Final Reflection

    The three most important things I learned this year is managing time, being on task, and the education I received. There is more work to be done in this class than in other classes, so I had to learn to use my time effectively. This also tied in to being on task, because if I did my work in school I would have less work to do at home. The education was obviously also very important because I learned many things that may help me in my future life.

    I think I will remember all the fun we had in here. Unlike other classes, this one seems to be different. I think we do more things together as a class that we will remember. For example, stoven (not that I liked him), or me getting pranked by the vocab test. That’s some of the things that made this class memorable for me. And we also brought in food together, as a class, which none of my other ones did. I think that is what made this class very unique.

    I think the nicest thing that anyone has done for me is Mrs. Larson teaching me. Obviously it’s her job, but she could have chosen any other one. She takes the time out of her day to teach children, although they might be difficult to deal with. That’s pretty nice if you think about it. One thing that I was able to teach the whole class is how it is possible to use the same joke on someone three times. I feel pretty dumb for kind of believing that there was a test when there was not, but it was just so real at some points. I hope my jokes will last that long on people.

    I improved on doing my work a lot. Last year it was difficult for me to complete all the work assigned to be. But over the months I have improved on this which will help me do work in different situations. The most challenging part of the year for me was doing my 20 book challenge. I was stuck on IT for so long that I didn’t read any other books. Even after I finished I still didn’t feel like reading that much, so I wasn’t able to get that may books read.

    This one might not be true, but I think my best piece of writing was my stoven diss poem. Sure, it may have been short, and it may have been made up on the spot, but I still got to strike back at that dumb bear for insulting me so much. My favorite book I read this year was Of Mice and Men  because it was such a unique story with interesting characters and a good plot. It made me sad when Lennie **** (spoiler) but then I got over it and was actually happy. It was still a good book though.

Finally, my advice to next year’s class would be to enjoy what you’re learning. If you do that then you may find the topic intersting and even have fun. And do your work because it will save you a lot of time and effort. And most of all have fun, because you will.

3rd Quarter Reflections

The area I think I have improved in is managing my time in ELA. Since I get the most work from this class, I had to be able to complete it and also do other things. So for example, if I had to read and study for a test, I would study first and then read. So it also helps me in other classes, I can finish one work then start another. Although, sometimes I forget to do the work altogether, so there are still more ways that I can improve.

The most challenging part of the 3rd quarter for me was reading books for my book challenge. I never really took the time until recently to read any other books besides IT. I finally finished it recently and I started reading A Series of Unfortunate Events but even though I started new and shorter books, I still don’t feel like reading them. I’m currently on book 3 out of 13. Hopefully this quarter I can put Fortnite aside and just zoom through the series.

I have read 6 books so far in my book challenge. I don’t know where the sheet is, so I can’t say for sure. The books are: Holes, IT, Of Mice and Men, Bronx Masquerade, The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room. I really need to read more, this is a very low number. I just don’t feel like reading. Although, I kind of wanna reach 25 books by the end of the year. I just need to set aside time to read the books, and I’ll be fine.

Poetry Reflection

1. Poetry doesn’t really have a place in my life, I’m just writing them now because of the unit we are having. Poetry can belong to anyone, really. They can express themselves through poems, or just do it for fun. It’s kind of fun to write some types of poems, but not all.

2. Some poets like to base or tie in their poems with their life and experiences. This can make the poem have a deeper meaning, and you life can also affect what content is in your poem, if not something from your life.

3. My poems don’t have any literary devices, but there is this very common poem that has rhyme and structure. The roses are red one. Everyone may use this poem and edit it to form it to their needs, I know I did.

“Oranges”
“The Batman”
“Where I’m From”
“War Heroes”
“Rise Up and Walk”
“Billy Beats the Bully”
“Sorry not Sorry”
“You’ve Got a Friend in Me”

Free Choice Poem - Oranges

Roses are red
Violets are actually purple, but everyone says they’re blue
Bananas are yellow
But oranges are not, they’re orange

Slice of Life - Unplugged

 You have probably watched the AT&T commercial where there’s a family who loses their WiFi for about 20 minutes. They make it seem so terrible, and it really is. Try to imagine losing WiFi for not just 20 minutes, but for 1 whole month and beyond. That’s exactly what happened to my family. It really wasn’t fun.

