachers have strong relationships with the students families and engage with the larger community. District policies can either make or destroy would-be great teachers, great teachers need to be dedicated to the job. Mr. Escalante was very dedicated to his job, he wanted his kids to learn. In the film when he asks one of the kids to do a problem on the board, the student tries to but fails and quits. Mr. Escalante does not want him to quit he continues to tell him to do the problem, that the student can do it. He asks him if he wants him to do the problem and the student says yes, and Mr. Escalante says "no, your suppose to say no." He does not let his students say they cant do something. He is so dedicated that even though he was in the hospital and wasnt allowed to teach, he went to his class to teach the students anyways.

Jerry Large

Jerry Large advocates that in the younger years of a childs life, the parents should be warm and comforting as to help them grow into successful and brilliant people. He says that character is a big part of future success, having the qualities of self control, zest, social intelligence, etc is better than test scores or someones IQ. He supports that kids should know failure, not too little and not too much, which will help build a childs character. He says that if parents should hug and kiss their child in the eary years more, the child will grow up to be more successful and happy. He notes that kids from the KIPP school would excell but also the kids at Riverdale Counry werent developing proper qualities. He says that the students at KIPP were taught how to deal with stress and and students at Riverdale were shielded from the possiblities of failure.

Paper #2 draft teachers and roles

the two teachers that I would choose for this paper would be my 12th grade english teacher and my 12th grade CWI teacher. My english teacher played the role of good guy and best friend. She would get to know me and each individual in our class. She taught us like a teacher but she talked to us like a friend. She was a positive role model, she wasnt the type of teacher that would get frustrated or angry if someone acted out, she was calm and solved the problem in a nice manner. She helped me to relax and to not get so stressed out if something wasnt working for me. Unlike my CWI teacher, he had a negative feeling towards the class and me. His expectations were high, which I dont mind but it sometimes seemed extreme, he didnt take the time to get to know us as a student and a person, which helps me learn personally when someone takes the time to get to know you. He had little patience with the class and would often raise his voice if he was displeased. Which can be very frustrating for a student, he was a hard headed teacher, but in the way he was he had made me a stronger student. I goofed off less and tried more in class, I had become a better student because of these two teachers and each helped me in a different way.

Define the roles

Sister MPH was all about discipline, she is the disciplinarian. She had ruled with an iron fist, and would split her class up into two groups, the good and bad kids. And when the kids were bad she would spank them. Mr. MacFarland was a mentor and friend, he wanted the best for his kids and Mike Rose hooked onto Jack. He bonded with him and he looked up to him. But Jack was tough, he wasn't afraid to get tough with some of the kids. It was soon known that it was foolish to act up in his class, Jack would attack with his English weapons. Mr. Escalante was a friend, he was there for his students. His was also a bit of a disciplinarian as well, if his students acted up against him he would make them sit in the chair in front of the class. He was also not afraid to insult his students in front of everyone else. Ms. Watson was certainly a friend and mentor, her students would come to her if they needed to talk. Some of her students really liked her and looked up to her. Such as Joan, which Ms. Watson really looked out for, she got her an application to the university that Joan thought about going to. I don't believe if she ever had to apply discipline to her class.

Mr. Escalante and Mr. MacFarland

Mr. Escalante and Mr. MacFarland were very similar and had a few differences. They both wanted the same thing, for their students to be the best that they can be. Mr. Escalante came into the high school, wanting to teach and help his students, he taught math. He taught low math to a small group of kids, who were not very interested in learning. But he slowly got their attention and made sure they learned. He was hard headed and strict, he did not take no for an answer and he was not afraid to get tough to the students. Mr MacFarland was an English teacher, at Mercy high school, he taught a group of kids like the ones Mr. Escalante taught. Some of the students were not willing to learn, but Mr. MacFarland, like Mr. Escalante, was hard headed and not afraid to be tougher with the kids who got tough. Mr. MacFarland wanted his kids to go to college, especially Mike Rose and a few others. He got him accepted into the college that he went too and even got him a loan. He would take these kids to his apartment so they can read and write and learn. He gave these kids a new outlook on the world, he was so passionate about what he taught, that the kids who never liked to read or write actually started to pay attention and do what they were told. Mr. Escalante, who wanted his kids to go to college, decided to teach them calculus so they can take the AP test and get college credit, in doing this he made his kids take quizzes every morning, like Mr. MacFarland did. He made his students go to summer school and go to classes early and stay late so they have enough time to learn the other math course to be prepared for calculus. When they were finally ready for the exam they all felt confident and prepared because Mr. Escalante had taught and taught and would not give up.

