Blog Post #1: Aug. 25th, 2017 - Growth vs. fixed mindset
Blog Post #2: Oct. 23rd, 2017 - The Crucible F.I.N.D. Reflection
The Crucible was a play written by Arthur Miller that tells of the Salem Witch Trials that took place in Massachusetts. While reading The Crucible, I realized that The Red Virus game our class played was a resemblance to what The Crucible was all about- many of our innocent classmates were blacklisted, even though we were reminded that at the beginning of the game, the spread of The Red Virus was only said to be a rumor. From this, i simply felt deceived, as nobody or even the blacklisted were truly infected. Not only did I realize The Red Virus game held tight similarities to The Crucible, Arthur Miller's intention was to reveal an exact parallel to the period of time he was living in. This era was known as the Red Scare, when many innocent were blacklisted for the belief that they were a communist. Being blacklisted was only caused by name identification- that is, if your name was merely mentioned or questioned. I come forth with the idea that this was precisely how the Puritans were able to make the village perceive certain people as witches in The Crucible, therefore everyone became a suspect. I also believe the mention of names were only because of land lust, envy, or vengeance. if chosen to confess to being a witch, the victim would live but have their property auctioned out for the accuser to have. If chosen to remain silent, the victim was sentenced to hang. In most of the victims' situations, the obvious choice would be to confess, as mass hysteria would take over solely by the thought of feeling the rope that awaited them, or feeling sinful towards God (as it will require a lie to confess, since no one was really a witch). My decision is for me not to blame other people if it is for something I desire of theirs, or else it could make other people perceive them as I say they are, even when I would know they are not.
Blog Post #3: Nov. 6th, 2017 - October Reflection
I am doing well in terms of reaching my academic SMART goals this year. I have spoken at least once every day in class, and have therefore been thoroughly engaged in the conversation. Compared to the fastest mile I ran before, I was able to run a faster one in October, which lessened by 4 seconds! I still believe that's something to keep striving for. I have also done well in reading more books- not only have I read the dog books I wrote reading logs on, but other ones also, which I plan to write reading logs for later. Weaknesses I tend to notice in class are how much I lack in following directions, my use of run-off sentences, and interpreting information or textual evidence in a way where it may take me off topic. This is what is hard for me to do, even when they happen to be quite simple. Strengths I can see myself demonstrate in this class are asking analytical questions, staying on task once I know the directions, and how I analyze textual evidence. This is what is easy for me to do, even when they happen to be the opposite of simple. As a writer I feel very open to ideas and can somehow express myself more easily based on the certain prompt or specific directions I am given, when yet it seems to be less liberal. But this way, I always feel eager to write, even when it also means it is more challenging. What I want to work on for the month of November is to improve the academic progress I have made for October. I feel these abilities are important to perfect so I can be successful in the future.
Blog Post #4: Nov. 14th, 2017 - Quickwrite: Freedom & Conflict
Freedom and conflict can share positive and negative impacts and contributions. Benefits of freedom include speaking out on personal opinion, citizens having a sense of ownership in their country, and a citizen simply becoming a part of the government. The costs of freedom are taking great responsibility for such liberal actions, whether they may be wisest to do even with the consequences, and how well they can be controlled. Supportive impacts for conflict include the encouragement of open-mindedness, the defeat of stagnation, and training of negotiation. Downsides to conflict are misunderstandings of communication, instability of the situation, and unresolved issues that lead to confusion.
Blog Post #5: Feb. 26th, 2018 - What Does It Mean To Be American?
To be an American means to legally belong to the United States. However, it is not just that; in fact, there are many different opinions on what it means, but I believe it also means to have not all but fair rights that allow one to have freedom once they put in the hard work to achieve it. “The American Dream” is the desire that every American should have an equal opportunity to achieve success if hard work is put in for it. However, this could mean that, as of 2018, the American Dream is somewhat being avoided, as immigrants, or those who are not American, are being sent away by the government without them having the chance to prove they can belong through hard work.
