Fall Semester Reflection

- I usually read my colleagues' work online, it's great to view their blogs as a reference in case I ever need a little more understanding of an assignment.

- With this public course blog, I could always go back and review past works, wether it's for studying or if its to simply refreshen my memory on a topic. If the course blog were to suddenly shut down and I were to return to the text, then I would see all this open source learning as a waste of my time.

- I try to make my final assignments seem professional. If the course were to change then it would feel as if I am not writing for an audience anymore.

- It is like the course blog is an extension of the classroom and I can continue my learning in the blog.

- The experience is unlike anything from classes that came before. Not only are we described as 'pioneers" but I think we could be considered the 21st century Romantics. Considering that this has not been done before.

- They see it as unimaginable, because they are so used to the classic routine with text books.

- I get the feeling that this course could be affecting the game. Open source learning could be how teachers run their classrooms in the future, considering how fast technology is evolving.

Final Presentation: American Literature

Erick's introduction-
   American Literature:
In this semester, we learned about the remixes in American Literature and how Romantics transcended their works trying to avoid such technique. As how they claimed their work on their own. We explain these factors of American Literature on the following Prezi.


The following is our Prezi presentation for the final:

http://prezi.com/1a3zxfxjihcp/american-literature/?kw=view-1a3zxfxjihcp&rc=ref-26362487

Created by:  Francisco Ayala
                    Yocelin Cervantes
                    Erick Martinez
                    Jared Perry

BQ: First Steps

     My big question, "how would this world be like without the internet?" It might sound a bit ironic, but I am going to research this question on the internet. I already got one answer; without the internet, I wouldn't be able to research my big question. I could also ask my friends and gain their input on the subject of not having the internet. They could tell me how it would affect them which could be the same for many of us.

A Big Question

How would this world be like without the internet?

Vocabulary: Fall List #9

1. bosom: intimate center

2. prudently: practical; wise

3. inveterate: habitual

4. propensity: a natural tendency

5. repose: to pose again

"Legend of Sleepy Hollow": First Impressions

     Now, I have heard of there being a headless horseman but i never actually knew where it came from. While reading "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", I understand that the headless Hessian first appeared in Washington Irving's story. I think it has became such an iconic figure but not many people know where it came from. Reading the first few paragraphs got me interested in the story because of said character. I sense a story filled with some mystery and eeriness. 

Vocabulary: Fall List #7

1. ad infinitum: No limits; endless
 ex. Counting numbers is ad infinitum.
2. apportion: to divide proportionally
 ex. The brothers apportion their chores.
3. bona fide: authentic; true
 ex. The president's words were bona fide.
4. buoyant: able to float; floating
 ex. The drift wood was buoyant.
5. clique: a small, exclusive group of people
 ex. There are many cliques in school.

Essay Revision/Improvement Strategy

     My thinking can get really slow during a test and I think it is because of the pressure from the exam. I can write a lot better when I am given more than just a class period to write it. Honestly I am a slow writer, but with time, whatever I am writing could turn out very well-made. I noticed that after the test, I was able to remember a lot more literary elements. Things that I have to do and will need on my next essay on my next essay: legibility, authenticity, organization, get to the point and write my thesis in the first paragraph, and elements. 

"A Dream Within A Dream": Reaction/Reflection

     The poem "A Dream Within a Dream" is centered on Poe, which gives it a Romanticism feel. So that means his personal feelings and himself are in the poem. While reading the poem, the Romanticism can help you see yourself in Poe's position and if you have ever felt like Poe does in this poem then you can obviously relate to it. Poe talks about golden grains of sand falling through his fingers. Poe could be making a reference to an "hourglass of life". Edgar Allan Poe's philisophical poem contains questions that I too have wondered before. Is reality even real, is it all an illusion? It might also be asking, why does life have to end? Is our reality just a dream within a dream?

Vocabulary: Fall List #6

1. adroit: clever or skillful
 ex. The man was very adroit at basketball, so he now plays professionally.
2. amicable: friendly
 ex. The man who opened the door for others is very amicable.
3. averse: having a strong feeling of opposition
 ex. Many people are averse drugs.
4. belligerent: hostile
 ex. The drunken man was very belligerent.
5. benevolent: expressing goodwill or kindness
 ex. The new student gave off a benevolent smile.

An American Novel: "Thirteen Reasons Why"

Title: "Thirteen Reasons Why"
Author: Jay Asher

   There are a few reasons why I chose this book. My sister has recommended it to me in the past, so I decided that this would be a good time to read the novel. It does seem interesting as well, I read what was on the back of the book because it typically gives you an expection as to what you are about to read and it caught my attention. Plus, the author, Jay Asher, lives in the central coast.

