MY LEARNING FALL AND RISE(ready to read, Dr. Preston)

  Before entering the class I was an OK writer. I didn't express my opinions enough because in all of my other English classes the teacher had a specific thing they wanted us to write about. They told us what we had to have and they also gave a specific structure that we had to use.

  As I entered the class on August 12, feeling nervous because I was going to meet new people that I haven't met, and sat down I thought that the class was going to be like every other English class I had in the past. Get assigned seats, have explained how the class works, the rules of the class, then go get a bunch of textbooks. But, I couldn't have been more wrong.

  When I met Dr. Preston I thought that he was going to be like the other teachers that give out a lot of work. But, that thought soon went out the window when he introduced himself.  I was surprised that he let us choose how we wanted the class to work. I was mind blown we had the option of doing the old fashion textbook and paper or we could do blogs. Then he went outside until we were ready with our decision. At first I didn't want to do a blog because I thought it would be hard.Turns out it was really easy. I liked that Dr. Preston was different from other teachers because other teachers wouldn't let their students pick what they're going to be doing in class.
  When we stated our actual work day, like writing journals I didn't know how to express myself so at the beginning my journals were always short. So using a blog was so new to me I really didn't know what to do. Memorizing, recording, and posting videos to our blog was new to me too because I have never done something like that before. I believe that for the four months that I have been in this had helped me improve a lot. I express my opinions a lot more than i used too, some of my journal entries are longer than in the beginning, and I'm comfortable with using the blog.
  The point were I felt the most tension was when we were getting ready to do interviews. I kept on wondering to myself if I was prepared enough with all my documents, if I had an answer for the questions Dr. Preston was going to ask me and so much more. It was like driving on a road and the road suddenly forks into two other roads. One road could be that I nail the interview and be proud of my self or the other road is that I forget the answers to the questions I was asked, I took to long to think of an answer. The day of my interview I was really nervous. Once it was time for my interview I was ready, I had answers for all my questions I had all my documents ready. In the end I nailed my interview and even got some things I could improve on.
  Over the course of the four months that I've been in the class I managed to build some routines that help contribute to my success. Since I write my journals better in a quite environment so that I can think I tend to do some of my journals at home. Or there are other times were I procrastinate and I don't do my journals until Thursday so I can do my Friday journal on Friday then turn in my notebook. Sometimes I feel like the life I'm living is not my own. As Edgar Allan Poe once said "All that we see or seem Is but a dream within a dream." I really like that line because it makes me wonder if the lives we live are actually real or if they are just stories that someone else came up and is telling them to someone else. I also developed a habit of asking my group for clarification on things I don't really understand.
  The me from now is a lot different from the me that entered class in August. I don't mean me as in I changed my character, attitude, and other things. No. I mean I'm a different learner than when I first stepped foot in the class in August. I learned how to express myself in my writing a lot more which helped write one of my personal best essays. My Essay Essay was a different experience to write because it was the very first essay were i had an outline of what to write but at the same time I didn't have an outline. The outline had what we needed to have in our essay but we could incorporate them in our essay in our own different way. This essay took a lot of thinking, rewording, and a lot of my own opinions. Sometimes I feel like I'm carrying all of my education on my back.
  An experience in this course that has made me smile was when everybody in the class agrees on what we should do. There is no arguing between classmates and everybody gets along well with each other. I also smile when something funny happens and everybody is laughing then a second later the class goes quite.

HOW DID I DO

Today I interviewed in class and I would really appreciate your feedback.

STORY OF MY LIFE

An event in my life that I can turn into a short story.

One day during summer vacation my parents were out and about in the city, leaving my sister and I alone in the house. Now I love my sister don't get me wrong, but there are times were she can be annoying to deal with. That was one of those times. My sister and I share a room which can be hard sometimes. On this particular day I was watching one of my shows while my sister was watching Harry Potter. Suddenly my sister and I got hungry and since my parents were out and there was hardly any food in the fridge there wasn't much to eat. Then as if a light bulb struck we remembered that we had left over pizza from the previous day. Now my sister and I have this rule that if you get to something first and yell out "mine" then you have claimed it. So we raced over to the pizza and we both got to it and we tarted fighting. No the pizza was on a glass plate and our hands slipped and the plate fell. It was as if time stopped and we saw the plate shatter into a million other pieces. We stared at each other with eyes as wide as UFOs. With just one look  we could tell that we needed to fix it. So as fast as the flash we went and did what we had to do. She went to go pick up the broken pieces and I hurried as fast as my short legs can take me to the closest store to get another plate. When I came back my sister had the broken pieces picked up and we shared the pizza. Then the most unbelievable happened. I woke up. Everything that had happened didn't happened. I guess this is what you call lucid dreaming. 

