The video...woah. Though I had seen it before, I wasn't thinking about it in the same way this time. The bias presented in the documentary was extremely powerful. American students were made out to be kids who don't even try, yet succeed in our world, and students in China and India, who study non stop and have ridiculous expectations put on them by their parents and selves fail to get ahead. This opinion was portrayed throughout the entire video. The American students were rarely shown in a classroom setting, and when they were, it was informal and unorganized. They were primarily shown in social situations that made them appear lazy when it comes to school. On the other side of things, the Chinese and Indian students were shown in disciplined, and organized learning environments and rarely having fun. There is no way that these two extreme situations occur all the time. The middle ground and "average" students and situations were not given a place in the documentary. This definitely affects people's opinions and sheds negative light on the American education system. I'm not saying that the entire video was wrong and American schooling is flawless. Reform is definitely needed, but the video makes it seem so extreme based on the situations it shows, and the ones it doesn't. While we do need some regulation here in America due to the unbalanced system, where minorities and the lower class fall through the cracks, many students are still successful. In addition to academic success, American students are well rounded. They focus their attention on other things and basically have lives outside of school. As an American student I like to think of myself as well rounded. I like to socialize and don't devote every minute of my spare time to studying, but I would be offended if someone told me that I didn't take school seriously, was lazy and didn't try. I work hard to earn the grades that I do, and I think it's unfair to compare two completely different cultures based on the experiences and opinions of six students.
Overall, I don't think the techniques used in the video were very effective. Yes, I was a little taken aback and thought "wow, they're really smart and our schools should try to be more like that if we want to succeed", but the bias to the extreme that it was was offputting. It became annoying, because the kids in India have no idea what it's like to live in America and the pressures that are put on us as well, just like we have no idea what it's like to be a student in India. While the creators of the video do make some valid points, the way they went about making them was not effective, at least for me and was seriously annoying.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Modes of truth
Definition
Truth is telling things how they are. Not being deceptive and hiding your feelings. Truth is letting your true emotions show and telling people how you feel. Truth is the absence of lies. It plays a role in all healthy relationships. It can keep you out of trouble or cause trouble if the truth is harmful. Truth builds trust or destroys it. Many things in our society are based upon lies that sometimes the lines between truth and lies become blurred. People will believe what they want, so sometimes truth is irrelevant.
Classification
When many people think of truth, they think of the opposite of a little white lie. However, there are different forms of truth. It can be the opposite of a lie, but truth can also be your feelings. Telling the truth can mean enlightening someone or changing their opinion. You can even change your own opinion by opening yourself up to the truth and coming out of denial. Truth can be telling someone what they don't want to hear or what they do. Truth can be good and make relationships stronger. It builds trust. Truth can also destroy trust if it come after lies.
Division of Analysis
Truth comes in many different forms and can involve many different things. Truth can be logical, ethical, even emotional. Sometimes telling the truth makes sense and it is necessary for the situation. Lies would just confuse people and make a mess of things. Other times, telling the truth is the right thing to do. It's immoral and in bad character to tell a lie or keep a secret. Emotional truth is often the hardest. It's hard to face reality and share your true feelings with other people or even acknowledge them yourself. The truth comes in varying degrees of importance and severity. It all depends on the people involved and the nature of the statements that must be made.
Example
My little cousins think that the truth is telling their mom when they spilled something on the carpet or broke a glass. They have to face the facts and risk getting in trouble because of the guilt that would follow after telling a lie. To adults who have experienced much greater forms of truth, a spot of grape juice and a few shards of glass seem insignificant, but this is the way truth starts. As children we view truth as the opposite of a lie and we tell the truth to escape guilt. As we get older, we do the same thing--tell the truth to escape guilt, but truth doesn't always come as the opposite of a lie. It gets much more complex as we experience much more complex problems.
