Poem 3

Life is a roller coaster. 

Its filled with highs, and lows.

It has unexpected twist and turns.

Sometimes you think you've had enough,

     but then it turns you upside down again.

There's both fun times and scary times,

     and sometimes you just feel like getting off. 

But one things for sure,

     in the end its always worth the ride. 

Poem 2 

 

The morning had arrived,

            the morning that seemed to have never come.

I rushed oust of bed, snow day style,

            and we piled into the car, luggage and all.

As we drove the airport approached.

We raced in to various sounds,

           sounds of rolling luggage, 

           sounds of racing foot steps

           sounds of frantic people racing to their gate, 

           even sounds of the announcer’s voice  saying, “last call for flight 632”

We approached the plane only to find,

            Flight Attendants rushing on board,

            baggage men piling the luggage into the check bins,

            even the man arguing, his bag was small enough to carry on.

After embracing all this commotion and excitement,

             I took a courageous step, unto my first flight.

The flight that couldn’t have come soon enough.

            

Poem 1

Some days are sunny-

            full of life and wonder,

            as yellow as a freshly squeezed lemon,

            as bright as a shiny new light bulb.

Although other days are rainy-

            full of dreary and dullness,

as grey as an old man’s hair,

as dull as a worn down pencil.

Yet they’re both equal days,

            each one bringing what it has to offer. 

                                   -Nicole Schettler

 

wiki 5 20/20 - good post! Hope you're back soon.. miss your smile in class!

November 6, 2009

Wk. 5 Critique

Corey Bausher, Bethany Lyons, and Rachel Krauss

Pitch and Voice: I thought that all three students did a good job at really projecting their voices. None of them were hard to hear and they really spoke up. Their voices changed pitch a lot, which was good because it kept my attention. None of them were monotone; they changed their pitch according to the words and part of the play they were speaking. They even brought a bit of acting to chapel, instead of just reading the script they acted it out, and brought some theather to chapel.

Eye Contact: Even though the students had scripts they still managed to make good eye contact. Bethany and Rachel did a good job at moving their eye contact from one side of the gym to another.

Gestures: They used some gestures, but since they had a script it was harder for them to do gestures. However, the gestures they used were good, and fit in with the story they were reading.

Facial Expressions: They all used good facial expressions and they were not tempted to just read of the script. It would have been easy for them to just read off the paper, but instead they made good eye contact, and had good gestures and facial expressions at the appropriate time. The skit made chapel more interesting and entertaining.

 

wiki 4 - 20/20 - Good post. I don't know if I would've handled the bird quite the same way, but he got through in spite of it. I agree with the step back step up thing he does!

October 30,2009 

Wk.4 Critique 

Pr. Clausing- Wednesday Chapel 

Pitch and Voice: Pastor Clausing's voice projected throughout the whole gym, he was loud enough so that you wouldn't have to strain to hear him. 

Gestures: He used his hands and made god gestures at the appropriate time. 

Eye Contact: He kept good eye contact and tried to look at everyone in the room. He did a good at smoothly transitioning ( moving his eyes and position) from one group of people to the next.

Movement: He had a repeated "weird" movement where throughout the entire sermon he would step away from the podium and talk a little bit and then step toward the podium. He repeated this same movement throughout the sermon, and at times it was a little distracting. 

Ability to keep speaking even when there is a major distraction: During Pastor Clausing's sermon a bird was flying around the entire gym, and as a result most of the student were found looking up at the celling and laughing. Pastor Clausing did a very good job at keeping his "cool" and continuing on with his sermon/speech. He never once looked up or around to see what was going on, he kept going right through his speech, keeping good eye contact, and staying focused on his message. 

 

wiki 3 - 20/20 - excellent job, Nicole. I love how organized your posts are!

October 23, 2009 

Wk.3 Critique

Vicar Mizel  

Pitch and Voice: Vicar Mizel projected his voice very well. He was able to make himself heard throughout the entire gym, and really spoke well.

Gestures: Vicar Mizel's gestures were very different from those normally used. I noticed that he never laid his arms flat at his side he always kept his arms bent and at 90 degree angles. I had never seen anyone do that before, he used his hands and made gestures with them, but he seemed to keep his arms bent the whole time. His arms stayed bent and in one spot but his hands moved about freely and made gestures. 