Vocabulary: Fall List #5

1. allude: to refer to something the author thinks you should know.
 ex. Hawthorne alludes to Adam & Eve in "Young Goodman Brown".
2. clairvoyant: able to perceive things beyond the senses.
 ex. The clairvoyant did more than just read minds.
3. conclusive: final or decisive.
 ex. The jury was conclusive with their decision.
4. disreputable: of poor reputation.
 ex. A student with bad grades is disreputable with the school.
5. endemic: provasive in a particular place.
 ex. Hunger is endemic in the cafeteria.

The Laughing Heart.

1. The poem is called "The Laughing Heart", it was written by Charles Bukowski.
2. I find it ironic for a corporation to use this poem because the poem is about you and your life. The corporation using this poem is advertising jeans.
3. The story shows not much of a reputation, but his thoughts on life.
4. I got my answers by simply looking up the poem on Bing.

 

Vocabulary: Fall List #4

1. melancholy: a gloomy state of mind; depression.
 ex. Sad movies can put you in a melancholy mood.
2. exemplary: praiseworthy.
 ex. Good grades are exemplary.
3. peculiar: strange; unusual.
 ex. The peculiar smell coming from my meal really turned my stomach.
4. dread: to fear greatly.
 ex. I dread death.
5. bough: a branch of a tree.
 ex. Tarzan swings on boughs.

Vocabulary: Fall List #3

1. aquisitive: seeking to acquire.
ex. People are acquisitve for the latest technology.
2. banal: dull or overused.
ex. That style is banal.
3. arrogate: to take away without right.
ex. Thieves arrogate all the time.
4. substantiate: to confirm truth with proof.
ex. Evidence could substantiate a crime.
5. temporize: to comply with the time or occasion.
ex. Dressing up for Halloween temporizes with the occasion.
6. carping: to criticize.
ex. Singers get carped in American Idol.
7. congeal: to change something into a solid state by freezing.
ex. You can congeal water into ice.
8. eschew: to keep away from; shun.
ex. I try to eschew soda from my life.
9. belabor: to beat up.
ex. People can get really belabored in football.
10. emulate: to imitate.
ex. There is a lot of celebrity emulators in Hollywood.
11. coherent: logically connected.
ex. The school and district are coherent.
12. intransigent: refusing to agree.
ex. There are a lot of intransigent people in politics.
13. taciturn: silent; reluctant to join in conversation.
ex. People who are taciturn are usually shy.
14. tenable: capable of being maintained.
ex. The school is tenable.
15. largesse: money given with ease.
ex. Rich people largesse to charities.
16. excoriation: to strip off or remove the skin from.
ex. I excoriated the pen mark from my forearm.
17. encomium: a formal expression of high praise.
ex. An encomium by the president greeted the returning hero.
18. germane: closely related.
ex. The Humpback whale and the Blue whale are germane.
19. invidious: offensive or hateful.
ex. Demons are invidious.
20. insatiable: incapable of being satisfied.
ex. Selfish teenagers are insatiable.
21. reconnaissance: getting information ahead of time.
ex. You can get reconnaissance from looking at the school calendar.
22. ramify: to divide or spread out.
ex. Students always ramify in the hallways.

AHA!

When we were discussing about "Meanings, Signs & Symbols" and Dr. Preston clarified the difference between a sign and a symbol. As I found out that everything in literature is a symbol, I was all like, "AHA! Now I get it."

YGB: Most important thing I'll ever learn?

     I don't think the symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" is the most important thing I'll ever learn. I mean, you learn something new everyday. Potty training really came useful in my life, perhaps that is the most important thing I ever learned. Though, it seems more useful than important. The symbolism in "Young Goodman Brown" is a very important i learned, but probably not the most important. Understanding the symbolism in the story will really help you get an idea for symbolism. It will become useful in real life when you are trying to interpret symbolism in everyday situations.

