Final Reflection

Prompt:

1- What are the three most important things you learned this year?

2- What is something we did this year that you think you will remember for the rest of your life?

3- What was the nicest thing someone in our class did for you this year?

4- What is something you taught your teacher or classmates this year?

5- In what area do you feel you made your biggest improvements? What is something you accomplished this year that you are proud of?

6- What was the most challenging part of this year for you?

7- What was the best piece of writing that you did this year? Why do you think it is your best?

8- Of the books you read this year, which was your favorite? Why?

9- What advice would you give students who will be in this class next year?

Three Most Important Details, Lesson for Life, and Nicest Thing

  I think that the three most important topics we learned were the importance of having a voice/to make a change around the world. I would say that the runner up would be learning in depth about the Holocaust and how it still has a physical/emotional impact on different people. In my opinion the third most important skill we learned throughout these past two years is being able to annotate to the fullest and which helps us understand the text to a higher level for my future. I feel that the butterfly project will stick with me for the rest of my life because it was unique to our classroom a true representation of Mrs. Larson's class room. We are lucky to have done this project not everyone around the world is able to do such a marvelous project like the butterfly representation of the Holocaust. We were able to bring out the artistic side of our personality and it will truly leave a mark for the rest of my life. I think that the nicest thing someone in our class did for me this year was when a group of people accepted me into their group for a vocabulary skit. I was quite surprised due to the reason I usually wasn't picked to be in anyone's vocabulary skit, sot I felt special/unique in my own life.


                         What did I teach Mrs. Larson, Biggest Improvement, and Challenging Part

   I didn't specifically teach my teacher anything from the regular literature studies/language arts class but I did teach her something in my passion project. I taught her more about my culture and numerous cultures around the world. I was able to give her insight in different parts within Mexico and was able to give her a brief lesson on the traditional Mexican culture and cultures around the world. I feel that I improved a lot in my writing from simple little improvements such as run-on sentences to writing a formal argumentative essay with having an almost exceeds grade. When we looked back at our blogs from 7th grade I could easily tell that I did not write with fluency or even with proper grammar. I was able to improve not only my fluency/grammar but also incorporating higher level vocabulary in blogs along with a paper. If I had to look back at my grades I am extremely proud of getting higher than a B on my argumentative essay because honestly I thought I was going to do terrible with Blackfish/SeaWorld. There have been many challenging parts within this year but I feel that the butterfly project was a bit over the edge than a paper. I found it shocking that I received an A+ on my project which made my day and also taught me that I should have a bit more faith in my schoolwork.


                                The Best Piece of Writing, My Favorite Book, and Advice

  Although writing has never been a major skill in my life I feel that I have improved in my text structure not only in Lit/ELA but also in another class within my schedule everyday. I would say that my TKAM Thematic Paper was my best piece of writing even if I had to make a little change to my original essay but at least I received a 95%. In my opinion I feel like it was the best due to the reason that I added a lot of challenging words, more quotes, and being able to make only one mistake on the Works Cited page. I didn’t read as much as last year but I would say that my favorite book was a surprising yet funny novel called Schooled by Gordon Korman. I enjoyed this book so much because it discusses how we must appreciate a person for who they are instead of “judging a book by its cover.” I would recommend that students next year try their best instead of complaining about how much work because they never know what we learn can be extremely beneficial for people in the future.

Morrie Aphorism Project

Prompt:

1- Explain the aphorism in detail. what was Morrie's main message?
2- Relate the aphorism to a movie, song, historical event, current event, personal experience, etc. and explain in detail how the example you have chosen relates to the aphorism.
3- Evaluate the aphorism by explaining why you agree/disagree with it. Give specific reasons for your position and specific evidence from the text to support your position.
4- Take a picture of your aphorism to use as your graphic.

