Reflection Paper

My writing experiences in middle school and high school were pleasant and seem to mostly relatable to the other middle school experiences where I learned a lot of different writing styles in sixth and seventh grade. In ACOW5 it said that most students advance into middle school without being prepared for writing to multiple audiences or in different styles. This was true in my case as well. In elementary school we did not do a lot of writing and when we did, we didn’t focus on revision a whole lot. Teachers would grade my papers off of grammar mistakes and I feel like they weren’t looking at the content of what us students were writing at all. I seemed to be able to keep up with what we were doing and it also was well taught for the most part once I got into middle school and high school. When I was in high school, teachers always clarified what they were looking for from us and also provided us with instruction on how to execute certain papers depending on what we were writing. In middle school my writing experiences were pretty good too, because starting in seventh grade we were assigned five paragraph essays in our grammar course that helped strengthen our capabilities on grammar and context. I feel like in middle school we only skimmed over the different types of writing when the article speaks about the five different styles. My school did a lot of writing to show learning, writing to learn writing and writing to communicate, but we didn’t start to write to express or to write to create until I was in high school and it was for journal entries or as projects in language art classes. As far as self sponsored writing, I feel like I didn’t partake in it until I was in high school, but for writing to learn and formal assignments we practiced all the time.

No one begins their writing career level as the Hemingway of literature. We start from the bottom and work our way up. I began my writing career with poor organization and cringe-worthy grammar. In high school, my English grade would always sit on the risky border between an 89 and 90. I was also never one of those people who could write an essay in one sitting without having anyone look at my writing before the final submission. For the most part, I had to put in a good amount of effort to feel like I was on the same level as my peers. As we reach the end of the semester in Discourse 100, I have seen improvement with each paper due to the help of my peers, professor and awareness in the four kinds of knowledge: self, content, rhetorical and critical knowledge.

In my early years of school, I had a general understanding of the math concepts I was being taught. Early on, I learned that I have a very specific way of learning, often needing more explanation and guidance from my teachers than my peers required. My understanding of math really began to fall as I entered middle school. I had no understanding of fractions and how they related to the world around me. In my school, I was taken to a separate room to get extra help on the subjects that I seemed to be struggling in a little more. Unfortunately, the focus was often to work on my literacy skills rather than try to increase my understanding of math. While in middle school, I hovered around the ‘not average’ but also ‘not below average’ in most of the subjects, which meant I wasn’t a priority to spend the additional resources. I was taken out of the program that gave me additional help on the subjects I was struggling in, and I was put back into the classroom, left on my own to try and comprehend the material. In grade 7, we began to use a program on the computer to learn our math, specifically fractions at this time. I struggled to learn math on a computer, as I needed real life examples to explain the material. I struggled to relate what a fraction was, to real world examples which decreased my understanding on the topic. I found out I could press a button on my computer that would pass me through the levels, making my teacher believe I understood the material. I wasn’t typically

While growing up in a small town with nearly 3,500 people and exactly two red lights, I heard a lot of comments made by students that degraded where we lived. Any comments from “our schools scummy and doesn’t teach us anything” to “there is nothing to do around here”, were statements I heard daily. I cannot tell you how wrong they were. Growing up in such a small school with a graduating class of 93 helped me build a strong relationship with nearly every teacher, and also shaped me into the person I am proud I’ve become and becoming. I was not exposed to nearly as many terrible events that large scaled schools are, and I also knew every single person in my class’s name. Although knowing everything about everyone wasn’t always positive, it definitely helped me learn a lot. It taught me you will absolutely NOT get along with everybody in life, but it is crucial to learn to find a positive in everyone. If you don’t, you will not be as successful as you could be. The same people that put down my beautiful and “boring” town are the same ones that didn’t remember to look for a positive in it. The positive’s being, it made us who we are. I definitely agree that it’s boring, but there is something beautiful about the simplicity features in life.

It is the night of September 4, 2015, a Friday during football season and getting to perform during halftime of my high school football game was a dream come true. As I am performing I feel a tearing that is coming from my right knee, I immediately fall to the ground in pain, but I had to get back up I can’t let my team down I must keep going. I make it through the dance, barely. I know this pain isn’t normal so I decide to go see a doctor with a very exciting name, Doctor Kazzam, I am hoping for news as exciting as his name. He does the major tests and finds out my meniscus is torn almost in half, meaning surgery is needed. Eight months after surgery and countless hours of knee strengthening physical therapy I am still nowhere close to being able to dance again. At this point I am hopeless, I have no motivation to do anything and I’m starting to give up on everything. I try binge watching Netflix, spending even more time with family, and drawing to try to be happy once again, none of this worked. My knee finally reaches the point of clearing in July. First day back at dance things were going great and they continue to go great for four more weeks I was so happy my motivation slowly started coming back and I was becoming myself again all until August 20, 2016. This time instead of a tearing feeling I feel a pop, and a loud pop as I fall to the ground the girls around me look around to see what that popping noise was. I decide to try a new doctor and this time I pick an

A particularized experience of both world and mind or conscious experience is essential to being human. In my case, there was one crucial experience that has greatly transformed me. One turning point that mold the person I was meant to become. Today, I would like to talk about it. This changing event was moving abroad to a different country at a young age. Although moving to a different country generally broaden people’s perspectives, in my case, this experience also subverted my personality and forged my individuality.

