12

Post your thoughts about your partnership with an Explorer student! 
What are you excited about?
I am excited to work with Noah on creating a story that will be fun for me to write and enjoyable for him to read. I am also excited that we are writing creative writing, we are able to write without guidelines to follow. 

What are you nervous about? 
Im nervous that will not be able to meet the expectation my 4th grader had on me. I would like to excel past his expectation and show him that when you grow up you can do work like this and the fact that the work is not as hard as it seems.

What are your hopes for this project? 
My hopes is to have a a children book that is ultimately successful. I am not a very good writer so hopefully I can write a story that I am proud of and willing to show off. 

What are your fears for this project? 
My fear is not to be done with the book. Also I am fearful on the fact that the book will suck and that my partner would not like it. 

What do you think your story will be about? 
I already have a plot I discussed with my partner. It going to start with a guy in the year 3000, this guy is no ordinary guy he is placed in a insane asylum along with 300 other people in space. One day the space prison loses power and he escapes, once he is back on earth he finds out about all the new technological advances that has happen. He then discovers that the invention of a time machine was developed. He then steals a time machine and travels to the medieval ages. Once he arrives here he funds the kingdoms with new weapons. Weapons including guns and grenades. What the prisoner did not know was the fact that there is a new police that has developed during the time he was locked away. This new police control and maintain the time zones. The police reverse what the prisoner has done, turing the clock before the prisoner disperse the guns out and stoping him before stealing the time machine. The END

Blog 11

What are you most proud to show during your Student Led Conference?
I am most proud to show my grades. Even though its the beginning of the year I still have good grades. I am also proud of the fact that I am taking all honors possible this semester. 

What would you like to change, following your SLC?
What I would like to change about my SLC is how prepared my resume was. I know that my resume is not where it should be. I plan on changing this by dedicating a block of time to working on my resume and getting it critiqued by my old teachers. 

What goals do you have for the remainder of the semester?
My main goal for this semester is to get a 4.3 GPA. I will strive for this goal by being on task as much as possible and working on every project to the best of my ability. 

What are your ideas for internship... and how will you work with a parent or guardian on securing a great 
internship?
Some ideas i have for internship is to intern at the Sharp hospitals down the street. Either in a specialist building for surgeries or in a pediatrician building for kids. I will work my family friends to get an internship with them at there office. 

Blog 10

1. What is history?

History is the study of the past events. Events can include the life and death of a person, a win or lose, anything that happen in the past. History is continually written everyday. We look towards history to correct our mistakes and not make the same mistakes. We also learn from history to understand why things are today.

2. What is ideology?

Ideology is "not just a subject for intellectual debate, but a matter of life and death." (Introduction American Ideology) Ideology is a belief, a theme, or an idea. Ideology is a certain belief that the majority of the population uses. "two of these so-called Christians met two Indian boys one day, each carrying a parrot; they took the parrots and for fun beheaded the boys." (A Young Peoples History of the United States) 

3. Can history be neutral? Why or why not?

History should not be neutral but history is bias. History is wirrten in a way that the following generation would be proud of their country. Christopher Columbus is a example. When you learn about him in elementary school you only hear about the good thing. You hear about how he sailed across the sea to find new land. But they did not included what he did when he got there. You would not want your grandchildren to know that you led an expedition to a new land and you completely destroyed their culture. History is not neutral, history is presented to show how great a person was not the faults he had. 

4. Zinn discusses what he considers the typical way Americans study or understand history. How has your experience (either in school, or simply in your life) been similar?

Throughout class we are shown how great America is but we do not see what we did to get here. "“This was the start of the history of Europeans in the Americas. It was a history of conquest  slavery, and death. But for a long time, the history books given to children in the United States told a Different story-a tale of heroic adventure, not bloodshed. The way the story is taught to young people is just the beginning to change.” (A Young Peoples History of the United States) America is shown as a very great and proud nation through its history books. What many people don't understand is the crimes against humanity America commit to get here.

5. When you consider Zinn's discussion of the typical American study or understanding of history, how has your experience (in school or in life) been different?