Aphorism: "Three materials will help you progress in life kindness, determination, and faith." - Abdiel De La O

                             "Learn to forgive yourself and to forgive others" in Detail

  This aphorism was created prior to the lessons with Mitch and Morrie.  I learned that it was written down by Morrie in "the Audiovisual". Mr. Schwartz would write numerous aphorisms within his notebook to get rid of his boredom and to understand the main philosophies he was going to speak about in "Nightline". I feel that this quote connects more with "love each other perish." He wants people to understand that if we are not able to forgive those who have hurt us in the past we will never able to move forward in life like Mitch Albom. In the sentence prior to the aphorism list Mitch mentions a detail about  Morrie writing down these mini life philosophies. Mitch says that Morrie was living next to the shadow that will eventually take his meaning at the end of Tuesdays with Morrie. In this time period Morrie was already in a wheelchair full time with the early stages within the ALS disease and he would jot down his major philosophy which would appear "Nightline". I think that Morrie's message is we as humans must forgive others/be clean before we leave like Morrie.


                                                         Aphorism in Real Life

  I have heard this life lesson numerous times throughout my life especially in places like church and  I try to incorporate it in my everyday routine like Morrie. In numerous religious classes I have learned this life lesson extremely useful due to the reason that we turn to violence as an answer for a major problem like bullying. I usually attend a youth group every Thursday in which we talk about numerous life lessons, but forgiving others has always had a major role in the Catholic religion within my life. I have seen an example of this aphorism in television and a novel which led to having a major impact on the main character. In Battle of the Books we read Schooled which talks about the life of a young adult named Capricorn. I noticed that in the first few days within school they used to bully him a lot but in the end he was able to forgive them in “C” Average the nickname for his actual school made by Zack. In a show called La Fea Mas Bella the main character Lety is bullied by her neighbors but recently she was able to forgive them which led them to having a bit more kindness in their heart like Mitch.

My Opinion on the Aphorism

  There were numerous aphorisms to choose from, but I felt that this specific life lesson has made a large impact on my life. I completely agree with the aphorism due to the reason that having the ability  to forgive others will relieve you from guilt and problems which might occur in the future for numerous people. I think that the first specific reason to support my claim was when Mitch was able to forgive himself after not visiting for over an decade and forgetting to give his full attention to Mr. Schwartz a.k.a Morrie. He didn't do such a great job keeping touch with his friend but in the end he felt better knowing that his old professor would always love him just like the other aphorism "love always wins." I noticed that the other most notable example in the book was when Mitch finally decided to call his brother and forgive even after not speaking to him for over a decade living in Spain. This book was excellent but overall the main detail that makes Tuesdays with Morrie fantastic is that Mitch was able to forgive himself and finally being able to start a relationship with Janine. 

Tuesdays with Morrie Week of 4/27-5/1

Prompt: Based on the 6 Tuesdays you have read about in Tuesdays with Morrie, choose which topic (The World, Feeling Sorry For Yourself, Regrets, Death, Family, or Emotions) that has had the most impact on you or inspired you. On your blog discuss the importance of this topic with your own opinions, including textual evidence (direct quotes) from the book.

Pages: 115 out of 192


                                                    Which Tuesday Inspired Me?

   In my opinion every single Tuesday chapter we have read in class has truly inspired me based on the detailed discussions given by Morrie. I would say that the first Tuesday We Talk About the World explains how we should be informed about the world around us even in the most difficult situations like with Mr. Schwartz.  I think that the main detail that inspired was Morrie's attitude towards recent news and his gratefulness for the things he has compared to other people around the world. I also noticed that he reads news articles relating to homeless people or starving children instead of celebrity gossip like O. J Simpson. I myself find this inspiring especially in Morrie's times because of many other articles like the end of the Cold War, Princess Diana, and the O.J Simpson trial attract the attention of people around the world. This chapter of the novel had a huge impact on me and the news articles I choose for my Article of the Week. I do choose significant topics for my homework assignment, but I focus too much on attacks made by ISIS. In the future I will try to pick articles that pass the recommendation made by the professor.

The Importance of the World

   Morrie mentions to his good friend Mitch that he feels closer to people in the news in which he is able to compare his adversities with the suffering of people around the world. We can tell this topic is important because it brings people together even if they are thousands and thousands of miles away like in Bosnia. There is one memorable quote in this chapter in which he says "now that I'm suffering, I feel closer to people who suffer than I ever did before. The other night, on TV, I saw people in Bosnia running across the street, getting fired upon, killed, innocent victims...and I just started to cry. I feel their anguish as if it were my own." This takes caring and kindness to a new level because even in his situation he still willing to grab the anguish of a stranger as his own most notably the people of another county like Bosnia. In our everyday lives we don't seem to realize that some people have it worse than us and Morrie seems to take this to a new level of consideration which impacts people like Mitch.

