Lit Circle Reflection

My second Lit Circle was much better than my first. The first time, I was unprepared and it was hard for me to participate. I improved in multiple ways including that I had alot more to say and I also did my job well. I liked being the Discussion Director more than the Summarizer. My groups performance also improved a lot the second time. We all did our jobs and had in depth discussions. We all listened to what each of us had to say and overall it went extremely well. I'm looking forward to seeing how much we improve in our third Lit Circle.

Tuesday Write #5- 10/31

Tuesday Write #5

There are many factors that hold a civilization together. The first and most important factor is leadership. Without leadership, everything would fall apart. The leader has to be well respected and elected for people to want to follow what the leader says. Having a dictatorship does not work because people will ultimately always end up rebelling. I believe morality falls into the category of strong leadership. Even if people don’t have morals, if the government and rulers are strong and fair then the people doing wrong will be punished. Even better, if the rules are fair, the majority of people will obey. Economy also falls into leadership. I don't think a class system is necessarily bad because it is impossible for everyone to be equal no matter how great that sounds. Stronger nations with strong leadership are less likely to be poverty ridden.  

In Lord of the Flies, society fell apart because of leadership. As stated above, leadership is the most important factor of holding a society together. The leadership was unfair and the children rebelled because of that. If there is no leadership, then war is inevitable because people start to believe they can do whatever they want with no consequences.

Quotes from LOTF with the theme "Power Struggle"

Looking for Alaska Book Review

       

     Looking For Alaska- Looking for Love, Loss, and the Great Perhaps

  The book Looking for Alaska by John Green tells a classic love story with a twist. Miles "Pudge" has always been a loner and kept to himself before he went away to a boarding school in Alabama. There, he met Alaska Young, a beautiful, interesting yet mysterious girl. Miles has always been interested in learning peoples "last words" and he never thought he would be a part of someones. Miles falls in love with Alaska but watches from a distance as she self destructs. "Ya'll smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." Miles learned more from Alaska in the small amount of time he spent with her than he ever did in his old, boring life. Miles and Alaska both try to find the answer to the dying words "how will I ever get out of this labyrinth!" of Simon Bolivar, but tragedy strikes and Alaska never finds her answer. The book is organized into "Before" and "After" instead of chapters. There are many other supporting characters but Miles and Alaska are who the story is mainly focused around. Alaska just had something about her that drew people to her and made them want to be around her. The funny thing is Miles is exactly the opposite, but Alaska saw through that. 
 Overall, this book is beautifully written and left me thinking for days after finishing it. I've read many other similar books but no others really hit me the way this one did. The diversity in characters and the interesting plot made this an amazing read. One thing that bugged me while reading this was just the way Alaska is. This is one of the first times i've read a book and really disliked the main character. She is moody, pretentious, and very self absorbed. She is the only part of this book that is hard to relate to and it was hard to sympathize for her. "Maybe she loved mysteries so much she became one." The way she treated others made it difficult for me to feel the sadness that the other characters felt when the climax of the book happened. Alaska said a lot of beautiful things but her personality just wasn't as attractive.  One of my favorite quotes from the book is "You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you will escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, an imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present." I think that quote sums up John Greens writing style and his ability to make you think about your own life while reading a book about others. A wide range of ages would enjoy this book because anyone can relate to it. It is a wonderfully written coming of age story. I would recommend this book over any other John Green book I have read. I think he is a very talented author but this book in specific really hit home with me.



Green, John. Looking for Alaska. New York, NY: Speak, n.d. Print.

After reading "The Warren Harding Error", I was more aware of the implicit associations that me and many others make every day. Before reading this, I didn't realize that our bias's could effect who rules our country. After thinking about this for a while, I can now see that there are certain things in my subconscious that effect me in my daily life. The message I take away from this is to be aware of the bias's you might have and take them into account when you make decisions. I don't believe we can undo our unconscious bia's but we can learn to realize we have them . When we discussed leadership qualities, none of them had to do with looks. To be a good leader has nothing to do with the way you look. Leadership has to do with the way you are, like being honest, fair,  and trustworthy.

Warren Harding, 29th President of the United States

 When I took the IAT for Bias towards sexuality (Gay/Straight), my result was a slight bias toward straight. This surprised me because I really don't think I have a bias at all. I think maybe because i'm left handed the results weren't 100% accurate. All in all, this surprised me and I will keep the results in mind.

MONDAY LATE STARTS

Monday late starts are better than Tuesday late starts because A period is at the beginning of the day, everyone gets out at the same time after school and it is an easier transition into the week. When A period is at the beginning of the day, there is no confusing class schedule change. As a freshman last year, that was very confusing and simply annoying and Tuesdays weren't looked forward to. Having A period at the beginning of the day is the right and logical way. When everyone gets out at the same time, people are more likely to carpool. Last year, trying to find a carpool was very difficult. There were many Tuesdays when I didn't have rides home on Tuesdays. Carpooling is important because it helps reduce traffic and also helps with pollution. Another perk of late start Mondays is that it helps transition into the week easier. Being a teenager, we need all the sleep we can get so the extra couple of hours is really helpful. Instead of some people starting later and some getting out earlier, having everyone start late is the right choice. All in all, late start Mondays is the right decision.

Some may argue that late start Tuesdays are better because there is less traffic and people without A periods get out earlier. Every other day of the week, everyone gets out at the same time and the traffic really isn't bad. Everyone getting out at the same time promotes carpooling which is very important. Instead of getting out earlier, you get to go in later. Having everyone go in later is more fair because watching everyone leave early while you still have your A period at the end of the day is a real downer. In conclusion, Monday late starts are more beneficial and practical. 

Intro

Hi, i'm Maddy. I'm really excited to be blogging on here this school year. English is my favorite class and this will be a fun way to share my work. I love to write and another thing I love is music. I've been singing since I was 3 and I still do. I have a lot of favorite books but a book I read recently and loved was called Go Ask Alice. A writing goal this year is to make each post on here better than the last and to improve my writing.