Second Semester Honors Book Club
Semester Two Reflection
For the second semester of the junior honors course, it was designed as a book club. We read three different books (Great Gatsby, Half the Sky and Fahrenheit 451), had Socratic seminars on each book and created projects for two of the books. I chose to create projects for The Great Gatsby and Half the Sky because I was more intrigued and felt a closer connection to these two books. For The Great Gatsby, I wrote a poem about how Gatsby views Daisy and then wrote a poem reflection explaining the poetic devices I used and the meaning behind my word choice. For Half the Sky, a friend and I decided to raise money for the organization Girls be Ambitious and then wrote a letter with money explaining who we are, why we are raising money and why we chose them to support.
The book that I gained the most from and that truly opened my eyes to the world around me was the book Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. This book caused me to realize how many injustices are still out there for women and how much women are still looked down upon. When starting this book, as naive as it may be, I was entirely unaware that women in the world were still being treated as less than nothing. This book also opened my eyes to the different ways people like us can help support these women and how everyday people are fighting for these women’s rights.
When looking back on this year, I am very glad that I took on the challenge of the honors course. It helped me improve my perspective on history, different forms of writing and the world around me. The rigor of the class enhanced my ability to persevere through the challenging projects and uncertainty that came with the innovation of this class. With saying that I think the most challenging part of honors for me was being confident in the work I was doing. The projects in this course had guidelines but because it was a newer course, there were a lot of areas that needed improvements such as how long it takes to make a project, a successful way to approach the projects, rubric categories etc… Overall though I am proud that I pushed myself to take this course and as a result have gained a stronger work ethic, new perspective on world issues and have come to learn multiple new authors and writing styles.
For the second semester of the junior honors course, it was designed as a book club. We read three different books (Great Gatsby, Half the Sky and Fahrenheit 451), had Socratic seminars on each book and created projects for two of the books. I chose to create projects for The Great Gatsby and Half the Sky because I was more intrigued and felt a closer connection to these two books. For The Great Gatsby, I wrote a poem about how Gatsby views Daisy and then wrote a poem reflection explaining the poetic devices I used and the meaning behind my word choice. For Half the Sky, a friend and I decided to raise money for the organization Girls be Ambitious and then wrote a letter with money explaining who we are, why we are raising money and why we chose them to support.
The book that I gained the most from and that truly opened my eyes to the world around me was the book Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. This book caused me to realize how many injustices are still out there for women and how much women are still looked down upon. When starting this book, as naive as it may be, I was entirely unaware that women in the world were still being treated as less than nothing. This book also opened my eyes to the different ways people like us can help support these women and how everyday people are fighting for these women’s rights.
When looking back on this year, I am very glad that I took on the challenge of the honors course. It helped me improve my perspective on history, different forms of writing and the world around me. The rigor of the class enhanced my ability to persevere through the challenging projects and uncertainty that came with the innovation of this class. With saying that I think the most challenging part of honors for me was being confident in the work I was doing. The projects in this course had guidelines but because it was a newer course, there were a lot of areas that needed improvements such as how long it takes to make a project, a successful way to approach the projects, rubric categories etc… Overall though I am proud that I pushed myself to take this course and as a result have gained a stronger work ethic, new perspective on world issues and have come to learn multiple new authors and writing styles.
The Great Gatsby Project
For my Great Gatsby project, I decided to write a poem. I chose to do so because I felt the book left quite a bit of room for your own perception and imagination and I could express my ideas on the book in a unique, elusive way.
Poem:
Sweet Nothing
I see her, it.
The prized possession through the unbreakable glass,
trivial desire.
I reach
fingers weaken with every pulse towards her beckoning soft, red lips
faintly separated in ecstasy.
Eyes deceived by her crystal polished glass tipped further away with each stretch.
The glass falls from her red stained mouth, Dom Perignon cascades onto red carpet
Her words dripping money
lust
and elusive dreams
Reaching
My hands grow colder.
The endless goal touches my fingers but only leaves the feelings of cold nothingness.
A game of chase that continuously breaks the rules-
one can rarely win.
I am rejected by the stinging slap of the disdainful air.
I see her, it.
I reach for the empty prosperity
I am a hopeless wanderer lost in her green captivating eyes.
Always in my dreams but never in the grasp of my worn, cold, empty hands.
A treasure marked by a sharp and bitter pain that only bears teeth when in the hands of the dreamer.
I see her, it.
But that is all it will ever be.
A lonely eluded sight never meant to touch,
Only to see.
