Last Blog of the Year!! (:

My favorite blog was Affirmations of Life. My least favorite blog was the one about music for the Great Gatsby. I did not enjoy that blog because it was very hard to find songs that matched the Great Gatsby. Most of my blogs I put effort into. There were a few that did not interest me so I did not put in as much effort for these. I thought that using blogs was a good idea for learning. It furthered everything we were doing in class and required that I go into more depth on some of the topics. When writing my blogs I learned even more about what we were focusing on in class at a given time. I enjoyed blogs because most of the time they were on opinions and also the points gave my grade a boost. My top three stories were Having Our Say, All Quiet on the Western Front, and all of the Emily Dickinson poetry.

Advice to the new teacher

One tip I would give the new English teacher is to not have us read books over breaks. Even though we have extra time most people do not end up reading this story. This makes it hard to have good discussion in class. Second, I would tell her to do more projects instead of papers. Projects are a lot more fun and encourage more participation in the class. I understand that papers are necessary but it would be nice if we could switch off on every unit. I would tell her to keep the essay format on tests because the tests helped me to write better essays in brief time periods. Lastly, I would tell her to enjoy her time teaching because Rockford Lutheran is a great school!

The Great Gatsby playlist

The first song I chose is West End Blues by Louis Armstrong. I chose this song because it sounds like a song that would be playing at one of Gatsby's extravagant parties. I looked up a list of top songs from the 1920's and this song was number 1. Gatsby liked to have the best things to impress Daisy, so it would only be fitting that he had the best music at his parties. Also, it is called the "West End" Blues, so it is kind of like West Egg, where Gatsby lived.

The second song I chose is I've Found A New Baby by Ted Lewis and Ethel Walkers. I chose this song because I think it sounds like a song that could be Tom Buchanan's theme song. Even though he was married to Daisy, he was cheating on her. So it is kind of like he found a new baby in Myrtle.

The third song I chose All Alone by Al Jolson, John McCormack, and Paul Whiteman. Just like the last song reminded me of Tom Buchanan, this song reminded me of Gatsby. He was a man who had it all, a big house, money, nice cars, servants. He had everything except for what he wanted, Daisy. Even though he had many lush parties with a lot of guests, he was still all alone. Even surrounded by people, he was alone.

Lastly, I chose Toot Toot Tootsie by Al Jolson. This sounds like a very happy, upbeat song. I could also hear this song playing at one of Gatsby's parties.  This sounds like a song that would bring everybody to the dance floor to dance and have fun with their friends.

Mark Twain Quote

 I really like this quote by Mark Twain. It is simply saying to live life to the fullest and do everything that you have a chance to do. Personally I try to live by this type of quote. I am the kind of person who is scared to try new things. I do force myself to try new and different things even if they seem weird or scary. I think that I will look back and be glad that I did do something even if it did not turn out perfect or how I wanted it to. At the end Mark Twain says "Explore. Dream. Discover." I really like this because it is something good to live by. He is basically saying do different things, have fun, and dream big. I believe that if you do all of these things you will not regret anything as long as you put all of yourself into it. I really enjoy this Mark Twain quote.

Mark Twain - Quotes - Pictures

Connections in Art

 I found this image of art of Harlem. I really like this art because it shows Harlem to be a bright and happy place. The Delaney sisters loved Harlem so I think this also shows their view of Harlem. They thought Harlem was a great place and really did not want to move but they had to when their mother was living with them. I also think this is a good piece of artwork because the African American people seem to be going somewhere such as work. Bessie and Sadie both had jobs in Harlem and working in Harlem made them able to do what they loved, help others who were in need. I think that this portrait of Harlem is very good and shows the Delaney sister's view of Harlem very well.  



Quest for Civil Rights

Rosa Parks Civil Right Movement

Rosa Parks is very famous for not moving out of her seat on a bus when told to do so by a white person who was on the bus. All she did for this movement was to just refuse to move. She was not violent which is why she reminds me of Martin Luther King Jr. He was very against being violent. He even held conferences where he would teach the people who participated in his marches how to ignore people and how to protest in a non-violent way. I think reacting to everyone in a non-violent way is very brave. With all of the things that the white people said I can only imagine how hard it would have been for the protesters to just keep quiet and march. Non-violent movements were very important because they show us today that things can be achieved without using violence. 

What's Good...The Help

Over the past year I have seen many movies but my favorite would definitely be The Help. This movie is hilarious at some points but at the same time it portrays a difficult time period very well. My favorite actress was Abileen. She was hilarious and she made this movie great. She is the reason why I like this movie so much. She took the horrible situation that she was in and made it funny but also showed people today how horribly African Americans were treated in the times of the Jim Crow Laws or the 1960's. This movie was very good and I have seen it several times. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a movie to watch.