Compare/contrast
Usually, the difference between truth and lies is extremely clear, you can't tell a truthful lie. However, there are exceptions when the lines become blurred and it's not so easy to tell the difference. I often wonder, is it a lie if you just don't share the truth? If you're not telling a blatant lie, does it count? Whether it is lying or it isn't, I think it's clear that not sharing everything you know is not the truth. Really, it is up to the people involved in the situation to decide. Truth builds trust and lies destroy it, but if the lie has already been told, sometimes it's hard to know if it's worth telling the truth or not. Sometimes truth and lies are antonyms. Other times, they go hand in hand.
cause and effect
Telling the truth can have many different effects depending on the situation. Truth is the causation of trust. It can build it or destroy it based on the context of the statements made, how the truth is found out and what the truth is. If two people are truthful from the beginning of a relationship they'll most likely be successful, therefore, by causing trust, another effect of truth is stable, lasting relationships and mutual feelings of happiness between friends, family and people in general. On the other side, truth is caused by a few different things, may it be guilt, strong morals and values and the overall feeling of wanting to do the right thing.
Narrative
Telling the truth seems to be a problem for many children, but it was especially hard for me. When I was in first grade I had one of my most memorable troubles with the truth. My class was working on the computers for reading. I was sitting next to a boy named Josh. Josh was having trouble getting on his computer and kept tapping me on the shoulder annoyingly to help him. Not wanting to get in trouble for talking, I politely ignored him and continued working on my assignment. Josh persisted with the shoulder tapping and I got very angry. I slowly looked around, made sure the teacher wasn't looking, reached over and gave Josh a huge pinch right on the back. Causing him to cry and tell on me. When our teacher, Mrs. Reineke asked for my side of the story, I told her that I never touched Josh and he had been bothering me since the beginning of reading. Not believing me, Mrs. Reineke asked Josh to lift up the back of his shirt, and sure enough, there was a bright red mark in the middle of his back. I got sent to the pricipal's office for hurting another student and lying about it. If I had chosen to tell the truth in that situation, the amount of trouble I got into probably would have been less severe and they wouldn't have called my parents.
Process analysis
Something has happened that you're not quite proud of. You know that if people find out about it, their opinions would change or you may be in trouble. You know that owning up to whatever you did is the right thing to do and people would at least respect you for admitting it, despite the action. Without the truth, trust will be destroyed and your relationships you've worked so hard to build won't be the same. Finding the courage to tell the truth is an internal struggle that we all go through, even though we know that it needs to be done and nothing good comes from lies. The truth may not be a nice thing to hear and it may not protect your feelings, but it is necessary. If you end up doing the right thing and owning up to the truth, that respect will be there and the impact of the truth may not be as significant because it was told right away and is therefore less harmful. However, if the truth is something that should have been told long ago, that respect and trust cannot always be salvaged.
Argumentative/persuasive
What's the opposite of truth? Lies. Our society has a lot of these and I don't like that. One of the things we do in American culture is lie to our children at a young age. Santa Clause for example. Why is it necessary to have kids thinking that there is an obese man, dressed in a red suit with white hair that delivers presents via flying deer on Christmas? What parents should be doing is telling their children the truth from the beginning. If much of what a child believes is based on lies, they are going to grow up thinking it's ok to ignore the truth; that it's not necessary. Santa Clause is not the only example. What about the Easter Bunny? The stork? Kids are smarter than that and should be enlightened with the actaulity of situations and the real meaning behind holidays. Starting children out with truthfulness as one of their main values and ideals will create a better, trustworthy and safe environment for everyone. The presence of truth can only help our society grow as a whole. We can do many things to insert truth into our lives, but the most significant way we can do so is stop lying to children about things that seem harmless and fun. It's where it all begins.
description
Sally didn't know what to do. She immediately got that sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach when she heard the initial crash as the vase hit the floor and then the scattering of glass as it shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. Once the shock of what had happened sunk in, she dashed to the kitchen and grabbed the broom. Sally frantically swept up the shards of destroyed glass and deposited them into a garbage bag, which she stashed in the garage. As her mom came home she sensed something was out of place. Mom said "Sally do you know what happened to my vase?" Sally was at a crossroads. She could lie and say she didn't know anything, but the guilt would be torture. Sally's moral instincts kicked in and she calmy explained what happened to her mother. The truth felt much better than trying to cover up what happened, and it turns out it wasn't as big of a deal as Sally thought. She would have been in much bigger trouble for lying about the vase. In the end, the truth is always the better option.
