Monday, March 28, 2016

Presentation days and order. From Mike Lohre

Monday, April 4

1. Robin Williams: Hunter and Matt R.
2. Jennifer Lawrence: Kendell and Alyssa
3. Drake: Austin and Nick
4. Tim Burton: Alex and Miranda

Wednesday, April 6
1. Che Guevera: Miquel and Christine
2. Shel Silverstein: Naomi and Carmen
3. J.K. Rowling: Tiff and Matthew

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Christine Mailey journal 8

                                                      Never too Old to Dream                                        
I have always been a dreamer.  I think dreaming is a wonderful thing.  I have always been my own person.  I wouldn't call myself ecsentric, but always found people that were interesting.  Most of our society judges if you are not the majority or do not do things in a certain way.  I love meeting different people and finding out what makes them tick and find out about their experiences.  I believe we learn from one another.  Life can be a bit of an adventure at times.
I did not go to college right out of high school.  I went to cosmetology school, owned a salon for several years.  I was a housewife and mom for many years.  I had an Allstate Insurance agency for a short time, and had numerous jobs throughout my life.  A few years ago I was an assistant teacher at Headstart, and loved working with the students.  So a couple of years ago I decided to go to college to become a teacher.  I remember the first day I stepped onto campus, I thought to myself, what am I doing?  I am forty-eight years old,and still dreaming of things I can do or accomplish in my life.  I encourage you to dream and more importantly follow your dreams.
I have had a set-back, I just suffered a heart-attack during spring break.  I did not have to have surgery, but taking meds.  I am still holding onto  my dreams of being a teacher.  As long as you have breath you can continue to dream.  If I am able to help one student,then I will have fulfilled my dream.
I thought the writings of Robert Shields was fascinating.  I can not help but wonder how much life passed him by, while documenting all accounts of his day.  I think it would be exhausting to have to do this every day.  You are so wrapped up in documenting, real life experiences are being missed.
My readings are going well.  I think it is great reading about different experiences people have in their lives.  We can learn valuable things from other people's experiences. We also may be encouraged to be ecsentric and dream from others experiences.

The Dreamers - Miranda

Dreamers and eccentrics have a very important role in our culture even though many of them go unnoticed. They hold onto their imagination and allow people to expand their thoughts into a world of dreams. I believe that the world both encourages and discourages dreams in different ways. Some ideas are okay, and others are not all depending upon who you talk to. There are many differences between people in our everyday society some people are introverts and some are extroverts and this is a big difference when it comes to how to think, dream, and act. Some people rather spend their time inside their imagination and live like Miles Mahan, who tells about the importance of the hula girl that she salvaged from a Hawaiian restaurant roughly 63 years ago because it holds value to him, just like rocks have value to me because they show the history of the earth and are millions of years old even if they look like gravel to someone else.
Holding on is going pretty great so far I enjoy many of the stories and some are interesting. I like some stories better than others, there are some weak  so those would be the only strength/weaknesses of the book.
The story that struck me the most is the one about Harold C. Cotton, the hat blocker. Because he explains that he fixes and refurbishes every single hat. Even if the owner does not come back in a timely manner, he still continues to keep the hats incase they do return for the hat, and he has learned through experience that if he were to throw away the hat that then the owner would come back asking for it and then he would no longer have it. It shows that he has always worked hard at re-shaping the hats and making them look nice even when the hat trend started to fade out he has still managed to remain in business and never sells an unpicked up hat which is dedication to his customers even if they never return for the hat, he still keeps them.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Freedom by Naomi Hillman

  Freedom              


What dreamers and eccentrics have in out culture is that they will stop at nothing to follow their dreams and passion. In today’s culture you have people that will help the dreamers or eccentricity and then you have those people that goes against it. So its a little bit of both. Before I came to college I was still in high school. Believe it or not I was suppose to be in college in the Autumn of 2015 but I couldn’t attended because I didn’t pass one part of an Ohio State Test (OGT). I went back to High School for four months. I was very depressed, going back to High School knowing that all my friends had walked and I didn’t. I had spoken to a counselor and she asked me if I recommended a G.E.D. I told her no for the simple fact that I didn’t just work my butt off for four years just to drop out and get a G.E.D,  no I told her. The reason I had to go back to High School was so I can retake the science part of the OGT. I was thinking to myself that I wasn’t going to pass because I’ve been taking this same test since I was in 10th grade and I still haven’t passed it. Thankfully one of the counselors from my school and my tech teacher mentioned to me that I should take I.E.P. On October, 2015 I had retaken the test. I didn’t pass it but since I was on I.E.P they finally changed my statues to graduate. It has been my dream to attend The Ohio State University and now I’m here. When I first told my mom about the I.E.P she looked at me funny telling me that I didn’t have to get on I.E.P. She told I had to try harder when it comes down to taking a test. I’ve been taking this test about 7 times and I really wanted to go to college.
I’ll be honest I read up to page 54 on Holding On, but in all honesty the book is pretty good. So far the books strength is awesome. I say awesome because these people are speaking their language meaning that these people are not holding back on how they speak. Some of these characters speak proper and some speak like there from the country. These people sharing their life story is a strength. I couldn’t detect any signs of weakness in this book because I haven’t read it fully yet, but so far there aren’t none that I can see.
One story that struck me the most was Moreese Bickham Prisoner, Louisiana State Penitentiary, Angola, Louisiana which can be found in the book on page 33. This struck me the most because this man went to prison for killing two white deputies from the KKK (Ku Klux Klan) back in 1958 I believe. Bickham was in jail for thirty-two years at age seventy-two. I learned that even though this man was in prison for years and that he’s old, Bickham tries to make the best of it. His whole family had passed on and he’s the only one left of his family. A quote that I really in this story was this, “I might be too old to walk, or might not be worth anything, but I’m goin’ to get outta this. I been looking’ forward to that day for a long time. I believe its gonna come. I hope so.” I pick this quote from Bickham because his dream finally came true. Around the late 90s I believe, after serving 38 years in prison Bickham finally got his freedom. That's what the New York Daily New explained. 



