Blogger #9 - Timothy Deng - Period 2 - 9/30/21

Aim: How can our knowledge and experience with poetry and poetic techniques ensure the successful creation of our Poem Anthology project?

Do Now: How do you usually feel when you learn you are being assigned a new project? Why?

Today’s lesson started with the question “How do you usually feel when you learn you are being assigned a new project? Why?” Most people had a common answer. They are usually excited, however, at the end of the project’s due date they usually end up procrastinating and having too much work. I can agree with them because usually when we get a project, we get a due date that is a long time. Eventually, you overestimate your time without realizing how long it would take combined with other classes, you end up being stressed and having a lot of work to do. 

After we did the do now, we were introduced to our Poem Anthology Project. It is our next project in English class that we will do on our own with a lot of rules to follow. There are also reminders to guide us through the project. There will be a rubric on google classroom and we will submit this project on a new thread. The due date is mid to late October, there is no exact date yet.

Poem Anthology Project: Your assignment is to create a poetry anthology with 3 original poems with at least one poem structured like an extended metaphor. 

Your anthology MUST INCLUDE:

1. A Creative Cover, with Image(s), a Title, which clearly identifies your First and Last Name, period, TEAM NAME and Cycle Letter. NOTE: Cover pages DO NOT get page numbers and slides are not page numbers!

2. A Table of contents,  clearly identifying each poem type and title and the page number where it can be found. [(1) Free Verse, (2) Extended Metaphor, and (3) Shakespearean Sonnet.  NOTE: Cover pages DO NOT get page numbers and slides are not page numbers!

3. An Introduction to the collection, explaining the basis for your poem choices.

4. Your extended metaphor must be annotated. If you provide a clean version of your Extended Metaphor (meaning without annotations first)  and you choose to do the annotations separately, then make sure your annotations follow immediately on the next page. Highlight and Annotate some of your poetic choices just like we did in class, and explain the reason behind them. Note: Annotations SHOULD NOT be provided in the comments section! If using Google Slides, you can insert text boxes. If using Google Docs, you can insert your poem on one side into a table, and for the columns next to each line insert your annotations.

5. All 3 original poems should include complementary visuals/images/drawings. NOTE: On your poem pages, you must have both the title and the poem type provided.

6. Your last page must include a reflection that explains the experience of creating poetry along with a discussion of the style, language choices, and thematic intent of your poems at the conclusion of your anthology.

Reminders:

• Don't forget you have your WordPool as inspiration (you don't have to use it, but don't forget about it).

• Additionally, it is very helpful for you to: 1) open a blank Google Doc, 2) go back through each lesson and copy the main points from each lesson, as well as the links/videos, so 3) you can use this doc as a guide while you are constructing your own poetry.

• Punctuation Assistance: I suggest reading your poems aloud, and when you stop, that's your body telling you it needs some form of punctuation.  It’s the equivalent of your body taking a breath, which is what punctuation actually is.

• Project Assistance: Make sure to use font sizes, font and background colors that are acceptable for reading/grading. Keep in mind that projects are not graded in presentation mode, therefore, it remains the size as if you are constructing the document. Additionally, when choosing font and background colors be sure to choose contrasting colors.  In other words: Dark Background with light font OR Light Backgrounds with Dark Font, to maximize readability.

• Project Tools: Rhymezone Find rhymes, synonyms, adjectives, and more!

In class we were shown a couple examples of the project. Each project had its own unique style.

Some Key Components For This Project:

• Create three poems, each one is a different type of poem.

• One poem should be in the form of an extended metaphor and annotated.

• Be creative on how you present your poem.

• You will need images or drawings for each poem.

• You should have the poem title and poem type on each poem.

• Your last page should be a reflection that discusses your experience creating the poem and your style and theme of the poems.

Tip: Try to make all your poems based on one subject, for example, flowers. It helps establish a theme and makes it overall easier to create your poems.

Poem Anthology Project Begin Drafting!

We were all able to start our project. However, it was advised to finish your word pool before you drafted. Your word pool will usually be the foundation of your poem. 