Just until recently, on the day after Presidents Day to be exact, I didn’t have WiFi. We lost our WiFi at the beginning of January. We lost it because we didn’t pay our bill. Not that we weren’t capable, but because Comcast was charging—get this—$60 a month for just 25 mbps. 60 dollars! You pay that much money if you have either a 60 mbps plan, or a plan with WiFi and cable! So we couldn’t take it. We also weren’t even getting close to 25 mbps, more like 15-20. We literally need WiFi to progress through essential tasks, like paying the bills. We still have a landline, and that didn’t work because we didn’t have WiFi. I couldn’t play games on my PS4, we couldn’t use our technology. It was a really bad situation.

Our phones’ cellular data still worked, however. So we used the mobile hotspot to act as an artificial WiFi. This worked, but, it had may problems. First of all, our phones’ data plan is 10 gigabytes, so we were limited to our usage. Second of all, the speed was not reliable at all. Even less so than the likes of Xfinity. Third of all there is no third reason that I can think of right now. So this plan (no pun intended) worked for a while, but then came crashing upon us. I used the hotspot for my PS4 and going on my iPad. My mom used it just for her iPad, but she uses it a lot for many different tasks. Soon, my mom’s plan ran out in maybe a week. I was already using my phone for the hotspot, but with 2 connections, it would be very slow. So, I had to break out a third phone for my mom/me. And that Android phone was already pretty slow. At this point, we all needed our WiFi back.

My phone had 20 gigs in its data stash, so in total I had 30 gigs. But we were burning through that quick. I begged my parents to get WiFi back, but they always said that we had to switch it from my dad’s account to my mom’s, and then do this and that, blah, blah, blah. Short story was, I had to wait. Maybe a week after my mom’s phone was lost, the poor Samsung was lost as well. My phone was still going, but I maybe had under 7 gigs left. Thankfully, the month of January passed and now we were in February. All of our phones were refilled, so that was good. We just kept on doing the same stuff over and over for some time.

One week before my birthday, I went over to my cousins house. Then they said that we were going to the Chicago Auto Show. It was kind of like a birthday present. We picked up my mom, and drove to the auto show and hour later. It was pretty cool, considering I love cars. There was a bunch of cars, obviously. But there were some good ones, like the Kia Stinger, Ford Mustang, Dodge Demon, Audi R8, BMW I8, and my all time favorite, the Nissan “Godzilla” GTR (only car people will understand). There was also a Lamborghini Huracan and an Aventador but I didn’t get to see them :(. So, you may be wondering, what was the point in telling you this? Well, turns out there was a Comcast booth, which my mom went to. She signed up and prepared the WiFi stuff. So when we went home she told me. My first reaction was, “WHAT, REALLY, WIFI?!? THANK YOU JESUS!!”. It didn’t come that day though.

It came the next day, and boy, let me tell you, I was very, very happy to say the least. 

“Billy Beats the Bully” (Nonsense Poem)

Today Billy went to school

Pablo always had something mean to say about Billy

Pablo called him a dingleshmurf

Billy tried to ignore him

But then Pablo walked up to him and kerpowed him in the bonker

Then Billy blopped on him and the powkow was over

Pablo never made fun of Billy again

“You’ve Got a Friend in Me” (Choice Poem)

One day I went to school

It was a free choice day

If you had a buddy

you could go into one door and have fun

But if you didn’t, you sat in a room all alone

Everyone, including me, had a buddy

Except for one student, who had no one

He was sad and downcast

My friends beckoned and called

But I felt bad for him because he had no buddy

I didn’t know him, I’d never talked to him

However, I went up to him and asked him

if he wanted to be my buddy

His face lit up with joy

So we walked through the door

And that has made all the difference

“Sorry not Sorry” (Apology Poem)

