September 29, 2005
lincoln elementary
after reading the information on lincoln, i cant help but feel sorry for the kids. the report to the community from the principal tried to frocus on other aspects of the school besides test scores. and the reality of this, is that the test scores are nothing to brag about, to say the least. when trying to convince a parent to send their kid to attend lincoln you cant say that we had a high rate of failure (or recieveing a 1 on the MCA's). They try to focus on things like diversity, which the definitly have a lot of. I'm looking forward to being able to talk to these kids and see what its like for them beyond the numbers to go to a school like that, being that my elementary school was the complete opposite.
Posted by at 4:38 PM | Comments (0)
writ conference
i had my first writing conference with jerry this week, tuesday to be exact. it was helpful to hear his comments on my paper being that it is due the following week. the timing could not have been better. i also liked how i was asked questions that were totally non class related. jerry asked me things like how i was liking the university so far, and how GC was going. it made me feel glad that someone cared about me as a person instead of just a number. anyways, all in all a good experience.
Posted by at 1:04 PM | Comments (1)
feelings about revision groups
I really love getting lots and lots of feedback from other people on my papers. It has really helped me a lot to develop my paper by what a reader want to hear, rather than just what sounds good to me. I feel that them more advice you get, the better your final paper will turn out. Plus, like we said in class, the best way to revise a paper is by reading it out loud. So what could be better than having multiple people read it aloud? It's awesome, great idea Jerry.
Posted by at 12:56 PM | Comments (0)
September 22, 2005
analyzing mean girls, and things we carry
In the paper "The Things We Carry" by Danielle Williams, I thought it was very well organized. All of the ideas from paragraph to paragraph seemed to kind of transition nicely. It left me with a clear understanding of the series of events that happened while she was in this english class, and the outcome that she got out of it. I did, however, feel that it was really boring. I felt like she talked about the same instance (the effect of her mother's conversation with Ms. Thomas) for like at least two pages. I could understand if this event was hugely significant, but it wasn't. I never fond oukt what was said in that conversation and how it directly impacted Danielle's success in the class. It just an awkward way to show the event that made her start doi8ng well in the class.
In the paper, "Mean Girls: A Real Case Study", I thought it was so cute! It wasnt an extremely well writen paper, but the content of it was so entertaining. I could so see something like that happen at my high school. People dont understand how cruel teenager girls can be. The only thing that I can say I wish I found out more about, would be the series of events that happened after she found it was her "friends" that T.P.ed her house. I mean she spent two paragraphs wrapping up the story. She said that she made new friends, but she never fully trusted them. I would have liked to have seen her actually get over the occurance and meet new people and interact with them with no limitations. It seemed to me that she didn't develop as a person, because she had not yet gotten over and forgotten about what happened to her.
Posted by at 4:25 PM | Comments (0)
September 13, 2005
First week of class
By the time four o'clock rolled around this past tuesday my body was exhausted, not to mention my brain. It was the first day that our basic writing class met. I thought that there was no way in hell that I would be able to stay awake much less learn anything in this class. But I pleasantly suprised myself in that I enjoyed being there. It didnt feel so uptight like the rest of my classes. I dont know exactly what it was that made me feel so comfortable but I just was. Its hard to say much more on the class because I've experienced such a short view of what is yet to come. But as of now, I have nothing but good, possitive thoughts for this course. i hope that it stays that way!!!
Posted by at 8:03 PM | Comments (0)
Shitty First Drafts
"I know some very great writers, writers you love who write beautifully and have made a great deal of money, and not one of them sits down routinely feeling widly enthusiastic and confident.
My interpretation...That no matter what caliber of a writer that you are writing a first draft is tough. For everyone those first few paragraphs are hard to get past. Writing a intelligent aand deep first draft is near impossible for anyone. You have to figure out a way that you can get your ideas out, but dont expect it to be a pultizer award winning paper on your first shot at it.
"Very few writers know what they're doing until they've done it."
My interpretation...You cant plan a direction that your paper is going to head. You have to let your thoughts carry your paper and not think to much about how it will sound. This way you can have a final product that will reflect your true message that you are trying to get across. When you start on your first draft you should have no idea how your paper will end, and what it will say in the middle for that matter.
Posted by at 4:40 PM | Comments (0)
September 7, 2005
My Response to Introducing Yourself
1. My Neighboorhood
I was privileged enough to grow up in Suburbia. Hopkins, to be exact, a western suburb of Minneapolis. The neighboorhood itself was called Hobby Acres and the average age of a person who lived there was porbably somewhere around 65. To say the least, there weren't too many kids around besides me and my sister. It was very quiet, and the highlight of the year was the neighboorhood garage sale. It was scenic though...there were at least 6 huge trees per yard, which made it look very woodsy, even though the reality of it was we were 15 minutes away from the Twin Cities.
2. Best and Worst Part of High School
Hands down, the best part of high school for me was playing sports. It wasn't just the actual activity itself, I loved being able to connect with people on such a personal level. To this day, my closest friends whether they go to school nearby or not, are the ones I played on sports teams with. It's like you experience so many emotions together; pain, triumph, fear. These are emotions that 16 year olds do not usually share with one and other. I love how sports kept me in shape and brought me into the bond that athletes have with each other.
I would have to say that the worst part of high school would be the stupid electives that you have to take. Classes like Consumer Smarts, Sewing, Ceramics, and Career Search. Now these classes would be fine for someone who held an interest in them, but for someone like me, who would rather die than have to sit through and hour of this class, it was just horrible. I could do nothing but sleep over my teachers words, and to do the homework was intensly painful. I can't tell you how happy I am to be able to pick classes that I am truly intersted in.
3. Best/Worst Teacher
Mr. Dart, my 10th grade english teacher. He was so passionate about what he did and what he was teaching. No matter how tired I was, when I came to his class I would sit directly up in my seat and listen to him. I loved the way that he read stories to us. He would use different voices, hand gestures, and body language that made me feel like I was inside of that book. He helped me so much with my writing, my style has developed so much because of the advice he has given me. Plus he's such a cool guy, its impossible not to like him.
Mrs. Sampson, my 9th grade Civics teacher I absolutely despised. She was one of those teachers who picked favorites, and its an understatement when I say she favored them. I'm the type of student that doesn't hesitate to ask questions when a task is unclear to me. Let's just say she did not get the memo that states there is no such thing as a stupid question. She would always tell me that I wasn't paying attention and thats why I had so many questions, but the reality was that she was so unclear, that no one in the entire class had a clue what to do when she said, "begin". I could not stand that woman.
4. My Education
I was very fortunate to go through the Hopkins school district. I feel very confident starting college in that Hopkins prepared me for my road ahead. All of the teachers that I had helped me in some way and contributed greatly to the person that I am today.
5. Going to College
For me it was the inevitable step that happens after high school. Its as simple as; that's just what you do after high school. For me it wasn't a choice whether or not to attend college...the only question that was asked of me was, what schools am I applying to.
Posted by at 6:41 PM | Comments (7)