1. Are there any factors that you think are going to affect your participation or experience in this class? Access to a computer? Mobile/smart phone? Transportation? Friends/family? Schedule?
-Luckily I have access to multiple computers and have a smart phone so accessing technology shouldn't present a problem, and thankfully I don't believe transportation will hinder my participation in this class either. Although when it comes to friends/family and schedule I may run into some difficulties. Senior year is a big year for everyone, and with added responsibilities it can present a challenge. I am taking three other AP/Honors level classes that do require a significant amount of my time and dedication, but I have taken full course loads the other three years of high school with greater responsibilities. And I believe that if I can stick it out and just keep working I can pull through this year.
2. Think of an awesome best ever learning experience that changed you. What did you learn? Where were you? What happened? Who else was there? Did it teach you anything about how you learn (or pay attention... or remember, or think?) How did you know what was happening?
-My greatest learning experience was a summer program that dealt with speech pathology and a few small experiences into ASL. I went into the program with little understanding of what speech therapists do and how important good speech really is, but then after spending five weeks of my summer and hands on work with 27 other teenagers (28 campers, and a few speech therapists), I realized that I had just naturally picked up several tips and lessons about speech pathology that have really gotten me interested in a possible career in audiology or speech pathology. Ironically I didn't even know how much I had learned until one of the last days when I found my self in a funny situation and had to use the little ASL I had picked up to work with some deaf campers. And for me, learning experiences that I don't realize are happening are the best possible ones.
3. What are you most [excited/concerned] about in this class? What do you look forward to in learning? How do you think it can/will make a practical difference in your life?
-To tell you the truth I am simply looking forward to reading. These last few school years I have been too busy to even pick up a book for a few minutes and just start reading so my biggest goal for this class (besides pass the AP exam) is to just read! On a more practical level I hope this class can help me prepare for taking college level courses starting next year and learn more about internet literacy.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
My Opinion Isn't (A) Right
Overall I thought the conversation was interesting and had its valid points. Personally I struggled with the topic and had a tough time understanding it overall. Ironically I managed (on my second time through) to read the last page of the text before reading the first, which actually helped me understand what the essay was about.
When we got into our class discussion I thought it was great when Dr. Preston let us work out our interpretations and then gave his insight. And from our discussion we pulled out the idea that people have a right to an opinion, but they aren't entitled to one. That distinction between right and entitled is what I think the point the essay was trying to get at. Since entitlement implies that people are granted the right to be correct, if we were to break that entitlement we would be destroying their rights by simply possessing an opinion different from theirs.
Over the next couple of weeks, when I have the time I will attempt to come back to the text and when I come up with new ideas I will post them here.
When we got into our class discussion I thought it was great when Dr. Preston let us work out our interpretations and then gave his insight. And from our discussion we pulled out the idea that people have a right to an opinion, but they aren't entitled to one. That distinction between right and entitled is what I think the point the essay was trying to get at. Since entitlement implies that people are granted the right to be correct, if we were to break that entitlement we would be destroying their rights by simply possessing an opinion different from theirs.
Over the next couple of weeks, when I have the time I will attempt to come back to the text and when I come up with new ideas I will post them here.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Vocabulary #1
“So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women - and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do."
-N.H. Kleinbaum, Dead Poets Society
(http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1207563-dead-poets-society)
Vocab List #1
adumbrate: to foreshadow vaguely
apotheosis: elevation to divine status (perfect example/epitome)
ascetic: practicing strict self denial as a measure of personal or spiritual discipline
bauble: trinket, trifling object
beguile: to lead by deception or trickery
burgeon: to grow or expand rapidly
complement: something that fills up, completes, or makes perfect
contumacious: stubbornly disobedient, rebellious
curmudgeon: miser, (typically used to describe an old man) ill-tempered
didactic: intended to convey instruction and information as well as pleasure and entertainment. Designed or intended to teach.
disingenuous: lacking in brilliance (or candor) or lack of integrity
exculpate: to clear from fault or guilt
faux pas: blunder (social blunder)
fulminate: to utter, explode, or send out with denouncement
fustian: written or spoken with pretentiousness or pomposity
hauteur: arrogance
inhibit: to prohibit from doing something
jeremiad: a prolonged lamentation or complaint
opportunist: unprincipled resourceful person: somebody who takes advantage of something, especially somebody who does so in a devious, unscrupulous, or unprincipled way
unconscionable: not guided or controlled by conscience
Special shout out to Merriam Webster Online Dictionary for the definitions!