Here are some elements you should consider putting in your poems: 

Reflection:  

Today In English class we learned how to write a Poem Anthology Project and we also did our own research about poems, specifically the different types of poems. I learned it so I could have a better understanding for our Poem Anthology Project. We needed to research the different types of poems so that we could follow the project rules that stated to use three different types of poems. While researching I learned about types of poems that could help me in the future to better understand poems, and the purpose of them. I could apply what I learned to analyze poems and annotate them. I could also incorporate certain parts into my own poem such as the type of figurative language they use.

Blogger #3 - Emily Chen - Period 8 - 09/30/21

 Aim: “Why is ‘The Declaration of Independence’ symbolized as a valuable document for our society?”

The class started off today’s lesson by discussing the answer to the following question: “Why do you believe an individual’s rights are so important to society?” 

My partner and I thought that if people had no rights, there would be no progression and no motivation to improve. My class thought that individual rights protected people and ensured that no one got violated. It sets a standard of respect and fairness for everyone. Furthermore, individual rights would ensure that the government wouldn’t have complete control over the people’s lives, and that everyone would have a voice that can impact the society they live in.

Next, the class read and analyzed a portion of the text, “The Declaration of Independence.”

The phrase, “all men are created equal,” stood out to us. We concluded that “all men” only actually refers to rich, white men. There was no way that African Americans or women were taken into consideration when such a document was written.

The phrase, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” stood out to us, too. Life refers to the right to live and simply exist. Liberty refers to the right to be free. Lastly, pursuit of happiness is the right to pursue one’s dreams, goals, and aspirations. However, you can’t infringe on someone else’s life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness to satisfy your own. Whatever you do must be within reason, it must have limitations.

After that, we discussed whether or not the typical person in the United States today has these rights, and concluded that it really depends on that individual’s condition or situation. E.g. There are people out there who don’t even have the right to life due to terminal illnesses contracted at birth. Now, let’s say that person is dirt poor, has no healthcare, has no money, and therefore no medication. How are they supposed to live when they are in this kind of situation?

Following that, the class tried to identify the various ways the United States has tried to guarantee “equality” for all. We brought up the topic of education. Everyone is given a free and public education from Grades 1 through 12. After that, financial aid is provided for those who wish to further their education but may not be able to afford to do so. This guarantees equality, but only to an extent, because there are in fact limitations. You can’t help everyone, it’s just not possible.

Reflection:

What did I learn? Today, I learned that although society has tried and is still trying to achieve equality, we are still far from it, because of an unfortunate thing called limitations. I realized that as much as we want equality, as amazing as it sounds, it may not be possible for a really long time. The discussion we had on healthcare and education helped me realize how corrupt and inconsiderate the government is. Why are people being denied the right to live or the right to learn? Who gets to decide whether or not someone is qualified to get the help they need?

Why did I learn it? I learned about such topics today because of its relevance to present-day society. There are a lot of problems in our world, and we have to be able to recognize these problems if we want to initiate change.

How will I use what I learned? I will keep in mind our discussions about equality, limitations, and fairness as we continue to learn about various fictional utopian societies and the things that people do to crawl out of such societies. Not only that, but I can use this newfound knowledge to help me recognize more problems in our society, to help me become more mindful, aware, and thoughtful about what’s going on in our world.

Blogger #3 - Andy Chen - Period #3 - 9/30/2021

Aim of the Lesson: Why is the “Declaration of Independence” symbolized as a valuable document for our society?/How can common, everyday words and terms denote such deep connotation and meaning?

Do Now: Pair and Share - Why do you think an individual’s rights are so important to society?

For our Do Now at the beginning of the lesson, we talked to those seated around us about why we think individual rights are crucial in a society. I conversed with my team members during this activity and we concluded that individual rights are important because our society values the differences between us. We honor differences between us and accept them since they are what makes us all unique. We thought that individualism was one of the most important parts of our society and that our individual rights protected that and allowed us to be who we are without any repercussions.

