REM Artist Statement

In my painting I was trying to show the difference between the Leavers and the Takers. Throughout the book My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn Ishmael kept talking about the difference between the Leaver and Taker lifestyles and how the Takers should live and be more like the Leavers. I have two sides in my painting one is the Leaver side and the other one is the Taker side. Each side has many things that each represent something related to the book or stories in the book.

On the left side I put Julie and she represents the Takers because she is a Taker. In the Taker side I put a lock and key because the Takers put the food under lock and key and that's why we have to have a job so we can have money to buy food that was free a long time ago. Also I have the word "Dystopia" because with the Takers ruling we are living in a dystopia. Dystopia is "a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding." I have a cell phone to represent technology because now we have a lot of technology compared to when Leavers lived. I also have money to represent the wealth that we have now. The world with the person at the top represents how the Takers want to be the rulers of the whole world. I put a sad face because we are sad, not always but we are sadder than the Leavers because of the way we live and the way we are. We don’t walk around and see everyone smiling and laughing. We see more people crying or with a sad face.

On the right side I put Ishmael sitting down and that side represents the Leaver side. On the Leaver side I wrote "Utopia" because the Leavers were the opposite of the Takers. Utopia is "any visionary system of political or, social perfection." I think that even though the Leavers were not perfect they lived in a Utopia because they knew how to live unlike the Takers. I have a group of stick people and they represent how the Leavers are more together and they help each other out. I have a happy face because the Leavers are happy, they aren't always happy because they aren't perfect, but they are happier than the Takers.

I didn’t really like this book because most of the book it was about Julie and Ishmael talking and it got boring just reading their entire conversation. I thought it was interesting sometimes when Ishmael told Julie those stories and gave her examples because it helped me understand better what he was talking about. This book made me look at some things from different perspectives like in the School Daze chapters. I used to think of school as just being a place to learn but I never looked at it as a place the takers make us be in so that when we are out of college we get a job so we can get money so that we can buy food. All this is because of food that is under lock and key.

Reading Enjoyment Maximizers (REM)

Project Description: For this project we had to read the book My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn and then choose a Reading Enjoyment Maximizer. There were personal, textual, and community REMs but each of those had many different REMs. There were many different options that we could choose from. We could choose the one that we liked the most because the whole point was to do what felt natural and what we personally liked.

Process: First we had to read the book My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. Then we had to choose one of the Reading Enjoyment Maximizers. I choose the illustrator one. For the illustrator REM I had to draw, paint, or otherwise illustrate my artistic vision of what I read. I had to include a reference to the literature and a brief artist’s statement. First I sketched out what I was going to paint. Then I had to show it to Charlotte and she had to approve it. After she did, I started painting everything in the canvas board and made the 1st draft of the artist statement. I had many people review my artist statement until I got to the final draft. I worked a lot on the painting until I finished.

Reflection: In this project I learned a lot about our world and about our culture. The book My Ishmael made me look at everything from a different perspective and helped me understand why we are like we are. It also helped me understand the difference between Leavers and Takers. By doing the illustrator REM I learned how to show something with drawings. One of the challenges I encountered was trying to organize my time to get everything done on time. If I could do this project again I would spend more time on the painting because even though I did like the final painting I think it could have been better. This will help me later to organize my time better.

Artifact:

Artist Statement

This I Believe

I can imagine the day she wore her "magical shirt". It was a bright, nice, yellow, red, orange, pink and white shirt. Her squinty eyes overflowed with tears of joy from all the laughter. Her curly dark brown hair was in a ponytail moving back and forth, like a swing, as she bent over holding her stomach laughing. I remember all the people looking at her and me as we laughed about nothing. They had weird facial expressions but we didn't really care; we liked laughing and it made us happy. My friend, Illiana, and I are always laughing, we laugh about things that might not be funny to other people and even though some people might think we are weird, we are happy.

