Working on my trending topic with another person was very interesting. I found it to be a good experience to listen to my partner's views on our topic, because we overall ahd the same look on the topic but she also some great input to my thinking. Working with someone on something that I feel strong about was a struggle because while both of us had great ideas and thoughts, I really wanted my thoughts to represented in a certain way in which I felt that what I was trying to say to my readers was understood. After working with Bekka on this project I feel that both her and myself got our points across very well, and we both learned many things about our movement along the way.
One thing I wish I could have worked on more while doing this project was really digging deeper behind why I found this topic to be important for me. I really only gave a broad reasoning for its importance and I feel that I could have extended my thinking.
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Over the last six to eight weeks I have read about 600 pages. I usual average about 100 pages per week, but that really depended on how busy my week was. I would not say that this is more that I usually read or less because it is a pretty basic average for me. Some things that I read for this marking period was Asking For It, Boy meets Boy, Wintergirls, and Beloved. One thing that I really enjoyed reading was Boy Meets Boy, I found this book to be very interesting for me because it was from the perspective of a gay character and I have never read a book from that perspective before. It also me a different view on LGBTQ community. When reading I usually complete most of it at home before I go to bed, I find myself to really be able to focus when I am in my room with no one else and I can just listen to music and block things out so I can focus on the book itself better. When and if I have to read during class at school, I like to move away from the table even if it is just to the floor a few feet away because that way I feel less compelled to talk to the people around me. I would honestly say that I am growing as a reader, this is because I have found myself reading more informational books on topics or movements that i never thought I would be this involved in. It really has helped me reach out of my comfort zone for something new and exciting. I would say that my stamina for reading has not really grown or shrunk at all, I can read for ten minutes if I want, or I could read for six hours it honestly just depends on my drive and my mood for that day. My plans to challenge myself as a reader for this next upcoming marking period would be to continue to read books that capture my attention but can also inform me on something important in today's society at the same time. As a reader I learned this marking period that I am really not fond of unhappy ending in books, just because it makes me feel as if I have no control over anything and it can actually out me in a terrible mood when I finish a book. Broken Schools
The world has changed, and many Refuse to follow the wave. Maybe it's the constant spinning That throws them off, But that's no excuse to deny That something is wrong. I walk through my school now seeing kids Hands in pockets… GUN? Whether they are concealing a weapon or just their innocence I am no longer trusting. My trust vanished just as fast as government support. Without it we stand alone, but don't think We won't stand tall or strong. They shut us down, when we know best, But they will not win this time. Things must Change, and we will be the ones to do it. Sincerely, Your Youth. #neveragain Words from the Author: Clarrissa Klein I chose to write this piece because it is a very relevant topic in society lately and I feel very strongly about it. I have seen in a matter of only thirteen days since the Parkland school shooting many kids my age take action for change, and this is the kind of change I would like to be part of. I have seen my own government try to hush those who make themselves heard and I have found it to be truly despicable. I am sick of being silenced on issues that deserve the attention of all so this is my piece on the #neveragain movement for gun control in America. Some significant things that I revised to really make this piece my own was the way that I would phrase things. Such as for the second stanza I really tried to work out the wording to make it sound as if it was from the perspective of the author and the reader. That way people could really connect to the piece themselves. Over the last six weeks I estimate that I have read about 400 or so pages, I kind of lost track of the books I finished. I would say that i also averaged about 45 pages per week, and that would be pretty low for me but I was very busy.