(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary)
Practice Paragraph:
By no means do I intend to sound pretentious and hauteur or to beguile my fellow peers, but I feel ready to take senior year by the horns and like any good opportunist, make the most of it so that when we look back on our time at Righetti we can say our senior year was the apotheosis of our high school career. Let us not be like those curmudgeon and depressed freshmen. Rather we should run and avoid all things that could inhibit making our senior year anything less than brilliant. But to make the most of our opportunity we need to be both vigilant and diligent like ascetic monks and limit our contumacious streaks as to avoid outright punishment by our superiors. Please don't misunderstand my plea to the class of 2014 as disingenuous or even some strange jeremiad from that weird girl in your class. I am not trying to fulminate my opinion on our year, rather I am trying to bring out a didactic approach to what is usually a failed bucket list item for students entering their senior year. So before our classes begin to burgeon us down with homework and bauble, let us work on avoiding unconscionable decisions that won't complement and add to the overall experience of our senior year. Class of 2014, lets do this!
1. In the novel "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck the death and 'burial' of Rose of Sharon's stillborn baby in to the flood waters can be viewed as an adumbrate and even allusion to the Biblical story of Moses, that things will eventually improve.
2. Exculpating our enemies, is a great way to start the new year with a clean slate.
3. I find it strange that burping in public isn't always view as a faux pas, especially as it is a social norm that shouldn't be broken.
4. His speech was filled with fustian language, over the top and completely unnecessary to prove his point.
-N.H. Kleinbaum, Dead Poets Society
(http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1207563-dead-poets-society)
adumbrate: to foreshadow vaguely
apotheosis: elevation to divine status (perfect example/epitome)
ascetic: practicing strict self denial as a measure of personal or spiritual discipline
bauble: trinket, trifling object
beguile: to lead by deception or trickery
burgeon: to grow or expand rapidly
complement: something that fills up, completes, or makes perfect
contumacious: stubbornly disobedient, rebellious
curmudgeon: miser, (typically used to describe an old man) ill-tempered
didactic: intended to convey instruction and information as well as pleasure and entertainment. Designed or intended to teach.
disingenuous: lacking in brilliance (or candor) or lack of integrity
exculpate: to clear from fault or guilt
faux pas: blunder (social blunder)
fulminate: to utter, explode, or send out with denouncement
fustian: written or spoken with pretentiousness or pomposity
hauteur: arrogance
inhibit: to prohibit from doing something
jeremiad: a prolonged lamentation or complaint
opportunist: unprincipled resourceful person: somebody who takes advantage of something, especially somebody who does so in a devious, unscrupulous, or unprincipled way
unconscionable: not guided or controlled by conscience
Special shout out to Merriam Webster Online Dictionary for the definitions!
(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary)
Practice Paragraph:
By no means do I intend to sound pretentious and hauteur or to beguile my fellow peers, but I feel ready to take senior year by the horns and like any good opportunist, make the most of it so that when we look back on our time at Righetti we can say our senior year was the apotheosis of our high school career. Let us not be like those curmudgeon and depressed freshmen. Rather we should run and avoid all things that could inhibit making our senior year anything less than brilliant. But to make the most of our opportunity we need to be both vigilant and diligent like ascetic monks and limit our contumacious streaks as to avoid outright punishment by our superiors. Please don't misunderstand my plea to the class of 2014 as disingenuous or even some strange jeremiad from that weird girl in your class. I am not trying to fulminate my opinion on our year, rather I am trying to bring out a didactic approach to what is usually a failed bucket list item for students entering their senior year. So before our classes begin to burgeon us down with homework and bauble, let us work on avoiding unconscionable decisions that won't complement and add to the overall experience of our senior year. Class of 2014, lets do this!
