Burning

A) There are many differences and similarities between them. These are the ones that I could think of. Similarities: Hurt themselves, wanted something, had a way of telling the public, wanted to draw attention to their cause, and thought that they needed to do something profound to do so. Differences: The burning Monk did it out of religion rights, but Mohamed Bouazizi burned himself because the government was not listening to the people and what they wanted. He was fed up with who was in control and that they were doing absolutely nothing to help the people. The Burning Monk had burned himself in order to bring awareness to his cause, which was the idea that Vietnam was suffocating Buddhist tradition. He wanted the ban on putting up  the traditional Buddhist flag taken off, wanted Buddhism to have the same rights as Catholicism did, and also  wanted Buddhist monks to have the right to practice their religion. His death, along with what  it created, did have some impact on these goals, including the overthrowing of the Catholic Diem regime that was in control of South Vietnam. Mohamed just  wanted his scale back and also more rights, but the Burning Monk focused his burning on our first amendment.



B) I think that many people would follow these two people’s example, if they wanted something bad enough. Many people fight or what they believe in and use violence in trying to do that, but I had never heard of anyone who would physically hurt themselves, even if they would give up the world to have it. Hurting yourself draws much attention to your cause, but if you do not have a way to share what you are doing, it ends up only hurting you.

C) “Character is the colossal hope of human improvement within and without. Character is blazing sunshine in the soul’s abode, the body. A perfect society is built upon mutual trust. Character is the source of that trust. Character is just what we inwardly are and outwardly do. The secret of inner success is constancy to our highest character. "--Sri Chinmoy

Self Reflection: Reconstruction

How did I feel during planning this presentation? Why did I feel this way?

 A. I felt stressed, but also excited because in the Lincoln-Douglas debate, my group did not do very well.

How did I feel prior to presenting? Why did I feel this way?

                     A.I felt stressed and nervous because I wasn’t sure if my group was going to win, and in the Lincoln Douglas debate, my group did not do very well and I thought this would be my chance to come back.

How did I feel while I was presenting? Why did I feel this way?

                    A. I felt nervous but also confident. I knew what I was going to say, so I was confident. I felt nervous because I wasn’t sure about what the 8^th graders would think of me.

What did I personally do well?

                A. I think that I talked a lot slower this time in front of a live audience. I used to talk a lot faster when I was presenting to a live audience.

What did not go as desired in this presentation?

               A. We had some technical difficulties, but I think that we handled them very well.

On a scale from 1-10, how well do I think I understood the content? Explain.

A. I think that I understood the content at a 7.5 because I learned a lot about the Wade-Davis Bill and Lincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty from PVOnline, and I understood most of it. There were a few pats of information I was missing, but watching the first debate, I got clarified what I wanted to know.

How do I think my group members perceived me? Why do I think this?

                  A.  I think that my group members perceived me as more of a leader than in the beginning of the year. I am now a lot more open with the other students in DLC, so I think that also contributed. I definitely wasn’t the true leader, but I think that my group members perceived me as a hard worker, but that I still needed to practice the content. I gave comments, but I wasn’t sure if I was being too easy. I didn’t want to be mean, but I think I gave some very good feedback. I think this because I seemed to be sort of in charge, but also not the full leader.

How do I think the 8^th graders perceived me? Why do I think this?

A. I think that the 8^th grades perceived me as nice, but also a hard worker. I think that they perceived me this way because I knew the content, but I wasn’t fully open with them.

Knowing that I can only control how I act and react, if I could do this presentation again, what would I change about my actions to make it a more ideal experience?

A. I would definitely try to speak slower, but also talk louder. I would also try to be more open with DLC8.

What are my strengths in groups?

A. I am a leader when necessary, but I can also definitely be a great group member. I also get my work done on time, and cover what I need to. Having quality work is also one of my strengths, but I know I need to figure out what I am going to say.

What areas do I need improvement?

A. I know that I need to speak louder and talk slower. I also need to improve my gesturing.

What is the most important thing I learned about myself? Why is this so important?

A. The most important thing that I learned about myself is that I can be a leader. I always thought of myself as just a group member/in the middle, but I think that now I can be more confident about my work or when I need to give constructive criticism. I do not want to be mean to anybody, but I know that if I give him or her what they need to hear, it can make the group a lot stronger. This is important because when I need to be a leader, I can, and that could make the rest of the group feel supported and put more effort into the project.

Are there any other things that I need to express?

A. I just want to say that everybody in DLC7J did a wonderful job presenting.  

Reflective Blog Entry

Since I entered the DLC7:) at the beginning of the school year, I think I have grown and changed a lot, mentally and technology wise. Mentally, because I used to be always stressed about projects and now I think I seem to be calmer and just have a more calm atmosphere around me. When I first entered the DLC, I didn't know much about technology and did not have a lot of experience with it. Changing has been a gigantic part of the DLC because I definitely have had to adapt to all of the new technology tools that we have been using.

My proudest moment in the DLC7:) would have to be when I came in one day and saw that the Stephen Crane project A was given to my group. I was very proud because I had put a lot of work into the glog and I really thought that it was amazing, but another group would get the A. I know that my group put time and effort into their parts of the project too.

I think that the most challenging assignment in the DLC7:) was the causes of the civil war project, mostly because of how long it had to be. This project came out to be pretty good in the end, mostly because I had to put a lot of time into it. I wanted to really impress everybody, but it didn't work out in the end, although I  had created a pretty good finished product. It was also challenging because there were a lot of causes and I had to pick the main ones. There was a lot of research to do, then put it  into my own words. I think my project came together pretty well in the end.

My favorite moment in the DLC7:) is the same as my proudest moment, but my favorite project was the Stephen Crane project because we could choose what we wanted to do, and how we presented it. I was very glad that Block I got to redo the project. My favorite part of the project was the poem with the ken burns affect for all of the pictures.

My hopes for the second semester for myself would be to make sure that I often want to make my projects better. I'm not sure if I'm a perfectionist, but I do seem to think that I can always make something better. I don't show it on the outside, but I really want to make everything better. An expectation that I have for many people in the DLC7:) is to goof off as much. An expectation for myself would be for me to keep straight A's and put all of my effort into my projects.

I hope to have a great second semester and get to know the afternoon DLC7:) better.