Since we were little, we have read about the great battles America has participated in and has won. Yet we are never told the wars we lost they are simply classified as "withdrawn". I was born in a different country and my family has only started living in the US, because of that I have a different view on the US. I have been on both sides of the world. A first world country and a third world country and seeing what America is in person and just speculating it from the outside is different. I grew up knowing America is not the paradise the world sees but a country with its messes hidden.

6. What did you read that stood out to you positively? Why?

I liked how the author in How the U.S. lLost Out on iPhone Work is how he gave the important facts first. " Almost all 70 million iPhones, 30 million iPads, and 59 million other products were manufactured overseas." When an author gives huge statistics at the beginning it will keep my attention. It stood out because it showed the sheer magnitude of the work being done for apple. It stood out positively because it shows me what I want to know at the beginning not draw big gigantic circles for me to endlessly follow. 

7. What did you read that you disliked? Why?

What I disliked about the articles was how lengthy each article was, it was excess information just like my Narrative Nonfiction book. I rather them give me the main facts instead of every little bit of story. " I had grown up in the dirk and dankness of New York tenements, had been knocked unconscious by a policeman while holding a banner in a demonstration, had worked for three years in a shipyard, and participated in the violence of war." (Passionate Declarations) I thought all this extra background knowledge is unnecessary for the topic of unjust war. Why do you need to know that he got knocked unconscious before, that has nothing to do with war. 

8. How were some of your biases or preconceived notions confirmed by what you read?

The fact that the United States hides the bloodshed they have caused in the past. People see how great America is until they see its past. 

9. How were some of your biases or preconceived notions challenged by what you read?

In the iPhone story I already knew that Apple is getting blamed for shipping the work oversees. What I do not get is why lame them. They are a business they want to make money. You cannot blame Apple for taking away jobs when they are the ones who create it. I was challenged by the fact that many people are to blind by there own self interest to see a business frame of mind. I am pretty sure if you put any person who lost there job into Steve Jobs position they would not help the rest of America. 

10. What unique perspective, element of creativity, or new questions do you bring to our study of history?

I want to know the other side of the story. We might have won this war but I want to know what the country who lost has to say about it. What is in there history books? And what is there view on the event that just happened. 

Blog 9

What was most significant to you about the Our People's History Project? 
The most significant thing in Our People's Project is how much information I was able to get out of my interview. The interview was a pain to transcribe but when you breakdown an interview you begin to see the whole picture. And when you want to relate to a firsthand account it becomes easier to look up when you have everything written out for you. 

What do you feel that you learned from the project? 
Through out this project I learned more about what my grandmother went through. Before his nonfiction narrative I only knew small parts and details about her past. I also learned about the corruption Indonesia went through. Also how the leaders of Indonesia governed there country, and the extend of there abuse. 

What are you most proud of in the narrative nonfiction story that you wrote? 
I am really proud at the fact that I was able to write 3 totally different stories. I was able to create two stories about the history of Indonesia and my final try I created a story in a first person format. 

What surprised you about the project—what happened along the way that you did not expect? 
What I did not expect during this project was how hard it was to begin writing a story. I am usually able to just start writing something down and continuing from there but for some reason I was not able to start my story off this way.

What lessons are you taking as you go forward with your Humanities (and overall) education? 
One lesson I am taking with me as I go forward is that if you have a choice to write about whatever you want in whatever format you want do not write a nonfiction narrative. Other than that I learned that weaving a facts with a story brings out a relationship to you. When the author is describing a scene completely different from my area of expertise and the author relates it to something the general public might know it becomes easier to comprehend. 

8

My main character is working against all odds trying to achieve her dream. I am trying to show her determination even though she knows that she will not be chosen. Just like this picture my character is fighting an uphill battle. And the rock signifies how much of a lead her friend has over her.   

The city it self isn't what I am bringing to life. I am trying to expose the corruption and poverty Indonesia shows in the 1960. Even though Indonesia is industrialized it is still far behind the rest of the world.   

