Humanities Final Portfolio 2013_Tang

When you open to the doors, what do you see? In that case, it seems like everyone thinks differently because the uniqueness sparks their light bulb in their mind. I personally admire this quote; “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning” Albert Einstein. The key is to think deeper on your explanations. This year had been a roller coaster when we all started on the first day of school, when I stepped into English class. I saw bright new faces around me and I knew the level I am standing is different. The bigger picture is when we analyzed art and talked about modern day history. At first, I didn't know why we were studying art, but as of now art has a powerful message and I thought World History is about famous people. There are couple meaningful to address; languages is a common barrier to relationships, things that make you different also makes you unique, and different things represent power in different cultures/civilizations. These aspects will show how they are related in both subjects.

One of the journal entries #15 from English is a powerful piece that shows my accomplishments. It shows my ambitious of who I am. The journal entry also relates to a book we’ve read in the beginning of the year. People have their own dreams and hope and they will find a way to achieve it. The journal entry shows how I am my own person and in the book, Janie fight her ways of becoming a stronger woman. I learned that in journal entries, I have to use my critical thinking and my imagination.

History journal #8, talks about religion in past that spreads around the world. “Religion is the sign of the oppressed creature, the sentiment of a heartless world, and the sould of soul- less conditions. It is the opium of the people”- Karl Max . I believe there are many things to learn about religion because everyone was born with different cultures and religions. Sometimes when people worship different religions, people can’t have a relationship with them because they aren’t the same. Religion affects the history because they segregated the people to not socialize, but to hate each other. The unit religion, I have been studying many countries and learn about religion. I am open minded to all religion because they have a special meaning that does different things. The journals help me learned about other people who talked in the group discussions. Sometimes, I would talk because there aren’t any wrong answers.

In English class, we have to write an essay about how languages influence the people around the whole world and me. I wrote about my family who spoke Cantonese when I was born and how English had impacted my life at school. I had trouble writing and talking in English, but as of today, I expanded my knowledge of writing and speaking. Learning different languages makes everyone a lot easier because I can understand three different languages; Cantonese, English, and Spanish. It shows that I want to have conversations with speaking different dialect. On top of it, I created a video about my family who struggles speaking in English. I get to talk to my parents about their lives and I think about how I impacted to the community. This unit is powerful when everyone should respect how they speak

            One of my benchmark in English class is a podcast about my cousin. The topic was crossing boundaries to learn about the struggles in their lifetime. I learned that my cousin’s childhood was a lot different than mine because she would have to fit in when she moved to Philadelphia. Even though we were born and raised in California and moved to Philadelphia in our childhood, the environment is different. As of today, she loves Philadelphia more than California because she thought about the living expenses and how the city is more historical. I can also relate to my cousin because we are the oldest kids in the family and we would have to do everything when the parents always depend on us. I learned that growing up is hard, but it can be a life lesson in the future.

A project I have been studying is about religion. I created a blog on wiki spaces and researched about the history of religion. Even though people believe in different God, and I learned that there are different symbols that brings people together because they need something to praise for. This project shows the relationship between the societies on how it is important to them. Religion is very powerful to everyone because the cultures and traditions are different; therefore religion is a unique topic to learn about. I am aware of how people think about other people as of today. People should accept who they are and I think religion just bring people together to have sets of beliefs.

Lastly, my first benchmark in history class, I wrote monologues about Pipelines that the United States planned to build it in the south. I wrote about how it will affect everyone in the society when families will have to leave. The tar can also impact the environment a lot worst. This was one of my favorite projects because I learned about the current history that may affect my future. I also watched videos about the Pipelines and read several articles.

Everything I learned from both classes isn’t about just reading, there are opportunities to engage the learning spaces such as writing, activities, watching videos and going on field trips. I want to show how much I have learned. I learned by having group discussions, working together as a team for projects and sometimes working independent. Having Mr. Block as a teacher for two subjects of challenging my own actions. As a new stage, walking to 11th grade, I will always remember the critical thinking and how people should back up with their opinions.

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