j00kiE’s Blog

 Academic Achiever, Effective Communicator, Self- Directed Learner, Critical Thinker and Involved Citizen are all part of MKIS’s ESLRS (Expected Schoolwide Learning Results) These ESLR’s help students achieve their desired goals throughout their school life and also in life. In this journal, I would be talking about how these ESLR’s relate to the preceding poetry unit. This poetry unit has been an overwhelming experience for me. I came into this quarter knowing completely nothing about poetry, only to be bombarded by series of surprises.

            The first ELSR that I will discuss is Academic Achiever. An Academic Achiever is someone who can demonstrate technological literacy and the use of technology as a tool for the efficient and creative completion of a project. I used this ESLR by using Adobe Photoshop to edit my images needed for the poetry book. For example, in my Seize the Day picture, I had to darken the ground and brighten the sky, so that my main purpose of my picture would be easier to understand. My intention of the picture was that even though life right now may be dark (ground) but we still have the bright sky to look up to. Furthermore, this ESLR (Academic Achiever) would be useless without the supporting ESLR of a Critical Thinker. After I took the picture for my Seize the Day poem, I realized that it was too dark; therefore I had to be a Critical Thinker and figure out how to solve this problem. I had to download a free picture-editing software from the internet to increase the brightness and solve my crisis. If I had done things differently next time, I would be more of an Academic Achiever and try to access information from different types of sources. I should have researched and discovered more ways and tactics to improve the creativity of the book. I must not just stick to my normal ideas. Summing up, I believe that I have performed this ESLR fairly well, but they are still some holes in my work.

            Another important ESLR is being an Effective Communicator. Someone that demonstrates their creative talent to convey ideas are known to be an Effective Communicator. They also collaborate with others in appropriate learning situations to achieve group goals. I performed this ESLR sufficiently during the Teen Life project by doing all the necessary work given to me in this project. I have collaborated with my group all around the world and got my part of the work done. In order to perform well in this ESLR, I would also need to be a Self-Directed Learner. Without accepting responsibility for your own learning, you would not be able to work well with others too. Therefore, these ESLR’s have to be combined to achieve the most, leaving just one out would not produce the same results. One thing that I would have changed was my participation in the Teen Life Project. Even tough I did what I was told and executed it to my utter best, I still believe that I could have participated more in the discussions and the production of the final product. I should have been in more contact with them and at least try to contribute some ideas. Overall, I believe that I still need much improvement in this ESLR. I have only showed minimal progress and much development is needed.

            The next ESLR I will discuss about is being a Self-Directed Learner. A Self-Directed Learner is basically someone that accepts responsibility for his or her own learning. They are very independent and are able to work well without any help from teachers or peers. I achieved this ESLR by demonstrating competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills. I was very organized and finished my poetry book about half a week before the due date. I have showed great time management skills in doing so. This ESLR must be used with a supporting ESLR of a Critical Thinker. Without being able to solve problems and crisis during projects, you cannot be a successful Self-Directed Learner. You must be self-directed and apply your critical thinking skills to solve the major dilemma. If I had the chance to go back and do things differently, I would have tried to be more creative and try to take risks to develop untried ideas. I must be able to think out of the box and make an effort to be as original as possible. To conclude, I suppose that I have performed this ESLR very well because of my time management and self-motivation. I believe that this was one of my strongest ESLRs.

            Next, we have an Involved Citizen. An Involved Citizen always tries to improve the lives of others in their community. They also interact respectfully with people of different cultures. I was an Involved Citizen by contributing ideas to my classmates on how to improve the creativity of their book. I have also advised them to manage their time well in order to finish the book on time. Furthermore, This ESLR works well with being an Effective Communicator, because in order to help others and improve their lives, you would need to learn how to collaborate with them in order to seek their attention. If I could have done things differently, I would definitely try to be more active as an Involved Citizen. In this poetry unit, I was fairly busy with my own work that I never really bothered to be an Involved Citizen. Next time, I should take others into consideration and not only care about myself. In conclusion, I believe that I performed this ESLR very poorly. I have not shown any interest thus far in helping others. I was mainly only concerned in my own work.

            Last but not least, Critical Thinker. Being able to evaluate and use resources effectively for the purpose of problem solving, applying problem-solving skills to facilitate learning, and being able to gather, analyze and process information from a variety of sources are all traits of a Critical Thinker. I performed this ESLR when I was planning to create a unique cover for my poetry book. I had to think critically and figure out the best possible cover I could think of. In the end, I decided to go classic and just use simple black and white writings. This ESLR must be combined with the supporting ESLR of a Self-Directed Learner. Before you can solve problems, you would first need to be a Self-Directed Learner and accept responsibility for your own learning then you would consider resolving your problems. Next time, I would certainly try to improve in this ESLR. I would try to participate more in the Teen Life Project. I should have been a Critical Thinker and contribute ideas to my partners in order to achieve a spectacular final product. In the end, I believe that this was my strongest ESLR because I have used my skills to find a way to resolve my problems

            Overall, this poetry unit has been a great experience for me. Without the help of every one of these ESLRs, this process would be much harder to endure. I believe in general that I have performed each of these ESLRs fairly well. I have improved much since the first quarter, and I plan to continue improving steadily throughout my life.

 Academic Achiever, Effective Communicator, Self- Directed Learner, Critical Thinker and Involved Citizen are all part of MKIS’s ESLRS (Expected Schoolwide Learning Results) These ESLR’s help students achieve their desired goals throughout their school life and also in life. In this journal, I would be talking about how these ESLR’s relate to the preceding poetry unit. This poetry unit has been an overwhelming experience for me. I came into this quarter knowing completely nothing about poetry, only to be bombarded by series of surprises.