FIRST IMPRESSION: ON SELF-RELIANCE

As we wear reading On Self-Reliance there were some points that struck me. The line "To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, — that is genius," at first I didn't understand what it meant but Dr. Preston said that it basically what you think is's not going to be the same for others because they might not think exactly like you. There were also some parts I didn't understand but later got cleared up. 

The Road Not Taken

When i was practicing rehearsing it it was good but once I started recording it I kept messing up.

LET ME WALK YOU THROUGH THE PEDESTRIAN

The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury tells the story that takes place in a futuristic/non-existent timeline. The main character Leonard Mead goes out for a walk and it's a relatively peaceful walk. That is until a car pulls up beside him and that's where things take a turn. The story is also based on Bradbury's experience and his feelings. Throughout the story the feelings he expresses are humanity,technology, and authority.
Mead goes on a peaceful walk during the night like he always does. Throughout the story Bradbury also gives detailed explanations which makes the reader use their imagination to picture what the author is talking about so they have a clear explanation. (Not Finished).

  

FIRST IMPRESSION OF A DREAM

My first impression of Edgar Allen Poe's A Dream Within a Dream to me it seems almost magical like. It gives me the feeling of peace and tranquility because it's talking about how everything that we are looking at everything that we are touching is not real. That we are just dreaming and in that dream we are still dreaming. It gives nice imagery when it talks about the shore and the grains of sand. It makes me feel that our lives are not even real and everything that is happening right now is fake. Like our lives are stories made up by someone else and told to other people.

MY ESSAY ESSAY

Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story about a guy who goes on a walk. Or so we think. At the beginning of the story Young Goodman Brown has a lot of faith and beliefs. But as he continues his walk strange things begin to happen. He finds out that everyone who he thought he knew were not what they seemed. By the end of his walk Young Goodman Brown lost all his faith.
Hawthorne communicates this theme by using plot, symbolism, and characterization.
 In the story Young Goodman Brown Hawthorne uses symbolism in two different ways. One way is Young Goodman Brown's wife. Her name is Faith but that could also represent the faith or belief of him to not go on that walk. another way the author uses symbolism is when he keeps repeating that the wife Faith has her hair ribbon but by the end of the story she doesn't have the ribbon anymore. This could also be a way to show us another way faith was lost.
Characterization is also used because at the beginning of the story Young Goodman Brown has a lot of faith and has many beliefs. But, towards the end of the end of the story Young Goodman Brown lost all faith when he found out that the government and the leaders of the church were in the forest with the devil.
He also lost faith when he found out his wife was also a liar.
The way Hawthorne uses the plot is really interesting. At the beginning we are to believe that the story is just about a guy who goes on a walk at night.
But, as the story goes on it grows an ominous tone.
It makes the story take a turn from a guy who goes on a walk at night to a guy who lost faith in one dreary night.

LITERATURE ANALYSIS QUESTIONS

My book was called The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

1. The story is about a girl named Liesel Meminger. When Liesel and her younger brother were heading to their new foster home her brother dies on the he train on the way. The story is set during Nazi times and as the story continues Liesel's foster parents hide a Jew named Mac their basement. Hans Liesel's foster dad had taught her how to read. Discovering her love for books Liesel starts stealing books. As the story continues things progress like Max had left their basement and got sent to a concentration camp and where she lived got bombed.
2. A major theme in my novel was literacy and power. Liesel loves to read she even went as far as to writing her own book. But, do to the story being set during the Nazi times all books were burned as a campaign so Liesel had to hide the fact that she owned books.
3. To e right at he beginning of the novel the author seems to be mysterious. For example, in the book there's a part where he the narrator said that he will be stand over you. Which to me seems like he''s waiting for something to happen. I also like to imagine that the author likes to drink coffee in the morning. Coffee is at times bitter and because of that in the part where Liesel and her mother are with her brother that had just died on of the guards was already loosing his patience and he looked mad. finally, I like to imagine that the author does yoga to clear his mind and be at peace. In the book when Death is ready to take away a soul he says he carried it away as gently as possible.
4. One literary technique I saw was right in the beginning. It was foreshadowing. because in the beginning the narrator Death was saying three colors and those represent the times he gets to see Liesel. A second literary technique I saw in the novel was personification. Now in the novel the narrator itself Death is a personification. Now int he book it doesn't specify that Death is a personification but it is because Death is not a person, but a concept. A third literary technique I found was a simile. You ca find this one when Liesel joins her foster mother in picking up dirty laundry. When they get to the mayor's the mayor's wife opens the door and the author states "A women with startled eyes, hair like fluff, and the posture of defeat." A fourth literary technique I found was hyperbole. in the book dying is one of the worst things to happen but the narrator Death says surviving is way worse because you're alive but are grieving for lost ones. A fifth and final literary technique that I found was symbolism. In the book Liesel's foster dad Hans plays the accordion and this means comfort for Liesel. the accordion is also part of Hans's identity because he got the accordion from Max's dad in the first world war. 