1. In the novel "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck the death and 'burial' of Rose of Sharon's stillborn baby in to the flood waters can be viewed as an adumbrate and even allusion to the Biblical story of Moses, that things will eventually improve.
2. Exculpating our enemies, is a great way to start the new year with a clean slate.
3. I find it strange that burping in public isn't always view as a faux pas, especially as it is a social norm that shouldn't be broken.
4. His speech was filled with fustian language, over the top and completely unnecessary to prove his point.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Essay Assignment #2 (austen/montaigne essay)
Reflection:
Well to be completely honest I struggled with this essay. Something about quotes being used to introduce the prompt freaks me out and makes it nearly impossible for me to write a decent essay, but it is something I need to work on (so bring it on quotes!!!). Although I enjoyed the quote itself and thought to my self, "Wow Sharp, this looks like it could lead to great discussion." I fell short, but thankfully by my last count we still have just over 259 days until AP Testing Begins for 2014. Any who without any further ado:
"What goes on inside is just too fast and huge and all interconnected for words to do more than barely sketch the outlines of at most one tiny little part of it at any given instant."-David Foster Wallace. Intellectuals such as David Foster Wallace and others, state that our minds and beings are so complex but yet our words can only just scratch the surface of what we truly mean and feel. But if that statement is actually true, why do we as humans still attempt to express ourselves through the written word? Perhaps it is because we feel that even though our best attempts will never quite do the job, we still need to express our ideas. Authors and intellectuals such as Victor Hugo, Joseph Heller, and Stephen Hawking are actual proof support Wallace's idea that our minds are so complex in a way that words can never express. Other authors such as Montaigne, who's essays set the pace and template for future essay writing throughout the world, and Jane Austen who's novels impacted the modern novel and forever changed the way books were written, also support Wallace's claim. And while it is much more obvious in Montaigne's essays, this claim also comes full circle within "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen although in different ways.
Montaigne is round a bout writer, his essays revolve around one topic and yet in attempt to discuss his opinion he begins following tangents, while Austen is more direct within her writing, she like all writers before and after, she can only do so much when it comes to expressing her own opinion. And quite simply that's just human nature. Michel de Montaigne inadvertently expressed this through his work, for example in his essay titled "Of Custom, and That We Should Not Easily Change a Law Received" most of his writing is tangents and his attempt to express his ideas on a certain subject actually provides his opinions on other issues such as chastity and education. And it isn't a bad thing that he does this, for it also provides the readers a glimpse into what Montaigne was really thinking when he was writing his essays, and perhaps even his attitude and personality in a manner that isn't fully seen in "Pride and Prejudice" with Jane Austen for the sole reason of format. If Austen were to express tangents and personal opinions in her book, based solely on the time period of which the book was written, very few would read it. But as far as the idea of what goes on inside of us being far too complex to express both Montaigne's and Austen's writing support that. Austen's work was instrumental in shaping how the modern novel is written, but at the same time portions of "Pride and Prejudice" exhibit a struggle to express what Austen is really feeling. And it is the same exhibit with Montaigne, but where Montaigne begins to follow tangents, Austen adds dialogue or abruptly ends the chapter.
Even further than format and overall diction, Jane Austen's and Montaigne's writing styles differ drastically. Austen's syntax, or sentence structure, employs a greater use of description and stylistic flourishes while Montaigne's syntax is straightforward and even at times mildly brash. Perhaps the time period in which each book was written is what makes each authors approach to writing so different but yet even through all their differences both authors have similarities within their writing and their writing styles. For example it is obvious that both authors are educated and aren't afraid to show their knowledge, as many allusions and metaphors that aren't noticed by the reader the first time it is read eventually become clear and obvious during the second or third time the piece is read.
