Reflection Paper

Throughout the course of this semester, I have continuously grown as a writer. Prior to taking this course, I had little experience or knowledge when it came to writing. I used to struggle with forming my thoughts into writing, let alone a paper. I was never confident with what I wrote. My writing had no greater purpose other than the assignment. My writing process included: writing my paper, proofreading it, and turning it in. Once the paper left my hands, it also left my mind. Throughout this course we worked with others, visited the writing lab, wrote critiques, and we were able to revise our papers. I believe that all of this is has caused me to grow greatly as a writer.

People with money are able to choose an area to live in that has a good education system while those without it usually don’t. The rich are able to afford to send their children to private schools for better schooling and hire private tutors if necessary. While this is just using what you worked hard for to your advantage in order to provide your children with the best future possible, it leaves other less fortunate families behind. If the education system is able to create equal funding with a standardized curriculum nationwide, then every child will have the opportunity to have the best education possible. There will be no worrying about if one school is teaching more relevant information than another because they are all on the same boat. Unfortunately, there is currently still a very obvious achievement gap among different social classes in our country, stemming from the issue of unequal education. Diane Ravitch summarizes this very well in her essay, The Facts about the Achievement Gap, saying “so long as our society is indifferent to poverty and willing to look the other way instead of acting to improve the situation at hand, there will always be achievement gaps” (367). Society is always adapting to the road ahead while learning from the road behind. However, there are certain things that go substantially unnoticed and take far too long to be acknowledged. The

We have all been told by at least one of our teachers that our schooling is preparing us for life, college, or the career we will have down the road. Many students try to discount this idea, but it still stands true: the schooling we receive is the foundation our lives are built upon. We would all like to believe everyone receives the same footing in their education, but unfortunately this is untrue. As the differences between poor urban areas and more affluent communities become more and more apparent, it has become increasingly evident that inequalities in education exist between the two, making it difficult for students to attain their goals in today's society. The effects of this inequity not only affect the individual student in the current

America prides itself in the "equal opportunity" it provides for its citizens. Anyone must be able to get a quality education, get jobs they want, and be productive members of society. However, there has been debate lately on how equal the opportunities are for the majority of American citizens. Many Americans have a harder time getting the quality education they deserve because of their social or economic status. Many employers value formal educations, but the majority of lower class citizens are not given the chance to pursue them due to their social class. The amount of money a family or community has is too prominent in America 's education system to truly have a fair chance for all. Brent Staples, in his essay “Why Colleges Shower Their Students with A’s”, and Lynda Berry, in her essay “The Sanctuary of School”, are part of the nationwide discussion of how important money should really be in the education system. In our country, the economic status of a household dictates the education a person receives and how it shapes their lives because of what they, along with society, value.

A sidewalk protects one from the dangers of the road when you need to go somewhere. It keeps you going towards the destination and helps to give one’s paths to follow. Even though it does influence one's direction, it still gives options. Some options might have danger like crossing the street but it will continue to have a plan for you.

Growing up in a small town in Northeast Vermont, there isn’t much of anything. The economy is poor, there isn’t many jobs, and it’s cold. My hometown is similar to the made up town of Catamount in the novel, Continental Drift, by Russell Banks. I saw my family in likeness to the Dubois’s. My mom stayed home with us kids until we needed extra cash so she began to waitress. My dad got one of the better jobs at the new correctional facility a town over.

Have you ever thought of the idea of learning? I never really understood why kids my age have to go to school. I mean, here at home you have all the free time to do anything. At school is completely different. The teachers at the schools I’ve attended didn’t teach me anything that I needed to know before high school. At my old elementary school I didn’t quite get what my teacher was teaching. They said I’m above all of the learning at my old school, but when I transferred to Green Elementary I wasn’t at the correct level. I was behind. My old school was teaching, but in their way of teaching I didn’t quite understood what they were asking, and don’t get me started with questions.

Our civilizations relies upon people to develop morals and resilience through family, however, what happens when you grow up in an abusive family? Sure, you develop resilience quickly, unfortunately, you may build your moral foundation over a sinkhole. In addition to family dynamics, by age eleven, I survived being hung by a Mexican gang, three dog attacks and a house fire which left both legs covered in second degree burns. Fortunately, at age twelve, I ran away and a couple discovered me sleeping in their garage. Compassionately, they took me in and allowed me to live in a travel trailer on their property.

Education has always been something that I value in my life. It is the way that we can share knowledge with each other, and learn to develop as a society. Educating ourselves is the key to be able to connect with others. One of the most common ways we obtain learning experiences is through educational facilities. Every student in the classroom is there for the sole reason to complete the course to get closer to their graduation requirements. I, however, wanted more from my education.