For the next part of our lesson, the class reconvened and did a spirit reading of an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence. The excerpt in question was the iconic “We hold these truths to be self-evident” part. After we took turns reading sections from the excerpt, we began our Group/Team work, which was to discuss and record our answers to questions relating to the excerpt. The first question asked what we thought the writers of the text meant when they used the words “life”, “liberty”, and “the pursuit of happiness”. With my team, we said that these three phrases meant that anyone living in this country had the freedom to live their life the way they wanted, to pursue whatever goals or dreams they had. We shared our group’s answers shortly after. Group 5 connected the phrases to a more historical context, saying that the phrases represented the rights and freedoms the original writers in the American colonies wanted to have. During that time period, the American colonies were still part of Great Britain, and were under the jurisdiction and control of the king. I personally connected this to my group’s do now answer about individual rights and how the colonies wanted to govern themselves. After hearing other groups’ answers, Ms. Peterson then brought up an interesting point. She said that although the Declaration of Independence says you have the freedom to do what makes you happy, there are limitations. For example, anything that infringes upon the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of others such as arson, murder, or any crime in general was not allowed.

The second question asked if we thought the typical person living in the US had these rights. Our group said yes, the typical person does have these rights and are able to pursue their goals. However, we acknowledged that some groups of people did not. For instance, we said that some people with disabilities have a much harder time in this country than people without. Other groups mentioned that minorities who are oppressed and kept down by others do not have these rights as well. One group said that the authors of the Declaration did not mean for these words to apply to everyone, citing how many of the authors were slave owners. During the group discussion, an interesting pont was brought up. Group 5 said that the question was worded strangely. Who was a “typical person”? Our country is made up of so many different groups of people that it is near impossible to define a person or group as “typical”.

The third question asked us to identify and explain the things people do today to guarantee equality, and to grade it based on its effectiveness. Our group said that protesting and spreading awareness was one of the most effective ways to bring equality. Protesting helps bring issues to the attention of those in positions of power, making sure that they can take appropriate action to help resolve that issue. Other groups also answered with protesting and awareness spreading. We concluded that it is very difficult to grade this method since some times, it succeeds, but other times, it can fail. One group brought up the justice system and other government institutions can help guarantee equality. Ms. Peterson mentioned that sometimes, laws and these government institutions may not be just. The fourth and fifth questions asked us if we thought there were any other alternative methods to bring equality and if we thought these methods would be more or less effective than current ones. I suggested that voting to elect people into power who would make changes towards equality could qualify as a method, but it would not be completely effective since politicians are generally unreliable when it comes to keeping promises. Other groups rescinded that there weren’t too many other alternatives since we came to the conclusion that complete equality was impossible last lesson. Emotions and human nature cause us to look out for ourselves more than we would look out for others.

The next part of the lesson was a class discussion. We were asked how we make people more alike in this country and how we choose to be more alike. We concluded that it was impossible to make every person alike, but we can try. One of the ways we do this is by setting the same expectations and standards for everyone on how they should behave as a member of society. Someone mentioned how trying to make everyone the exact same was toxic and benefits no one. I personally agree and think that it is a very slippery slope, because if you make more drastic efforts to make everyone alike, you begin chipping away at their individual rights.

The last question asked why we believed that humans strive to be like others. Ms. Peterson introduced us to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, a 5-tiered pyramid chart which represented different levels of human needs. From this chart, we learned that humans strive to be like and to associate with others since we don’t like being outcasts. It is no fault of our own, since it is human nature to interact with others and to form communities

At the end of the lesson, we went back to the lesson aim (Why is the “Declaration of Independence” symbolized as a valuable document for our society?/How can common, everyday words and terms denote such deep connotation and meaning?) to try and answer it. We concluded that the rights spoken about in the Declaration of Independence should apply to everyone, since they are important in protecting our identity and who we are. We acknowledged that although the writers may not have had every single person in mind when writing those immortal words, we should still make efforts to have them applied to everyone, to ensure that any and every person has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Reflection

In today’s lesson, I was able to explore the words of the Declaration of Independence and the idea of equality much more deeply and understand what it really means to have individual rights. It also made me think more deeply about what it really means to be an American who has these rights which many of us take for granted. I’m very glad that this lesson gave me and my classmates the opportunity to have productive and engaging discussions about these topics because these things are very important and do matter. Even if the Declaration was written some 200 years ago, I realized that important things can still be learned and applied to today’s world by analyzing it. I also appreciate how learning about rights and equality will definitely help us later on in the year when we cover more dystopian novels, since individuality is a large part of the protagonists found in this genre. Overall, I am extremely glad we took the time to cover these topics more in-depth to learn new things.