As I was trying to figure out the perfect way to sum up this semester, I stumbled upon this quote by Steve Southerland, “I believe in process. I believe in four seasons. I believe that winter's tough, but spring's coming. I believe that there's a growing season. And I think that you realize that in life, you grow. You get better.” This quote really spoke to me because this semester has not been a walk in the park. As a class we all went through some ups and downs. We were challenged in a number of ways but in the end I think we all really “grew”. For many of us we experienced a tough season of life, but I think as a class we really worked together to lift each other up and come out successfully.

When I moved from South Korea to Miami, I expected there to be many differences. What I didn’t foresee was that there were also some similarities. I assumed that moving from South Korea back to the United States, would be akin to going home. However, I discovered that coming to Miami was comparable to adjusting to a foreign country all over again. Both South Korea and Miami are lovely places to visit. One of them, however, is also a marvelous place to live.

I have learned many aphorisms, or lessons, throughout my life so far. My family, friends, teachers, and pretty much everyone has taught me something in one way or another. These lessons usually come through in a change in my life. One change important to me was getting a job. This job has given me a positive learning experience (for the most part) and an education of working with others. Well, here’s what I know about going to work.

As a middle school teacher you must be prepared to articulate your viewpoint on issues relative to education, young adolescent development, middle school structure and organization, curriculum, instruction, and assessment, classroom management, family and community involvement, and leadership and organizations. It is sometimes important that teachers within a team, subject area, grade division, or school building come to a consensus of thought and practice for the sake of providing the best, enriched educational environment for the success of students

Do you remember what your priorities were when you were eight years old? When I was that age (1965), I was in third grade. One of my jobs was to make breakfast on weekday mornings for some of my younger brothers and sisters. At that age, my primary goal was to figure out ways to get out of work around the house, so I could go outside and play with my cousins who lived in the neighborhood.

For an organizational analysis of my current context, I decided to select Option A: Adizes: Focus on Organizational Lifecycle. Everything has a lifecycle, from geological formations to people, societies, and civilizations. Of course, organizations, too, go through different stages – they grow, change, and then, they disintegrate. Even though none of this comes as a surprise to anyone, yet some organizations and their leadership may not be ready to embrace the change and still be sustainable and efficient. As Ichak Adizes boldly suggests in his book, "The challenge of leadership on any level – individual, family, organization, and society – is to change continuously and, nevertheless, always remain together" (1999, 9). As organizations go through different stages, each time they are presented with the peculiar challenges. In many cases, new difficulties cannot be resolved with the old methods and attitudes. Without abandoning their old customs, organizations can be at risk to stagnate or even fall apart as they advancing through numerous transitions. The majority of organizations would encounter similar lifecycle stages; however, they would need to develop certain abilities in order to advance forward in the lifecycle.

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.

When Jesus was sent to be an example of how we are supposed to live, we were shown how to live out our faith in our daily lives. Jesus was faced with persecution, naysayers and even prosecution for His teachings. He was the very son of God himself, yet he still humbled himself to God and man. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus was witnessed washing the feet of the disciples. He was baptized by John and he taught the disciples how to spread the news about God’s love. He showed them how to bring hope to a hurting world. In some cases, people were killed for their faith, yet they believed so deeply in their relationship with God, that they continued to spread the gospel as Jesus had taught them. He developed relationships with people that were known to be thieves, liars and criminals. He taught us how to work among non-believers and that our life should be a reflection of our relationship with God. We think that it is hard for us to integrate our faith into our careers today, but we do not have to give our life for the freedom of our faith. When compared to the stories in the Bible, we have a great deal of advantages over people back then. King Harrod was willing to do whatever it took to protect his throne. He was threatened by the very birth of Jesus and ordered that every male child under two years old, be slaughtered. This was just the first that wanted to kill Jesus. His life was filled with people who wanted to kill him because they believed that his claim to be

Throughout my life, I have lived and been educated in different countries such as Albania, Italy, Germany, and United States of America. My education and the foundation of my own thinking have traveled with me from one continent to the other. Within this diverse learning experience, my learning concept was enriched with opportunities that have shaped and reshaped my thinking.