Truth is telling things how they are. Not being deceptive and hiding your feelings. Truth is letting your true emotions show and telling people how you feel. Truth is the absence of lies. It plays a role in all healthy relationships. It can keep you out of trouble or cause trouble if the truth is harmful. Truth builds trust or destroys it. Many things in our society are based upon lies that sometimes the lines between truth and lies become blurred. People will believe what they want, so sometimes truth is irrelevant.
Classification
When many people think of truth, they think of the opposite of a little white lie. However, there are different forms of truth. It can be the opposite of a lie, but truth can also be your feelings. Telling the truth can mean enlightening someone or changing their opinion. You can even change your own opinion by opening yourself up to the truth and coming out of denial. Truth can be telling someone what they don't want to hear or what they do. Truth can be good and make relationships stronger. It builds trust. Truth can also destroy trust if it come after lies.
Division of Analysis
Truth comes in many different forms and can involve many different things. Truth can be logical, ethical, even emotional. Sometimes telling the truth makes sense and it is necessary for the situation. Lies would just confuse people and make a mess of things. Other times, telling the truth is the right thing to do. It's immoral and in bad character to tell a lie or keep a secret. Emotional truth is often the hardest. It's hard to face reality and share your true feelings with other people or even acknowledge them yourself. The truth comes in varying degrees of importance and severity. It all depends on the people involved and the nature of the statements that must be made.
Example
My little cousins think that the truth is telling their mom when they spilled something on the carpet or broke a glass. They have to face the facts and risk getting in trouble because of the guilt that would follow after telling a lie. To adults who have experienced much greater forms of truth, a spot of grape juice and a few shards of glass seem insignificant, but this is the way truth starts. As children we view truth as the opposite of a lie and we tell the truth to escape guilt. As we get older, we do the same thing--tell the truth to escape guilt, but truth doesn't always come as the opposite of a lie. It gets much more complex as we experience much more complex problems.
Compare/contrast
Usually, the difference between truth and lies is extremely clear, you can't tell a truthful lie. However, there are exceptions when the lines become blurred and it's not so easy to tell the difference. I often wonder, is it a lie if you just don't share the truth? If you're not telling a blatant lie, does it count? Whether it is lying or it isn't, I think it's clear that not sharing everything you know is not the truth. Really, it is up to the people involved in the situation to decide. Truth builds trust and lies destroy it, but if the lie has already been told, sometimes it's hard to know if it's worth telling the truth or not. Sometimes truth and lies are antonyms. Other times, they go hand in hand.
cause and effect
Telling the truth can have many different effects depending on the situation. Truth is the causation of trust. It can build it or destroy it based on the context of the statements made, how the truth is found out and what the truth is. If two people are truthful from the beginning of a relationship they'll most likely be successful, therefore, by causing trust, another effect of truth is stable, lasting relationships and mutual feelings of happiness between friends, family and people in general. On the other side, truth is caused by a few different things, may it be guilt, strong morals and values and the overall feeling of wanting to do the right thing.
Narrative
Telling the truth seems to be a problem for many children, but it was especially hard for me. When I was in first grade I had one of my most memorable troubles with the truth. My class was working on the computers for reading. I was sitting next to a boy named Josh. Josh was having trouble getting on his computer and kept tapping me on the shoulder annoyingly to help him. Not wanting to get in trouble for talking, I politely ignored him and continued working on my assignment. Josh persisted with the shoulder tapping and I got very angry. I slowly looked around, made sure the teacher wasn't looking, reached over and gave Josh a huge pinch right on the back. Causing him to cry and tell on me. When our teacher, Mrs. Reineke asked for my side of the story, I told her that I never touched Josh and he had been bothering me since the beginning of reading. Not believing me, Mrs. Reineke asked Josh to lift up the back of his shirt, and sure enough, there was a bright red mark in the middle of his back. I got sent to the pricipal's office for hurting another student and lying about it. If I had chosen to tell the truth in that situation, the amount of trouble I got into probably would have been less severe and they wouldn't have called my parents.
Process analysis
Something has happened that you're not quite proud of. You know that if people find out about it, their opinions would change or you may be in trouble. You know that owning up to whatever you did is the right thing to do and people would at least respect you for admitting it, despite the action. Without the truth, trust will be destroyed and your relationships you've worked so hard to build won't be the same. Finding the courage to tell the truth is an internal struggle that we all go through, even though we know that it needs to be done and nothing good comes from lies. The truth may not be a nice thing to hear and it may not protect your feelings, but it is necessary. If you end up doing the right thing and owning up to the truth, that respect will be there and the impact of the truth may not be as significant because it was told right away and is therefore less harmful. However, if the truth is something that should have been told long ago, that respect and trust cannot always be salvaged.
