#20

Dear future 1050 thoughts and writing student:
I use to love English and then i loved to hate it. Upon hearing I had to take this class i first felt annoyed and then dread. I did not want my first semester of college to be writing papers. Fortunately, I got a good professor who eventually grew on me and showed me a lot of new things I don't usually care for. I have already told people that if they're going to have to take Eng 1050 to make sure they pick Sanders. I loved how he made it a priority to learn our names the first week of class. I also love how we only did projects, not tests. Projects test our knowledge and skill of a new objective just like, if not more, than tests. I also appreciated the time we had to complete each project, the extra credit opportunities, and the out of class readings we had to partake in because they actually had to do with what we were learning, they were quick, and even interesting. I don't speak for all Eng 1050 class, but if you get Sanders, consider yourself lucky. He was probably my favorite professor this year and I will take his knowledge with me when i become a teacher.

Kyra Elston

#18

I think the hunger games were a warning toward our world currently. It warned us about rebellion, a destructive future and selfishness, both in the Capitol and throughout the hunger games. Panum is a future earth and i think it made the audience along with all the readers, their friends and some take a step back and realize what we are doing to not only ourselves but more importantly to our earth and everyone around us. It scared me. I got so wrapped up in the world of the hunger games while i was reading the book it was hard to snap back and into reality. We need to also savor our resources and not be so greedy toward everyone and everything. While watching the movie and seeing whats going on and where they were living its like they rewinded 200 years, back to the 1800 where they bathed in basins and suffered from disease and small illnesses that could easily be taken care of in today's generation. I'm sure everyone the hauntings of the hunger games haven't left any of its readers and i hope it hit home to most people because even though the book was fiction, fantasy, its a lot closer to reality than we think.

#19

A young man was expecting a baby. The minute he found out he went out to find a gift. He came across pink satin shoes that he knew would catch anybody's eye on his wonderful baby's little feet. He bought them with the last little money he had and took off urgent to get to the hospital before she was born. What he found in the hospital was his dead wife and a near death daughter. He took her home for her last hours and held her in his big strong arms. He prayed. He pleaded. He begged. He negotiated. He mostly cried. He woke up the next morning to find his baby girl stiff on top of his chest. He cried harder. He pleaded, he begged, he negotiated harder. He set up a table outside, scribbled something across the paper and packed his bags before he took off. The paper read:

For Sale: Baby shoes. Never Worn.

He was found later crashed into a small bridge in a rural area. He appeared distressed with lots of shoes in his car. Never Worn.

#17 Hunger Games

I woke up for work early this morning, kissing my wife on the cheek and checking on my two daughters, Katniss and Primrose, as they slept sweetly. I dressed quickly patted Butterscotch on the head as i walked out the door in the cool morning dew. This morning was just like every other morning. I walked to the coal mines, where i work, and hummed a tune i usually only sing with Katniss when hunting, but it made me happy, so now i often sing it to keep my happy even though my family is hungry and the Capitol is ruining this country. I nodded to the men outside the quarry as i climbed down into my post I've been at for weeks now. There were already multiple men down there working away. The stiff dusty air use to strangle me, but i became accustom to it after working for so many years in the mines.  I was only working for a few hours, i hadn't even eaten lunch. You know how some people know when they are about to die? Or their life flashes before their eyes? I didn't even have enough time to think. I didn't have enough time to think of my wife or our two beautiful children or what would happen to them after i was gone. I didn't even get enough time to breath in another deep breath of dirty thin air before the explosion hit me and destroyed everything it could reach, including my family's future, my wife's husband, my daughter's father, me.

