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Poerty

April 29th, 2007 by alexh

This quarter, we studied both the academic side of poetry and also the more personal views. We both read and wrote poetry of our own, which we then consolidated into a book and displayed them at our own poetry night. Where we also read out loud a poem of choice. During this we were also working with people around the world towards a common goal. Our objective was to educate people about the pressing matters of the world using poetry, images, and facts. We then put these all together to create an end product.

While completing the teen life project, I believe that I was an Effective Communicator because I Incorporated/ Utilized technology as a tool for communication, demonstrated the skills of effective collaboration, collaborated with others in appropriate learning situations to achieve group goals, and understood and conveyed written, oral and visual information using appropriate media. I also think that I was an Academic Achiever because I demonstrated the ability to work both independently and collaboratively. In my own words this means that I was able to work with people I already knew and people I still have never met to complete a project where we used technology. These skills remind me of groups who travel around the world educating students about drugs and alcohol. I applied these ESLRs by writing and producing my own poem and picture and then shared them with the other members of my group via email, msn, and our personal wikispace. I could have improved in this area by gathering more information about my subject and then writing my poetry, so then I could have more fully understood the background and made my poem all the more better. In this area I would give myself a nine out of ten because I did collaborate with others for a common goal.

For the teen life project I was not a Critical Thinker, an Involved Citizen, or a Self-Directed Learner. I could have used these ESLRs by gathering, analyzing, and processing information from a variety of sources, this would have helped me to write more knowingly about my subject and also help to develop my own point of view concerning teenage drug use. I also could have demonstrated responsibility in active decision-making; this would have enabled me to help the more organized people of our group rather than just completing my own work and then doing nothing else. In addition I could have accepted responsibility for my own learning and demonstrated competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills. In doing these I would have be able to better stay focused on the end goal instead of wasting time and almost not finishing on time.

To write all my poems and comply them into a book I think I was a Self-Directed Learner because I monitored, adjusted, and documented work in progress. I also this I was an Academic Achiever because I continually assessed, evaluated, and adjusted work to maintain high standards and I demonstrated technological literacy and the use of technology as a tool for the efficient and creative completion of a project. I also think that I was an Effective Communicator because I demonstrated my creative talents to convey ideas. To me this means that I had a classmate or a teacher read over my work to give me suggestions on how to make it better. It also means that I used technology to make my project more efficient. This reminds me of revising and editing and how for almost everything in your life must fix the small problems or just start over, and I feel that this is an important life lesson that every person needs to learn. I would look at Mr. R’s suggestions on my poems and decided which I would use and which ones I would not; this help to make my poetry flow more but also retain my own voice. I also use my own pictures to make my points come across visually and I typed all the poems that were put into my book to make them easier to read. I could have improved by also revising my poems at home, so that they were constantly improving. In this area I would give myself a seven out of ten because there are still many thing I could have done to improve.

In this section of the quarter I was not Critical Thinker or an Involved Citizen. If I had built meaning and understanding using life knowledge and figurative language, which I could have incorporated into my poems by using ideas that I already had with new tools that I had learned in class, or demonstrated care and concern for my environment, by writing to educate others, than I would have been on whole a better student.

I believe that I demonstrated the qualities of, an Involved Citizen during the poetry night because I interacted with people of diverse cultures and demonstrated awareness and respect for the rights of others. An Effective Communicator because I listened respectfully and asked questions to facilitate understanding and achieve insight, collaborated with others in appropriate learning situations to achieve group goals and finally understood and conveyed written, oral, and visual information using appropriate media. In my words, this means that I worked with people of different races towards an overall group goal and used media to achieve it. These reminded me of the UN because they are people from all over the world working together to make the world a clean and happier place, and they do this by educating people of global problems using technology. I used these ESLRs by teaching different people how to write a sensory poem and by working with my whole class to bring the night together and to make an introductory movie of our school. To improve I could have help with setup or cleanup of the night, this would have let somebody who had already done a lot of work for the event. In this section, I give myself an eight out of ten because I did my part but could have volunteered for more.