Evidence Proving Morrie's Philosophy

    I think that we should learn at least one thing about the numerous aphorisms that Morrie gives Mitch in this lesson. I learned that it takes a big equalizer for strangers to actually shed a tear for a complete stranger like the people in Bosnia. Mitch mentions "the one big thing that can finally make strangers shed a tear for one another." This makes the topic even more important because it makes us think about our feelings towards other people specifically strangers in different locations around the world. Morrie not only mentions that we must care for others, but also give out love to people instead of sleepwalking like Mitch. He says "the most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in...Let it come in. We think we don't deserve love, we think if we let it in we'll become too soft...Love is the only rational act" quoted from Levine and Morrie. I think that he is trying to tell the reader that if we give out love than we can avoid war and love will help us progress in life for people around the world. 

 The image above shows the logo for "Tuesdays with Morrie" The Play, but the viewer can clearly see the happiness within Morrie. I think this picture sums up the philosophy of Morrie Schwartz in which he is trying to express his happiness because he was able to give out love to people like Mitch. He is representing how people can be more happy if they gave out kindness and love instead of hatred/bullying. We gain more by giving out love and in fact we make a more positive impact on people's lives like Morrie did to Mitch. 

This week I will comment on Athziry, Autumn, and Diego's Blogs.

                                                      

Tuesdays with Morrie Week of 4/20-4/24

Prompt: What are your initial reactions to what you have read in Tuesdays with Morrie thus far? One of the main themes developing in Tuesdays with Morrie is not to take your life for granted. Based on this premise, what is on your Bucketlist?

 

   I truly enjoy Tuesdays with Morrie and the life-lessons provided in this novel can lift the spirits of people who are suffering numerous diseases throughout the nation. My major reaction is that Morrie is a brave soldier that is able to face his fate. I find marvelous that he is willing to express love in every minute that he still has on this planet even in his current state alongside his friend Mitch. In my lifetime reading books I think Morrie is the only person who is not afraid of death it sort of compares to another novel called Embraced by the Light. I myself think that Morrie is a true hero a person who enjoys making others improve their lives through lessons that can have deep impact in someone's future like his fellow student Mitch Albom. This character's behavior and personality sort of compares to Guido. It's ironic how even Morrie and Guido both provide humor even in the last moments of their lives in "Life is Beautiful". My overall feeling is that it will have a major impact in the reader and the life-lesson will truly affect Mitch Albom.


   In life I went to hopefully graduate high school, but my main goal is to get a bachelor's degrees in any university. I want to get in any of my favorite universities including UIC, the University of Virginia, Le Cordon Bleu, or any religious school. In my bucket list the number one thing is to make a positive impact in the world, but with kindness we can change the way of society like Morrie. I haven't specifically decided what my career is going to be in which I have narrowed it down to being a priest, lawyer, or chef. I think my next big major thing to do in life is to skydive it lets a person feel like a bird or even a butterfly similar to the children of the Holocaust. This next goal will connect to my previous goal which is to make a positive impact on the world. I want to travel every country of the world and befriend numerous people like the famous traveler Matt. I myself have been sort of scared of heights, but I really want to bungie-jump in the future. In lent season I tried to stop drinking sugary drinks like soda, but it only worked out for a month. I will attempt using my bucket list.


  I think the last couple of goals in my list relates to food, literature, and movie  my three favorite things in the world. I want to read fifty books in one year adding on more to our forty book challenge. My food goal relates to vegetables to be specific green foods like kale. This will challenge me to eat different vegetables which can not only help me in learning, but also physically. I heard about this fruit called dragon fruit and I hear this fruit tastes fantastic especially in Cambodia. There are some that are sold in supermarkets, but a dragon fruit is better in a foreign country. I came up with this goal from Mr. Larson who told me about his trip in the beginning of the school year. In a nutrition book I heard about something called a rainbow which is a combination of fruits in every color, I'm interested in the color purple. I learned last year that a new Star Wars movie will be coming out and my goal is to watch on the premiere date.  My last major goal is to be a wonderful uncle.

