Final Portfolio Collection and Self Assessment

Self Regulation

I would say I never missed a day in this class but, I do come to class right after the second bell. I guess you can consider that being late but I've never been told to go to class by Neuf. I always finished my work before it is due so I don't have to worry about any missing work and completing it. But now I go back to my assignments and re-read or add on to my work to make it better, for example, Rebecca commented on my recent post to fix my grammar mistakes. Therefore, I did and then at school I had  Gayle edit my work.

Remember, I just started going back and improving my work, I haven't got through all of them but I'm getting there. I also went back on my PE blogs and re-read what I wrote and edited it to make it better. I do come prepared for class with an open mind but sometimes I have those days where I just can't and want to do nothing but that is usually where we have to complete our work or start a new assignment. I'm one of those people who like to go home and finished their work, for example, this assignment.

I'm just more focused and determined to do this assignment rather then at school because it is loud and so many distractions including myself. I can use my device responsibly because like others I am not tempted to look at my iPod the whole time in class, sometimes I like to know what time it is because our classroom clock is wrong. But, sometimes I do need send a quick text to my family or friends. I'm not gonna lie but I do go on twitter or Instagram on my iPod when I'm bored or doing work. In terms of learning use I do use my iPod to research and use the dictionary/thesaurus in class. I usually just sit in the back with my friends and I don't have to choose to sit there, I just do. 

When it comes to choosing partners I choose my partner wisely, I like to partner up with Gayle because she actually does something and not just sit there and waste time in class. Plus, Gayle is very smart. 

As I mentioned before, I have some days where I do something in class and get the assignment done in class and some days I don't want to do anything because I know I can be more focused at home to finish the assignment and do better. I can get distracted very easy and I'm know for distracted others but like Neuf said to Gamez, "To do well on a test or anything you have to find a way to be interested in it". So my job is to find something interesting about the assignments or whatever we are learning in order to stay focused and on task. If you have noticed all my assignments are completed and done on time.

YOn commenting on others blogs, I always try to find something good that they have done in there writing and something that they can work on. In the beginning my comments were vague and repeated but my most recent comments are better and there is much more thought and time spent on them. I like to participate in class when we have our discussions because it is fun to know what others think and hearing their opinions. Sometimes hearing ones opinion can change your whole point of view on one thought and it can expand your knowledge learning new things. When something is talking in our group we politely tell them to be quiet or we shh them because they are being rude to the speaker. I remind myself to keep my device away from me so I can focus on whats being said instead worrying about what time it is. Also to shutup and listen when something important is said during a lesson.

One strength of mine is listening and paying attention to what is going on in class. For example, yesterday Neuf taught us a lesson about how he can figure out who was listening and contributing in class by noticing if they had a reaction on there face. He basically called us stupid and I reacted back to the comment by saying,"Pffftt", and he laughed because I demonstrated listening and paying attention to what has been said or done in class. One of my weakness is staying on task in class because I have a short attention span in class when it comes to working on our assignments. I need to focus more in class and stop distracting others and myself. I can fix by sitting somewhere else, leaving my iPod at home and come to class before the second bell rings so I can get prepared physically and mentally. I like the whole commenting on our blogs because I get to know what others think about my writing and improve on my mistakes and make the whole piece better. I always like to expand on others thoughts and opinions and compare them to mine because it helps you understand something better, for example, when we did the poem assignment everyone had a bunch or thoughts and opinions about on poem, some were in depth and others were not so but I took that information and came up with another thought using everything I read. I like the fact that in this particular class you are in charge of what you do in this class, for instance, we you are doing your work and your hands get tried from all that typing you have the choice to take a break for how ever long you want. Then you get back to work once your brain is relaxed and ready to function again. This is where self regulation comes in because some student stay on task while others slack and do nothing. So self regulation is a big key in this class.

When we first started this course it was very different for me to tranistion it took awhile but I got a hang of it. I would say this class was a challenge because who knew technology could do wonders. I find this course very convenient because you don't have to worry about your binder and get lots of booklets to do for homework. Using technology for school is growing on me, I'm starting to like it a lot.

