Introduction

Hello, I'm Jeremy Schaefer. I'm a senior this year and have high hopes for this English class. The way Mrs. L teaches English is very informative and fun at the same time. I hope to get into Macbeth quite a bit and actually understand it, as well as write a couple of awesome essay's that really portray my outlook on life and the things around us all the time.

MacBeth

There was three prophets that came to Macbeth and Banquo and they spoke pure blasphemy. They told Macbeth that he was to become king, this was after Macbeth had totally whooped up on the opposing forces. Macbeth and Banquo were simply bewildered. But soon thereafter the prophecy was unfolding, Macbeth was the new Thane of Cawdor! His wife was all about Macbeth becoming king and was actually antagonizing Macbeth to make things happen quicker. Macbeth did not like the sound of this! He loved the king and thought very highly of him. He did not want to kill him, for he was his king....and a very noble king at that. Macbeth liked the current king and could not see himself killing this king in a illegitimate manner. However his wife thought differently. His wife began to scowl him and call him feminine for not wanting to take what the prophecy for told would be his. I feel that he is trying to convey the point of morals and will power versus the "prophecy", is the prophecy just going to happen because thats what MacBeth thinks is going to happen? Or if the ladies had never come across MacBeth would he still be in the same situation.

Introduction

Yo, yo, I'm Jeremy Schaefer, I'm seventeen years of age, turning eighteen on May 7Th, the same day the Dead is playing!!!! I'm way stoked for that....anyway I do hope to learn quite a bit from this class, including studying world literature and exploring their language and use of word. Simply because at this point I do not really understand what they are saying when I read the text. However most of the time I can interpret what is trying to be portrayed, other times I'm just simply lost. So, I would hope to be able to read the text fluently and understand what the hell is going on. I think I am pretty proficient in English as is, I can write pretty well in a very articulate manner if need be. I am very creative and have a decent vocabulary. I hope to have tons of fun and make it an interesting year.

Introduction

Yo, my name is Jeremy Schaefer, I had English 12B last year with Mrs. L and had a good time with her assignments and her course in general. However this year I hope to learn some different things from this class. Hopefully delve into some English literature instead of world literature and check some things out like Macbeth and other amazing writers in this world. I think it would be a whole lot of fun finding out about all this famous writers that I always here so much about.

I have many strengths within English it self, however reading is not one of them. I do hope to improve my reading skills quite a bit, as well as expand my vocabulary more and more; although I feel I already have very adequate vocabulary skills. I also feel I can speak in a very articulate manner with fluidity. I am also very proficient at writing in general, I have a tendency to just keep rambling, my idea's details and whatever else need be said to paint a great picture of what I'm trying to tell.

Anyway overall Mrs. L is a great teacher and I'm sure all of us will gain much knowledge from this course. I am looking forward to this quarter, very much so, another fun filled, info packed quarter with good ol' Mrs. L

Final.

Digital literacy plays a huge part in our lives and roles as students in this day in age, it is no longer kosher to turn in a hand written paper. I mean everybody has a computer at least in their home. It is honestly crazy to think about how new a computer really is, they have not been around for that long at all, and now it is necessary to have one in the home at least, if not a personal laptop. There is more information, readings and personal aspects to the computer than ever before at this point in time. You can find just about anything that your interested in online right now.

Digital literacy must be incorporated into our future, one way or another, and attending jeffconet has really helped me to understand how to utilize the web and other forms of digital information. It is very important that we pick up these skills now rather than later simply because if we choose to ignore the issue that our world is constantly becoming more and more reliant on the web and digital forms of information, by the time we become an adult we will be in serious trouble, having to learn all the skills that jeffconet has already taught us through online schooling. I am very grateful that I started attending jeffconet academy due to the fact I have many life skills that many adults that are supposedly contributing to our society greatly do not have.