I put that thumbtack on your chair

Scratch that

I put those multiple thumbtacks on your chair

I just accidentally let go

I just had a terrible

Itch on my leg

So I let go 

I knew it hurt

I’m sorry

I was going to tell you 

Before you sat down but

I was busy tying my shoe 

“The Batman” (Bio Poem)

Character Development in Bronx

Lupe Algarin has had some noticeable changes in her viewpoints. She used to want to have a child, so that she would feel loved. She didn’t have much intrest in school, and didn’t pay attention. But now, towards the end of the book, she’s completely different. She doesn’t wish to feel loved anymore, because she knows she is. She is in a relationship with Raul now, instead of her nonexistent boyfriend. And she’s trying to do her best in school.

Tyrone, who keeps tabs on everyone by commenting on them and their poems, has noticed some major changes in Lupe’s behavior as well. After her second poem, he said, “Something’s different about Lupe’s voice... Anyway, I know one thing for sure. I don’t catch her staring off the way she used to. She’s always looking straight up now, paying attention to what ever the teacher is saying”(151). She is definitely trying her best in school so that she can go to college. Janelle says that she’s not fun anymore because she’s always working. Lupe’s demeanor has changed. She wants to make a better life for herself, and not worry about things in the past. Now, she’s looking to the future.

Setting can affect a character, in Bronx, one of those characters is Steve Ericsson. Since he grew up on New York, he’s always wanted to work in Broadway. It’s affected his life and his goals. It’s all he wants to do. He makes many pretend sets in his room, hoping one day that he will achieve his dream. He doesn’t want to move, because then he’ll be farther away from his dream.

Add caption

“Rise Up and Walk” (Found Poem)

(Sorry, I don’t have a picture. I didn’t know we were supposed to make a picture. It wouldn’t work out because I took the words from all over the place, so it would be very difficult to read and actually connect.)

This page was originally about Chrissa and Gram going to church. The preacher placed her hand on other people and healed them, doing the same for Gram. So I decided to make the poem about the preacher healing Gram and putting some more detail with other words so the affect would be better. Rise up and walk is what Jesus said after healing someone, so I thought it would be a fitting title.

I commented on: Vince, Angel, Eamonn, and Maddie

“War Heroes” (Spine Poem)

War Heroes

Navy Seal Dogs

Rose Under Fire

Ashes, Ashes

Eyes Wide Open

In Darkness

Among the Enemy

100 Battles

Haunting

Almost Home

This poem is about the soldiers who go out and fight for our country. It took me a while to find a good mix of books to make a good poem. And when I was making it, I didn’t really notice that the first book said “Navy Seal DOGS”. It’s not about dogs. Just forget about that part. This is typically what most veterans go through while they’re in service. I thought it conveyed a message about what they may be feeling, and it makes me appreciate them all the more.

“Where I’m From”

Bronx Perspective Blog

Sterling is a character that stands out among the other students, because of his religion. Some have an interesting view on him. At the end of his poem, Tyrone says his usual comment. He said that the poem took him to a whole other place. He said if he’s no angel, what does that make me. Tyrone knows that Sterling is a more “good” person than him, so he is comparing himself to Sterling. Tyrone likes his poem and now has probably a better impression on Sterling based on his reaction to his poem.

Amy thinks she has no friends, but she’s always talking to Sterling. So he’s basically her only friend. She views him as a nice person and finds him easy to talk to. He gives her good advice and doesn’t tell anyone her secrets. He also is trying to convert her but she’s okay with that. She tries to act tough but we can tell that she is grateful to have Sterling as a friend, and maybe because of him, she’ll get more friends.

Sterling is a very devout Christian, and he has good reason to believe in this religion. And he follows it to the best of his ability. Some call him “Mr. Goody Two-Shoes” because he’s so nice, but that’s honestly a really weird reason to make fun of someone. Sterling thinks that he’s good, but not even near perfect. He’s a pretty humble person, and has no problem showing others his faith, or even being nice.

