Paper Three Final Draft

Sydney Halady

English 101

Professor Bergert

Not all educational experiences are taught in school, life itself is an educational experience and people never stop learning no matter how old they get. That is what makes life a wonderful journey. By playing a sport as a kid whether it is a school sport or not; that sport teaches them to be dedicated, driven, and responsible. Those qualities are so important in a person, they help students finish school and they are what help people get a job and keep a job later on in life. Dedication, drive, and responsibility may not sound like the three qualities one would learn just by playing a sport. When people think of playing a sport words as; distraction, jock, waste of time, and etc. Although not everyone thinks playing a sport is a waste of time, this argument is for the people who do believe that nothing good comes from it.

This however is not an argument on the fact that only kids who play sports will be successful in their lives; it is to show people that by playing a sport it can lead kids on the right path in life that aren’t necessarily headed in the right direction. Playing a sport can be so much more to someone than just a fun extracurricular activity; in some cases those “fun extracurricular” activities are all any teenager has. Just like in the movie Freedom Writers no adult in those kids lives ever even thought about giving them a chance until Ms. Gruwell came along and wasn’t willing to give up on them. In the movie Freedom Writers every faculty member in that school said “those kids shouldn’t be here”. Ms. Gruwell might have been a teacher that was the only positive influence on those kids, but just like playing a sport it’s an opportunity for a positive influence because in some cases not everyone has one at home.

Sports in some cases can be even more educational than just a regular classroom setting, because most the time kids don’t enjoy nor want to be in school they want to do something they   have fun doing and that they feel good about doing. Kids do not look at sports as being educational; which in fact maybe that is why they learn such good qualities from it and take those qualities with them throughout adulthood- more so than maybe something they learned in class. One of the greatest things that comes from sports is the discipline it teachers kids, because everyone knows you have to be follow directions from your coach in order to learn and in order to play. And with every sport there is a coach someone kids have to obey so just like Ms. Gruwell that coach is now an adult influence and possibly the only one in their life. No one in life will ever succeed without having discipline, and life will be a lot easier if that is taught to someone at a young age.

Drive and passion are two qualities that people wouldn’t think that could ever be developed by playing a competitive sport. But as hard as it might be to believe it is true those qualities come to people who care. Someone only develops passion and drive by doing something they love every single day or as much as they can. And from between the ages of 10-18 kids are at their most vulnerable point in their lives; and every child needs to have something that they love and feel passionate about. Mr. Keating in the movie Dead Poets Society did a perfect job at showing his students how to be passionate. Mr. Keating told his students “Boys, you must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all. Thoreau said, ‘Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.’ Don't be resigned to that. Break out!” Mr. Keating taught his students that it was important to be passionate and to live their own life the way they wanted to live it. And although the students in the movie Dead Poets Society weren’t relying on a sport to teach them good qualities but that passion was taught to them through something besides just a regular classroom setting.

Responsibility in life is not something someone is born with or something someone can just discover over night- it is something that takes time and typically comes with age. Sports can also teach a kid responsibility over the time they infest into it. Typically schools require a certain GPA for students to be able to be eligible to play. That alone teaches kids to be responsible with grades-and being able to get good grades is the first true responsibility a kid has. Playing sport is similar to having a job when kids are young, they are required to show up, behave in an orderly conduct, and act like a team player. If that doesn’t sound like being responsible than what is? It is sad that the world we live in today and the success people are restricted to is the amount of time they have invested in school. Ken Robinson stated in How Schools kill creativity “success is based on academic ability”, Ken was getting the point across of that a regular school curriculum is not what shapes us into the people we all become and who people form into. Therefore sports let alone any good extracurricular activity can have just as big as an impact on someone’s life than going to school.