Blogger #4, Angela Dong, Period 5, 9/30/21

 Aim: Why is “The Declaration of Independence” symbolized as a valuable document for our society?

Do Now: Why do you believe an individual’s rights are so important to society?

Our team said that it gives everyone the chance to express themselves, get an education and defend themselves. Other teams said it is to create a world where everyone won’t discriminate against anyone and to give anyone the freedom they deserve. Also, another group stated that the government exists to secure our rights and if we don’t have rights, we won’t be able to do the things we enjoy and focus on our society. Mrs. Peterson said that we as a society take this for granted and that’s why we fight so hard because we’re used to this. Other countries don’t have the same rights as us and that’s why so many people want to come to America.

Later, the class read an excerpt from the Declaration of Independence. Here is the excerpt:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of' happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”

 

• The Declaration of Independence

     

Teamwork: After that we split into our teams and grouped up to answer the questions.

1. Interpret what you believe the writers meant by “life,” “liberty,” and “the pursuit of' happiness”?

I think that what the writers meant by “life” was that every person should have the freedom to be alive and our team agreed that those words, as a whole, meant that someone could and should live their life the way they want.  I think by “liberty” they should be able to express themselves without any consequences and by “the pursuit of happiness”  that everyone could better themselves and improve. Other teams stated that the writers meant ‘opportunity’ and not happiness itself since then, why would it say “pursuit” of happiness (group 1 and 6)? Peterson said that if she was unhappy because of a kid and wanted to push them out the window, if she did, it would make her happy, but she can’t because all those laws restrict her even though it might be happy. There are limitations to what we want and what we’re allowed to do.

2) Evaluate whether or not the typical person in the United States today has these rights. How do you know?

Our team wrote that we know the typical person in the U.S has those rights because someone in the United States can express themselves how they want and have the right to protest when they don’t like a decision. Team 6 wrote that there are limitations, such as if someone was growing drugs in their backyard, they aren’t affecting anyone but it is still illegal to protect themselves. Team 4 said that everyone has rights but the majority of people are still affected by the time when they had no rights and were discriminated against.

3) Identify and explain the variety of things we do in the U.S. (today) to try to guarantee “equality”? How would you grade/determine their success/failure? Why/Why Not?

Things we do in the U.S to try to have “equality” are to have a Bill of Rights and programs to help the less fortunate. We also have free public education, an unemployment program, the FBI, and many, many more. Our team agreed on a 6 out of a 10 since some laws have limits on how they restrict us. The class agreed that education and healthcare is an example of “equality” but not really since the quality of other places and other schools may differ but still everyone could get an education and high school diploma. Certain doctors and healthcares are better than others, but everyone could still go to one.

4) What alternative(s) would you suggest?

Our team stated that some alternatives to increase equality would be to have free healthcare and free college education. Peterson said that the juristive system is corrupted and an example is that no one knows how to “ equal” the laws because a clerk, who ultimately makes the decision in a court, will most likely pick the one with more money and influence then say, a regular person. Team 2 said that millionaires and billionaires should pay, another person argued that people who made that money should keep it, as they themselves earned the money and the right to keep it.

5) Do you believe these alternative ideas/methods might be more effective? Why/Why Not?

My entire team agreed that this would help and be more effective because they would help ease the burden on everyone else. Sadly, because of a fire drill we were not able to have a class discussion on this question.

Reflection: Today, I learned more about the Declaration of Independence and what it represented. From the excerpt and our class discussions, we were able to create a deeper understanding of the why and how our rights were important and essential in our society. I learned deeper on why we have the laws we have today (to make sure no one gets hurt) and how it deeply affects us, the people living under those laws. This deeply affects me because although I am still young and have yet to pay taxes yet, I am still restricted by the laws and have an education in a public school so I am still surrounded by government influence. If it wasn’t for the government, I probably wouldn’t have been able to learn here and live here. I also understand that I am responsible for my own happiness and that the United States can only grant us opportunities and are not responsible for our own actions and decisions of pursuit. Law and equal rights are not a topic I understand fully, but I hope to learn more about them someday.

