Category Archives: Core Learning Strands

The 8 Old Town Academy Core Learning Strands.

Spain

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Smoker of the world,
Meat cooker, herd tender
Soccer player of the pitch
Tough, thick, broad
The country of scarred faces

They tell me you are tough, I don’t believe them
I have seen and met many sweet people like tangerines
They tell me you are dangerous and I believe them

Your laugh spews smoke from the rooftops and pollutes
Your smile is sadness wrapped in a nutshell
Your spring is anxious and quickly paced, impatient

Smoker of the world,
Meat cooker, herd tender
Soccer player of the pitch
Tough, thick, broad
The country of scarred faces

Where I am from

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I am from the house that reeks of stress
I am from the desk where scribbles are art
I know my writing tells a lot about me
As messy as it is I get it

I am from the rambles of pointless things
I am from the place
where rapid spanish is spoken
fluently, but mashed together

And through the troubles of every day
I can still stand up strong
Take a deep breath in and out
And relax for once in a lifetime

And sometimes in the heat of despair
I find an oasis of relief
And as I drink the water of regret
I find the place where I am from

Visualization Poems

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Inspired by: The Cross of Snow, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Seven years have passed
Since she left
Every sleepless night
thinking of her

I’m slipping in and out of
consciousness and reality
The only thing that can temporarily cure me
Is the intoxication of liquor.

Repetition Poems

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Poem #1:

Sometimes I see it
Sometimes you don’t
Sometimes we fight
Sometimes it’s ok

You put pressure on me
When you walk in the door
You’re mere presence
Makes me shudder

No matter how hard I try
To get you to see what I see
Your ignorant face
Gets in the way

So what am I supposed to do

Poem #2:

I wonder what the future will be like
I wonder what will become of me
I wonder how the world has changed
I wander these unnamed streets alone

There’s no one to guide me
Through the lost city
And no matter how hard I try to perceive whats happening around me
I still fail

I guess there’s no hope for me
The city changes every night
Its shapes shift and burn
Slowly
Too slowly

Selma

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The movie Selma was not only one of the most inspirational movies I have seen, but one of the first movies that actually benefited the society in a crucial way.  Despite the tragedies in the movie, in chronological order, from the E.P. bridge, to the night riots, the march from Selma to Montgomery was displayed as one of the most influential movements in the Civil Rights Movement.  The first march was lead by one of the SNCC, which resulted into harsh beat downs and deaths on the bridge.  It was broadcasted on national television.  The second, MLK Jr. lead, but then he turned back.  The third march was successful, thousands of people came to march, and the nation came together for that march.  I would rate this movie 4.5/5 for the accuracy and how well produced it was.  I would recommend this movie for mature audiences, mainly 14+.

Creative Writing #4

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The clouds above us started to fray and a sudden booming sound pierced my ears. As the dark figures came into visibility, the whirring sound got louder. Once the mist cleared, the two stealth helicopters had become visible, positioned on both sides of our van. Roberto and Pyez stepped out of the helicopter on the right, walking towards me shoulder to shoulder. They stopped twenty feet away from me and stepped once away from each other, to reveal, Escobido.

Escobido, a cruel figure, scars in several places, was dressed in black clothes, and glasses that read on the outside, “Keep calm and eat burritos”.

“You just don’t give up, do you?” he inquired.
“It’s a habit yeah.” I mocked.
“Before I kill you, let me introduce you to the newest addition to our crew.” he boomed.
Something cracked the ground behind me, as if a mini meteor had struck earth, the collision sent vibrations up my spine, and as I turned around I realized, I was facing the closest thing earthbound to a god. His arms were as thick as cannon barrels, the top of his head barren, and his jaw appeared primordial. He appeared to be homoerectus on steiroids. The crack in the ground was from him jumping from the helicopter.
Above me was the army of helicopters, as they were before. But I noticed something peculiar about the helicopters. When they moved or repositioned in the slightest form, they all moved as one, as one giant living organism, with lots of holes, like a giant thin slice of swiss cheese. Then I made the discovery that there is a supercomputer controlling all the helicopters. If we could find the computer or where it was mounted, we could get out of this.
Suddenly, my walkytalky started going off. It was the CIA. They were asking us to report our position. Escobido was still staring at me through his glasses.
“Tell them you are going off grid for a while… a long while Mr. Krasovic.  Welcome to your home country!” Escobido boomed.