This quote sort of represents my idea towards achieving the goals within the bucket list. I think a person wants to look back at his/her life in a positive way because we must "make sure it's worth watching." When researching for a quote I learned that Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson made a film entitled "Bucket List". I think that watching this movie will be the next goal added to my own bucket list. This film might have a huge impact on people's lives such as Mitch Albom and Morrie.

This week I will comment on Gabe, Jenna, and Nadrian's Blogs. 

"Life is Beautiful"

Prompt: Based on the Holocaust literature and poetry we have read, what connections can be made between Life is Beautiful and our reading? What events, scenes, or situations are similar or different? What is similar or different about the mood or tone of the pieces?
How is life shown as beautiful throughout the film. Pull out at least two examples from different parts of the film and explain your rationale. 

   When we read Night and see the film it didn't specifically leave us in tears, but it did show us the true realities of a life changing event the Holocaust. A poem develops the theme differently than a novel and a film such as the "Concert in the Old School Garrett." I think that the detail in "Life is Beautiful" most people didn't notice is that the deportation to concentration camps started later in World War II. If we think about it the film started in 1939, but it skips to five years later in which Guido and Dora have Giosue. In Night Elie along with his family is sent to Birkeanu until 1944, then they ended up in Auschwitz. In my poem it starts off with the piano being played by so many people, but suddenly it isn't touched for half a century which reveals the Holocaust. We think that the most vague similar event between the three pieces of Holocaust literature is that they start off with life prior to the war and how reality quickly catches up to the community which is Jewish. I noticed that the major connection between "Life is Beautiful" and Night is the strong bond between father/son in World War II. In my opinion the bond is different from the film and Night is was represented differently in the camps. If we take for example Guido he tried to defend his son from any event that occurred in the concentration camp. He even went as far as giving lies to Giosue by mentioning that the whole process was a simple game in which the winner won a war tank. Elie's strategy was a bit different he tried to protect his father instead of his father defending Wiesel. This can be considered a huge difference due to the reason that the only way to protect a parent in the camps is giving up the ration of bread provided by the German soldiers. In this way we can compare both plans in which one focuses more on humor while the other deals with surviving until the liberation of camps. 

  The material we have seen in these past couple of months relating to the Holocaust has its own unique way of carrying out the tone/mood. If we look at the film it starts off with happiness which connects to the beginning of Night. I think that the other similarity between the novel and the film is that the setting creates a positive atmosphere in which each character has something to do in either Sighet or Italy. In the next 20 pages the mood quickly transitions to negative as Elie boards the train heading to Auschwitz. We noticed that "Life is Beautiful" changed from cheerful to a sad tone after Dora realizes that Guido's uncle, Giosue, and Guido are boarding train heading to a labor camp. This occurs after viewing the film for over an one hour which explicitly shows that they transition at different times especially the loss faith within Elie Wiesel. I did notice that the other similarity between the two pieces of Holocaust material is that it gets even more negative after viewing what happens to the Jews. A young Elie witnesses the acts of German soldiers towards small children and Giouse mentions that all the children were taken for "showers" within the camp. This affects Guido.


   In the beginning of the film life did seem beautiful Guido and his friend were exploring the landscapes in which he falls in love with Dora. I think that the development of their friendship seems beautiful because two Italians are focusing on love instead of topics like World War II. In the first hour of the film life is beautiful because his constant efforts to impress the woman of Guido's life Dora. We can see that he is warm hearted in which his only intentions is to impress Dora and to include her in his everyday life in Italy an Axis power. There is one part of the film which clearly shows that life is beautiful for this couple even in the concentration camps. He puts on the song they listened to in the opera which truly warms the heart of Dora. I think that the second example that represents the title of the film is the effort Guido makes to help out Giosue. He even makes the camp into a game in which the winner obtains a war tank. I found it touching how this family was never truly separated and that it shows the unity of family which makes life beautiful for Giouse. It completely distinguishes itself from Night because this topic isn't really part of the novel by Wiesel.

