Assignment 26 - Grace Barnett

 One suggestion that I have for future classes is that you should maybe spend more time practicing each essay that is on the exam. I know reading and going through our peer's work is beneficial to see what works and what doesn't but it is not really the same as writing them yourself. Maybe not do a full timed writing but breaking it down? I still struggle a little bit with rhetorical analysis and choices but that might be because we learned about it online and did not have the same amount of time to fully dive into it as previous years. Another suggestion I might make is to go through a multiple-choice practice test because we did them in class but never went over any of them together. I'm pretty set on English sections for tests but other people might not, so I think that might also be helpful to just go through one. 

David Butler- Assignment 26

 Now I'm just going to start out and say that I don't really have any gripes, more so a few possible minuscule additions. One thing that could just be quick and interesting at the beginning of the day would be if you did a check in question. Mr. Cain does these and sometimes they are lesson related and other times they are not. I'm thinking that you could maybe even sometimes make them like an opener to your lesson. For example, in our philosophy/satire unit(like before the day about plato's cave) you could ask a question about philosophical morality like “would you rather live a short life surrounded by the ones you love, or a long life with little to love?” or “would you want to stay where you are or step out of the cave?” or just a variant of the classic vanilla trolly problem. I think that little things like this could be a cool and maybe even just occasional addition to the classroom. 

Assignment 25 - Sanat Dharwad

 I’m pretty lazy, and I’ll usually put stuff off until the last minute. I’ll sleep 12 hours a day if you let me. I love discussing complex philosophical topics with my friends, but I also find myself in heated arguments concerning the stupidest little things, like “If someone hits you unprompted, how hard do you hit them back?” Having discussions like these where we’re pretty much just having fun and not really saying anything is one of my favorite activities. I have a deep love of music, and I spend a lot of time listening, making, and talking about music. Whenever I’m bored, I’ll usually pick up my guitar and start practicing or composing something. I used to not be very social, but I’ve definitely moved on from that. If anything, I speak too loudly nowadays. Me being Indian has had a minimal impact on my life, as I never even picked up either my father’s or mother’s languages, and I can't relate to the culture very much

Assignment 26-Aiden Beach

This school year has been different, to say the least, than any other school year. Because of this, I’ve looked at all the teachers I’ve had this year differently, as they were just as stressed as everyone else, and they weren’t used to teaching a class virtually for almost a whole school year. However, with your class, it felt like you knew what you were doing. You rarely gave us any assignments, and when you did, you discussed it with the class in order to give the students a better understanding. With how well you discussed it virtually, I can only imagine how well it would’ve been in-person. You asked to write about both what you did well, and what could’ve been better. However, I personally can’t think of anything to be improved as I’m writing this. Your class wasn’t a perfect class that never had issues, but most of those issues were resolved fairly quickly or talked about in class, as expressed earlier. If you keep up your method of teaching, I’m sure future students will agree with me, whether it be virtual or in-person.

Assignment 24 - Sanat Dharwad

 Successes? I’m not sure I’ve really had any big ones this year. I survived, I guess, but I’d say this year was filled more with failures. The first half of the year I’d say I was doing relatively fine, but in the second half I suddenly had a lack of motivation, evidenced by when I’m turning in this assignment. Have I learned a lesson from this, to not procrastinate further? Funnily enough, I’m not sure I have. Ideally I should be suffering right now as I’m doing this super late, but I really don’t mind. This summer is going to be filled with numerous college visits, volunteering, and interning somewhere (hopefully), as I really need to buff my resume. I’m not really sure what I want for senior year, as I’m not a practitioner of prospection. There isn’t really much more I can do next school year that can help with college except continue to get good grades, so I guess that's my goal.

Assignment 23 Garrett Peavler

     We've always gone to my grandparents' house every week, but as my brother and I grew older he began to drive me there, which led to an hour of my older brother and I having actual conversations and listening to music. Since he was the driver he would always have the first pick in music, and while at first, I wasn't crazy about everything he played, as I grew to his age (and after listening to them so many times in the car) they eventually grew on me. These songs now represent good times, and I am very nostalgic towards them. They are songs that provided a soundtrack to me and my brother becoming less distant and they are songs that positively affected who I became. While they may seem unrelated, all of these songs represent good times.

1. Is This It - The Strokes: This was the first song on an album that I feel like I must have listened to a hundred times in the car, an album which, traffic or no traffic, always seemed to perfectly end right before we got to my grandparents' house.

