Laurents’ English Blog

Feelings are extremely important. They let us be real and know ourselves. They allow us to connect profoundly with different people. People may feel overwhelmed with the fear of exposing your ideas and opinions with other people, or like a wall is keeping you away from communication, or connection. I think people usually have an idea of what other people expect from them, so (almost unconsciously), people try to conform to that. This is because naturally, (in my opinion), people want to please one another. This also stands for, as Ann Frank says, “Why do we trust on another so little?” I believe this is insecurity. Because people want to be appreciated by others and therefore change their behavior, they truly feel insecure. Obviously, people don’t want to confront with each other, but more importantly, is how they want to be considered. Since people want to be pleased by others, they will hide their true feelings, just to fit-in because no one wants to be the different one. This leads to something much more complicated because I believe that inside, we are very similar, so, for example, if one man lies to another about his opinions and ideas to sound cool, the other man will then think, in his head that he is not at all like him. So there is no point trying so hard to be someone else you are not because you are in the company of someone else. Fortunately, I also believe that as you get older, and your self-esteem grows, it is easier to show your personality to others. Still, even adults have the same issues of feelings.

I do disagree on what Ann says on pg139, “it’s horrible that you find you can never really confide in people, even in those who are nearest to you.” Of course, I might not trust my life with a friend, but definitely with my family, especially my parents.

I don’t know why she writes that, but of course, no one really knows what went on in that small refuge. Maybe her relationships with her family were not to strong, but I think that since she lived in that small house for 3 years, she must have been almost forced to spend time with her family. Also, I think that only having her family available, she should trust them much more than when having the luxury of friends, neighbors and everyone else. I hope my post has persuaded you open up and share your ideas and feeling with the world.

If I were in Anne Franks’ situation, I would definitely bring the most valuable and important tool I have, my computer. With this marvel of technology, I can listen to all the music I want, write anything I want, and even research anything in the world. Also, I can even view all my pictures, (saved on my computer), of my family and trips. Nevertheless, a computer is not everything I would need in a situation like Anne Frank’s. For musical entertainment I would bring beloved violin, and fiddle with it all day when I would feel like it. Also, hoping this doesn’t hurt my violin’s feelings, I would bring along my cat, Sheiba. I think having a living animal in company is really nice, even though you know you cannot communicate profoundly with each other. Even though I wish I could bring a book, literature can be done on the computer as well, so I decided to bring my box, which I keep all the precious souvenirs of my childhood and of my parents and grandparents. This box includes my parents concert tickets, old photos, and even toys, which I highly valued when I was younger. Even though I can’t imagine how hard it would be to really actually choose these items, I feel comfortable listing these if I were in Anne Franks’ desperate setting.

Courage             Laurent

Courage is complicated. It can include many degrees and variations. Should a bashful student, finally asking a girl on a date be considered courageous or should courage be thought of as the defeat of a ferocious dragon, by a devoted and sturdy knight. Either way, courage is always the simple act of facing your fears and overcoming them. It is an eminence of spirit that lets you face danger without showing any fear. As war seems to be the topic for this unit, I have my own example of courage. During WW1, my great-grandfather, Valent, was a telegraph linesman, (his job was to repair the telephone lines whenever they got destroyed.) Soon after, in a war zone, Valent’s friend was order too keep his head down, but the horror of the battlefield must have caused him to stand up and run in all directions, (like many terrorized soldiers.) Valent, seeing his friend shouting for help, ran through the storm of bullets only to succumb to a piece of metal striking his upper leg and injuring him. Luckily, his friend was fine, but Valent was unable to compete in any other athletic competitions as he was a star athlete and was forced to walk with a cane at the age of nineteen and all the rest of his life.

When reading these couple of pages, I felt a strong resemblance in Anne’s family and mine. Always feeling miserable because you think your parents have favoritism in your sibling even though they probably don’t. Anne Frank is one of the only books that is so true, in a way that reminds me of so many times when I argued with my sister because it felt that nothing in my family, or life was fair. For example, when she says, “We are exact opposites in everything; so naturally we are bound to run up against each other” it seems to me that Anne is creating an excuse to hate her sister, just like when a sibling is angry at another, and denies the fact that they are secretly jealous. Although I have never imagined that god was testing me to prove my goodness through my own efforts, I do feel that “I am my own skipper, and later on, I shall see where I come to land”, as she states in the book, probably signifying she is feels like she stands alone, and her parents offer no support in what she does.

As Ann Frank is only still a teen, it’s funny to read about her opinion on prostitutes and how “I would die of shame if anything like that happened to me”. Personally, I find it rather sad reading about her excitement about becoming a woman, because knowing that she was expecting a life; she has died in an abominable way. Finally, it’s quite interesting how she describes her diary like a sanctuary from everything else, a place of privacy, where she can say what she wants and just for herself. Also, I admire the way she interprets her diary, how in the end, she will always come back to her diary, the place where she will start and finish.