Sometimes people ask us, "Are you guys ever sad?" because we seem like we are always happy. I sometimes have hard things going on my life and I know Illiana does too but we try to be happy all the time and make each other happy. By doing this we also make everyone around us laugh. "I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life goes on, and it will be better tomorrow." I used to think Thursdays were my bad days because bad things would always happen to me that day. But one Thursday I decided to stop thinking that they were my bad days and just be happy about anything that happened. That Thursday nothing bad happened to me and it ended up being a really good day. Since that day, no matter what happens to me on a Thursday, I try to be happy and positive about it and now I don't think Thursdays are my bad days anymore. Life is short so why spend it being sad? I once heard a quote that said, "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade." This means to make the best of what you are given. I always try not to look at everything as sadness and depressing, I try to make every dark rainy day seem like a bright summer day. Life is like a road, I never know when it might end. Make the best out of life and live life to the fullest. So even though your laugh is not the best laugh in the world, or sounds like a dolphin like mine, try to laugh everyday and your life will be better and longer. :)

This I Believe Project

Project Description: For this project, we had to write a personal essay of 400-500 words about a personal belief or insight. Also, create a personal silhouette and display our silhouette and essay for the school exhibition. Before that we had to put our essay and silhouette in a frame.

Process: First, we had to make a list of 30 things we believed in. Then, we had to chose one belief out of the 30 and write a personal essay about it. We had to go through many drafts and revisions to get to our final essay. After our essay was done we had to make a silhouette. After we were done with both the silhouette and the essay we had to put them in a frame. Then we had to exhibit it in exhibition night.

Reflection: In this project I learned that we all have different beliefs and that we should respect what everyone believes in and express our beliefs, not because our friends don’t believe in that too doesn’t mean we can’t believe in that. We are all different and believe in different things. One of the challenges I encountered was actually choosing what belief I was going to write a personal essay about. It was hard for me to choose out of 30 things I had in my list. Another challenge I encountered was making my personal 400-500 words because first I had had less than that but later I had much more than 500 so I had to cut some things out to make it 400-500 words. If I could do this project again, I would spend more time and effort on the essay because even though I did spend a lot of time I think I could have made the essay better. I think this will help me later to organize my time better and put more effort in everything I do.

Artifact:

My This I Believe Essay

Evelyn Glennie Shows how to Listen

What will you remember about her performance? Be specific about the experience.

I will remember how much emotion she put while playing those instruments. I will also remember the really nice sound it made when she was playing the marimba. Also, how much she seemed to love music.

Describe what it felt like listening to her play. What factors helped create this moment?

It felt nice and relaxing hearing the music that she played. I think it was how much emotion she put into playing those instruments and her love for music that made the music sound better. It made me feel the music and not just hear it.

What elements of her performance influenced what the audience heard?

I think it is how much emotion she put into the performance and also that she was deaf because she had to be able to feel the music. I thought it was surprising that she was deaf because she didn't seem like she was. Also,she was really good at playing those instruments.

What did she mean by, "Each person experiences music in their own way"? Think about how you experience music and why everyone doesn't enjoy listening to the same music.

I think it is because everyone has different personalities and everyone is different. Not everyone likes the same thing. Also some people are more into music and enjoy it more than other people.

Sustainability Visit

Interview with a manager at the Imperial Beach Farmers Market

What is your name and your role at the farmers market?

My name is Juan Martinez and I’m practically the manager here, I could say.

How long have you been working here?

With this company like 2 years.

Do you like working here?

Yes, I love working here.

What is the difference between a farmer’s market and a normal store or market?

Well the fruits and vegetables here are not processed it’s like from the tree to you. It’s the most fresh that you can get.

What is your advice to get people to come to farmers’ markets?

That if you are looking for quality and freshness you should go to farmers’ markets.

Do you think the fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets are healthier than fruits and vegetables at other markets?

Yes, I think it’s probably much healthier because the fruits and vegetables at a farmers market are more fresh.

What is the goal of this farmers market?

Our goal is to expand our commitment to the residents of Imperial Beach and surrounding communities by offering a weekly Farmers’ market, featuring fresh vegetables, fruits, local arts and crafts, and family entertainment.

Since when has this farmers market been around?

Since 1998.

Response to the visit

What struck you about the location you visited? Was it what you expected, or very different?

I went to the Imperial Beach Certified Farmers Market. It struck me how everything seemed so nice and fresh. I thought it was going to be much smaller but it was kind of big and everyone was so nice and welcoming there. Also, I thought there were only going to be fruits and vegetables

but there were also things like flowers and crafts.