research paper grade

on effort, i would give myself 100% the reason being I spent hours researching and typing notes on my computer that i would use in my paper. without saving the document, i closed my computer, like usual, and decided research some more the next day. I had 8 pages full of notes. When i went to work on it the next morning i realized my computer had updated which meant wiping away all windows i had opened on my desktop, including my notes. Although i take full responsibility of it, it still set me back a few days and it took me awhile to get that motivation back. As you can see with the longevity of my paper, i spent a lot of time researching, writing, and editing my paper to give it a flow. Since i knew nothing about this topic before hand, all the information i wrote about was knew and it took awhile to organize the thoughts and information i had.
However, i still don't feel like the flow was steady. I lost focus a lot while trying to reread and edit my paper and i' m not sure if it was because of how long it was or because of the vast facts and opinions i took from all my sources. Consequently i feel like my grade was brought down from that.
I also noticed I forgot to edit one of my block quotes that weren't long enough after i had already sent you my final draft. Regardless I think i matched most the requirements and i will be expecting a pretty good grade out of my argumentative research paper.

jake

born at 4:30am, on May 27, 1994, just eight minutes before me, Jake Elston came into the world. Gray, scrawny and needy, he was the less flamboyant of the twins. However as we grew up, and most of the positive light was shone on me, he was the one i looked to. In my times of need, my times of success, my times of sadness and happiness and desperation and celebration and difficult and easy and forthcoming, Jake Elston was the real star, I was just more...flamboyant. Jake is the smartest person I have ever met which is why his poor grades are so shocking. His laziness and lack of motivation is seen through almost every tasks he performs, however I see the real Jake. I understand his need even though i cannot describe it and i wish more than ever i could give him what he wants and what he needs but i am no longer the person he comes to. Somewhere along our journey i became ignorant and passed him in the race to success. some would call it negligence, i would call it my biggest mistake. Jake now is failing out of college and wrapped up in the wrong group of friends, 3 hours away from me, out of my control, and out from under my wing. I made it my duty to protect my best friend, my blood, my twin brother, but I no longer have a say in who he hangs out with and what he does in his spare time. The worst thing about smart people is they don't realize how smart they really are, or how much potential they really have. Jake has a supportive crew, good looks, and the knowledge- everything he needs to be successful. hopefully he'll come back.

thoughts and writing review

Thoughts and Writing is an English class taught at Western Michigan University- usually a Freshmen class. Upon signing up for the class, I was anything but excited. After A.P. english i have grown to hate, reading, writing, literature, grammar and the like. The worst thing in my opinion is writing a paper. However, my professor changed my mind just after my first class. First of all, there are no tests. Any college student would jump at an opportunity to have no midterms or finals, especially while taking 15 credits their first semester. Secondly, there is not much writing. A few blogs here and there, but there are really only about six projects and the beauty of it is that they aren't all essays, actually they are encouraged and sometimes even forced to be different genres of writing which does make me excited to write again and even read. I was given a little over a month to read the hunger games. After less than a week, I am about 4/5 done with the book.  This class has showed me a whole new side to writing and the small class size and easy going professor are only bonuses to this  first-year-college writing class.  Maybe all courses of Thoughts and Writing are not like this, but with Joe Sanders you will be pleased.

how to seve a volleyball (underhand)

The start of a volleyball game begins with a serve. If you are right handed, you would hold the ball in you left hand, palm up, gently (if you are left handed it will held in your right). Hold the ball out in front of you with a straight elbow and keep it just below the height of your shoulder. Place your right foot behind you (at a comfortable distance) and bend your knees slightly. Your right hand should be in the shape of a fist, but to the side, thumb facing upwards. Your pointer finger and thumb should look somewhat like a backwards, lowercase e. When you are ready to serve, stand behind the line of the volleyball court. Get in your proper foot stance, but also cock your right arm back as far as you comfortably can (do not strain). In one swift motion, bring your back foot forward along with your cocked arm and knock the ball out of your hand with your "e". It is important to swing all the way through the ball but to also keep your eyes on the ball all the way through the motion. Strength is not the key component in swinging a ball. With practice, you will learn the proper aim and speed to ace your opponents- which is when the opposing side is unable to return the ball back to your side of the court. The more you practice, the better you will be. Do not fret if you are not able to serve the ball right away, it will come to you eventually.