Education doesn’t just come from going to school, it comes from living, making mistakes and learning from them. No one ever got anywhere or became somebody by not living and learning. There is so much more to sports than meets the eye, just because someone has fun doing something doesn’t make it easy. A great thing a sport is that 99 percent of the time they aren’t easy, they are hard work and in the early vulnerable years of a kid hard work is supposed to be paid off. And that is why kids take so much from playing a sport they can work there ass off doing something and it’s important to them. Good things in life aren’t giving to people; they are supposed to work for them. Playing a sport is a choice in life, more often than not school is not a choice and kids are supposed to go until they reach a certain age- maybe in life the things that aren’t forced on people are the things that they learn from the most. Life is a journey and people can learn something new every single day if that’s what they want. Anyone can learn a basis school curriculum; it’s the life lessons people learn on their own time that they take with them through life.

 

Work Sited

Dead Poets Society. Dir. Peter Weir. By Tom Schulman. Perf. Robin Williams and Robert Sean Leonard. Touchstone Pictures, 1989. DVD.

How Schools Kill Creativity. Perf. Sir Ken Robinson. Sir Ken Robinson. TED, n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.

Freedom Writers, Dir. Richard LaGravenese. By Erin Gruwell. Perf, Hilary Swank, Scott Glenn, Imelda Staunton and Patrick Dempsey.  Paramount Pictures, 2007, DVD.

 

 

 

 

 

Rough Draft paper #3

Sydney Halady

English 101

Professor Bergert

Not all educational experiences are taught in school, life itself is an educational experience and people never stop learning no matter how old they get. That is what makes life a wonderful journey. By playing a sport as a kid whether it is a school sport or not; that sport teaches them to be dedicated, driven, and responsible. Those qualities are so important in a person, they help students finish school and they are what help people get a job and keep a job later on in life. Dedication, drive, and responsibility may not sound like the three qualities one would learn just by playing a sport. When people think of playing a sport words as; distraction, jock, waste of time, and etc. Although not everyone thinks playing a sport is a waste of time, this argument is for the people who do believe that nothing good comes from it.

This however is not an argument on the fact that only kids who play sports will be successful in their lives; it is to show people that by playing a sport it can lead kids on the right path in life that aren’t necessarily headed in the right direction. Playing a sport can be so much more to someone than just a fun extracurricular activity; in some cases those “fun extracurricular” activities are all any teenager has. Just like in the movie Freedom Writers no adult in those kids lives ever even thought about giving them a chance until Ms. Gruwell came along and wasn’t willing to give up on them. In the movie Freedom Writers every faculty member in that school said “those kids shouldn’t be here”. Ms. Gruwell might have been a teacher that was the only positive influence on those kids, but just like playing a sport it’s an opportunity for a positive influence because in some cases not everyone has one at home.

Sports in some cases can be even more educational than just a regular classroom setting, because most the time kids don’t enjoy nor want to be in school they want to do something they   have fun doing and that they feel good about doing. Kids do not look at sports as being educational; which in fact maybe that is why they learn such good qualities from it and take those qualities with them throughout adulthood- more so than maybe something they learned in class. One of the greatest things that comes from sports is the discipline it teachers kids, because everyone knows you have to be follow directions from your coach in order to learn and in order to play. And with every sport there is a coach someone kids have to obey so just like Ms. Gruwell that coach is now an adult influence and possibly the only one in their life. No one in life will ever succeed without having discipline, and life will be a lot easier if that is taught to someone at a young age.

Drive and passion are two qualities that people wouldn’t think that could ever be developed by playing a competitive sport. But as hard as it might be to believe it is true those qualities come to people who care. Someone only develops passion and drive by doing something they love every single day or as much as they can. And from between the ages of 10-18 kids are at their most vulnerable point in their lives; and every child needs to have something that they love and feel passionate about. Mr. Keating in the movie Dead Poets Society did a perfect job at showing his students how to be passionate. Mr. Keating told his students “Boys, you must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all. Thoreau said, ‘Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.’ Don't be resigned to that. Break out!” Mr. Keating taught his students that it was important to be passionate and to live their own life the way they wanted to live it. And although the students in the movie Dead Poets Society weren’t relying on a sport to teach them good qualities but that passion was taught to them through something besides just a regular classroom setting.

