Last Day

The last day of class was a new experience to me. I enjoyed listening to all you guys. it was nice to be in this class and i wish you all luck on the finals and on your future classes and college experience. Take care Y'all.

The Bosnia List

For those of you who finished reading the book, my last question is what's your favorite part of The Bosnia List?. You can summarized or quote it, but you have to put the authors last name and the page. 

No Mans Land

"No Mans Land" was everything but predictable, I thought both soldiers would unite to end the war and  the soldier who's body was place over the bomb would be set free and have the opportunity to reunite with the lady in the picture.I wish the movie ended differently because it was interesting until the soldiers decided to shoot at each other to death, that scene definitely spoiled the movie for me personally.

Today's class

Today everyone in class read out loud some things they wrote. I personally wrote a poem and so did some of my other classmates I have to say that a lot of you guys are really talented. Maybe the professor should try to include more poetry with his next EN 101 semesters. You never know who write poetry and who is really talented until you complete this last assignment. I enjoyed this assignment and really wish we could've did more assignments like this throughout the semester.

The 5/13/15 class (Tomorrow's class)

Im exited to see how our last day of class will turn on. I'm exited about sharing stories or essays in class and most important exited about the food. haha :D

Movie in Class

The other day we saw a movie in class and i left with something from it. i felt bad towards the man left behind. i feel like they should've done something else or in the worse case be with him until he dies. it was really sad seen the camera going up at the end and the mans still with the boom under him. just wanted to put my opinion up there. Any comments are welcome.

leaving class

Leaving this class and finishing up this semester I am really confident In my writing and sharing it with others. I feel like I am growing in the English department. I now like helping others with papers I feel like I brought back my creative side that i once had. I also made a friend this semester which is strange to me because I'm not a open person I am shy and like sticking to myself but this class brought me out of this I don't know if It because we did group critiques or because we often have open class discussion. I don't know what to expect with EN 102 because I know every professor is different I actually wish you taught EN 102 you are like one of my favorite professors. What I think I should do differently is get out of my comfort zone when it comes to my writing.  Something I would've changed in this class was the books we read well the first book. I also feel like we should 've did more poetry or free writes in class.  Overall I really enjoyed this semester.

I think I messed something up.

So I've been staring at my essay for an hour now, and I don't know how I could fix it. I think I started off good, but then lost sight of what I was doing. If any one wants to give me advice I'll try to take it but I do't think I have enough time to finish it.

"The Testing Standard

In my time as a high school student I didn't bother to question why we took test. It seemed like a given that we would have to take them. In my experience with standardized test they would start off with roughly 40~70 multiple choice questions. Followed by an essay question. Now while I didn't question why we took these standardized tests in high school, whilst I'm in college I've started to wonder.

Standardized tests are a poor means of measuring student progress, and shouldn't be used as such because they can not measure a persons potential, or ascertain how resourceful a student can be, or tell if a student can apply their knowledge to real world problems. They can however establish a national standard, which could allow schools to be compared to one another. This means that educates could show students what subjects they need to improve on.

Whilst I was researching the subject of standardized testing I discovered a couple of things. First I learned that standardized tests are universally shunned by educators. Second I learned that educational policy makers are relying heavily on standardized testing to make decision that could potentially cost teachers their jobs, cut a school's funding, or even get schools shut down.

To talk more about that first part I'll give a little more background as to where these test come from. Back in 2001 Gorge W. Bush passed the “No Child Left Behind” act of 2001. What NCLB did was create a system were schools do poorly if student don't make “acquitted progress” in proficient levels.

That second part has me concerned. It seems a bit backwards. Instead of providing financial support to schools with low test scores, the policy makers would cut the funding leaving the school to rot. It's like they think this is a game of poker and schools with low scores are bad hands to be folded. This attitude towards the test gives them very high-stakes.

A major affect of the high-stakes these tests hold, is having teachers being forced to teach a certain way. It is my understanding, that they are “given a strict teaching scheduled by the board of education”. A scheduled that prevents them from adapting their teaching to help student. Educator don't have the time to help students if they want to get through the curriculum they are given. Teachers who take time to help the student fall behind in the teaching schedule, and enviable rush the later parts of it. This means that students who can't keep up with the pace of the curriculum are unprepared for the test at the end of the semester. (John McCabes memories unspecified time and place)

I better attitude to use with these test would be to provide schools that have low scores financial support they need to improve the scores. This would make it so that teaches don't have to stress over their jobs."

That's all I have so far. I'm problable gonna hand it in as is since it's better then handing in nothing.

Bosnia List Reading

The Bosnia List Reading was really interesting. It was really nice to meet Kenan Trebinevic and get to hear his personal experiences that he went through in making the book. It felt engaging to actually hear from the author himself that wrote the Bosnia list. Great event overall !

