Blog Post #13 (final one!) - due Friday May 10

Choose one of the following prompts.  Please make sure I know which prompt you chose for your blog.

1. If you could spend an entire day with any celebrity or athlete, who would it be and why? What activities would you want to do with this person, and what would you want to talk about with this person?
2. If you could have any fictional character as a best friend, who would you choose?  Why?  What would that be like?
3. "I've been making a list of the things they don't teach you at school.  They don't teach you how to love somebody.  They don't teach you how to be famous.  They don't teach you how to be rich or how to be poor.  They don't teach you how to walk away from someone you don't love any longer.  They don't teach you how to know what's going on in someone else's mind.  They don't teach you what to say to someone who's dying.  They don't teach you anything worth knowing." - Neil Gaiman...Teach me something that's actually worth knowing and why is it important.
4. If a genie appeared and said they would grant you three wishes, what wishes would you choose and why?
5. Write about your favorite activity.  Convince me why I should try this activity and why it is enjoyable.

Blog post #12 - due April 26

If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be and why?

I think the one thing that I would want to change the most is to have people be tolerant of other people. You don't have to like them; you don't have to agree with them, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Should people stand up for what they believe in? Absolutely, but that doesn't give them the right to put other people down.

If you think about it, a lot of our world's problems could be taken care of if people would simply tolerate other opinions and people different from themselves.

Blog Post #11 - due Friday April 19

What is your legacy? What are you leaving behind for others? (or what do you hope you are leaving behind for others)  Another way to think of this question: how do you want to be remembered by future students? Or do they want to remembered at all? If not, why not?

While I'm obviously at a very different point in my life than you guys are, I'm going to answer this as what do I hope students remember about me once they graduate.

My hope is that I challenged you.  Not necessarily in the coursework you completed or my expectations in class (although of course I hope you learned something and are leaving prepared for college), but as a whole person.  I hope I made you think - about who you are, what you want to do, and how you can leave this world a better place.  I also hope you know that I cared.  Even if I "gave" you a bad grade, even if at some point you got in trouble, my hope is that you know that I wanted the best for you and that I wish you the best as you leave high school.  I hope I pushed you - to be your best, to go beyond your comfort zone, to find yourself in something.

As speech coach, I hope those of you I worked with remember all the laughter, the memories, and the fact that you will forever hold a place in my life. 

Writing prompt #10 - due Friday April 12

What are your five favorite songs at this point in time?  Why?

1.  "I Will Rise" by Chris Tomlin - I'm addicted to this song right now because of its haunting beauty.  I first heard about it on Facebook.  A friend's daughter died from brain cancer three years ago - she wasn't even three years old.  This song was played at her funeral.

2. "Somewhere in Neverland" by All Time Low - This is pretty much the furthest from "I Will Rise" as   I can get.  I'm not exactly sure why I'm hooked on this song, except it has a strong beat and it's easy to walk to (which is what I'm focusing on now that speech is over and I have time to exercise).

3. "Payphone" by Maroon 5 - This is also very different from the first song, but again, it's easy to exercise to.  Plus, I love Adam Levine (and Blake Shelton - but I don't like country music much) on The Voice.

4. "Some Nights" by Fun. - Besides the first song I've listed, most of the music I'm listening to right now has a beat because I'm using them to exercise to.  I guess this song is just catchy.

5. "Air and Simple Gifts" by Yo-Yo Ma, Anthony McGill, Gabriela Montero & Itzhak Perlman - This is obviously a classical piece.  While I don't listen to much classical music, this one struck me ever since I heard it.  I played clarinet in high school and college and I absolutely love the clarinet part in this song.

I could have added pretty much any song by The Piano Guys, as well.  I don't know if they're considered "classical" music - most are instrumental - but I love their versions of popular songs and their playful takes on well-known classics.

Writing prompt #9 - due Thursday March 29

If you could create a movie of your life, who would you cast and what would the story be?

In addition to answering the question on your blog for your life, I want you to comment on mine with who you think I should cast and why.

Writing prompt #8 - Due March 6, 2013

Look at the following pictures/quotes and choose the one that means the most to you.  Copy and paste the one you choose into your own blog (if you want to take more than one, go for it).  Once you have it copied and pasted into your own blog, write about what it means to you and why you chose it.

Obviously, they all mean something to me, or I wouldn't have chosen them for this writing prompt.  All of them impart something that either fits my personal beliefs or imparts a lesson that I hope my students take to heart.  I'm a firm believer that I'm here to teach more than English and literature.  I'm here to help prepare you all for what comes after high school - not just the academic, but the life lessons.  If I had to choose one (which, of course, is the point of this whole thing), I would choose the next to last picture - "Be the change you want to see in the world."  First of all, it's the picture I have on my phone's home screen, so I see it every time I have my phone on.  I placed it there because it's a daily reminder that everything I do makes an impact - sometimes one that I'm trying to do, but most of the time I have to realize that I may not know the impact.  I don't think anyone goes into teaching without wanting to make an impact.  I know that was a big reason why I went into teaching - and why I coach.  I hope I make an impact - and I hope it's a positive one.  That's what the picture reminds me of - every action I take (or don't take) makes a change of some kind.  If I want to make a positive change/impact, then I have to make sure my actions fit that.  One person may not change the entire world, but if they change it for one person and that one person goes and changes things for another, it's a snowball effect.

Writing Prompt #7 - due February 22

If you could meet anyone - past or present - who would it be and why?

It's tough to narrow it down to one person.  There are parts of history that intrigue me and I would like to meet and talk with someone who lived that history.  There are so many authors I would love to meet and talk to.  There are also several celebrities I would like to meet.  However, if I had to choose, I would love to meet Miep Gies.  She's the woman who helped hide Anne Frank and her family in the Annex during the Holocaust.  She's also the woman who helped make sure Anne's Diary was saved so it could be published later.  Without that diary, we may not know as much as we do about what some Jewish people went through in the Holocaust.  

It may seem morbid to be fascinated by the Holocaust, but I'm interested in it because it amazes me that something like that could happen.  Plus, if we don't learn from history, we're doomed to repeat it at some point and nothing like that needs to happen again.

**Now, for your assignment, make sure you copy and paste the prompt to the top of your post (NOT the title - put Writing Prompt #7 as your title).  Your entry should be at LEAST 100 words (not counting the prompt).  It needs to be posted by 11:59 pm FRIDAY.