Responsibility in life is not something someone is born with or something someone can just discover over night- it is something that takes time and typically comes with age. Sports can also teach a kid responsibility over the time they infest into it. Typically schools require a certain GPA for students to be able to be eligible to play. That alone teaches kids to be responsible with grades-and being able to get good grades is the first true responsibility a kid has. Playing sport is similar to having a job when kids are young, they are required to show up, behave in an orderly conduct, and act like a team player. If that doesn’t sound like being responsible than what is? It is sad that the world we live in today and the success people are restricted to is the amount of time they have invested in school. Ken Robinson stated in How Schools kill creativity “success is based on academic ability”, Ken was getting the point across of that a regular school curriculum is not what shapes us into the people we all become and who people form into. Therefore sports let alone any good extracurricular activity can have just as big as an impact on someone’s life than going to school.

Education doesn’t just come from going to school, it comes from living, making mistakes and learning from them. No one ever got anywhere or became somebody by not living and learning. There is so much more to sports than meets the eye, just because someone has fun doing something doesn’t make it easy. A great thing a sport is that 99 percent of the time they aren’t easy, they are hard work and in the early vulnerable years of a kid hard work is supposed to be paid off. And that is why kids take so much from playing a sport they can work there ass off doing something and it’s important to them. Good things in life aren’t giving to people; they are supposed to work for them. Playing a sport is a choice in life, more often than not school is not a choice and kids are supposed to go until they reach a certain age- maybe in life the things that aren’t forced on people are the things that they learn from the most. Life is a journey and people can learn something new every single day if that’s what they want. Anyone can learn a basis school curriculum; it’s the life lessons people learn on their own time that they take with them through life.

 

Work Sited

Dead Poets Society. Dir. Peter Weir. By Tom Schulman. Perf. Robin Williams and Robert Sean Leonard. Touchstone Pictures, 1989. DVD.

How Schools Kill Creativity. Perf. Sir Ken Robinson. Sir Ken Robinson. TED, n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.

Freedom Writers, Dir. Richard LaGravenese. By Erin Gruwell. Perf, Hilary Swank, Scott Glenn, Imelda Staunton and Patrick Dempsey.  Paramount Pictures, 2007, DVD.

 

 

 

 

 

Work Cited Activity

Aboukhadiejeh, Feross. “How I learned to Program Computers.”  How I learned to Program Computers.

13 Sep. 2013.  Web. 28 May 2014.

Romero, Joshua J.  “How I Learned to Live Google- Free.”  How I Learned to Live Google- Free.  6
            June 2011.  Web.  28 May 2014

Dead Poet’s Society.  Dir. Peter Weir.  Perf.  John Keating, Robin Williams .  Touchstone, 1989.                     DVD.

Freedom Writers.  Dir. Richard LaGravenese.  Perf. Erin Gruwell, Hilary Swank.  Paramount, 2007.                 DVD.

Hutson, Cate.  “How I Learned to Love Traveling Solo.”  How I Learned to Love Traveling Solo.  12

Paper #2 Final Draft

What makes a good Teacher?

There are two different types of teachers- ones that we don’t get much out of  besides the curriculum they are teaching which more often than not is boring, therefore students don’t pay attention half the time and hardly learn anything. Then there are the teachers who truly have an impact on our lives and will never be forgotten. Teaching is not an easy job- but just like any other job it is what you put into it. As a teacher you are an adult influence on your students’ lives, and in some cases you’re the only adult influence in their lives. Mr. Keating and Ms. Gruwell are two perfect examples of teachers who put everything they possibly can into teaching.  . They are both very passionate teachers who truly care about their students and getting the most out of their education as possible. Teaching to them- is also building a relationship with their students and not just going by the curriculum hoping it works. They go the extra mile with their students- which make them amazing teachers.

