What's Most Important

As I try to remember my thoughts and feelings as a freshman, sophomore, and junior, I realize how much I have matured and grown over 4 long, yet fast years. I think about what mattered most to me back then. Who did I want to become? Who was I trying to impress? Where did I want to attend college? Who did I follow? Although the people I valued the most, like family, were always my main priorities in high school, my social and academic perspectives and values have transformed from being naive and fragile as a freshman to now being strong and independent.

It's surprising how much my first three years of high school stand apart from my senior year. I see my younger, freshman self as a shy, dependent kid dying to break out of his protective shell. As a sophomore, I started taking my first steps to being a confident individual, just starting to develop my own style. Junior year was a huge year for me because I became much more active in school and I worked on building relationships with other people. I could go into so much detail about each year but to keep things short, I'll just say that each year challenged, shaped, and prepared me for the following year. I realize now that I'm not the person I am today because of 4 clearly defined, year-long phases in my life. Over those four years, I've learned and matured gradually and surely.

So as a soon-to-be alumni of LOHS, what matters most to me? I don't care about wearing the coolest or stylish clothing brands, or owning the coolest car, or attending the best college, or having the highest GPA. That being said, I'm not saying that caring about style or academics is unnecessary. What matters most to me are my relationships and connections with other people. Lately, I've been doing my best to strengthen my existing friendships and to foster new ones, realizing how little time I have left in high school. I hope that after high school, I continually build and strengthen my relationships with others, not letting it become a forgotten value.

Graduation Sestina

August begins and we countdown the days

to wave goodbye to high school.

This year we ruled as seniors

and await that blessed ceremony

that will take us to our summer

and into college.

All those applications we completed for college

that took so many days 

of our junior summer

was the last step in completing high school.

Now we prepare for that ceremony 

that will end our reign as seniors.

For now we can enjoy our experience as seniors 

and escape the pressure of rejections from college.

But we are ever drawing near to that ceremony

as the calendar ticks away the days,

we are still enjoying our year of high school 

and saving our goodbyes till summer.

As we draw closer to summer,

we prepare for our last finals as seniors 

that will lead us out of high school.

We are forever waiting for college,

for which we are still counting down the days

until we get to be present at that ceremony.

We send out invitations to our ceremony 

but only focused on the beginnings of summer,

as in fact it's only matter of days.

Though we savor our last moments as seniors,

knowing that soon we'll all be in college;

we take one last look at high school.

Now we wave goodbye to high school

and get our diplomas at our ceremony,

we now become dedicated to college.

We'll enjoy our last summer,

as now we are no longer seniors

but cherish all the memorable days.

We begin college at the end of summer

not forgetting high school or our graduation ceremony,

we say hello to being freshmen and goodbye to being seniors as we start over the countdown of days.

Technology in the Classroom

For me, the addition of School Loop to our academic environment is exciting and progressive, but not for the reasons you may think. Besides School Loop's obvious benefits, such as instant access to grades and homework assignments, it has many other powerful functions, making it more productive than it appears. Instead of looking back to a class syllabus to find a teacher's email address or contact information, we can simply go to SL's messaging system, type in a teacher's name (or other student's), and instantly type up a message to him or her. Instead of running to the store last minute to buy ink for an English paper, we can upload a document to our "locker" and open it up at school or anywhere for that matter. These benefits of SL are not what excite me the most, however. SL in my opinion represents a huge step forward for our local, state, and national education systems to further integrate technology into the classroom and to modernize our technologically outdated classrooms.

In the last year alone, I've witnessed more and more the utilization of social media, blogs, and the Internet to spread campus news, club events, homework assignments, and other school information. As someone familiar with technology, the internet, blogs, Twitter, Facebook, social media, etc., I'm optimistic to see the creative ways technology can be implemented into education. I wish more teachers took Mrs. E's experimental, yet educative approach to technology. We're at a point in time when technology is just beginning to flourish, creating a gap between our generation and the generation prior, and as a result, many teachers have been skeptical to allow mobile devices and computers to be used during class time. It's surprising and admittedly strange that Mrs. E lets us access websites on our phone, for educational purposes of course. The fact that our high school principal blogs is fascinating in itself, but the fact that he tweets and frequently replies to us is impressive and something that would have been impossible years ago. If something like that wasn't possible before 5 years ago, I can't even begin to imagine what is to come in the next few years.

