Thursday, February 6, 2014

Learning to Read and Write


This story is about a young man who happens to be a slave who wants to learn to read and write. He was taught by his mistress who was strongly dedicated to him reading only books. He lived on a street full of white people which his mistress wanted him to get acquainted with. From the strong intentions his mistress had for him she made sure that her job of getting him to read and write was complete the correct way. She intimidated him as much as she could just so she could be better than her husband. Although as being a slave his obedience was a must, he valued it. The young boy was all for learning to read and write. From learning how to read he learned some of the things that occurred around him. Like the meaning of abolishment and the fact that he’s a slave for life. He knowing that troubled him; it made him hopeless and ready to end his life. A couple of Irish men also gave him the urge of running away but he didn't do it. With his commitment to read and write he chose the path of learning, instead of disobeying.

This young man was a bright person. Even though he was going through unimaginable pain he still chose to do the right thing. He was strong, brave and full of encouragement and it never gave up. He was true believer and deserved much more than he got.

Superman and Me


This story is about a young Indian boy name Sherman Alexie who taught himself how to read and write. He was 3 years old when he first learned how to read, it was a superman comic. He didn’t quite sure know what they book was saying but from the pictures he got a clue. His father who also knew how to read gathered as many books for his home as possible. During this age schools and most Indians wanted kids to have no knowledge. They thought of it as a dangerous situation being that they would know a lot. Although the young Indian boy paid no mind to that he was dedicated to learning how to read and write. All his life every chance he got, he read any book, magazine, newspaper, or anything with words. Most teachers feared his dedication to learning being that all the other kids weren’t like him. As he grew older he got wiser and started to write stories, poems of his own and even taught classes from time to time.

            I think this story is a great learning experience for other little kids who think that they can’t do something. This young boy who was living in an environment with no hope made something of himself by trying. This story gives you the mindset that you can do anything, you just have to want to do it.

The Introduction



First class, Professor Sweeney introduced the class to all the things that we will do over the semester. He told us about the contracts, the schedule, and the syllables and many of the assignments that will take place in the class. The contract states all the things that are expected throughout the semester and what grade you would like to receive. The grade you sign up for is the grade that you will get only if you achieve all of its goals. He also discussed our project grammar schmammar after putting us in groups of four. All groups are supposed to complete two lessons, either power point presented or video recorded to get published on YouTube. Each group has their own set date to complete and present their project. The schedule shows what will conspire each week and also points out the days each group has to present. The syllables is just an overview of everything it shows things about the course, the grading scale, the do’s and don’ts for the course , and things you must know.

Library!


The trip to the library was a well learned adventure. We did a scavenger hunt to get a better understanding on where and how things work there. In a group of four we searched for the basic things of the library. First we had to copy our paper to show that we knew how to do it. It took a few tries but after three tries we finally got it. Then we browsed the RBC website on how to search for books and different types things that are going on in the world. After completing that task we learned that the website is very straight forward; and could also be used at home. Although we didn't know much of all the information, we learned that the librarians are there to provide much help. We also took a trip to the Virginia Room; the room that stored books and different artifacts that stays only in that room. As it came to the closing of the scavenger hunt it came time to present. The entire group stood before the class teaching things that might interest them when going to the library. We learned a lot about the library and the people that came with it.   

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

02/03/2014


We talked about the reading "Between the Drafts", we also answered questions about the main idea of the story. The story was about a young girl and her German family, telling different stories. She told stories about how her and her family lived their lives and how big a role their German accent played. Her parents use to tell her and her brother plenty of stories they’ve picked up throughout their life. She realized after hearing all their stories that they always had a meaning of teaching a lesson. A lesson of being obedient, thankful, and to do the right thing or if not consequences may follow. She viewed her life as living off of a post card. The most important post card was the one of the Grand Canyon. She dreamed of many things and seeing the Grand Canyon in person was once of them. She was a girl with a wild imagination. She dreamed of things such as her life much older while going to college, and even having a child. The main idea of this story is to think of your life as your own. You authorize your own life so it’s better to think for yourself and let everyone else do the same. Although you may go through some things it’s a part of life, it’s up to you to make it better.