Friday, January 31, 2014

Vocab spring list 3

apostate-a person who renounces a religious or political belief or principle
Ex- He was an apostate her on campus.

effusive-expressing feelings of gratitude, pleasure, or approval in an unrestrained or heartfelt manner.
Ex- My mom effusively accepted my offer to help her make dinner. 

impasse-a situation in which no progress is possible, esp because of disaggreement
Ex- We couldn't get much work done because of the impasse we were encountering. 


euphoria-a feeling or state of intense excitement and happiness.
Ex- She had reached euphoria going to the concert. 


lugubrious-looking or sounding sad and dismal
Ex- They went on a lugubrious search for their lost puppy. 


bravado-a bold manner or a show of boldness intended to impress or intimidate
Ex- The team had a very bravado entrance. 


consensus-general agreement
Ex- The group came to a consensus on what to do their project on. 

dichotomy-a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different.
Ex- There is an obvious dichotomy between the two twins. 


Gothic-of or in the style of architecture prevalent in western Europe in the 12th–16th centuries, characterized by pointed arches, rib vaults, and flying buttresses, together with large windows and elaborate tracery.
Ex- There is a very gothic style about these buildings. 


constrict-make narrower
Ex- The government is constricting the highway. 


punctilio-a fine or petty point of conduct or procedure.
Ex- They had reached a punctilio in their school project. 


metamorphosis-process of transformation from an immature for to an adult for in 2 or more distinct phases
Ex- The caterpillar was going through a metamorphosis

raconteur-a person who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way
Ex- My grandpa is a raconteur.

sine qua non-a thing that is absolutely necessary
Ex- Water is a sine qua non

quixotic-exceedingly idealistic
Ex- College seems so quixotic now. 

vendetta-a blood feud in which the family of a murdered person seeks vengeance on the murderer or the murderer's family.
Ex- The family requested a vendetta


non sequitur-
a conclusion or statement that does not logically follow the previous conclusion or statement

Ex- The second statement was non sequitur compared to the first. 

mystique-
a fascinating aura of mystery, awe, and power surrounding someone or something

Ex- The fog gave the atmosphere a mystique vibe. 

quagmire-
a soft boggy area of land that gives way underfoot

Ex- I sank down when stepping on the quagmire.

parlous-
full of danger or uncertainty 

Ex- The wolf had a parlous look in his eyes. 

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Literature Analysis


Nonfiction Analysis

Topic(s) and/or Event(s)

1.     The book Political Science: An Informal overview written by Dr. Francis J. Sorauf is about the birth and growth of political science in the United states and methods and techniques political scientists practice.
2.     Dr. Francis Sorauf works in the Department of Political Science at the University of Minnesota, so he chose to write this book to inform and teach someone uneducated in, yet interested in, political science.
3.     I chose this book because I’m trying to figure out what I want to further my studies in after high school. I have no idea what I want to become and make into a career. Mrs. Dirkes mentioned Political Science when I had a meeting with her and my mother. I went to the library, just eyeballing the shelves from top to bottom in the non-fiction section. When I came to a section about government, politics and law, I read political science on the spine of a red book, so I grabbed it off of the shelf. Once I started reading the book, I wanted to continue reading it because Sorauf goes into depth about the political systems and their distinctive characteristics that aren’t visible to the human eye nor known to the average man, so I was fully interested in learning about it all.
4.     I found the book very realistic and I also made a connection while reading the book. Right now I’m enrolled in Government with Mr. Wagner and he’s ironically teaching us similar topics in class at the moment. He’s teaching us about political behaviors, systems, political power of individuals, operation of political parties and mass media, which are all concepts that are part of Political Science.

People

1.     The choices that the author made in choosing what to write about or how to explain what he wants to get across to the reader says to me, that he really cares about political science, political behavior and authoritative decision-making of the political systems. He chose to write this book because he feels he has enough knowledge on the subject to lay down the foundation for someone learning or interested in political science. His tone is very informative and educated. At some points, I found myself re-reading sentences over and over again to comprehend fully what he was explaining or describing.
2.     Being there are no characters in the book, I’m going to describe a Political Scientist. They would look highly intelligent, maybe their eyes framed with glass lenses. They would be dressed very elegant in their business suit or slacks, heels, and blouse. They would act educated and proper, setting the very best example for citizens and their surroundings. I’m not sure how I might write them as fictional characters. Maybe grant them with superpowers of some sort.
3.     Political scientists are interesting to write about because they study the entire political system as a whole. The system is concerned with the authoritative decision-making and with all of the activities and processes by which a society makes the decisions. It is also concerned with the political interest of individuals and its prime focus is on the processes of policy-making. They have a better insight on society than most human beings, so that draws interest upon them.