The books that I read for this marking period were Boy Meet Boy, #NotYourPrincess, and Shakespeare's Macbeth. I really enjoyed the poems from #NotYourPrincess I found it interesting to learn more about that topic. When reading I usually complete most of it at home before I go to bed, I find myself to really be able to focus when I am in my room with no one else and I can just listen to music and block things out so I can focus on the book itself better. When and if I have to read during class at school, I like to move away from the table even if it is just to the floor a few feet away because that way I feel less compelled to talk to the people around me. I would say for this marking period I haven't really grown as a reader that much because i stayed in my comfort zone because I was so busy most of the time. For next marking period my plans are to focus more on getting my reading done faster and more efficiently. My goal for the amount of books I would like to read this trimester would be somewhere between six and ten. As for the year I would like to accomplish somewhere between twenty to twenty-five. I learned over this marking period as a reader I am not good as forcing myself to read when i am very busy ding others things. In October 2017, American actress Alyssa Milano asked all victims of sexual harassment or assault to reply to her tweet with #MeToo. Milano’s tweet was the cornerstone of the #MeToo movement becoming viral across multiple social media platforms, and many individuals attribute her with the creation of this initiative and hashtag. However, the #MeToo movement originated 10 years ago and was created by Tarana Burke as a way to accurately show the public the culture surrounding sexual assault and rape, as well as how widespread and frequent sexual attacks are. Since October 2017, this movement has gained traction in multiple aspects, many individuals have found the strength to come forward and disclose their experiences and encounters with many prominent and well-known individuals (commonly men) in the media. Many of the instances of sexual harassment and assault occurred in the workplace, and this pattern did not go unnoticed. In early January 2018, the Time’s Up movement was created by many Hollywood actors, producers, executives, and directors in light of the #MeToo movement and the numerous allegations against Harvey Weinstein. Furthermore, many Hollywood celebrities have made public declarations of support of this initiative. For both the 2018 Golden Globe Awards and The Brits 2018, many influential individuals wore specific attire to show their support of these movements! The #MeToo initiative continues to become more and more prominent in the news as it constantly gains more traction in today’s society. Many authors have taken to expressing their opinions on this widespread movement publicly, some even writing books about it. A prime example of this is the book Asking for It by Louise O’Neill. Published in 2015, Asking for It follows an Irish teenager, Emma O’Donovan, and the aftermath of her sexual assault. The following are ten instances in which Asking for It reflects the premise of the #MeToo movement.
Asking for It was an immensely difficult book to read- it makes you angry, uncomfortable, sad and incredibly helpless. It leaves you feeling nauseous and hopeless, but these feelings are rooted in reality. Many sexual assault or harassment victims are left feeling the same way after they are attacked, shamed, judged, or unable to achieve justice for themselves and their suffering. Emma O’Donovan is not just a character in Louise O'Neill's novel, she exists, she is everywhere. She is walking home from a midnight shift, walking her dog in the woods, on your college campus. There are Emma’s all over the world, which is why this book is so important to read. Sexual harassment and assault happen, in fact, it is such a common event, that we, as a society, have come to trivialize them in our culture. Rape cases aren’t taken seriously enough in society today, and hopefully with the spread and development of the #MeToo movement this will soon change. Looking back on my Shakespeare project with my group of Bekka, Abbie, and myself I felt that it was of the best projects that I have done in my high school career. It took a lot of effort to figure out how to find the best way to mesh all of different ideas together, but I believe we had fun doing it. Working as a group when writing a paper can be quite a difficult challenge, because everyone starts their thoughts out differently, and as each of were writing we would look at another part where another group member had started and think what the heck even is this mess. It was really hard to get used to my groups members writing strategies but once I did I feel that our paper flowed very well together. When talking about actually writing the eight page paper, that was a new experience for my group, not one of us had gone past writing like a four to five page paper and it was a struggle to set up all of our ideas so that we did not get to the point way to fast and then only have like a page worth of discoveries. We had to find ways to prove to the reader our own views on our theory, and make it sound credible. So that was another struggle. One thing that really made this project interesting and somewhat of a hurdle for me, was giving a presentation on Shakespeare. In the past I have only ever read, and been tested on Shakespeare but I have never had to present his ideas. Doing this was a challenge because it forced me to completely understand what my theory was inside and out, but I also had to know every inch of Shakespeare Macbeth. After doing this presentation I felt that it really gave me a better understanding of Shakespeare as an artist. We all have that one person The one who has twelve different Alter egos, each as crazy as the last. Some might be colder than others Where you can feel their chill To the bone. Others warm you inside and out But can change in a matter of seconds To gloomy as if the clouds passed Over the sun in retreat. There are days when they are endlessly Losing things, many things, things of color. Even though they may misplace these Colorful items they always find a way To discover them again. As if they bloomed Out of nowhere. This person to me is Michigan. Words From The Author- Clarrissa KleinI chose this piece for many reasons. One being that it really spoke to me about how the weather was for the past week or so when I was writing this. It had snowed one day, ad then it was 45 degrees out the next. The weather continued to be as insane as it usually is in Michigan. So I decided to capture it in a poem. The other reason that this piece really spoke to me was how I could connect it with my passion for photography. All of the photos shown in this post have been taken by me, and I felt that they add something special to my piece.