Thoughts about Mona Lisa Smile

Wow, this movie is very good and inspiring. I'm really enjoying Mona Lisa Smile so far. It is very different than the other movie we watch, Stand and Deliver. Instead of teaching at a typical high school, like Mr. Escalante. Ms. Watson teaches at a very proper college for girls. The girls at this college are very smart and have a very good upbringing, unlike the students at the high school who did not have as well of an up bringing. Yet the movies were based in different times and different places. This movie is inspiring to me because she wants to make a different in the lives of these girls, and at the school. She was teaching art to her class but they already knew so much that she decided to teach them in a different way. To have a new outlook on the pieces and their lives as well. Which I thought was clever, she was able to help out her girls and to slowly push them to realize that getting married isn't the only thing they can do when they finish schooling. All the girls are looking forward to getting married and think that's what they have to do, but Ms. Watson talks to one of the ladies, Joan I believe is her name, and asks what she wants to do about her pre-law. Of course she replies with the I do not plan on continuing my schooling but to be married. Ms. Watson quickly tells her that she can do both. I think that was so true, I personally believe that one can do both, and should do both.

Mona Lisa Smile Notes

Ms. Watson teaches art history
she came to teach at this school to make a difference
this school is an all girls school, very proper
there are students in here class to know a lot already about her art slides, because they have probably taken the class before
she is feeling overwhelmed with this class
everyone has already read the text for the class
the school didnt want her as a teacher, they had someone else in mind, but that someone took another job
so far she does not have much control of her class, they students just left because they knew she didnt have anything to teach them
She is having a tough time with the school, she doesnt fit in.
She couldnt live in the dorms so she lives off campus with a couple of other teachers
She brought in new photos, to make the girls think about art
she created a new outline for the class using all new photos,she is trying to open the students minds getting them to think what is art? good or bad, and what makes art
the school cannot mess up the public image that it has set for itself
ms watson to me seems to be liberal and not so proper as the other teachers seem
one of the teachers got fired because she was messing up the image of the school.
Ms watson talks to joan, one of the students and realizes that after graduating, everyone thinks that getting married is the end, and joan didnt plan on going to law school at all.
ms watson got joan and application to the yale
joan talks a lot about ms watson, she is very impressed by her
they have created a connection
her teaching has been called unorthadox for the school, to much modern art and if she wants to continue to stay here she must change her teachings.
ms watson is now engage, she is not to happy about that, confused
all the girls life is changing
betty got married and is living an unhappy life
joan got accepted to law school and only betty knows, she doesnt know what to do yet
ms watson may be more dedicated to her work then she is to her life,

Audre Lorde

Audre Lorde's story was very interesting, I really enjoyed reading it. She had two teachers, her kindergarten teacher and her first grade teacher. When Audre went into kindergarten, she already knew her letters and how to write her name and to read. She was taught by her mother, when Audre first said she wanted to know how to read. Her kindergarten teacher was called Miss. Teacher, she was not a very patient teacher. Audre had wrote her first and last name, to me you think the teacher would be proud, but no she wasn't. She looked down upon it, she said that Audre could not do as she was told. Her teacher was very angry and displeased with Audre, she would threaten to say how naughty and to tell her mother how she won't even try. When her mother came in to talk about what Audre had done wrong, her mother came to the conclusion that Audre should be in school, and that her kindergarten teacher was not capable of teaching her daughter, especially to teacher her to do what she is told. That is when she went into the first grade. Her first grade teacher was Sister Mary of Perpetual Help, or Sister MPH. She ruled her classroom with an iron first, she was very disciplinary, because she had sent a note home with Audre to tell her mother that she should not dress her in so many close so she can feel the pain of her beatings. She liked to segregate the children into two separate groups, which she called the fairies and the brownies. Of course the fairies were the good kids and the brownies were the bad kids, and Audre would always be in the brownies. Either because she broke her glasses, misbehaved and talked to much and because she could not learn her numbers. She didn't believe Audre when she actually did something right. She sent a note home saying that she needs a letter saying you are sorry for lying to the baby jesus. Only to get a letter saying that Audre did write her own sentence without help. Sister MPH was strict and a bit racist, Miss. Teacher was impatient, unwilling and not a very good teacher.