Mustain, Gene. "HE SAVORS FREEDOM AFTER 38 YRS." NY Daily News. New York Daily News, 14 Jan. 1996. Web. 22 Mar. 2016. 

Journal 8 by Kendell Miller

I think a value that all dreamers and eccentrics have in common is that they aren’t afraid to ‘think outside the box’. They aren’t afraid to do things that don’t go along with the norm that society has created. I think that as a whole we discourage eccentricity and uniqueness. Everyone says that they are okay with people being unique but it’s a different story when they are actually faced with someone who is unique. They say that they’re okay with it but they judge someone who is different than them.  I think a lot of people think that everyone should fit a certain mold and if you don’t fit that mold that society has created than you’re basically viewed as an outsider.
            I’m really enjoying reading Holding On so far. I’m not usually a fan of books that jump from one subject to another but I think all the different stories in this book is its greatest strength. You get to learn about all different kinds of people in one reading. Personally I wish that the stories would go more in depth. A main question that I’ve had while reading this book is, how did the writers chose who to write about? How did they know which stories to tell?
            The story that struck me the most in this book is Roberta Blackgoat’s story. The main thing I learned from her story was that even if you may not see the results of your efforts during your lifetime doesn’t mean you shouldn’t fight. You should fight for the people that come after you whether it be for your children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren. This is seen when Roberta says, “I’m looking forward for my children and grandchildren and more to come … Where are they going to be raised and learn how to use the land it there’s no land for them to live on?” This really stood out to me because she knows that the fight might not be won during her lifetime but she keeps fighting because she wants the younger generations to be able to use and live off the land that is rightfully theirs. I believe that the key theme in Roberta’s story is fighting for what you believe in.

Journal 8 By Tiff


I believe dreamers and eccentrics keep it interesting in our culture today depending on how hard you work.they value the hard work they put in to complete that job and knowing they did a great job so that makes them satisfied with the work and effect they have given.you have to work hard to receive the satisfaction you want in life. Our culture i believe encourages these values . All though school up until now i was always know as they person that kept to herself didnt want to talk in front of the class shy type thought if i work by myself on papers or projects in class and not said a work i would do a good job non to my surprise one day i was working on a  class project with a group of students and i was called on to say what i thought was and as soon as i was ask that i let all my thoughts that i had held in me about  this project out everyone loved my ideas and  they wanted to know  more about my best ideas and work. and i made a few friends out of it too . Working on getting out of this shy stage .


My reading in  holding on is going very well i believe this book does a great job describing in great detail what these people went though their ups and downs and what they went though to get where they are today as a U.S citizen. One thing that i personally cant seem to understand is why is the whole world not reading this book one question that i thought was good that i came up was why would one person want to go around the world and talk to people they dont know then write a book about their storites and share it with us?

The profile that stuck to me the most was the Jane the cook the lady that worked at one job for 42 years and never once thought i am getting tried of the same old job i think i need to find something else . one thing i learned is dont take your job for granted just because it gets tough or your not getting paid enough money she work 42 years and only got paid 5.50 a hour thats way less then what minimum wage makes.The passage that met the most to me is on the bottom on page 54 . "Talking about the civil rights movement, i dont think thinks will ever get to equal rights where it will be equal. alot have changed in this world but in ways its still as it always has been like i get paid 5.55 an hour after all these years and i feel sometimes if a white person did this job they would get paid more then me just because of the color of their skin" why i picked civil rights movement passage and why its impotant is because if you are working at one job for that many years you should have to feel like your not gonna get paid enough just because the color of your skin you should say to your self "we should all get paid equal no matter our color of skin"






