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Freedom

How would you define freedom?

I would define freedom as the liberty to do whatever you want, whenever you want under certain circumstances. You’re able to make your own choices and decisions.

·      No set boundaries

·      No restrictions

·      Ability to obtain life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness

·      Just and equal

·      Voice

·      Belief

·      Emotion

·      Not under any one else control

·      To speak or not to speak

·      Privileged

·      Do anything

·      No government oppression

·      Restriction free

Prison Population rates: x/100,000 

1)    United States (753)

2)    Saint Kits (660)

3)    Russia (609)

4)    Rwanda (593)

5)    Virgin Islands (US) (561)

6)    Cuba (531)

7)    British Virgin Islands (488)

8)    Georgia (483)

9)    Palau (483)

10) Beliz (478)

Reason why prison population numbers are high

·      Strict rules

·      Power

·      Freedom

·      No fear

·      Drugs

·      Violence

·      Property

·      Public order

·      Harsher laws

·      Racial turmoil

·      Murder

·      Sexual offenses

·      Burglary and robbery

·      Theft/identity

Race

10 points of interest

·      Race is a modern idea

·      Race had no genetic basis

·      Slavery predates race

·      Race and freedom were born together

·      Race justified social inequalities as natural

·      Human subspecies don’t exist

·      Skin color is only skin deep

·      Most variation is within and not between races

·      Race is not biological but racism is still real

·      Colorblindness will not end racism

One idea that I think strikes, as surprising is the idea that race is modern. Back then they said people were grouped by religion or language or social status. I still consider that happening today. So saying race is modern is sort of a contradiction to all the facts given because people were categorized by race centuries ago.

 Another idea I think that strikes as truth is that race and freedom were born together. Equality and freedom was based on tour race, which helped determine the freedom and rights of people.

“race is a social construction”

For this project I learned the different methods physical therapist use to diagnose their patients. By looking at the results I gathered I was able to create an exercise program he the Drexel student to help improve her sense of balance. After going over the program the patient was given 5 weeks to continue the exercise program and come back after the 5 weeks to see how much she has improved. Although there were some obvious improvements, there were also some areas where more work was needed.

Perspective changes everything and we always need to be aware of how perspective influences us...

 Perspective is always there and what keeps are minds aware. In English class Mr. Block always made sure we as his students always see or look at things in perspective. Perspective is needed when learning because no one can look at anything in one perspective because if you are, then you will really learn nothing at all.

In another time I had to look at things in perspective but also using art. We had to create a dance for “The Art In The Open” for the Leah Stein Dance Company. I had to use perspective because I had to see how choreography would look through my eyes but also my partners and the audience because “art can be the most powerful language." I had to make sure that the audience could see the choreography at all times and continually changes are positions. We also had to make sure the audience heard and understand out story behind the dancing and why we choose specific moves. That is a time we had to incorporate art into our perspective.

Another piece that I though that would use perspective was my French/Haitian Revolution Role Play. I felt this one also use perspective because we all had to play roles of people who existed during that time because "every character played a role in the revolution." This role play had to use perspective because everyone constantly changed roles and had to speak and think for their character. We had to use perspective because we had to see a situation through their eyes and not their own.

For our English class we had to start a Poetry blog. It was difficult at first because " I would just enjoy reading it but never capable of writing it." At first it was okay because the poems were easy to write about. Then it got really hard because we had to write an ode to inanimate objects. I choose a clock and I had to write about a deeper meaning a clock had. I had to look at it from a perspective in an artful manner, which was hard because it wasn't me at all. But it challenged me to push out of my box and do something more creative. Writing from a perspective of what is the message behind a clock helped my writing become more creative.

 Overall I have learned many things in Mr. Block class. But perspective is one the lessons that stood out to me. It will be something I will use for the future. Perspective is what everyone needs to see life in a different light. Everything I had to do or create in Mr. Block class has taught me that. I am thankful for all the opportunities we had to learn that and everything we got to do. This has been a great sophomore year that I will never forget. 