Which items were cheaper than expected? Which were more expensive?

I thought everything was really cheap. I didn't think anything was expensive. I think it is because it's gown locally and doesn't have to be taken somewhere else.

Do you think you will start going to a farmers market more often?

I think I am because some of the fruits and vegetables were less expensive and the fruits and vegetables there are more fresh and that could be healthier.

How do these locations fit into our essential question of “Why Don’t People Live More Sustainably?” and “How Can I Convince them to do So?”

The farmers market relates to sustainable living because the fruits and vegetables there are locally grown or organic and healthy. I think more people should go to farmers' markets because most of the fruits and vegetables are more fresh there and even less expensive. I think if more people knew about them they would probably start going to farmers' markets more often.

Senior Garden

Interview with Senior

What is going to happen to the garden during the summer?

I don’t know because if John would stay here then he would come back and check on the plants but he is not going to be here for next year. So I don’t know.

How often do you work on the garden?

Well it depends on the weather, like when it was raining we didn’t work on the garden but when the weather is okay then we would work on the garden on Wednesdays and Fridays. So that’s like four hours a week.

Do you use GMOs for your seeds?

No, I don’t think so.

Do you add anything to the water?

No, it’s just water.

What is this garden for?

It’s for environmental science class. I love environmental science class because instead of learning about everything in class we come here and work on the garden and we can see what’s going on instead of reading about it.

Have you ever sold any of your fruits and vegetables in a Farmer’s Market?

No, we haven’t.

Do your fruits and vegetables taste good?

Yes, they taste so good.

Response to the visit

Does this inspire you to start your own garden?

Yes it does because I really liked the garden and I think it was really nice to see all those fruits, plants, and vegetables growing.

What did you like or not like about the garden?

I liked how the garden didn’t just have fruits or just vegetables; it had fruits, vegetables, and plants. It had a great variety. I also liked how it was really clean and nice.

How does the garden reflect sustainable living?

It reflects sustainable living because they are growing and planting their own fruits and vegetables instead of buying everything from super markets. It’s almost like that family that we learned about that planted and grew many things, like fruits and vegetables.

Would you like to continue the seniors work?

Yes, I would really love to and I think it would be a really good idea.

Talking these ideas out

I decided to talk to my brother about Food Inc. and organic foods because he also watched a part of that movie so he knew what I was talking about. We started off by talking about organic food. I asked my brother if he knew what organic food was and he said "Yes, organic food is good that has no pesticides or things like that in them. It's food that in grown naturally." He said that he thinks that some people are not aware about what’s in their food or about the effects of eating non-organic food might be in the future. He said that some people don’t know about all the pesticides and stuff in them. He also said that organic food is really important so we can all be healthy and we should all eat organic food. He also said that some people don’t eat organic food because of the prices. Some organic food is more expensive than non-organic food, and that is why sometimes some people don’t eat organic food. I told him about in the movie where that family was buying food from Burger King because it was less expensive than having to buy vegetables and things like that. I told him that it struck me how they treated the animals like they were all crowded together and could barely even move or also how they treated the cows like they would push them with those cars. Also how they would feed the cows with corn because that made them more fat but cows are healthier when they eat grass. He said that it struck him how many things they put in chickens so then they would be fat but then they could barely walk because of how fat they were. At the end, my brother said that we should tell people we know about organic foods and about what is going on so then everyone can be aware and we could all make a difference. I didn’t talk to my dad for this blog post but he is always telling us to eat healthy and to eat fruits and vegetables. He always aware of what we eat and does what he can so we can eat healthy food. I think the Food Inc. movie was really interesting and I learned a lot from it.

School Daze- Dialectic Journal

Quote: "Because they have no survival value on their own, they must get jobs. This isn't something that's optional for them, unless they're independently wealthy. It's either get a job or go hungry."

Response: I picked this quote because that’s exactly what happens every day and now I understand why that happens. Everyone has to get a job because the people of our culture keep the food under lock and key. So then adults have to work to get the money and then buy the food, which was once not under lock and key so then no one had to work to buy it. They only had to hunt or farm for it. Also Ishmael tells Julie that "they have no survival value on their own" and he was talking about us and this happens because in school they don’t teach us how survive by ourselves, they teach us things that are going to help us in the future in our jobs. Having a job is not optional because there is no other way of getting food only buying it and the only way of getting money is by working.

