Semester 1
-Greek Map/Timeline
Description
In this project we got to study the history and geography of ancient Greece. It was a two person group project to make things a little easier or harder, depending on personal preference. The point of the project was to create a half map half timeline to help us learn about Greece as we got further into the project. As you can see in the photo above, the background is a map with labeled cities and the wheel as our timeline along with some famous philosophers in the bottom left.
Reflection
I came into this project knowing that it would be difficult because of what Mr. Aguirre said and also because of what my sister said about it when she did the project. The workload for this mini project was way more than I've done in past mini projects, but I feel like my partner and I handled it well by creating one of the most unique timeline. It also helped me memorize all the cities and dates by looking at them so much every day.
Kim Davis AAA- docs.google.com/document/d/1EyQ9liUjRsiylqTbZHtgqIVcxFokcgeovSpGxeLtreQ/edit
Description
This assignment is called a Triple A (AAA). It stands for "Analyzing Author's Argument." The purpose of the assignment is to think more about arguments and use evidence to back up your opinion. There are different things you have to add in it: First you figure out what the Thesis Statement is, followed by three points of argument that with quotes, prove your Thesis Statement. After that, you right whether or not you thought the argument was good or not followed by a short reflection.
Reflection
I had to do two of these assignments, which I struggled with at first, but now am really comfortable doing through all the reading and analysis that we do in Humanities. We analyze when we do Socratic Seminars (SS). We did a SS before the assignment was given which was way more helpful because of all the ideas and opinions you get from other students. I feel like it's really good to get other people's opinions, especially with arguments because sometimes they can change your mind.
Book Critique paper-docs.google.com/document/d/1RtIr-jFx_Zg9YeAx2fcYslnHJQ4UAwnOWnJzxC_7o6Y/edit#
Description
This is a really important assignment you have to do in Humanities class. If you don't do at least one, you don't pass the class. For this assignment, you have to read a book and write a paper about it answer four questions about it. Three of the questions you get to choose though. After finishing this, you have to sit down with the teacher and have a short discussion about the book, proving that you actually read it.
Reflection
To be honest, I am not a fan of reading at all. Because of that, I am not good at it either. I am very slow and if it's a hard text, I either hard to read it over a good amount of times or be extremely focused. I really wanted to pass though, so I did it. Even though I don't like it, I feel like it is really good for me to do. In the upcoming years, they'll only give you a really short amount of time to read the book and write something about which is going to be tough. If I keep training myself though, I will overcome them.
Melian Dialogue Essay-docs.google.com/document/d/1tuDwvFHelci3PC41WEGZD-VUVfnM_Yd1JMTfEnPycMU/edit
Description
The picture above is the cover page from one of the essays I wrote this semester. The title of it is, "Choose Wisely" and is based off of the Melian Dialogue. In the essay, you had to state your opinion on if you thought the Athenians were just with the treatment of the Melians. You had to used evidence from the text to back up your opinion and show that you really understood the Melian Dialogue. We also learned about different forms of Physis, Nomos and Rhetoric which I had never learned about before.
Reflection
The moment this assignment was assigned, I was actually feeling prepared for it because we had a seminar about about were I was able to get all my evidence and counter arguments for the essay. After I felt like I was done with my essay, I got it triple checked by both my sister and mom to have it finally perfect. After I turned it in though, I had to redo do some parts because I talked in second person which I didn't know you couldn't do. Once I fixed it though, I have one of the best essay I feel like I have ever written.
Here is the first paragraph
It’s 416 BCE, the time of the Melian Dialogue, a written down argument is happening between the strong and overpowering Athenians against the small and weak Melians. Their arguments are very different. The Athenians use more elements of physis, while the Melians use more elements of nomos. The Melians never ended up agreeing to give the Athenians money, so the Athenians killed the Melians for both, money and honor. If they hadn’t, the Athenians would’ve looked weak to the other city states, and would’ve had no money to get wheat for their citizens who were needing it. Because of this, the Athenians were justified in their treatment of the Melians.
Semester 2
1984 Journal- docs.google.com/document/d/1oz5ulnLq2d-W9KpC8KEFKd8HSwYEuCb2IpM5H2zSdLk/edit
Description
Each semester you must read two books followed by a critique about to get a full A+ in Mr. Aguirre's class. If you only read one, you'll complete the class, but there is no chance you'll get an A. This year, there was an exception to only read one book while still getting an A. The book was 1984, written by George Orwell. As we went along in this book we had to record each chapter and keep a timeline of how the main character, Winston, was changing. We also had three reading circles where we sat down to talk about the book and make sure that everybody reading this book was understanding it correctly.