Technology is moving at such a fast pace and I think we sometimes overlook its progression, results, and potential future. Certainly, online access to homework and grades is not new to any of us but the school-wide adoption of this site demonstrates the district's interest in technology for the future. I'm optimistic and hopeful to see the creative ways technology is used specifically for education in the next couple years.

-Matt A.

The Dining Room

This play is the symbol of American life and culture over multiple decades.  Each scene pinpoints different aspects of life and comments on them. The scenes mention how caught up we are in little things but forget to recognize the important things.  This correlates with Jane Eyre and her lack of family there.
The Dining Room strongly shows the importance of enjoying family while its there.  This theme is said at the end of the play when Ruth breaks the third wall and talks about her desire to throw a perfect dinner party with her family, friends, and the people around her.  The scene before also adds to the feeling of enjoying what is here now, because a father is talking to his son about his funeral.  Also throughout the parents pushing their children into things, like the Carolyn and Grace scene, all expose the idea of accepting who people are and loving them anyways.  Later in the play, a young women admits to her father that she has been in a relationship with a women.  Though the Father is obviously aggravated, he still helps his daughter out of her mixed up life. These themes are also in Jane Eyre.  As a young women she goes to a boarding school, where she befriends Grace.  Grace accepts Jane Eyre as she is and helps her even though she may think Jane to be a little stubborn and radical.  Also in the beginning of the book it is clear that the family who took her in is not fond of her. But, one of the sisters treats her kindly.  The sister is brave enough to show Jane kindness even though the family treats Jane poorly and thinks Jane is scum.  
The Dining Room and Jane Eyre all emphasize acceptance and realization of what is truly important. The characters in both that did not focus on the people they love fell into conflict.  While the people that showed compassion for the people around them flourish.                                 

Philosophy is meaningless

It is of my opinion that philosophy in essence is pointless. Granted that we can learn from the points of view of dead intellectuals but it is our jobs as individuals is to formulate our own opinion based on our own experiences and upbringing. What makes these philosophers different than us students. They are people just like us who went through life and came to conclusions based on what they saw, heard, and experienced. I think it is meaningless to learn about that which someone else experienced. It is up to us to be philosophers ourselves and perceive the world as we see fit. To put a unreasonable importance on the thoughts of another individual is to take away your own independence of thought.

Jane/Tess

The characters, Tess and Jane are both the main characters of the novels Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jane Eyre. Tess of the D'Urbervilles is based on the experiences of Tess. Whereas, Jane Eyre is an autobiographical book about Jane. Since they are both women and so they are subject to discrimination. Tess was raped and was not forced to stay quiet by her attacker. But she couldn't do anything.  Jane on the other hand was beaten by a man her age. A normal human today would rush to her side and put a beating on that man. But instead, nothing was done. But time progressed and things changed. Now if anything of that sort was to happen; the men would be criticized and attacked. It's different and obviously both Jane and Tess would fit in now because even though misfortunes occurred, they both are strong women who were made to be kept quiet. They were already bold and not many ladies in the 1800s were like that. Both characters faced challenges, difficulties and hardships, but they were able to tackle them with their best abilities even with the prejudice and discrimination headed their way just for being women.
-Pavneet K.

Ode to Literature-Perspectives

I love you!

You’re horrid

You fill my life with new adventures!

Why can’t you just stay home???

She said what? No way!

Deal with your own problems!

I’ve never thought about it that way before…

Seriously? Now you’re just ranting

Oh! Oh! Watch out behind you!

Really? The author’s going for that old trick?

That’s so sweet… true love at last!

I think you’re making me sick!

A new chance! A new story!

Another one? Why do you keep assigning us these when you know we don’t read?

I’m so excited!

Somebody poke my eyes out….

Thank you!

Thanks again… (for NOTHING)

Finals :(

My blog post this week is about how to relax and not stress before finals, which I know people are stressing. So I'm just going to start off to tell you to take a deep, slow breath. After researching the best ways to de-stress, here it is.
It tell you the top ten ways to de-stress and I think it will actually work. Instead trying to cram a semester's wroth of knowledge in one week, I think it would be better off to relax and think positive, even though cramming helps you learn a little. The mayflies in "Time Flies" had only a day to live and they enjoyed their day, why can't we enjoy life without the final stress. I know this post is really short but I'm trying to follow my advice and relax. :)


-Pavneet K.