Blogger #3 - Ethan Cadotte - Period 9 - 9/30/21

Blogger #3
Ethan Cadotte
Period 9
9/30/2021
Sophomores 2022


AIM: Why is the “Declaration of Independence” symbolized as a valuable document for our society?


DO NOW: Pair/Share
        1) Why do you believe an individual’s rights are so important to society?

“Why exactly are individual rights important to society?” is a question that is often not asked enough. People undermine the significance of our individual rights, how it may affect us and those around us. The Declaration of Independence, signed by our founding fathers, allowed us to have these kinds of rights. These laws for our rights make sure the government does its job, as well as preventing chaos. Lets see what the class had to say about the topic.

        GROUP DISCUSSION:
        - It assures the government cannot exploit the people (Shi Lin)
        - The Declaration of Independence assures we all can maintain our rights and freedoms. (Anton Ianachi)
        - So we can have order and prevent anarchy (Shi Lin)

CLASS DISCUSSION:
    - keeps balance in society (Milana)
    - keeps government from exploiting the people (Noah Boyle)
    - it's important to have rights so people don’t feel contained (Agnes Lin)


“The Declaration of Independence” --Excerpt




Here is the excerpt we reviewed in class:



Although the Declaration of Independence gives us our rights, who were these rights initially intended for? What does the text say about our rights when the government stops doing its job right, or maybe even becomes corrupt? The class discussion signifies the student body’s understanding of their own personal rights and their awareness of what happens around them. Lets see what the class had to say about such subjects:


“All men are created equal” Who is this meant for?
        - White men, old white men. (Shi Lin)

“It is the right of the people to alter or abolish it” What does the text imply?
        - Suggesting that we rebel if things go downhill with the government (Ilaria)


CLASS DISCUSSION



Unfortunately, we had a time constraint with our class, and could not review the last slide with questions about how we could make each other more alike, which allows us to think just how impossible it would really be to make everyone equal. In this slide however, we discuss how some of the things described in the Declaration of Independence would not be possible. Such as people having equal rights/status. We discussed how we could attempt to make things more equal, especially in the disabled community, or in the economic minority. Here's what my classmates had to say:


1. 
    - They have the freedom to their own rights, and with the pursuit of happiness they get to follow what makes them happy. (Elizabeth)
    - You can do what makes you happy, but can’t impose on other people’s rights.
2. 
    - We have these rights, but some things may change that like how much money we have.
3. 
    - An example is minimum wage, but sometimes we may not make enough from minimum wage. (Lapyan)

    - Each state has its own different variations of the education system, so we might not have the same kind of education as somewhere else in the country. (Shi Lin)
4. 
    - For education, give better classes. Such as classes for life skills that everyone needs should be taught, like paying taxes. (Shi Lin)
5. 
    - If you let people have the same treatment at a hospital for something like the flu compared to a fatal situation, it might not turn out very well. (Ilaria)
    - People want to fit in to the trends of today’s society (Crystal)


Overall, some things we can pull from this lesson is the importance of having rights, and making the attempt to become a more equal and inclusive society. I personally learned how becoming entirely equal is a very big goal to overcome, and is likely not even possible. This lesson was likely taught to open our eyes to the world around us, how people are making attempts to become equal in our modern society, notably the Black Lives Matter movement. Even though equality in this specific area isn’t far-fetched, becoming totally equal, in every single aspect of our lives, would be an impossible goal. Having this knowledge on hand, I can expand how I think of certain things in relation to rights, equality, and the world around me.

Blogger #2 - Noah Boyle - Period 9 - 9/29/21

Blogger #2
Noah Boyle
Period 9
9/29/21


Aim: Why are the terms, equality and rights important to society?

The period began with a discussion about our beliefs of the meanings of a grouping of words that appeared as so:

Many people shared their belief that some of these words may come to mean the same thing, but have different connotations. This then sparked the debate about the meanings of equality and fairness.

