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Sunday, May 23

  1. page What I Have Learned 4th Quarter edited What I have learned 4th quarter McKay Stephenson On first thought, 4th the fourth quarter for…
    What I have learned 4th quarter
    McKay Stephenson
    On first thought, 4th the fourth quarter for my English class, we haven’t done much. Upon deeper thought however it becomes evident that we definitely did learn a lot. The major things that we learned about were some of Shakespeare’s plays, we worked on our own poetry, and we had lots of guest speakers come in and help prepare us for life after high school. Such small things such as these have taught me the most out of 4th quarter.
    For the majority of the last quarter, we have been devoting more of our time towards poetry and Shakespeare. We watched a lot of movies on Shakespeare plays, and it was a lot easier to understand what was being said when it was being acted out in the movie. My favorites were probably, “Much Ado about Nothing” and “Hamlet.” These were easily more entertaining than reading the book and not understanding what was going on.
    We also wrote a lot of our own poems and read them to the class, which was both very funny and informative because it showed us ideas and ways that we could make our poems and writing better. Most memorably was sitting outside in the freezing stadium writing several poems about whatever inspired us. Most people were inspired to get back inside so they wrote about being cold, some wrote about football players that were practicing, and others wrote about such random things that I have no idea why they thought about them.
    Last of all, I definitely learned a lot from Mr. Pitcher bringing in various speakers from different colleges to talk about our future and give advice on how to make our futures better. We had an odd Sergeant from the military come in and talk to us about how the military will pay for your schooling and even give you a job upon completing your various training. Mr. Miller was a very funny guy that was easily my favorite however. He kept the class entertained with various games and jokes while still teaching us about life after high school and the possibilities that Utah Careers College could give to me. While no I had no intention of going to Utah Careers College, I definitely learned a lot about possible careers and valuable tips for BYU, the college I will be attending. This was one of my favorite and most memorable parts of fourth quarter. While I am very excited to graduate from high school, I am also extremely terrified of life after high school. Everybody says they were scared too just like me at some point, but that college is way better then high school ever was. The speakers that Mr. Pitcher brought to us were definitely a valuable asset to me. I learned a lot but my fears of graduating were somewhat eased.
    In conclusion, it has been evident that I have learned a lot from my 4th quarter in English class from Mr. Pitcher even though this essay was just a small fraction of the things that I learned. This essay has been an expression of the things that I have found most valuable such as Shakespeare’s plays, working on our own poetry, and having lots of guest speakers come in and help prepare us for life after high school. I am going to miss high school so much and feel like I wasted so much time during it. A lot of the things I have learned this year however I know are extremely valuable to me and the rest of my life. After every quarter we were assigned to write an essay on what we learned. Every quarter I thought that I had learned a lot from the short seven weeks in the class. Looking back on all four quarters, the only thing that has changed is that I now don’t think I’ve learned a lot, I know and I hope I always remember the experiences I had in Mr. Pitcher’s English class. My senior year I am now claiming to be over, it is my view that June 3rd is the beginning of the next step of my life, much like I viewed the first day of sophomore year, eager to face the challenge, but definitely going to be missing the last step I had taken.