Reggio Emilia or die

Montessori? dumb. Traditional? restricting. Privet schools? not relevant. Parochial schools? liars.
If you're not going to put your children into Reggio Emilia schools why do you bother being a parent? you might as well send them into the gas chambers or drive them off a cliff. the fact that you wouldn't even consider RE schools leads others to think you are a racist or even worse...a democrate. by not putting your children in RE schools you are not letting them grow to their full potential, you are hindering your offspring. Nonetheless, you are holding them back. they get to experience something not usually seen by others and by the time they are high school they will be ready for college. do you not want your kids to be ready? you don't even want them to go to college. sign up now before its too late. your children are getting dumber by the second. Be the best parent you can be and be a member and supporter of RE.

Soccer I. What is soccer. a. background of soccer. b. who plays II. rules of soccer III. Equpiment needed IIIV. skills needed V. how to prepare a. what is best to eat or drink b. what equipment is best.  VI. professions in soccer a. coaching b. playing c. reffing d. announcing VII. different leagues. a. what countries best at playing IIX. what muscles are exercised

informative project

soccer

children
parenting
day care

preschool

teaching
coaching
volleyball
basketball
hockey moms
soccer moms
love
life
iphone
the color pink
malls
bad money management
wmu
roommates
relationships
college
lakeview
st. clair shores
family
baking
cooking
braiding hair
 volunteering

mcrest

kids against hunger
texting
christianity
church
sunday school
youth group
conformation
baptisim

Mom, i know how bad you miss me and you love me, you tell me all the time. and you always jump at the chance to do anything for me. so i know you wont be able to say no when i tell you i want a puppy.  im coming home this week and itd be the best coming home present to see a little lab puppy with a cute little bow wrapped around its neck jumping at the door for me. our other dogs are gettting kind of old so it'd be smart to stock up on puppies now, especially since the economy isn't in good shape and they are probably really cheap. not to mention our old dogs might find their youth while chasing a little puppy around. do me a favor, google lab puppies and tell their precious little faces they are not welcome in our home. mom. this is serious. i will get all A's this semester if you just tell me i can get a puppy. i know you can't say no to me. so i will be looking forward to seeing a little fluff ball on my bed when i come home friday evening. thanks mom! i love you! you're the best!
mom, i know how bad you miss me and you'd jump at the chance to do anything for me. so for this reason i am asking you for a puppy. im coming home this week. so really this is the perfect opportunity. i know i wont be home a lot these next couple months but i would probably come home a lot more if i knew there would be a puppy waiting to see me. speaking of being away, i know you would enjoy taking care of this puppy now that you dont have me to smother. a puppy could be really good for you mom! you could take it on walks and get more exercise, and you would have something warm to cuddle up to in the winter considering its getting really really cold. you would feel a lot younger. like you are a new mom. this puppy would go on rides with you everywhere that we dont like going. he would make you happy too, when you are feeling kind of sad. mom this puppy would be good for the whole family. jake and evan could learn how to be more responsible and when you dont feel like picking up after it, you can just make them do it as a punishment or just because you dont want to. mom. tell me no one more time and i might. just. DIE.

montessori schools

Montessori focuses on the understanding of information rather than the memorization. Usually, montessori students come out knowing boat load more of information than traiditional schools, and reggio emilia would fall under this topic. Every person should learn to grow up and be successful on their own, because what happens when the parent dies? A child will not have their mommy to help them through homework. they should learn this at a young age which is why Montessori schooling is superior to the Reggio Emilia approach. individual success is much more meaningful when receiving an individual award. in the end, you have nobody but yourself. you will not always have someone there to hold your hand and tell you what to do, so the fact that each child in a montessori school works on their own with their own unique plan, to succeed in their early years. if you're not a supporter of montessori schooling, what are you a supporter of?