Resources to help with connotation and denotation: https://youtu.be/wqyS7AiHqLY

Fairness versus Equality

Then came the discussion of equality and fairness, whether they are the same thing. It was determined that equality means that everyone is at the same level, but fairness means everything is justified, even if things aren’t necessarily equal. Fairness deals with morals while equality means that everyone is 100% the same as everyone. We then tied this into society, where we found that you can try to make the masses happy through equality, but it may not be possible.

After this discussion, a team activity was held. In this activity, we brought up the topic of if “Life in the USA would be perfect if everyone were totally equal.” Then, we were tasked with creating laws that would benefit all. While discussing what you can do for good, you are also taxed with addressing what problems may arise in society.


My group discussed that life in the USA might not be as perfect if everyone were totally equal for the reason that the USA was built off inequality. For my group, some laws of an equal society would be:

- a merit-based system, where everyone is given equal opportunities
- Requirement to get a fixed mount of education


To help the physically and medically impaired, we decided that we would invest large amounts of money to provide the necessary technologies to ensure their impairment doesn’t affect their life. We determined that some problems that may arise in a forced-equal society would be discontentment with quality of life as well as human emotion getting in the way. We can handle those problems through a strict punishment system. A lack of morality in society would arise and large imbalances would arise in society despite it being fair and equal.


So, in all, my group, as well as the class, determined that a perfect society is impossible because of the variation of cultures and the fact that different things are required to be given to different people for them to be satisfied. A classmate, Ilaria Perrini, brought up that a dog and mouse may receive different amounts of food to be satisfied, which shows that you may be equal, but then, is it fair? Both may receive the same amount of food, but there are two outcomes. The mouse has enough food, but the dog doesn’t, or the dog has enough, and the mouse is plentiful. In a fair society, both animals would receive the proper amounts they need per sitting, not a fixed amount that may benefit the other.

Another classmate, Ahmad El Atat brought up that boundaries would need to be set, but in an equal society, it wouldn’t be fair to set them, proving once again, that an equal society isn’t possible.


Ms. Peterson brought up a great point about equality. She said, “They say it (equality) is great, but the actions do not support each other.” The mentioned actions are the actions of the people to make an equal society. In the statement, Ms. Peterson explained that people strive to have an equal society, but their actions in attempts to do so don’t follow their plan. She then posed the questions of if we should shoot for equality, or should we shoot for something else. And through her words it was determined that we should rather shoot for fairness, because in fairness, society can be better without being destroyed.

Blogger #2 - Sophia Chan - Period 3 - 9/29/2021

Aim: Why are the terms, “equality”and “rights” important to society? 

Today’s lesson started with a Do Now discussion in which we had to discuss what the words above meant to us. During the group discussion, my group all agreed that the words “alike” and “equal” both meant similarity. On the other hand, the words “disability” and “handicap” both meant some sort of malfunction that would bring you disadvantages. The words “life”, “liberty”, and “pursuit of happiness” are also some of the ideals you want to have in your life.

Following the Do Now discussion, was a class discussion towards the following questions,

Why do you believe that “equality” has been the “hot topic” of discussion in society?

Why do you believe that society is so concerned with the equality of people? 

During the discussion, people stated that “equality” has been the “hot topic” of discussion in society because nobody likes being treated as inferior to others. Of course there are some exceptions to that, but the majority of people feel better being treated as equals. Equality is just what these people wish for in order to even out the playing field. Moving on to the second part of the question, there were a variety of responses for it. Some said that people who don’t get what they want become angry, and society doesn’t wish to deal with angry citizens, as there’s a chance that the anger might evolve into something physical and violent. Others mentioned that equality is something many people are passionate about, but there are many different possible interpretations for the meaning of “equality.” And a more relevant, modern problem that still goes on in today’s world, is racism and other prejudices against people with different appearances. Equality for those groups of people is a common issue.

After the class discussion, we were split into groups once again for the discussions of the following questions,

After the team discussion, all groups were back together as a class to share their ideas on each of the questions. Most of our class agree that society would never be perfect even if everyone is totally equal. This is because perpetual equality would be hard to achieve because not everyone would agree with everything, and in order to have order in society, authority is needed. But that automatically defines the concept of total equality. Furthermore, the interpretation of what “total equality” means also plays a factor in how “perfect” a society can be. Depending on whether equality means total equality in every facet of life or specific organizations, life in a country where everyone is totally equal would differ.