            The first ELSR that I will discuss is Academic Achiever. An Academic Achiever is someone who can demonstrate technological literacy and the use of technology as a tool for the efficient and creative completion of a project. I used this ESLR by using Adobe Photoshop to edit my images needed for the poetry book. For example, in my Seize the Day picture, I had to darken the ground and brighten the sky, so that my main purpose of my picture would be easier to understand. My intention of the picture was that even though life right now may be dark (ground) but we still have the bright sky to look up to. Furthermore, this ESLR (Academic Achiever) would be useless without the supporting ESLR of a Critical Thinker. After I took the picture for my Seize the Day poem, I realized that it was too dark; therefore I had to be a Critical Thinker and figure out how to solve this problem. I had to download a free picture-editing software from the internet to increase the brightness and solve my crisis. If I had done things differently next time, I would be more of an Academic Achiever and try to access information from different types of sources. I should have researched and discovered more ways and tactics to improve the creativity of the book. I must not just stick to my normal ideas. Summing up, I believe that I have performed this ESLR fairly well, but they are still some holes in my work.

            Another important ESLR is being an Effective Communicator. Someone that demonstrates their creative talent to convey ideas are known to be an Effective Communicator. They also collaborate with others in appropriate learning situations to achieve group goals. I performed this ESLR sufficiently during the Teen Life project by doing all the necessary work given to me in this project. I have collaborated with my group all around the world and got my part of the work done. In order to perform well in this ESLR, I would also need to be a Self-Directed Learner. Without accepting responsibility for your own learning, you would not be able to work well with others too. Therefore, these ESLR’s have to be combined to achieve the most, leaving just one out would not produce the same results. One thing that I would have changed was my participation in the Teen Life Project. Even tough I did what I was told and executed it to my utter best, I still believe that I could have participated more in the discussions and the production of the final product. I should have been in more contact with them and at least try to contribute some ideas. Overall, I believe that I still need much improvement in this ESLR. I have only showed minimal progress and much development is needed.

            The next ESLR I will discuss about is being a Self-Directed Learner. A Self-Directed Learner is basically someone that accepts responsibility for his or her own learning. They are very independent and are able to work well without any help from teachers or peers. I achieved this ESLR by demonstrating competency in goal setting, time management, and organizational skills. I was very organized and finished my poetry book about half a week before the due date. I have showed great time management skills in doing so. This ESLR must be used with a supporting ESLR of a Critical Thinker. Without being able to solve problems and crisis during projects, you cannot be a successful Self-Directed Learner. You must be self-directed and apply your critical thinking skills to solve the major dilemma. If I had the chance to go back and do things differently, I would have tried to be more creative and try to take risks to develop untried ideas. I must be able to think out of the box and make an effort to be as original as possible. To conclude, I suppose that I have performed this ESLR very well because of my time management and self-motivation. I believe that this was one of my strongest ESLRs.

            Next, we have an Involved Citizen. An Involved Citizen always tries to improve the lives of others in their community. They also interact respectfully with people of different cultures. I was an Involved Citizen by contributing ideas to my classmates on how to improve the creativity of their book. I have also advised them to manage their time well in order to finish the book on time. Furthermore, This ESLR works well with being an Effective Communicator, because in order to help others and improve their lives, you would need to learn how to collaborate with them in order to seek their attention. If I could have done things differently, I would definitely try to be more active as an Involved Citizen. In this poetry unit, I was fairly busy with my own work that I never really bothered to be an Involved Citizen. Next time, I should take others into consideration and not only care about myself. In conclusion, I believe that I performed this ESLR very poorly. I have not shown any interest thus far in helping others. I was mainly only concerned in my own work.

            Last but not least, Critical Thinker. Being able to evaluate and use resources effectively for the purpose of problem solving, applying problem-solving skills to facilitate learning, and being able to gather, analyze and process information from a variety of sources are all traits of a Critical Thinker. I performed this ESLR when I was planning to create a unique cover for my poetry book. I had to think critically and figure out the best possible cover I could think of. In the end, I decided to go classic and just use simple black and white writings. This ESLR must be combined with the supporting ESLR of a Self-Directed Learner. Before you can solve problems, you would first need to be a Self-Directed Learner and accept responsibility for your own learning then you would consider resolving your problems. Next time, I would certainly try to improve in this ESLR. I would try to participate more in the Teen Life Project. I should have been a Critical Thinker and contribute ideas to my partners in order to achieve a spectacular final product. In the end, I believe that this was my strongest ESLR because I have used my skills to find a way to resolve my problems

            Overall, this poetry unit has been a great experience for me. Without the help of every one of these ESLRs, this process would be much harder to endure. I believe in general that I have performed each of these ESLRs fairly well. I have improved much since the first quarter, and I plan to continue improving steadily throughout my life.

From childhood’s hour I have not been
As others were–I have not seen
As others saw–I could not bring
My passions from a common spring-
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow–I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone–
And all I lov’d–I lov’d alone–
  Then–in my childhood–in the dawn
Of a most stormy life–was drawn
From ev’ry depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still–
From the torrent, or the fountain–
From the red cliff of the mountain–
From the sun that ’round me roll’d
In its autumn tint of gold–
From the lightning in the sky
As it pass’d me flying by–
From the thunder, and the storm–
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view–

I like this poem a lot because sometimes I can also relate to what he is going through as said in this poem. It is also short and simple and reveals the main point. This is also one of the few poems I’ve read that I actually understand fully, unlike other poems by other poets, which are like 5 pages long.

 This poem has a lot of figurative language, such as rhyming at the end syllables every two lines. This poem also has rhythm with 8 syllables per line, sometimes 9 syllables.