2. How Many More Times - Led Zepplin: This was a song that my brother and I would often play together (I played bass, he played guitar, we went back and forth on drums). Even though that was about 3 years ago, I still know the bass and drum parts by heart.

3. Let Me Go - Cake: This was another song that my brother and I would play. For a long period of time, my brother was obsessed with the guitar part in this song, and would constantly request that I play the bass part so that he could have a backing track, most of the time I obliged.

4. Fluorescent Adolescent - Arctic Monkeys: This is one of the songs that my brother played at his first gig with his sophomore band. I distinctly remember him telling me about how much he hated playing this song and how his stupid singer made him, then, about six months later, he wouldn't stop playing it (I had always kind of liked it).

5. Stand By Me - Ben E. King: This song is definitely the odd man out in this line up, but without this song, I might not have stuck with music. See, unlike guitar or piano, there aren't many easily recognizable beginner bass songs, but Stand By Me is definitely one of them. I learned it early on and played alongside my grandpa who plays the piano. Being able to participate in music and have fun immediately sparked a passion for music that I still carry today.

Assignment 25- Sara Anderlich

Uniquely me... who am I?
My name is Sara Elizabeth Anderlich, I am 17 years old, I'm an INFJ, and my life has been crazy. 

But who really am I... what makes me tick?

I consider myself a people person. I like to talk, and I like to be around others. I'm organized, I'm anxious, I like to write, but more than anything, I love music. I feel like my life revolves around music, and I feel so connected to it that it truly encapsulates most of my personal growth- especially, through band. I found my spark, and with it, I gained confidence. When I was little, I really didn't understand social cues, and I think that's probably the same for a lot of people. But, it was bad, and when I finally did learn, it made me sad to realize that not everyone loved me as much as I thought they did. I started overthinking, I was nervous, and as much as I tried to make friends, I never felt very close to them. I was in orchestra for a while, but it wasn't a wonderful group, and I had bad luck with my teacher. So, in a minute of impulsivity, I took private saxophone lessons, and I joined two band classes my 8th grade year. Now, I debate a lot of things and think about the butterfly effect a lot, but, I can one-hundred percent say that that was the best decision of my entire life. 
Not only did I start to gravitate towards people that I could build lasting friendships with, but my entire outlook on life changed. Specifically, how to focus on the now, and how to challenge myself to do even the things I may not want to do. I learned self-discipline and, through it, I learned how to be my best, happiest, self. 

So, I guess that's my answer, I'm a band kid. And like them all, I have a weird, crazy background full of happy and sad memories that make me who I am. 

Assignment 26 Ben Belin

Overall your class effective in helping me to learn to write better. Now that I said that time for the exciting part... criticism! Although I completely understand that you planned the year out based on block scheduling and didn't want to give us busy work, I did sometimes think we could have done more. What I mean by this is that the class didn't have much variation. It was just write and essay every once in a while and then spend a week or two grading it. A way to improve this would be to mix it up with things like a bit more engaging like for different kinds of writing/reading activities. An example would be to maybe split us off into smaller groups and we could work together to write an answer to a prompt. This way we could see how other people in the class approach the writing. Mr. Wise did this with us last year and I found it extremely helpful. I'm sure this year wasn't how your class normally goes, and I know from my sister we usually do a lot more engaging types of activities (like the commercials).

Ethan Scutchfield - Assignment 26

Despite what you might think, I have enjoyed your class.  I don't think I am as strong with English and this class has helped me.  I have always done well on reading comprehension, but I actually had my English score on the ACT go up a lot this year and I think you helped.

I think having your students use previous AP questions and the active set up of writing the papers is a good use of the class time.  The one critique would be how we reviewed the papers.  The reviews took long due to going over each one individually.  Generally for review I would have preferred them to be based on a small group like at the beginning of the year instead of whole class.

Assignment 25 - Ethan Scutchfield

The question of what makes me "uniquely me" is a pretty loaded question.  Depending on the day, I could answer this a million different ways.  Probably the the first thing that makes me uniquely me is I am a procrastinator, but of course, you have discovered this by now.  I am also a really big pessimist because I have a hard time seeing how things will work out better for me.  It is a self-fulfilling circle I live in.  I feel like it is rinse and repeat.  I can go from a ball of stupidity to actually having a brain, energy and randomly being able to completely focus on a task despite not having an attention span.

This year with Covid has definitely made me even more of a pessimist and procrastinator.  I hope that as more of us get vaccinated, we will see some things go back to normal, but again, I am the circling through pessimist thoughts.  I just can't quit thinking that something else will happen and we will be back to the start.