My education has had its ups and downs throughout the years. All the way up through eighth grade I got straight A’s and never really got into any trouble. Being a freshman, it was my goal to stay that way. I didn’t know how hard it would be being a freshman but I would soon find out as I continued my high school career.

The Medieval Era was a time dominated by belief. People lived with such great superstition and fear of God. Many people were focused not on their lives her on earth, but rather their life after death. During the Renaissance people became more humanistic and focused more on their lives in the moment rather than their afterlife. We can see these changes of Ideas by studying the works of Saint Anselm of Canterbury, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Thomas a Kempis, and Caesarius of Heisterbach from the Medieval Era and compare it to the works of Marsilio Ficino, Leonardo Da Vinci, Niccolo Machiavelli, and Desiderius Erasmus of the Renaissance period we can see a very particular change in worldviews.

“We wish you all a productive course.” A simple, dry line uttered by the teacher as I headed in for what I knew would be a grueling experience. A meditation retreat conducted entirely in “noble silence” and dedicated to finally understanding what enlightenment is. Noble silence, they called it, was the act of working as if we were alone in complete silence; alone I was in a secluded place, two hours north of Chicago amongst miles of flat cornfields where the roar of speeding cars overshadows the squawks of Canadian geese flying overhead. The place was the Illinois Vipassanā Meditation Center and it is where I chose to make my final attempt at achieving spiritual enlightenment. This silence was said to help get previous students to the goal of enlightenment. It was a goal that, at the time, I could barely define and had little clue to the gravity of what I was about to embark on. In the end, I would witness one of the noble truths of all existence: Impermanence is inherent in all physical and mental phenomena; all that arises in the Universe will surely pass away.

Within my time in Child Protective Services, I had experienced a consistent amount of lying, which to me was a new experience. I was forced to adapt by listening to, two almost completely different stories, then pick out the similarities, and fill in the blanks. There were several times when a couple would lie for one another but have stories so far off that it was obvious neither were being truthful. We also had a family rehearse a story so that all of their stories did match one another’s but the injuries and marks were not consistent with the story at all. I do not tend to lie often because I found early on that honesty really is the best policy and I have always been my friend and families safe haven so no one has ever felt the need to lie to me as much as I experienced with CPS. I had to break my trusting habits and listen to everything as something that I will be investigating later to ensure it was the truth. In the training I was encouraged to read people or at least give it my best attempt. Investigator Samuel Nunez was extremely talented in this aspect and consistently quizzed me to ensure I was gaining the skill. There would be numerous actions one could do, or even different tones in their speech, or even switching their speaking patterns that he would be able to notice and predict why the change occurred. I found that when one is too trusting when investigating they would often look incompetent at the end of the case. Often times this is before a judge when one

In the first semester of Mr. McGee’s class was a very educational one. For the first time in my entire life I actually finished an entire textbook! The junior english B class had plethora of really amazing stories and poems. However, there was only a handful of stories and poems that really stood out for me. These stories and poems had a deeper meaning to them then the rest. Being in Mr. McGee’s class really helped me dive into a better understanding of even the most simple lines. I believe that this has also had an impact on the type of music I listen to as well. For the longest time, The sound and beat of a song was what made me fond of it. However, I am more drawn to songs with meanings now. I also believe that in benefited my reading techniques. The problem that I had with standardized testing for reading was not being able to focus on stories that had bored me. There were some stories that still made me feel this way, but at least now I can read through it and understand the basics of the text. The following paragraphs give a very opinionated reason as to why these poems and stories i choose were some of the best texts that we read in this semester.

Mr. Abedi then introduced me to Miriam, one of the woman volunteering at Open Mosque Day. Miriam was working behind one of the tables educating people on Islam. She gave me a Qur’an , a short biography on Muhammad and lots of other information to take home. She was very interesting to talk as she was raised Catholic and converted to Islam. She spoke about how Islam is a lot like Catholicism and that Mary is mentioned repeatedly in the Qur’an more than any other woman. I asked her if she believes Mary is the mother of God and she replied no. Miriam told me she was mentioned seventy times and that she is recognized as devoting herself to God. She explained to me that Allah wants us to pray and that God is great! God is absolute, perfect and unique. I asked her if she believes in God and she replied she believes in Allah and that Allah means God in Arabic. Up until she explained this I thought of God and Allah as two separate people. Miriam was not comfortable taking a picture with me so she found Mr. Abedi and we took a picture together. I thanked them both for their time. Syed commented that he thought it was great that I was open to learning about other religions.