One person can have a huge impact on history. I realized that taking a key player out can also have a drastic change. If one person can gather thousands of people to rally for a change in society of course eliminating them will have a different outcome. So in  my project I mentioned Malcolm X being more of a aggressive leader so by taking him out there will be more positive energy to go around. The positivity would eventually lead to a more peaceful solution. 

If I could do this project I would ask more thoughtful questions in the interview. In my interview I talked more about what has happened after because of Malcolm X's death than what lead up to it. That is something I would definitely change next time. Also in my interview I mentioned several family members to Malcolm X but next time I plan to make it more clear to the audience who are actually the family members. Overall I am very happy of my project's outcome. 

• Un gimnasio enorme y limpio con ropas, pesas, campos, una pista y una piscina para nadar porque le gusta practicar deportes y ejercer.
• Un sótano comfortable, simple y mediana tiene muchas sillas, un tele y cosas de Lakers porque le encanta los Lakers.
• Una biblioteca grande y viejo con muchos libros, un escritorio y una lámpara porque le gusta leer y escribir. También, necesita un lugar estudiar porque le quiere trabajar en una universidad.
• Tres cuartos enormes con colores vibrantes y con una cama, un armario, una guardarropa y un espejo. Hay tres cuartos porque quiere una familia pequeño.
• Una cocina grandisima, de lujo y moderno con todo: una nevera, estufo, lavamanos, lavaplatos, una mesa y sillas porque le encanta comer y cocinar.
• Tres baños limpios y medianas tiene duchas, la

My point of divergence is during Paul Revere's midnight ride. There is a point in which he came across a couple of British officers on horseback and had to evade them. He really had managed to, but I changed it so they had actually caught him. As a result of this, the future I envisioned is the United States remaining a British territory and potentially being called British America. This came to be because Paul Revere was making the ride to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that the British were coming to arrest them due to their involvement in a potential rebellion. Since Paul Revere never reached his destination, I made it so Adams and Hancock got arrested. Adams was an avid leader when it came to the rebellion and Hancock was an rich and influential man (who was going to be elected to be President of the Continental Congress the month after he escaped arrest), so I made it so that when people heard about them being arrested (due to being exposed by a British spy, who had reported to British General Thomas Gage) they began to get suspicious of everyone and could not organize themselves enough to start a full-on rebellion.

I liked that this project called for a little bit of story-telling and gives a view as to how a butterfly effect can happen. I think the most challenging was making the story believable; there could be many loopholes of what could have happened instead of what you want to happen and you have to be sure to cover everything. The most interesting fact I uncovered was that Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Paul Revere (among others) were all a part of a group called the Mechanics who organized rebellions and plans to achieve freedom from the British and that there were really spies in their midst. In fact, the only reason why Adams and Hancock were to be arrested is because a spy discovered that they were powerful leaders who lead rebellious attacks and were a danger to British rule. The spy reported to General Thomas Gage, and he organized their arrest. 

The actions of individuals impact the historical record because a lot of history deals with a group of people and a leader or numerous leaders. Whether or not the people follow a leader affects the course of history and the side the people are on also affects history. If a leader didn't step forward to guide people, then the majority would probably be afraid to step forth and make a change. Systemic changes impact the historical record because systemic changes is what usually leads to a change in the people, in general. For example, one of the reasons colonists began to retaliate against the British is because they were being taxed quite obscenely and though they were being taxed, they weren't being represented properly. They didn't want the high taxes or want the Acts the British tried to pass that taxed them, though not directly (as the Stamp Act had), and so they started to fight against their rule and the colonies started to establish their own mini-governments. One decision could change everything in history, especially if the choices are worlds apart. One decision could impact how things are handled and what happens to certain people. The decision hold even more power if it is from a very influential person who is high on the social ladder. 