Harlem Renaissance Icon

One icon that stood out to me was Dylan’s icon, Arthur Schomburg. He dedicated his entire life to proving his elementary school teacher wrong. She said that black people will never have any heroes or accomplish anything good. So Arthur set out to prove her wrong, for the good of his people. He became a historian, and spread awareness for African-Americans. I admired his perseverance and his goal. I think it is amazing that he accomplished what he set out to do.

Another icon that stood out to me was my own icon, Jacob Lawrence. He was a painter, and even after a rough childhood, he achieved great things. He was a painter and teacher. He was also an active social realist. He spread awareness for black people through many of his paintings. He also spoke publicly. And he taught for 15 years at the University of Washington. I admire him for being able to break the “color barrier” through his activism. It is very inspiring for me and probably other people as well.

2nd Quarter Relfections

The area in which I think I’ve made the most improvement is doing my work. I know that sometimes I still might miss some, I am mostly finishing my school work. I remember last year how I was constantly going to working lunch because of my missed work. This year, however, I can only remember one instance of me going to working lunch for my ELA work. So I can confidently say that I’ve improved on completing my school work.

The think that I am most proud of since the new year is my art project which I really worked hard on. Even though I didn’t finish it, Mrs. Rodriguez said it looked good anyways. I took a long time, and I even stayed after school to finish it. I still didn’t finish it, but I can imagine that it would look really cool if I ever did.

The most challenging part of the 2nd quarter was my art class. We did a lot of projects, and since we were short on time it was harder to get my project. The project I talked about earlier was pretty hard because I had to paint a complicated pattern with 4 different colors 12 times. I only finished 7 and a half. Even though I put a lot of time and effort into it, it wasn’t done. That wasn’t really what I wanted.

I am not very far in my 20 book challenge, sadly. I’ve only read two books. Holes and Of Mice and Men. It is the book I am still currently reading. I took a long break from it, then I regained intrest in it. So I really have to finish that because I don’t want to move onto another book until I finish that. It is a pretty long book, but if I keep reading I’ll finish it.

OMAM Movie Blog

Section 3:

6. The flashback shows George and Lennie throwing a bag of wheat onto a carriage like they usually do at their job. Then the both turn around and walk away from the camera. Lennie also puts he arm around George (somewhat).

7.  I think the flash back makes the audience further understand the relationship George and Lennie had. This makes Lennie’s death more impactful (although i think that scene could’ve been conducted better) I think this was a better way to end the story rather than Carlson saying some comment.

8.  The director chose a differ ending because the ending didn’t fit the current circumstances in the book. Ending with a scene of George and Lennie make the scene more meaningful, in my opinion.

9. “Curley and Carlson looked after them. And Carlson said, ‘Now what the hell do ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys?’”

10. It shows the Carlson doesn’t really appreciate life or understand emotions. This is why he was so persistent in killing Candy’s dog, instead of letting him keep his friend he kills him. Carlson doesn’t understand that Lennie’s death made George sad, which is why he made that comment.

11. This line took away the feeling of sadness from when Lennie died and just replaces it with this weird feeling. I kind of made me feel mad at Carlson for saying that and ruining the tone of the current situation. I wish Steinbeck didn’t add that comment in the book. 

Conflict OMAM Blog

One of the two conflicts I have chosen in the book is Curley vs. Lennie (Man vs. Man). Although Curley doesn’t hate Lennie directly, he hates big guys. This is because of his size, which is small. So in order to put himself on the same level as them, he fights them. He doesn’t like them because they make him look weak. On pg. 26 Candy says “‘Well . . . . tell you what. Curley’s like alot of little guys. He hates big guys. He’s alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he’s mad at ‘em because he ain’t a big guy.’” So he hates big guys enough that he is willing to pick a fight with anyone that’s big, like Lennie. Even if there is no provocation, he will just take the slightest sign of disrespect to himself, even if it’s not, as a sign of hostility. But Lennie doesn’t hate Curley at all.

