Audre Lorde

In Audre Lorde's essay, she states that the lady in the library was very kind to her and 
offered to read her a story when she was throwing a tantrum. Because of her, Audre wanted to learn to read. Audre didn't have very good eye sight but she still tried to write even when she was yelled at. The nun at the other school seemed to be quite harsh. Although her teaching methods did seem to work slightly, Aubre still needed help. In fact, she relied on another class mate to tell her what page the lesson was on when she had to read out loud. Aubre was a fabulous reader, she helped her friend who couldn't read as well by whispering to him the words when it was his turn to read. 

Mona Lisa Smile Notes

Ms. Watson encourages Joan to live her dream of being a lawyer and gets her an application to Yale

She tries to get the girls out of the stereo typical "house wife"

Looks up law schools in Pennsylvania for Joan

"Not all who wander are aimless"

Freedom Writers Notes

Bryan doesn't care if the students stay or note but Erin wants them to come to class. She wants them to be lining up at the door.

She's wants to teach the kids even though they don't want to be taught.

She tries to relate to the kids interests to teach them English and poetry

Erin is fighting for the kids to have good books

Erin wants to help improve the kids lives

she goes against what other people say when they tell her to give up but she doesn't

Gets another job to pay for her kids books

Erin gets a third job for more money to pay for a trip for the kids

Erin makes them feel at home

Erin united all of the students

She went against every negative thing people said about her students so she could educate them

She treated them as equals

Gives them hope

Erin is devoted to the kids even outside of school

Erin fights to teach her students their junior year

She ends up teaching them junior and senior year

doesn't let her husband get in between her and her students

What Makes a Good Teacher?

What makes a good teacher? Is it the amount of homework they give you? Is it how easy going they are? Or is it the fact that you actually passed their class? What do I say makes a good teacher? Passion. Passion, is the most important trait when it comes to teaching. If teaching is not what you love, then your student's will not love what you teach. A good teacher puts their heart into every class and are passionate about helping students and educating others. When a teacher loves what they're teaching and loves teaching it, it really shows through to the students and makes them excited about learning more. Me personally, I'm not a big fan of history at all; but that all changed my junior year of high school when I took an American History class with Stephen Pagaard. Stephen Pagaard is probably the most intelligent being on this planet. When it comes to teaching history, he's the best. He made me see history in a whole new way and got me excited about each and every class I had with him. You could literally ask this man anything about history and he could answer it in full text book detail without hesitation. The education I got from this man is one of the best educations I've had all my years in high school. It was such an amazing class that I took his AP European History my senior year. Now, Pagaard can be a harsh critique when it comes to homework, but he's fair. Some students think his class is way to hard, but you actually learn in that class. I've gone through so many classes where the teacher is dull and boring and only cares about their pay check. But I bet you anything Pagaard would teach history for free. He had such passion for teaching! He actually won best history teacher award in the state of Washington. Cool, huh? He's amazing! And you may think he was some uptight nerd who was a bore to talk to. Never. Never did I go a day in his class without laughing like crazy! He was such a funny guy! I could go on and on about Pagaard but then I'd be writing an essay, which I have to do pretty soon anyway. 

In conclusion, when it comes to teaching, passion is key. :)

TED Notes Ken Robinson

Education is a huge topic to talk about

Creativity is as important as literacy and we should treat it the same

Kids aren't afraid of being wrong
"If you're not prepared to be wrong, you're not prepared to be original." 

"We are educating people out of their creative capacities." 

"Everyone is born an artist."

"If we don't grow into creativity, we grow out of it."

Arts are on the bottom of the educational system

The purpose of public education is to create university professors 

Intelligence is diverse, dynamic, distinct 

Creativity is also interactive

First Paper Review

1. Overall I'm very happy with how my paper turned out. I'm sure their could have been a little more editing done to it, but I'm satisfied with it. I did a lot of editing, taking bits and pieces out that weren't necessary, and placing events in order. 

2. Reading my peers' papers, I learned that my paper really wasn't in order and it was actually quite scrambled. For my final draft I placed all my events in the right order and made it less confusing. 

3. At this point I think I need a little more guidance since I wasn't completely sure on how my paper was gonna start or turn out to be. Although we did have a lot of examples, I was still slightly confused on where to begin.

4. I wrote about how music changed my life and how it helped me become a better person. It's a very personal and self-changing experience for me. 

5. I wanted the reader to understand how my experience changed me. I also wanted them to look at the big picture to see how it developed my character and made me into a stronger person. The lesson was to not be afraid to work hard for what you wan because in the end your hard work will pay off. 

How Music Changed My Life

Sheyanne Hughes

Professor Sonia Begert

English 101

26 January 2014

How Music Changed My Life

Music is something that is hard to explain through words. It's something that is explained through instruments; piano, guitar, trumpet, drums, vocals, etc. All are such powerful ways to express one’s self through something other than talking. The way I express myself through music is singing. Singing is something that has always been a part of my life. Ever since I was a small child I would always be singing, even if it wasn't very good, I loved it. As I grew older, I decided to finally take my singing to the next step, choir. 