Assignment 23 - Sanat Dharwad

 The Perfect Playlist for relaxing after a long day of tests

Them Changes - Thundercat

Vultures - John Mayer

Time Alone With You - Jacob Collier (ft. Daniel Caesar)

It Runs Through Me - Tom Misch (ft. De La Soul)

Get Sun - Hiatus Kaiyote (ft Arthur Verocai)

All of these songs are pretty laid back and groove hard, but the playlist is in order of sad to happy. Them Changes has got some of the funkiest bass ever, and the chords are pretty cool. The sax lines at the end are also really sick. Vultures is a bit faster than Them Changes, but also grooves pretty hard, as the guitar is really tasty. Time Alone With You is the first upbeat song, and gets extremely hype at the climax, only to return back to being laid back. It also has a really cool turnaround which leads to cool key changes. It Runs Through Me brings some Brazilian vibes, which Get Sun also has. Get Sun is most definitely the most hype of all the songs, though still managing to be laid back.

Assignment 24 Garrett Peavler

    There is no doubt that this past year has been important. Not just to me personally, but to the future of education. This year has been a proof of concept for the possibility of virtual schooling; the possibility of a future where you can enroll in a college halfway across the country without leaving your home state. However, if that possibility is to become a reality, there are definitely some kinks that need working out because this year sucked.

    I'm not the type to believe that fate is predetermined, but if it is, the planner of the universe has some personal problems that they need to work through because this was the worst possible year for this to happen. For both the current state of politics and, more relevant to this assignment, my year of school. This would have been my most challenging year under normal circumstances, so the pandemic most certainly did not help matters. It has been a journey fraught with countless challenges, but I eventually reached the end.

   Perhaps the greatest challenge of NTI was the repetitive, unchanging routine that I inevitably fell into. School has always been more or less monotonous, but before, there were places to go, people to see, and other activities that would break up the repetition. This was not the case this past year. With nothing to break the cycle of public education, I quickly became bogged down with the monotony of school. The monotony made it difficult to care about what I was doing because no matter how hard I worked one day, it would always be the exact same the next day. I quickly became complacent with failure, as there was no reason to care. Missing assignments were no longer a disheartening interaction with a teacher I respected, they were just numbers on a page; nothing more. But enough reflection, let's focus on the future. What happens next?

    Well, after we came back in person, almost all of my grades raised a full letter, so now all that's left to do is rid myself of this awful year and get ready to tackle senior year. My schedule for next year is loaded with easy/ fun classes, and I'm just going to blow through it and close this chapter of my life. I don't know what comes after that, but as long as I'm not dead or homeless, I'll call it a win.

Assignment 26: Help! I need somebody. Help! - Henry Adams

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ip6E2IMyU2F-0aydR_4r7W2hB9CLyVtcKa8kzcH8KAk/edit

last blog post!!!!!!!!

Assignment 23- Eleanor Badgett

My versatile perfect playlist

When it comes to music, I don't really like or have the patience to spend a lot of time listening to and discovering new songs. As, a result my playlists are kind of a jumbled slapped together collection of songs. I would not say my playlists are perfect, but I would definitely say they are versatile. 

1. Holiday- Vampire Weekend

2. Basket Case- Green Day 

3. Summer Song- Matt Duncan 

4. Waiting for the Great Leap Forward-  Billy Brag

5. A-punk-  Vampire Weekend  

I included the two Vampire Weekend songs because they are one of my favorite bands. Almost every thing they release is pretty versatile so it was hard to choose just one. Basket case, while not the most versatile,  is included due to the versatile memories I associate with the song.  For some reason, there are so many times I have a memory and then remember that song. I included Summer Song,  because not only do I like it, but I think it is extremely versatile. Depending on the volume at which  it is played, the song can be an under the radar, talked over song or a very singable, windows down song. The last two songs on my playlist, Waiting for the Great Leap Forward and A-punk, are special songs to me because I always remember my dad playing them growing up. My dad and I like to call A-punk my first favorite song because he convinced me it was in order to instill his music taste in me, which I think was successful. I have always liked Waiting for the Great Leap Forward, but as I have grown up and learned more about what he is talking about, I have learned to love the song more and more. 

Assignment 24 - Grace Barnett

 How to sum up my junior year? I would never willingly go through it again but I am very grateful for it. I learned a lot about myself this year. Some successes that I have had are getting the grades that I wanted, managing stays engaged and on top of things while virtual, and winning the lacrosse state championship. I have had a few failures along the way, but I'll spare the details. I am both excited and terrified of the upcoming year, I will be booked completely. Over the summer, I am playing club lacrosse and visiting colleges to find places that I am interested in and I am also going to get started on my college application essay. But one thing I hope to do in my senior year is to not overwork myself and forget to enjoy being a senior and my last year of high school. I hope to find that balance.