"What goes on inside is just too fast and huge and all interconnected for words to do more than barely sketch the outlines of at most one tiny little part of it at any given instant."-David Foster Wallace. It is just human nature, we struggle to accurately express our selves. Yet through the template of literature we perhaps scratch the surface of meaning and ingenuity. Authors such as Montaigne and Jane Austen prove that. Though they lived almost 200 years apart and their writing styles are distinctively different they both somehow share similarities and manage to some point express their opinions through their works. And while like all other authors and human beings their writing can be powerful at times, they still seems to struggle with what they really mean.
Well to be completely honest I struggled with this essay. Something about quotes being used to introduce the prompt freaks me out and makes it nearly impossible for me to write a decent essay, but it is something I need to work on (so bring it on quotes!!!). Although I enjoyed the quote itself and thought to my self, "Wow Sharp, this looks like it could lead to great discussion." I fell short, but thankfully by my last count we still have just over 259 days until AP Testing Begins for 2014. Any who without any further ado:
"What goes on inside is just too fast and huge and all interconnected for words to do more than barely sketch the outlines of at most one tiny little part of it at any given instant."-David Foster Wallace. Intellectuals such as David Foster Wallace and others, state that our minds and beings are so complex but yet our words can only just scratch the surface of what we truly mean and feel. But if that statement is actually true, why do we as humans still attempt to express ourselves through the written word? Perhaps it is because we feel that even though our best attempts will never quite do the job, we still need to express our ideas. Authors and intellectuals such as Victor Hugo, Joseph Heller, and Stephen Hawking are actual proof support Wallace's idea that our minds are so complex in a way that words can never express. Other authors such as Montaigne, who's essays set the pace and template for future essay writing throughout the world, and Jane Austen who's novels impacted the modern novel and forever changed the way books were written, also support Wallace's claim. And while it is much more obvious in Montaigne's essays, this claim also comes full circle within "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen although in different ways.
Montaigne is round a bout writer, his essays revolve around one topic and yet in attempt to discuss his opinion he begins following tangents, while Austen is more direct within her writing, she like all writers before and after, she can only do so much when it comes to expressing her own opinion. And quite simply that's just human nature. Michel de Montaigne inadvertently expressed this through his work, for example in his essay titled "Of Custom, and That We Should Not Easily Change a Law Received" most of his writing is tangents and his attempt to express his ideas on a certain subject actually provides his opinions on other issues such as chastity and education. And it isn't a bad thing that he does this, for it also provides the readers a glimpse into what Montaigne was really thinking when he was writing his essays, and perhaps even his attitude and personality in a manner that isn't fully seen in "Pride and Prejudice" with Jane Austen for the sole reason of format. If Austen were to express tangents and personal opinions in her book, based solely on the time period of which the book was written, very few would read it. But as far as the idea of what goes on inside of us being far too complex to express both Montaigne's and Austen's writing support that. Austen's work was instrumental in shaping how the modern novel is written, but at the same time portions of "Pride and Prejudice" exhibit a struggle to express what Austen is really feeling. And it is the same exhibit with Montaigne, but where Montaigne begins to follow tangents, Austen adds dialogue or abruptly ends the chapter.
Even further than format and overall diction, Jane Austen's and Montaigne's writing styles differ drastically. Austen's syntax, or sentence structure, employs a greater use of description and stylistic flourishes while Montaigne's syntax is straightforward and even at times mildly brash. Perhaps the time period in which each book was written is what makes each authors approach to writing so different but yet even through all their differences both authors have similarities within their writing and their writing styles. For example it is obvious that both authors are educated and aren't afraid to show their knowledge, as many allusions and metaphors that aren't noticed by the reader the first time it is read eventually become clear and obvious during the second or third time the piece is read.
"What goes on inside is just too fast and huge and all interconnected for words to do more than barely sketch the outlines of at most one tiny little part of it at any given instant."-David Foster Wallace. It is just human nature, we struggle to accurately express our selves. Yet through the template of literature we perhaps scratch the surface of meaning and ingenuity. Authors such as Montaigne and Jane Austen prove that. Though they lived almost 200 years apart and their writing styles are distinctively different they both somehow share similarities and manage to some point express their opinions through their works. And while like all other authors and human beings their writing can be powerful at times, they still seems to struggle with what they really mean.
