il était une fois… once upon a time

How do you learn best? What are your expectations for your 9th grade English teacher?

A textbook is a valuable aspect for school. It contains a lot of important information. But after flipping through multiple pages, it can just become dry reading that doesn’t hold your interest anymore.

I learn best when I have exposure to technology. Throughout eighth grade we started our own blogs, a place that could be the hub for our authentic writing. We also used Wikispaces, where we formed our own belief statement page. It was a new experience: a challenging one, but a fun one as well. And when we did learn about grammar and paragrapghs, it was in a funny video that involved ninjas and funny examples.

I’m not saying that textbooks are bad; I want to remind teachers that there are other things to use for learning.

My expectations for my 9th grade Language Arts teacher would be that they don’t totally change the curriculum just for a couple of students, but to gradually add some new resources like Wikispaces. I want a chance to be able to express myself while still maintaining the school’s standards. I also want to be challenged, because reading a textbook only proves how many words I can read per minute or how much information I can obtain in a certain amount of time.

Yay Huskies!!

The plants next to the ocean wafted back in forth slowly in the evening breeze, like someone was breathing deeply. The pale ocean water lapped onto the sand before retreating. A subtle scent of the salt water was in the air. A small child picked up a handful of smooth sand and watched it sift through her fingers. She licked some of the chocolate ice cream dribbling down the side of the waffle cone. The ice cream was rich, just like most of the treats at the ice cream parlor a few blocks away. Suddenly a coral colored shell caught her eye; a treasure uncovered by the waves. She walked across the sand and felt the cool water come up to her ankles. The child picked up the shell and rubbed the grainy sand on her shirt. The shell was a little dented but it was beautiful in her eyes. She pocketed her find and began to walk back.

And the cycle continued: the hiding and finding of treasures by the waves.

This is my personal curriculum about using the five senses.

It’s weird. I’ve always thought that middle school would be longer than it actually is. Only eight more weeks of tests and pacers and weekly authentics and then there’s those empty weeks of the calendar called summer. Then 9th grade.

It’s just happened really fast. There have been a lot of memories from 7th grade (Young Scientists project, SMR) and there have been other memorable experiences from 8th grade right now. I’m sure that when I’m in 9th grade I’ll look back on my experiences and reflect upon what I could have done differently.

I’m going to try to spend some more time with friends because they’re going to a different high school (but I’ll probably see them over summer.) And I guess, although I don’t know how, I’ll try to make a lasting impression on people because it’s eight more weeks and then 8th grade is gone.

This piece of writing might sound kind of sad, and it is. In eight weeks we’ll be signing year books, scribbling the generic Have a great summer! and waving our last good-bye to CMS. I’m going to miss 8th grade, but I’m also looking forward to the next four years of high school that I’m sure are going to be pretty hard and pretty fun.

March 19 was our four year anniversary in Iraq, or the first day of day of Year 5 as my dad likes to call it because we probably won't leave for awhile. I had a family member fighting over there and I just want to ask Bush: why are we still in Iraq?

The name of Bush's operation is Operation Iraqi Freedom, or OIF. In my opinion is should stand for Operation Iraqi FAILED. Althought there is the glittering media facade that says we are finally making some progress, in truth we are not. Yes, we have helped Iraqi citizens to establish a stable democracy and we have captured Hussein, but at what cost for our soldiers? We have lost 3,218 people that were fighting for our country. 24,000 have been wounded. And there is no doubt that the number will increase. 

This kind of reminds me of the poem we read in Language Arts awhile ago, the one about statistics.  A soldier just seems to become another statistic as the days pass. 

When some troops came back, some of their limbs blown off, I'm pretty sure that they expected proper healthcare. But no. Bush can't afford to help the soldiers that valiantly put themselves out  there on the battlefield to defend their country. And I recently heard that Bush is going to send physcially disabled soldiers back into the war.

WHAT? Imagine you're in a wheelchair, and Bush wants you wheeling between mines and bullets. I mean, how can he do that? Why doesn't he get out there so he can know what our soldiers go through day-to-day?

I'm sorry, but I'm extremely adamant about this issue. Our troops need to get out of Iraq immediately before anymore innocent lives are lost.

Yesterday I was reading rockinwithacdc12 's blog about people with FLP, or funny looking person. It got me thinking: what really is ugly? 

This TV show, Beauty and the Geek, featured 8 girls and 8 guys. After the guys got makeovers, they were seen as better looking by society. But just because you're pretty doesn't mean you're not shallow. One of the 'geeks' went out on a date with a girl and she brought up the topic that if a baby were put in front of a pretty person and an ugly person, the baby would rather go towards the pretty person. The 'geek' wondered aloud now you would judge this.

Honestly, he's got a point. Ugly's just a word we use because it's our opinion.