Matthew Rimmer Journal 8 Holding On

1. I believe that dreamers and eccentrics think outside the box of life. They aren’t afraid to be unique and express themselves. To be honest I believe that our culture somewhat does and doesn't encourage eccentricity and uniqueness. For example, I feel that when it comes to actors, celebrities, music artists, painters, etc., our cultures not only encourages their uniqueness but welcomes it. They give them recognition, their own shows and everything in between. However, I feel that when it comes to everyday people uniqueness is not encouraged. For example, at my high school if you weren’t one of the crowd you were a fish out of water. People would give you crap day after day until someone else didn’t conform to the norm. Many others would either “fight back” or do nothing. Personally I wouldn’t do anything because they weren’t worth it but I would let them know when I wasn’t in the mood for it. I would put up with verbal abuse and even on rare occasions physical abuse. The later I would vent to one of my closest friends.

2. So far my reading in Holding On is going good. I’m trying to be more active in my reading. I honestly find this book interesting and it actually holds my attention. The main strength that I think this book has is that it gives us insight to the lives of so many others and makes us open our minds to think. I don't think that this book really has much of a weakness other than the fact that the individual stories being a few pages long.

3. The profile that has stuck out the most to me as of now is "Steam Train" Maury Graham's. From his story I learned that you can always have people to count on and learn from. When he left his home he found a close nit community of hoboes. They taught him the ins/outs of being a hobo and became one himself. I would say that the main theme from “Steam Train’s” story is that you can always have people to count on. There are two kinds of people: the people who work hard for what they want and the people who just expect to get what they want for nothing.
“There’s several groups of people on the road. The biggest part of them is called ‘bums’, and they bum because they want something for nothing. They don’t do any work in this world. If you just sit down and depend on people to give to you, that’s a bum. If you bum people and beg people for something for nothing, that’s a bum. Now, the hobo would never do that. He’d say: “I’m a class a little higher than that. Have you got any work I can do?” And trade work for something to eat. You didn’t have to trade work for money then. There wasn’t any money. You’d rather get a meal for the work, or you’d rather get a pair of pants or an overcoat or a blanket. Usually in the old times that’s the way people paid the man- paid him in trade. You aim to work and that’s a work ethic.”
I picked this passage because it shows us that hoboes hold on to who they are and keep their dignity. It shows us even without having much they still try to find work to do in exchange for things they need. It backs up the fact that having a good work ethic will pay off sooner or later.

Monday, March 21, 2016

Journal 8 - Matthew Glenn

I believe dreamers and eccentrics have great value in our culture. They have their own unique way of life. Unfortunately, I do not think being eccentric, or a dreamer is encouraged in our culture. When someone is not following the path that society wants, it seems to be discouraged. I don't recall any personal experiences that has given me that opinion. Personally, I think life would be very boring if there weren't any eccentrics. I couldn't imagine if everyone around had no humor and took everything serious.

The reading of Holding On I've done so far is going great. In my opinion, it is the best book I have read for class. A strength of the book that stands out most to me is the many different types of people, and stories that lie behind each profile. I would say a weakness in this book for me is a profile or two, does not go in depth enough. It leaves you wondering and wanting to read more about the specific person.

The profile that stood out the most to me in Holding On, was Moreese Bickham's. A key theme that caught my attention was fear of repercussions will keep others from telling the truth. Another key theme that stood out was racism. From Moreese's profile, I learned that before assumptions are made about a person or their actions, you should try to understand why they did the actions done.

An important passage in Moreese's profile is where the author finds information about his trail, "As I began to research Bickham's story - no one had touched the trail materials in decades - I found Bickham's 1990 version of the crime to be identical to his confession of thirty-five years ago. The trail transcript is an eerie read. The prosecution's case against Bickham only seems to bolster his claims of self-defense"(pg38). To me, this passage is important because although the prosecution's case seems to point that Bickham was defending himself, his race is an issue. His freedom was stripped away for protecting himself.