Having a passionate attitude is not something that can be faked- You cannot make someone want to learn something or interested in something, if you the teacher yourself care less about the topic. Mr. Keating and Ms. Gruwell both showed passion in their classrooms in their own unique way. Mr. Keating went out of his way to explain poetry to his students not just by reading the book from front to back, but doing many different learning activities which could help his students relate more to understand. Mr. Keating not only taught his students an understanding of poetry- he taught them that they should walk their own walk, and never just adjust to what everyone believes is normal or right. He taught them to look at everything in life not just from one perspective. When he had them stand on the desk of the classroom and said “the room looks a lot different from that perspective”. He showed them that life can look a lot different to when you change your perspective on it. Mr. Keating was a man who looked at the glass half full in life- which is one of the reasons he had such a huge impact on those boys’ lives; no one had ever given them so much hope. Ms. Gruwell did not have it as easy as Mr. Keating did in the beginning with her students. Her students did not trust her or accept her-they shut her out because they had never been given a chance by any adult in their lives before. She was disrespected by both her students and then later on her faculty as well. But she never gave up on her kids she adapted to her situation and made the absolute most of it. Ms. Gruwell went out of her way to teach her own style as well, because she truly believed she could help her students; when no other teacher in that school would give them a chance. She gave them journals to right their story in, and told them that she would read them if they wanted her to. And after the first night with the journals every single student had left them for her to read. This was the beginning of her break through with them. Mr. Keating and Ms. Gruwell let their passion do the teaching not a textbook; it is teachers like that who kids are lucky to have.

To be good at anything in life we have to strive and be dedicated- dedication means you can try and fail but you continue to try until you succeed. Mr. Keating and Ms. Gruwell were both dedicated to their teaching job-to the point where is cost those things they loved, and practically everything. In Ms. Gruwell’s case she lost her husband, because he couldn’t handle how much she put into her kids and how little she began to put into him. Ms. Gruwell did not stop paying attention to her husband intentionally-she just did everything she could for her students which slowly began to be more important than her husband was to her. She got two other jobs to help pay for her teaching job because the school would not help her with her class, because even they had no hope for them. Ms. Gruwell went to the library to rent them the book Ann Frank- she was told no because her kids didn’t deserve the chance to read that book nor could be trusted to keep it in good condition. Instead of taking no for an answer she got those two jobs to get the kids books, because it was important for them to learn about Ann Frank. She went out of her way to pay for a field trip for them and take them to dinner. No one had ever done anything like that for those kids. Mr. Keating lost his job in the end- because his teaching style was not accepted and he was blamed for a death of a student. And even though he lost his job he had the biggest impact on those boys and taught them things no one could have ever taught them. Mr. Keating could relate to his students which is another reason he was such a good teacher for them. He had been in their shoes not too long ago-therefore he knew how those boys felt, and knew they needed a positive influence. Mr. Keating was so different from his other staff; because he believed that everyone is meant to choose their own path in life- and that is it not our parents’ choice. And that is what he taught those boys, which is what cost him his job sadly. Both teachers were dedicated to their students’ education, and teaching them there is a chance at a life where they could be their own person without fear.

Teenagers are not the easiest people to win over- in fact they have to be the hardest people to get through to. What gets their attention though is being outgoing. Mr. Keating and Ms. Gruwell were both very outgoing teachers. They went above and beyond because they wanted to, not because they felt bad or they needed to. In the beginning of Mr. Keating’s school year he had the boys open up to the introduction of their text book, it was explaining poetry on a scale from 1 to 10 and what made poetry good and bad. He then had everyone rip the whole introduction out because poetry was not math; it was not meant to scale nor was there such thing as bad poetry. Poetry was made to be beautiful. But that was not the only reason he had them rip out the pages, he did not want them to think it was okay to put life on a scale and believe that one thing was better than another just because some doctor said it was. Mr. Keating also introduced the boys to ‘The Dead Poets Society’. He did not give it to the boys to be rebellious, he gave it to them because they were interested and they needed something that was theirs. It was exciting for them and it was another way for him to teach them that they were meant to choose their own path and careers. Ms. Gruwell was outgoing by giving her students things they could never dream of. After teaching her kids about the Holocaust and after reading Ann Frank; she let them write letters to the women who helped hide Ann Frank during the Holocaust. She than helped her students hold a fundraiser to fly that woman to their school- just so she could speak her stories. Ms. Gruwell never gave up on her students no matter what trouble she had to go through.