For the poetry night, I was not a Critical Thinker, an Academic Achiever, or Self-Directed Learner. To become any of these I should have solved problems using a variety of strategies, instead of choosing the easiest but not always best way, or take creative risks in developing new ideas, this would have enabled me to make the poem I read much more interesting and special.

In the end, I demonstrated the qualities of an Academic Achiever, an Involved Citizen, an Effective Communicator, and a Self-Directed Learner. The only ESLR that I did not show was a Critical Thinker, so next time I will have to improve on that area. Next quarter we will be reading The Tempest by William Shakespeare. Although most of his works are plays, his lines are written in Iambic pentameter. I look forward to reading this because I really enjoy poetry, which it practically is, and I also enjoy reading stories of magic.

This quarter, we studied both the academic side of poetry and also the more personal views. We both read and wrote poetry of our own, which we then consolidated into a book and displayed them at our own poetry night. Where we also read out loud a poem of choice. During this we were also working with people around the world towards a common goal. Our objective was to educate people about the pressing matters of the world using poetry, images, and facts. We then put these all together to create an end product.

While completing the teen life project, I believe that I was an Effective Communicator because I Incorporated/ Utilized technology as a tool for communication, demonstrated the skills of effective collaboration, collaborated with others in appropriate learning situations to achieve group goals, and understood and conveyed written, oral and visual information using appropriate media. I also think that I was an Academic Achiever because I demonstrated the ability to work both independently and collaboratively. In my own words this means that I was able to work with people I already knew and people I still have never met to complete a project where we used technology. These skills remind me of groups who travel around the world educating students about drugs and alcohol. I applied these ESLRs by writing and producing my own poem and picture and then shared them with the other members of my group via email, msn, and our personal wikispace. I could have improved in this area by gathering more information about my subject and then writing my poetry, so then I could have more fully understood the background and made my poem all the more better. In this area I would give myself a nine out of ten because I did collaborate with others for a common goal.

For the teen life project I was not a Critical Thinker, an Involved Citizen, or a Self-Directed Learner. I could have used these ESLRs by gathering, analyzing, and processing information from a variety of sources, this would have helped me to write more knowingly about my subject and also help to develop my own point of view concerning teenage drug use. I also could have demonstrated responsibility in active decision-making; this would have enabled me to help the more organized people of our group rather than just completing my own work and then doing nothing else. In addition I could have accepted responsibility for my own learning and demonstrated competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills. In doing these I would have be able to better stay focused on the end goal instead of wasting time and almost not finishing on time.

To write all my poems and comply them into a book I think I was a Self-Directed Learner because I monitored, adjusted, and documented work in progress. I also this I was an Academic Achiever because I continually assessed, evaluated, and adjusted work to maintain high standards and I demonstrated technological literacy and the use of technology as a tool for the efficient and creative completion of a project. I also think that I was an Effective Communicator because I demonstrated my creative talents to convey ideas. To me this means that I had a classmate or a teacher read over my work to give me suggestions on how to make it better. It also means that I used technology to make my project more efficient. This reminds me of revising and editing and how for almost everything in your life must fix the small problems or just start over, and I feel that this is an important life lesson that every person needs to learn. I would look at Mr. R’s suggestions on my poems and decided which I would use and which ones I would not; this help to make my poetry flow more but also retain my own voice. I also use my own pictures to make my points come across visually and I typed all the poems that were put into my book to make them easier to read. I could have improved by also revising my poems at home, so that they were constantly improving. In this area I would give myself a seven out of ten because there are still many thing I could have done to improve.

In this section of the quarter I was not Critical Thinker or an Involved Citizen. If I had built meaning and understanding using life knowledge and figurative language, which I could have incorporated into my poems by using ideas that I already had with new tools that I had learned in class, or demonstrated care and concern for my environment, by writing to educate others, than I would have been on whole a better student.