Journal 8- Alexandra Abrams

Being eccentric and having a uniqueness about yourself are both encouraged and discouraged from our culture. Have you ever read or saw images in the books, Believe It or Not. This  is a great example of uniqueness that many people have done over the years and today that go over the edge with their hobbies. This can go from changing alternations to you body which is body modification or unusual addictions which is being addicted to dirty diapers. In a way having tattoos from head to toes and having piercings, substituting ears being pierced, can be seen differently. You can come across someone who loves art and thinks tattoos are a great appeal of showing what artist can do with a needle. You all have those who are questioning if the piercings hurt or not and then would complement the piercing. On the other hand you will see that many people often look at the person strangely and sometimes pull their kids closer than usual due to a discomfort of someones appearances. This can cause the saying, "That's not normal" to be included in the society. But what many psychologist have pointed out is, there is not a set of qualities that can actually identify what normal really is, yet people say this and that is not normal but what actually is normal. In my own experience I was raised that women should not have any tattoos or piercings other than ears. Everything changed when I was about 13 and I witnessed the encouragement and discouragement from the society when my mom started taking body modification to a new generation in our family. My mom was the first woman in out family to ever get a tattoo in our family that was a woman. When she had first told her parents they were more than disappointed, they were a bit harsh and did not agree with her decision. I remember when my mom told me and all I could think about was, "What are mama and pops going to say about this?" Once I saw it, I loved it. My mom had broke the unusual in our family and eventually they came around realizing that at the end of the day, she was still their daughter. In fact my mom has had a sleeve done, her chest, shoulders, side, and hip all done. She even has her dermals pierced (piercings by the high cheek bones). Although I encourage her to do whatever she wants, she still has people looking at her and judging her for something that she loves. Being different or unusual is being encouraged yet discouraged in our culture overall.

My reading in Holding On has been very well. I have developed myself to be more intrigued while reading to get a better understanding and picture in my mind while reading. The active reading is in fact my best. I enjoy writing in my book, gathering more information and holding more memories about what I read and what I analyzed in the readings. Being able to gather information was always my weakness. Staying awake while reading has always be trouble for me due to never quite understanding what I was reading until I have joined this course. My weakness has turned around and became a strength. I am now able to read the book and be able to tell you what it was about and what was the theme in this section. I am also able to jot down more active reading notes that help me develop memory and knowledge of what I have read. Overall I would have to say, my weaknesses are decreasing every day I read. One question I have wanted to know was, "Did the Navajo tribe get what they deserved?"

Moreese Bickham was a  sentenced prisoner in the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Although Moreese was protecting his home and his family from two unlawful police officers who were also involved with the KKK group he was still charged with murder and was sentenced to life. One key theme I found in this profile was hope. Bickham never gave up on hope and always stayed strong while watching new prisoners enter and leave, watching them carry away with their freedom out of the cell. With many times being denied of being released, Moreese never gave up hope. He should remarkable statements in his profile that showed what type of human being he actually is. One passage that meant the most to me was on top of page 37. "Give'em a little hope, you know. See, hope does something for a man - it makes him hang on to what little he got to get more. But if he lose that, there's nothin' to hang on to." This was in fact a powerful statement which included so much belief and encouragement to those who were loosing something that could never apart them and that was hope. Hope in fact means a lot to me because hope is something that can strive someone to go further and have their dreams being succeeded. Hope is valuable and Moreese shows a great example of that in his profile. 

Journal 8- Nick Gurtler

     In modern society being a dreamer is encouraged when you are younger. However as we get older we are discouraged from creativity, dreaming, and being unique. When you get to this point you are almost forced to conform to society. Being out of the norm is seen as being an outcast and you are shunned from the rest of the population. This happened to me in high school when I was fed up with having to act a certain way to fit in and making others also conform. For the period of time that I was in the group of people who "fit in" I was discouraged from thinking for myself or to be unique. Being different or thinking differently was not an option when you wanted to fit in and if you didn't fit in you were bullied for it or exiled from the rest.
     The best way to describe how reading Holding On, is going so far for me is saying that it is an interesting read. The book is almost like a biography of everyone who is in it but the value of each single story does not seem as meaningful as a normal biography would. The passages and stories are of ordinary people. While this may be a weakness due to the lack of greater importance they have on the world around them, it is a strength in the light that it makes you realize those around you are important too. Having a narrowed scope does not allow you to look out of the lens and has you focus on a small specific portion of something or someone. In this book it does the exact opposite, it allows you to see all around you and get the bigger picture. But not one story can tell the whole meaning of the book. A question I keep asking myself as I read is, what do all of these people and their stories have in common. I honestly can say that the only similarities I have found where that they are all not special and that they all are ordinary people with different stories.
     Robert Shields, author of the World's Longest Diary, at first glance was someone who was very unique and out of the ordinary. However he wanted the same thing that everyone wants, to carry on a legacy after he was gone and make himself immortalized rather than forgotten like so many others. He passionately said, "It is impossible for me to give any motivation for it, except that when I am gone, the words that I have written will be the only thing that survive...". He really manifests what everyone wants, to be remembered. Through seeing this it shows the connections that people have regardless of what you think their actions motives are. They may have the same thoughts as you. A key theme to take away from this is that no matter how different we all want the same thing.