Assignment 23 - Grace Barnett

 Perfect Playlist: For a rainy Tuesday as you are driving through a forest in Oregon (preferably in October as well.)

1. Cherry Wine - Live  (Hozier)

2. Clay Pigeons (Micheal Cera)

 3. Wasteland, Baby! (Hozier)

4. Sparks (Coldplay)

5. Stop This Train (John Mayer)

-  First, we are starting off with Cherry Wine by Hozier, I thought that this song was a good introduction to the playlist and it sets the tempo for the rest. Next, we have Clay Pigeons by Micheal Cera, I included this song because you will notice that all of these songs have an instrumental introduction and I thought that it also help set the vibe for the playlist. Next, we have another Hozier song. Can you tell that I am a Hozier fan? I could probably fill a perfect playlist with his songs but I decided against it to diversify my choices. I also thought that this song meshed well with the others. Next, we have Sparks by Coldplay and this song is just so good and it had a lot of similarities to the others, but you might consider it a little slower than the rest. Finally, we finish with Stop This Train by John Mayer. This song is a little different in the sense that it is a little quicker and that is why I put it last, but it matches the theme of the instrumental introduction and the tempo is not that far off from the rest. I find it important to mention that I have never been to Oregon but if I ever go and find myself in a forest on a rainy Tuesday then I know exactly what I am going to listen to. This is also a playlist that I found helps calm my nerves and relax me. 

Assignment 26- Eleanor Badgett

 The most effective thing we did in class, I think, was timed writings. Through the timed writings I was able to truly test my ability to write the expected essay in an environment very similar to that of an actual AP test. This has helped me to feel more confident going into the test. As the year went on and we did more and more timed writings, I felt myself improving. I remember on my first timed writing having no idea what to write about at all, on my most recent timed writing it felt like no big deal. One thing I think that could be improved about timed writings is grading. While I was able to learn some things from grading everyone else's essay, I think I could have benefited more from spending more time on my personal essay. Maybe grading in smaller groups would give people more time to find areas of improvement in their own writing while also learning things from their peers and their styles of writing. However, even if timed writings were to continue to be done in the same way, they would still be extremely effective. 

Assignment 24- Eleanor Badgett

 Obviously, my junior year had been unlike anything I expected. However, even without COVID and not going back to school until March, my year was still unexpected. This year my grades were better than ever. I think this was due to the fact that I had so much time with a 3 hour school day and very little else going on. In past years it was not unlike me to wait to do all of my homework at school, just hours before it was due. This year I usually did my homework immediately after classes so I could move on with the rest of my day. This habit helped me to understand the information I was being taught to a fuller extent. For my senior year, I hope to retain this new and improved work ethic through a time where I presume it will be difficult. Hopefully, this will help me be ahead on my college applications. At this point, I have absolutely no idea, even remotely, where I want to go to school or what I want to study. Hopefully this is something I will figure out soon and then I will get started on applications and not do last minute, halfway work. 

Assignment 26-Zent

I think that overall I feel mostly prepared for the AP tests and mostly agree with my peers' responses. I think that the timed writings we did were helpful. I think that they taught us what to and not to do and seeing other responses helped us know what works. However, I do think it would have been very helpful to be able to conference with you about our essays and you tell us in what ways we could have made them stronger. I also think that doing more multiple choice practice tests and being able to talk about the right answers as a class. I think this would have given us a chance to know how to approach the multiple choice questions to be able to pick the best answers. Overall, I think that I am pretty prepared from all the things we did in class for the ap test. 

Assignment 25-Aiden Beach

I was born in San Diego, California, near the town of La Jolla. I would live with my mom and dad during the week, and on the weekends, I would visit my grandparents. I kept this routine up until I was five years old, to which events happened that caused my parents to split up and for me to go to Kentucky with my mother. I met my grandfather on my mother’s side, and my mother and I lived with him. When I was in fourth grade, my mother moved in with her boyfriend, while I continued to stay at my grandfather’s house. However, I would visit her on the weekends. This routine, similar to the one I had in San Diego, continued until eighth grade, when my mother decided it was time for me to move in with her. Since then, I’ve been living with my mother in her boyfriend’s house. Other than the fact that I was born to a rich family in San Diego, there's really nothing interesting about me, and I've had a pretty normal life.