Michael's English Blog

Prompt Response:   I still remember that conversation with Ms. Lamoly, my English teacher, like it happened yesterday. It was after class, and I had just turned in an essay I didn't try on because I thought no one really cared. But she stopped me at the door and said, “You have something to say—you just don’t believe anyone’s listening.” I didn’t know how to respond, but the way she looked at me, like I mattered, hit different. That moment made me realize I’d been holding back, not just in school but in life. Summary: I wasn't in class today. Reflection:  

Prompt Response:  As a child I used to believe in all of the mystical characters like Santa and the Tooth fairy. I would be so excited for the holidays where they would appear or the other events that relate to them that brought them into town. Thinking of how they get through the house and do what they do was truly perplexing back in the day. Summary: We went over advertisements and their intentions and methods. Reflection:  Had to make images to represent the vocab words we got today.

Prompt Response: I overcame my fear of riding a bike. When I first got a bike with training wheels I was pretty worried and concerned about falling off. The training wheels alleviated this fear for a while but I had to move on at some point and thinking of that time was dreadful. Eventually I went to no training wheels and the transition wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and it was pretty easy to do   Summary: Went over an article and reviewed claims based off it Reflection:  Had to think about the different types of claims and how they apply to something real like this article

Prompt Response:  I expect as a grow older and my peers mature with me, I will have to debate about real world issues most often. These are things that greatly affect our lives and are very divisive within our society. They are things that also take great insight and knowledge to be a competent speaker on them. Being able to formulate arguments and persuasions will be integral. Summary: We did a worksheet on types of claims Reflection:  Making so many claims and different types of them made me understand the nuances of each type of claim and the ways to write them.

Prompt Response:  A truth I was afraid to accept was that to succeed in making it into a good college I would have to put in a lot of work in and out of school. In school I need to take good classes and excel within them. This along with being an active member of my school's community. On the outside I should participate in volunteer work and real world experience to build up my character. Summary: We took notes on how to write arguments Reflection:  These notes will make me write better arguments

Prompt Response:   If I were learning about Hispanic/Latino heritage for the first time, I’d be curious to know how traditions differ across countries like Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina. I’d want to explore the significance of major celebrations like Día de los Muertos and how families prepare for them. I’d also be interested in trying traditional foods—what makes tamales, empanadas, or arroz con pollo special in different regions? Music would fascinate me too—what’s the story behind salsa, mariachi, reggaetón, or bachata? Finally, I’d wonder how these cultural expressions are passed down through generations and celebrated in Hispanic communities today. Summary: We took notes on writing process Reflection:  The notes we took made me think about the things we took notes about more.

Prompt Response:  It was fun seeing my classmates make interpretations in poems of different subjects and variations. It made me think of using different literary devices in more nuanced ways in my writing. People used visual aid to make their writing stick out more and to assist one to visualize it better. The talking animated characters people used were entertaining and helped me pay attention. Summary: We saw our classmates poems Reflection:  Seeing my classmates poems made me think about them and having to rate them made me think about it more.  

Prompt Response:   Out of the vocab words assigned to us, I think the three I will use the most are affinity, aesthetic, and amoral. Those are words that can be used for a lot of things in order to make things sound more interesting and to vary up common word usage. They also have complex meanings and fit in a more specific niche than the other variations may apply in sentences. Summary: In class we went over clusters and how to format essay planning Reflection:  I thought about how to categorize things in a deeper way than before  

Prompt Response:  I am proud of being a student at lakeside, no matter it's issues. The thing I love most about lakeside are my friends here that I wouldn't know otherwise. I don't really show off my school spirit but I do have pride in being a student. My favorite homecoming tradition is meeting beforehand to take pictures and have fun before you go to the dance. Summary: We took a quiz in class. Reflection:  The quiz made me think about the poem again and analyze the word choices within it.

Prompt Response:  One time in class I was watching YouTube, and my unnamed friend "J", turned to be to insult what I was watching in an effort to jive me. In response I argued that I had finished my work and that I should do something else. Although he argued that what I was watching was silly, I countered with that he was playing frivolous games that also contain little to no substance. Summary: We went over a commonlit in class. Reflection:  The themes of fear were very potent and made me think about the Ted talk deeply.

Prompt Response:   There was this time when a new kid named Max transferred into our school halfway through the semester. He had this weird, distant vibe, like he didn’t fit in with the rest of us. At first, I felt bad for him, but then I realized it wasn’t just his outsider energy; it was how we treated him like he was invisible. Over time, I noticed that the more we ignored him, the more he closed off, and it made me wonder if we could’ve made him feel welcome. It made me think about how easy it is to forget how someone else might feel when they're the odd one out, and how that can affect everything—relationships, the way people act, and even how they see themselves. Summary: We went over the interlopers commonlit Reflection:  I had to think deeply about the story to answer the questions

Prompt Response:  I prefer worksheet and class discussions work. Worksheets that supplement information are nice  because it helps me really get the information into my brain. I also like class discussions because they allow for different perspectives and in a way force me to verbalize and therefore get my thoughts straight on what we are learning about. Summary: We worked on the poem poster. Reflection:  Talking to my friends about their poems while working on my poster allowed me to reflect on my poem and improve it in many ways.

Prompt Response:  I enjoy the aspect of taking the main metaphor and having to extend it and find the inner and smaller metaphors within it to use. It is fun trying to extend them and use the different aspects of it and really understand what you are saying and what you are doing. It helps you think more deeply about things and fully realize your poem. Summary: We went over literary devices and the expectations for the poem. Reflection: Doing the poem made me think about the metaphors I could use and think about the literary devices and their usage within it.

Prompt Response:  One time I was out at a restaurant with my friend who will be referred to as T, and after eating, he realized he had dropped his wallet somewhere. Confident it was within the restaurant, he searched around for it and eventually he found it in a stall in the restroom, where it presumably fell out of his pocket. The thing is though, that at the end of all this, he realized he had now lost his phone instead, which lead to another full search to try to find it.  Summary: We went over a poem comparing being a poet to being an acrobat. We analyzed it and annotated it Reflection:  It made me think more deeply about the profession of being a poet and the intricacies within every profession. 

Prompt Response:  I would make it centered around my love for music and it's relation to my life. I would want the message to be that you should appreciate what you love and try to focus your life around it.  Summary: In class we worked on quotes and reviewed the soundtracks Reflection:  

Prompt Response:  One thing that I feel like separates me from other students at our school is that I feel I carry a very different mindset than others in regards to daily life and school. I feel in some ways more focused and in other ways less focused than others depending on the subject.   Summary: We finished the soundtrack and went over many Dickinson quotes Reflection:  The soundtrack and the quotes made me think more deeply about lines

Prompt Response:  So far this year, American Lit has gone very well, as has most of school. The work has been easy but not boring, and still thought provoking. It doesn't feel frustrating and I am genuinely interested in a lot of the content that we are reading. I enjoy the blog posts as they are easy grades and fun things to respond to Summary: We read 3 poems from Emily Dickinson today in class and analyzed them. Reflection:  The poems were quite interesting and all generally were reflective and relating to death.