The Black Shadow

Florence’s eyes shined like the bright sun on a summer day. She just kept saying “Thank you, thank you, I love it….Oh I sure love it.” She stood with her short blonde and white hair looking at the house her sons and daughters had bought for her and her husband. Her face had many wrinkles, her lips were small and as pink as a rose, and her eyes were blue as the ocean. It was a nice big house. It was a cream color with white at the top. It was two floors tall. There were big, green trees everywhere with a beautiful garden in the front. It was a perfect house, or almost perfect. Florence loved the house; it was what she had dreamed about all her life. She would always talk about what her perfect house would look like, and it was exactly the same as the one she was seeing right before her eyes. Her husband, John, just smiled happily, but he wasn’t as excited or happy as his wife. He wasn’t a really happy person since he had hearing problems, but he sure loved the new house.

Florence’s sons and daughters started to move all her and John’s things to the new house. The house had many windows and had four big rooms. It had a garage and a very large living room. The sun poured in from everywhere into the house. The house was located about fifteen minutes away from the main town. It was the only house there in that area; there were no other houses around only trees. In the afternoon Florence finished putting everything in place and thanked her sons and daughters again for the house.

At night, she was very tired like her husband. She went to bed and turned off all the lights. Even though she was very tired, she couldn’t go to sleep thinking about the beautiful house she had and the flowers she was going to put in her garden. Suddenly she heard footsteps going up the stairs. She was a little scared but she thought it was just nothing. Then she heard something break in the kitchen. She woke up quickly. Her husband was asleep so she didn’t want to wake him up. She went to the kitchen and saw a black shadow. The shadow seemed to have red eyes glowing like stars in the sky. It was tall and skinny and it seemed to be floating in the air. She turned on the light quickly, but there was nothing there, only a broken cup on the floor. She walked to the living room and turned on the light, but there was still nothing. She looked everywhere but didn’t find anyone or anything. She thought it was only her imagination and the wind that broke the cup so she closed the window and went back to sleep.

The next day she woke up. Her husband was already awake, making breakfast. She decided not to tell John what happened yesterday so he wouldn’t get scared. “Good morning, why did you wake up so early?” Florence asked.

“I don’t know I probably went to sleep too early and I wanted to make breakfast for both of us. I made eggs and pancakes,” John replied with a happy voice as he put the food onto Florence’s plate. He was as happy as a man who won the lottery. Florence hadn’t seen him that happy in a long time.

“Thank you,” Florence replied as she looked at John’s facial expression.

“Why was there a broken cup on the kitchen floor?” John asked.

“It must have been the air,” Florence replied.

“Oh, I love this house; it’s really big and peaceful. There is nothing bad about it,” John said with a smile on his face.

“Yes…Yes it’s really peaceful,” she answered with a strange look on her face.

After they were finished eating, John went to read a book as Florence went to fix the garden.

That night Florence went and closed all the windows, closed all the doors, put chairs in front of them, and turned off all the lights. She went to bed and was reading a book when suddenly she heard the footsteps going up the stairs again. She got scared for a little but then kept reading her book. She heard something fall and break in the kitchen but she thought she probably forgot to close a window. As she was about to go to sleep, she heard doors opening and closing and heard some voices. The voices were a little loud and scary but didn’t sound like human voices. A few minutes later Florence heard screams. She just covered herself with the blankets and fell asleep.

In the morning she woke up before her husband and saw that all the chairs she had put in the doors where still there, exactly where she had put them and the windows were all closed. She saw the broken cup on the floor so she picked it up. John walked into the kitchen and saw Florence looking confused. Her mouth was open and her eyes were looking carefully at where the broken cup was. She was more confused than a kid on his first day of school.

“What’s wrong? You seem worried and scared,” John asked putting his hand on Florence’s shoulder.

“Nothing, nothing I’m okay,” Florence said, in a very low, soft voice.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, what do you want to eat for breakfast?”