The Misperception of the Shark

The shark is known to be a majestic creature that virtually glides through the oceans.  This fish is credited to be one of the greatest predators of the seas.  These rogue fish roam usually unaccompanied.  Sharks dominate most parts of the oceans and even appear to have emerged as a universal human fear.  However, humans bestowed this title of the exceptional scoundrel of the deep.  Sharks are truly beautiful independent creatures that enjoy their solitude and isolation from humans.

            One reason for this characteristic misperception is the history associated with the word shark.  It was understood to be a “dishonest person who preys on others” in the early sixteen hundreds.  The word was associated with deceivers and villains.  Currently people refer to them as con artists.  The term “shark” applies to bandits, frauds, and cheats.  Then in the seventeen hundreds it evolved into “voracious persons”, further decreasing the reputation of the magnificent creature that actually possesses the name.

Alicia M.

Frankenstein

"When I found so astonishing a power placed within my hands, I hesitated a long time concerning the manner in which I should employ it . . . I prepared myself for a multitude of reverses; my operations might be incessantly baffled, and at last my work be imperfect: yet when I considered the improvement which every day takes place in science and mechanics, I was encouraged to hope my present attempts would at least lay the foundations of future success."

 With the amount of innovation in technology today, we must constantly reflect on the power we hold and how we choose to use that power. Although it may not seem like it, the world has advanced quite rapidly in the past century and will continue to do so. Computers, cell phones, televisions, video game consoles, and more have dramatically changed forms in a matter of years. Scientists and engineers have developed robots to optimize production and simplify common jobs and have already started to explore the possibilities of android robots, or human-like robots. Although engineering a mechanical robot and bringing a creature to life are different, they raise questions about human limits and boundaries.

The quote above can be applied to modern science. Current research and development in math and science "lay foundations [for the] future" of our world. What struck me the most about this quote was Victor's hesitation. His hesitation is not surprising, however it does speak a lot about how many of us respond in positions of authority. The ability to bring life into an inanimate creature is definitely a powerful ability to hold. As leaders, researches, engineers, and people, we must be careful and responsible with the power we withhold. Although this is debatable, we must take into consideration what is collectively better for everyone. Would this technology do more harm than good? Does this item improve society? Technology is a wonderful thing and it has without a doubt benefited society in numerous ways, but as always we must consider the consequences of the decisions we make.

-Matt A.

Frankenstein

“I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.”

Frankenstein is a dark and tragic novel and this quote is the start of Victor Frankenstein’s tragedy.  He was so consumed with creating life that he neglected everything else and just focused on that. It’s like us being consumed with facebook or texting that we don’t pay attention to anything else. Though he wasted many years trying to create life that he was blinded by his newly gained knowledge. Once the monster was animated, Frankenstein’s eyes finally opened and he saw the creature he created for what it was. Even though it had life, it was still a bunch of disproportional body parts that wasn’t even close to looking or being like a human. I think Frankenstein having the option to create was what destroyed him. So far this novel is really interesting and I can’t wait to find out what the monster is thinking.  I wonder how much knowledge the monster and what he would be capable of besides terrorizing Frankenstein.

-Pavneet K. 

SHPAM's Literary Theatre

Welcome to Literary Theatre with SHPAM. Today’s lesson will be Figurative Language: Why the Written Word Speaks to Every Level. In other words, it says whatever the heck you want it to. Who knew Six Degrees of Separation was also for analyzing writing?

Think about it: “You have 20 minutes, class. I want a full response, several paragraphs, on images or metaphors in this piece of work and what they mean.” You’ve heard it before. And maybe once, twice if you’re stretching, you actually had an idea that you believed in while you were writing the paper. Odds are, you’re like me, making it up as you go along. I keep a little checklist of likely suspects. Sooo… Animals? Colors? Names? I can always find something to say about one of them. I don’t know about you, but when the teacher gives us one of these, I pray the author mentioned water or snakes.

OK, that didn’t work. It’s some random poem on why kitchens are cool. Dang. Time for a game of “Six Degrees”! Kitchen…. Kitchens have food…. Hey, wasn’t food a symbol of community? In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, way back in sophomore year. Yes! One paragraph down. Next you move into what happens in a kitchen. You already talked about food, so it’s onto what happens next. Washing dishes happens in the kitchen, right? There you go! Water! Your favorite topic when “responding” to literature. You’ve made it back to your safety zone. The work is obviously about rebirth. Come to think about it, every work you’ve ever analyzed somehow connects to water and rebirth. Must be a popular topic.