Poem Reflection:
Some of the poetic devices I used include metaphor, poetic license and repetition of a phrase. Using a metaphor within my poem allows me to capture the audience's mind in a more relatable or abstract way. Metaphors permit the reader to connect with the poem by letting their own mind define the metaphor. The use of a metaphor also paints a more abstract picture for the audience which can often make it more relatable. The use of poetic license helped my poem by making the reader pause at unlikely sections. This enhances my poem because it makes certain words or phrases stand out more clearly and causes them to have more of an impact on the reader when forced to pause. In addition to the use of metaphors and poetic license I also used the poetic device of repetition. Repetition is effective in the way that it emphasizes an idea and engages the reader. When I repeat the phrase “I see her, it.” it draws this importance towards what Gatsby is seeing and how he is always seeing “her” and “it”. Along with the emphasis, it engages the reader by having a vague, incessant feeling. This way they continuously wonder who “her” and what “it” is.
The three most important changes I made in my poem were going into more depth, the addition of more imagery, and creating more metaphors. I felt that my poem needed more substance/depth to it because this gives the reader a better understanding of whom/what I am talking about and can potentially help him or her gain a better understanding of the thesis. I felt it was also important to add more imagery because my poem lacked the sense of connectivity. Imagery is what makes the readers see and feel the poem. It allows them to make personal connections to the poem and put themselves into it. Therefore I thought this was an important change to make because my poem greatly lacked imagery. My last change was creating more metaphors in the poem. Adding metaphors let me make my point by illustrating it and not just simply stating it.
All of these changes enhanced my poem with emotion. Originally it was simple and straightforward. But there wasn’t a lot of depth to it that allowed the reader to connect to the poem and fall into the words. For example, in my first poem I wrote:
I see her, it.
The prized possession through the unbreakable glass,
trivial desire.
Reaching for the green lucrative leaves , the smell of endless opportunities.
Her soft red lips of ecstasy drip with words of affluent lust and elusive dreams
In my second draft I wrote:
I see her, it.
The prized possession through the unbreakable glass,
trivial desire.
I reach
fingers weaken with every pulse towards her beckoning soft, red lips
faintly separated in ecstasy.
Eyes deceived by her crystal polished glass tipped further away with each stretch.
The glass falls from her red stained mouth, Dom Perignon cascades onto red carpet
Her words dripping money
lust
and elusive dreams
These changes I made grasp the readers’ senses and feelings and therefore enable them to put themselves into the poem and connect. For instance when I say “fingers weaken with every pulse towards her beckoning…” the reader is able to almost see the person fighting to reach the goal. I even think it lets the audience imagine something that they have once fought for with every pulse in their body, therefore they connect more to the feeling of what is happening.
For my Great Gatsby project, I decided to write a poem. I chose to do so because I felt the book left quite a bit of room for your own perception and imagination and I could express my ideas on the book in a unique, elusive way.
Poem:
Sweet Nothing
I see her, it.
The prized possession through the unbreakable glass,
trivial desire.
I reach
fingers weaken with every pulse towards her beckoning soft, red lips
faintly separated in ecstasy.
Eyes deceived by her crystal polished glass tipped further away with each stretch.
The glass falls from her red stained mouth, Dom Perignon cascades onto red carpet
Her words dripping money
lust
and elusive dreams
Reaching
My hands grow colder.
The endless goal touches my fingers but only leaves the feelings of cold nothingness.
A game of chase that continuously breaks the rules-
one can rarely win.
I am rejected by the stinging slap of the disdainful air.
I see her, it.
I reach for the empty prosperity
I am a hopeless wanderer lost in her green captivating eyes.
Always in my dreams but never in the grasp of my worn, cold, empty hands.
A treasure marked by a sharp and bitter pain that only bears teeth when in the hands of the dreamer.
I see her, it.
But that is all it will ever be.
A lonely eluded sight never meant to touch,
Only to see.
Poem Reflection:
Some of the poetic devices I used include metaphor, poetic license and repetition of a phrase. Using a metaphor within my poem allows me to capture the audience's mind in a more relatable or abstract way. Metaphors permit the reader to connect with the poem by letting their own mind define the metaphor. The use of a metaphor also paints a more abstract picture for the audience which can often make it more relatable. The use of poetic license helped my poem by making the reader pause at unlikely sections. This enhances my poem because it makes certain words or phrases stand out more clearly and causes them to have more of an impact on the reader when forced to pause. In addition to the use of metaphors and poetic license I also used the poetic device of repetition. Repetition is effective in the way that it emphasizes an idea and engages the reader. When I repeat the phrase “I see her, it.” it draws this importance towards what Gatsby is seeing and how he is always seeing “her” and “it”. Along with the emphasis, it engages the reader by having a vague, incessant feeling. This way they continuously wonder who “her” and what “it” is.