“Anything…”

After they were done, John went outside to walk around as Florence stayed inside to clean. As she was cleaning her room she noticed that there was a knife in one corner of her room, it was one of the knives she had in her kitchen. She went to the kitchen to check if the knives were in their place, but there were only two and she had four. She thought she probably had moved them, but couldn’t remember. She went to the other rooms and as she opened the closet of the third room she noticed a place that was red. The red looked like blood but it was dried. It looked like human blood and as if it had been dripping from something. Then there were some places with red in the blue carpet of the closet. She closed the closet quickly and went outside to walk around.

Florence was starting to get scared, but at the same time she tried to convince herself that everything was okay, that the house was perfect. At night, Florence tried to go to sleep and not hear anything. As she was about to go to sleep she heard the footsteps and something fall and break. John woke up and asked, “What was that?”

“I don’t know,” Florence said with a scared look in her face.

“I’ll go check.” John went over to the kitchen and saw a black shadow. It was the same black shadow as the one Florence had seen the first night in the new house. The black shadow had big, red, glowing eyes starring closely at John. Suddenly he had a knife in his stomach. He started to scream as the pain traveled through his body. He fell to ground screaming and crying for help. Florence woke up quickly and went to the kitchen. She saw John on the floor with a knife pierced through his stomach like in a scary movie. “OH MY GOD JOHN, PLEASE SPEAK TO ME!” She moved him and grabbed his hands, which were as cold as ice. When no one replied she turned on the light quickly. John had died on a dark Friday night. His eyes were closed and his face was pallid. His hands were on his stomach wet from all the blood. There was blood all in his white shirt. Florence began to cry. The tears went down as rain drops on a rainy day. She stood up quickly holding a knife and began to look around for whoever had killed her husband. Her hands were shaking so much the knife almost fell from her hand. “WHO’S THERE?” she screamed in an angry and scared voice. No one answered. Florence grabbed the phone quickly and called her daughter. She came and started to ask her what happened.

The next day the police came and took the dead body. They investigated what had happened for a month but they didn’t find anything. Florence stayed alone in the house. She always thought that a person had killed her husband because that was the only logical explanation for what had happened to John. Also, Florence didn’t believe in ghosts she thought they just came out in scary movies to scare kids. After her husband had died she didn’t hear any noises in the house.

Five months had passed since her husband died and she still didn’t hear anything at night. She lived there in the big house. She was a little happy but sometimes missed and remembered her husband and became to feel sad and lonely. She remembered her long life with John and how it had all ended in the perfect house.

One night, as she was reading her book she looked over at the clock. It said in big red numbers “11:00.” She closed her book and turned off the lights. She closed her eyes and covered herself with the blankets. Suddenly, she heard the footsteps and something fall and break. She got up from her bed but fell so she turned on the light and stood up and walked over to the kitchen with a bat in her hand. As she was about to go into the kitchen a knife pierced through her stomach. She fell to the floor screaming and crying for someone to help her but no one was there. As she laid there with the knife in her stomach she screamed “WHO ARE YOU?” The blood soaked her clothes as she shuddered. As she laid there with the pain she saw a figure that was all black. Her face turned pallid and her eyes opened wide. You couldn’t see the shadow’s face because it was covered with a black cloth. Florence’s hands fell to the ground as she died on that dark Friday night. The ghost moved the black cloth from its face and laughed with an evil laugh. It stood with its red evil eyes looking at Florence.

Link to zine

Space and Aviation

1. In this article about Space and Aviation it talked about that in 2005 a satellite was designed to take measurements of the sea, ice, and glaciers but the satellite failed to work, making the original CryoSat satellite crash into the Arctic Ocean.

2. The satellite will offer unprecedented tracking of cloud-covered regions like Greenland. Pinpointing their thickness will help climate scientists make better computer models to predict polar temperatures, ocean circulation and, perhaps most important for those of us on the rest of the planet, rising sea levels.

3. In late February, the European Space Agency will get a second chance to launch a satellite designed to take the most sensitive measurements yet of sea ice and glaciers.

4. One of the main setbacks would be if something happened to the satellite again because they would lose a lot of money.

Entertainment

1. In 2010, you'll be able to watch TV on any screen, anywhere. Previously, the only way to access TV on a mobile screen was by paying a subscription service to send video over an unreliable 3G wireless broadband network, and the service didn't deliver local channels. Today, television broadcasters for 30 stations in 17 major cities have spent up to $150,000 per tower to install transmitters that send free, live broadcasts to specially equipped mobile devices. TV on the Go falls under the field of research of entertainment.