Like look at this dog. You could think that this dog is the cutest thing in the world, or you could think that it's totally ugly and you want to leave this page immediately. I think it's cute, but that's my opinion.

I just thought I'd drudge up this topic again because as we get older, some of us get more absorbed with how we look. And we shouldn't judge each other so much because looks are only skin deep.

Sometimes I just wish I could take back time

So I could do better on my math test

Or go apologize to someone that really deserved it

Why does time have to go by so fast

I don't think we realize how fast it is

One minute we're sitting here, typing a post

The next minute we're at lunch

And then we're out of school

Sometimes I wish that I could go back in time

See myself as a child 

Relive all those happy memories

Instead of having to worry about other things

Like how many pacers I'll have to do

Or how much I should study for a test.

Someday maybe I won't be so worried about time

And everything that seems to orbit around it

But that will probably be another day

When I'm not thinking about what time I need to be here in the morning

Or how many days till summer. 

The streamers drooped from the ceiling, their once curly shapes now hanging to the floor. The balloons that had been filled to the max with helium were now deflated. Snacks were still laid out the table: pretzels, pizza rolls, mini egg rolls, chips, jelly beans, and a bunch of other necessary junk food. A decadent chocolate cake with pink icing was situated in the middle of the table. Eleven wax candles were stuck in the cake. But the wax had already melted, and the air still smelled vaguely of candles that had gone out long ago. The plates were set in front of each white chair, each a plastic one with fireworks on it. Next to them were yellow napkins folded neatly and plastic silverware.

Jen looked down at her own plate sadly. She sighed and looked over at the large pile of presents on the couch. They were wrapped in beautiful patterns and tied with luxurious bows. They had intrigued Jen’s interest when she had left for school this morning. Now she just wished that they weren’t there. Jen leaned forward and grabbed a handful of chips.

A scent of expensive perfume filled the room. Jen felt her mother sit down on the carpet next to her. Her mother put her large mug of tea on the table with a dull thud.

“They didn’t come,” Jen whispered. “My friends didn’t come.”

Her mother gave a wan smile. “Don’t be sad, honey. I’m sure they just forgot.”

“All fourteen of them?” Jen said. She looked into her mom’s eyes. “No, mom, they didn’t want to come.” Jen picked up her mother’s cup of tea and took a long sip.

“They could have told me or something,” Jen added ruefully. “They all seemed so excited at school today. All of them acted so happy.”

Jen’s mother wiped away a tear that Jen hadn’t known was there. “I am really sorry, Jen. I didn’t think your birthday would turn out this way.” She put her cool hand on Jen’s. “How about I go call your dad, okay? Maybe he can leave work early and we’ll all go out to dinner.”

Jen nodded. She knew her mom was trying. But nothing would make this better. Not the presents, not the dinner, nothing.

A home

A place

Full of memories

Of slumber parties

Pizza parties

Just a bunch of friends watching movies

~

A home

A place that you could call your own

One to come home to every night

And feel safe

And sound

And know that it will stay the same

~

A home

A place you have to leave behind

One with all the laughter

The joy

The secrets

The sadness

~

A house

And that’s all it will be

For now.

There will be new memories

New parties

New feelings of safeness

More happiness

More sadness

But it will take awhile for it to be

My home.

Yay! 2007, the year of the pig, has finally arrived. There was a special about this on Animal Planet, and I was inspired to blog about it.

For all of you born in 1992, your animal is

The monkey!

Some traits of the monkey:

• has lots of ideas
• competitive
• funny
• smart
• ambitious
• resourceful
• curious

And 1993 is the

ROOSTER!

Some traits of the rooster:

• efficient
• intelligent
• generous
• strong-willed
• energetic
• perfectionist
• successful

And I included 1994 in case you’re in seventh grade. Your animal is the

DOG!

Some traits of the dog:

• honest
• loyal
• leader
• generous
• organizers
• practical
• smart

Now, I’m not sure that all of these traits are true in every person, but they seem pretty accurate for me.

GUNG HAY FAT CHOY!

I handed the crinkled dollar bill to the student teacher standing in the hallway. She gave me a sucker with a happy face on it. Cherry cheesecake, I think. I had no idea how it would taste, but I would never know unless I tried. I took off the plastic and put the sucker in my mouth. It was gross.

Note to self: stick to the real thing in the future.

I walked away and discarded the lollipop quickly. As I made my way to the front door. I saw friends hugging each other, holding little valentines. There was a girl who was thanking her boyfriend for a sweet chocolate rose. The school shop was selling small candy hearts and heart balloons. A group of kids were thrusting their money at the person in charge.
I pushed open the front door, kicking a pebble. Candy hearts, chocolate roses, foil valentines; what’s so special about this made up holiday anyway?

*Note: I don’t really feel this way about Valentine’s Day.