The three most important changes I made in my poem were going into more depth, the addition of more imagery, and creating more metaphors. I felt that my poem needed more substance/depth to it because this gives the reader a better understanding of whom/what I am talking about and can potentially help him or her gain a better understanding of the thesis. I felt it was also important to add more imagery because my poem lacked the sense of connectivity. Imagery is what makes the readers see and feel the poem. It allows them to make personal connections to the poem and put themselves into it. Therefore I thought this was an important change to make because my poem greatly lacked imagery. My last change was creating more metaphors in the poem. Adding metaphors let me make my point by illustrating it and not just simply stating it.
All of these changes enhanced my poem with emotion. Originally it was simple and straightforward. But there wasn’t a lot of depth to it that allowed the reader to connect to the poem and fall into the words. For example, in my first poem I wrote:
I see her, it.
The prized possession through the unbreakable glass,
trivial desire.
Reaching for the green lucrative leaves , the smell of endless opportunities.
Her soft red lips of ecstasy drip with words of affluent lust and elusive dreams
In my second draft I wrote:
I see her, it.
The prized possession through the unbreakable glass,
trivial desire.
I reach
fingers weaken with every pulse towards her beckoning soft, red lips
faintly separated in ecstasy.
Eyes deceived by her crystal polished glass tipped further away with each stretch.
The glass falls from her red stained mouth, Dom Perignon cascades onto red carpet
Her words dripping money
lust
and elusive dreams
These changes I made grasp the readers’ senses and feelings and therefore enable them to put themselves into the poem and connect. For instance when I say “fingers weaken with every pulse towards her beckoning…” the reader is able to almost see the person fighting to reach the goal. I even think it lets the audience imagine something that they have once fought for with every pulse in their body, therefore they connect more to the feeling of what is happening.
Half the Sky
For this book project, a friend and I decided to raise money to send to an organization that helps support girls through an education. To raise this money we held a bake sale at our school once a week.
For this book project, a friend and I decided to raise money to send to an organization that helps support girls through an education. To raise this money we held a bake sale at our school once a week.
To learn more about the organization we are supporting, please click here.
Written Letter to Organization
Dear Girls be Ambitious,
We are two students in Durango, CO who are holding a fundraiser at Animas High School for your program. We read the book Half the Sky for an honors humanities project and felt inspired to help.
We both believe that the best way to change the world is through education. At Animas High School we have endless opportunities to learn and to pursue the career of our choice. It is our hope that someday every child has this opportunity. However, this is not today's reality. We wanted to do our part to help make this dream a reality, so we started raising money through a bake sale to help support your organization and help girls get an education.
Education is shown to be one of the most liberating tools. It creates an array of opportunities that will ripple onto future generations. Although it may take longer to see the positive effects that an education can bring, it is more effective and long lasting than giving out food, money or condoms to prevent pregnancy. Education gives people the tools to make changes themselves and create a successful future. As Derek Bok said, "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance". A lot of oppression and cruelty comes from ignorance.
Rather than being against the oppression of girls and women, we are for the liberation and education of girls and women. Your program supports women to fight for their rights to gain an education, encourages them to pursue what they enjoy and supports women to make a strong prosperous future for themselves. Thank you for the work you do and we are honored to help in any way we can.
Seminar Prep
Half the Sky is a heart-wrenching, a reality-shaking and an awe-inspiring book that follows the lives of young girls and women throughout Africa and Asia being suppressed by oppression and violence. The authors Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, captivate you through the tragic stories of young girls being sold into sex trafficking at even the young age of eight and fighting for their freedom, women being forced to have children and stay at home and mass public rapings and beatings. The book, however, does not simply focus on the sad barbaric tales of these women but goes on to help find solutions. Solutions such as finding women sustainable jobs, getting locals involved in organizations with one another, obtaining donors, providing medical care to pregnant women and ultimately procuring young girls an education. Though it is unimaginable how these women move on and find joy in everyday life, almost every story has some degree of triumph in the end and there is still hope for the future.
As I was reading this book I found myself needing to periodically stop and take a break from reading. The stories told and the events described in this book are not something easily absorbed. It is unfathomable to me how these women keep striving for a better life and never give up. But what is even more unbelievable to me is how everyone puts this issue on the back burner. In the introduction of the book it states, “… It appears that more girls have been killed in the last fifty years, precisely because they were girls, than men were killed in all the battles of the twentieth century. More girls are killed in this routine “gendercide” in any one decade than people who were slaughtered in all the genocides of the twentieth century (xvii).” Not only are these numbers astonishing to me, but if the roles were switched and men were in this situation, this would not be acceptable. Even though more women are being enrolled into colleges and are gaining more prestigious jobs than men, women will always be seen as inferior to men and therefore it is more acceptable to harm and degrade women. This may be an over generalization, but the fact that there is not an issue of men being sold to brothels seems to be a large indicator that this is truth.