Quality of Communication Skills

One PLO that I demonstrate in class is to interact and collaborate in pairs and groups because when we have discussions in class, for example, Romeo and Juliet I participated and joined in the conversation about how love can be conniving and make you do such things you couldn't imagine like marrying a man that you met a day ago. I've got to know what others thought about love by listening to their opinions and thoughts about how they viewed Romeo and Juliet's love because it all fell down to being love or lust? Many and different points on why it could be love and vice versa but there is not a right answer, the only two people that know are Romeo and Juliet.

It was kind of like a debate, as a class we tried to analyze their love but to prove that theory you needed to provide evidence and a depth of understanding of why you see that. When we did the poem assignment where we had to find some background information of the author we got to know how Charles Bukowski was raised and what he went through as a kid, which was horrific and sad. Knowing all that information we summed up why he wrote this poem, "How Is Your Heart". After collecting and analyzing all the information, my partner and I came to an understanding of a life he lived by making connections and experiences, coming up with a list of possibilities of what happened at that time of his life.

Another PLO that I demonstrate in class is to select, adapt, and apply a range of strategies to interact and collaborate with others in pairs and groups. When we are assigned to do partner work each of us then has a responsibility to research or write down some information rather it being personal connections or experiences. I do actively listen in class when I know we are talking about an important topic like Romeo and Juliet, analyzing the poems of relationships, our class novel, etc. As I mentioned before, a teacher can always tell when a student is listening by the way they react to what has just been said. For example, when Neuf dissed the class I said, "Pffttt"and he smiled because he know I was listening. I would say I do contribute ideas in class because when we read, "The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Nighttime" when Christopher was trying to figure out who killed Wellington we had a class discussion of who we might think are the possible suspects of the murder of Wellington. 

I first thought I could be the dad, therefore in our discussion I explained why I thought it was the dad because it seemed like he had an affair with Mrs. Shears and he hated Mr. Shears, plus his wife was "dead" all for a sudden so something was suspicious to me leading me to think the father was the killer. I do support others ideas because sometimes someone else's opinion can make an impact on your point of view of something leading you to support someone else's thought. For instance, we were talking about what should put in our final assessment and each group had to come up with some ideas that we should put in our last blog. I remember someones group said, "Making connections" and I supported it by saying, "By making personal connections and experiences". I like to hear what others think like what Neuf has to say about Shakespeare because the only way to learn more is to look at things in a different way and listen to others opinions and thoughts so you can have more of an understanding. So I can agree or disagree to the topic by gathering up information and defend what I believe in.

Lastly, I speak and listen to make personal responses to texts by making connections with experiences and what I learnt into my work like the narrative story, the teenage essay, etc. When we read the Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet" I felt that this love was lust at first but then I tended to start thinking this might be love. My opinion changed because of what others said in class and what Neuf had to say about these characters and how significant they are to the play also what he strongly felt about the play. Not understanding what each word meant in the play really confused me at times where I had some questions about the play so I can understand it a bit more and be more aware of what is going on. When we talked about the novel I had some questions like Who really killed the dog? Why was his father being so secretive by telling Christopher to not go in his room? And many more. I always like to come to a conclusion because it is good to get all your thoughts organized and come up with a conclusion so you can start on something new. For instance, by reading the book, we were provided with evidence and knowledge of who killed the dog and what then happened to Christopher. When I was assigned to be Friar Lawrence, Gayle and I came up with our tweets by reading Friar's lines and trying to figure out what he might be thinking at that moment. We basically pretended to be Friar and acted the way he did, so it was easy for use to tweet as if he was tweeting in our class twitter feed.

Contribution to the Learning Environment

I just got the habit into editing and re-reading my work before I post it such as my narrative story that we recently did because after I posted it Rebecca commented on my post and said, "I had some grammar mistakes" so I went back re-read it and changed a few things and reposted it again. I think I am know for having the most comments in class, but the first couple of comments I posted were't really in depth and I basically repeated them on there comments. In the mid of this semester I started to post more comments that were better then before where they were more in depth and could actually help the writer to improve. I remember when we were analyzing the poems and we had to analyze the poem, "Unentitled" we all started our own line of comments without the teachers help on what we thought this poem was about.