WS pertaining to paper #2

Paper number two is a thesis driven paper. Comparing and contrasting two different teachers. When reading section 28-30 I found it to be very helpful. Section 29 starts us of with planning and pre-writing, which is very helpful on helping you know what your topic is going to be, and to think about the audience your writing to. Which then continues to talk about essay structure and length, depending on what kind of essay your writing, the structure and number of paragraphs can vary. Paragraphs are the basic units of writing, whether they are short or long. In an essay you must and and intro, which would include our thesis. This will help me to explain my purpose and state what I will be writing about. Section 30 talks about using an outline, which will come in handy when trying to organize my paper. This section points out that the main points should reflect their importance. It shows an example that can be used. Each paragraph should have a main point and followed up either by a sub point or another main point. If I am to write a good thesis driven paper I would need to follow up my main points with details to back up what i'm trying to state. After reading sections 28-30 I feel more confident in writing a thesis paper, these sections have really helped me understand that basic principle of writing a thesis paper.

What makes a great teacher.

In my opinion, what makes a great teacher is, a teacher who teaches what they know. Some teachers just cannot teach. What makes a great teacher is a teacher that teaches you what you need to know to pass the class and pass your schooling, but they also teach you life lesson that you can use in your future. My english teacher always taught us things about the real world, same with most of my teachers. Great teachers need to know how to teach it to everyone. Not everyone learns the same, some students are hands on learning, and some are all about lectures. Great teaches need to be patient with students, it takes time to learn and when you have someone pressuring you everyday all day, it can be a challenge to learn. And teachers who get frustrated or yell do not make great teachers. At that point the students do not want to learn, best way to teach is calm and collective that way these students feel like they are attack or stupid because they don't know what the teacher is teaching. It also helps to have a lesson, because if a teacher doesn't have their thoughts together then, your going to be all over the place, possibly confusing students and making the learning process harder than it already is. The best teachers make time for individual students who need help and can have one on one time either before class or after school. Some students may need help, and they don't get the time or the class is too big and not enough teacher to go around. Teachers should be able to bond with the students, which can create a calm comfortable atmosphere. Which makes it easier for students to relax and concentrate on what the task is at hand.

Final draft paper #1 learning to love life

Who would have thought someones life could change in one day. Not just one day, but for two years. My family is just like everyone else's. Were normal and happy, so why does bad stuff happen to my family? well it just so happens to be that it is a random event of bad luck. I was about six years old when my life was forced to change. It had been a normal day just like any other. I was at school, learning playing with toys and coloring, learning the things a six year old should know. I was in the first grade at this point I believe. I was the type of little girl, who loved school and hated to be away from it. I use to cry when I wasn’t old enough to go to school and my brothers were. So school and me definitely clicked.  

My mom had come and picked me up early, that was very strange, because my mom had never done that unless I was sick or it was my birthday. It was neither my birthday or was I sick. She said we had to go away for a while. I knew somethings have been happening to my brother over that past couple months. He had looked ill and we were visiting the doctors a lot. That day I had learned that my brother had cancer. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew it wasn’t something that will go away easily. I felt like my world had ended. Every day, the lump on his arm had grown bigger and bigger. To me it was just a lump on his arm, it was hard and meaty. But to my parents it was the sight of death. I could see that it was deforming his arm, and causing him a lot of pain. At this point, none of us knew what to do but to hope and pray. My brother was only ten years old at this point.

We ended up staying over in Seattle, while my brother was at the children’s hospital, my mother and my other brother and me stayed at the Ronald McDonald house for cancer patients and family. Which was a wonderful place for the parents and families of there hospitalized children. This was a little to no cost for the families who stayed there. A lot of people would visit, such as Ronald McDonald and Santa Clause. Just so the little kids could celebrate and be happy for awhile. While my family was there we had visits from hockey teams and mascots. They wanted to keep the place in a positive mood. A lot of the children there were lively and friendly, they looked without fear. One thing I will never forget was what one little girl had said to me, “I know i’m sick, I know that I will die today, or maybe tomorrow. But i’m not afraid, my mommy will be holding my hand.” I had learned so much throughout these two years. I learned that death is inevitable and can happen, and when it happens they go to a better place. It was hard having friends, my mom said to not get so close to someone because they may not be there again the next day.