Questions:
Do you think the “savior” mindset that Americans (or whites) tend to have is harming other cultures? Or do you think without the support we give these situations of oppression would be worse off?
Why is sex trade such an ignored tragedy in our modern world? Do you think people choose to overlook this issue? Or are people just unaware of its existence?
Why do you think education is the main success to help solving this issue?
Written Letter to Organization
Dear Girls be Ambitious,
We are two students in Durango, CO who are holding a fundraiser at Animas High School for your program. We read the book Half the Sky for an honors humanities project and felt inspired to help.
We both believe that the best way to change the world is through education. At Animas High School we have endless opportunities to learn and to pursue the career of our choice. It is our hope that someday every child has this opportunity. However, this is not today's reality. We wanted to do our part to help make this dream a reality, so we started raising money through a bake sale to help support your organization and help girls get an education.
Education is shown to be one of the most liberating tools. It creates an array of opportunities that will ripple onto future generations. Although it may take longer to see the positive effects that an education can bring, it is more effective and long lasting than giving out food, money or condoms to prevent pregnancy. Education gives people the tools to make changes themselves and create a successful future. As Derek Bok said, "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance". A lot of oppression and cruelty comes from ignorance.
Rather than being against the oppression of girls and women, we are for the liberation and education of girls and women. Your program supports women to fight for their rights to gain an education, encourages them to pursue what they enjoy and supports women to make a strong prosperous future for themselves. Thank you for the work you do and we are honored to help in any way we can.
Seminar Prep
Half the Sky is a heart-wrenching, a reality-shaking and an awe-inspiring book that follows the lives of young girls and women throughout Africa and Asia being suppressed by oppression and violence. The authors Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, captivate you through the tragic stories of young girls being sold into sex trafficking at even the young age of eight and fighting for their freedom, women being forced to have children and stay at home and mass public rapings and beatings. The book, however, does not simply focus on the sad barbaric tales of these women but goes on to help find solutions. Solutions such as finding women sustainable jobs, getting locals involved in organizations with one another, obtaining donors, providing medical care to pregnant women and ultimately procuring young girls an education. Though it is unimaginable how these women move on and find joy in everyday life, almost every story has some degree of triumph in the end and there is still hope for the future.
As I was reading this book I found myself needing to periodically stop and take a break from reading. The stories told and the events described in this book are not something easily absorbed. It is unfathomable to me how these women keep striving for a better life and never give up. But what is even more unbelievable to me is how everyone puts this issue on the back burner. In the introduction of the book it states, “… It appears that more girls have been killed in the last fifty years, precisely because they were girls, than men were killed in all the battles of the twentieth century. More girls are killed in this routine “gendercide” in any one decade than people who were slaughtered in all the genocides of the twentieth century (xvii).” Not only are these numbers astonishing to me, but if the roles were switched and men were in this situation, this would not be acceptable. Even though more women are being enrolled into colleges and are gaining more prestigious jobs than men, women will always be seen as inferior to men and therefore it is more acceptable to harm and degrade women. This may be an over generalization, but the fact that there is not an issue of men being sold to brothels seems to be a large indicator that this is truth.
Questions:
Do you think the “savior” mindset that Americans (or whites) tend to have is harming other cultures? Or do you think without the support we give these situations of oppression would be worse off?
Why is sex trade such an ignored tragedy in our modern world? Do you think people choose to overlook this issue? Or are people just unaware of its existence?
Why do you think education is the main success to help solving this issue?
Fahrenheit 451
Due to the lack of time in the school year, we were only required to do projects for two of the books and therefor I did not create a project for this specific book. However, we still had a socratic seminar on the book.
Seminar Prep
1. Pick a quote that stood out to you as significant. Include the page number. Analyze this quote.
When reflecting on the book, one quote particularly stood out to me. On page 49, Millie asks Montag to “let” her alone. When she says this he replies: “Let you alone! That’s all very well, but how can I leave myself alone? We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered…?” This quote stood out to me I think because it is so true in our day and age. I feel that in our society we don’t ask many questions any more or push back on what people tell us. We follow the crowd, listen to mainstream beliefs and basically take whatever information is given to us without questioning it. In the book, this same thing is happening but to a larger degree. In the book their whole society has lost touch with research, questioning and reasoning. They are told what to do, think and believe and anything besides what they are told is virtually taboo. When Montag says “we need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while.” I think he means that no one is pushed out of their comfort zone or forced to ask themselves why they are doing what they are doing and living the way they are (which is essential part of growing as a person). Society is left alone too much in the way that our actions, morals and beliefs are no longer being questioned or challenged. We are beginning to be left alone for too long and are losing our scene of reason.