 I thought so was talking about her son because some lines in the poem seemed like to me she was describing a person and on her Facebook her profile picture was with her son. But the poem wasn't about her son, I just took the evidence that I researched and came up with a conclusion. I have shared some ideas orally to the class during our discussion time in class and sometimes I share ideas orally in my group like when we were talking about the PLOs and what we thought we should be marked on (the 3 pillar idea). When we had to research the author of the poems, I did find information on them and posted it so everyone can see what I've found while researching. In the beginning of this semester, I didn't know how to embed a video on wikispaces (personal page assignment) so I watched the video Neuf linked to our class website and figured it out,

someone needed help to embed the video so I helped them and they did it. I help my group when they don't understand what to do for the assignment such as the thesis essay. When we have our talks in class I do pay attention and contribute to what has been said and if I don't agree to someone else's opinion or thought I tend to not be rude of come off wrong by saying, "Are you kidding me?" because I know that that is rude and you have to respect others learning, they might had thought of a whole different reason to why they have said that. But like i mentioned before I thought the poem, "Unentitled" was about her son but it wasn't because I used the clues in a different perspective. I read, but only biographies and magazines. If I am assigned to read a book I will but other than that I like to read true stories and biographies about famous people for enjoyment.

 I always finish my work on time so everyone can read it but I don't post it before the due date because I want my work all done before I post it. Like I said before, I have good days and bad days and sometimes hyper days where I distract others and won't shut up. But, I always try to keep a positive attitude in class and towards my learning because the more positive you are, the more positive outcomes you get. 

Self Regulation: 25%

Quality of Communication Skills: 27%

Contribution to the Learning Environment: 30% 

Overall, my percentage adds up to 83% 

Irreplaceable

Theme statement: "Most pressure we feel is imagined and has little basis in actual outcomes"


Family is very important part of our everyday life, this is where you are tension free and everyone is there to help you. Family encourages you when you are surrounded by problems and it helps you when you are under pressure.



I just woke up with a call from my aunt telling me that, "Grandpa is in the hospital again". It had just been 4 days since grandpa was discharged from the hospital. I came to visit grandpa in Calgary just because his illness was getting worse. So everyone drove out to Edmonton to go see him. I couldn't tell if this was the last time I would ever see him. So I drove out to the hospital to see him, he was just sitting there with a puppy dog face begging to get out of there. I couldn't do anything without the doctor telling me what happened. We were all worried sick. Then Dr. Hart came and told us, "He had a minor stroke and he could go home now and rest up". We were relieved, so my aunt and I took him home. A couple days later Grandpa had a heart stroke. I was in the kitchen preparing breakfast when I looked over and saw him on the ground. I called 911. By the time they came I had this feeling grandpa was gone. I couldn't have ever experienced anything more horiffic than this.

A week later we had his funeral and I was one of the speakers. I was never a public speaker, that was my biggest fear on top seeing someone dead right in front of my own eyes which was something I never imagined to see. I honesty was very overwhelmed and traumatized. This was the worst week of my life. I did not know what to do. It was eventually my turn to go up and give a speech, but I couldn't at the moment. I had butterflies in my stomach, my hands were all sweating, I started to have trouble breathing and my armpits were all sweaty. But, everyone was counting on me; my mother, father, brothers, aunt, cousins, friends and family. I didn't want to let them down. In the condition I was in I couldn't go up there, I was a total mess. I just sucked it up and went on the stage.

Everyone was looking at me. I opened my mouth but nothing came out. So I closed me eyes and pretended grandpa was holding my hand on stage. Instantly I felt more confident and words started to come out my mouth. By the end of my speech everyone was in tears and I could tell I've made him proud. I wish he was there physically instead of spiritually,  but it's the thought that counts.



Overall, most people don't realize the importance of family. They prefer to spend more time with their friends. But when they are surrounded by problems, it was their family that helped them get rid of problems. Family is never irreplaceable.