THE FIRST 50 PAGES

The book I'm reading is The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak. It's a historical fiction because the characters are all made up but it takes place during real events that happened. In the first 50 pages we are introduced to the narrator Death and he explains the three times he had a run in with the book thief. We are also introduced to Liesel, her mother, and her brother. Right off the bat Liesel's brother dies and Death has his first run in with the book thief. Liesel and her mother bury her brother in a cemetery and Liesel sees a book called The Grave Digger's Handbook that was dropped by a younger grave digger. Liesel picks it up but she doesn't know how to read. heading to her foster parents house she is reluctant to go inside the Hubberman's house, but Hans persuades her to go in. Liesel Goes to school but suffers because she doesn't know how to read. he also meets Ruder Steiner who will become her best friend.

TRAIN YOUR BRAIN LIKE A MEMORY CHAMPION

Try to use strategies that memory athletes use in real world situations


Visuals are one of most important things that lead to a memory. Mnemonics is a way that helps improve our memory. I feel that by using visuals it helps memorizing things better because you just have to focus on a specific trait that stands out from the rest. I didn't know this before but I have been doing this ever since I was little. 

A SECOND HELPING OF SOCRATIC SEMINAR

Ideas that stood out to me in the Socratic seminar

-Right- something that other people should honor
For example when crossing a street pedestrians have a right and drivers must stop to let them cross 
-Argument is just another way of finding out the truth
-Saying that you are entitled to your opinion cuts off access to a new perspective and new information
-Logic is just reasoning

THE RIGHT TO YOUR OPINION

While reading The Right to Your Opinion there were a lot of interesting things it was talking about. When I was reading it said that even you have your own opinions we are not entitled to them. An opinion is simply a right that other people must honor. An opinion is simply what we believe and others don't necessarily have to agree with us. When people argue with each other about there opinions that's not necessarily a bad thing. By doing this you are finding another way to the truth.  Some people believe one way while we believe another way and that's okay. In the end you have to ask yourself 'Is anyone right?' well we'll never know the answer to that unless we change.

THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE

In class we had a discussion about emails. Right after that discussion I learned that what we consider "private" messages are not exactly private. I also learned that the channel or in other words medium that we use in order to send messages can change the meaning or connotation of the message. Then it got me thinking that I already knew that anything we put out online is not safe at all. But, I never realized that our messages change depending on the platform we use according to my teacher.
For example, when I text my friends on messages, Instagram, or Snapchat I don't use proper grammar and I use abbreviation. But, when I write an email or text my mom or older relatives I use proper grammar and I don'y abbreviate.

SO THIS GUY GOES FOR A WALK

We started reading Goodman Brown and right off the bat there were a lot of thought going on in my head.
For example, as we were reading the beginning of the story it started off kind of in an awkward position. So the story stars off with a couple saying goodbye to each other because Goodman Brown had to leave to go somewhere. So me being the reader I immediately have a lot of questions like you is this couple, where is Goodman Brown going, is he really going to leave his wife. As we continue with the story we find out that the wife's name is Faith.
Now the story doesn't mention any details about Faith it only mentions that she wears a pink ribbon in her hair and that's about it no other details about her. Continuing the story it keeps mentioning the ribbon so I automatically know it's significant and symbolizes something.
While reading the story it start to get eerie because there are actions and thought that have no explanation.
Although we still haven't finished the story I can't wait to find out what's going to happen.

YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO YOUR OPINION

Have you ever relied that your not actually entitled to your opinion. Now I know what I just said might sound offensive to some people but it's the truth. Now a days we become more and more closed- minded to the things we believe and as the days go on and we become more sensitive to the world and its words. Once we set our minds on a goal or achievement we tend to close everybody else opinion on the subject because we consider our self right and everybody else wrong. But, when you close everybody off you're missing out on a new perspective or new information. Before I read "The Right To Your Opinion" made me realize how wrong I had been this whole entire time. Now that I look at it even if we argue about our opinion that's OK because that's how you find the truth.

SOCRATIC SEMINAR PART 1

Socratic Seminar main topic: Why is love involved in all types of art?

• Love is one of many relatable feelings in the world
• Everybody understands it and has gone through it in their lifetime
• It's one of the things that makes us human 
• even if it's good or bad it leaves us with an impact on our life
• There are many kinds of love for many different kinds of things whether it be people or objects

HACK TO SCHOOL

Dr. Preston's AP English class at SMHS is all about helping us improve our comprehension of not only reading but writing as well. But, it's not the usual textbook and paper kind of way. Dr. Preston's way of helping us is through making a blog were we can express out thoughts and opinions.

So far there isn't anything hard we had to do and there isn't much work either. The easiest part of this class is as I have mentioned before is that instead of using a textbook and paper where there is only one right answer our class went into the direction of creating our own blogs wee we express our thoughts and opinions and it's not considered right or wrong.

I would say the only hard thing is that since our blogs are online and not physically in our hands you tend to forget that it's there. So without having my blog physically there I have no reminder to do it.

Learning is not a one time thing it's a never-ending cycle that helps us as we grow older. It's important to ask questions because that's how you learn and grow as a person.

I AIN'T GOT TIME FOR THIS

Most of my time allocations goes towards my education/studying family time, and other activities/relaxation. Although I have many things to do I try and balance them as best as I could with the amount of time I have or get. So far my main goal is to get into a college to pursue my career. So I'm trying hard to do my assignments and other work so my grades look impeccable so it looks good on my college resume. I like to think that I use my time efficiently bu there are those time I do procrastinate. Sometimes its really hard to balance the schoolwork, homework, and other activities. It's hard because do to all the work I do I sometimes miss out on family events and parties. One day I hope all the hard work pays off.

I CARE ABOUT YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Today I am writing with the intention of being understood. I'm not just writing this post because it's part of my English assignment but to express myself and get thoughts out of my head. Sometimes on this blog there will be post, responses to work we read in class or by yourself, and on occasions videos will be posted. Even when I'm writing this my mind is thinking on so many other things that I'm loosing my train of thought. So even though my post may not be in order and are scattered around I hope you understand it at least a little and try to get a peak into how I think and express myself. 

HOW I READ

When i was little I used to love to read a lot. When I was little I didn't need to imagine was happening because it had pictures in them. But, as I got older and stopped reading picture books and started reading chapter books with little to no pictures. As I got older I just stopped reading and I didn't know why. Then in junior high I started reading again and it was because of the Pretty Little Liars series. I also started to read again because my English teacher took us to the library. But, Is topped reading again when I got to high school  because English teacher didn't take us to the library anymore so I didn't feel obligated to read. Then towards the end of freshman year I got an app on my phone called Wattpad. On that app there are stories from all genres by not famous authors but by regular people who like reading and writing. Even though they are not world known most books are amazing. So know I still read all the time.

TODAY I ASKED A QUESTION

During class I read a blog called "What's your Big Question" and at that moment I realized that I don't ask a lot of question like I did when I was little. Then it was brought up to me that as we grow older we stop asking 100 questions per day like when we were little. I guess it's mostly because as we grow older we start to experience more things and as we go along we are getting answers to our questions whether we no it or not. So I started thinking and a question popped into my head. My question is "Why is that when I have nothing to do time seems to go by slower but as soon as I have something to do there's not enough of time left?" When there is nothing to do people tend to get bored and time seems to drag on but when we gave a lot of homework time just seems to slip by. I guess that's why some students don't go to school because they know they didn't finish an assignment and they would rather turn it in late but have it completed rather than turn it in on time and be incomplete. 