2. Describe Mildred’s character. Is she happy? Would you be happier if you didn’t have to think or be “bothered”?
Mildred (Guy’s wife) is a brittle, bland, narrow minded, self-absorbed, unoriginal, and conformist character. She is obsessed with watching TV, doesn’t really care about what her husband has to say or wants and tends to do what everyone else is (watches the same shows, has weekly parties etc...). And even though she has her friends and TV “family” to keep her entertained and is aware that these superficial things are supposed to keep her happy, I don’t believe it does. I say this not only because she tries to kill herself in the beginning of the book, but I got the sense that she was unhappy through the way she talked to her husband, her overall actions and the shallow comments she would make in conversations. I believe this has a lot to do with the fact that there are no books/creativity around and that she was never forced to think or question herself (I think that is why she called the firemen, because she was scared when the books were available to her and she had the opportunity to think for herself.)
I think if I were placed in a society where no books were allowed, that I would be happy at first because it would be a more care-free society; however, after a while I think I would grow to become very unhappy. I say this because I think one of the greatest aspects of growing as a human is being pushed to question yourself and your beliefs. Being pushed to think makes you question yourself and encourages you to find the answers and through this process I believe growth is achieved.
3. On page 27, Clarisse tells Montag “Sometimes I’m ancient. I’m afraid of children my own age. They kill each other. Did it always use to be that way?”... What do you think she means by this? Is there a hidden meaning here or do you think she is just talking about how kids do kill one another?
I think that Clarisse had both a literal and hidden meaning to her statement here. Kids now-a-days do harm and kill each other but I think she had more of a figurative meaning. I think our society is growing to be a more “dark” place where we cover our feelings through technology and are becoming less able to express ourselves. Because of this we bottle up how we feel and take it out on others through bullying, violence and bringing others down. When she says “kill”, I somewhat want to believe that kids are killing one another not physically but killing each other in the way of who they are. We shoot one another down and we conform to how everyone else acts around us to ensure we don’t get picked on. So in response to this question, I believe she meant it both literally and figuratively. Kids do kill one another not only by physically killing but also through destroying self-individuality.
Questions:
On page 27, Clarisse tells Montag “Sometimes I’m ancient. I’m afraid of children my own age. They kill each other. Did it always use to be that way?”... What do you think she means by this? Is there a hidden meaning here or do you think she is just talking about how kids do kill one another?
What effects do books have on people? How is their society without books different from ours?
In my opinion, I felt that the author wrote this book in a unique way in that it felt somewhat scattered (it doesn’t flow as much as other books do). Do you think this is simply the way he writes, or did he write the book this way to have an effect on the readers? If so, what effect would this cause on the reader?
Due to the lack of time in the school year, we were only required to do projects for two of the books and therefor I did not create a project for this specific book. However, we still had a socratic seminar on the book.
Seminar Prep
1. Pick a quote that stood out to you as significant. Include the page number. Analyze this quote.
When reflecting on the book, one quote particularly stood out to me. On page 49, Millie asks Montag to “let” her alone. When she says this he replies: “Let you alone! That’s all very well, but how can I leave myself alone? We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered…?” This quote stood out to me I think because it is so true in our day and age. I feel that in our society we don’t ask many questions any more or push back on what people tell us. We follow the crowd, listen to mainstream beliefs and basically take whatever information is given to us without questioning it. In the book, this same thing is happening but to a larger degree. In the book their whole society has lost touch with research, questioning and reasoning. They are told what to do, think and believe and anything besides what they are told is virtually taboo. When Montag says “we need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while.” I think he means that no one is pushed out of their comfort zone or forced to ask themselves why they are doing what they are doing and living the way they are (which is essential part of growing as a person). Society is left alone too much in the way that our actions, morals and beliefs are no longer being questioned or challenged. We are beginning to be left alone for too long and are losing our scene of reason.
2. Describe Mildred’s character. Is she happy? Would you be happier if you didn’t have to think or be “bothered”?
Mildred (Guy’s wife) is a brittle, bland, narrow minded, self-absorbed, unoriginal, and conformist character. She is obsessed with watching TV, doesn’t really care about what her husband has to say or wants and tends to do what everyone else is (watches the same shows, has weekly parties etc...). And even though she has her friends and TV “family” to keep her entertained and is aware that these superficial things are supposed to keep her happy, I don’t believe it does. I say this not only because she tries to kill herself in the beginning of the book, but I got the sense that she was unhappy through the way she talked to her husband, her overall actions and the shallow comments she would make in conversations. I believe this has a lot to do with the fact that there are no books/creativity around and that she was never forced to think or question herself (I think that is why she called the firemen, because she was scared when the books were available to her and she had the opportunity to think for herself.)