Mr. Keating and Ms. Gruwell were both very similar but different at the same time. They were the type of people who is born to be a teacher. They sacrificed everything to make a difference in their students’ lives. And they did it because it was important to them, and important to their students. They put themselves last so they could put them first. It is not every day we come across people that are like that. Everyone can go to school to be a teacher, but not everyone can be a good teacher. Being a good teacher is a gift- you either have it in you or you don’t.

           

WS pp 19-22

 After reading the work book section it helped me get a good understanding of what a comparison and contrasting paper should flow like. It explains how after each point you make you need to follow it up with information and not leave your readers hanging. It shows good use of making an outline for your paper and how it will help you. Making an outline especially when you are comparing two things is helpful because you can follow the outline and wont be forgetting important details. Because you are talking about two different things or two different people it is easy to leave your reader hanging or confused by jumping around so much. It is important to stay organized throughout your essay. Also it goes over guidelines which I found helpful, taking into consideration of who your audience is- which is important because that will set the tone of the essay. It also shows how to properly transition sentences and what a paragraph hook is and how it will help you.

Paper #2 Rough Draft

What makes a good Teacher?

There are two different types of teachers- ones that we don’t get much out of  besides the curriculum they are teaching which more often than not is boring, therefore students don’t pay attention half the time and hardly learn anything. Then there are the teachers who truly have an impact on our lives and will never be forgotten. Teaching is not an easy job- but just like any other job it is what you put into it. As a teacher you are an adult influence on your students’ lives, and in some cases you’re the only adult influence in their lives. Mr. Keating and Ms. Gruwell are two perfect examples of teachers who put everything they possibly can into teaching.  . They are both very passionate teachers who truly care about their students and getting the most out of their education as possible. Teaching to them- is also building a relationship with their students and not just going by the curriculum hoping it works. They go the extra mile with their students- which make them amazing teachers.

Having a passionate attitude is not something that can be faked- You cannot make someone want to learn something or interested in something, if you the teacher yourself care less about the topic. Mr. Keating and Ms. Gruwell both showed passion in their classrooms in their own unique way. Mr. Keating went out of his way to explain poetry to his students not just by reading the book from front to back, but doing many different learning activities which could help his students relate more to understand. Mr. Keating not only taught his students an understanding of poetry- he taught them that they should walk their own walk, and never just adjust to what everyone believes is normal or right. He taught them to look at everything in life not just from one perspective. When he had them stand on the desk of the classroom and said “the room looks a lot different from that perspective”. He showed them that life can look a lot different to when you change your perspective on it. Mr. Keating was a man who looked at the glass half full in life- which is one of the reasons he had such a huge impact on those boys’ lives; no one had ever given them so much hope. Ms. Gruwell did not have it as easy as Mr. Keating did in the beginning with her students. Her students did not trust her or accept her-they shut her out because they had never been given a chance by any adult in their lives before. She was disrespected by both her students and then later on her faculty as well. But she never gave up on her kids she adapted to her situation and made the absolute most of it. Ms. Gruwell went out of her way to teach her own style as well, because she truly believed she could help her students; when no other teacher in that school would give them a chance. She gave them journals to right their story in, and told them that she would read them if they wanted her to. And after the first night with the journals every single student had left them for her to read. This was the beginning of her break through with them. Mr. Keating and Ms. Gruwell let their passion do the teaching not a textbook; it is teachers like that who kids are lucky to have.