Middle School Bullies- Carmen Curtis

I believe that dreamers and eccentrics big imagination to our culture and help us see how unique people can be. I believe these people have great value in our community but are not always appreciated. I believe that our culture both encourages and discourages this type of person. in my experience I have never really had anyone be mean to me for being different. I have always been shy and quiet but it never caused me any problems. I'm so glade that I have never had these types of problems but I have seen people have them. once I was walking in front of a girl named Mira and she was always picked on because of her size. I don't know if it was because of an eating problem or what exactly made her that way but she was like me. She had been quiet and shy but very proud of herself and when she laughed it would always make you smile to. While I was walking in front of her some guy came up behind her and pushed all of her books out of her hands and told her that she was an "ugly cow." I went to pick her books for her since she was having problems doing it herself. even in the bad there is still good and it was great for Mira that Mrs. Hughes had seen the incident. She had told me "Carmen don't you dare pick up though books" she then proceeded to yell for the boy that had pushed them out of Mira"s hands and told him to pick them up and say sorry to Mira. The boy was sent to the office and Mrs. Hughes called Mira over and told her that she was beautiful no matter what other people said or thought because the only thing that mattered is how she thought of herself. I believe that though some people try to degrade dreamers and eccentrics some people know their worth and appreciate them.

My reading in holding on is going great so far. I find all the people to be very interesting and fun to read about. I feel the strengths of this book is that its showing us all these people that may not have much but what they do have is a great story to tell. I believe that one weakness of this book would be that its hard to place where you are in some of the stories. I would like to know why Moreese Bickham feels about finally being able to meet some of his family an how his life is different now.

The story that has stuck with ,e the most would have to "steam Train" Maury Graham because in my sophomore year of high school I learned about hobo's. We hadn't gone into much detail about them but we had this activity where our teacher gave us symbols that we had to learn. In the activity we were hobo's. We found out that if you didn't know the symbols then you would be really confused on where to go to get every thing on the scavenger hunt list. "Many of the Hobo's wrote little markers on a telephone post or a fence with chalk." I had no idea that this was an actual thing that Hobo's use to do. This makes that activity that I did so much more important to me somehow.


Journal 8 from austin

Dreamers and eccentrics play a big part in our culture. I feel this way because in order for great things to get done in this world, we need many different thoughts, and minds. The more ideas our country has as a whole will lead to better things for all of us in my opinion. I believe our culture discourages dreamers and eccentrics because some people will look upon eccentrics as "weird" and treat or think upon them differently. Many people in our culture create an opinion really quickly, once that opinion is formed its hard to change their opinion. Eccentric thinkers are not on the same level as most other thinkers they're kind of "out there" as people and think differently, and have entirely different opinions and views on certain subjects.
Holding on is definitely a little bit of an adjustment from A long way gone. But i enjoy reading about others and all of their stories and accomplishments. A strength of this book is keeping readers hopefuly maybe they can be one of these great stories. My favorite story would have to be the one about the prisoner Moreese Bickham, I like this story because this man is relentless and fought for what he knew was right. He was suffering for years on death row in prison for a simple act of self defense "In pre-civil-rights Louisiana self defense was not an acceptable claim for a black man" Bickham got punished and put in prison for simply trying to protect himself from harm. As two cops come upon him, Moreese has a gun in his hands but not loaded, he tells the officers its not loaded, yet one shoots his chest, Moreese later shoots both officers and gets put in prison for murder. The prosecution case against Bickham only bolstered his claim of self defense. Self defense didn't seem like an option for African American males according to the novel

Hunter Bayer- Journal #8

I believe that the dreamers and eccentrics in our culture value the effort and time they put into there work. They value the results of there work and enjoy the satisfaction it brings to them. They also value the diversity people bring to life. I believe that our culture encourages these values. My experience with high school is a good example of this. Before high school, I was a quiet and shy person, until I wanted to break away from that and show people who I am. My results were people wanting to be my friend as well as wanting to see me do my best at my work.

I enjoy reading Holding On so far. I think the book does a great job giving us a portraying of what these people do everyday and turns them from being normal U.S. citizens, to something as if the whole world should hear there stories. One thing that bothers me however, is how some stories have a somewhat slow pacing to it. While it is interesting, some stories take more time in the introduction portion than others, and to me it slows down the pacing of the book. The only question I have for this book is this: why? Why would someone go out of there way and talk to fifty people around the country just to hear about there lives?

The profile that I found the most interesting so far is Moreese Bickham. I learned from Moreese's story is about his sentence to jail for life was a mistake and was innocent, but was found guilty because of his skin color, and a gang with power. I have heard of stories like this before, but the fact that he was forced to his life sentence even after proving him he only killed them in self-defense after getting shot. What I learned from this passage was about how even the most innocent of men can be ruined all because of people being corrupt, and how it can control even the law itself.

Journal 8 - Alyssa

Dreamers and eccentrics keep things very interesting in our culture. We need people to think differently from everyone else. If everyone always thinks the same as everyone else, we'll just be in a never ending path down a perfectly straight sidewalk. There wouldn't be any change. I think our culture both encourages it but also discourages it. There will always be people that do not want the world to change. There will always be people who want everything left alone. They want everything to be left just how it is right now. But if there weren't people out there to encourage this change, then there wouldn't be a change. We live in a society where things are always constantly changing.