Argumentative/persuasive
What's the opposite of truth? Lies. Our society has a lot of these and I don't like that. One of the things we do in American culture is lie to our children at a young age. Santa Clause for example. Why is it necessary to have kids thinking that there is an obese man, dressed in a red suit with white hair that delivers presents via flying deer on Christmas? What parents should be doing is telling their children the truth from the beginning. If much of what a child believes is based on lies, they are going to grow up thinking it's ok to ignore the truth; that it's not necessary. Santa Clause is not the only example. What about the Easter Bunny? The stork? Kids are smarter than that and should be enlightened with the actaulity of situations and the real meaning behind holidays. Starting children out with truthfulness as one of their main values and ideals will create a better, trustworthy and safe environment for everyone. The presence of truth can only help our society grow as a whole. We can do many things to insert truth into our lives, but the most significant way we can do so is stop lying to children about things that seem harmless and fun. It's where it all begins.
description
Sally didn't know what to do. She immediately got that sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach when she heard the initial crash as the vase hit the floor and then the scattering of glass as it shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. Once the shock of what had happened sunk in, she dashed to the kitchen and grabbed the broom. Sally frantically swept up the shards of destroyed glass and deposited them into a garbage bag, which she stashed in the garage. As her mom came home she sensed something was out of place. Mom said "Sally do you know what happened to my vase?" Sally was at a crossroads. She could lie and say she didn't know anything, but the guilt would be torture. Sally's moral instincts kicked in and she calmy explained what happened to her mother. The truth felt much better than trying to cover up what happened, and it turns out it wasn't as big of a deal as Sally thought. She would have been in much bigger trouble for lying about the vase. In the end, the truth is always the better option.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Griping...things that bother me.
When I'm told to think of one thing that just drives me crazy, stupid drivers pop right into my mind. If they want to go under the speed limit, fine. That's their choice, but if you're seriously going 45 in a 60, you can not get mad at someone for passing you. So maybe 45 was a little exaggerated since I tend to drive a little on the fast side (shh don't tell my mom). But the speed limit is there for a reason and some people want to drive at least that fast.
Last week, I was driving on 694 at about 9:00pm and there wasn't very much traffic. I came up behind a lady who was going about 55mph so I got in the left lane to pass her. When I went by her car, I looked over and she gave me the scariest glare in the entire world. Once I had passed her, she sped up and passed me...THEN SLOWED DOWN AGAIN. I seriously wanted to scream at her! Who does that? Normal people pass other cars because they're going to slow, not just to make them angry...She was making me soooooo mad. By this point I was actually talking as if she could hear me, saying "get away from me! what the (fill in appropriate word here) are you doing?!" Maybe she was having a bad day and me passing her made her feel bad... who knows, but really lady, your temper issues are not my problem. Go at least the speed limit, or people WILL pass you! They'll probably still pass you if you're going the speed limit. GET OVER IT.
Another thing that bothers me about drivers is when they don't blinker to change lanes, especially on the freeway. This has happened in front of me so many times, usually when there's traffic so I have to slam on the breaks. They give no warning and usually don't move over slowly. They just swerve over into your lane. IT BOTHERS ME SO MUCH.
Yet another thing that annoys me is people that tailgate, especially when there's traffic and you can't do anything about it. It's like seriously if you want to get in an accident sure, stay there and when I have to break and you hit me, you can pay for my car. Whatever you want.
The last thing (even though there are plenty more I could write about) that bothers me is when people won't let you in when you have to move over. There's one spot, I think right where 35 connects with 394, where if you're coming from 35, immediately after the two freeways combine, you have to move left two lanes or you'll be forced to exit. I was driving this stretch one time and a guy who had already been on 394 was next to me and he would not let me in. I tried to slow down, but there were other cars behind him and when I sped up so did he, so I was forced to exit into this random sketchy neighborhood in the city. Seriously what did that guy gain by not letting me in? That bothers me so much! It's not like I waited until the last minute to move over. I tried at the first opportunity and didn't have much time before the exit. I seriously wanted to punch that guy in the head.