1987 AP Exam Essays
Quick Note:
I finished the essays this morning, and for the practice timed myself (around 45 minutes) and wrote the essays out in hand. My hard copy will be in class tomorrow, but hopefully when I get the time I will post it here.
Update here are my essays for the 1987 AP Exam I timed my self for both which explains why essay #2 suddenly cuts off:
Essay#1
Leisure, what we do when we think we have the time. But, like everything it changes and evolves to match the times. What was once a relaxing and treasured event has become a thing of pomp and an unsubtle attempt to "keep up with the Jones," so to speak. Which is what George Elliot is attempting to express in her piece appropriately titled, "Leisure". Through her reflective style, seen through the habits of an elderly man, Elliot is able to create a piece which cleverly and stylistically condemns the new "leisurely" practices of her time, in want of the ones of old.
It doesn't take long to get a feel for George Elliot's style an approach to writing, in her piece titled "Leisure". And while she doesn't openly condemn the newer and distinctively vain styles of new leisure until the end of her piece, she does openly condemn it stylistically through metaphors. For example in lines 11-16 she begins by describing what she considers what leisure once was as an old man by calling him Old Leisure. She writes that he was a "stout gentleman" with "...quiet perceptions" and who cared not about knowing how everything happened, rather he simply enjoyed the events. Her extended metaphor of "Old Leisure" as an old man is a motif that she continues throughout the piece. Even before she creates the metaphor of "Old Leisure" George Elliot is able to attach allusions to historical events which the readers would have been aware of. For example within the first 12 lines Elliot alludes to industrialization, the boom of big business, and even the incredible increase in science during the late 19th century. Her allusions add levels to her writing and even increase the meaning and the depth of her work, and further condemns what she believes is the change of leisure. And even more so Elliot is also suggesting that the overall change in pace of everyday life is also unnecessary.
The body and largest part of George Elliot's work "Leisure" is her longing reflection of what she calls "Old Leisure". In it, "Old Leisure" is described as an old man, wise in years and dedicated in his simple but meaningful practices. And through her skillful and stylistic approach Elliot allows the readers to sympathize with old leisure. To do this she employs diction and syntax. Her overall diction, or word choice, reflects what leisure used to be, simple yet purposeful and powerful. While her syntax reflects the same values.
Further more George Elliot's piece titled "Leisure" isn't just a reflection, it is an outlet for her to share her views on the change of pace, and it can also be seen as a stylistic warning for our own lives.
Essay #2
Novels are one of the best and most powerful tools for instigating social change. They've brought political and social issues to the forefront since their inception, and in some cases have moved nations to action. One such novel is "The Grapes of Wrath" by Californian writer John Steinbeck. The novel whose gritty and often explicative language and content has been criticized almost more than it has been praised. But that is exactly what makes it great. Steinbeck's narrative of the Joad family's migration from Dust Bowl Oklahoma to the hard life of migrant farmers in California was one of the first novels to accurately describe the life of migrant farmers during the great depression and bring their plight to the forefront.
The novel "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck describes the journey of the Joad family as they are forced to leave their family and lifestyle behind in Oklahoma in search of work in California. Steinbeck was known for his gritty, realistic, and almost brutally honest approach to his subjects, a method he continues in "The Grapes of Wrath". In his novel he not only recounts the true horrors an hardships of migrant farmers during the Great Depression, he brings about the idea of mankind's inhumanity to others. While the Joads struggle on their journey many of their problems come not only from their situation, but also from other people. Throughout their journey it is as if Steinbeck isn't wanting his readers to feel sorry for the Joads and others in their situation, rather he wants to raise awareness about the human condition.
Reflection:
Even with the added time I struggled. The first prompt I connected to better and as essay #2 came along I was running on empty. I picked "The Grapes of Wrath" because I thought I could pull the most from it, but looking back I would have been better off possibly picking "The Jungle", "Uncle Tom's Cabin" or even "1984" whose plots I am not as familiar with but I might have been able to work with more.