Style

1.     The author didn’t use any tools from fiction writing from what I can remember. He wrote using an informative style, almost like what you would read from a textbook.
Ex- “What we have been calling the political system may also be viewed (Figure 1) as a series of consecutive activities which culminate in the making of authoritative, binding decisions (“public policy”).” Pg. 5
2.     The author used a lot of lengthy descriptions, which causes a lot of confusion, especially when it comes to reading and trying to learn about a topic this diverse. This causes a semi loss of communication between the author and the reader from my perspective.
3.     The author uses a lot of logos throughout his writing. He gives real life explanations which he persuades the reader with, to continue on reading to try and decipher the entire message/lesson being conveyed.
4.     I think Dr. Sorauf is very passionate about the subject, or else he wouldn’t have taken the time to write such a detailed and informative book. He took he precisely wrote out his explanations and own personal definitions in order to give the reader the best opportunity to learn about the subject.
5.     In the book, he writes about the United States Senate signing the nuclear test ban treaty. He explained that the consequences of signing the treaty were just as dangerous as not signing, which cause the debate and uprising in the senate. I felt that referring back to that event and going into detail about all of the complications and disagreements along the way really got me thinking about all the other possibilities of debates that might also take place in the American foreign and domestic policy. That is just one of many political behaviors that a political scientists studies, and I feel like I might want to work somewhere in the field of foreign affairs.

Enduring Memory

One idea I’ll remember is how Sorauf separates and explain the differences in political and nonpolitical behavior. It was never brought to my attention until reading this book that there even was a difference in the two. The political system deals with the social control of these two behaviors. “In every society individuals and groups disagree over goals and directions for the society, over how the society will achieve the goals and provide services, over the definition and enforcement of standards of behavior; and every society has a number of institutions which settle these disagreements.” I’ll probably always remember this quote from the book because I’ve been curious about these topics before, like who really settles political issues. Now I feel that I’ve got a more clear understanding of the basic concepts to political science. 

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

I, Senior project/First draft

Dr. Preston presented the class today with three main questions for us to strongly consider and provide answers for.
Those questions are:
1. What do you want to think about?
2. How can you use the tools from the fall to get where you want to be?
3. What will you have to do to honor your interests in such a way that come June, you will have no regrets about what you could have or should have done?

I haven't been in class recently because I am suffering at home with the stomach flu. I have a strong idea of where I want to take my senior project and how I want to convey my information and what I've done/learned. I am interested in this country and how it is ran. The government very much so interests me. I am passionate about meeting people and getting to know them. I enjoy sitting down and having conversations with people. I have been doing alot of research on my own already and I already feel more knowledgable about Political Science and Political Policies.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Life After

After I graduate high school, I want to attend a California State University. Cal Poly San Louis Obispo is my number one right now and CSULB is my second choice. I want to major in Political Science and maybe pursue a career in government or law. I'm going to strongly focus on my education after high school because it's my life and money on the line at that point. I want to get a part time job during college to keep me busy, out of trouble and earning money for spending money and for the cost of living. I want to lay down the foundation for the rest of my life right after high school graduation. I don't want to lose sight in my education and slack off like some people I have known to do. I don't want to waste time and possibly get involved in the wrong crown if I don't take my education seriously.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Visual Storytelling

1. The use of costumes that have alot of detail and accoutrements makes visual story telling effective.
2. Noxious actions that supervene situations make visual story telling effective.
3. Truncates leave the audience wanting more and curious, so this makes visual story telling effective.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Profile in Courage

Courage to me, means the exact definition of the word- The ability to do something that frighten one. It means to do something they are truly scared of. I can become more courageous by trying to purposely conquer my fears. It will help me in life because I will be stress free from worried about my fears. I won't be scared of spiders, I might even be able to kill one if I happen to come across it. I don't feel it's hard to become more courageous. Everyone just might not have what it takes or don't know exactly what it takes to get there.

Vocabulary: spring list 2

accoutrements- an additional item of dress or equipment.
Ex- The accoutrements of religious ritual.

apogee- the highest point in the development of something; a climax or culmination 
Ex- The grown up puppy had reached his apogee

apropos- very appropriate to a particular situation

Ex- My mom felt it was an apropos time to discuss what had happened earlier.  

bicker- argue about petty and trivial matters
Ex- My boyfriend and I tend to bicker frequently.

coalesce- come together to form one mass or whole

Ex- The puddles had coalesced into shallow streams.

contretemps- a minior dispute or disagreement; unexpected and unfortunate occurrence
Ex- She had occasional contretemps with her staff. 