I feel that I can and will contribute to our society in a great way using the skills taught to me by jeffconet. If not in teaching simply in educating myself on all the current news and crazy stuff happening around me. The web is, hands down, the best way to keep yourself current on world news; you can also chat with people from around the world, which to this day still blows my mind. The web has not been around for all the long so I often find myself pondering how much further it will advance in my life time. On that note I am so grateful that I know so much about the web and computers in general right now, due to the fact it will be much easier for me to keep up on the inevitable advances in the near future.

I have mastered many skills from these so called "CAP" documents, the skills that have been taught to me are very important for a successful future. They are simply necessary skills that every child should be taught; the students of jeffconet have simply been taught them in a different manner, a better manner if you ask me. Incorporating the computer and the world wide web into our every day learning has not only taught us what any high school would teach us, it has also taught us how to utilize the web and computers to our advantage; which is a ridiculously over looked skill that everyone should have at this day in age. It is hands down one of the most important skills that I have mastered by coming to this jeffconet program.

In my opinion, keep in mind this is just my opinion, the ability to get on the net, and quickly find important information from documents and blogs is one of the most important skills a student, even adult can learn. Simply because without this skill you would spend a large amount of unnecessary time skimming books and fooling around on the web; whereas if you know how to look and what to look for it is so much faster and easier. With good computer skills you have many more options as an adult, simply because you are aware of the current times and have knowledge of important technology. I feel a very important tool to being successful in the future is knowing that technology and information is going to change greatly in my lifetime, knowing this will give me an edge on keeping up on the information to come. Take a look at your grandparents, or even your parents, they are hardly aware of the capabilities of computers and the web, even cellular phones for that matter. Whereas us, as technology babies know the endless possibilities and the ever changing technology at our finger tips.

I feel that I have come as close as possible at this point in time to mastering digital literacy, it is not a skill that can be obtained over night if you will. It is something that must be worked on and fine tuned over a long period of time, and I do feel that this class and jeffconet in general has gave me a push in the right direction for doing so. The art of speaking, writing and reading well will play a major part in my future as well as everyone else's future, if you can not do these things well, you will be left behind in this world flipping burgers if you will; however if you master these things your future becomes very bright with endless possibilities.

Overall this has been a very educational class. It has taught me many things and I have taken a lot from it, even more than just the assignments. I have learned to use the computer and digital lit to my advantage rather than become frustrated picking through an endless pile of useless information.

Artist Critque

The piece of art I choose to critique from the Denver Art Museum was the single most beautiful piece I saw within the entire museum. It was the painting of the Canyon at Yellowstone National Park. To me this work of art was one of the most amazing pieces in the entire museum, simply because of its sheer detail and size. It was one of the largest paintings in the whole place. The detail put into this painting was just mind bottling. The information on the art simply said the man did a rough sketch and jotted down the colors so he could get the scheme right, then he took his notes back to his work place and began creating an amazing work of unique art. This is what art should be, he paid close attention to the detail within the canyon as well as the waterfalls and tree's themselves. To be this precise on such a large scale with something as beautiful as the Yellowstone canyon simply baffles me. I see many works of art these days considered to be "abstract" or "modern" art, however much of these so called modern day works of art do not seem like much of art to me at all. This painting was simply great, old fashion talent as an artist. It was just amazing to see how well this man did capturing the sheer beauty of the place. It is so difficult to actually capture how a place looks, but this man nailed it, to a T. There was amazing depth perception as well as color shading, and the waterfall within it was just exquisite. The painting was so unbelievably large too, it must have taken him weeks if not longer just to get the basic design right, let alone the shading and coloring. It was a perfect painting, I myself could not point out a single flaw within the entire thing, then again I'm not an artist. I can not even imagine what this man felt when he actually completed the painting, was it accomplishment, relief, did he love the painting or feel he could have done just a bit better. I will tell you this right now, if I was made of money, I would have that painting and many other's bye that artist strung throughout my home. Any way, to wrap things up I thought it was an amazing work of true artistic talent and I wish they had more painting like that one throughout the museum.

State of The Union.