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In the Night Time

I as well really enjoy reading this book. The fact that it is written through a perspective of a boy with autism and how it is written by someone who has not ever had autism is pretty dope. It is really fascinating to know how Christopher reacts, understands others and just how he interrupts things. I like this book because I can connect to it. I get distracted very easily like Christopher and starting thinking about irrelevant topics. For me, this book is really easy and entertaining to read because the writing isn't using any complicated words and each chapter has it's own significant meaning; its not in order. This book is enjoyable and educational, just like my fellow classmates I did not know what a prime number meant but, now I do after reading this book. Compare to other novels I've read, this one is the most peculiar book I've ever read in my life and I'm loving it for once! Can't wait to read more. :)

"Same Love"

Why are people being mean to Gabby Douglas? 

Kellogg's Corn Flakes has immortalized Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas by placing her image on its cereal boxes. But will the 16-year-old gymnast, arguably London's breakout star, continue to court the attention of companies who want to use her image to sell their products?

The Atlantic's Lindsay Abrams points out that female athletes are underrepresented in advertisements. How bad is it? Abrams writes: "Not a single female athlete appeared on the 2011 Sports Illustrated list of the 50 highest-earning U.S. athletes, a fact that's highlighted in a forthcoming study in the Journal of Brand Management. A Turner report found that, of the sports figures featured as endorsers on 11.9 percent of television commercials, only 3 percent are women."

It's not that advertisers aren’t willing to attach women to their products; it's that female athletes simply don't sell products as well as their male counterparts. Abrams continues: "For an endorser to be successful -- according to a well-established branding model -- he or she must follow the pillars of 'Familiarity, Likability, and Similarity.' Researchers John Antil and Matthew Robinson, who conducted a series of focus groups on the topic, found that female athletes are lacking in all three."

Yikes. Abrams suggest that advertisers "humanize our Olympic heroines rather than flaunt their superhuman physiques" as a solution. But as Douglas has unfairly learned this week, showing one's human side also has its drawbacks.

While many saw a young athletic wonder dazzling us on TV, others saw imperfect hair and took to Twitter to air their grievances. "I know every black woman looked at gabby douglas’s hair and asked Why? Just why?" tweeted one person. "On another note, gabby douglas gotta do something with this hair! these clips and this brown gel aint it!" tweeted someone else.

In a rebuttal to the disparaging comments, author Demetria L. Lucas wrote on Essence's website: "I challenge anyone to explain to me that Gabby’s focus should be on something as trivial as her roots when she’s focused on a dream that many aspire to, but few accomplish. You really want her sitting up in the Olympic Village thinking about a hot comb or some lye right now, with all that’s on the line?"

Exploring the issue for NPR, Monique Fields explained that "the matter of hair is as serious to some in the black community as losing a tenth of a point on the balance beam." She continued: "Douglas, some feel, isn't just representing herself, her family and all of the sacrifices they made to get to the world stage. She is representing black people, who take a certain pride in their appearance. She is representing a race of people who have been taught over and over again that they must be better than everyone else just to be on an equal playing field. She is representing a history of hurts and wrongs.”

Add to that burden her gender -- another recent study shows that we’re all hardwired to objectify women -- and you can't help feeling for Douglas even as you cheer for her. "We all are more important than our hair, and we need to stop tearing down black women for how we look," argues Fields.

It remains to be seen whether Douglas, as a black woman, can secure long-lasting lucrative endorsements. But from my perspective, it’s a kick in the gut every time I hear people tear down accomplished women on such trivial and peripheral issues. Douglas doesn’t deserve it. And, subsequently, she’ll especially have my vote at the checkout counter (even if I wouldn't dare eat Corn Flakes).

source:
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/03/news/la-ol-gabby-douglas-hair-gender-race-20120803 

This article is significant to me because I have witnessed others judging someone because of the way they look. This controversy falls under the themes of cyber issues and fashion. I would say fashion is involved in this issue because no one in the Olympics would do their hair in a certain way Gabby did, which caused critics to talk bad about her hair through social media and online. As a teenager, theses days it is easier to bully someone online, for example, ask.fm, facebook, twitter, etc. At school, people try to dress a certain way so they can build a reputation at school by wearing brand named clothing, which then people know what group there in or what type of people they hang out with. For example, dance people, athletes, nerds, Surrey jacks, etc. 