Reflection
When I first saw that this was going to be an option, I knew that I really had to do to both save myself some time by not have to read two books. I also really wanted to experience a difficult book, while also getting help if I needed it throughout my group. 1984 was a really strong book. A lot of torture is shown both physically and mentally. It's creepy how George Orwell predicts the future with his writing. His predictions are always scary but in a way, very realistic which makes it all the more creepy.
Star Trek The Next Generation
Description
Our main project this semester main project this semester was based had a lot to do with Science Fiction. We read and watched many different Sci-fi pieces to get a better understanding of the genre. So for one of the eleven organizational pieces we had to, I did something called the "Saturday Matinee" which was where a group of students watched a Sci-fi movie of Mr. Aguirre's choosing on a Saturday afternoon at the school. You would come to school on each of the three Saturdays it was scheduled, watched the movie and filled out a short worksheet then left when you were done.
Reflection
Not many students wanted to do this organizational piece since you would have to come to school on a Saturday, but for me it seemed like one of the easiest pieces to do. It was fun watching movies about Sci-fi which was a genre I was not familiar with. Some movies were very interesting, while others not so much. Overall, I have gained a new interest in the world of Sci-fi because of these movies, so much that I have been looking up ways to binge watch "Star Trek the Next Generation."
CNN Photos- docs.google.com/document/d/1cwiLwNN1O1_dYRwp7n09FBwGPQV4k0HR1eIC0f2-oUk/edit
Description
Mr. Aguirre really wants us to get used to keeping up with news in the world. Wether it be reading a little bit of a newspaper, or watching a news channel. For one of the organizational piece options, you could record interesting news each week that you saw on CNN Photos. Each week we would look at recent news through interesting photos on the CNN website. If you found an interest in two of the thirty images, you'd write a description about it followed by a question you might have about the subject.
Reflection
This was one of my favorite organizational pieces to do, so much so that I actually did it last year as well. I feel like it is one of the easiest assignments to do and you also learn a lot from it. Learning more about the world around you can really help you in all kinds of situations, whether through social outings or impressing people that you need to impress (College Administrators).
-Greek Map/Timeline
Description
In this project we got to study the history and geography of ancient Greece. It was a two person group project to make things a little easier or harder, depending on personal preference. The point of the project was to create a half map half timeline to help us learn about Greece as we got further into the project. As you can see in the photo above, the background is a map with labeled cities and the wheel as our timeline along with some famous philosophers in the bottom left.
Reflection
I came into this project knowing that it would be difficult because of what Mr. Aguirre said and also because of what my sister said about it when she did the project. The workload for this mini project was way more than I've done in past mini projects, but I feel like my partner and I handled it well by creating one of the most unique timeline. It also helped me memorize all the cities and dates by looking at them so much every day.
Kim Davis AAA- docs.google.com/document/d/1EyQ9liUjRsiylqTbZHtgqIVcxFokcgeovSpGxeLtreQ/edit
Description
This assignment is called a Triple A (AAA). It stands for "Analyzing Author's Argument." The purpose of the assignment is to think more about arguments and use evidence to back up your opinion. There are different things you have to add in it: First you figure out what the Thesis Statement is, followed by three points of argument that with quotes, prove your Thesis Statement. After that, you right whether or not you thought the argument was good or not followed by a short reflection.
Reflection
I had to do two of these assignments, which I struggled with at first, but now am really comfortable doing through all the reading and analysis that we do in Humanities. We analyze when we do Socratic Seminars (SS). We did a SS before the assignment was given which was way more helpful because of all the ideas and opinions you get from other students. I feel like it's really good to get other people's opinions, especially with arguments because sometimes they can change your mind.
Book Critique paper-docs.google.com/document/d/1RtIr-jFx_Zg9YeAx2fcYslnHJQ4UAwnOWnJzxC_7o6Y/edit#
Description
This is a really important assignment you have to do in Humanities class. If you don't do at least one, you don't pass the class. For this assignment, you have to read a book and write a paper about it answer four questions about it. Three of the questions you get to choose though. After finishing this, you have to sit down with the teacher and have a short discussion about the book, proving that you actually read it.