I think if I were placed in a society where no books were allowed, that I would be happy at first because it would be a more care-free society; however, after a while I think I would grow to become very unhappy. I say this because I think one of the greatest aspects of growing as a human is being pushed to question yourself and your beliefs. Being pushed to think makes you question yourself and encourages you to find the answers and through this process I believe growth is achieved.
3. On page 27, Clarisse tells Montag “Sometimes I’m ancient. I’m afraid of children my own age. They kill each other. Did it always use to be that way?”... What do you think she means by this? Is there a hidden meaning here or do you think she is just talking about how kids do kill one another?
I think that Clarisse had both a literal and hidden meaning to her statement here. Kids now-a-days do harm and kill each other but I think she had more of a figurative meaning. I think our society is growing to be a more “dark” place where we cover our feelings through technology and are becoming less able to express ourselves. Because of this we bottle up how we feel and take it out on others through bullying, violence and bringing others down. When she says “kill”, I somewhat want to believe that kids are killing one another not physically but killing each other in the way of who they are. We shoot one another down and we conform to how everyone else acts around us to ensure we don’t get picked on. So in response to this question, I believe she meant it both literally and figuratively. Kids do kill one another not only by physically killing but also through destroying self-individuality.
Questions:
On page 27, Clarisse tells Montag “Sometimes I’m ancient. I’m afraid of children my own age. They kill each other. Did it always use to be that way?”... What do you think she means by this? Is there a hidden meaning here or do you think she is just talking about how kids do kill one another?
What effects do books have on people? How is their society without books different from ours?
In my opinion, I felt that the author wrote this book in a unique way in that it felt somewhat scattered (it doesn’t flow as much as other books do). Do you think this is simply the way he writes, or did he write the book this way to have an effect on the readers? If so, what effect would this cause on the reader?
Honors INDEPENDENT Study: The disability act
Here are pictures of the painting I created for my independent study.
Artist Statement
Thesis: Past injustices experienced by marginalized disabled people prior to the American Disability Act of 1990 fueled their resistance efforts and demands for equality. However, it is essential that we are aware of the present discrimination and not forget these past injustices as we continue to demand equality from one another.
My piece clearly shows the resistance of the marginalized disabled people and serves as a remembrance that we all want equality through the quote itself. The quote, to me, gives this idea that they have accepted themselves as who they are and are well aware of the disadvantage they have, but if they can accept themselves, others should be able to as well and treat them as equals. Furthermore, the past and current form of discrimination is displayed by the use of the negative/degrading words above the wire. This painting holds value in the way that it displays the importance of the American Disability Act. The ADA shows this never-ending battle of perseverance. In addition, it shows that there is still discrimination in our society against people who are “different” that needs to be addressed.
The dark red in my painting expresses the negativity and doubtfulness that oppresses people with disabilities while the blues and purples show the small glimpse of light and hope pushing its way through. The wire represents the disabled people’s ability to push back, stand up and be resilient against these unending biases towards them. The staples covered with paint show the small “cuts and wounds” from discrimination of others that is slowing scabbing over but will always be there and the words display the constant derision they receive. By using the rhetorical appeal device, pathos, my artwork is quite abstract requiring the audience to have a more emotional connection to it and enabling them to draw their own conclusions on the work.
Incorporating my research into my artwork was difficult for me because in my research I looked a lot at how the Act has affected disabled people in the present and in my artwork I wanted to focus more on the positive aspect of their trials. Therefore it was challenging to find a quote or symbolism that represented all my research. Once I finally chose a quote I faced another trial by choosing the placement and the design of the quote. After much experimenting and perseverance I came to the conclusion to print the words and tear them apart to make them more visible in a unique way.
The resources I read helped me gain a more well-rounded understanding of the different perspectives people have on this “issue” of the ADA. Though I expanded my understanding of disagreeing viewpoints from the resources, I tried using this reoccurring theme of persevering through the consistent discrimination I found in every source. One source that really influenced my project was the film Educating Peter. The film showed that if ones changes their mindset about a disabled person the disabled person in return positively influence you as a person. With this positive outlook, I went into my project determined to find a more optimistic perspective.
Bibliography:“Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 01 Mar. 2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_with_Disabilities_Act_of_1990>.
"AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990, AS AMENDED." AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990, AS AMENDED. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. <http://www.ada.gov/pubs/ada.htm>.
Cole, Julie Shaw. Getting Life. Louisville, KY: Advocado, 2000. Print.
Educating Peter. Dir. Gerardine Wurzburg. 2004. Accessed at: <http://youtu.be/X9cfo7LVry0>
Mayerson, Arlene. "History of the ADA." History of the ADA. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://dredf.org/publications/ada_history.shtml>.