One thing that I really worked on to revise this piece was I tried really hard to use words that I found described the four seasons of Michigan but could also be describing something else entirely at the same time. Relationship/Journey with ELA: Thinking back on my journey with ELA I find it to have a lot of ups and downs. To be quite honest with you, it was mostly downs. Where to start? Back in middle school is when I really started to see my reading and writing shift, my reading went from really good to really great because I continued to excel and push myself to read more and more. I feel that none of that was due to my English classes but just my own passions for reading. When it comes to my writing though I think that it just went downhill from there. In my 7th grade class we did not focus on writing all, honestly the only thing that I can recall doing in that class was watching Greek God movies such as, Percy Jackson, or wrath or the titans because we were supposed to be studying Greek mythology. I felt like this was because my teacher was lazy and she did not actually want to teach us anything. As we move on to 8th grade it did not get much better than that. My teacher focused more on poetry, which was fine but all we ever did was read it. We never analyzed the poems to really understand them. We also never learned how to correctly construct a poem ourselves which I feel that I am really lacking to this day. I feel that I do not understand poetry or any of its elements. Now for my high school experiences with ELA. Not to be a Debbie Downer but it has sucked. I personally do not have any clue how to use most of the English languages punctuation or grammar. My vocabulary is slim to none and I can only manage to write a very scrappy essay here and there. Throughout the years my teachers have told my classes things based on grammar and essay set ups and no one really new what they were talking about. We would then try to ask what exactly they were saying because we did not understand and my teachers would either reiterate what they had just said, or they would repeat it in an even more vague description. So that really made everything confusing. Overall I would say that my journey with ELA has been a little rough because I have not been taught the things I feel that I need to be able to succeeded in my classes, I also feel that my reading has only excelled because of my own personal goals for it. Reading Survey: I have always liked to read, I grew up reading with my parents and siblings. When it comes to reading I find it fairly easy and choose books that not only interest me but challenge me as well. I am currently reading the second book in the Cinder series (Scarlet) and I really am enjoying it so far. Over the summer I read about five or so books, some of them were for my summer homework for AP Lit. such as The Book Thief (which I really enjoyed), Obasan, and How to Read Literature like a Professor. Some of the other books that I have read this summer just for fun was the first book in the Cinder series and Miss. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Over the course of the last year I read close to maybe 15 books, some for school and some not. Some of my favorite authors are Alexandra Bracken, J.K Rowling, and John Green. I would say that I have about 200 to maybe 250 books in my house and about 3/4 of them belong to me. If I were to describe myself as a reader, I would say that I am a strong reader and that I can easily comprehend what I am reading. When talking about the growth of my reading I would say that I have grown as a reader over the years and that I find books even more interesting as I continue to read and grow. Writing Survey: I would say that I am not usually a writer but sometimes I do tend to enjoy to write if it is a topic that intrigues me. When talking about certain reasons why people write I believe that it can vary between people needing to express themselves, to just doing it because one enjoys it. I also feels that some people write just because they have to or are required to. Personally I feel in order for someone to write well is for them to have fairly decent grammar, but they also need to write through their perspective and not what others might be expecting because that is what I think brings out some of the best writing. I mostly likes to write in more of a diary or a blog format in which it really doesn't have a set topic. When deciding what I want to write about, usually I just takes some time to write down her ideas to get a better view of how she would want to lay out her writing before beginning. Most of my ideas just kinda show up when I am thinking about my prompt. When having my writing critiqued I generally prefer to have some good and bad thoughts, but I prefer to be given advice that will help me excel more and not just make me feel good. On a normal bases I usually writes maybe ten or so times at home, but they aren't usually long pieces. In general I do not like my writing and do not think that it is very good at it at all. Goals for Trimester Two: My most realistic goals for trimester two would be to really start to excel in my writing. I would like to understand better how to use punctuation in certain areas and when some grammar comes into play. I would really enjoy getting a better understanding of poetry, such as the elements of it and how to write poems myself with very little confusion. Another goal I have for myself is to start to enjoy reading again, in the last trimester I was not too keen on reading but I would really love it. So I would like to be able to read without forcing myself. Those are my most realistic goals that I have set for myself. |
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