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  2. page What I Have Learned This Year edited What I Have Learned This Year McKay Stephenson My senior year is now basically over. Looking ba…
    What I Have Learned This Year
    McKay Stephenson
    My senior year is now basically over. Looking back, besides getting a lot of review, there are so many new things I have learned in this last year. This can be attributed to my outstanding English teacher Mr. Pitcher. If you single it down to the biggest concepts learned this year, the biggest and most important things we have learned are the literary devices ethos, pathos, and logos, how to give a research presentation, and then some studying of poems towards the end of the year. Bigger than just learning things however, we learned more importantly how to apply the things which we learned.
    The first large concept that we learned, were about the literary devices ethos, pathos, and logos. First we learned about the literary device ethos. In literature, ethos is what establishes credibility or ethics to the audience. We have recently studied the Gettysburg address by Abraham Lincoln. In this piece President Lincoln opens by stating that four score and seven years ago their fathers established a new nation. This does two things in the attempt to create freedom for all. It shows that President Lincoln knew his history and how long ago the constitution was written, and by saying, “Our fathers” it shows common ancestry and that everyone’s family’s shared common parents back then that created the nation with the idea that everyone is free. This establishes a connection with the audience and therefore, credibility. Next, we learned about the literary device pathos. Pathos is what adds emotion to anything with the goal of capturing an audience. The book, “Night” probably did this best of all with a young boys experiences living through the holocaust. When the book talks about babies being thrown into fires and boys killing their fathers for their ration of food, your heart goes out to those who suffered through this horrid experience. This emotion is the driving force behind getting people hooked on the book, and stopping it from being thrown aside. We also read the essay, “A Modest Proposal.” In which the author states that an alternative for saving money would be harvesting babies otherwise killed through abortion, as food. The only word to describe this is sick. That emotion you feel hooks the audience and keeps you coming back for more. Logos is the final literary device that we learned about. It is what adds logic for the decision making of the characters. The best example of this would be from Martian Luther King’s speech, “I Have a Dream.” Martian Luther King’s speech is based entirely on facts. Five score years ago the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Lincoln. Two hundred years later all races were still not free. He describes it as being written a blank check, and one that they have come to redeem. This not only states why they are in Washington DC, but it says that they should be there to come for their rights that they do have. There is no argument that comes to mind that can overcome that logic. In Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol”, Christmas Future shows Scrooge what is to become of his life. Logically however, Scrooge determines that if he changes, that will not be his fate, but the fate of a dream. This logic is what finally gets through to Scrooge that he needs to change. Without it, he probably wouldn’t have.
    Basically all of quarter three, we devoted to reading a book, and then deriving a research paper and presentation from a social issue found in that book. I did my on the book, “Eyes of the Emperor”, because my mom recommended it to me. Unfortunately the book was pretty lame but from that book I decided to talk about racism. I learned so much from my research on just racism in America, that it seemed like I was doing the report for a history class rather than for my English class. Not only did I learn a lot about racism from the research I did however, but I also learned how to give an effective presentation on both the topic racism, and the book I read. I learned how to use and cite sources that I did research from and put them on the power point in a way that didn’t make me feel stupid (like just listing the website). The actual presenting of the power point, if honest, I was terrified for. I was basically nervous about getting up and presenting what I had been doing with my time in Pitcher’s class the last month and a half of school. When the day came for me to present, I got up and it was no big deal at all. This taught me a valuable lesson, don’t work yourself up over nothing, it’s retarded.
    For the majority of the last quarter, we have been devoting more of our time towards poetry and Shakespeare. We watched a lot of movies on Shakespeare plays, and it was a lot easier to understand what was being said when it was being acted out in the movie. My favorites were probably, “Much Ado about Nothing” and “Hamlet.” These were easily more entertaining than reading the book and not understanding what was going on. We also wrote a lot of our own poems and read them to the class, which was both very funny and informative because it showed us ideas and ways that we could make our poems and writing better. Most memorably was sitting outside in the freezing stadium writing several poems about whatever inspired us. Most people were inspired to get back inside so they wrote about being cold, some wrote about football players that were practicing, and others wrote about such random things that I have no idea why they thought about them but was definitely amused none the less.
    Somewhat off topic but something that I definitely learned a lot from, was Mr. Pitcher bringing in various speakers from different colleges to talk about our future and advice on how to make our futures better. We had a odd Sergeant from the military come in and talk to us about how the military will pay for your schooling and even give you a job upon completing your various training. Mr. Miller was a very funny guy that was easily my favorite however. He kept the class entertained with various games and jokes while still teaching us about life after high school and the possibilities that Utah Careers College could give to me. While no I had no intention of going to Utah Careers College, I definitely learned a lot about possible careers and valuable tips for BYU, the college I will be attending. This was one of my favorite and most memorable parts of fourth quarter. While I am very excited to graduate from high school, I am also extremely terrified of life after high school. Everybody says they were scared too just like me at some point, but that college is way better then high school ever was. The speakers that Mr. Pitcher brought to us were definitely a valuable asset to me. I learned a lot but my fears of graduating were somewhat eased.
    Another lesson I learned this year that I couldn’t leave out was the lesson of the pinky brush. This was the lesson Mr. Pitcher taught us about interactions with fellow people and especially girls. The pinky brush was him trying to figure out if Jackie would hold his hand (by watching how she responded to the pinky brush). Although this was an extremely short lesson, I still remember it and will probably still remember it for quite some time in my life.
    In conclusion, it has been evident that I have learned a lot from my 12th grade English class from Mr. Pitcher even though this essay was just a small fraction of the things that I learned. This essay has been an expression of the things that I have found most valuable such as the literary devices ethos, pathos, and logos, how to give a research presentation, and then a little bit of studying poetry to which I previously struggled in understanding. I am going to miss high school so much and feel like I wasted so much time during it. A lot of the things I have learned this year however I know are extremely valuable to me and the rest of my life. After every quarter we were assigned to write an essay on what we learned. Every quarter I thought that I had learned a lot from the short seven weeks in the class. Looking back on all four quarters, the only thing that has changed is that I now don’t think I’ve learned a lot, I know and I hope I always remember the experiences I had in Mr. Pitcher’s English class. My senior year I am now claiming to be over, it is my view that June 3rd is the beginning of the next step of my life, much like I viewed the first day of sophomore year, eager to face the challenge, but definitely going to be missing the last step I had taken.

    (view changes)

Tuesday, March 16

  1. page What I Have Learned in Quarter 3 edited This is my "what have i learned this quarter" essay {What I have learned this semester.…
    This is my "what have i learned this quarter" essay
    {What I have learned this semester.docx}

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  2. page social issue paper edited this is my social issue paper {Social Issue-eyes of the emporer.docx}
    this is my social issue paper
    {Social Issue-eyes of the emporer.docx}

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  3. page social issue powerpoint edited ... Power Point.pptx} Type in the content This is my eyes of your page here. the emperor pow…
    ...
    Power Point.pptx} Type in the contentThis is my eyes of your page here.the emperor powerpoint for my social issue thingy
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  4. page social issue powerpoint edited Type {Eyes of the Emperor Power Point.pptx} Type in the
    Type {Eyes of the Emperor Power Point.pptx} Type in the
    (view changes)
  5. page social issue powerpoint edited Type in the content of your page here.
    Type in the content of your page here.
    (view changes)

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