Eye Contact and Movement: He made good eye contact, he never looked away from his audience. I noticed that when he moved he moved really abruptly, he didn't smoothly change directions, he turned really fast back and forth to each side. He didn't really have a smooth transition when changing angles in his speech, it was more a sudden change in directions when he was speaking. 

He was overall a very effective speaker, he really kept my attention. He didn't keep the same tone, he changed his pitch at certain parts of the speech like when he said,  " Get out of the boat" he made that statement always loud, clear and concise. He was a very good speaker and held your attention throughout the entire speech. 

 

wiki 2 - 21*/20 - excellent critque! Wow! Loads of detail!

October 16

Wk2. Critique

Mr. Kuhlmann

Pitch and Voice: Mr. Kuhlmann's voice was very loud and could be easily heard throughout the entire gym. He really projected his voice well, and it didn't stay at one pitch (monotone) he knew when to use a slightly softer voice and when to use a more loud and forceful voice.

Gestures: He used really good gestures, sometimes he used both hands to emphasize something with greater impact and other times he would just do slight simple gestures with one hand. He had very good use of gestures throughout his entire speech.

 

Eye Contact and Movement: When he spoke he really "worked the room" he didn't just stand in one place he was turning and moving to all directions of the gym. He did however not look at the far right side closest to the stage. He, like most speakers tends to forget about that section of the gym, and as a result doesn't really speak to them. He held good eye contact throughout the whole speech, he didn't even have an outline or anything to look at most of the time. Overall he gave the speech with great confidence, and knew the speech word for word without it sounding like he was just regurgitating it back to us. It sounded rehearsed and well written but at the same time he still had a great connection with his audience.

 

wiki 1 20/20 - great response work!

Public Speaking WK.1 Critique

Rev. Arle

Elements of vocal delivery 

Inflection and Pitch- His voice was very monotone, so it was hard to pay attention to what he was saying. Since his tone or pitch never changed the speech didn't really keep my interest. His volume was a little soft but you could still hear him, it wasn't so soft that you had to strain to hear him. 

Facial Expression- He had one recurring facial expression the whole speech, he really didn't change his expression or mood. This made it harder to get into the speech, because he didn't seem interested in it so therefore it was harder for me as a listener to get interested in the speech. 

Eye Contact and Movement- This speaker seemed as though he was only talking to one side of the room. He moved around and had good gestures toward the one side but never turned and really spoke to the other side. He seemed to glance over to the other side every once and a while but mostly he seemed to be speaking to one side of the gym only. He did however make good eye contact with the one side of the gym, but several other parts of the gym he seemed to not even be speaking to. Especially the section of people closest to the stage, he never turned to speak toward them.

He appeared confident though, he seemed like he had practiced the speech, and was prepared. He seemed very knowledgeable and confident on the material he was presenting. 

 

 

 

Riches to Rags

Everything was going according to plan. It seemed I had it all, high popularity status, the quarterback boyfriend, great friends, and a soon to be scholarship at the best Ivy League school in the nation. As I thought about this, I slammed my locker door shut. It paid to go to one of the best college prep schools in the state; because you’re more likely to get accepted into the Ivy League schools, because they know if you can survive college prep, you can survive Ivy League.

I pressed the shiny silver unlock button on by BMW convertible Z-3, I loved the reassuring click it made, telling me it had been waiting for me to drive it home all day. As I got into my car I buckled up, and set down my Louis Vutton clutch, along with my trillion pound textbooks in the shotgun seat next to me.

            I drove up to the gate that secured my subdivision and pressed the code 2173, and to no surprise the gate opened and I cruised into my subdivision. I absolutely loved living here; it was one of the safest subdivisions around. The neighbors made you feel so welcome and at home. I made a large right turn into the circular driveway surrounding my house, slammed the door behind me and clicked the shiny silver lock key three times. Before I opened the door, I glanced at my shiny new coach watch it read 3:45, which meant I was running a little late.

            “Finally your home,” my mother said in the most annoyed and antagonized voice I had ever heard.

            She always seemed to be so dramatic about everything, like if I’m not home at exactly 3:25, she goes crazy.

“Sorry,” I said “I was… having trouble getting in the front gate.”

            “Excuses, Excuses you always have one, come into the den your father and I need to talk to you.”