Our newly elected president of the United States, Barack Obama, seems to be very in tune with his public speaking abilities. Whenever he stands up to do a speech, not only does the entire nation listen, they "feel" what he is saying, he relates to every last one of the American people. I'm not exactly sure how he does it, but just about every speech I have seen him make has been so meaningful and impacting on the American people. It seems as if he knows he is being held to high standards and not buckeling under the emense pressure being put upon him.

There are hundreds of thousands of America's that completely oppose Obama himself and what he stands for, yet he still stands with great posture and beliefs. Regardless of the slander and attacks made upon Obama he stands as tall as ever, it seems as if he knows what he needs to do for this country and has every intention of doing it. Now as for what he has said about our generation of individuals, I think he i nailed the point head on. We need to further our education to a higher level than ever imagined, simply so we can create new things and invent creations that truely improve our way of life. I believe there are tons of new inventions and creations that we have not figured out yet that could really improve our way of life and our planet as a whole. We need to stop focusing on what we did wrong and start to take a step to pick things up from where they are and move on, and progress just like we have done for the past thousands of years of our existance.

As for my feelings on the entire subject, I am both extremely excited as well as very frightened as to the outcome of the next decades of our lifes. I have a feeling it could go one of many ways, the best outcome would be that Obama and the American people truely follow through with the many promises and improvements we are trying to make. On the other hand we could just be in too deep to get out with just our own effort. I mean there are tons of outcomes, including the apocolypse, war, despression and many many more. For the sake of myself and my children as well as all the other American people we actually follow through with all the amazing improvements we are trying to make. However I do feel it is very hard to continue having children and growing as a whole when we can barely get bye as one individual, let alone an entire family, supporting children as well as spouses.

Media Bias.

The American government and politics play a huge role in what we see in the media. This includes the news as well as talk shows and radio. They have the ability to refuse or allow things to be released within the media. This basically shelters us from the real news and knowledge of whats going on. We only know what they want us to know. There is also a large amount of individual bias within media itself. Two different people with different beliefs can cover the same story and make the outcome completely opposite just by differentiating the facts they give and the choice of words they use. This entales you can't trust just any website or any information you recieve. You have to question it and look at other stories that cover the same information and see what it has to do. To get the most accurate information you have to look at multiple sources and then interpret the information and form your own opinion on the subject. If one simply trusts the first thing they read on a certain subject they are not getting the full and true information, they are mainly getting one person's opinion on that subject. That person could very well have the complete opposite opinion you have, resulting in you getting the opposite information you really want to read and write about. There is nothing one can do to stop bias within news and media, but there is certain things one can do to get around it and still get all the facts. You can research the author of said news or story, as well as look around at different articles on the same subject and compare / contrast the evidence to form your own opinion on the subject. By doing these things you are much more likely to get all the real information and write what is true, rather than writing something that is not so true but more opinion, worded well enough someone could make a totally legitimate statement or argument about something that is completely false.

Graduation Speech.

Hello, and good afternoon everyone. it brings me great joy and pride to stand atop this stage in front of all of you folks. Now what we've done, and by we I mean the jeffconet students have done, has been quite different than what most of you in the audience think Highschool is. We all come from a different background and all decided we needed to try something different. In a sense, its a swift, kick in the nuts to society and how they try to conform all of us to, at such a young age. Here at jeffconet, you are allowed to express yourself as who you are, all of the teachers know you and push you to graduate, whereas in traditional highschool the teachers could care less who you are, and if you graduate, they are they to get paid, regardless if their students graduate or not. The staff here at jeffconet has been amazing and really helped to push me to actually get my diploma. I am proud to say that I left the conformist traditional high schools, where every student is just another kid in the eye's of the faculty, and come to a place where I am accepted for who I am, all the staff knows me by name and knows if Im falling behind or not. As I said before, it is so very satisfying for me to be able to say, I did things my own way....and it worked. Salvador Dali once said, I sometimes feel I might die from an overdose of satisfaction....well I never knew what he ment untill this day. However hard this ride has been this is what the The Grateful Dead have to say about our trials and tribulations, I may be going to hell in a bucket, babe,But at least I'm enjoying the ride, at least I'll enjoy the ride. No matter what goes down, who goes down, I will enjoy the ride! (not part of speech, just putting quote in so I dont forget, going to rearrange some stuff too, this just a compilation of ideas for now, Leaves are falling all around,It's time I was on my way.Thanks to you, I'm much obliged For such a pleasant stay.But now it's time for me to go,The autumn moon lights my way.For now I smell the rain,And with it pain,And it's headed my way.Ah, sometimes I grow so tired,But I know I've got one thing I got to do, I've gotta Ramble On!)

