Well,
first quarter has come to an end, so we are all taking stock of what we learned
and what we should do differently as we continue. Therefore, rather than putting words in their
mouths, I asked the students to write a final “blurb” about their topic and
their adventure. Some of them even
included the number of pages that they read over the course of these eight
weeks. So, here they are. Next post I’ll update everyone on students’
choices for second quarter. Hint: some of them are really cool! J
Ben D.-L. - For my first quarter topic, I chose to
read books solely written by Michael Crichton. The majority of these books were
sci-fi. While reading these books, I learned many new things. One important
lesson I have learned is to never give up and keep looking for new solutions.
The apparent answer may not pop-up at first, but through patience and
dedication anything can be solved. I have also learned a lot about different
philosophical ideas and strand points and have found myself questioning some of
my beliefs. It has been a very enjoyable experience, and I look forward to more
in the future. (1,350)
Ben K. - I have learned a lot about my topic of
outdoor exploration. Perhaps the most important think that I have learned is
that you do not need to travel very far or even spend a lot of time to explore
the great outdoors. You don’t need to go somewhere that nobody has ever been.
You can just explore a particular area in great detail, know where every tree
and rock is. You can also just spend time in nature and explore the mechanics
of how nature works. You can discover what it is like and how it works instead
of mapping out new territory.
Brayden- I really enjoyed all the books I have read
so far. It’s been interesting to see all the different types of things the
characters/people have had to overcome. I cannot decide which book is my
favorite because I have loved every book I have read. I have learned that I
have a lot of the same qualities that some of the characters possess and that I
can actually enjoy reading for fun. (756)
Chris- The first book I read this quarter was
absolutely amazing. It was incredibly
profound, and I believe did, in fact, teach me something about happiness. Paradisio,
however, was a bit disappointing. It dealt mostly with faith and divine
mysteries and lacked some of the things I liked about Inferno and Purgatorio.
It has been fun to finish that trilogy, but I don’t think Paradiso
taught me anything, or at least nothing relating to my topic. (806)
Colten- Throughout the first quarter I studied the
great visionaries of the last three centuries.
I was fascinated by the way they looked at the world and their complex
plans for the future. They were all
determined to leave behind a legacy of great success and accomplishment. I felt like the books challenged me to think
about my future and where I want to be in 20 years. Overall, I found the topic to be very
interesting and would recommend it to anyone fascinated by history or the
economy. (813)
Eric- Throughout this quarter I have explored the
origins of good and evil. At first, I did not think Tolkien’s trilogy to be so
centered around this topic, but it is. From much reading, writing, and
thinking, I have come to the conclusion that good is something in its purest,
most natural form. Evil, on the other hand, is an artificial creation of
mankind. (839)
Jak- Reading about war has been very interesting and
taught me a lot. My topic has taught me how hard it is to mentally live a
normal life sometimes after war. War can be extremely mentally and emotionally
scarring. I have also learned some life lessons on the way, one of which is to
take more risks and have as much fun as possible in life. Just as Tim O’Brien
said, “You are most alive when you are close to death.” (654)
Jess- Learning about Vincent Van Gogh has made me
much more aware of art and the psychology behind it. In Vince Van Goths letters
I learned about his process, love for nature, and personality, which humanized
him more than any biography. I have even displayed some of Vincent’s art style
in my own art as the quarter has gone by. (1028)
John-Luc - Starting the year off with choosing a
topic that I am personally hooked with really helped start off on this class. I
have learned all about board culture from the origin of skateboards to surfboard-shaping
techniques. By having a love for my topic I have been able to become a better
reader and pick up on literary skills because I could relate to all of the
authors. (700)
Kelcy- I
thoroughly enjoyed my first quarter topic of psychology because I learned so
much more about Freud’s theories and the personal aspect of mental illness. While reading Sigmund Freud Pioneer of the
Mind, I learned how people around the world criticized his most famous
theories about human nature and how his findings became popular after his
death. I also read Prozac Nation,
which greatly described the life of a person with major depression and
anxiety. It took me along a journey of
recovering and how it is possible to overcome mental illness. (1013)
Lauren- Reading crime books this quarter was
definitely a great choice. I found this
topic to be very interesting to learn about.
New facts about crimes came up all the time while reading each
book. It really opened up my mind to
what some people live like. One main
fact that I learned while reading was that he main cause of women’s deaths is
when they are pregnant. I found that to
be very strange and not right at all.
Even though I didn’t get to read that many books this quarter, I am
still glad I picked crime as my first topic. (815)
Luke- Learning about the Salem Witch Trials has been
cool because every book I’ve read has had mostly the same characters due to it
being a historic event. I’ve gotten to see multiple views of the same incident
and same people, which I think just gives it more depth. People of Salem Village
were crazy, and it’s shocking to think how easily people could be persuaded.
Max- Reading
dystopian novels is very interesting. It
let me look at a world not too different from the current one and see how it
works. What I learned is that not all
dystopias are that far off [from the present].
Some are closer than we think; with few technological changes the world
of The Circle or even Ready Player One could start to form. I really enjoy the topic. I’ve also learned that people and characters
change a lot, which I thought I already knew.
However, seeing how drastically a character can change during its
development may surprise me. (1093)
Michaela- Reading books about people discovering who
they were really meant to be left me with a lot to think about. I read three great books this quarter that I
could really connect to, The Happiness Project, The Five People You
Meet in Heaven, and Paper Towns.
Each of these books were unique in how they related to my topic. I found The Five People You Meet in Heaven
to be the most beneficial to me. It
opened my eyes to the power of forgiveness and to be careful how I treat
others. I am really glad I devoted my
learning time to something that really helped me. (828)
Mike- This quarter I have learned a lot about a
topic I had no prior knowledge in. I had always been fascinated by money and
greed, and the theme came very naturally to the topic of Wall Street. I have
learned far too much to talk about in a blurb, but I have also learned some
life lessons. Never let greed and power get in the way of family and
well-being. On the business side of things I have learned that no-one is good
at everything, so find your passion and specialize in it: this will lead to
your most success. Overall, I am very happy with the topic I chose and feel that
the book Den of Thieves gave me everything I need to know and more.
Nicolette- It was interesting to learn about
something that hasn’t really been present in my life and something I haven’t
necessarily done as drastically. In each of my books (except The Last
American Man), the main person had experienced something traumatic that
caused them to escape out in nature and refined themselves. Despite only
exploring little trails and forests around my area as well as only swimming in
the shallow waters of the Atlantic shores, I can imagine how the nature of our
world helped shape or re-shape the people within the books I read and helped
them region their strength and touch of inner self. (887)
Riley- My topic for the first quarter was science
fiction. I found that science fiction is
a genre like no other. It’s unique,
complex, and entertaining all at the same time.
But I found that science fiction, just like any other type of
literature, can produce thought provoking themes within its narrative, which is
the best part about it. (1376)
Sean- My topic taught me the relationship between
all religions and things. I learned that it is important to look past
differences in things, as these are illusions, and that all things exist for an
equal reason.
Yiannis- In the first quarter I read books on crime
solving. It was a very interesting topic
that helped me get a better understanding of what detectives look for and how
they process a crime scene. Also, it
showed the time that they invest into each and every case they look into as
well as the dangers that they face while getting dangerous people out of the
general public and in jail. (1419)
This
quarter I learned a lot both from the students’ topics and about their
strengths and weaknesses, and I will be tweaking assignments accordingly as
second quarter begins. Overall, though,
I think it was a great quarter, and I’m so excited to continue!
CJF
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