            Oh no, I thought this didn’t sound good, the only reason my mom ever called me into “the den” was either when someone had died, or they had gotten to the mail before I did and saw my mid term grades. I walked apprehensively to the den and sat down in the big red velvet love seat, my father had imported from Italy. He was sitting in his chair behind his oak antique desk, and he was facing the other way, so I couldn’t tell if he was holding a mid term or an obituary paper. I chewed on my gum franticly, it was always something I did when I got nervous, and had been since I was a child. He turned around, luckily with empty hands and starred at me sternly.    

            “Something has happened, sweetheart,” he said calmly “I’m afraid it’s not good.”

            I tried to look to my mother for hints, but her face was completely lifeless and blank. She seemed nervous too, as she scooted her Tiffanys ring up and down her bony finger.

“Ok,” I said calmly “So what is it, what’s not good?” My Father gave a rapid glance at my mother and proceeded

“I’ve lost” he hesitated, “I’ve lost my job.”

I sat there too perplexed to say anything at all, every thought imaginable was running through my head at that time. My mother didn’t even have a job. She hadn’t worked a day in her life, unless you call shopping work.

“Were going to have to sell the house,” My mother said somberly, “There’s no way we can live the way we’ve been living anymore.”

O no, I thought champagne taste on a beer budget. My shopping days at Barneys, and Bloomingdales are over. “What about my school, and my scholarship?” I asked. My father looked at me in the most compassionate way he had ever looked at me; he knew that going to an Ivy League school was my dream, and without a four year college prep background that dream was completely unrealistic.

He began to speak, but the words didn’t seem to come out easily. “Your education has always been our first priority, but I’m afraid we just can’t afford it anymore.” He went on,” I’m fifty two and I’m lucky if I can get a job making a forth of what I was making.” “I am so sorry sweetie,” he said in the most apologetic of tones.

I had a huge lump in my throat and time seemed to be standing still. My boyfriend will never date a public school girl, and an Ivy League will never take a public school girl. I pulled myself up from the seat and barley managed to walk out the door, I couldn’t say anything more, all I wanted to do was be alone.

Almost two weeks had past since I had gotten the awful news about my dad’s layoff; since the day my whole world fell apart, or so it felt like. I glanced outside my window only to find the last of our furniture being wheeled unto the truck ramp. The house had sold in under a week, and it seemed as if my entire life had gone from glam and glitz to dull and drab in less than two weeks.

My dad peered around the door “Honey you ready, is everything cleared out?”

            “Almost” I said with much despair. “I just can’t believe this is all really happening.”

            “I know it may seem like the worst thing right now, but its not,” My dad stated. “In fact there was a time when I felt the same way you do now.”

Oh no I thought here come one of those stories that adults tell you a million times and forget every time they have told you this story before.

He went on, “when I was little my dad lost his job and we had to change our entire lifestyle, it seemed impossible at the time.” “Looking back on it now though, I realize that those days were some of the best days of my life.” “In fact, those days were when I realized life isn’t about keeping up with your neighbor and having the best of the best, but about being with your family and holding unto what truly matters.”

“Wow, dad I never knew that about you.” I said in the most touched but confused tone.

“Well there is a lot you don’t know about me kiddo,” he said jokingly, “Sometimes we just get to caught up in the things we have and we need a little wakeup call to show us what really matters.”

“So I guess this is our wakeup call?” I smirked and saw for the first time the good and sense in this entire situation, which had plagued me for weeks. A loud horn sounded from the driveway, and I realized we had to leave.

“Well we better get going, your mother’s patience is wearing thin,” my dad said jokingly.           

I took one final look at my room and realized it wasn’t going to be easy going from a five-thousand square foot house to a thousand square foot house. It was certainly not going to be easy going from private school to public school or from Tiffanys to Target. But maybe, just maybe my dad losing his job will show me what really matters in life, and what my real focus should be. As I shut the door behind me, I felt as if I had closed one chapter of my life and was starting a new one.

As I approached the car, I hopped into our rental Ford Escort and buckled up. I turned around taking the last glimpse of my house as it faded into the distance. As we drove by I saw the neighborhood mothers sitting around and sipping their martinis; I saw the sixteen year old girl as she drove out of her driveway in her brand new Lexus; I also saw the neighborhood men caddying around their expensive golf bags. I was going to miss my life here, but who knows this new chapter in my life may be even better. I guess it goes to show that you don’t know how good you have it until it’s all gone. The gates opened one last time for us, as we drove past them, I couldn’t help but think that it would be the last time they would let us into their worl

 

 

 

Great job on wiki 5 and throughout this unit~ I enjoy reading your ideas.