Reflection
To be honest, I am not a fan of reading at all. Because of that, I am not good at it either. I am very slow and if it's a hard text, I either hard to read it over a good amount of times or be extremely focused. I really wanted to pass though, so I did it. Even though I don't like it, I feel like it is really good for me to do. In the upcoming years, they'll only give you a really short amount of time to read the book and write something about which is going to be tough. If I keep training myself though, I will overcome them.
Melian Dialogue Essay-docs.google.com/document/d/1tuDwvFHelci3PC41WEGZD-VUVfnM_Yd1JMTfEnPycMU/edit
Description
The picture above is the cover page from one of the essays I wrote this semester. The title of it is, "Choose Wisely" and is based off of the Melian Dialogue. In the essay, you had to state your opinion on if you thought the Athenians were just with the treatment of the Melians. You had to used evidence from the text to back up your opinion and show that you really understood the Melian Dialogue. We also learned about different forms of Physis, Nomos and Rhetoric which I had never learned about before.
Reflection
The moment this assignment was assigned, I was actually feeling prepared for it because we had a seminar about about were I was able to get all my evidence and counter arguments for the essay. After I felt like I was done with my essay, I got it triple checked by both my sister and mom to have it finally perfect. After I turned it in though, I had to redo do some parts because I talked in second person which I didn't know you couldn't do. Once I fixed it though, I have one of the best essay I feel like I have ever written.
Here is the first paragraph
It’s 416 BCE, the time of the Melian Dialogue, a written down argument is happening between the strong and overpowering Athenians against the small and weak Melians. Their arguments are very different. The Athenians use more elements of physis, while the Melians use more elements of nomos. The Melians never ended up agreeing to give the Athenians money, so the Athenians killed the Melians for both, money and honor. If they hadn’t, the Athenians would’ve looked weak to the other city states, and would’ve had no money to get wheat for their citizens who were needing it. Because of this, the Athenians were justified in their treatment of the Melians.
Semester 2
1984 Journal- docs.google.com/document/d/1oz5ulnLq2d-W9KpC8KEFKd8HSwYEuCb2IpM5H2zSdLk/edit
Description
Each semester you must read two books followed by a critique about to get a full A+ in Mr. Aguirre's class. If you only read one, you'll complete the class, but there is no chance you'll get an A. This year, there was an exception to only read one book while still getting an A. The book was 1984, written by George Orwell. As we went along in this book we had to record each chapter and keep a timeline of how the main character, Winston, was changing. We also had three reading circles where we sat down to talk about the book and make sure that everybody reading this book was understanding it correctly.
Reflection
When I first saw that this was going to be an option, I knew that I really had to do to both save myself some time by not have to read two books. I also really wanted to experience a difficult book, while also getting help if I needed it throughout my group. 1984 was a really strong book. A lot of torture is shown both physically and mentally. It's creepy how George Orwell predicts the future with his writing. His predictions are always scary but in a way, very realistic which makes it all the more creepy.
Star Trek The Next Generation
Description
Our main project this semester main project this semester was based had a lot to do with Science Fiction. We read and watched many different Sci-fi pieces to get a better understanding of the genre. So for one of the eleven organizational pieces we had to, I did something called the "Saturday Matinee" which was where a group of students watched a Sci-fi movie of Mr. Aguirre's choosing on a Saturday afternoon at the school. You would come to school on each of the three Saturdays it was scheduled, watched the movie and filled out a short worksheet then left when you were done.
Reflection
Not many students wanted to do this organizational piece since you would have to come to school on a Saturday, but for me it seemed like one of the easiest pieces to do. It was fun watching movies about Sci-fi which was a genre I was not familiar with. Some movies were very interesting, while others not so much. Overall, I have gained a new interest in the world of Sci-fi because of these movies, so much that I have been looking up ways to binge watch "Star Trek the Next Generation."
CNN Photos- docs.google.com/document/d/1cwiLwNN1O1_dYRwp7n09FBwGPQV4k0HR1eIC0f2-oUk/edit
Description
Mr. Aguirre really wants us to get used to keeping up with news in the world. Wether it be reading a little bit of a newspaper, or watching a news channel. For one of the organizational piece options, you could record interesting news each week that you saw on CNN Photos. Each week we would look at recent news through interesting photos on the CNN website. If you found an interest in two of the thirty images, you'd write a description about it followed by a question you might have about the subject.
Reflection
This was one of my favorite organizational pieces to do, so much so that I actually did it last year as well. I feel like it is one of the easiest assignments to do and you also learn a lot from it. Learning more about the world around you can really help you in all kinds of situations, whether through social outings or impressing people that you need to impress (College Administrators).