You’ve got the deeper levels down, or at least your English grade says you do. And the surface level seems crystal clear, but is there more? Here at SHPAM’s Literary Theatre, we support the third level of Literature: Confounding Your Classmates. Try it sometime. Pick the randomest line you can find, and think of a really strange topic. Then see if you can convince a classmate next to you to believe that the line clearly supports that topic. If your English teacher catches you, tell her that you’re trying to help them think deeply about the poem by analyzing to the Third Level of Literature. Just don’t blame us if she hasn’t heard of it.

That’s it for Literary Theatre with SHPAM. Tune in next time to hear SHPAM say:

“Did you know that Edgar Allen Poe’s poem, “The Bells” argues that students should have naptime in class?”

-Shannon D.

"One can only save oneself — and whatever else happens, one can still always do that. But it takes a willingness to be unpopular."

Solitude is still around

            Though it may not be as extreme as Thoreau’s or Emerson’s view of solitude, solitude is still around.  How many times do you beak plans so you can spend a little time at home by yourself?  Sometimes we need that alone time.  For example, sometimes it’s nice to spend a Friday night alone to slow down time and recognize what is really important.  Without a little time alone humans tend to get cranky and unpleasant to be around.  This time is to save ourselves from the realities of the world every once in a while.  Like William Deresiewicz said in his article, “One can only save oneself- and whatever else happens, one can still always do that.”  As much as we hate to be alone sometimes we demand it to just let life cool down and make time stop.  We use the time to release emotions bottled up and find away to relieve some of the pressures we are under.  Solitude never left us.


Alicia M.  

Literature

     Our class's ongoing study of allusion, archetype, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and the different literary periods has reinforced my belief in the emotional power of literature. Specifically, our latest in-class project, in which we compare and contrast Victorian society to modern day society through our Alice squares, further supports my belief. Despite decades and centuries of separation, contemporary readers possess the ability to relate to the emotions and lifestyles of people in past centuries. Literature may be categorized into overlapping time periods, however, its effect on readers is just as powerful today than it was then.
     What kind of power does literature have? In short, it has the ability to connect to an individual's personal morals, values, thoughts, experiences, and knowledge. From my personal experience, I always finish a book with a different emotion than I had when I started reading. I found myself consistently confused as I read Alice because of Wonderland's strangeness. Contrary to what one might think, my confusion added to my understanding of Alice's experience in Wonderland, allowing me to experience what she does. When I reflect on my own life, I can relate to the fear and confusion that Alice experienced on her adventures through Wonderland. My first day of high school may not have been as extravagant and bizarre as Alice's discovery of Wonderland, but I can connect with Alice's curiosity, astonishment, and cautiousness from my experience walking through the school's unexplored hallways. The strength of my emotional response varies from novel to novel, but I always end with a different emotional response: anger, satisfaction, confusion, content, inspiration.
      Although I've discussed literature broadly, literature can be interpreted in many ways and impact people differently. Looking back at all the novels I've read, I realize that each literary work I've encountered has attributed to my growth in maturity and development as a better person.
    
Which novels or other literary works have left you with strong, memorable emotional responses?

-Matt A.
    

Archetypes: Alice and Wonderland and "Big Fish"

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and “Big Fish” directed by Tim Burton both focus around the idea of if the story is fantasy or reality.  In Alice in Wonderland Alice falls into another dimension while in “Big Fish”, a son, Will is trying to find out the truth of all the tall tales his father, Edward would tell. Nevertheless, both are trying to grasp on what is reality. But what enhances the meaning of each are the many archetypes found in them. Alice and Edward both embark on a journey but while Alice sees darkness and confusion around her; Will’s relationship with his father is hanging by a thread.

            In Alice in Wonderland, Alice falls into Wonderland and in the beginning she sees darkness around her while she falls and once she lands in the room. The darkness represents the unknown and also all the chaos that gets caused. Because of the darkness, Alice had to make choices that made her question the reality of things. Later when she meets the queen, Alice is surrounded by red and only red.  Red represents all the ‘sacrifices’ that happened and also shows the queen’s personality. The queen is rather an angry person and she has a violent passion for beheading people. Both archetypes question a person’s sanity as well as how Alice perceived Wonderland to be.