Vocabulary: Fall List #2

intercede: to attempt to reconcile differences; intervene.
ex. I will intercede in this argument.
hackneyed: stale; overused.
ex. Those shoes are hackneyed.
approbation: approval.
ex. I have my father's approbation to go to the party.
innuendo: an indirect reference.
ex. Propoganda consists of innuendo.
coalition: an alliance.
ex. Coalitions were made during WWII.
elicit: to bring out.
ex. He elicits his money to pay.
hiatus: a break in work; a gap.
ex. People usually take a hiatus during lunch.
assuage: to make less severe; to calm.
ex. I had to assuage the situation.
decadence: falling into a bad condition; deterioration.
ex. This sign is falling into a decadence.
expostulate: argue.
ex. The mother and daughter are expostulating.
simulate: to create a model of a situation or thing.
ex. The man made a 3D simulation of the hospital.
jaded: worn out or dull.
ex. The steak knife was jaded.
umbrage: annoyance; displeasure.
ex. My nephews could become umbrageous at times.
prerogative: an exclusive right; priviledge.
ex. The president has prerogative rights.
lurid: gruesome; revolting.
ex. That movie was lurid.
transcend: to rise above or go beyond.
ex. I transcended my parent's expectations.
provincial: belonging to some particular province.
ex. Lopez Lake is provincial.
petulant: sudden irritation.
ex. Women can become petulant at times.
unctuous: excessively smooth.
ex. Some surfaces are very unctuous.
meritorious: praiseworthy.
ex. Good grades are meritorious.

Young Goodman Brown

1. Many author's write a story with a moral for the reader to learn or they try to send a message to the reader, through the story. The story shows the townspeople with a hidden faith. Hawthorne's message in this story is, probably, that some people aren't what they seem to be.
2. Trying to comprehend a character like Faith can be really confusing. Her name is what she has, she apparently has "faith" in her witch-like religion. At the end of the story, Brown had no faith in her at all. After his episode that night, he couldn't look at her the same way he did before he left for the woods.
3. I believe that the pink ribbons signify faith, the confidence or trust in a person or thing.
4. I strongly believe that the events that occured were just a dream. While he was saying goodbye to Faith, She insisted that he'd sleep that night. Why would she want him to stay if the plan was to have him at the meeting?
5. I don't think he is an ordinary human being, he could be the devil or someone affiliated with the devil. He was a strange man and he really did stand out from the rest. His staff looked a lot like a snake, as it said in the story, and the snake is known to be a sign of the devil or a bad omen.
6. The staff could represent evil and power. The old man prefered walking with the staff, it probably gave him strength to move on. It could have also persuaded him to move on and that is what might have happened to Goodman Brown, the staff persuaded him to move forward. In the Bible, a snake persuaded Eve to bite the apple. In the story, the staff is said to look like a snake. So, metaphorically speaking, the snake convinced Brown to move forward. The snake is the master of deception and that is what the staff represented.
7. Of course, he would have still been living his normal life. He wouldn't be questioning his faith in Faith. He wouldn't be questioning his trust on the townspeople. Young Goodman Brown would be living his life without a worry. 

Young Goodman Brown: Questions & Observations

1. Young Goodman Brown left for Salem, What was his true reason for this? Was he expecting what happened that night?
2. Goodman Brown questions if what happened to him was just a nightmare from passing out on the road. I believe it was, because while he was saying goodbye to Faith, she insisted that he'd stay the night. If it was a plan to have him at the meeting, then why did she want him to spend the night with her?
3. At the end, everyone is acting like their normal self, as if nothing happened the night before. If those events really did happen to Goodman, then these people are living a double life. Could this story be telling us that not everyone is what they seem?

Socratic Seminar Notes

•  I agree to the right of your own opinion because they are your thoughts and it correlates to freedom of speech. It's part of your natural rights.
•  People feel a lot better to express themselves with technology than in person. I believe people are more comfortable that way because they are not face to face, and personal communication seems to add more tension.
• With technology advancing, communicating with it will be a lot easier (in grammatical terms)because of spell/grammar check and auto correct. While it is assuring to know that a computer will be watching over your grammar, many people might become far too reliant on such thing and that might become an issue.
• The moral of the story "Earth on Turtle's Back" is that small things can do big things. I wish that were true, because I'm a small guy and the only advantage we have is being able to eat for free at Denny's on days we remember to shave. Other than deceiving waitresses into thinking we're kids, short people ain't got much of an advantage.

Reflections on Week 1

     1. I've been experiencing technical difficulties with my computer lately. For example: When I go to Google, I get a 404 page. Luckily, that won't be a big issue. I can always ask friends for assisstance whenever I am struggling.
     2. An awesome learning experience I had was when I was in 5th grade. Every student who got good grades would be part of a popcorn party. Whenever I get food for great effort, I am more than willing to try. Food is good, but after 5th grade I learned that you can't always expect a reward for your accomplishments.
     3. I am curious as to how the whole blog system will work. So far, it is understandable and I am haveing a great time with the blog and this form of teaching. I believe that this method of teaching will give me a new perspective on learning and I am looking forward to it.

Assignment #1

My name is Francisco Ayala and I am one of the latest students to Dr.Preston's American Literature class. My top goal for this course is to simly pass it with a decent grade. I expect my knowledge to be improved by new teaching strategies and by learning the new material. I am looking forward to the new school year and can't wait to see what is in store for my junior year.