AOW Impressions

I learned so much new information about world events during the gallery walk. I learned recent information about Ebola, the terrorist group, ISIS, and how 2014 was the warmest year ever. I also learned about some things I didn't ever know was happening, like the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the Yemen water crisis, and new rape laws in the U.K.. I truly liked the gallery walk in allowed me to learn about the world without having to watch the boring news channel. I think that we should continue on with the gallery walk every week because it allowed me to engage with my learning. Not only that, but I got to work on my summarizing and speech skills too.

One thing that I knew happened, but didn't really know much about was 2014 being the warmest year. I pretty much only knew that 2014 was the warmest year in the past decade because of global warming. That is what I mainly heard during the gallery walk, but I also learned some interesting facts, that some people might not know. For example, Stanley told me that some places are trying to fix global warming with cloud whitening. Cloud whitening helps prevent solar radiation, which adds to global warming. I learned from Julia that if we don't try to stop global warming, we won't be able to live on planet Earth. This I sort of knew, but didn't really think it was true.

Even though I loved the gallery walk, I think it can be improved a little. For example, I stop by many people who had the same topic as me and I pretty much knew everything they were telling me. I think that next time when we have a gallery walk, instead of random groups presenting, the groups should be organized based off of topic. This way people would be able to learn much more about the world. I also think there should be stations so that the viewers get to see everyone. This way not only does the viewer learn more, but the presenter will be able to talk about their topic more freely.

Seriously...I'm Kidding: Week of 1/26/15

Pages Read: 213-241
Prompt: What is the most interesting thing in the book?

There are many interesting things in this book, so it's really hard to pick just a few. I have to say that one of the most interesting things so far was "The Longest Chapter." Basically, it is a character that talks about how long it is. For about four pages, it talked about if you wanted to put the book down and come back it later or if you just wanted to skip ahead. About the fifth page it started talking about little facts that no one knew about her, but the main thing she wanted to say was what changed her life. What changed her life was the Swifter. I found this chapter interesting because I was actually on the edge of my sit the entire chapter. I mean, I was a little disappointed when I found out what I had been waiting for, but that's life. It was also funny because the next chapter was a "tweet" chapter. You know how in a tweet you can only use 140 character, well, that was how long the chapter was.

One chapter towards the end of the book talks about some ways that help you fall asleep faster. I knew all of the ways Ellen talked about, but it was still interesting to read. One way to fall asleep faster was to read a boring book and the way Ellen gives an example is hilarious. She talks about a mom getting out of bed and tripping over a lamp cord, making the lamp fall and its glass to shatter. A piece of glass gets stuck in her foot and her son comes in and asks if she is okay. At the end of all of this, the mom and son get into a fight and the mom had not reached her goal; getting a boring book. To summarize why I found this interesting is that I enjoyed her rambling on. Most of the time I don't like people who ramble on, but her ramble makes sense.

In the same chapter, Ellen also talks about the stop watch method of falling asleep. She wrote, "Stare straight ahead. You're getting very sleeeeeeepy. Verrrrrryyyyy sleeeeeepyyyyyyyyy. Verrrrryyyyyy--wait! WAKE UP!" After this she explains that she didn't want anyone telling their friends that they fell asleep reading her book, making it seem boring. I found this interesting mainly because I didn't see it coming. I thought she was going to end with the whole sleepy thing, so when I read "wait! WAKE UP!" I was momentarily confused. You see, all her chapters have jokes that the reader can connect to, so when I saw this chapter coming to a close, I thought there wasn't going to be any joke, but I guess I was wrong.

Comments: Maria, Isabella J., and Gustavo

Seriously...I'm Kidding: Week of 1/19/15

Pages Read: 129 - 241
Prompt: How is the book? and Pros and Cons of Book

I'm going to start off by saying how much I love Ellen Degeneres. She is one of my favorite people in the world. I love how she is hilarious, even in her book. By the way, just incase you didn't know. Seriously...I'm Kidding is a autobiography written by Ellen. She writes the book as if she is talking to the reader. I really enjoyed that because it makes me want to continue reading. In one chapter, Ellen lists pro and cons, of making a pro and con list, so I figured I should do that for her book.