There was a beautiful ceremony, for my moms friends son. We were all very close. Her son had cancer and so did my moms son, her son was around my age I believe so we had all bonded. Her son didn’t win the battle, we had all gathered in a park, had a celebration. I learned to not despair but to be joyful, I looked at it that they were no longer suffering, that they had won just not the way we may have wanted. At the end of the day we all had a balloon, his favorite color, red. At the same time we all let the balloon go as to guide her son.

When my brother had started his surgeries and chemotherapy, he had changed greatly. He wasn’t as happy as I remember, before this all happened. Which I guess was a huge side affect of his treatments. He never wanted to do anything, but my mother always made him do something. He had to walk everywhere, he had to ride his bike, go to the movies. Whenever he was to tired to do anything, my mom would hold his hand while he did it. She said its better to do something than to not do anything at all. His hair had fallen out; he had lost his appetite sometimes even. When I saw him lying on his bed, I knew then and there that life was too short, and it couldn’t be taken for granted. That life was like a box of chocolates, I never knew what I was going to get till I got it. When I got it, I had to deal with it. The greatest day was when we learned my brother was going to be all right. We had fought for so long and when we knew that it was finally over. You can say that we jumped for joy. All the hard work had paid off, I think my brother was the most happiest of us all. He could finally go back home and do all the stupid things a now 12 year old boy would do. After everything he had his last surgery, which I don’t think was very serious, just some minor detailing, and they healed him up nice and good. I remember when they first took out the tumor, the doctors got to show us pictures of it. I will tell you now, I don’t eat meatballs anymore.

He had to go back every month for a year and then every six months and then one last time for his checkups. And each time we were afraid it would come back, but the cancer had stayed away for good. He had to do his own therapies at home, which of course he never wanted to do, but he did it. The surgeries had left him with a long scar down his bicep. He will never have the same mobility in his arm like he had before, it left a nice indent on his elbow where the tumor was, it was hard for him to do the sports that he wanted to do, but he managed. My brother was a fun loving child, a bit of a trouble maker; he took his life for granted. He expected everything, and wanted everything. He didn’t think much of the consequences. I think he learned what I had learned as a life lesson. He never took his life for granted anymore because it was like a gift, and gifts can be taken away. The scar on his arm will always remind him that he was a survivor, and that life cannot be taken for granted and no one can live forever. Life is a gift, it can be taken away just as easy as it is given to you. Our time in Seattle was a happy one, not once did we let this problem get to us. My family still did things with each other, because we knew that staying home and doing nothing wasn’t going to solve anything. We had to make the most of it, and thats exactly what we did. 

Stand and Deliver Notes

the teacher was suppose to teach computer science.
he is now teaching math 1a
he is kind and caring for his students he wants them to succeed but yet he insults them
the school he works at is run down. there is little funding for the school. they dont have computers or books for most classes.
he is a tough and pushy teacher. he doesnt let his students say no, or quit. he forced his students to go to summer school
he made a contract for them to sign and there parents stating to be at school an hour early and stay til 5 and go on saturdays.
he wanted his students to learn calculus
inorder to learn that they had to pass the other classes during the summer
he wanted them to take the advanced placement test so they can earn college credits.
all the kids eventually bonded togeether and with the teacher.
other teachers and board members thinks that he is asking to much of the kids
they had low self esteem and if they fail they may not bounce back.
all 18 of the students passed the test.
though the testing people thinks that all 18 of the student cheated because they did so well on the test.
he defends his students because they didnt cheat
he believes that its because they descrimminate
they have to take the test again just to prove they didnt cheat
they only had one day to review the whole book
another misunderstanding with the test scores
with just one day review they all had passed the test
all the students passed the test just like they did the first time they took it
every year more and more students passed the A.P calculus exam.

This was a very interesting movie. Inspiring that all these students started at the bottom and were able to come all the way to the top.

best and worst teacher

My best teacher ever was my sixth grade teacher. He was the best ever! he was fun I had him for 5th and 6th grade. He was good about teaching, he taught us our daily math and reading and writing and so on but in the 6th grade he kind of slacked. He had already taught us so much and he thought well since its our last year at the elementry school that we should just have some fun. My class started a weekly newspaper for our school. We would put puzzles and questions in it. Funny comics and pictures. My duty for the paper was the columist, I wrote all the short stories in the paper. Was so much fun! during halloween, my teacher decided that we should turn our classroom into a haunted house. Which we did and had the whole school come and go through it. Wasnt very scary, but it was tons of fun. He let us do all sorts of things, which is why he is the best.