Reading Holding On is going okay. When reading the first few profiles, I was not really interested in the stories. They all had very interesting stories to tell, and they had good lessons to learn. I really enjoy how when he writes these profiles you get the feeling that you're talking to the person. Some of the profiles you totally forget that it's all just an interview. I really like how he writes them this way. One thing that I don't enjoy about this book is that I don't always get interested in all of the people and just read to get that profile done for the day.

The profile of Geneva Tisdale struck me the most. She was one of the few women who served food during the sit-in movement in 1960. In her story she said "I would listen and say to myself, 'you don't know that the same one you talking about is the one that's preparing your food!' It made you feel funny - I'm not good enough to sit at the counter with them, but I'm good enough to fix their food." This really hit me reading this. I grew up learning about all of the things people had to go through to get equal rights. It's a lot different when you hear directly from someone who's been there and lived through it instead of indirectly from teachers who also get their information indirectly. She lived through this period and saw some incredible things happen. She was even one of the first African-American to get to be served at the table.

Journal 8 From Miguel

     Personally I think that we do not as a whole value our eccentrics and dreamer. I feel that society as a whole feels that there is a place and a plan for every person. While it is okay to dream I believe we have gotten in a mindset as well that for the most part you will never reach the top tier.  However I also think we are as a slightly larger majority starting to move away from that. Society fears someone different and someone unknown. It is a flaw that we have as humans. I know a majority of people will walk past a homeless person and maybe give him or her some pocket change. But how many people will talk to them? How many would ask them about their story? I personally enjoy hearing their stories they may look dirty they may look down on their luck but they have a name they carved it in our world somewhere. I picked up a hitchhiker a few months ago who was walking in the rain near Columbus. The man had been a banker prior to being drafted to go to Vietnam after three years he came back and continued his work at the bank until 2008 when the housing market crashed and had been wandering ever since. This man who people kept driving past soaking wet in the rain was on his way to the great lakes. I took him as far as Mansfield but he was someone he was laid off and he lost everything. But he was still a man with a story to tell.  He could have laid down rather than just staying down he started traveling and continued to travel. He told me he was going to travel until his feet could go no further. He was a very intelligent man, a well articulated man but you would never know because most people would not bother to try to talk to someone different. I think this will hold us back as a society how we constantly fear them, the dreamers and eccentrics. We forget all too easily the things that they've done for us. A vast amount of inventors and scientists have always been dreamers. Einstein was thought to be insane, Galileo was convicted of heresy but they stayed on their path regardless of the punishments and of what the people whispered about them. They have always wanted to look further and understand more while society wants to stay in its comfort zone. I personally feel that this book is great in the manner that each section is dedicated to one individual. While that is great it can also be a little bit of a downside because as you read and get interested in these people you feel like you want to know more, hear more about their stories but you can't because they are limited only to a few pages each.  Father Louis H. Greving I feel is a very interesting man. While I am not a religious person I see this man's dedication to his art and am inspired by him. He did not begin this process but he helped shortly after the start and while Father Paul Dobberstein passed away and he could have quit he continued. Still he continues everyday without fail. I admire that this man does what he does because he believes in it and does not allow the world around him or the environment discourage him.

Monday, March 7, 2016

Conference times for Wednesday!


Reaction to the Shakespearians- Miranda

My response to the film is that it is very powerful in the way he teaches and how that it is so effective and useful on the kids he teaches. He takes kids that everyone else in the school has given up on and teaches them new ways to read and be effective at it. Along with teaching all of his students to read and act out Shakespeare, budget money, play instruments, and be able to take trips across the country to study and learn about history and how our country was founded.
It made me feel proud to see such smart kids in our nation and to see someone actually caring about students so that no child is left behind and going out if his way to help his students understand concepts in a new way, and as he would say "There are no shortcuts" which taught them to have good morals and not to cheat, or lie as it wouldn't work to begin with.
I don't remember an effective teaching technique when I was younger, I remember doing the same things as other kids did in class, but they also pulled me from class and put me with a group that met once a week that would help us go through preperation for the O.A.A tests, and I was also in speech therapy from kindergarten through 5th grade. But it wasn't really helpful to me, and I always felt like it was a waste of my time to go because I never got better pronouncing what she wanted me to say. I "graduated" from speech therapy at the end of fifth grade, even though I was not going back in middle school if I "needed" it according to her. It was not effective and I did not enjoy it. I learned nothing.
My specific goal for the next year is to save at least two thousand dollars in order to put it into a growth account and have it gain more interest than my growth account already does, so that the money can keep growing, even if it's small amount now. It will grow with time.  One sacrifice I will have to make is not being able to purchase any new make up for the next year. A true sacrifice, coming from a girl who spends over a thousand dollars on make up per year.