September 18,2009

How about the dad in this story? Is he a "good dad" or does he expect too much of his daughter?

I think that the dad in this story is a good dad, however i t hink that he expects too much out of his daughter. He is being selfish when he ask her to stay home from school becasue he needs her. He should not expect her to give up her life, just because he doesnt want to be alone. He obviously cares about her, but he should let her go about her life, and go to school, and have new experiences, as a father he should want her to be happy. I think that she wouldd be happiest at school, and that she deserves to be happy with everything going on with her mother. I thought that this story was sad, but I thought that the girl handled everything in a very mature way. She was a very strong peerson throughout the entire story. It was very mature how she thought about her moms feeling, by not telling her she was dying. She also thought about her dads feelings at the end, and didnt tell him that her mom had known she was going to die the whole time.

 

I thought that the situation in One Friday Morning was very unfair, but it was also realistic and relevant to todays times. What happened in this story was very unfair, the girl still had amazing talent regardless of what her color was. It shouldn't matter that she is black, the only thing that should matter is that she was good enough to get into art school. This story,however is relevant to todays times, people today are still turned down scholarships, however they are not told why. Black people today could still be turned down because of their color and not even realize it, because today colleges are not allowed to say why someone was turned down. I think that the girl dealt with this loss in a very mature way. She didn't throw a fit or get discouraged, but instead she stayed silent and hoped for the future, the future she is going to change.

 

September 11th Deadline 

1. There's all sorts of "prejudging" going on in here... how many kinds do you see? How much of this prejudicial behavior ever gets confronted? (bearing in mind that the theme of this section is CONFRONTING prejudice

There are many kinds of prejudice  in this story. one example of prejudice is based on how much money people have and the status they have. The doctor acts prejudice toward the boy because he cannot afford to pay for his mothers medical bill. He even treats him and his mother badly because they cant afford to pay for her treatment. The other type of prejudice that takes place is that they don't think much of him because he's young and uneducated. People in the story act  prejudice toward him because he is did not finish school; they also think he cant win the race. Another type of prejudice,is that people look down on him because he lives in a bad neighborhood, and isn't very fortunate when it comes to money and social status.  

 

4. When and how was prejudice confronted in this one?

Prejudice is confronted in this story when the old man came up and told the boys they needed to take down the garden. He is acting prejudice toward them because they are young (ageism). He thinks that because they are young he can call the shots and tell them what to do. He treats them as if they are a minority, and as if he is superior to them. He acts prejudice to them because he looks down on them because of their age, and therefore he thinks that he can tell them what to do. I don't think that he would have told a group of adults planting a garden to get rid of their hard work, but because they are just troublesome teenagers he can act prejudice toward them and tell them what to do. 

 

September 4th Deadline 

 

 This story is unique in that there are no human characters. The protagonist is a house. Discuss what things Bradbury did with it to express his point about the future.

 Bradbury is trying to make a point about the future by writing this story. He is saying that the world is going, technology will take over. He infers that technology is going to keep on living even after we are gone. He uses a high tech house to show  that in the future we end up doing nothing for ourselves. In the story he states that the house takes care of our schedules,lives,meals..... Bradbury is trying to make a point that in the future we  are not going to be able to function or carry out daily task on our own we are going to depend on a house to do it all for us. He shows in the story that even though the people are gone the house (technology) will keeping living and do what its programmed to do. 

My Project #4 is coming along pretty good. I think I am going to write a story in which some people can relate to. So far I have a plot analysis, it is going to be about a girl who is switching to a new school, her dad is going to get transfered and she has to leave all her friends and make new ones at her new school. This story is going to cover how adjusting to life in a new school and a new town is not always the easiest thing to do. I am trying to incorporate a life lesson into the story but I havent thought of one yet. Right now I am just trying to make an outline and draw up a basic plot of the main points in my story. I havent thought about how I am going to end it yet, but I know how the story is going to begin and where it is going to take place.

Great job on wiki 3!

2.  So WHY do those who love horror stories and films etc. LOVE them? What is it about those styles of tales that gives them their appeal? (Or if you are like me and can't watch scary movies... what is it about them that repels you?)