Johnson, Mary. "Passing the Americans with Disabilities Act and The Complaint against Disability Rights." Make Them Go Away: Clint Eastwood, Christopher Reeve and the Case against Disability Rights. Louisville: Advocado, 2003. N. pag. Print.
"Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2012.
Woodruff, Judy. "20 Years After the ADA, Is Life Better for Those With Disabilities?" PBS. PBS, 26 July 2010. Web. 16 Jan. 2013. <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/07/on-anniversary-of-ada-is-life-better-for-those-with-disabilities.html>.
Sources used for project:
Keith, Lois. "What Happened to You?": Writing by Disabled Women. New York: New :Distributed by W.W. Norton &, 1996. Print.
Thesis: Past injustices experienced by marginalized disabled people prior to the American Disability Act of 1990 fueled their resistance efforts and demands for equality. However, it is essential that we are aware of the present discrimination and not forget these past injustices as we continue to demand equality from one another.
My piece clearly shows the resistance of the marginalized disabled people and serves as a remembrance that we all want equality through the quote itself. The quote, to me, gives this idea that they have accepted themselves as who they are and are well aware of the disadvantage they have, but if they can accept themselves, others should be able to as well and treat them as equals. Furthermore, the past and current form of discrimination is displayed by the use of the negative/degrading words above the wire. This painting holds value in the way that it displays the importance of the American Disability Act. The ADA shows this never-ending battle of perseverance. In addition, it shows that there is still discrimination in our society against people who are “different” that needs to be addressed.
The dark red in my painting expresses the negativity and doubtfulness that oppresses people with disabilities while the blues and purples show the small glimpse of light and hope pushing its way through. The wire represents the disabled people’s ability to push back, stand up and be resilient against these unending biases towards them. The staples covered with paint show the small “cuts and wounds” from discrimination of others that is slowing scabbing over but will always be there and the words display the constant derision they receive. By using the rhetorical appeal device, pathos, my artwork is quite abstract requiring the audience to have a more emotional connection to it and enabling them to draw their own conclusions on the work.
Incorporating my research into my artwork was difficult for me because in my research I looked a lot at how the Act has affected disabled people in the present and in my artwork I wanted to focus more on the positive aspect of their trials. Therefore it was challenging to find a quote or symbolism that represented all my research. Once I finally chose a quote I faced another trial by choosing the placement and the design of the quote. After much experimenting and perseverance I came to the conclusion to print the words and tear them apart to make them more visible in a unique way.
The resources I read helped me gain a more well-rounded understanding of the different perspectives people have on this “issue” of the ADA. Though I expanded my understanding of disagreeing viewpoints from the resources, I tried using this reoccurring theme of persevering through the consistent discrimination I found in every source. One source that really influenced my project was the film Educating Peter. The film showed that if ones changes their mindset about a disabled person the disabled person in return positively influence you as a person. With this positive outlook, I went into my project determined to find a more optimistic perspective.
Bibliography:“Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 01 Mar. 2012. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americans_with_Disabilities_Act_of_1990>.
"AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990, AS AMENDED." AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990, AS AMENDED. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2013. <http://www.ada.gov/pubs/ada.htm>.
Cole, Julie Shaw. Getting Life. Louisville, KY: Advocado, 2000. Print.
Educating Peter. Dir. Gerardine Wurzburg. 2004. Accessed at: <http://youtu.be/X9cfo7LVry0>
Mayerson, Arlene. "History of the ADA." History of the ADA. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. <http://dredf.org/publications/ada_history.shtml>.
Johnson, Mary. "Passing the Americans with Disabilities Act and The Complaint against Disability Rights." Make Them Go Away: Clint Eastwood, Christopher Reeve and the Case against Disability Rights. Louisville: Advocado, 2003. N. pag. Print.
"Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities." UN News Center. UN, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2012.
Woodruff, Judy. "20 Years After the ADA, Is Life Better for Those With Disabilities?" PBS. PBS, 26 July 2010. Web. 16 Jan. 2013. <http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/07/on-anniversary-of-ada-is-life-better-for-those-with-disabilities.html>.
Sources used for project:
Keith, Lois. "What Happened to You?": Writing by Disabled Women. New York: New :Distributed by W.W. Norton &, 1996. Print.
Project Reflection
For the Honors extension in Humanities, we were expected to design our own independent study on an event/era in U.S. history that we found interesting or relatable to ourselves. In addition, the contents of this study had to connect to the content/theme being studied in class which was determining if there is justice for all by looking at the security, liberty and equality throughout US history. In order to prepare for the exhibition we were required to study our subject by looking at a selection of poems, films, articles and fiction and non-fiction readings, and creating a documentation binder with responses to all of our sources with the end goal of designing a project to present our learning at a public exhibition.