I believe that I demonstrated the qualities of, an Involved Citizen during the poetry night because I interacted with people of diverse cultures and demonstrated awareness and respect for the rights of others. An Effective Communicator because I listened respectfully and asked questions to facilitate understanding and achieve insight, collaborated with others in appropriate learning situations to achieve group goals and finally understood and conveyed written, oral, and visual information using appropriate media. In my words, this means that I worked with people of different races towards an overall group goal and used media to achieve it. These reminded me of the UN because they are people from all over the world working together to make the world a clean and happier place, and they do this by educating people of global problems using technology. I used these ESLRs by teaching different people how to write a sensory poem and by working with my whole class to bring the night together and to make an introductory movie of our school. To improve I could have help with setup or cleanup of the night, this would have let somebody who had already done a lot of work for the event. In this section, I give myself an eight out of ten because I did my part but could have volunteered for more.

For the poetry night, I was not a Critical Thinker, an Academic Achiever, or Self-Directed Learner. To become any of these I should have solved problems using a variety of strategies, instead of choosing the easiest but not always best way, or take creative risks in developing new ideas, this would have enabled me to make the poem I read much more interesting and special.

In the end, I demonstrated the qualities of an Academic Achiever, an Involved Citizen, an Effective Communicator, and a Self-Directed Learner. The only ESLR that I did not show was a Critical Thinker, so next time I will have to improve on that area. Next quarter we will be reading The Tempest by William Shakespeare. Although most of his works are plays, his lines are written in Iambic pentameter. I look forward to reading this because I really enjoy poetry, which it practically is, and I also enjoy reading stories of magic.

Posted in Teen Life, Reflective Journal, Poetry | | | 0 Comments

Hello!

January 23rd, 2007 by alexh

Hey there! My name is Alex and I am from Houston, Texas. Which, just in case you didn’t know, is in the US. I am thirteen years old. I live in an international community and I absolutely love it. I love to dance, sing, and animals. My favorite color is blue, then black, then white. I really like to talk, but only when I am in a friendly mood. I often get hyper, so my best friend and I can get a little bit crazy. Most of the time I am ok though. Just don’t get on my bad side. I am not nice to people who aren’t nice to me. My favorite bands are Evanescence, The All-American Rejects and My Chemical Romance. My favorite animal is a wolf. I love to write poetry and I also love to read.

Right now I am really worried about global warming and the using of much of Earth’s resources. This is because I love nature. I find it beautiful. The way a flower unfurls it petals slowly as if it was making sure it was safe first. How you can find any color that you wish to. The trees reaching towards the heavens and the twisting vines climbing steadily upwards despite humans trying to destroy them. I feel that if everyone pitched in and helped that the world would be a much better place. Even the smallest things count. It can start as simple as recycling a piece of paper or a can. As for global warming the solution will also help people to stay healthy. Instead of driving a car you could walk, or take a bicycle. As for longer distances you can carpool or take a bus or a train. All the pollution from cars and trucks is causing our atmosphere to disintegrate, which in turn causes our polar regions to warm. This heat then slowly melts the polar ice caps, which raises water levels all over the world.

Another less global issue is teen health. It has shown in recent studies that health levels have been steadily decreasing as more ideas are invented to do things for us. For example elevators and escalators. It also does not help that many people don’t eat healthy food. Fast foods are packed with unnecessary oils and fats. Eating only junk will increase your weight, which adds stress to your heart. The leading causes of deaths these days are weight and stress related heart diseases. So watch what you eat and make sure you exercise regularly. I play sports, that is the way that I keep in shape.

Coming into another subject I would like to ask you, how do you feel about uniforms? We have to wear them here in my school. I find that sometimes they can be helpful, such as people aren’t judged by how they dress and I don’t have to pick out my clothes every night. In other ways they are also restricting, for example it is harder to show your individuality.

If there is anything in my intro that you have any opinions on, feel free to comment and I would love to hear what you have to say.

Posted in Teen Life | | | 1 Comments

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