I think that people who love horror stories love them because they build up suspense. Horror Stories keep you guesing and on the edge of your set which no other genre of story or movie can do. Horror stories never loss your intrest which is why people love them. Poe kept the reader on the edge of their seat with not only the freaky looking house and scary atmosphere but also the relationship between the characters. Scary stories give people a sense of uncertainty and keeps them guessing, what will happen next, which is why people love them it gives them an exhilarating feeling to read or watch them. People may also be repelled by horror stories because it makes them scared and they do not like the feeling of being out of control and not knowing what is going to happen next.  

 

August 28th Deadline 

GREAT job on Wiki 2! You are right on target with your thoughts on BOTH stories. How's project #4 coming along? Just curious.-

Your thoughts? Is it right or wrong for Mike to do what he does to (for?) his grandma?

 I think that what Mike did to his Grandma was the right thing to do. He wanted her to not have to live with regret. His Grandmother had been holding this inside of her for so long that it was good for her to have some closure and be at peace. Mike was only trying to protect her, had he said something it would have torn her apart, it was good for her to think that all was forgiven and put in the past between her and " Mike".I think that Mike acted in a way in which benefited his Grandmother,she was able to let go off this past that had hurt her for so long and and feel like all was forgiven between her and her husband. It was good that he did not correct his Grandma, because she needed to let out those things she had been holding in for so long. 

So what do you all think of this one? What's the "life adjustment" here?

 

Who has the bigger problem? Charles or his mother?  

 

Finally what do you envision the "next scene" after the story ends being like? Does the mom go home and punish her kid? Does she pretend she doesn't know that her son is a little monster? Does she tell her husband what happened or act like nothing happened... after all, he's sitting there smugly at home! What would you do if you were the parent of a kid like this???

The life adjustment is Laurie getting used to kindergarten but overall the life adjustment is Laurie (Charles) mom adjusting to Laurie going to school and meeting people like " Charles". I think that Charles has the bigger problem he is very attention deprived and is not sure how to deal with the new baby and the independence school brings him. I think that the mother is going to first confront the father about it and let him in on Laurie's little secret, but to her surprise he already knows and she will get very angry about this. She will then probably confront Laurie about it and punish him in some way. Either way however both the dad and Laurie are going to be in the " Dog House". If I were the parent of a kid like Charles I would talk to him and figure out why he would make up charles and discover how he is feeling and how those feeling might effect his behavior. I would not punish him at first but I would try to find out how he is feeling and then confront him about how making up Charles was wrong.- N.S. 

 

August 21- Dedline

Finally, I am curious why you think he entitled it "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky"...and speaking of the Bride.. if she's important enough to be part of the title, why doesn't Crane even bother to tell us her name? Why do you think he chose to do that?!

 

I think that Crane titled this the bride comes to Yellow Sky because it is sums up the main idea and conflict of the story. The main conflict Jack is having in his head is what will happen when his new bride comes to Yellow Sky. In the first part of the story Jack is constantly plagued with questions like what will they think of her, how will they act..., that is why this title is appropriate.  Crane however does not even bother to tell us her name because she just a prop that allows the climax to unfold she is an outsider looking in. Without the bride, Jack would not have gone to San Antonio and the townspeople would not have been on their toes for Jack to get back and handle the "Scratchy" situation. Crane wanted to build up suspense and make the reader wonder will he get back in time?  Crane decided the best way to get Jack out of town was to go searching for a bride. Also the bride played into Crane's somewhat disappointing ending because if it were not for the bride and Jack's new marriage there would have been a full out brawl between Scratchy and Jack. 

 

Now the really fun question: Should Grannies go about giving little kids sticks and sending them out to "battle" other kids??? (personally, I am a granny... so I am very curious as to your advice on this!) :-)

 

In Enemy Territory I do not think that the Grandma intentionally gave the boy the broom to go beat up the other boys. I think she gave him the broom to establish a since of confidence in the boy, that he could stand up to them and not have to be scared and intimated by them. She also told the boy the story of his grandpa to show that in the end the grandpa got what he wanted ( to have a drink in an Irish pub) by acting in a peaceful way not violent. She told the story to him to show that at first the grandpa was violent and got jail time but in the end he learned his lesson and peacefully got what he wanted. The grandma told the story to the boy to show him there is always a peaceful solution to a conflict and that it does not hurt to have a little confidence (broom) while solving that conflict. 

Good job on wk.1 _ I enjoyed your interesting viewpoints!