I joined choir in 6th grade and have continued on with it ever since. Choir is something that people, usually in high school, join for an easy 'A' which, it can be, but when I joined the high school choir, my whole perspective of choir changed. There were auditioned choirs and non-auditioned choirs. Starting out as a freshman, of course I would have to work my way up so I started in a non-auditioned choir. When it came to the auditioned choirs, they were like super heroes to the freshman. They were upper-class men, they knew how to sing, and you could just tell they were happy to be there. It was everyone's, well the try-hard students, dream to be in the auditioned choirs. My dream was to be in Northern Lights, and did I have a ways to go. Northern Lights was an all woman's group. They sang classical songs as well as Jazz. Then there's Jazz Choir which is a mix of men and woman, then there's Chamber Choir. Chamber Choir only sings classical, is a mix of men and woman, and is the top choir. If you were to make it into Northern Lights or Jazz Choir, you would automatically be put into Chamber. With the desire in my heart to be in an auditioned choir, I decided to practice until I made it. 

As a freshman, I knew I wasn't advanced enough to be in any of those choirs, yet I decided that if I wanted to be in an auditioned choir, I had to work hard. Unfortunately, I didn't have time for a vocal coach since I had too much on my plate, but I practiced myself. I would practice at home, increasing my vocal range and training my ear. My hard work paid off when I had finally gotten into Chamber Choir and Northern Lights my junior year. I was so honored to have made it into the top choirs. Northern Lights especially was a small group of girls, ranging from about 15-20 students. Many audition for these choirs, but only a few are selected to be in them. 

One of the most important lessons music taught me was to always go for something I wanted because if I didn't, I would regret it. This being said, in choir we have solos we audition for. Although in my previous years, such as my freshman through junior year, solos were always nerve wrecking to me. Even as a senior they still scared me. Yet, I was determined my senior year to try out for every solo. I wanted to push myself and to not be afraid to put myself out there, especially when it was a solo that I really wanted.  Of course, getting every solo isn't fair, but I did get my fair shares of solos throughout high school. I even auditioned to sing at every fundraiser we had and sang at all of them my junior and senior year. Sometimes, the nerves really get to you, especially when you're listening to the person before you. It really gets to you when all these thoughts fill your head thinking you're going to mess up, or your voice is going to crack, or even that you'll trip going up the stairs getting on the stage. Of course, none of these things ever happened, but nerves are something that always got to me. 

This being said, there was one contest in particular that made my nerves go off the radar my senior year, Solo and Ensemble. It's a contest where choirs from around the district register to sing either a solo, or a group, and compete to go to state and sing. If you make it to state, you compete again to possibly win best in the state. I entered the contest as a mezzo soprano, with a solo. Seeing as this was my senior year, I really wanted to win something, even though I knew I probably wouldn't. Most people who win, or become an alternate, are under the instruction of a vocal coach, seeing as I didn't have one, I knew I'd have to do the majority of the work myself. I picked my own music, and practiced months in advance before the contest. The song I chose was "Silent Noon" by Raulph Vaughan Williams. It is such a beautiful piece, that I knew it was perfect, and of course, my teacher fully supported me and found the sheet music for me. After receiving the sheet music, I would practice for hours a day trying to perfect my tone, sound, and vowels. Of course, every now and then I'd get some help from my choir teacher, but she was so busy helping other students that I basically did all the practicing myself. Thank goodness for my choir teacher who puts on a concert for those participating in the concert. She does this about a week before the contest so that we competing can get most of our nerves out. Even singing in front of my peers I was still nervous, yet my teacher pushed me to do it, believing in me. 

And maybe you're asking, "Well if you're so nervous then why even do it?" The answer to that question is because I love it. I love singing and that amazing feeling you get when you're done, the adrenaline, is all worth it. You just get this feeling of accomplishment. Nothing can ever compare to that feeling. When it was my turn to go up and sing my song, I got so nervous, that when I was introducing the song I sang, I said "Silent Nude" instead of "Silent Noon." It was pretty embarrassing, but the audience all laughed with me, it actually even helped to calm my nerves. 

Yet on the day of the contest, I was still very nervous. When it came time to sing for the judge, I was insanely nervous. I got in front of her, my heart beating out of my chest. All I would tell myself was to breath, smile, and make eye contact with the judge. The piano intro started playing, I started shaking, but as I opened my mouth to sing, I felt something strange inside of me. A complete calmness washed over me. I felt the song through my bones and did my best to sing that song to the best of my ability, just how I practiced. When I finished the song and the piano finished playing, I felt such an amazing feeling of accomplishment and happiness. I had worked so hard for that moment, and to know I was completely happy with my performance made that moment such an incredible one that I'll never forget. It took a while for the results to come up but when they did, I wanted to scream. I had gotten first alternate for mezzo soprano. I hadn't expected to win anything, since I wasn't taking voice lessons, but I at least wanted to try for it. Without music, I would of never fully understood how it felt to be rewarded tremendously for all the hours of hard work you put into something you want to achieve. 

Although I may get anxiety when it comes to singing alone, it is something fun to me. That feeling of anxiety before I sing in front of people is just an obstacle that's in my way. In fact, I felt so good about singing in front of people, that when I sang a solo at my graduation, I wasn't scared at all, I was actually really excited! Everyone gets nerves, but it takes a lot of perseverance to move past them. 

Being a part of music, especially at a young age, is an unforgettable experience. Music is something that will remain in my life forever and is something I will never give up. It taught me to work hard and to never be afraid to go after what I want.