Pressure

If you leave- Musiq Soulchild ft Mary J Blige


[Verse 1: (Musiq Soulchild)]
You think
I'm so full of it, full of it
But I think I'm just fed up baby
You think I can be so arrogant, arrogant
But I'm just tryna get keep my head up baby
You think I procrastinate baby
But I think I'm taking my time
You think you need to leave
But I think I disagree but

[Chorus: (Musiq Soulchild)]
If you believe you'll do best without me
Ill let it go girl, Its over
But before we say good bye
Lets give it a try
If you leave, then baby I'll leave
I'll let it go girl, Its over
But I have no doubt
We can work it out

[Verse 2: (Mary J Blige)]
Yeah
I think your so full of it, full of it
You just don't know when to let up, Baby
I think you're so arrogant, arrogant
But you think you're so much better baby
That I think It ain't dealt before me to judge you by your flaws & that's why
No I could criticize, but I put that aside
To focus on you & I

[Chorus: (Mary J Blige)]
If you believe you'll do best without me
Then I'll let it go boy, Its over
But before we say goodbye
Lets give it a try
If you leave, then baby I'll leave
I'll let it go boy, its over
But I have no doubt
We can work it out
Yeah

[Bridge: (Both)]
Now if you wanna go
Baby then I'll let you go
& even though I'm tryna hold on
I cant let you go

& if you're gonna leave me, you're gonna miss me
& I'm not saying that Ill be here waiting

Since we here right now (instead of just walking out)
Let's work to reach the point that I know we can be ?

[Chorus: (Both)]
But if you believe, you'll do best without me
But I'll let it go girl
[Musiq:] I'll just go, then just go girl
[Mary J:] But I'll let it go
It's over (it's over)
But before we say goodbye
Let's give it a try
If you leave, then baby I'll leave
I'll let it go girl, it's over
But I have no doubt
That we can work it out

If you believe, you'll do best without me
I'll let it go girl, it's over
Before we say goodbye
Let's give it a try
If you leave, then baby I'll leave

Can One Define Love?

Romeo and Juliet is one of the most famous plays in English history. What makes it so significant is the idea of love that it displays. To think that loving someone so passionately, that even one's own life would not matter more, is not easy to comprehend. Juliet says "If all else fail, myself have power to die." That, plus the illusion that the love was strong after the first sighting. The idea of love at first sight was derived from this great play, but it seems that it could be understood in many other kinds of ways- ways that argue that love was not the only significant emotion that wrapped up the tragic phenomena.

It is clear in the play that Juliet is awfully young at the time, when she meets Romeo. Capulet explains it, "My child is yet a stranger in the world, she hath not seen the change of fourteen years." She also hadn't been married, which means she was new to the idea of love and affection. That is a big detail to keep in mind, since one can argue that the "love" at first sight was actually lust, and that Romeo wooed her before he actually had her fallen in love with him. As a young teenager, being exposed to that feeling of lust for the first time is extremely intense. Another way to define the reality, is that perhaps Shakespeare has shown fate, or destiny to be a greater force than love, as it ultimately succeeds in keeping the lovers apart. The obstacles that it creates. Their love is disallowed by the Capulet and Montagne families, and Juliet is yet to be married to Paris- but they're still inevitably drawn to each other. It had to be a form of love, as the violent empowering force led them to defy all other values, loyalties and emotions.

The play also portrays other kinds of love. The close relationship between Nurse and Juliet, and Mercutio and Benvolio are both as heartfelt and sincere as Romeo and Juliet's. Shakespeare shows that there are other forms of love. There's no saying whether a type is "realer" than the other but some are much more vulnerable. Juliet couldn't stand being separated from Romeo during the time of his banishment- at the time they had both been emotionally invested.

Whether committing suicide is romantic or not, depends on how one would like to interpret it. One can look at it in a way that Juliet had realized that Romeo is no more, and now she'd have to face disgrace from her family and have to live through it alone, and that she'd jeopardized her family's reputation. Also, that she'd worsen matters between the Capulets and Montagues. Or it could've been that Juliet was so passionate about Romeo, that the thought of never being able to see him again made her think it would be wiser to end her life. 