My worst teacher ever was my english teacher in the 7th grade. She just wasnt very nice. She didnt care to put up with any of us. She wanted everything to be perfect. And when your talking about kids, there is no perfect. She was picky with kids and she was kind of a racist teacher. Although her intentions were good and she wanted to teach. She just didnt do it the right way.

Main Idea

The main idea that I wanted the readers to know, is that life is hard and shouldnt be taken advantage of because many things can happen to you and you may not come out on top.

Tools for writing

Writing can be easy to do, but that does not mean the writing you do is gonna be good. A good tool to use is planning. Everything starts with planning, that is where you get all your good ideas. One thing I read in the textbook was organization, essay structure and length. My problem is I tend to either write to long paragraphs or I write to short of paragraphs. The outline of my paper tends to be mixed around. I may not have all my ideas in order and I may write about more than one idea in a paragraph which can get confusing. But using an outline like in the textbook, would really help. Writing out an outline can help me organize all my ideas and put my thoughts where they belong. The textbook talks about good guidelines for writing a good essay. Think about the topic first, consider audience, outline essay, write and edit, get feedback which is most important, proofread and correct and write your final draft. As long as I keep those in mind, I believe I will write a very good paper.

Malcolm X, Franklin, Rose

Malcolm X, Franklin and Rose's esssays all differ because they were all learning something at a different time in each of their lives. Malcolm was imprisoned at a older age and decided to better himself by learning and educating himself on his own. He did not have any help from anyone. Just his books. Benjamin had the ability to go to school and choose what he wanted to learn. He was able to start out at an early age. He had different learning experiences, working with his father for two years, working with his brother. Always getting his hands on books to read. He was always learning something. To me, Mike was pushed into education, he had it just because it was there. He went to school, he may not have learned as much as someone would need, he had trouble learning, he was bad in math, his teachers didnt know how to engage the attention of the students, he had a hard learning experience, but at the end he learned a lot. About his friends, and his teachers.

Rough draft-paper number 1

   When I was learning to draw, which was pretty recent, it was a painstaking voyage into the unknown. I knew pretty much nothing about drawing, all I knew how to draw was stick people and a few types of flowers. I didn't know anything about the perspective of objects and how one object relates to the other object. How the angles vary, how you see the object and how the object really looks. One thing I learned when I started drawing, was that when I drew a picture of a box. To me the box would look identical to the box on the table, but really the boxes did not look alike, the angles may have been wrong, the height of the box compared to something next to it. The space around it would be off. I learned that my mind would make me manipulate the way I see the box to make it look like it was identical. I had to teach my mind and my hand to communicate and to see. Drawing can be described in many different ways, drawing is used with pencils, pens, charcoal, graphite, etc. Drawings can either be really big or really small, of people or flowers. Drawing is similar to painting, to me its the same thing, but to others it can be different. Painting is used with paints, acrylic paint, not pencils. But yet your still drawing, your still making a picture for everyone to enjoy and talk about. The only difference I see is that painters use different material than an artist would use for drawing. Drawing can lead to many different opportunities. Such as: becoming an artist, a lot of people are good at drawing whether it be people, and still life drawings, to landscapes and other stuff. They may be an illustrator for children's books, or just picture books. Drawing can be a way for a child to express themselves, from what I know, children's psychologist may use drawing to help understand what a child may be feeling. They can interpret what they draw. A lot of children cannot just sit down and spill out there heart and soul, so they use art. Painting, drawing, whatever works best for them. For me, drawing is just my hobby, I like to draw, I enjoy it very much. I like to draw pictures of flowers mostly because that's what I'm good at. I started to draw faces, as that is my next step. When I started drawing faces, I was really hard on myself, I told myself I couldn't do it, that every drawing looked like a different alien and isn't from this world. I denied myself the ability to improve and congratulate myself. Part of drawing is to be able to pat yourself on the back, your drawings may look bad at first, 100 drawings can be terrible but drawing 101 will look good and for that you must appreciate and make yourself feel good. That I did not do, but I learned, I learned I need to appreciate my artistic ability, for I just started drawing and my drawings really were not that bad. I had some talent in drawing. When I finally decided that I shouldn't be so hard on myself, my drawings became better and better. I was more positive and the more positive I was the better my drawings were. You have to enjoy something in order for you to get better. If you don't enjoy what your trying to do, you can lose interest very easily. You won't take the time that is needed to learning that particular thing or you don't put in enough effort to learn it. Learning to draw is just like learning to do something else. It takes the same steps, first you just have to do it. Self teach yourself or get a teacher. Obtain books on what it is your trying to learn. For me I would get drawing books, whether they were step by step on how to draw what this way. Or a book of pictures that I can practice drawing on my own paper. Practice, practice, practice. That is one of the most important things. Nothing will happen if your sitting on your bum watching t.v. those are most of the steps it takes to learn something. There are much more, but those are the steps that I take to learn to draw.