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Blast From The Past



Blast from the Past
To be honest I love The Hobart Shakespearians” document. This document shows that these kids understand and know how Shakespeare is written. I didn’t get to read Shakespeare till I was in high school so these kids are pretty lucky to know what its all about and Shakespeare is about, tragedy. This document made me feel envies, I know it sounds horrible but I envy these kids when they got to learn Shakespeare. What I like about the kids teacher is that he tries to make teaching fun.
I wish I had that when I was in middle school. In the beginning of the document Mr.Rafe said this, “It has been an honor to be your teacher for this play. So for the last time put your hands together.” This quote proves that he loves his kids and that he is very proud of them. I really don’t remember the names of this kids but, one thing that I do remember is that half of those kids could play instruments like the guitar and drums. At their age I wanted to play the guitar as well, but never got the chance. Don.t get me wrong back in elementary school we had a band , but it was for bras instruments and and woodwinds.
One method that I remember from middle school or even junior high was that my math teacher taught us the difference between the x-axis and the y-axis. The rise over run method. She would say, ‘ You have to rise out of bed before you could run.” That’s how I pass math, thanks to her. I’ll never forget Ms.Fulmer. 
For next year I plan to start my major finally. My major is English and I plan to take every English class I could think of. From Creative Writing to Ligature. As for sacrifice
 I can’t think of anything that requires me to make a sacrifice, but if I have to I will make that sacrifice.

Journal 7- Nick

     After watching The Hobart Shakespearians, I could not help but to feel hope for our troubled youth in this country. A true example of that is with Alan who played Hamlet in their play. Alan was a very troubled boy who previous teachers found to be bad, dangerous, and helpless. Rafe on the other hand gave Alan the lead role in the play and made him one of his best students. After a conference he said, "That you can not reach to every single child and those who say they can are lying". That really shows something about his character admitting the fact that all students can not be reached by you or liked by you. His methods of keeping this control is what struck me the most due to its effectiveness. He divides the class into three groups and first group is the group that follows him, the second is the ones that will never follow him, and the last is those in between. With the first group he uses them as an example for the second group to avoid chaos and the last group he hopes comes over to the first group. His teaching demands and gives respect to the students which I found key.
     In my own experience of elementary school, I was not as fortunate with my teachers. However I did have a teacher who used similar methods to keep order and instill good worth ethic. My fourth grade teacher used a money system and a reward system. When you were good you earned stuff and when you went you earned nothing or in some cases you lost money. A few times during the year we could cash in our money and get prizes. They were nothing big however they did give us an incentive to try our best and be on our best behavior. We also had the sticker system where if you were good you got a gold star next to your name and if you weren't then you had one taken away. My experience was not bad however looking back after this video there are things I would improve to make it a more productive environment.
     One of my goals is to stay on a regular routine such as working out and reading books and other things. To achieve some of these the sacrifices I would have to make would be to regularly do it and make more time in the day to do them. I would have to give up a lot of video game time which consumes most of my day. In giving up my video games it would clear up a lot time for other things like working out on a regular basis and reading books. I want to work out on a regular basic to keep my health up and increase my strength. Reading would keep my brain active all the time and expand my vocabulary.

Matthew Rimmer Journal 7 Hobart Shakespeareans

     To be honest I actually enjoyed watching this documentary. I like Rafe as a person and a teacher. He truly cares about his students and he gives it his all to help them. Likewise the students care about Rafe and give it their all. When a student does not understand something he takes the time to explain it to them until they understand it. Unlike experiences with previous teachers the students are not afraid to ask for help when they do not understand something.
     Rafe is one of those types of teachers that are hard to find. As a result of how he teaches and does a lot for his class the other teachers resent him. They distance themselves from him and do not even bother to associate with him. However, all of that does not change the way he teaches. He sticks to supporting and helping his class. I say there needs to be more teachers like Rafe.
     Most teachers now a days just seem to show up and do their job at a bare minimum. They just drone on and do not take the time to truly "teach". Then when a student does not understand the teachers blame it on them. Unfortunately for me that is how most of my teachers were when I was in school. I would always pay attention and do my best but every now and then I would have trouble, I mean who has not. Yeah my teachers would help but they sort of made me feel like I was at fault. Only every now and then I would have teachers who I could truly connect with. They would go into detail about what they were teaching and truly help when I needed it.
     The main goal I have for next year is to continue strong with college. I want to do my best in classes. I do not want to procrastinate anymore even though I hardly do now but still. I want to get things done in good quality as soon as I can. I want to study the material. I just want to keep going while giving it my all.