When reading this, keep in mind that I've had my licence for 2 months now. There must be a lot of stupid drivers out there if they can annoy me this much in 2 months. Granted, I don't have much patience and maybe a touch of road rage... but seriously, drivers of Minnesota: learn how to drive.
Last week, I was driving on 694 at about 9:00pm and there wasn't very much traffic. I came up behind a lady who was going about 55mph so I got in the left lane to pass her. When I went by her car, I looked over and she gave me the scariest glare in the entire world. Once I had passed her, she sped up and passed me...THEN SLOWED DOWN AGAIN. I seriously wanted to scream at her! Who does that? Normal people pass other cars because they're going to slow, not just to make them angry...She was making me soooooo mad. By this point I was actually talking as if she could hear me, saying "get away from me! what the (fill in appropriate word here) are you doing?!" Maybe she was having a bad day and me passing her made her feel bad... who knows, but really lady, your temper issues are not my problem. Go at least the speed limit, or people WILL pass you! They'll probably still pass you if you're going the speed limit. GET OVER IT.
Another thing that bothers me about drivers is when they don't blinker to change lanes, especially on the freeway. This has happened in front of me so many times, usually when there's traffic so I have to slam on the breaks. They give no warning and usually don't move over slowly. They just swerve over into your lane. IT BOTHERS ME SO MUCH.
Yet another thing that annoys me is people that tailgate, especially when there's traffic and you can't do anything about it. It's like seriously if you want to get in an accident sure, stay there and when I have to break and you hit me, you can pay for my car. Whatever you want.
The last thing (even though there are plenty more I could write about) that bothers me is when people won't let you in when you have to move over. There's one spot, I think right where 35 connects with 394, where if you're coming from 35, immediately after the two freeways combine, you have to move left two lanes or you'll be forced to exit. I was driving this stretch one time and a guy who had already been on 394 was next to me and he would not let me in. I tried to slow down, but there were other cars behind him and when I sped up so did he, so I was forced to exit into this random sketchy neighborhood in the city. Seriously what did that guy gain by not letting me in? That bothers me so much! It's not like I waited until the last minute to move over. I tried at the first opportunity and didn't have much time before the exit. I seriously wanted to punch that guy in the head.
When reading this, keep in mind that I've had my licence for 2 months now. There must be a lot of stupid drivers out there if they can annoy me this much in 2 months. Granted, I don't have much patience and maybe a touch of road rage... but seriously, drivers of Minnesota: learn how to drive.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Manufacturing Consent
I'm not going to lie, the majority of this documentary was hard to understand and went right over my head. The part of the documentary that I do understand though is Noam Chomsky's views on corporations controlling the media. There are just a handful of large corporations out there that basically have a monopoly of the media in our country. This makes it difficult for americans to develop their own opinions on any world issues because of all the bias put into our news stories. As viewers, we can't find an objective viewpoint, because it's already been found for us. This makes me really angry because there is a concentration of power in the large companies of our world that basically control our minds. They decide not only what information can be shared in the media but the way it's shared. They pick the point of view that the stories come from and how in depth the information is. Take what they were saying about East Timor and Cambodia for example. Though the U.S. had much more involvement in East Timor, no one heard about it because it would have a shed a negative light on the U.S. for playing a role in the Indonesian invasion. I believe that even though some citizens would have been angry at the government for our involvement, as Americans, the people had a right to be informed about the things that our government, the people we elect to represent our best interest, are doing in the rest of the world.
http://www.globalissues.org/article/159/media-conglomerates-mergers-concentration-of-ownership
This link tells about how some countries have the power to control the media, as do some large corporations. This is definitely the case in the United States. This site also says that it's crucial for citizens to be able to control thier own minds and make informed decisions to have a functioning democracy. It's hard to make informed decisions with all of the bias present in our media today. All we get is the opinions of the large companies that control the news. We only hear what they want us to hear.
This post is probably rambly (is that a word?) and redundant but that's just because I'm so annoyed! The media is supposed to keep us up to date and informed on the things that are happening in our world but it's hard to get the facts if all we hear is opinions and major bias coming from large corporations that by controlling our minds, basically control the world.