To be good at anything in life we have to strive and be dedicated- dedication means you can try and fail but you continue to try until you succeed. Mr. Keating and Ms. Gruwell were both dedicated to their teaching job-to the point where is cost those things they loved, and practically everything. In Ms. Gruwell’s case she lost her husband, because he couldn’t handle how much she put into her kids and how little she began to put into him. Ms. Gruwell did not stop paying attention to her husband intentionally-she just did everything she could for her students which slowly began to be more important than her husband was to her. She got two other jobs to help pay for her teaching job because the school would not help her with her class, because even they had no hope for them. Ms. Gruwell went to the library to rent them the book Ann Frank- she was told no because her kids didn’t deserve the chance to read that book nor could be trusted to keep it in good condition. Instead of taking no for an answer she got those two jobs to get the kids books, because it was important for them to learn about Ann Frank. She went out of her way to pay for a field trip for them and take them to dinner. No one had ever done anything like that for those kids. Mr. Keating lost his job in the end- because his teaching style was not accepted and he was blamed for a death of a student. And even though he lost his job he had the biggest impact on those boys and taught them things no one could have ever taught them. Mr. Keating could relate to his students which is another reason he was such a good teacher for them. He had been in their shoes not too long ago-therefore he knew how those boys felt, and knew they needed a positive influence. Mr. Keating was so different from his other staff; because he believed that everyone is meant to choose their own path in life- and that is it not our parents’ choice. And that is what he taught those boys, which is what cost him his job sadly. Both teachers were dedicated to their students’ education, and teaching them there is a chance at a life where they could be their own person without fear.

Teenagers are not the easiest people to win over- in fact they have to be the hardest people to get through to. What gets their attention though is being outgoing. Mr. Keating and Ms. Gruwell were both very outgoing teachers. They went above and beyond because they wanted to, not because they felt bad or they needed to. In the beginning of Mr. Keating’s school year he had the boys open up to the introduction of their text book, it was explaining poetry on a scale from 1 to 10 and what made poetry good and bad. He then had everyone rip the whole introduction out because poetry was not math; it was not meant to scale nor was there such thing as bad poetry. Poetry was made to be beautiful. But that was not the only reason he had them rip out the pages, he did not want them to think it was okay to put life on a scale and believe that one thing was better than another just because some doctor said it was. Mr. Keating also introduced the boys to ‘The Dead Poets Society’. He did not give it to the boys to be rebellious, he gave it to them because they were interested and they needed something that was theirs. It was exciting for them and it was another way for him to teach them that they were meant to choose their own path and careers. Ms. Gruwell was outgoing by giving her students things they could never dream of. After teaching her kids about the Holocaust and after reading Ann Frank; she let them write letters to the women who helped hide Ann Frank during the Holocaust. She than helped her students hold a fundraiser to fly that woman to their school- just so she could speak her stories. Ms. Gruwell never gave up on her students no matter what trouble she had to go through.

Mr. Keating and Ms. Gruwell were both very similar but different at the same time. They were the type of people who is born to be a teacher. They sacrificed everything to make a difference in their students’ lives. And they did it because it was important to them, and important to their students. They put themselves last so they could put them first. It is not every day we come across people that are like that. Everyone can go to school to be a teacher, but not everyone can be a good teacher. Being a good teacher is a gift- you either have it in you or you don’t.

           

Paper three "Third person"

After reading my narrative essay I would like readers to have a good idea of what a narrative essay is and an important educational experience of mine. My educational essay was about how skating formed me into who I am today and the memories I got to take from it which I will have with me for ever.

The main point of this narrative essay was to show readers what an educational experience is, and how not all educational experiences in life are taught in schools or from a book. This narrative essay shows how just a sport can form people into who they are, and although sports are meant to be played for fun- they teach people dedication and give people the drive to never give up on something. Dedication and drive then comes into the lives of people who go to college to get a degree, and get a career. Life is not meant to be easy, and without those qualities for people-being successful will be even more difficult than it already is.

 Life is not meant to be easy, and without those qualities for people-being successful will be even more difficult than it already is. not all educational experiences in life are taught in schools or from a book. even a sport can form people into who they are, and although sports are meant to be played for fun- they teach people dedication and give people the drive to never give up on something.