Journal 7 from Miguel


     The Hobart Shakespeareans was a very interesting documentary. It shows very well what one person willing to give it his call can do for a community or even just that small group of people. Rafe definitely goes into a lot of detail about how hard work can get you where you want to be. He does really well about showing these kids they can overcome the obstacles in front of them. When watching and seeing the school go under lockdown I thought back to places that I have lived before. 
     "Below grade level, unpredictable, he's dangerous". This is what Rafe is told about Alan Avila. I thought that hit a little close to home because I remember growing up in Florida, I was held back 4th grade. The "teacher" gave up on me early in the year. I knew the material I was just lazy I lived in a community of hispanics working minimum wage jobs picking fruit or doing construction work. Everything about the community was leading you to that eventual future. The following year we moved to Charlotte, NC where I met the first teacher that lit a fire under my behind. The first to say you know you can do something else. This push was really all I needed for a few years. I was born to immigrants from Mexico that didn't speak english. I related a lot to the video because I was also in ESL classes until the 5th grade. I still have issues with the english language at times. I think the thing that got to me the most was actually having someone saying the sky is the limit. I grew up in a household in which my parents didn't have an education higher than the 2nd grade saying life sucks get used to it, at least from my father. Some of that attitude which I still carry with me to this day. I actually am very glad someone told me to look at every option because there are things everyone is good at. I happened to get into computers , IT and mobile devices these days. 
     I think my goal for the rest of the year is to get promoted at work and straighten my school work out a little bit I have had a little trouble keeping up with everything on my plate. I know I will have ot sacrifice either a little more family time or a little more sleep. Neither of which I would like to do but you have to move yourself forward. Life is not handed to you. 

Journal 7 Hobart Shakespeareans- Tiff

I think The film Hobart Shakespearean's was an excellent documentary.There were so many great points the way Rafe one thing that stood out to me the most  was how the children didn't speak English until they got in to Rafe class he taught them how to speak English. The only race in the classroom was Latinos and Asian every child was treated the same way . This flim made me think about what children that dont speak any English and are in the untied states schools go though. i love how the children was so thrilled to read about hamlet and to kill a mockingbird back in the day people didn't want to go see a play they wanted to go hear it. Rafe does a great with teaching the students that reading is supposed to be thrilling. i felt sad that they only Christmas that the children ever got was with Rafe  and the gifts they got they were excited and thankful to get barns and noble gift cards because they knew that was the only gift they were gonna see. I think children now take kindness and thankfulness of people for granted sometimes.One quote Rafe said that just has stuck with me he said "When the teacher doesnt care the children wont either " you cant take shortcuts also i thought was sad that where the Hobart is located that the students are not phased by a lock down they are used to it."Be Nice Work Hard"




My own experience in elementary is fuzzy i dont remember a whole lot i do remember  one teaching method that stood out  was in fifth grade i was having a hard time doing math multiplication to be excate i asked my teacher if she could help me figure it out . once she got done helping one of the other students she came over to my desk she saw what i had done to try to figure out the multiplication  problem and said "you almost got it lets try the problem this way " she started drawing a box on my paper with numbers on the side of the box and inside the box she called this The Box method she looked and me and said whats 4 times 9  without a calculator i looked at the boxed and proceed to figuare it out she looked at me and said "you just solved your first multiplication problem without a calculator " with just using The Box Method. i thought that was so easy .



A personal goal that i have for next year is to stay focus and getting my My Food Business Management Degree so  i can one day open my own business/ restaurant one day what i will need to reach this goal is staying focus learning more information about being successful in a business.







My Response to The Hobart Shakespearians by Kendell Miller

             I always thought it would be amazing to be a teacher. Teachers have the chance to shape young minds. The main thing that always stopped me from pursuing that was that I’ve only ever seen children treating their teachers badly. I’ve never seen kids treat a teacher the way that the children in the film treated Rafe Esquith. They respected him and they truly loved having him as a teacher. I’ve also never seen a teacher that loved teaching like Rafe Esquith does. Every teacher that I had in elementary school acted like it was a burden teaching children. They didn’t love their jobs like Rafe did.
            All the teachers that I had in elementary school were basically the same. They came to work taught us what we needed to know and then went home. They didn’t put in the extra work to make sure that what they were teaching was really understood. It was memorization for testing. The teacher would tell us what we needed to know. It didn’t really matter if we learned it just that we could recite it. It felt as though we were burdens. That if we acted up or didn’t understand something we were making their jobs more difficult. The quote that stood out to me from the film was “bad days don’t make bad children.” I wish that the teachers I had growing up believed the same thing. Once you were seen as a bad kid, that’s all you were seen as. It felt like you no longer were viewed as having potential or as being smart, you were just viewed as a problem child. That reputation followed you through school. I didn’t have a teacher that really cared or inspired me until I was a freshman in high school. She made me realize what a teacher should be like. They should be invested in the student and making the student better.

            In the next year I would like to do better in my classes. The first year of college kind of kicked my butt so I’d like to make the second year much better. I know that to achieve this I’ll have to want it and work hard for it. It won’t be something that just happens. I'll have to study hard to achieve it.