I finished the essays this morning, and for the practice timed myself (around 45 minutes) and wrote the essays out in hand. My hard copy will be in class tomorrow, but hopefully when I get the time I will post it here.
Update here are my essays for the 1987 AP Exam I timed my self for both which explains why essay #2 suddenly cuts off:
Essay#1
Leisure, what we do when we think we have the time. But, like everything it changes and evolves to match the times. What was once a relaxing and treasured event has become a thing of pomp and an unsubtle attempt to "keep up with the Jones," so to speak. Which is what George Elliot is attempting to express in her piece appropriately titled, "Leisure". Through her reflective style, seen through the habits of an elderly man, Elliot is able to create a piece which cleverly and stylistically condemns the new "leisurely" practices of her time, in want of the ones of old.
It doesn't take long to get a feel for George Elliot's style an approach to writing, in her piece titled "Leisure". And while she doesn't openly condemn the newer and distinctively vain styles of new leisure until the end of her piece, she does openly condemn it stylistically through metaphors. For example in lines 11-16 she begins by describing what she considers what leisure once was as an old man by calling him Old Leisure. She writes that he was a "stout gentleman" with "...quiet perceptions" and who cared not about knowing how everything happened, rather he simply enjoyed the events. Her extended metaphor of "Old Leisure" as an old man is a motif that she continues throughout the piece. Even before she creates the metaphor of "Old Leisure" George Elliot is able to attach allusions to historical events which the readers would have been aware of. For example within the first 12 lines Elliot alludes to industrialization, the boom of big business, and even the incredible increase in science during the late 19th century. Her allusions add levels to her writing and even increase the meaning and the depth of her work, and further condemns what she believes is the change of leisure. And even more so Elliot is also suggesting that the overall change in pace of everyday life is also unnecessary.
The body and largest part of George Elliot's work "Leisure" is her longing reflection of what she calls "Old Leisure". In it, "Old Leisure" is described as an old man, wise in years and dedicated in his simple but meaningful practices. And through her skillful and stylistic approach Elliot allows the readers to sympathize with old leisure. To do this she employs diction and syntax. Her overall diction, or word choice, reflects what leisure used to be, simple yet purposeful and powerful. While her syntax reflects the same values.
Further more George Elliot's piece titled "Leisure" isn't just a reflection, it is an outlet for her to share her views on the change of pace, and it can also be seen as a stylistic warning for our own lives.
Essay #2
Novels are one of the best and most powerful tools for instigating social change. They've brought political and social issues to the forefront since their inception, and in some cases have moved nations to action. One such novel is "The Grapes of Wrath" by Californian writer John Steinbeck. The novel whose gritty and often explicative language and content has been criticized almost more than it has been praised. But that is exactly what makes it great. Steinbeck's narrative of the Joad family's migration from Dust Bowl Oklahoma to the hard life of migrant farmers in California was one of the first novels to accurately describe the life of migrant farmers during the great depression and bring their plight to the forefront.
The novel "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck describes the journey of the Joad family as they are forced to leave their family and lifestyle behind in Oklahoma in search of work in California. Steinbeck was known for his gritty, realistic, and almost brutally honest approach to his subjects, a method he continues in "The Grapes of Wrath". In his novel he not only recounts the true horrors an hardships of migrant farmers during the Great Depression, he brings about the idea of mankind's inhumanity to others. While the Joads struggle on their journey many of their problems come not only from their situation, but also from other people. Throughout their journey it is as if Steinbeck isn't wanting his readers to feel sorry for the Joads and others in their situation, rather he wants to raise awareness about the human condition.
Reflection:
Even with the added time I struggled. The first prompt I connected to better and as essay #2 came along I was running on empty. I picked "The Grapes of Wrath" because I thought I could pull the most from it, but looking back I would have been better off possibly picking "The Jungle", "Uncle Tom's Cabin" or even "1984" whose plots I am not as familiar with but I might have been able to work with more.
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