Even though I didn't understand half of what he said, Noam Chomsky's a pretty cool dude. He makes a lot of sense with his views on the media. Hopefully the corporate monopoly will be broken up at some point and we will start hearing the raw facts with no bias (not likely). I want to hear about the East Timor's of our time and be aware of what our country is doing in other parts of the world.
http://www.globalissues.org/article/159/media-conglomerates-mergers-concentration-of-ownership
This link tells about how some countries have the power to control the media, as do some large corporations. This is definitely the case in the United States. This site also says that it's crucial for citizens to be able to control thier own minds and make informed decisions to have a functioning democracy. It's hard to make informed decisions with all of the bias present in our media today. All we get is the opinions of the large companies that control the news. We only hear what they want us to hear.
This post is probably rambly (is that a word?) and redundant but that's just because I'm so annoyed! The media is supposed to keep us up to date and informed on the things that are happening in our world but it's hard to get the facts if all we hear is opinions and major bias coming from large corporations that by controlling our minds, basically control the world.
Even though I didn't understand half of what he said, Noam Chomsky's a pretty cool dude. He makes a lot of sense with his views on the media. Hopefully the corporate monopoly will be broken up at some point and we will start hearing the raw facts with no bias (not likely). I want to hear about the East Timor's of our time and be aware of what our country is doing in other parts of the world.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Open response? oh great...
Here we go again. Me blogging and nothing to write about. When Mrs. Smith told us that we had a blogging assignment and it was an open topic i believe i actually cringed. I feel like blogging is just something that doesn't suit me. Sure i do just fine when we have a set topic that we have to write about, but when we're just told to WRITE...i draw a blank. Write about what? I'm trying to do the whole freewrite thing and just not stop typing, but then i get posts like this one that just rambles on and on with no real content. I seriously have no idea what to write about. i wonder if Mrs. Cardona is having fun in China. i wonder if she's even going to read this post. Freewriting is weird when you're on a computer because i know i'm not supposed to edit my thoughts but i find myself hitting the backspace key out of habit. Seriously. Every two seconds i backspace. I just did it again because i spelled backspace wrong. Then again, then i spelled wrong wrong. Wow i am really not good at typing. i just backspaced again. I feel like this is not the type of post that i was supposed to write. OH MY i just remembered that the twins lost tonight AGAIN. wow. it was soooooo bad. Ron Gardy getting thrown out was a highlight though. i love that man. such a good manager. I really do not like the yankees. They did a good job tonight though and the twins were just off.
Before i got home and watched the twins i had YES fourth block. i'm really starting to enjoy it. I'm building friendships with all of the kids in Mrs. Cohen's class and it's really fun to spend time with all of them and be in second grade again. We got to go to gym class today. fun stuff. Then after school i volunteered in the homebase program and played with some kindergarteners and preschoolers. They're so adorable. When i asked one little boy his name he was shy and said "I don't know" and so for the rest of the time i was there i called him i don't know and he thought it was the most hilarious thing in the entire world. i still don't know his name though....oh well. It was really fun to volunteer though. we built things with blocks and colored. i love being a child. it's so effortless. not like high school. Well even though this post has been super productive and meaningful....i think i'll end it here.
Before i got home and watched the twins i had YES fourth block. i'm really starting to enjoy it. I'm building friendships with all of the kids in Mrs. Cohen's class and it's really fun to spend time with all of them and be in second grade again. We got to go to gym class today. fun stuff. Then after school i volunteered in the homebase program and played with some kindergarteners and preschoolers. They're so adorable. When i asked one little boy his name he was shy and said "I don't know" and so for the rest of the time i was there i called him i don't know and he thought it was the most hilarious thing in the entire world. i still don't know his name though....oh well. It was really fun to volunteer though. we built things with blocks and colored. i love being a child. it's so effortless. not like high school. Well even though this post has been super productive and meaningful....i think i'll end it here.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Power Writing: The Influence of a Great Teacher
There have been many people that have influenced me throughout my life, but if I had to choose the most significant, I would pick Suzanne Graft. I believe Mrs. Graft influenced me the most because of her relationship she had with me, her relationship with people in general and her attitude and experiences at the end of her life.