Blog post to generate ideas and text

I can use blog post to generate ideas and text for my first formal paper. I think blog post would be a perfect opportunity to write down all my ideas, and do my brainstorming for my paper. I can do a lot of prewriting, and editing in my blog post. Blog post are a wonderful way for my fellow classmates to read and possible comment on my writing to help my process along the way. What normally would have been done in class and in groups, giving each other your rough draft to read and edit for you, and only a small amount of people would be able to do that with certain time limits. With blog post many people can read all of our blog posts about the paper and comment. It is like the ultimate "easy button." With blog post, I can write down as much as I want with out scratching ideas and without worrying about organization. When I finish a good portion of my paper, I can go back through and organize and take out what I don't need and possibly re-write what I want to keep. One thing I personally like about writing all my ideas and thoughts in blog posts is, that all my writings are kept nice and neat. Usually when I write everything down on paper it gets very messy and unorganized. Also like that my fellow class makes can read it whenever I want to post something. With there help, it can be easy to create new ideas. When multiple minds think together, wonderful creations can be made.

"I Just Wanna Be Average"

Rose's teachers were all very different. His homeroom teacher brother Dill who was troubled and unstable would smack the students, His P.E teacher would paddle them, an ex-lineman. He wanted to make men of the students. Then there was his spanish teacher, who had no authority in the class, he was very quiet and delicate, a small man. Most of the time Rose did not learn anything, either his teachers, like his english teacher did not teach or he just did not pay attention. In my experience with teachers, I had moments where I did not want to pay attention. Voc.Ed made Rose find his own socially, he made friends with different kinds of people, tried out for track. Rose could not simplify algebraic fractions, he developed faulty and inadequate ways of doing algebra. One reason may be that he tuned everything out in elementary school. No matter how bad the school, people encounter notions that don't fit with the assumptions and beliefs that you grew up with. People like Ken just decide to be average to protect themselves from the madness. And some people like Ted, you just let your mind roam. To me I don't find college to be disorienting, everything in college is pretty straight forward to me. Your class is here, you learn this, homework is this. But that is just my opinion, schooling has always been easy to me because I love it so much. My experience of education somewhat compares, I have had teachers that held barely any authority at times, kids would not pay attention and talk and goof off, and other times I had very strict teachers. And I think that at least once someone did not pay attention in school, I knew many people who just tuned everything out, or settled to less than what they could be. Reading this text and answering the questions helps me to ask question like that about my own educational paper that I will be writing. And that I can use other papers and think about what they are trying to say to help me to understand what I may want to write about. This helps me to think if I should write more emotionally and intellectually or even socially. Something that involves me or a group of friends that I made while learning.

Compare&Contrast Malcolm X & Benjamin Franklin

Wow, after reading these two autobiographies, I was completely inspired by these two men. When reading "Learning to Read" I was so impressed that a man can overcome his frustrations and teach himself how to read. Even though it was a slow and painstaking process he was able to pick up books and start at the very beginning. Not everyone is taught in this particular way, copying word for word from books and dictionaries. It makes me think about how many people learned to read and write when they do not have the sources that most people have. After reading both autobiographies I found many comparisons between the two. Considering that both men have a sort of devotion and love of knowledge of reading and writing. Benjamin was always writing (ever since he could remember, he was reading). Both men always had a book in their possession. Always wanting to read more and learn more. Malcolm was determined to better himself even though he was imprisoned and I admire that. He would stay up late every night just so he can continue to read, he did not need many hours of sleep, he just wanted to read. That is one determined man. Benjamin would always find new ways to teach himself, whether he was being pushed around to work with his brothers, he would still get his hands on books to read. There were not many differences, different time and different people. One a man imprisoned teaching himself to read at an older age, through dictionaries and rewriting everything, to reading and reading different subjects of books. Benjamin a boy who went to grammar school at eight years of age, who read books from the time he was little. But both people had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