There are many pros about Seriously...I'm Kidding. One would be that the book is hysterical. There are many funny stories that Ellen tells throughout the book. Along with the funny stories, she is completing truthful. She doesn't hold anything back. This is one of the reasons that I like anyone who reads the book, can connect to it. There is advice for everyday life that people can listen to and improve. It is also written by Ellen Degeneres, and who doesn't like her.

Thinking of some cons for this book is going to be hard. I guess it takes time and effort to read, that's always a downside. Since it's an autobiography, if you don't like Ellen you won't like the book. Even if you don't like her, I still suggest reading it. Plus, it does cost money to buy the book, but if you have a friend to let you borrow it's not a downside. I can't think of any more cons to reading this book. It's Ellen Degeneres, why wouldn't you read the book. I mean seriously, look at her.

TKAM Comparison: Week of 1/12/15

What do you think are the three most important difference between the written and filmed version?

I feel like one of the major differences between the movie and novel is the role of Aunt Alexandra. In the novel, Aunt Alexandra comes into Scout's life and sort of takes over the mother role in her life. She tells Scout that she needs to act more like a lady, in a harsh manner, but the message gets through to Scout. In the movie, Aunt Alexandra isn't even introduced. Scout just one day puts on a dress to go to school. She's ashamed of it, but you don't get to see her argue with anyone. Having Scout be dressed up and attending the little tea parties in the book was important when it came to Scout growing up. Without Aunt Alexandra you don't see the progress as Scout grows up; taking away the theme coming of age.

Miss Maudie is an important role in Scout's childhood throughout the book. She is there when Scout was ditch by Jem and Dill. She was there to help ease the pain of hearing Tom Robinson had died. She never talked down to Scout, and always treated her like an adult. In the movie, you see very little of Miss Maudie. She's just some ordinary neighbor, who Scout and Jem see walking to school. I feel that Miss Maudie should of had more of a role in the movie. She doesn't really teach Scout anything and you don't get this warm feeling that you do when you're reading the book.

One of the main themes in the book is courage, which is shown through Mrs. Dubose. The way she recognizes she has a flaw and tries to fix it, shows true courage. The goal she made allowed her to die without any morphine in her system. This showed Jem an important element of growing up. In the movie, Mrs. Dubose is only showed for one scene. In that scene all you see her do is be mean to Scout. I believe that Mrs. Dubose played an important role in the book and should of played just as an important role in the movie.

Comments: Amelia, Autumn, and Nadrian

The Last Time I Did Something For The First Time

One of the things that I did for the first time was go zip-lining. My family went on vacation to Louisville, Kentucky to hang out with one of my sister's friends who had moved. We did other stuff too, but I will always remember when we went zip-lining. When people think of zip-lining they think about going over a river or forest. The one I went to was in a cave. We could of went to one outside, but I think my mom might've been to scared. We were zip-lining over complete darkness, which I think made it more excited. You couldn't tell want was under you, the only thing you could see was the guide at the other end waiting for you.

Another time I did something for the first time was not to long ago. It was actually this Christmas. We usually decorate the tree we get with tons of homemade ornaments from when my sister and I were little. This year, we got the tree like we always do, decorated it was some lights, and waited for my mom to get up and help decorate. Since my mom had to work a lot of over time this holiday, we weren't able to decorate the tree. My family figured that it wouldn't be the same without all of us decorating the tree all together, so that Christmas the tree only had a few lights on it. I have to say, I kind of missed not having any ornaments on the tree, but I didn't miss packing them up either.