I first met Mrs. Graft in the fall of 2004. I had just moved to Minnesota from a small town in Ohio and was not adjusting very well. Mr. Graft was my fifth grade teacher; my first teacher in the Wayzata School District. More than anyone, Mrs. Graft helped me make the transition from a small school to Wayzata; the big time. She made me feel as though I was no different than the rest of the kids in the class and had known each of them since kindergarten. She introduced me to my first friends; friends I still have today. Mrs. Graft also influenced my academic success. She helped me through the gaps between Ohio and Minnesota curriculum and soon enough I was at the top of the class. She had a way of making me feel like I was her best friend and that she would always be there for me. Even when I moved on to middle school, she continued to stand by me. When I moved here, I was sure I was going to hate it, but Mrs. Graft changed that.
Side from Mrs. Graft's relationship with me, her relationship with other students, parents and other people in general was also inspiring. I'm sure she had the same affect on the rest of the school that she did on me. Even kids who weren't in her class found themselves opening up to Mrs. Graft. Her quirky personality made her easy to relate to and her fun, hip style drew kids in. In Mrs. Graft's eyes, no student was better than another. She made us all feel special and like we had her full attention at all times. Toward the end of fifth grade and on through middle school, I realized that Mrs. Graft was exactly the kind of person that I wanted to be. Open, honest, and caring towards everyone; impossible not to love.
In October of 2009, I was heartbroken to find out that Mrs. Graft had been diagnosed with terminal colon cancer. She lived for three months after her diagnosis. During these months, her outlook on life never changed. She was the same old Suzanne that everyone knew and loved. She continued to inspire me and everyone else around her. In January, she wrote me a note, just like the ones she gave me in fifth grade, that made me remember why she was so special to me in the place. When her time was up, hundreds of past students and their families gathered to support the Graft family. She meant a lot to many people and at the funeral, we all came to realize that she had the same affect on all of us. Mrs. Graft made us feel loved and special. She made us believe that anything was possible if you put forth a little effort. Overall, Mrs. Graft made life fun. She was such a giving person. It was hard to see her go at such a young age, but she lived her life to the fullest and she had said, she was ready to go.
"She was ready to go." This statement is what inspired me the most. Mrs. Graft lived her life to the fullest every day. She was surrounded by people she loved and who loved her back. She achieved her life goals and ambitions. Because of this, a long life wasn't necessary. She had served her purpose. As one elementary student said after Mrs. Graft passed away, "The kids in heaven must have needed a really good teacher." Her influence on me was profound and I strive every day to live life to the fullest, spend time with the people I love, and live like Mrs. Graft.
I first met Mrs. Graft in the fall of 2004. I had just moved to Minnesota from a small town in Ohio and was not adjusting very well. Mr. Graft was my fifth grade teacher; my first teacher in the Wayzata School District. More than anyone, Mrs. Graft helped me make the transition from a small school to Wayzata; the big time. She made me feel as though I was no different than the rest of the kids in the class and had known each of them since kindergarten. She introduced me to my first friends; friends I still have today. Mrs. Graft also influenced my academic success. She helped me through the gaps between Ohio and Minnesota curriculum and soon enough I was at the top of the class. She had a way of making me feel like I was her best friend and that she would always be there for me. Even when I moved on to middle school, she continued to stand by me. When I moved here, I was sure I was going to hate it, but Mrs. Graft changed that.
Side from Mrs. Graft's relationship with me, her relationship with other students, parents and other people in general was also inspiring. I'm sure she had the same affect on the rest of the school that she did on me. Even kids who weren't in her class found themselves opening up to Mrs. Graft. Her quirky personality made her easy to relate to and her fun, hip style drew kids in. In Mrs. Graft's eyes, no student was better than another. She made us all feel special and like we had her full attention at all times. Toward the end of fifth grade and on through middle school, I realized that Mrs. Graft was exactly the kind of person that I wanted to be. Open, honest, and caring towards everyone; impossible not to love.