Pre-writing

In the past, my brainstorming for a paper started with me sitting down and grabbing a piece of paper. I write down all the possible ideas of what I could write about. Whether it is a good idea or a bad idea, I make sure to write them all down. I then initially decide which topics are worth writing about, whether they will draw in a reader or turn a reader away. When I have a good list going about topics I write sub topics that clarify and describe my main idea. I always want to write my paper about an idea that I know more about, so that I have more to write about. Topics that have little details get erased. When I finally have my sole topic of what I'm writing about, I start to do my first draft, I usually just blab. My teacher in high school taught me that if you cant think of a good way to start a paper you just start writing what comes to mind. Later on when you find a good beginning you can add it in and continue on. When I finish my free write, I like to pick out certain sentences and paragraphs that really say what my topic is about or sentences that are very descriptive and creative that make my paper sound more interesting, and divide them into paragraphs and elaborate more on that one sentence meaning or paragraph meaning. I then eventually have a paper, my first draft. I take a little break from my paper, give my mind a rest. When I come back to the paper, I begin to read it out loud. That will help me to fix any grammatical errors I may have. I then continue to edit and rewrite sentences or add in more words and ideas til I get the perfect paper. When I achieve this state I make sure more than one person reads my paper. So they can edit and give me insight to what they feel about this paper. When that is all said and done and rewrite my paper once more with all the edits I might need to do and finish it off once and for all. All of these pre-writing tools successfully help me write my papers. I use to not do any pre-writing, I use to just write and write, rewrite and finish, I didn't care much about how my paper got done. Just that it got done. But when I started brainstorming ideas and free writing on each idea and picking one with more detail I realized that my papers have become better and more organized and more in depth.

Collabaration #2 Abbey, Emmy and Nahshon

After reading Malcolm X "Learning to Read" we concluded that this can help us because he wrote about his intense desire to read and his passion to learn. It just started out that he just wanted to read and write, fix his penmanship, after which had started into something bigger than that. He carried on with his passion for writing and reading to help other people along the way. We could also write in this way, to help other people who may read our paper to understand and to try and acheive something for themselves. He wasnt doing this for a badge, or a degree, he did it for himself. His own self gain, and eventually to help teach other people the ways of Elijah Muhammad. He gives us a good view on what we should write about, what inspires us and motivates us.

Collaboration: Abbey, Emmy and Nahshon

We understand that our assignment is to write a paper about a real learning experience that we have had in our past.  We want to draw the reader in with creative writing, using fact and models.  We need to use a lot of details to describe our personal experience and toconvey to the reader exactly what we want them to get from the paper. We need to include our obstacles and solutions to create a connection between the reader and the writer. Although the paper does not need to be formal, it must be written in proper english.  The use of casual writing will help to connect the reader to what they are reading.  Finally, we also understand that since this is a paper about a personal experience, we can use use the words I, me, or my.

Blog #1

   After reading the two sample Educational Narratives, I have found that I can certainly use parts from each narrative to construct my first paper. From the computer programmer narrative, I really enjoyed how he started his story. And I would like to start mine in the same way. Giving a little background history and summarize about what I'm going to say and then carry on with my story from the beginning of how it came to be. What really intrigued me was with the second article about living without google. He used a lot of his "voice" in the story, by the way some of his sentences came around and the way he asked himself question and followed up by answering them. I would like to do something similar in a way of me asking my own questions to my audience, to include them and also to make them think about their own experiences and to question them. After reading the narrative about google, before writing my own narrative. I would need to ask myself a few questions. Why would I write about this, why would I do this, what have benefited me in doing this. Which would then help me to start a sort of background into my narrative to explain to the audience why I chose to write about this. What I have found in the second narrative was something I would like to use in my own narrative, about the problems I faced and how I overcame those problems. When I finished the Computer Programmer narrative, I thought to myself that I would like to outline my narrative similar to the way he did, by not only explaining how he learned to be a computer programmer but also that he is, in a way teaching his audience on how to become a computer programmer. I like how Joshua J. Romero concludes his narrative, by telling us how his experiment affected him and benefited him. It was a life lesson, and you always benefit in some way, it will help me in my future writings to know I have a good foundation to start a paper and a good moral to what I need to say.

First blog

First day of english class. So far so good. But boy do I tell you, creating a blog was quite confusing. Lets hope it does not stay confusing for long!