Quarter 2 Reflection

In what area do you think you made the biggest improvements in English Language Arts?
    I think I made a big improvement in annotating. Before, I was new to it, and I didn't get the concept that much. But as time went on, I got much better at doing it, mostly when we were reading To Kill a Mockingbird. I could still make some improvement, but I am decent at doing it right now. Also I made an improvement in reading. I don't mean reading fluently, but reading books regularly. I have been reading book in order to complete the 20, or now 40, book challenge. And it keeps me away from doing other nonproductive things, so that is also good.

What is something that you have accomplished since the New Year that you are proud of?
    I am proud of not getting any Falcon Fouls. This is an irritating problem that is sometimes overwhelming, but thankfully, I have not got any since the New Year and I am really proud of that. It keeps me away from detentions, and I have been told that I only have one right now. I hope that next quarter I will get no Falcon Fouls, which would be a big achievement for me.

What has been the most challenging part of the 2nd Quarter and what did/can you do to help overcome this
    The sometimes the challenging part of Quarter 2 was that sometime homework could be overwhelming. I could have a lot and forget to do some, but luckily this year there is no fouls for not doing homework this year. Also Falcon Fouls, because I always worried that I would get them and I didn't want to go to detention. I really dislike them, because they are irritating, but detention is really that bad. But having detention is bad for me.

TKAM Comparitive Analysis

1.  What do you think is the most important difference between the written and filmed version? Provide evidence with specific details.

I think the most important difference between the film and the book is the lack of A LOT of the story, and small alterations too. I mean, I know if they fit everything into the movie it would be way too long but still, some important things are missing. Like Aunt Alexandra coming to stay with the Finch's, Miss Maudie's house burning down, Miss Dubose dying, Christmas, and even some more. So there is a lot of things missing so the story is different overall in the movie. Which altered the story thourghly.

2. How would you prove or disprove that one version of To Kill A Mockingbird is more affective in delivering its message than the other? Be sure to provide specific pieces of evidence to support your opinion. 

The book version gets the message through much better that the movie because it tells EVERYTHING that happened, while the movie doesn't do that. It includes all the lessons and (I think) provide a better story overall. So from the lack of things missing from the movie, it doesn't show the message as good as the book. And it is missing a lot of things from the story, I wrote more on that above.

Found Poetry - I do my best to love everybody

I do my best to love everybody
Thomas Jefferson once said that all men are created equal
You'll see that white men cheat black men
But let me tell you something
Whenever a white man does that to a black man

No matter who he is
How rich he is
Or how fine a family he comes from
That white man is trash

The evil assumption
That all Negroes are basically immoral beings
Is a lie as black as Tom Robinson's skin
Seventeen bullet holes in him
They didn't have to shoot him that much
I'd rather it be me

Character Relationships - Dill and Francis

Dill and Francis have never met each other, but based on what Scout says they are both the same age, which is a similarity. In chapter 1, Scout says, "He (Dill) was a year my senior," and also that he was shorter than Scout. And later in the book, in chapter 9 Scout says, "He (Francis) was a year older than I." And later Scout says that he was 8, which means she is 7. So Dill and Francis are both the same age, in years (so they are both 8 in chapter 9), but I think that Francis is slightly older.

Dill is one of Scout's friend, one of her closest perhaps. He treats her nicely, most of the time anyway, and even purposes to Scout to get married when they are older. And Scout likes Dill as well, but on the other hand, Francis is the complete opposite. In chapter 9 Scout clearly says that, "And I avoided him on principle: he enjoyed everything I disapproved of, and disliked my ingenious diversions," so Scout clearly hates him, and even wanted to shoot him with the air rifles, but Atticus didn't let her or Jem take them. She really hates Francis, and he's also a snotty jerk, but Dill is more kinder.

TKAM Setting

    Observe: Describe what you see - I see a lot of people in hats, almost everyone in the picture is wearing a hat. That might indicate that is is very hot. In chapter 1 it says, "Somehow it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer's day.... Men's stuff collars wilted by nine in the morning." Everyone is wearing nice clothes, like suits for the men. The streets are slightly littered as well. This is December so then again it could be cold, but in the summer in To Kill a Mockingbird, it said it got REALLY hot, so it just may be hot. And there is a Coca-Cola sign that says "ice cold" as well. And in chapter 20, Mr. Dolphins Raymond drinks Coca-Cola A LOT. And most likey other people do too, since its summer. From what I can see, the stores are very small, just like Maycomb, so this is pretty similar.

    Reflect: Why do you think this image was made? - This picture may have been made to show the daily lives of the people in Selma, AL. Nobody seems to be looking at the camera. So they are unaware that they are in a picture. Or maybe this is just a random picture that a photographer took. And. This photographer, Walker Evans, takes A LOT of these kinds of pictures. A lot of the pictures I've looked at were taken by him, so he could have been doing this for historical purposes.

Question: Why was this picture taken? What is the purpose of taking it?








Evens, Walker. "Sidewalk Scene in Selma, Alabama." Sidewalk Scene in Selma,    
    Alabama. N.p., Dec. 1935. Web. 22 Nov. 2016.

Election Reflections

What are your thoughts on this election in general?

I thought that the candidates in this presidential election was very focused on attacking each other. Sometimes it was amusing, but I haven't seen an election as crazy as this (although I only remember seeing this and the past one). This election was also pretty biased towards Hillary Clinton, as the media and the news has almost been degrading Donald Trump's public image. And sure, he has said some pretty bad things, but Hillary Clinton doesn't go without fault either. But, after this grueling year and a half, this election has finalized come to an end. And overall, I think everything that happened was still worth it.

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What are your thoughts on the election results?

The candidate that came out on top yesterday actually surprised me, and I'm sure it surprised a lot of other people as well. Donald Trump is the new president of the U.S, and based on what was happening before the election, I thought his chances would be pretty low. But, somehow, he turned two democratic states to him, won Florida, and some other states as well, and got 288 electoral votes. I thought it was really unexpected, and he also got the popular vote as well. So though he has made many mistakes, what he wants to fight for is worth it to vote for him. But though he has become the president, he still has to reshape his image to the people who still think of him badly. I'm interested to see how this turns out.

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What are some issues you think are most important/interesting in relation to the election?

I think that now that all the debating and quarreling is over, how will major problems be solved? Like illegal immigrants, relationships with other countries, taxes, the wellbeing of the citizens. I think we should try to solve illegal immigration, and it will probably get solved fast because of how Donald Trump has been talking about it. And taxes as well, so that we can pay less, or more, I don't really know. I'm not super-invested in politics, so I don't really know what kind of problems to look at. But, I have faith that whatever stuff we have to fix, it will be done.

Everything Comes at a Price

Everything Comes at a Price


To the ones who lost their lives
To the people who have survived
We thank you, this day
This day of remembrance
To the families who had a loss
And to the veterans, who gave their lives for us
We thank all the veterans
For serving a very righteous cause
Keeping us safe everyday
While most of us barely acknowledge them
Some scars they took for their country
Would never leave their soul
All the while protecting what they love
So we must honor their legacy
As they honored our country
And they have served us well
Protecting everyone as they go pursue less noble things
While our veterans were willing to gives theirs lives for us
And those who still live today
Will be appraised for their contributions
To serve this country for it to have freedom once again.
So today we thank you for everything you have done
No matter how big or small
We are thankful no matter what you did
For you served this country no matter what cause
As we honor you today, know this
Our gratitude towards you will never decay
We will honor you for generations to come
And we thank you for serving the United States of America
God bless you