The second conflict I have chosen is Lennie vs. Lennie (Man vs. Self). Lennie has Conflict with himself because of his mental disability. He doesn’t know what to do, or he makes the wrong choice, even if the answer is really simple in a tough situation. George himself says that Lennie is really dumb, but if you give him orders he will do anything. An example of this conflict inside Lennie is when he grabs the lady’s dress because he wants to feel it. But when she gets upset and tells him to let go, all he can think of is to hold on. “So he reaches out to feel this red dress an’ the girl lets out a squawk, and that gets Lennie all mixed up, and he holds on ‘cause that’s the only thing he can think to do.” (41). And mental disability or no mental disability that is a really obvious indication hpthst you should let go, but that’s just my opinion. But a lot of what Lennie does, is out of his self interests. All he wants are those stupid rabbits. When he murders Curley’s Wife, he first holds on to her hair, then, out of his own selfishness, covers her mouth so George won’t get mad at him. “‘George gonna say I done a bad thing. He ain’t gonna let me tend no rabbits.”... Then Lennie grew angry. ‘Now don’t,’ he said. ‘I don’t want you to yell. You gonna get me in trouble jus’ like George says you will. Now don’t you do that.’” (91). All he cares about is first, tending his rabbits, and second, not disappointing George. Instantly Lennie realizes he did something terrible, but he feels no remorse. He treats it like he killed another animal. He’s gonna get in a lot more trouble, but he treats it like he killed an animal. Lennie made a stupid choice by holding on, I know he fully understood that she was in pain. But he just didn’t want to get in trouble so he could satisfy his desires.

OMAM Poem

Prompt 2

“Dreams of tomorrow”

When you have no hope,
Or when you don’t get what you want,
A dream may help you cope,

It can give you success,
Or it can give you some purpose,
It might bring you out of distress

Because when you have a dream to assist,
It will make you happy,
It will give you bliss

It may bend, or it may break,
It can let you down,
But most of the time, that’s the risk you should take

Of Mice and Men Blog

The atmosphere in the bunkhouse is tense because George and Lennie are meeting many people they don’t know so the would obviously keep to themselves until they got to know the other people. Also tension has built up with two characters, Curley and his wife. George really doesn’t like these two people and he constantly tells Lennie to keep away from them. George tells Lennie to stay away from Curley; “‘Look Lennie. You keep away from him, will you? Don’t ever speak to him.’” Pg. 29. George tells Lennie to stay away from Curley’s wife; “‘Listen to me, you crazy b******,’ said George fiercely. ‘Don’t you even look at that b****. I don’t care what she says and what she does. I seen ‘em poison before, but I’ve never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her be.’” Pg. 32. George doesn’t want Lennie to tangle with Curley, who hates big people because he himself is  small, so he picks fights with them. And George hates Curley’s Wife too for some reason, maybe because she is flirtatious, so innocent Lennie may get caught in her trap.

I think that Curley’s Wife has no name because even though she is his wife, she is still giving other men “the eye”. Or in other words she is flirting. So she has Curley’s name, but she is not truly his wife because she is not faithful to him only. Candy told George that she was flirting with Slim. “‘Well-she got the eye... I seen her give Slim the eye. An’ I seen her give Carlson the eye.’”Pg. 28. Curley’s Wife is already flirting with two other men, and she only got married 2 weeks prior (“‘Married two weeks and got the eye?’” Pg. 28). But that’s not all. She also may have been flirting with George and Lennie when she first met them. This is just speculation based on her attitude and body language. The bottom line is, she is not really interested in Curley. Maybe she married him because of his position as the Boss’ son. So he gets paid more, or maybe for some other reason.

So far in the book, I like it. It sort of reminds me of To Kill a Mockingbird which was a phenomenal book. It is quite interesting, there is a fixed amount of charecters as well, all we need to meet now is Crooks. And although it is a novella, it packs a lot of information. There is good writing on Steinbeck’s part. I’ve heard that the ending is really good as well. Steinbeck does a really good job of setting the scene and immersing the reader into the story. It’s use of realism with the Great Depress and even its language is good. I am looking ward to reading more.