Aalim's English Blog

 Today we read a fictional short story about a soldier in the Vietnam war who experienced his first kill. The story shows how killing someone can affect one mind. One of the questions that are asked about the story is whether or not he should have killed him. The soldier was so shaken by the event that he never told his daughter that he killed someone because he did not want to teach her about the reality of killing someone. The man he had killed was stuck in his mind and he always envisioned him emerging from the fog.

 Today we did an assessment for the current unit. There was no lesson for today. Surprisingly, Mr. Reese was not in class. Instead, a substitute teacher and Ms. Cook filled in for the day. My table was pretty goofy but we were able to get most of the work done. Overall, today was pretty chill.

Today I do not want to do a lesson because I have other work I would like to get done. I currently need to catch up on Khan academy in Ms Jackson's class. I have Delta Math in Mr. Arhin's class. I also have Spanish online. This period will give me time to do one of these assignments. It will also give me time to socialize with my classmates.

 Today, instead of having a normal class period, we watched a demonstration about car accidents. The Police, Firefighters, Grady, and local funeral home were a part of the demonstration. A few students also joined in the demonstration. The "accident" was caused by a drunk driver. The accident escalated as all the emergency vehicles were arriving at the scene. I learned to be patient on the road, take my time, and drive responsibly.

 Today in class we got to share our black business in Atlanta project. Unfortunately, it was only a select few. After the presentations, we watched a documentary on Black-owned businesses in the United States. I learned that only a small percentage of African Americans reached the top 1% through entrepreneurship and only 5% of African Americans are upper-class citizens. Another thing I learned was Whites are pushing Blacks out of the cities. The only way we can overcome that problem is to develop our own cities.   

 I was happy to come back to school after doing my solo flight during the break. I still cannot believe I got soloed. My instructors and family got to watch the spectacle as I made 3 loops around the airport. Each loop was followed by a landing. Coming to school I got to share my experience with my friends. Today we went over vocabulary words. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish my work still taking in what I had done during the weekend. 

 Today learned about Maya Angelou. She created a plethora of poems including the "Black Family Pledge" and still I rise. After learning about her life, we created a pledge of our own to protect and honor our culture. As an African American, I pledge to take pride in my heritage. I will not betray my culture and will treat it with honor. I will incorporate it into my everyday life. 

Today, we worked on our presentation for black-owned businesses in Atlanta, Georgia. I was able to get a good amount of work done before I goofed off on my phone. Nothing exciting happened in class today because no lesson was given.

Today we had a substitute teacher fill in for Mr. Rease. She was training to be a new teacher at Cedar Grove. We addressed her as Ms. Cook. She was a petite Black Hispanic lady with a slight accent in her speech but was pretty articulate. She started off the lesson by talking about how women do not get the same opportunities as men. This was the reason she could not go into film and achieve her goals. We continued the lesson by reading "A Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes. The rest of the lesson consisted of engaging discussions between the students and the teacher. We also wrote out our goals on a heart card.

 Today, we went over our presentation due Friday. Our presentation is about black-owned businesses in Atlanta, Georgia. I was pretty excited because I was able to find a business for each category quickly. The categories include Restaurants, Specialty Restaurants, Fitness Centers, Grocery Stores, Barber shops or Beauty salons, Clothing Stores, Real Estate, and Car Repair. I can't wait to show off my presentation.

 Today, we took an assessment. We had to read passages and answer questions. One passage was about a hymn created during the civil war. The other passage was about the United States and how it started out as an isolationist country and slowly became an interventionalist nation after the Monroe doctrine. The passage also talked about the different wars and the enemies they had to face. At first, it was the Germans, then the Asians. Today it's terrorist organizations. 

  Today, my class and I went over quotes from Emily Dickenson again. Once again her style is depressing and gloomy. For the rest of the class period, we spent time analyzing some of her quotes.

 Today, my class and I went over quotes from Emily Dickenson. We also watched a few movie trailers about her. Even though she inspired many writers, she hasn't inspired me. Her style is depressing and gloomy. For the rest of the class period, we spent time analyzing some of her quotes.

 Today we presented our one-pagers in class. Luckily I managed to finish mine in time to present. Some students forgot their one-pager. Others did theirs in class. Compared to all the other one-pagers, mine was unique. I used a comic strip style and colored it with crayons.

 Today I was not in class because I have a cold.

 

 Today we went over the new set of vocabulary words. Most of these words I was not familiar with. I do believe I've heard of bona fide before. I wrote the definitions and then proceeded to do the exercises. After, I socialized with my classmates and worked on my one-pager for tomorrow. Today was pretty productive.  

 Today we took a vocabulary test which I didn't practice enough for. While taking the test we had a lock down drill. The rest of the class period, we were sketching our outlines for the poem analysis.

Today, our class split up into groups and analyzed a poem by Emily Dickinson. She is really depressing but her stuff makes sense. The poem we read was Hope is a thing with feathers. In this poem hope is being described as a bird. Hope is wishing for an outcome without putting in any work. By putting in work, one is able to change the probability of the outcome.