The main conflict I am talking about is how corrupt politics are. I am trying to show how an average person gets cheated out. When you look at the person who won and you tell them you cheated your going to get a reaction, but when you get the story from a the person who lost you see the determination they the put out to get what they wanted.

What we should do to make your nonfiction narratives presentable is have one last critique from a group of 5 or 6. When you have a bigger group the points that are repeated tell you what you should fix and when you are told you get a good job on this it tells the author what he should mimic to make his story better. Also, when someone is struggling on a part of his story he can see what other people like an try to structure the story the same way the other person did.   

Blog 7

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road

The Road by: Cormac McCarty 

Publication Date: September 26, 2006

Quote:

"There is no god and we are his prophets."

This quote shows how horrible the living conditions were in the time the man and the child were living. It shows how the god the man see's is the god of death and despair and how he and his son are just there to show the world what is left. This quote is very inspirational because it shows how little hope there is in the world in one short simple sentence. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye

Catcher in the Rye by: J.D. Salinger 
Publication date: July 16, 1951

Quote: 
" All mothers are slightly insane."
This quote is very inspirational because it appeals to the audience. Not only is the quote true but most people can say ya their mom's are a bit crazy and when they can connect like this they tend to like the book more. Its not an inspirational quote by itself its what the reader thinks is what makes it important.  This book was originally meant to be an adult book but the themes in this book have to deal with teenagers. 

Blog 6

1. "There are fewer than five hundred flavorists in the United States, and they almost never speak about their work outside their laboratories.Hagen is thirty-five. She is a brunette, with straight hair that falls just below her shoulders. She is not thin, but her face is, and it lights up easily." - The Taste Makers

1. I appreciate the fact that the author of this article follows the exact same format all narrative nonfiction follows. It really helps drive the point home on how you should try to blend in facts with the story
2. Reader being me and the fact that we are writing a narrative nonfiction article show that I should craft my story the same way I see many other authors do. Have a fact and then weave it through a story. Also to included little facts that add to the statistics.
3. I will try to use this example and work of of its structure. I will want to show the statistics of Chinese growth in medicine, like how many became doctors before the 1960 and during 1960 and how many became doctors during the 1960's. After i show this statistic I want to put the part in where my grandma wanted to become a doctor. And how she had to go against her best friend to follow her dreams.

2. "To begin, you must master the controller. On the Xbox 360 controller, which looks like a catamaran, there are seventeen possible points of contact. There’s the left trigger and the right trigger, the left bumper and the right bumper, two mushroom-shaped joysticks, a circular four-way pad, two small white buttons, each with triangles molded into them, and a silver dome in the middle that glows green when you press it."
- Painkiller Death streak

1. What i appreciate about this quote is how much detail he puts into describing the controller. He could of just said that here are 4 butons on the back, 2 joy sticks, and 10 buttons on the front.  
2. This quote impacted me because I know whats on a controller. I use to play xbox a lot and I know the buttons inside and out. And the fact that the author put a huge description on each button shows how much attention to detail he has.
3. I would like to use this idea in my story by implementing a huge amount of detail to every single line. And I am not going to skip over the little details like the design of each button. A simple little detail to me would be a big detail for someone who has not played video games before.

3. "A rifle protruded from the young man's pack, but he looked friendly enough; a hitchhiker with a Remington semi-automatic isn't the sort of thing that gives motorists pause in the 49th state. Gallien steered his four-by-four on to the shoulder and told him to climb in."

1. I appreciate how the author gives two different perspectives. When you see someone standing alone in the freezing weather in Alaska you would pick them up. But the fact that the author added that he had a Remington semi automatic would give you second thoughts.
2. When a reader reads this you think first of how bad this man must of felt. Being stuck in the Alaska with no mean of any other transportation. And how much food can one person carry in one bag. So you would generally feel bad about this man. But when you see the rifle in his back you think twice.
3. I would want this idea of people thinking twice about the text. I would give them Suharto's reason for creating the law and them i would give them them a point of view of my grandmother who was affected by the law,