First Quarter Reflection 10-28-15

I thought that as a student, I emitted a mediocre performance when it comes to grades, or effort as a student.  I wouldn't say it was a bad job, I just think I could've done better, and I plan on doing so within these next few quarters.  I definitely think the transition was a large reason in this lack of quality, considering 8th grade is different from the past, and that the school adopted an entirely new grading system.  However, now that I've gotten a taste of what it's going to be like, I think I'll have a better understanding of what's expected of me, and therefore be able to meet and strive above my standards.

My life and actions have been revolving around other aspects besides education throughout this quarter as well, for example, it was my birthday about a week ago, and that was exciting.  Friends came over to celebrate, and then I went paintballing the next day to celebrate as well.  Basketball season has just started up as well, and as usual, has me super excited.  Afterschool programs, sports, and other hobbies have filled up my free time whenever I'm not completely focused on school.

8th grade is also especially different from previous years, in the sense that students are searching for the high school that will provide a scenario to best fit their needs.  I've already shadowed at three schools, and am still narrowing the choices down, and weighing the advantages and disadvantages that pertain to the commute, offered education, and other activity facilities.  However, I plan on looking at high school the same as these next few middle school quarters.  I'm going to do whatever I can to choose the right path for me, and see where I end up, and I plan on doing my best and making the best choices for not only myself, but others as well.

The Boy on the Wooden Box 10-14-15 (Can you compare the lifestyles and/or technology of the book's time period to today's?)

The book that I'm currently engaged in, is set during World War Two.  Considering I'm not too far into the book, it's would be hard for me to conduct a really detailed interpretation of the whole story, but I can explain some of my thoughts thus far.  I've blogged about similar topics to this in the past, and personally, I think it's really interesting to compare and contrast somewhat different, yet similar topics, time periods, or mindsets.

Therefore, with this blog I'm going to focus on the difference between the society portray within the book, and the way I view our community.  Within the first 30 pages of the book, I immediately realized that there's a big difference in what children of today's generation find really amusing or astonishing, and how the characters in the book react to certain concepts, ideas, or inventions.  On page 33, the main character says, "What excited me most was the indoor plumbing...""I decided the lightbulb and electricity were second to the toilet and indoor plumbing."  This really made me think about how people today, take incredible inventions and creations for granted, all the time, because we can't imagine life without them.  The book is placed almost a century ago, therefore, you can infer that characters of the novel might be inspired and in awe at things such as electricity or indoor plumbing, and we're getting excited over the new video game system coming out.

Also, the author's father has been working in the city for some years now, in order to support his family.   After he gathered up enough money, he returned to his hometown to move his family to the city with him.  The transition is a big one for the kids, considering they had been inhabiting a small house out in the country.  Once the family enters the city, the main character is exploring, and taking in as much information as physically possible, before falling asleep in complete astonishment.  I guess children of today's generation who live in rural areas, might have a similar reaction when witnessing the city for the first time, just maybe at a lesser level.  Due to the fact that we have social media, advanced technology, and other modern inventions, the impact from seeing the city might not be as big as someone who had absolutely no clue.

Since I'm only a few chapters into the book, I plan to read more over the next few days, conduct additional blogs that interpret messages of the book, explain my thoughts on the story, and potentially add to this blog, if I find more comparable concepts.

OBAA Mawi's Lifelines Blog

The Cruelty of a Classroom

My parents and my brother had taught me to see beauty in everyone

I often saw the least beauty in the 

coolest

most popular kids

I wasn't popular enough to get elected

But I figured

What the heck

The other half of the class wouldn't have voted for the cool kids 

Not if their lives had depended on it

All throughout high school

The cool kids had made them feel 

Like beetles

My classmates had discovered the best way to hurt me 

not with their fists

but with their words

Sticks and stones can break bones

But words

Can often do worse

They can destroy

The hopeful things

Inside us

OBAA vs Syrian Refugees Article 10-2-15

        The book that we've read as a class, Of Beetles and Angels is about generally the same topic as my chosen article of the week.  Both the book, and my article went into detail on refugee issues and big, awful occurrences forcing citizens of their country to flee and seek refuge somewhere else.  However, while the book told the story of a family during the Sudanese refugee incident during the Ethiopian civil war, while the article discussed the more current Syrian refugee crisis.  Both authors, the article's author and the book's, give their stories and facts several details, specific information, quotes, and dates for public readers to refer to, as to better understand the topic.

         Specific individuals and groups are mentioned and explained in both the book and article.  Many are very similar to each other, considering the situations are somewhat alike.  However, others don't correlate at all.  For example, in Of Beetles and Angels, the World Relief Program plays a big part in the story, and in the article, Leonard Doyle is a representing member of the International Organization for migration.  Both of these organizations are systems that are doing their best to prevent, solve, or lessen the impact of these refugee disasters.  I can see this evidence in the book on page 16 when the author states, "World Relief agreed to work with a family of five, not a family of six.  They agreed to bring you now, not later,..."  The article mentions the thousands of families of refugees that are attempting national transitions.  The book is literally written and told by Mawi Asgedom, who was part of a family making a very similar trip, and he's talking about his family the entire time.  This journey is shown in the article when the author said, "...tens of thousands more have already travelled into the continent.  Borders are being sealed with bewildering speed, as columns of desperate people move from country to country in their attempt to find a haven.

        I also compared the book and the article by studying the ideas or messages portrayed through their work.  Despite the fact that both pieces are about quite similar issues, the book invokes a somewhat different or separate connotation than the article.  Mawi elaborates on the good that came out of the awful time he spent as a child, in a refugee camp, and describes how you can turn something really small into something great, whereas the article is basically presenting a possible solution to the problem, describing how awful the conditions are in refugee camps, and providing the staggering statistics of misplaced citizens and refugees.  The author of the article shows the viewpoints of certain individuals and groups, and explains how they believe complete chaos will continue until the problem is solved in a certain way.  You can see this in the article when the author provides the quote of, "You need a period when you take big numbers and settle down, then people feel some kind of moral settlement,' Moraes said.  "Until you do that, chaos reigns."  One of the book's positive messages is that forgiveness is key to success.  This is shown when Mawi said, "How can I feel ill will toward Ahferom when I know that soon after, he joined one of the Ethiopian Liberation movements?"  He was showing how he has forgiven his childhood bully and that taught him a valuable lesson and helped him achieve great things in life.