Our class also pitched in their thoughts on what kind of laws a society where everyone is equal would have. Some of these ideas were: no favoritism in races or gender and treating everyone with respect, illegalizing killing, stealing and hate crimes, along with other laws along the same line. One particular problem with these laws, however, is that criminals would have to be given free reign. Because if they were arrested for killing and stealing, as mentioned above, they would be seen as “inferior” or “different” to the common folk, which goes against a totally equal society, as everyone is supposed to be “equal'', or rather “the same”.

In the same vein, people who are less capable mentally, physically and/or socially than regular people would be seen as “superior” than everybody else if they get better treatments, such as therapy and medication, in order for them to catch up with everybody else. In both cases, a true equal environment would prevent special needs people from getting special treatment as well as allow crime to flourish. To solve this problem, classmates mentioned that military force may help, which sadly, contradicts the idea of a totally equal society. This leaves us with only one solution, which is to give everyone else better treatment if the less capable were also given better treatment.

In an equal society, everyone would receive the same resources and have the same jobs, but there is no possible way to have a completely equal society if there are laws, and people to make sure that equality is being followed. In a society where government and competition doesn’t exist, and that people all live the same, boring lives, creativity and ambition in people will start to decline. Since all that the people desire is to have the same skills, have the same resources, which in other words, be the same to others, the ambitions and improvements that strive people to become better and more successful are no longer needed. This will automatically lead to a dystopian society, where everyone will become satisfied when they are

Reflection: 

After the day’s lesson, I came to realize how exactly nonliteral the societies of today’s world take the word “equality.” With the help of my classmate’s diverse opinions, I learned that having a perfect equal society was impossible. I learned that all humans are going to have a bias in life about anything and anyone, which will influence any decisions they make. As such, everyone preaching about having equality won’t ever get true equality. What people truly want is not a society in which everyone is totally equal, but one in which everyone is treated fairly, and are provided with the same rights and opportunities. It was also due to this lesson that I acknowledged that total equality may not be a positive thing as people are saying it is. Learning all this was necessary for me to understand that not everything is black and white. I now understand that equality, in the eyes of the common people, represents only a fraction of what it actually means. The world outside of school is a vast place, where people have to make constant decisions on what’s best for themselves and others. This knowledge also taught me to never take things at face value. I know some people can think that they’re already doing so, but more often than not, we let our biases control us without even noticing.

Blogger #8 - Jessy Chui - Period 2- 09/29/21

Aim: What creative approaches can be taken to find ideas for writing poetry?

Do Now: THINK/SHARE WHOLE CLASS DISCUSSION

What do you do in your free time?

People in the class answered with:

• drawing

• video games (minecraft, league of legends)

• writing

• designing fashion

• tennis

• spend time with family/friends 

• watching shows (criminal minds, greys anatomy)

We spirit read an excerpt from Poemcrazy by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge

I have a strong gathering instinct. I collect boxes, hats, rusty flattened bottle caps for collages and creek-worn sticks to color with my hoard of Berol prismacolor pencils. When I was a kid I’d lie in bed imagining I was a squirrel who lived in a hollow tree, foraging for acorns, twigs and whatever it takes to make squirrel furniture.

Most of us have collections. I ask people all the time in workshops, Do you collect anything? Stamps? Shells? ’57 Chevys? Raccoons? Money? Leopards? Meteorites? Wisecracks? What a coincidence, I collect them, too. Hats, coins, cougars, old Studebakers. That is, I collect the words. Pith helmet, fragment, Frigidaire, quarrel, loveseat, lily. I gather them into my journal.

The great thing about collecting words is they’re free; you can borrow them, trade them in or toss them out. I’m trading in (and literally composting) some of my other collections—driftwood, acorns and bits of colored Easter egg shell—for words. Words are lightweight, unbreakable, portable, and they’re everywhere. You can even make them up. Frebrent, bezoncular, zurber. Someone made up the word padiddle.

A word can trigger or inspire a poem, and words in a stack or thin list can make up poems.

