Aubrey’s English Blog

Prompt: A conversation that changed me was listening to my aunt talk about her experience in high school. This conversation was important to me because out of all members of my family my aunt is most similar to me (shy, reserved). Hearing her give me advice about starting high school and knowing it was from the perspective of someone who actually had the same struggles and personality as me was very insightful and changed my outlook on being nervous for high school. Summary: Read the last scene of act one of the play fences, dived into what how to use s.t.e.a.l as a way to characterize and creating the poster. Reflection: Learned more about steal and insight of troy

 Prompt: Something I believed in as a child was Santa Claus. I wasn't raised to believe any differently as my parents didn't see the need to kill those beliefs at that age. It was until one year when I was around 6 years old when I realized that because we lived in an apartment with a lack of a chimney, it was impossible for Santa Claus to make his way in during christmas time. That was when I asked my parents about the logistics of that, and they broke the news to me. Summary: Read some of fences and went deeper into what it means to have a dream and the characterization of cory and his dream.

 prompt: Rose’s role as a wife is reflective of gender roles and expectations that took place during the 50’s in the way that she is seen to be a caregiver. When she is first introduced she is assumed to have cooked dinner, reminding Troy that dinner is ready and also offering food to bono and lyons. It enforces the idea that wives at the time were responsible for feeding the man of the house. Her sense of duty seems to be what motivates Troy, when he complains about work it talks about his opinions on the “white man”, she’s there to agree and push him to work harder, reminding him to do good. summary: read next scene of “fences” and went over connotations and denotations reflection: learned how connotation can impact a story or a character, particularly helping certain dialogue have certain emotions

 Prompt: Fairness in today's society has definitely progressed, even though there are still some systemic issues underlying, the blatant segregation and difference in opportunity isn't as prevalent as it was 60 years ago. If I was in Troy's position I would definitely stand up for myself the same way Troy was planning to. Especially since then was the time of revolution and progression, even if I thought my white boss would laugh in my face, it's worth a try to make a better living for yourself.  Summary: Read Act 1 Scene 1 of Fences, introduced characterization and went into little detail about the characterization of Troy, Rose, and their relationship together.  Reflection: Got a deeper understanding of Fences, and the character of Troy.

 Prompt: A time there was a truth I was afraid to accept was in the midst of realizing I would be all alone when starting high school. In the eighth grade my parents had told me that we were moving, which meant that instead of being with all the friends I had known since fifth grade, I was going to attend Lakeside. I was really disappointed and didn't want to accept the fact that there was no way I would be with my friends. Eventually at the middle of freshman year I ended up finding some good friends and it became less fearful to accept that truth. Reflection: Understood a basic context of the play "Fences" Summary: Started on the play "Fences" and got a feel for the context

 Prompt: A time I was judged unfairly was during a hangout with my cousins. At the time I was a lot younger than them, around 10 years old and they were all 15+, and they were playing on one of my cousins playstation. They wouldn't let me get a controller because they assumed I was too young to be good at any team games or pvp games. As it turned out I ended up winning a couple rounds after begging (as little kids do) and they realized they had judged me wrong.  Reflection: Learned about Bandura's theory and analyzed the story. Summary: Worked on common lit and answered questions.

 Prompt: One StoryMap that stood out to me was Richards. It stood out because he spoke about how he was challenged by public speaking, and was actively working on it. I thought it was inspiring because he was public speaking while doing the presentation, and it seemed to come off natural enough. I think it's meaningful because it allowed the class to understand that even though someone may seem cool/chill on the outside, they could be nervous on the inside. Summary: Listened to the rest of the StoryMap presentations. Reflection: Learned deeper about how people viewed challenges and events in their childhood, and how it shaped them in their present years.

 Prompt: A time I discovered a new perspective was when I had heard the stories of my mother during her teenage years. I had always wondered why she was such a stickler for me keeping my room clean, or being very strategic on how I presented myself to others, as well as caring about how others perceived me. It was until I heard how she had grown up, and how her opportunities were very limited which caused her to be very grateful in her adult life for the opportunities and freedom she has now. It changed the way I perceived my mom, instead of seeing her as strict and caring too much, I realized she just wanted me to be more aware of how privileged I was growing up. Summary: Read story on common lit and answered questions reflecting on the theme Reflection: Learned the importance of caring more about understanding different perspectives

 Prompt: An incident where someone has said something that offended me was in elementary school when a teacher was having a conference with my mother. At the time I had attended a predominantly white school, where there were hardly even black teachers. The teacher had mentioned I was "very articulate" and said it many times with a surprised inflection in her voice. At that age I didn't catch why that felt like a microaggression, but my mother explained how it shouldn't come off as a surprise to anyone that I am as articulate as all my white classmates. Summary: Went over offensive terms and read poem about baltimore and offensive experience  Reflection: Learned how to interpret offensive terms

 Prompt: I love the spirit that people have in the hallways, it makes me feel more inclined to have spirit myself and participate in the spirit days and pep rallys. Summary: Watched presentations and learned about peoples storymap. Reflection: Learned how people connect with their culture and associate places with their growing up.

 Prompt: Women in a relationship or especially a marriage may feel as though they have to fulfill to many responsibilities, therefore leading them to feel trapped and exhausted like Edna did. The expectation from society that a wife is supposed to nurture most likely made her feel as though her marriage was a chore, and made her not want to communicate with her husband, kids, and such. Summary: Worked on questions related to "I don't want a wife" and read the excerpt from "the awakening" on common lit. Reflection: Learned how to apply the knowledge of societal expectations to literature and analyzed gender norms.

 Prompt: I enjoy discussions the most because it allows hearing everyone's perspective on a topic and also sometimes understanding the teachers perspective, but as far as effectiveness I prefer worksheets because I can refer back to them as study material and get good practice. Summary: Answered questions about "I want a wife" and analyzed it deeper. Reflection: Learned different perspectives on the gender norms very prevalent in the 70s and modern day. 

 Prompt: A specific gender expectation prevalent in my culture would be the expectation to have kids and want a family in husband. Though I do value family as much as my culture tells me to, I dont exactly have the desire to have kids in my future and it feels overbearing sometimes that my family expects that. Summary: Worked on StoryMap and analyzed story Reflect: Learned how to deeper analyze gender expectations

 Prompt:  I challenged my parents rules once as a small child, when they would instruct me to go to bed and instead I would play Lego batrman on my Nintendo DS. The expectation was that I would go to sleep and get good rest for the next day, but it made me feel happier to play games when my parents didn't know. The outcome was them taking away my Nintendo DS for a week. Summary: Read the story "Two Kinds" and reflected on how her identity is shown throughout the story. Reflection: Learned how to interpret identity. 

 Prompt: The class has been nice. I appreciate learning about different cultures and what culture means/represents. It’s a topic that interests me. summary: Worked on vocabulary and worked on having a deeper understanding by associating picture’s with definitions  reflection: Gained a deeper understanding of vocabulary related to the unit.

 Prompt: A time I did something out of the norm was on a spirit day in sophomore year, when I dressed up as a character from the movie IT. I wore a bright yellow raincoat and had fake blood just about everywhere. It felt out of the norm because not a lot of people were dressed up this day and my colors were quite bright, lots of people stopped and commented on it.  Summary: Read and analyzed identity poem and stereotypes. Reflection: Learned the importance of stereotypes,