Category Archives: English 9

I’m Disconnecting – Mini Inquiry Project

English 9, Uncategorized

 

I’m Disconnecting

Living in a world without technology,

Can you imagine how it would be?

 

Would we see the world the way our parents remember,

Or from our devices is it too hard to dismember?

 

We’ve been contemplating our electronic navels for too long.

And even my childhood was taken where it doesn’t belong.

 

We have become slaves to the technology that surrounds us.

This technology lets us in silence, discuss.

 

Like cyborgs we have a machine attached, always on.

We have become a generation of smartphones and more ons.

 

We pretend not to notice the social isolation,

It’s captivated, controlled, confounded our nation.

 

Perhaps if we stopped, put down our phones and looked around,

We would be able to see the loss profound.

 

So, I will no longer be so accepting,

Just as soon as I text them that I’m disconnecting.

 

 

“I’m Disconnecting,” by Shaylyn Gordon is the perfect example of the technology based world that we live in. She captured the perfect amount of irony and put it all together in a swift rhyming couplet poem. She added the downsides of technology into her poem and represented how society has responded. Gordon included similes, alterations and irony, which all beautifully compliment her literary allusion to The Veldt. The line “We’ve been contemplating our electronic navels for too long,” is a quote taken from The Veldt that fits in wonderfully with her theme. Gordon simply states the shame that our generation should have for making technology such a necessity, but makes it easy to comprehend from the point of view of a 21st century child. The question “Why do we only focus on the tangible or the material in our culture?” directly connects to Gordon’s poem, because she also questions a lot of our tech-lifestyle choices. Technology is going to continue to grow more and more as the year’s progress. Shaylyn Gordon has sent an eternal message to our ever-growing electronical world, and it is safe to assume that her passion may help us conquer the world’s technology indulgent.

Whirligig – Introductory Assignment

English 9

I believe that forgiveness is a very important and necessary process to help someone live a life full of happiness and peace. By forgiving others, you make room in your life for new feelings and emotions. As the quote that I chose suggests, you are then able to be happy.

In my day to day life, I practice forgiveness, but nothing compared to what Katy Hutchison did in “Walking After Midnight”. It is much easier to forgive people for the insignificant little things in life that may happen. For example, if I get into a fight with my brother or sister, if I’m having a disagreement among my friends or with my parents, these are easier situations to forgive. But, once something happens in an extreme case, like in “Walking After Midnight”, I am not sure I would have reacted in the same way. Initially, I think that I would have been angry and devasted, furious that someone could do that to someone else, I would maybe even want revenge. But I think that as time would go on, I would realize that my grief was blinding me and keeping me from moving and doing the right thing, and at that time, I would be willing to forgive.

It’s hard to apologize to people that we have hurt because we always want to be right, and sometimes, we don’t realize how much of an impact our actions can have on others. Some people accept the fact that they are wrong, realize what they did, and apologize. Others cannot comprehend the idea of them being mistaken. To apologize, you must first realize that you are wrong, then be brave enough to actually admit to it. Personally, there are times where I find myself arguing with my parents or my siblings. Most of these times, I get too caught up in trying to prove my point and show them that I am right, to actually see that I am mistaken.

I think that with the help of Restorative Justice, we can grow as individuals. We can come to realize that revenge isn’t the answer, and we can learn how to forgive, let go, and move on. With the process of Restorative Justice, we are working together with someone else to slowly forgive one another. Once we have forgiven each other, it is then easier to let go, and move on.

 

The Veldt Poem

English 9

 

The Way Things Used 2 B

Notes mom once put in my lunch box,

Reminding me of how she “loved me lots”,

Meant more than any I ❤ U text she could ever send me.

 

The anticipation,

Of a hand delivered classroom birthday invitation,

Unmatched by the Ringing, pinging, dinging alert of an unexpected evite.

 

The nighttime comfort of my daddy’s songs,

As he sings the lullabies that would wish me to sleep.

Replaced by the millions of downloaded playlists on endless repeat.

 

The bedtime stories I was told as a child.

That soothing voice, let my imagination run wild.

Usurped by the faceless Kindling, iPad, E-reader.

 

Never-ending face to face playdates in the park,

Like monkeys swinging until dark.

Fresh air experiences displaced by hours spent on Facetime screen dates.

 

Little girls giggling, gossiping at their tiny tea party,

Eating bark mulch cookies, sipping imaginary tea.

Later, grown up, gathered around a table, device in every hand.

 

I just don’t understand, why we focus on the materials in our culture?

When we could be building human connections.

Do you remember the way it used to be?

 

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