I think the project could be improved by giving us a set presentation style. I feel like I didn't really know where to go when it came to presenting the project and I wasn't entirely sure as to how long it should be or if I was adding things that weren't needed. If I had to do it over, I would read the history around the revolution (and that time period in general) because though I knew a lot about it, I wanted to go back and check everything and in the end, I actually had to alter my point of divergence and explain a lot of history that I didn't expect to explain.

“Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”

What does this proverb mean?

The hunter is the man. The lions are the animals that will never have their story told. The hunter will always be seen as the good guy because he is the winner. Only the stories of winners are told.

List an example to which you think this proverb applies too:

            I think this proverb applies to the story of Christopher Columbus. Although he helped discover America, there were already people on the land, the Native Americans. And Christopher Columbus went into America and slaughter, hurt, and raped the natives. 

“Love is like the rain. It comes out in a drizzle sometimes. Then it starts pouring and if you're not careful it will drown you.”

-       Edwidge Danticat, Breath, Eyes, Memory

This quote is beautiful. It speaks of how a mere crush can go spiraling out of control and then the crush turns into LOVE. I think that Danticat was trying to show people how love is and how love can change a person in so many ways, in the most different ways. She compares love to rain because rain is unpredictable. Rain can be very bipolar. A little bit of rain can leave you asking for more, like love. A lot can make you run around like a lunatic…like love. She says when dealing with love you have to be carefree.

(On this day, Mr. Block through an egg onto the floor and told us to write about the egg in the point of view through the chicken, floor, egg, chick, farmer, etc.)

            Extra! Extra! Extra! CHICKEN KILLER ON THE LOOSE!

            Tuesday, September 13^th, 2011, 8:34 A.M. The police were called to the scene. I was a chicken doing my daily clucking activities: laying eggs, pecking at things, and bawking around the open fields. As you can see, I run a tight schedule.

            On my daily patrol around SLA, I headed to Mr. Block’s room. He is a peck-cular man. Often likes to do things in a different way and he has a group of students that do the same peck-cular things as he does. When I to his room, there was an amassing crowd around a splattered like goo. As I approached the crowd, I SAW IT. It was an egg I had laid only days ago, it was my BABY! MY BABY, never to have a life on the farm or on a plate. Why? Why cruel world?! This man, the murderer…and his students, the accessories to the crime. I ran as fast as I could to the officer, Officer Byrd. Oh how I loved her name… it’s a very common name in our community…Byrd, Peckerson, Clerk, you know.

            Everyone questions the killer but I didn’t do that. I did what every chicken from the Egglands Best Farms would have done; I asked the shoe the floor, and the table. They all told me and confirmed to me that it was the evil English and World History Teacher, Mr. Block!

(After that we talked about ways to write better)

            3 Parts to help us write better:

·      Hold in different types of writing.

·      Don’t just keep ideas in your mind, write it out!

·      Point of views can be very biased, history is often written by the winners.

This English school year I tried my best then messed up sometimes but now I know my mistakes and can help me in the future. Looking back at the year I grew as a writer and improved in other areas. Everyone is at different levels but no matter what if you put everything you can into the work you will get the grade you deserve.

My strengths in English are reading books and collaborating with others about the story.  My weakness in English is my process with the projects I wait until last minute or don’t stay focused in class but I think from the beginning of the school I have gotten better at that, also my spelling I want to work on my writing a lot more I am very creative and I think if I really try I can have great pieces of writing.

Going back and looking at my work Is funny also something that all students should do because you get to change things, know what you need to work on also remember your year. It’s funny because it’s like oh my god I wrote that or what was I thinking if its something that you didn’t think you would write or do. Some issues that occurred were my journal entries because my journal entries were not organized and fully done I went back and polished my journal entries. 

The piece I am most proud of is my Macbeth creative. I did a keynote with my own pictures and some from the Internet that show lady Macbeths journey. I feel as though I did my best on this project. What I wanted to do was make people understand her change through my own pictures and how I thought this the picture should be and others understanding it. I worked on it whenever we had time to, I was focused.