Because I always carry my journal with me, I’m likely to jot down words on trains, in the car, at boring meetings (where I appear to be taking notes), on hikes and in bed.

I take words from everywhere. I might steal steel, spelled both ways. Unscrupulous. I’ll toss in iron, metal and magnolias. Whatever flies into my mind. Haystack, surge, sidewinder. A sound, splash. A color, magenta. Here’s a chair. Velvet. Plush.

Dylan Thomas loved the words he heard and saw around him in Wales. “When I experience anything,” he once said, “I experience it as a thing and a word at the same time, both equally amazing.” Writing one ballad, he said, was like carrying around an armload of words to a table upstairs and wondering if he’d get there in time.

Words stand for feelings, ideas, mountains, bees. Listen to the sound of words. I line up words I like to hear, Nasturtiums buzz blue grass catnip catalpa catalog.

I borrow words from poems, books and conversations. Politely. Take polite. If I’m in a classroom, I just start chalking them onto the board. I don’t worry about spelling or meaning. Curdle. Cantankerous. Linoleum. Limousine. Listen. Malevolent. Sukulilli, the Maidu Indian word for silly. Magnet cat oven taste tilt titter.

I call gathering words this way creating a wordpool....

When I’m playing with words, I don’t worry about sounding dumb or crazy. And I don’t worry about whether or not I’m writing “a poem.” Word pool. World pool, wild pool, whipoorwill, swing. Words taken out of the laborious structures (like this sentence) where we normally place them take on a spinning life of their own.

What are we noticing?

• she uses words that seem like they don’t make sense on their own

• if a word comes to mind, she just writes them down

• she takes word politely

• gathers them and places them in a nice way for herself

We then watched Alphabet Aerobics performed by Daniel Radcliffe

TEAM WORD CHALLENGE

With your teams, create a thesaurus of synonyms for the verb:

"to walk or move."

Try to find a synonym for each letter of the alphabet. You have 5 minutes to report your findings

Team 2 won with 21 words

A. amble

B. bungle

C. crawl

D. drive

E. excursion

F. floating 

G. gallop 

H. hop 

I. interfere

J. jog 

K. 

L. leap

M. march

N.  

O. operate

P. pace

Q. quicken

R. run 

S. stroll

T. trample

U. urge

V.  

W. wander

X. 

Y. 

Z. zoom

      

 We read “gas, food, longing”: Annotate as we read along. Look for things that stand out to you for whatever reason.

... Image is the root word of imagination. It’s from Latin imago, “picture,” how you see things. Images carry feelings. Saying, “I’m angry,” or

“I’m sad,” has little impact. Creating images, I can make you feel how I feel.

When I read the words of a young student named Cari—“I’m a rose in the shape of a heart / with nineteen days of nothing / but the pouncing of shoes on my dead petals”—I experience desperation through her image. Cari doesn’t even have to name the feeling—nineteen days, a pale green sky, a pouch of seed held against a sower’s heart.

Writing poems using images can create an experience allowing others to feel what we feel. Perhaps more important, poems can put us in touch with our own often buried or unexpected feelings.

Shoua discovered her frustration by using the image of a man shooting pool,

I hear bang, click, shoosh feeling like the white ball that does all the work.

Tori used images from a landscape to indicate hopelessness,

the clouds collapsed, they’re touching the ground trying to come alive,

but they can’t.

Sometimes word tickets magically fit with the images in the paintings. One of Tori’s words was jingle. It helped her convey her developing feeling of hope,

the glowing water shows shadow till we all hear

the jingle of dawn.

Images we create in our poem can not only help us discover our feelings, but can help us begin to transform them.

                                   

Image Challenge - Team 2

1. Choose 1 picture from the previous slide with your TEAM and together, try to write a description that captures what the picture is AND how it makes you feel:

We chose Spider-man. The picture captures an adventurous and courageous mood as he traverses the buildings of Manhattan.

2. Where can you find creative inspiration that you can personally use to create your own form of poetry?

    You can find creative inspiration anywhere. For example, you can just look around for inspiration and write down things that we think of. lIterature and songs are great places to find inspiration as well. 

HOMEWORK

 Our homework was to make a word pool of 30 words or images. It will help when we write our own poetry.