LL #12- Tying Up Loose Ends

Well, wow. Where to even begin? So this is going to be my last learning log, which is pretty insane. 

The exam is written, projects are pretty much done, we just have a few loose ends to tie up and we're finished. 

So now to sum up this experience. I know this class has been mostly trial and error and a lot of experimentation, but I can honestly say I'm very glad I got to be a part of it. I know at the beginning of the semester I thought having a six person LA class was going to be weird and kinda awkward. It really wasn't though. And I definitely had my doubts about how things would go when the idea of blogs and self-made projects were brought up, but I think they turned out quite successful. 

As we've mentioned, we said we'd accomplish some things in this class that we didn't and accomplished some things we had no intention of doing, but I think that was all part of the fun. This class was new, unexpected and fresh and I think one that will stick in my memory for years to come. I truly believe that I have come away from this class and learned something, (Which to be honest, I can't say for every class) and I am grateful for that. So yes! Thank you Mr. Hazeu for this really cool experience, I'm really glad I got to be apart of it!

LL #11- Project Is Done!

So I'm feeling decently accomplished today (even though this learning log is a tad late...whoops.) because I AM DONE MY PROJECT! It's definitely a nice relief to be finished. I mean, I still have stuff to finish for this class but the biggest part of my work is done.

Basically what my project ended up being was a tumblr blog dedicated to Myers Briggs personality types. I broke down each of the sixteen personality types, did some research on each type and made a short summary of all sixteen types on the blog. This really allowed my to get a sense of each individual type and the  similarities and differences between each. I also got some of my friends and classmates to take the Myers Briggs personality test, so it was really cool to learn their type and test how accurate their summary was.

This project has also given me an appreciation for how in depth this test really is as well. From the people I know who have taken the test, the results have been pretty much completely accurate and when I read about their personality type there have been quite a few things for each of them that I've read that make me go "Oh yay, that's totally something they do" or "That totally reminds me of them."

So overall, really glad I picked this topic for my project. It was one that kept me interested the whole time and the information I learned from this is not something I'm going to forget anytime soon.

Also if you're interested, here's my Myers Briggs blog:
(http://myers-briggs.tumblr.com)

LL #10- Crunch Time

So reality kinda hit me today when I realized we only have like 3 and a half weeks (18 school days) left of this year. And there's actually a ton that we have to get done, which is a bit overwhelming at times. Not only in Comp class, with our provincial exam coming up in two weeks, but in other classes, as well as preparation for grad. 

I wrote my last learning log on this, but I've been majorly procrastinating with stuff lately. Part of it is the fact that I have very little motivation with it being the end of the year and all and part of it is the fact that I feel like I have so much to do that I don't even want to think about it and I just continue to put it off. And that is not good because it just makes my work pile up even more. 

I haven't really come up with a solution to my procrastination besides just pushing through it and getting my work done. I think understanding why I procrastinate and the motives behind it (which is kinda what I researched last week) is helpful in overcoming my procrastination tendencies but it's something I have to continually work on. 

LL #9- I'll Do It Tomorrow...

Procrastination. We all do it. I mean, I've been putting off this learning log all week.

Lately, I feel like my procrastination tendencies have gotten even worse. Maybe because its getting closer to summer, as well as graduation, school work has felt like such a chore to me.

Since I'm decently interested in psychology and why people do the things they do, I decided to do a little bit of research about why we procrastination and here are some reasons I found.

1. Fear of Failure: 
If you're not particularity skilled at what your procrastinating, its easy to put it off and avoid it in fear of failure.

2. Fear of Success:
Complete opposite of fear of failure, but it is a definite reason as well. Some people avoid doing their best to avoid high expectations of them and in turn, greater responsibilities.

3. Perfectionism:
Some people become fixated on the idea that they want whatever they do to be perfect, but in turn cant live up to those standards because nobody is perfect, so they end up not accomplishing whatever it is they are supposed to get done.

I can definitely relate to the fear of failure. There has been many times where I've just avoided doing an assignment because I felt like I didn't have a good enough idea for it or I just wasn't good at what I had to do.

Also, if you're interested in reading the article I got this info from click here.

LL #8- Assessments

This week we've been discussing how to assess our projects. We've brainstormed and discussed a couple ideas but I don't think we're still sure how exactly to mark our projects.

Pretty much everything you do in school is for a mark and that's usually the main motivation. The point of this project however is to be motivated by the fact that you want to learn about the topic you've selected. Of course, I think we should still be marked the project, but I'm still stumped as to how.

There are also other things we've been marked on this class that can make up our final grade. These blog posts, our poetry presentation, assignments for Fahrenheit 451 and our provincial exam all result in our grade for this class. The main focus on this class doesn't really seem to be the grade we get, which is nice. Of course we have to get credit and a mark somehow but I like that not being the main focus.

LL #7- Halfway Point

So this week marks the halfway mark of the semester! That's actually so crazy, I can't believe how fast this school year is flying by.

Since its the halfway point, I took a bit and time and just thought about what we've really done and learned this semester.

I think the biggest thing I've learned is that the way school is traditionally done maybe isn't the best. This class is definitely different than any class I've ever been in before. The idea of having a project where we could research really anything we wanted and that didn't have very strict rules was kinda overwhelming at first, but it's something I've really enjoyed. To be honest, a lot of the stuff I learn in school, I learn to pass an exam and finish the class. A majority of the information doesn't stick with me and I pretty much forget it once I've stepped out of the exam room.

However, with an project like this, I'm learning about stuff I already had an interest in, so I pay more attention and really immerse myself in the details of it. There's really no pressure to memorize information for a test, I'm motivated to learn this information because I want to, not because I have to.

I think that's the major thing I've learned this semester. Of course, we've read Fahrenheit 451 and learned quite a bit about poetry, and those things have actually been pretty interesting. But I think the thing I'll really take away from this class is that maybe traditional education isn't always the most practical way to do things, and it might be time to switch things up a bit. I think that's something a lot of people are starting to realize, which is pretty cool.

I've thoroughly enjoyed the first semester of this class, and I'm excited to see what's in store for the next one.

LL #6- Poem Friends

This week has pretty much been immersed in poetry! Both in Lit and Comp class, we've been studying poetry and it's really given me a new appreciation for poems.

This week in Comp, our assignment was to make a new "poem friend." Basically we spent time researching and reading different poetry and picked a poem to present to the class. In our presentation we were supposed to read the poem and point out the different literary devices the author used.

The poem I picked was "Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep." (which you can read here if you want) I really liked this poem a lot because it takes a serious and sad thing like grief, but really sheds hope on the whole situation.
I also really liked how the words in the poem flow. The poem does rhyme, which to be honest I didn't even realize at first because it's done in such a subtle way, and that was something I really liked.

In Lit, we've been doing something a little different. Rather than reading poetry, we've been trying to write our own and been learning different techniques on how to do that. Writing poetry is something that I found kinda intimidating, and I've never really been good at but the techniques we are learning in this class are definitely a big help. To give a quick summary, what we did was write out a list of emotions and then pick out one to just list a bunch of situations that would make you feel that emotion. From there we picked out two or three and wrote a couple paragraphs about them. We then picked our favourite and just eliminated words and put it into the form of a poem. I found this exercise actually pretty fun and it was something way less intimidating then just being told to write a poem from scratch.

So yay, with all the poetry we've studied this week, I've actually really developed a new appreciation and interest for poems and I'm looking forward to studying them even more!