"The learned and the experienced know that love at first sight is not true at all, it is merely a strong desire for each other nourished by mutual physical attraction, sexual desire and magnified passion without reasoning all bonded together and disguised as love." -anon. This quote provides the understanding of one possible form Shakespeare was trying to portray. Even if the love were real, there is no guarantee that it would've lasted, as it progressed very quickly. After all, is physical attraction enough to last a life time? "Strictly speaking- and certainly if we take Shakespeare's other tragedies as a criterion- we cannot admit Romeo and Juliet as a tragedy at all, for the catastrophe depends on chance, the undelivered letter of Friar Lawrence. Without this accident, all might have been well"- E.C. Pettet. 

Sukhleen Bachra

Sources:
http://mathawaada.blogspot.ca/2008/06/romeo-and-juliet-how-real-is-love.html

Mid Term.

Overall, this year I would give my self 85%.

For attendance I would give myself 20% because I always come to class on time. Sometimes I am late to class because I have to talk to my teacher about something important, then I quickly have to go to my locker to get my food and text book. If I were to be late to class, the bell usually rings by the time I am coming up the main stairs. I am usually on task in class, but lately I tend to get distracted very easily and "might" disturb others from doing there work. I think I may have had too much candy leaving me to get very hyper in class, which causes me to not shut up.  But the positive side to this is that I do help others in class that need help with their work or who need a starting sentence. I can control myself at times and stop all the nonsense, I don't constantly check my Ipod for messages or snapchats because Gayle usually has my Ipod so she can do her work and get caught up. I only use my Ipod when we need it tweet or to do our blogs. I hate the HP laptops, they suck! I am always positive in class and ready to learn new things as well as ready to make fun of my friends in class. I love to be part of our class discussions and see what others think and hear their opinions about the topic we are talking about.

For assignment completion I would give myself 25% because I always have my assignments done before hand and I finished all 15 tasks. I love to write a lot because I have so many ideas and thoughts I want to share in my writing. So much goes through my mind that I have to let it out. I try my best to fix my writing by reading what my peers commented below. But I need to try harder because yesterday Mr. Neufeld told me to add more to my soliloquy, which I did for, "the sun", part but I didn't understand what he meant for writing if people are all good or bad. I understand why he wouldn't comment it but I should of noted it down on my Ipod.

For quality of assignments I would give myself 20% because everyday is a day that I can improve on. Lately, I try to write professionally on my work and expand my vocabulary. Which is improving a lot and I mean A LOT. I would say I have done my best work but that doesn't stop me from making it better. As I mentioned before, there is always more room to improve. I put my full efforts in all my assignments but every time I it over and over again I do noticed some areas in my writing where I can do better and put more effort in. For instance, I sometimes don't explain things well enough and leave it sort and brief. I noticed I like to explain things in depth. Everyone has there own writing styles, some like to write a lot like me and some like to write less. My work can be improved by taking the comments seriously and fixing my work. I can improve by fixing my grammar mistakes, being more detailed and go more in depth, connecting, etc.

For class contribution I would give myself 20%. My presence in class has improved others learning because I like to participate in class and share my thoughts and opinions. For example, when we were analysing the poem, "To a Stranger", I participated in class by searching up personal information of the author and sharing it with the class. Whenever I finish my assignment I always go comment on my class mates work that' s why I am known as the few kids that names always pop up in the comments. I remember when we first made our personal blogs and I didn't embed my video properly so I learnt how to do it with Mr. Neufeld's help. Which later, I was able to help my fellow class mates how to embed a picture and video. When one of my class mates don't understand something in class I try my complete best to help them out, but sometimes I can't help everyone because I may not understand it and need help myself. "I like the idea but maybe re-read your story and use different words other like "enjoy". I think this comment was helpful because after that post, that person did a very good job on their next assignment. They didn't repeat the same word over and over again and there was a fair amount of grammar mistakes. But most importantly, I could see the improvement and it was awesome. Just their recent post was detailed and well written. I am very proud of this person, keep up the good work!