reflection

Why do i believe parents should be a parent? Why do i think parents should be involved in their child's life, available and working along with the staff and the student throughout their education? why do i stand for the reggio emilia approach? After working in classrooms for the past two years, i have come across children of all ages and from all backgrounds. Even though i am not from a "troubled" neighborhood and i was not working in a "troubled" classroom, the majority of the kids are still ....troubled. Fights, stealing, lying, cautiousness. Four years old. Nine years old. I'm not talking about teenagers or a juvenile home. These are elementary school classrooms in a middle class, relatively safe, suburban city. The problem? lack of parental involvement. the solution? additional parental involvement. I was recently involved in a program that introduced alcohol, drugs, "bad touches", eating healthy, and a variety of issues young society faces today. when told i had to talk about beer and various other inappropriate things i was stunned. How do you look an innocent five year old in the eye and tell them they are to never drink beer or wine or any other alcohol until they are 21, and then they have a choice to drink, but they don't have to. I refused. I didn't want to open up the evil parts of the world to these precious little babies. It was then explained that parents are no longer doing their part. As astonishing as it is at the age of 5, it is important to teach these lessons in case mom, dad, aunt, uncle, grandma, grandpa or babysitter is not. Even though i understood, i was still exploding with the idea that the government was requiring us to teach this to the students. When hearing about the cooperative work plan between parent and teacher in the reggio emilia approach to teaching, i was enlightened.  Ethics and morals are no longer being taught at home within the family and even though i do not agree that the teacher and the school should be taking on this responsibility, i still realize the school is quite capable of helping. With more parent involvement and cooperation in the classroom and in the child's education, i think america is looking at a whole new generation. With encouragement for a cooperative work relationship in the classroom, i think these important ethical lessons will be led back into home.

research topic

the topic i chose for my research paper is the reggio emilia approach. I am all for the cooperate actions between parent, student, and teacher. I also like the positive encouragement to think on their own and develop their own ideas about things instead of being looked at as empty books that need to be filled with information. The other side of the Reggio Emilia approach is montessori which i am a little familiar with and i am not totally against this approach either but i do think reggio emilia is a much more beneficial and fulfilling/plentiful approach toward shaping the future generations of our nation. I just recently heard about this learning approach so i am not that educated about the topic which makes me excited and willing to research this. As far as i know, i think this approach has stayed in its home town down south and hasn't been adopted here yet because i was never taught this or even heard about it. I definitely am looking into it as a possibility as one of my teaching approaches if i am a teacher around the appropriate ages i think will benefit from it the most. I'm not so sure how middle school students will handle this, but i guess i would have to experiment because it is for elementary and secondary education.

Obituary

Obituaries

Kyra Elston

Age 18

May 27, 1994- September 24, 2012

Faithful Christian, loving daughter, sister, niece, and granddaughter.

Never woke up from her sleep; cause is still being investigated.

She was a devoted student with a passion for teaching and had already spent lots of time in an elementary school classroom. Her students, along with her co-workers, will miss her dearly.

Visitations will be held at Kaul Funeral Home on Harper, N. of 10 mile at from 4:00-7:00, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The Funeral will be a closed service on Saturday.

R.I.P.

crisis

This past summer, i was a "teacher" in the infant room at a day care. Even though i was only 18 and had been there for just a few months, i considered myself the most capable out of the three of us in the classroom. The other two woman just did not have the compassion or the drive to be the educators they needed to be. Infants learn faster than any other aged person, why not abuse this! Anyways, one day a child, who was just shy of 9 months, and had the biggest boneheads for parents, was acting funny. At 9 months, this child should not not be spitting up still, however she was, and she still could only crawl. When one of my co-workers picked her up in the morning, she spit up a considerate amount, an amount that was unusual. My co-worker set her down, cleaned up her shirt, and carried on with whatever she had been doing. A little bit later, the same thing had happened, except this time she was coughing, a reaction you do not usually hear from an infant. The floor was then cleaned up, and again no phone calls were made, no worry had been shown. As i was holding another child in my arms, and the sick baby was in a saucer, she suddenly started choking. What was i to do? Where was my co-worker?  How do you give the heimlech to a precious little body? I'm only 18! I quickly laid the child in my arms on her back on the ground and grabbed the one choking on herself. I lifted her up, laid her face down on my forearm, and patted her back. Suddenly vomit spewed from her mouth, all over my pant leg, the ground, and the contraption she was sitting in. This amount of vomit was not even normal for an adult, let alone a 20 pound baby. I leaned her back against my chest and rubbed her back, whispering softly in her ear. She never cried, which scared me even more. Finally a phone call was made and her mom picked her up to take her to the doctors. If my reaction was any slower, who knows what could have happened to this small little girl. I was proud for how quickly and calmly i moved in such a crucial situation. I might have saved a life that day.