This is a representation of how much Guido cared about his son Giouse and how this played a big part in "Life is Beautiful." I think that the film was trying to carry out the theme of family and how they are united even in the Holocaust.  In the book Night Elie gives up his ration of bread which creates a lesson different than the message provided by Guido. In my opinion this is what makes the film unique because it provides topics that usually don't relate to the atmosphere of the Holocaust.

This week I will comment on Amelia, Autumn, and Diego's Blogs.

   

Night

Prompt: How do Elie's experiences during the Holocaust change him as a person?

    The novel is a fast read, but it takes a while to analyze the overall message the author is trying to show to the reader with the Holocaust. A reader can notice throughout the reading of the book that Elie Wiesel has an interesting character filled with emotions and thought provoking questions having to do with the camps. In the beginning of the novel Elie was a religious Jew even more than his father and probably had more faith than the rest of the residents of his little community in Romania. He meets a man named Moshe the Beadle who starts to question his religion and his answer shows that religion is the foundation of Elie. This young man responds by saying "Why did I pray?...Why did I live? Why did I breathe?” (Wiesel 2). It shows the reader that he cares so much about praying that he compares it to breathing. This is kind of saying that it would be impossible for him to live he were not able to pray or study the Talmud. If a person were to finish the book this quote leaves the reader thinking on how much young Elie has changed in 1 year from 1944 to 1945 in the camps. These three phrases can have a huge impact and it's surprising that this quote would help carry out the theme of Night. In the book the first section focuses on the life of Elie Wiesel before the camps made their way to his everyday routine and we can easily tell that he was in some way unique amongst the other Jews. He continues to have faith throughout the ride to their location it is the separation of his family that leaves him alone in Birkenau.

    The main focus is religion and how Elie's experiences in the numerous camps not only changed his views on his religion, but also his overall personality especially in Buna. He first arrives in Birkeanu in which Elie first sees the treatment of Jews in the camps. He notices that prisoners around him are reciting something called the Kaddish, but Elie has a feeling of anger within him having to deal with the faith he had in God and the impact it had on his people which were Jewish. Elie says to himself "for the first time I felt anger rising within me. The Almighty...Master of the Universe chose to be silent What was there to thank?" (Wiesel 33). We can start to see that he is starting to lose his devotion to his religion and that he is no longer a typical religious Jew. These thoughts were in his mind because he saw what the soldiers had done to his people the overall treatment that the Jewish people received from the camps. We can tell that his faith is starting to fade away and now it seems that his beliefs were something left behind in Romania. 

    The second major thing that Elie experiences is inhumanity towards other humans which can also be known as silence a huge topic in Night. There is one event that changes Wiesel's personality, but also his feelings towards his father in Buna. He witnesses the other side of human nature by looking at his fellow prisoners heading to Buchenwald. In order to be specific he sees a man with a small ration of bread, but his son tries to take it away from him while they are  heading to the camp. The man says "Meir. Meir, my boy! Don’t you recognize me?... His son searched him, took the bread, and began to devour it. He was not able to get very far...Others joined in" (Wiesel 97). In one page of the book Elie mentions that he was spoiled before he arrived in Auschwitz. There were other thing that changed him, but witnessing this event it changed his personality in Buchenwald. Elie's father is having trouble with the treatment of the German soldiers. Wiesel starts to put his own life at risk by giving his ration of bread to his father in the camp. He is no longer the spoiled kid back in Sighet, he is now almost a full grown young adult who has learned how to put others before himself especially in the Holocaust. 

 

The picture above shows a few Jewish prisoners eating their ration of food inside the concentration camp. I put this image because it represents how much Elie cared about his father in which he was able to avoid the advice given by the soldiers. It seems that towards the end of the book Elie did have faith that his father was going to live past the liberation of the camps. Wiesel has now grown up to face the adversities of life and to also teach others to never repeat the Holocaust. 

This week I will comment on Citalli, Nadrian, and Marisa's Blogs.

"Concert in the Old School Garrett" by: Anonymous Butterfly Project

 I commented on Athziry, Gustavo, Autumn, and Steven's Blogs.