Pete's Intro: What All Of This Is
This entertaining (to some) compilation of my work from tenth grade and hopefully further (as well as some stuff from ninth grade) is for the viewing pleasure of all who care and the grading pleasure of those who have to. This also is a reflection of how I have grown, how I hope to grow, and what goals I potentially have for this year
A Little Bit About Me
As a student, that is a viewer, reader, listener, writer, speaker, (at
least according to my ninth grade teacher), I am varied. That
is to say, I would like to read some things, but not most; I can write
expository pieces rather well, but don't really care to; I learn all I
care to and think way too much. This all seems to support the fact that
I am probably best described as an efficient, productive student, though
not one who openly cares. This is all speaking in English terms (nobody
ever writes like this, or speaks like this normally).
Pete as a Reader
As a reader, I feel that I am "well rounded." I have read numerous
amounts of novels, and generally I have read more of the classics that
the newer novels. The sole reason for this that the classic novels tend
to have more thrilling plots (such as Robinson Crusoe and The Three
Musketeers), while the newer novels tend to be "slice of life" stories.
These don't appeal to me because I am living a life so why should I are
about some fictitious person's surprisingly similar life. I would rather
read (write, or think) about something stranger or more foreign, rather
than something close to home. I also read quickly, enjoying the novel
for the moment as if it were T.V. Therefore, this year I intend to read
more of these contemporary novels in order to broaden my reading
horizons (or something like that).
Pete as a Writer
Writing is one thing which I am rather good at, but despise doing. Years
of training by English teachers (one of the reasons why English is not
one of my favorites), have trained me into an efficient writer in
persuasive, and expository styles. These come easy to me, and
consequentially, I've had to do a lot of these in the past years. The
type of writing which might seem interesting to me, creative, is rarely
done in English class, and although I try to do it in my spare time (not
really all of my spare time), there is not enough spare time for me.
Because of this, I have a whole bunch of ideas to write about, but i
never really do. If I am to grow in might writing, I will have to try to
finish some of these creative pieces.
Pete as a Listener and Speaker
I am a very good listener. It's as plain and simple as that. I can
listen really well and follow instructions (and even look interested at
what the speaker is saying). On the contrary, I am not a very good group
speaker. When I speak to a group, I can be completely prepared and sound
like a droll, boring speaker. If I try to act more lively, I end up
doing movement or looking all over the crowd, both of which embarrass me
further. Unless I am really into what I have to present about, I cannot
appear to be interested in the topic, killing my presentation. On one
such occasion involving a report on Fidel Castro, I was interested in
the topic, but knowing that no one listening to my presentation would
care about Castro, I lost all enthusiasm for the presentation and
bombed it. This is typical of how I feel(but not necessarily how I do)
when I give an oral presentation. Speaking is definitely a place for
improvement on my part (My listening I do not feel is in need of much
improvement).
Pete as a Viewer
According to my English teacher, viewing is the ability to look at
something and analyze what it means to you. Prior to this year, I had
never thought about how I work when I view something, but I realize now
that I do analyze after I view something. After watching a movie or
looking at a painting or picture, especially one in which action is
occurring, I generally come away from that experience still thinking
about what I saw and in my mind, creating "The Further Adventures of
Whatever it is I Saw" (I think I would be a good movie writer or
director). When I am actually viewing something, I try to look for
subtle things which may have hidden meaning. (This skilled was learned
from watching years of "The Simpsons"). Reflecting on my viewing ability
now, I can see that this maybe one of my strongest skills which I use
very often.
English has never been a preferred class of mine, because it tends to dissect interesting books too much and then force me to relate my life to the book in some way. English also forces me write essays that are painfully long and seemingly pointless (I would like to point out the idea of evaluating one's self as a viewer, reader, listener, writer, speaker). This year I assume that the teacher will follow the curriculum as they are required to do, but for the love of God, I hope that he (Mr.Luizzi) will find an interesting way to get us (me) through the curriculum. I have confidence that he will do this, because first off, this Internet Website Portfolio was an interesting idea and second off, he did not make me write journal entries for every chapter in The Catcher in the Rye. One thing I do wish that we would do, would be screenwriting (although there might be a class on it anyway).
Generally, in English, I do not apply myself too much, but rather use my countless years of training in the Language Arts to force my self through the class. This year my sole goal (from which hundreds of others are derived), is to take the concept of English class and try to put more of myself into it. This probably means that I will try to reflect more and better, as well as relate unrelatable books to my life (who knows, maybe I won't have to do that this year). Somehow, I will try to "get into" English class.