argumentative research project

1. Girl- streotypes. (non-feminism)
Western Michigan University student- loans, college student,
x daughter- taking care of my family
x sister- taking care of my brothers
x niece
x granddaughter
x friend- backstabbing, lying,
rommate- living together with someone
Michigan resident- employment issues, taxes
St. Clair Shores resident- taxes, government system, bad roads
USA resident- government, taxes
x TRiO employee-
x TRiO member- being in an fye class
x volunteer-
x TLC ECC employee-


2. If i was given a million dollars i would use to it put the rest of my family in college and pay off anything that would help my mom so she wouldn't have to work so hard.

2b. i guess i could only go to the government to get what i want because they ultimately decide taxes and debt and stuff.

3. parents who don't fulfil their duties. I will foster children when im older and probably adopt. i also want to be a teacher who can fill in for where the parents dont step up. i want to help children as much as i can because children grow up to be the problem adults of today.

my jeep

What have i done to deserve this? You have placed me in the care of an animal, contrarily he did give me a nice new radio, but his friends stink and his garbage is hoarded on my floor. Was i not good enough? I forgave you when you hit that mailbox. And even if my air conditioning didn't work, I still tried my best to make you look cool. Now it's been weeks since i've felt your touch and the animal keeps me out way too late at night. You always kept things interesting, cutting people off and going reverse down people's streets. I miss that. I wish i knew how to get that back. What have i done to deserve this?

my proudest moment

My proudest moment was the night of my high school's athletic award night for soccer. It was my senior year; captain of the varsity squad and determined to have a successful year. It was not what I had expected considering we won only two games, however, individually I still had a successful year. As i stood up in front of my school's freshmen, junior varsity, and varsity teams, their coaches, and various employee of Lakeview High School, my heart pounded in my chest. As my coach announced various awards that regarded the whole team, certificates were placed in my hands. One read: All Academic. My face turned red as it usually does when attention is drawn on me or I try to hide an emotion. This piece of paper showed everyone in that ballroom how hard I had worked in school, graduating with a 3.75 that I was extremely proud of. The other certificate I was awarded was division team. This meant coaches and spectators of the division we were placed on met together and picked the best eleven girls from each of the eight teams. I had the honor of being placed on this team. Again, my heart raced and my it shown on my face. Lastly, the awards chosen by our team were handed out. These consisted of Best Offensive Player, Best Defensive Player, Most Improved, and Give It Your All. As each girl was named and awarded with a plaque of her effort I crossed my fingers until the last one- Give It Your All. Out of my four years as a Huskie I worked my ass off to get to that point. I spent hours working with other players on my team getting them to a content level or performance, ordering t-shirts and contacting the team about any news my coach needed to tell. Not only was this a complementary honor but it means a hell of a lot more when your teammates who are working along side you, just as hard as you are, shine the light on your effort. My thoughts raced as my coach described what the award meant and when I heard "Kyra Elston" and the room exploded with applause, my heart and eyes and body almost did the same. I accepted the plaque with a brilliant smile and would forever remember that night and that moment where i felt the most proud

first post

I really was not looking forward to English. It use to be my favorite subject until A.P. English sucked out all my creativity and left me exhausted by the end of the day. It was hard, it was confusing, and it was a lot of work. Walking into Thoughts and Writing today I realized I might actually start to like English again. It may not be as easy as it use to be for me, but it may not be as bad as it use to be either. The projects seem interesting and not pointless, which is something I'm not really use to doing. A lot of my effort is usually overlooked and the teacher is too lazy to care. However, this class does not seem to fit that criteria.
I plan on getting an A in this class, along with all my other classes. I have high hopes for my classmates and my prof and I'm looking forward to writing my personal narrative once I can agree to a topic and genre.
I actually am looking forward to next week.

Kyra