This is my interpretation of the first quarter of the school year.
The first quarter was an interesting one in all of my class, but mostly in two classes History and English. In tech prep we learned team work, cooperation, and to think differently. We read books, some short stories, as well as did some group actives that required us to leave the class room, which I loved because most English teachers want to stay in the room and work in something.
The lateral thinking actives, which means problem solving, included the spaghetti tower which my group won and got marshmallows which made me happy, but I would have been ecstatic if you gave me a bag of marshmallows, and the dead swamp active, which let us go outside and to the basement of the school for three days. Both of these activities required me to go out of my comfort zone and talk to people I don’t normally talk to, although I just prefer to stay quiet it helps me focus and save energy, but I realized if you don’t talk people thing something is wrong or I’m shy which is not always the case. Most of the time I’m just tired and don’t want to talk.
The lateral thinking exercise included the black symbol on the bored, the 9 dots test, and the short story “the little boy”. The black symbol was to teach us that everyone thinks differently but I already knew that. I knew that people think differently because I learned it at an early age, what I thought was really cool or interesting was seen as weird by others or some would think it was cool for a different reason. The nine dots test showed me that I give pretty easily and unfortunately I know and am okay with that, but when I’m adult I wont give on anything its just now in my life I can’t be stuck on one thing for too long.
With the Tuesdays with Morrie section of the quarter I was asked to go in the deepest parts of my mind and look for answers to really hard questions, but it was fun and I really liked the book just not all the work, essays, and typing that went with it. Doing the daily journals was interesting because the more we did them the more the class opened up and when that happened you had to read less but I like you’re reading the most. You make the funny voices like the teachers did when I was little. Discussions usually took up most of the period (which I was fine with) and I still have to print out a 2nd copy of my teacher tributes. The last thing I remember working on in that class was the aphorism project and I learned that my brother has a couple aphorisms himself. I use to wish he would stop saying them but then I realized that one day I won’t be able to hear them so I might at well save them somewhere, like Mitch did with Morrie, so I can remember them for ever.
In conclusion I really liked the 1st quarter and your teaching style. Its a fun way of learning but to be in this class you have to allow yourself to work with others. The actives all call for lateral thinking, meaning you had to think, then you had to work together so that showed me if the class worked together we could find the answer to the question.