In “Big Fish” Will has a hard time maintaining a relationship with his father, Edward. This father-son conflict complicates the understanding of Edward’s life stories. The fish that is referred to in the story represents Edward himself and throughout the movie the lake, which the fish swims in, shows the mystery in the movie as well as the lake itself. In Will’s story about how his father dies also shows that the lake “revives” Edward. The lake intertwined with the characters’ lives.

In both works there are common archetypes as well. First, the main characters, Alice and Will go on a journey, which sends them in search for reality. Along the way Alice and Will’s father befriend different people like the outcasts of society who help them along the way. Alice meets the Mad Hatter, Cheshire the Cat and the Caterpillar; while Edward gets help from the giant and witch. Even though Will never met the giant and witch, it seems like they also help Will accept the fantasies his dad would recite. Also both Alice and Edward get lost in a forest before they reach their destination. The forest shows the darkness and fear in the characters. Alice, Edward and Will all face obstacles, but at the end they accept the truth that they discover.

All the archetypes in these works make an impact on the meaning. To me the meaning was whether their adventures were fantasy or reality and upon comparing and contrasting the archetypes in both works, the meaning changed to what people perceive as reality. People perceive in different ways; so what to one person would be unrealistic to the other would be their reality. Without the archetypes both works would just be whether their journey really happened, but with all the archetypes like their journey, darkness, father-son conflict, forests, lakes and more; it allows more depth into the meaning.


-Pavneet K.

Big Fish: Spectre??

The question of spectre is one that has been bothering me ever since the town's appearance in the film Big Fish ...what exactly is Tim Burton trying to represent with this somewhat paradise-like town? Is the inclusion of the town some type of allusion to some sort of  heaven/afterlife. The scene where the Mayor of the town greets Edward Bloom with a clipboard in his hand on which lies Edward's name certainly suggests so. However, there are some concepts that seem to contradict this view of Spectre. For example, there is the appearance of the naked siren-like woman in the river, which seems to suggest that the town could be some sort of trap. Yet another view could possibly be that Spectre represents a utopian society that later becomes ruined by the introduction of the "outside world" by way of the financial market and shady business dealings.This could possibly be the directors way of commenting on the corrupting ability of money. There is also the the concept that everything is never as good as it seems. For example, though spectre seemed to be a paradise on the surface, the overall goodness of the place stifled the creative ability of the poet. Which seems to suggest that maybe too much of a good thing is bad. After leaving the town, the poet went on to do great things, which goes back to the whlole goldfish in a small bowl metaphor expressed earlier in the film.With all this being said I have come to the unsatisfying conclusion that there is no clear cut reference or allusion that spectre represents. The different metaphorical concepts signified by the wonderous town of Spectre are simply left to interpretation.


Hakim R.

The Essay of the Dying Student

Green Snake…. Green snake... Temptation, of course, Adam and Eve, apple, all of that… But is that it? Hmmm…. Green and gold; it had gold scales, right? Yeah… Ummm… what color are asps? Could it be Cleopatra? No, asps are black, aren’t they? Hmmm… tires are black… so are roads… Do I need gas? No, Dad got me some last week, so I wouldn’t ask him for some money to pay for it. Hey, it’s allowance week! Yes! Can I go shopping? Or should I save it for Christmas? Dad’s birthday is coming up soon; I should save up for that. What did he want? That I can afford… What about the— “Hey, Shannon, you almost done? I’m stuck on coming up on the thesis statement. Did she want us to focus on archetype impact, or allusion?” “Huh? Uh, both I think. Or whichever you thought was most important.” I shrugged. Ah! Focus! We’ve only got a half hour left. Ok, so we covered how the allusion was used. What was next? How using that allusion affects the meaning of the poem? Well, it certainly wouldn’t be the same if she were admiring an oyster… Well, that wouldn’t fit in the poem at all, since her “companions” wouldn’t be afraid or even uneasy of an oyster. Afraid for her maybe, but not afraid of the oyster. What could they be afraid of that wouldn’t mean anything in an allusion? Hmmmm…. A PLATYPUS! Hah! No one alludes to a platypus, and the “companions” would be afraid of that venom spike… If they knew it existed…. Whatever, it would not be the same poem without the snake right? The snake makes the poem. I should write a poem, “To the Platypus.” Then it would be an allusion to the allusion of the snake, and I could satire it! Does it count as an allusion if no one will get it but the author? Or is it then an inside joke? Brrrrrriiiinnnnnng! Crap. There goes my essay.

-Shannon D.

Author's Addendum: The title is an inside joke. Ten points if you get the allusion! ;)