TODAY I WAS THINKING

As I was sitting through my fifth class of the day which was AP English I was thinking about a whole lot of other things that weren't even relevant to the class. But, I did listen to a few things and here they are.
Omniscient- all knowing
Mindfulness- be kind and mindful of others
And to take time for yourself and be aware of your surroundings.

FOR THE WIN

There are many things that a person should be proud of whether that be winning a big game or winning an award. For me I have many things that I'm proud of but for the time being I'm only going to list three of my biggest achievements. One of my proudest moments was when I went to a meeting in 4th grade at the Santa Maria Bonita School District. It was an amazing experience because very few people were chosen to go. My second proudest moment was I graduated from junior high because it meant that I was doing something right and was furthering my education. My third and proudest moment was when I got into high school and started to take Honors and AP course because not many people decide to take them because they are hard.

THE EARTH ON TURTLE'S BACK

My first impression of  "The Earth on Turtle's Back" was confusing to me at first because I really didn't know what was going on. But, as we kept on reading the more I understood it. At first I thought it was a fiction story because it had animals talking. Then Dr. Preston asked the class if we knew what type of genre it was. Issac then said that it was a myth which made me think on how it was considered a myth. The story contained personification which is why I thought it was a fiction story. I also liked that they made the muskrat a female and the heroine of this myth. I feel like it was nice that the muskrat was portrayed as a girl and a hero because women are often seen as the weaker gender. Overall my first impression of this story was that it was really nice and it gave a happy vibe

THE MAKING OF AN ESSAY

My experience with writing an essay are 50-50. Sometimes what the topic is asking is really east and I know what I want to say and what I want to write about. Other times I have no clue what the prompt is asking me to do and I don't know what to write at all. Sometimes when I know what to write I have my outline ready and I'm ready to write an essay. But, other times when I don't know what to write I procrastinate all the time and write my essay when I need to turn it in. It's also time consuming because I need to do research write it down then word it in my essay. Sometimes I feel like I did my essay wrong because I was stressing out about it.

EVERYTHING IS A REMIX

• Everything is a remix of something
• 3 elements to a remix-Domain knowledge(copying), Transformation(making something new), Combination( taking something that already exist and putting it together with something),
• Everything can become a remix
• Ideas are property- you can't steal an idea
• Ideas contain ideas
• Macintosh- computer and appliance combination

COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES OF A HACKER

What "The Mentor" is trying to say is that no matter what we do or how we do it we're all exactly alike regardless of what other people say. He's saying that whatever we do other people are doing the same which is why he can hardly differentiate ourselves from others because we do the same exact thing as them. He's saying we are all alike by using the word 'damn' and 'They're all alike' repetitively to prove his point. His tone also seems aggressive which might help understand the excerpt. He's saying that whenever we do something we're see as criminals, but when people of power do something similar they claim to do it for our good and our benefit. He's saying that there is no difference between us that we are the same.

The Socratic Method

I was just reading The Socratic Method and there were a lot of interesting things that stood out to me. One of these things was that in order for the Socratic Method to work the person must think negatively willing. The Socratic Method is often used to pursue the truth. If one can not think negatively willing they try to not to listen to all the criticism that people say. This method best works when people have developed a sensitivity to logic. The Socratic Method doesn't have to be bad it still has its advantages. One of these advantages is that it helps you with critical thinking. This method is not only good with students but with teachers too. It helps the teacher dive deeper into the subject they are teaching. It helps them think of questions and issues related to the subject. This method also gives the students the chance to send feedback and the teacher has the opportunity to take that into consideration. By also using this method it gives students the chance to let go of their childhood ego by encountering criticism. I think that The Socratic Method is both good for students and teachers because it helps them grow and be open to criticism and feedback. 

Introduction

Hi,
My name is Citlalli Pacheco and I'm a junior at Santa Maria High School. I live with my parents, my sister, and my two dogs. My little sister is 11 years and she is a seventh grader in Fesler Junior High. There isn't many things I do at home because I'm always busy and I really don'y have time. But, when I do have time I like to go outside to my backyard and either play with my dogs or go on my trampoline. Sometimes I also like to listen to music because it helps me distress myself and I get to take a break from school work. On days were I don't have anything to do I like to watch my favorite shows. I come from a Hispanic family so during parties or family gatherings there are a lot of people. My sister and I are the only kids my parents have so we tend to fight occasionally but we always look out for each other. I hope to get along with everybody in my class and also get to learn new things during my year.