This I believe Curriculum

The 2.e benchmark directly applies to the This I Believe Essay simply because while writing this paper we will be using peer editing as well as electronic tools to revise and edit our work. As well as evaluate our own paper and reflecting upon it. There is not a number/letter combo on this one, but we will be exhibiting skillful use of language, or trying to at least, use a varied and accurate, extensive vocabulary. We will also be incorporating the 2.f benchmark within our papers. We will be doing so by doing extensive planing and organizing to make the writing much easier to actually do. A well planned paper does not take up too much time at all, its just a matter of getting all your idea's well organized, then basically copying it into a paper with some "glue" sentences tying them all together. 3.a will be coming into play as well, in the way that we will attempt to use correct grammatical choices as well as correct punctuation that controls the patterns of words and sentences. We will be using all of these benchmarks within our essay's, it should be interesting.

Introduction

I expect to take quite a few things away from this class. Such as the ability to enhance my writing and create better papers. To actually have fun with writer rather than dread it as I always do now. I expect to have a nice portfolio with plenty of stuff in it to look back upon and see how I have progressed over the year. I would also like to be able to write some stuff that I would enjoy writing rather than just getting a topic and having to write a paper on it.

Some skills I would like to learn might include the ability to look forward to writing rather than not wanting to get around to it at all. I also would like to have to skill to just want to write something on my own rather than being told to write. I wouldn't mind keeping like a journal of my everyday life or something, but as of now I don't have the initiative to do so. I would also like to improve my word chose as well as grammar. I would love to be able to write a very interesting story or paper with words that flow and sound great together.

I have a few strengths in English work, key word there is a few. I feel I am very good at integrating big words that are very fun to use in papers and even in every day speaking. I also feel I am fairly good at ranting about nothing. However I can't create something out of nothing, by that I mean I have to have a topic to rant about, I can't just throw something off the top of my head and go with it. I'm also pretty strong in the whole spelling department, I tend to be able to sound a word out and either spell it correctly the first time or come very close to nailing it the first try. I like to think I'm pretty good at relating to other people's stories and tales as well. One task that was given to me that I was very proud of was a presentation with a written paper on a subject of my choice. I choose the Grateful Dead, including their music, how they came about, as well as their following and philosophies. Now in the traditional high school I went to, there wasn't a whole lot of kids who even know about the Dead and what they did for thousands of people. I thought I just nailed it, by the end of my presentation everyone was just a little baffled, and I got a very good score on the written paper I turned in.

I do have plenty of weaknesses however. Within the English category I am not very good at reading and paying attention to what I read. By that I mean I usually have to read the same few paragraphs a couple of times for me to fully remember everything that I read. If I don't I tend to get a few pages further and completely forget everything I had just read. It's really annoying and is one of the reason's that I am not a fan of reading at all. I tend to write papers that are a little choppy and don't have much flow to them, wouldn't mind changing that either. I also have some trouble's really getting into assignments given to me. The majority of the time I am not very enthusiastic about writing and reading assignments given to me unless it is my choice on what to read, or write. For example one of the only books I ever finished was Where The Red Fern Grows, and this was all the way back in elementary school. I mean seriously, that is the only book I ever really got into and wanted to read. The other books I was forced to read was like Chinese water torture to me.