In October of 2009, I was heartbroken to find out that Mrs. Graft had been diagnosed with terminal colon cancer. She lived for three months after her diagnosis. During these months, her outlook on life never changed. She was the same old Suzanne that everyone knew and loved. She continued to inspire me and everyone else around her. In January, she wrote me a note, just like the ones she gave me in fifth grade, that made me remember why she was so special to me in the place. When her time was up, hundreds of past students and their families gathered to support the Graft family. She meant a lot to many people and at the funeral, we all came to realize that she had the same affect on all of us. Mrs. Graft made us feel loved and special. She made us believe that anything was possible if you put forth a little effort. Overall, Mrs. Graft made life fun. She was such a giving person. It was hard to see her go at such a young age, but she lived her life to the fullest and she had said, she was ready to go.
"She was ready to go." This statement is what inspired me the most. Mrs. Graft lived her life to the fullest every day. She was surrounded by people she loved and who loved her back. She achieved her life goals and ambitions. Because of this, a long life wasn't necessary. She had served her purpose. As one elementary student said after Mrs. Graft passed away, "The kids in heaven must have needed a really good teacher." Her influence on me was profound and I strive every day to live life to the fullest, spend time with the people I love, and live like Mrs. Graft.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Why I write
Writing. Why do I write? I honestly have no idea. I write because I want to. Because I have to (I mean seriously, I'm in high school). I write because I'm feeling overwhelmed and don't trust anyone but the paper to listen to me.
Journaling is something that I've been trying to pick up for a long time. It never goes as planned. I decide to do it, get a cute little journal and for the first few days I'm so excited to put my thoughts into it. To unload my feelings that I don't want anyone to know about. Then I get to the point where I'm thinking "Well i really don't WANT to write right now." "My day was boring, why write it down?" and then it gets to the point where I forget I have a journal. If I don't get this point within 3 weeks, I start to get paranoid and wonder if my family members are reading my journal. Because of this I start to sensor my thoughts and hide the journal where sometimes even I can't find it. Lets just say that journals don't work out for me.
I think that if I had to choose between Didion and Orwell and say which one I connected to the most, I would have to say Didion, because I admit, when I write, it doesnt' always make sense. She said in her essay that "I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear." I think this is very true for me as well. Sometimes when I'm confused about my thoughts or what's going on in my life, writing it down can help me think it through and organize my thoughts. Help me put my thoughts into a logical sequence so they finally make sense to me.
The main reason that I don't feel like I identify with George Orwell is becaue of his motives for writing. I don't really think that I posses all of these these motives. Of course I posses egosim to an extent. Of course I want to be talked about and remembered. Yes i have Aesthetic enthusiasm. I love sharing my experiences and learnings with other people. But when it comes to Historical impulse...I'd rather focus on the future and not dwell on the past. Lastly, Political purpose. I am not even remotely politically aware, therefore I feel like a political purpose is not something that I have.
Even after writing this and getting all of these thoughts out, I still don't have specific reasons for why I write. Sometimes it just isn't clear. There's just a need to put things on paper.
Journaling is something that I've been trying to pick up for a long time. It never goes as planned. I decide to do it, get a cute little journal and for the first few days I'm so excited to put my thoughts into it. To unload my feelings that I don't want anyone to know about. Then I get to the point where I'm thinking "Well i really don't WANT to write right now." "My day was boring, why write it down?" and then it gets to the point where I forget I have a journal. If I don't get this point within 3 weeks, I start to get paranoid and wonder if my family members are reading my journal. Because of this I start to sensor my thoughts and hide the journal where sometimes even I can't find it. Lets just say that journals don't work out for me.
I think that if I had to choose between Didion and Orwell and say which one I connected to the most, I would have to say Didion, because I admit, when I write, it doesnt' always make sense. She said in her essay that "I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear." I think this is very true for me as well. Sometimes when I'm confused about my thoughts or what's going on in my life, writing it down can help me think it through and organize my thoughts. Help me put my thoughts into a logical sequence so they finally make sense to me.
The main reason that I don't feel like I identify with George Orwell is becaue of his motives for writing. I don't really think that I posses all of these these motives. Of course I posses egosim to an extent. Of course I want to be talked about and remembered. Yes i have Aesthetic enthusiasm. I love sharing my experiences and learnings with other people. But when it comes to Historical impulse...I'd rather focus on the future and not dwell on the past. Lastly, Political purpose. I am not even remotely politically aware, therefore I feel like a political purpose is not something that I have.
Even after writing this and getting all of these thoughts out, I still don't have specific reasons for why I write. Sometimes it just isn't clear. There's just a need to put things on paper.
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