One of the things I will never forget is getting a my great dane for the first time. I mean sure, I had a lot of dogs in life since I was a baby, but none of them could compare to my Ellie. She's huge, so it's hard to sleep with her, but she does act as a great pillow. I think that getting Ellie was the highlight of my year. The one reason why I won't forget her, is because of the first week I had her. You know how sometimes a dog will act over-protective of a new baby, that was me with my dog. The first week I never left her side, I slept when she slept and I was up when she was. Since she was very playful, my day was play, sleep, play, sleep, and so on. In the end, I never really did mind taking care of her. She was my baby, and still is.

TKAM Blog: Week of 12/15/14

Prompt: Thoughts of the book

I would first like to state my complain about the ending of the book. I thought that the ending was sort of feeble and tacky. Having Scout look back through the memories she has was just sort of, in my opinion, dull. I didn't like the metaphor of Jem and Scout being Boo Radley's children. To me, it just didn't really make sense. I know that Boo feels like he was the protecter of both of them, but I don't think that the book should of ended with the metaphor. I think it should of ended when Scout walked Boo home or when Jem woke up in the morning, but defiantly not how it originally ended.

The rest of the book was great. I started reading it thinking, "Oh, this is going to be such a boring book. I can't believe I have to read this." When started reading the fifth or sixth chapter I viewed it differently. I started to enjoy reading two chapters every night. Sometimes, I wanted to read on to the next chapter. When the kids got attacked by Bob Ewell really made me enjoy the book much more. There were parts that kept me on the edge of my sit; scared for Jem and Scout and scared for what would come next.

It's hard to chose a favorite part in the book, but I would have to say my favorite part is when Jem and Scout are walking home towards the end. When the book says, "Shuffle-foot had not stopped with us this time. His trousers swished softly and steadily. Then they stopped. He was running, running toward us with no child's steps." This part made my heart drop. I could see a man running at the them. It was written in so much detail that it was like watching the movie. My second favorite part would have to be the court session. I loved how Harper Lee made is sound like a normal trial with the wittiness questioning their own statement. I think that Lee did a great job portraying how wise Atticus was through his actions during the trial.

Comments: Citlalli, Amelia, Elenia

2015 Goals

My main academic goal for this year is to get into Nazareth. This is a short-term goal that I can only accomplish on January 10, this Saturday. That is when the entrance exam is. I want to achieve this because I would be able to go to a good school. There are a few ways I can achieve this, the first is to study. I have a book that’ll help me with this. I’m about half-way through it and have taken a practice test. In order to achieve my goal, I’ll need to finish the book and study the word list at the back of it. I need to finish that by the end of Thursday. This way I’ll take the second practice test after school on Friday.

Another way that I’ll reach my goal is to get some rest. Instead of staying up late on Friday, I need to go to bed early. This is a simple step in my plan, all I have to do is sleep. I’ll have to wake up a hour or so before the test so I could be fully wake and ready for the test. While I’m up, I’ll have to eat a nutritious breakfast to keep my energy for the test. This breakfast will have to consist of some kind of protein so I will be able to stay focused towards the end of the test. With these steps I’ll be able to accomplish this goal with no problem.

My personal goal for this year is to save up money to go to RTX. RTX is a RoosterTeeth convention in Austin, Texas. RoosterTeeth is a youtube company that is connected to Achievement Hunter, (another youtube company.) I want to achieve this goal because I really want to meet my favorite youtubers. This goal isn’t as easy to accomplish as my academic goal. I will have to save all the money I get for Christmas and my birthday. Sounds easy, but it’s actually hard. The time between RTX and now is long. Since the convention is in Texas it’ll cost a lot of money to get there. I will also have to buy the tickets and get a hotel room, so it’ll take some time to save.

The hardest part in all this is convince my parents to go. My parents have weird work hours even in the summer so we’ll have to talk about it. Even without the weird hours, my parents don’t exactly approve in my passion for this company. I can maybe get my grandma to take, she’s always up to try new things. In other words, I would have to find someone to take me. That’s all the steps I would have to take to achieve my goal. I believe that with patience I could save enough money to go. If not this year, the next.