Dear Classmates,

Dear fellow classmates,

      Can you believe it? We are reaching the end of our freshman year. It seems like just yesterday that we all walked into that classroom for the first time. We have all learned so much from the class, English 1 in general and our class as a whole. On the academic side, we learned many new techniques and other things that will benefit all of us in the future. We learned new vocabulary, grew as writers, and also read some books that were very interesting. But we did not only learn things related to acedemics, we also learned from each other. We learned proper class room behavior- which we are still working on- but we have certainly improved since the beginning of the year. There are many important things that I took away from this class.

      I think that we all have come a long way in this class. Sure, there are still days that we may not do the best, but I think as a whole we have improved and will hopefully carry that on to our english classes next year. It will be sad leaving this class because we have gotten used to each other and grown close, but I think that we all should have a positive mind going into next year. If we have a positive mind, and remember all of the things that we learned this year we should be successful next year. We have grown this year in many ways and I think that now we are ready to go to English 2 with pride.

Participation for the 4th Quarter

      General Procedures: I am well prepared for class everyday. I never forget to bring my notebook, reading material, or class reading. I never forgot to bring my free reading book when we had the chance to read in class. As for waiting to be dismissed, I don't remember being too anxious to leave class early. Going to use the restroom was never a top priority during class time, and I don't think that there was one time that I left class to do so. I don't like missing important announcements in class. I check my email daily, and communicate and respond as quickly as I can. I tried to make sure that I turned in all of my assignments in the beginning of class. And I consider my attitude to be cooperative and helpful. I try to have a good attitude in class all the time.

      Lecture, announcements, whole class discussion: I listen very closely to everything that you (Dr. D) says. I take helpful notes and try and ask relevant questions that will benefit my classmates. My comments are also relevant to the discussion and appropriate. I listen to my peers' questions and listen to the answer because it will benefit me. For the most part, I do not engage in side conversations. I do all I can to pay attention and listen in class.

      Individual and Group Work: I focus on the task at hand, and do the work that is put forth. The only trouble that I have is that my group members usually are not focused on the task and it is hard to keep them on the task. I do not distract others and I do the most that I can to have relevant conversations. I follow the instructions and do my absolute best.

      Growth: I think that our whole class has come a long way this year. We all had a rough start, but we got through it. I know that I (and the rest of the class) have done better in the second half of the year. I think that I have gotten more comfortable and therefore participated more and more as the year went on.

reading for this week:

45 minutes macbeth
100+ minutes of The absolutely true diary of a part-time indian

In Perspective of Macbeth

      I didn't want to do it. I really didn't. That was really a terrible thing to do considering how kind and good he was to me. He gave me the honorable title of Thane of Cawdor, and I give him a knife to the heart. I feel absolutely terrible and guilty. I honestly will never forgive myself for what I did. I want to blame my wife for convincing me to do such a deed, but then again, it was ultimately my decision. I just couldn't sit there and let her call me a coward. I wouldn't be stripped of my manhood. I shouldn't have let her get to me. I should have stood my ground and been a real man about it. In the end, I will have to deal with the awful decision I made, which will not be a fun. Not fun at all. 

     My wife has been so strong through this whole thing. She has been stronger than I have. I should be the one who is calming HER down, not the other way around. She acts as if she has done this before, and knows exactly what should be done. I am the one who has killed someone before, but war is very different. In a war, you are killing your enemies, but in this case, it was a friend. I don't get it. I don't get how she stays so strong. How does she stay so cool when she has just committed a murder of a king? Every time I hear something, I jump, and everything startles me. I just sincerely hope that this all is over soon, and I can be a strong king.