convolution- coil or twist; complex and difficult to follow
Ex- The drama that takes place at school are just convolutions

cull- reduce population by selective slaughter 
Ex- The deer that were culled will be used for scientific research. 

disparate- essentially different in kind; not able to be compared.
Ex- They inhabit disparate worlds of thought.

dogmatic- inclined to lay down principles as undeniably true.
Ex- She was not tempted to be dogmatic about what she believed. 

licentious- promiscuous and unprincipled in sexual mattersm

Ex- The licentious avenues of New York City. 

mete- dispense of allot justice, a punishment, or harsh treatment

Ex- Police officers mete subjects depending on their races.

noxious- harmful, poisonous or very unpleasant 

Ex- They were overcome by the noxious fumes.

polemic- a strong verbal or written attack on someone or something

Ex- The group came at me with a polemic about the assignment. 

populous- having a large population; densely populated

Ex- Righetti is a very populous campus. 

probity- the quality of having strong moral principles; honesty and decency

Ex- The bank holds financial probity.

repartee- conversation or speech characterized by quick, witty comments or replies.

Ex- Texting conversations are simply repartees

supervene- occur as an interruption or change to an existing situation

Ex- The woman couldn't have surgery because she had a cold that seemed to supervene.

truncate- ending abruptly as if cut off across the base or tip.

Ex- The tree's life had a truncate ending, leaving only a stump. 

unimpeachable- not able to be doubted, questioned or criticized; entirely trustworthy 

Ex- Our friendship is unimpeachable.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Spring vocabulary #1

Adumbrate- report or represent in outline; foreshadow what will happen next
Ex- Sally likes to adumbrate her thoughts and ideas before she begins to write an essay. 

Apotheosis- the highest point in the development of something; culmination or climax
Ex- Becoming president of the company was the apotheosis of his career. 

Ascetic- severe self-discipline and abstention
Ex- She was ascetic in the election. 

Bauble- something that is superficially attractive but useless or worthless 
Ex- The jewl in that ring is a bauble compared to that other one. 

Beguile- charm or enchant(someone) 
Ex- His beguile words were meant to impress her. 

Burgeon- begin to grow or increase rapidly
Ex- My curiousity after reading the first page began to burgeon. 

Complement- a thing that completes or brings to perfection
Ex- The authors complement each other's thoughts and support them very well. 

Contumacious- stubbornly or willfully disobedient to authority
Ex- All of the boy's actions were contumacious, which is why he is always in trouble with the law.

Curmudgeon- a bad-tempered or surly person 
Ex- None wants to hang around a curmudgeon

Didactic- intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive
Ex- We had a few plays to help us in the big game that were very didactic

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Hacking MY education

"Hacking" your education can have many different meanings. In this course, it's used to redesign our education.

STEP 1: ask yourself;
what do you want to do in life, learn about, experience, or collect for your personal reasonings?

I want to use this course to achieve MY goals.

A few more important questions that come to mind-

Who do I need in my learning network? How do I show that I've done what I said I was going to do? What do I want to get better at? What can I show on my blog? What experience do you want to leave under your belt in June?

I want to learn to rationalize, compromise, delegate

I DO NOT want to procrastinate!!

Do not just work for this course, have this course work for you.

Those were my in class notes and side comments to myself. I have a lot of ideas for hacking my own education. I've been self researching more lately and I really am enjoying it. I am interested in political science, this country, the government, and the people that make up this country. I enjoy meeting people, talking to them and getting to know them. I learn so much from meeting others and having conversations. That is where I want to hack my education. I want to learn from the other students in this course. I want to hear what others are interested in and what they might be struggling with. I could possibly have the same interest or problems and we could learn and help each other through the processes.

Monday, January 6, 2014

The Choice

The choice referred to in this story is the choice of forcing the medication down his daughter's throat or letting her take it on her own. When I first began to read the short story "The Choice", I didn't quite understand where the story was going. I was appalled reading they were forcing their child to drink poison. Until I got to the third paragraph, I finally got a little more understand for the situation and circumstances. I began to feel emotional as I continued to read on. I went from thinking "Wow, these people are crazy" to "Man, these people have it rough". The way the short story controlled and manipulated my emotions was unreal. The father writing the story really got across his powerful message. I started to tear up several times throughout the story and starting balling when I read the little girl saying she was never going to be eight. The fact that a five year old little girl knows what is wrong with her and knows what will happen to her is just heart breaking. I couldn't image being in her position. I do agree with the little girl, she should be able to play with the toy just because of her state of health and life expectancy. If I thought I might not live till 30, I would probably want to start traveling the world, get married and start a family even though I am very young. Suffering is a necessary condition of life and love. You feel the authors pain and struggle. No human being should have to see their children die or even have to think about the fact of their child not living past a certain age.