Monday, August 27, 2012

Vocab

Accolade:Sign of praise, public recognition
The fireman recieved accolades for saving a baby from a burning building.
Acerbity:Bitterness
There was much acerbity at court for child custody shortly following a divorce.
Attrition: Loss of personell, wearing away at surface
The attrition of the small business eventually led to bankruptcy.
Bromide:Unoriginal saying
YOLO is a bromide.
Chauvinist:Somebody with sense of superiority
A chauvinist doesn't have many friends.
Chronic:Long lasting, always present
After taking AP classes I have chronic headaches.
Expound:Describe and explain something
My teachers expound their course material.
Factionalism:Conflict between groups within a larger group
There is factionalism in small countries in Africa.
Immaculate:Clean, faultless
A woman's closet is immaculate.
Imprecation:Curse
The witch's imprecation was dour.
Ineluctable:Not to be avoided or changed
Your fate is presumably ineluctable.
Mercurial:Lively and unpredictable
Lil Jon is mercurial.
Palliate:Reduce intensity or severity of something
She tried to palliate the death of her mother with chocolate.
Protocol:Code of Conduct
There is a formal prtocol at a wedding.
Resplendent:Dazzling
The parade was resplendent.
Stigmatize:Label as socially undesirable
As a society we tend to stigmatize cannibalism, and rightfully so.
Sub Rosa:Secretly or privately
Lets have a sub rosa conversation on your innermost secrets.
Vainglory:Excessive Pride
The international champion of lacrosse has vainglory.
Vestige:Trace of something gone
There was a vestige of blood at the crime scene.
Volition:Ability to choose
The president must have volition.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Socratic Seminar

I think that everyone who contributed to the socratic seminar had something interesting and important to say and offered a unique perspective.  Although I feel like after the first 10 minutes or so the arguments kind of went in a loop and new ideas weren't being developed which is why so few people partcipated.

Reflections on Week 1

Are there any factors that you think are going to affect your participation or experience in this class? (Access to a computer, cell phone, transportation? Family that can help or hassle? Friends that can help or hassle? Scheduling factors that can help or hassle?)

This year I'm not going to be able to keep my blog up to date all the time because I have limited access to a computer and the internet because I've been spending alot of time at my great uncle's house who doesn't really use technology at all.  I also might miss several days of school this year (occasionally consecutive) because I'm trying to make it to nationals for mixed martial arts which requires alot of training so I'm expecting to be missing alot of school.

Think of an awesome (or the best ever) learning experience (or an experience where you changed) What was it you learned? [call it X] Where were you? What happened? Who else was there? Did it teach you anything about how you learn (or pay attention... or ?) How did you know what was happening? 

I'm not sure of THE BEST learning experience I've ever had but I do remember a teacher that I had in Jr. High his name is Mr. Peterson and I remember him being a great teacher because he could not only relate to his students but he also trusted them and had very few rules in his class.  You'd think having no rules in a class would be hectic however all the students respected him because of his lack of rules.  I think that was a great learning environment cause well ya know.


What are you most [excited/concerned] about in this class? What do you look forward to in learning? How do you think it can/will make a practical difference in your life?


Well I don't think I'm concerned about anything IN the class but I am kinda concerned about the AP test later this year, I'm excited to learn practical information that I can use the rest of my life such as time management which we learned sophomore year.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Additional Thoughts: Jane Austen/Montaigne

If I had more time I probably would've done a prewrite and thought out what I was going to write beforehand, but since I didn't have much time I just kinda started writing and hoped as I went along that it'd all turn out alright by the end.  I don't think my essay turned out to be a complete failure but I know it wasn't my best work.  After I left I forgot all about the essay and socialized with people, it wasn't until I got back that I thought, "Oh yea I'm supposed to finish this essay in twenty minutes....". It took me a few minutes to change my mindset back to working but ya know I got it done. NO BIGGE!

Assignment #1



Why am I taking this course?  Well to be honest you're not the first person asking me why I'm taking it and I know I can't really give a specific answer, however I can give a wide variety of vague reasons.  First of all I can't express how much I enjoy being around intelligent people, I figured the smartest kids would be taking AP classes and I want to hear what they think and their opinions on matters.  Most people in average classes I wouldn't say are ignorant but they don't seem to care about education or global issues and I think that if I'm around people who care then maybe some of their good nature can rub off on me and I can improve by being in their company. 

I'm not really nervous about anything in the class I'm more worried about my own performance, for example this blog assignment was posted in June and I'm doing it now in August :P.  I'm both nervous and excited for my potential to grow in this class if I utilize what I've been given I can become a much better person in leaps and bounds however if I slack then I'll just be wasting my time, and time isn't something you get back.

My only goal in this class is to be happy and content by the end of the year because I know that I set my standards high and if I'm truly happy with what I've done this year and am convinced I've tried my hardest then I'll consider myself successful in this class.