Kenan Trebincevic

The presentation with Kenan Trebincevic was great. He said he is a man that probably still holds grudge. He said somethings that were not mentioned in the book which was very intresting.

class reading

Class reading starts this Wednesday, but I'm doing a story about my trip to Lake George. I want to do it because traveling stories are interesting for the audience. Can you tell your traveling story in class? if not, you can tell a fictional story or a dream that you had or make something creative or amusing so that the classmate will entertain it.

Question for class tomorrow

It says on the syllabus that the W A W assignment is due tomorrow. Does anyone know what that assignment is?

Finishing Up

For the last week of the blog (5/10-16), I'd like you to make some final comments about your learning in the class. What do you think you have taken away from the course? What information? What skills? What friendships have you made and why? What do you expect to learn in EN-102? Also, what do you think I should do differently? What would you have liked to do less of? More of? What should we stop doing? What would you have liked to do instead?

Also, you should post about the class readings on Wed. What readings did you like best? How did you like reading your own work?

Kenan's presentation

I wasn't able to make it to his presentation. Did any of you attend? How was it! Did he get emotional at some points? 

today's class

Today in class we spoke briefly on the whole them leaving the man in the ditch on laying on the bomb and to tell each side that the other side has it so that they can bomb it. I couldn't really understand why they did that. Until i realized that, that wouldve been the best choice. If im not mistaking someone in the movie said by them not doing nothing they are not being neutral I don't understand that how is them doing what they did choosing a side because technically they didn't choose a side they kind of just left the situation alone. Which is probably the best choice they could've made because imagine if they would've picked a side the war probably would've still been going on.

One Man's Land

The movie we've watched today was overall intense. It really did leave questions in my head regarding"Cera" (if I'm correct) in what really ended up happening to him..

May 13 assignment

I Don't know about you guys but I am super excited on the assignment that is due this day. I love writing poetry and that's something that nobody knows about me. I am usually shy when it comes to reading my work out loud or reading my poems to someone in general. I like to keep that side of me to myself. I will be reading something that everyone in class can relate to the death of a family member I really hope you guys enjoy.

No Man's Land and finishing up w/ The Bosnia List

As we watch No Man's Land this week, I'd like us to think about how Danis Tanovic's film gives us a different view of the Yugoslavian Civil War than Trebincevic's book does. Trebincevic is a Bosnian Muslim. Tanovic is also Bosnian, but not Muslim. How does his view of the Civil war differ from Trebencevic's?

This is a war story instead of, like The Bosnia List, a family story. How are the two sides--the Bosnians and the Serbs presented? How does Tanovic explain the conflict to his audience, people elsewhere in the world who may not understand the intricacies of the war? What is the role of the news reporter in this story? The UN troops? The United Nations troops w/ the blue helmets were "observers" in the conflict and weren't supposed to take sides. What does Tanovic seem to be saying about neutrality? What did you make of the conclusion of the film? How might you compare that scene to the scene that Kenan has with Petra's daughter and grandson in her apartment in Ch. 12 of The Bosnia List.

This film is a satire and an anti-war film. Satire uses humor to make fun of real-world events. It shows us how certain events/attitudes in the world are absurd. How is satire used in this film? What is the message (or messages)? What does the film seem to be saying about this war and war in general? Does it have anything to say about Serbia or ethnic cleansing?

The Bosnia List

After reading ch. 10, I realized that everybody has their own problem but sometimes people does not understand that. What Kenan was thinking about his cousin Amela its became totally opposite. Kenan was angry toward Amela because she didn't really contract with him. When Kenans mother passed away Amela called and asked when you are coming back to Bosnia? He replied Never!( Kenan 245)
In chapter 10 what Kenan discussed this is not just with him only but sometimes we face too.

Bosnia list

After coming too quite the end of the bosnia list, I realized I enjoyed this book much more then the book by henry miller. This book is easier to follow along with because it has a plot. The thoughts seemed to be very organized, then just thrown on the paper. Compared to henry millers book, where there didn't seem too have much of a plot. Henry millers thoughts didn't seem to be organized too well, too me it seemed like whatever kind of hit him at the time that's what he wrote down. There was no smooth transition like the bosnia list has.

Bosnia list

After reading chapter 10, when Kenan was trying too get to know his cousins I was honestly touched. He was trying to catch up for the nine years that he had missed. I found it so adorable when kenan was shopping with his cousin for coats and boots so she can be kept warm in the very cold conditions in bosnia.
However, I also like kenans perspective on how his life would have been different if he had went with Amela. I like how he explained that his brother eldin could have been a solider and how things could have been really different then how his life is now.

the Bosnia list chapter 9

 "Someday when I not around, it'll be documented for you and your kids." ( Trebincevic and Shapiro  470). That part make me emotional because kenan's mom told him to write a story about the tough experience in Bosina and he didn't care. Although, after the death of his mother, he wrote  this memoir and published, so that future readers will read it. If his mother still alive, she'll be proud of him.