Going through the process of Honors this first semester was both challenging and yet rewarding. Personally it was challenging for me because it was an independent study and I was in charge of doing all my research, writings and ultimately my final project, not to mention the fact that I had never done an independent study before. This was challenging because it was difficult to narrow down resources on which to base my project that would be beneficial for me while still meeting the requirements. Furthermore, Honors proved to be challenging in the fact that this was in addition to normal Humanities which required me to work on my study in the majority at home. Although Honors was difficult at times, I believe that I created one of my best projects in my Animas High School career. Because I created the project on my own and worked individually much more than I do on other projects, it made me feel a little more confident in myself and my capability to push through uncertainty (which I struggle with a lot). So if nothing else, I gained a little more confidence in myself as a student.
One of the biggest revisions I would have liked to make on my project is to have a more specific research question about the American Disability Act so my project wasn’t so broad. In order to accomplish this I would have tried to write down several thesis statements to try to narrow down what direction I wanted to go with my project. Another revision I would have like to change is to find resources that were more recent and that were a little more fact based. There is not a lot I could have done to revise this part of my project because I spent a week or so just looking for resources and I found the best resources I could. The only other thing I could have done is to try to get in contact with people who were involved in the passing of the Act.
For future honors students, my two biggest suggestions would be: make sure you find resources that are reasonably sized (don’t take on too big of a book) and work on honors whenever you get the chance. Choosing a large resource that has a substantial amount of text not only takes a long time, but I found that after reading it for a long time you begin to lose interest and start paying less attention to the source which not only defeats the purpose of reading it but also makes it more difficult writing the response. It is also crucial that you work on honors throughout all first semester and not just wait until November to start it. I started my honors research in September but then put it off until late November and found myself working over breaks and staying up much later on school nights in order to complete it. Overall I thought the process of Honors was very well thought out. The only suggestions I would have are to let Honor students talk to each other and get ideas during the meetings and to have individual meetings with Honor students more frequently. I think both of these suggestions would allow us to stay on track and be more successful.
For the Honors extension in Humanities, we were expected to design our own independent study on an event/era in U.S. history that we found interesting or relatable to ourselves. In addition, the contents of this study had to connect to the content/theme being studied in class which was determining if there is justice for all by looking at the security, liberty and equality throughout US history. In order to prepare for the exhibition we were required to study our subject by looking at a selection of poems, films, articles and fiction and non-fiction readings, and creating a documentation binder with responses to all of our sources with the end goal of designing a project to present our learning at a public exhibition.
Going through the process of Honors this first semester was both challenging and yet rewarding. Personally it was challenging for me because it was an independent study and I was in charge of doing all my research, writings and ultimately my final project, not to mention the fact that I had never done an independent study before. This was challenging because it was difficult to narrow down resources on which to base my project that would be beneficial for me while still meeting the requirements. Furthermore, Honors proved to be challenging in the fact that this was in addition to normal Humanities which required me to work on my study in the majority at home. Although Honors was difficult at times, I believe that I created one of my best projects in my Animas High School career. Because I created the project on my own and worked individually much more than I do on other projects, it made me feel a little more confident in myself and my capability to push through uncertainty (which I struggle with a lot). So if nothing else, I gained a little more confidence in myself as a student.
One of the biggest revisions I would have liked to make on my project is to have a more specific research question about the American Disability Act so my project wasn’t so broad. In order to accomplish this I would have tried to write down several thesis statements to try to narrow down what direction I wanted to go with my project. Another revision I would have like to change is to find resources that were more recent and that were a little more fact based. There is not a lot I could have done to revise this part of my project because I spent a week or so just looking for resources and I found the best resources I could. The only other thing I could have done is to try to get in contact with people who were involved in the passing of the Act.
For future honors students, my two biggest suggestions would be: make sure you find resources that are reasonably sized (don’t take on too big of a book) and work on honors whenever you get the chance. Choosing a large resource that has a substantial amount of text not only takes a long time, but I found that after reading it for a long time you begin to lose interest and start paying less attention to the source which not only defeats the purpose of reading it but also makes it more difficult writing the response. It is also crucial that you work on honors throughout all first semester and not just wait until November to start it. I started my honors research in September but then put it off until late November and found myself working over breaks and staying up much later on school nights in order to complete it. Overall I thought the process of Honors was very well thought out. The only suggestions I would have are to let Honor students talk to each other and get ideas during the meetings and to have individual meetings with Honor students more frequently. I think both of these suggestions would allow us to stay on track and be more successful.
Documentation Binder
Project Proposal
Overarching Connection
Article Reflection
Fiction Book Reflection
Non-Fiction Chapters Reflection
Film Reflection
Project Proposal
Overarching Connection
Article Reflection
Fiction Book Reflection
Non-Fiction Chapters Reflection
Film Reflection