2. This is important because it will help people that want to watch TV on their cellphones save money. With TV on the GO it costs broadcasters less than a penny a minute to provide the service, compared with the $4 per minute price that cellular carriers pay.

3. This year consumer products capable of receiving the signal will arrive in stores. This month, USB dongles that act like TV antennas for laptops will go on sale nationwide. TV-ready cellphones, as well as add-on dongles for current phones, will be available by the second half of the year.

4. Something that could happen to the creators of TV on the GO is that maybe not that much people will want to buy that even if it's better than paying $4 per minute because they might not think it is necessary to watch TV on your cellphone.

Semester Academic Goals for Hummanities

A goal I want to set for myself this semester is sharing more my WEX writing and not just one time because I have to. Last semester I was a little more shy so I didn't really like talking in front of everyone or sharing what I wrote in my WEX. I hope I can achieve this goal so I can become a better writer.

Another goal would be to use the habit of mind of wonder in my writing so I don't just write something boring but ask myself "what if I add showing not telling here?" or "what if I add another simile?" This will help me be a better writer and practice the literacy devices we have learned.

The last goal would be participating more in class like volunteering to read the WOD or raising my hand whenever I don't understand something or ask the people around me for help instead of just staying confused. This will help me not be as shy as I am and understand everything better.

Time Travelers Pillar

Project Description: For this part of the project we had to paint in one of the pillars in the 9th grade commons. There are four pillars and one was about art and architecture, the other one about religion and society, another about science and technology, and another about government. Everyone in our team had to paint in the pillar of what they wrote about in their research paper. For example, I had to write about Roman government in my research paper so I had to paint a picture representing the Roman government in the government pillar.

Process: First, I had to look at different pictures about Rome and about things that related to Roman government. Then, I drew out what my picture would look like. Then, I had to get it approve by Charlotte in order to start painting. Then, I started drawing in pencil what everything was going to look like in the square or rectangle we were assigned within our pillar. Then, I painted everything. At last, I wrote my name in the bottom.

Reflection: By painting this pillar I learned how to paint better and be able to show something with pictures or a drawing. For example, I showed Roman government by putting a crown, the word "Republic", an a mad emperor, which all meant that Rome went from a monarchy to a republic and at last was ruled by emperors. One challenge I encountered was trying to find how to represent Roman government because I couldn't think of anyway of representing the Roman government by a painting. If I could paint my pillar again I would spend more time on it because I kind off rushed through it at the end. This will help me later when I have to get stuff done on time and do it well and when I have to manage my time so I don't have to rush through stuff.

Artifact:

Semester Academic Goals Mysics

Goal: Participate more in class.

First Step: Raise my hand if I don't understand something.


Goal: Explore different applications for math.

First Step: Start doing the challenge assignments.


Goal: Study for every test.

First Step: Study at least 30 minutes a day before a test.

Time Travelers Essay

Project Description: In the Time Travelers Project for humanities class each one of us had to write a research paper but not about the same thing. In our groups we had to write about our civilization but one had to write about art and architecture in our civilization, another one about science and technology, one about government and one about religion and society. My group and I had the Roman civilization. I had to write about Roman government in my research paper. Our research paper had to be at least 3 pages but no more than 5 pages. We had to use footnotes in MLA style to cite our evidence. We also had to include a bibliography in MLA style.

Process: First we had to write our first draft, which could be handwritten and didn't have to include a bibliography or footnotes. Then, we had to write our second draft that had to be typed. Then, we had to write the third draft, which had to include a bibliography. Charlotte checked our third draft and we learned about conclusion and introductory paragraphs and made any changes in our paper. At last, we had to write our final draft with footnotes and a bibliography in MLA style.

Reflection: I learned a lot of things about Roman government and about Rome in general. I also learned about other civilizations in the exhibition. One of the challenges I encountered was putting footnotes in MLA style in my research paper because I didn't understand it until I asked Johanna if she could help me. If I could do this research paper again I don't think I would do anything different because I did a really good job on it and I improved a lot from my first draft to my final draft. This will help me later if I have to write something and write footnotes and a bibliography in MLA style.

Artifact: My Research Paper