                                  ESLRs                                                                                 Laurent                                                                                                      29/10/06 This year, in grade 8, we all expected to be learning more about our best friends the ESLRs, but instead, within this typical English room laid a dead carcass, floating amongst the debris in the sea. Immediately, with a great island atmosphere flowing in the room, this was Lord Of The Flies, and we had to figure out a way to survive on this deserted island. In a nutshell, this simulation was quite entertaining.As I read the book, Lord of The Flies, I tried my best to be an effective communicator, meaning listening respectfully and asking questions to facilitate understanding and achieve insight. In particular, a way to demonstrate this during class activities could be to listen, not be bossy and try to participate as well. This reminds of when I was a good effective communicator because during a class discussion, I listened very respectfully and sometimes asked questions to simplify my understanding of the book. Nevertheless, I could have done better by participating more, being efficiently involved in the “Simulation” of the book our class did several times. This simulation I’m referring to is simply Mr.Raisdanas’ room. The day this simulation occurred, my friends and I all expected to be learning more about our best friends the ESLRs, but instead, within this typical English room laid a dead carcass, floating amongst the debris in the sea. Immediately, with a great island atmosphere flowing in the room, this was Lord Of The Flies, and we had to figure out a way to survive on this deserted island. In a nutshell, this simulation was quite entertaining.  Being an Effective Communicator also means using technology as a tool for communication. Examples of this could include using visual aids, PowerPoint, and IMOVIE. The reason I am weak in this domain, is that I do not try new ideas for projects. By evaluating my behavior, I feel I deserve to be ranked with a B for this ESLR because there is always room for improvement. Throughout the first quarter, I thrived to become a Self-Directed Learner ESLR, by working and studying independently. To me, being a Self-Directed Learner means that I can demonstrate competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills. I remember being a great Self-Directed Learner when I was at my house and created a small chart, (on my laptop) with all the main events of each chapter of Lord of the Flies. My goal at that time was to remember the purpose of the chapters and how they interconnected to each other with the symbolism and characters involved in them. This showed that I was organized as well because every time I read a chapter, and didn’t understand a word I would look it up in my dictionary. I could have done a lot better though by using sticky notes on the book like many students did. The Self-Directed Learner does have more attributes, and one especially that I did not achieve. I do not take creative risks in trying new ideas. The reason for this, (mentioned in the above paragraph) is that I don’t want to fail simply because I wanted to be creative. On a scale of 1-10, I place myself on a 7. The Academic Achiever ESLR is for a student who achieves his goal. To me, this ESLR means that a student incessantly assesses, evaluates and adjusts his work to maintain high standards. I reached this ESLR many times when I was typing a paper for example, and before I printed I spent at least a strong 25 min looking over it, adjusting it and assessing it until it was as good as I could make it. Even though I reflected often on my work to perfect it, I could have put more effort into finding new learning strategies for my work. Being an Academic Achiever also means that a student can work both independently and collaboratively. I enjoy working in both domains, but I feel that when I’m involved in a collaborative assignment (such as the “Simulation” mentioned in the first paragraph), I don’t participate enough or give ideas when I should.  I know I must improve much in this ESLR so I decided to give myself a B. Another way I could improve in this ESLR is by changing the way I look at things and trying to bend my perception on ideas. For example, helping my self-esteem o I feel more comfortable asking questions.  To me, the Critical Thinker ESLR means using your mind efficiently and thinking out of the box.For example, solving problems using a variety of strategies. I remember when I couldn’t figure out what the conch truly symbolized, I went and asked a friend, and then, to double check, I went on the Internet and checked my friends answer. Unfortunately, I realized after using the Internet, I could have simply referred to the book. Also, being a Critical Thinker means that I can build meaning and understanding using prior knowledge and new information. This reminds of the time when we did something similar to the free writing assignment. When I was asked to write about the differences between “civilized” and “barbaric”. Since it had been a while since I wrote without any obligations or sentence structure in this activity, I ended up with quite a different mess than most people. That’s why, when I went home, I looked through my old work and found an old free writing assignment from last year. I studied some of the techniques I used last year to free write and noticed many problems with my recent free writing paper.  I think, based on the few times I’ve experienced this ESLR, I feel I deserve a B+ Finally, the involved citizen ESLR means interacting respectfully with people of diverse cultures. This makes me think of the first month of school, (in grade 6) where people were very welcoming at MKIS and in return I was also very tolerating and friendly. Unfortunately, to me there aren’t many downsides to this ESLR, but of course, everyone could be a little friendlier.  In summary, being an involved citizen means to me that I demonstrate care and concern for my environment. For example, when we read Lord Of The Flies, the students and I were being involved citizens by not wasting paper they used to write notes on. I feel comfortable giving myself an A-. Ideas: Showing the understanding of the ESLRs using Blooms Taxonomy through Lord of the Flies.Organization: In this Journal Entry, the pattern I used most frequently was the Cause and Effect pattern. Voice: Is defined by the writers’ individual and unique method of expression.Word choice: Here are some examples of some changes I my word choice:Show-demonstrate, looked over-reflected, things-skills, make it easier-facilitate, well-efficiently, rules-obligations,  Sentence fluency: Here is an example of improvement in sentence fluency:The Self-Directed Learner does have more things.- The Self-Directed Learner does have more attributes, and one especially that I did not achieve.

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