Drones

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This article is about how drones are becoming more popular.  Drones are being used for air traffic so planes don’t crash.  The advantage of using drones is that you don’t put human lives at risk because drones are unmanned and operate by computer or remote control.  The FAA is having problems controlling the drones because they are hard to see and they can only be flown at least five miles from the airport to be safe.  No one wants a crash between drones and airplanes.

The authors opinion is unbiased.  I think that drone technology is advancing ahead of its time and it’s great. Cady thinks that its cool.

Interview a Veteran

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In history we are studying the Vietnam war and to get a better perspective on the effects and the outtake of the war on civilians and veterans, I put together five open ended questions to ask Mr. Christensen, Ms. Christensen’s father, a Vietnam veteran, to get a better perspective and look at the war from a different point of view. Below are the questions and the answers that Mr. Christensen gave on the day that the whole class interviewed him and asked him these questions.

1. Where were you born?/What was it like growing up during that time?
April 1945, “Baby Boomer”/50’s long cars were invented, lots of gasoline, life was rocking and rollin.

2. Where were you and when were you drafted?/How old were you?/ What were you doing?/How did you feel about it?/Did you try to avoid it?
San Jose, school, Oakland when I was drafted. I was 22. I was in school. I was shocked. Nope.

3. What was your position in the army and what did you do?/What types of projects did you work on?
He searched for equipment. He was trying to beat the supply system that was failing.

4. How did you leave Vietnam?/How did you feel when you returned home?/Did people treat you badly when you returned?/What did you do when you came back?
I came back on a 707. I lost my best friend.

5. How did/ do you feel about the war now?/ Do you call yourself a war hero?
I don’t call myself a war hero.

This day in History Q2

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This day in history, January 19th, 1809, a great poet was born. His name was Edgar Allen Poe. By the time he was three, both his parents had died, and his grandfather raised him. Once he got through school, and kicked out of the University of Virginia, he joined the military, and served for two years. He then got appointed to West Point. By 1836 he had published three poems, that had not gotten much attention. He soon became well known for writing horror stories such as, “The Tell Tale Heart”, and “The Fall of The House of Usher”. In 1844, he moved to New York, where he wrote his famous piece, “The Raven”. When he was working on a broadway show, his wife died of tuberculosis in 1847 and that drove him deeper into alcoholism. He then got engaged, but died before the wedding, because he was drinking at a party in Baltimore and was found three days later in a gutter, taken to the hospital, and died on October 7th, 1849, at the age of 40.

Comparing MLK Jr. to Eisenhower-Writing Analysis

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Writing is the most powerful tool for recording knowledge. It is one of the fundamental building blocks of everything we have ever learned and taught. Writing is an art. Not saying that it is easy, it is a hard art to master. Eisenhower, an ex-war general, was one of the best presidents who contributed a great amount to the growth of our country. His farewell address that he gave at the end of his presidency was his last speech. MLK Jr. was one of the great writers of the Civil Rights Movement. He was a preacher, and a motivational speaker. His “I have a dream,” speech was the most motivational speech he gave during the Civil Rights Movement. Everything behind a speech leads to the purpose of the speech. Both of these historical figures had the same purpose, to inform America. Even if these pieces were written by very different people in different times, they have the same style of diction and tone.

Every speech has a purpose, some deeper than others. King’s purpose in writing this particular speech was to inform people about the horrors of racism and to strongly challenge the world for civil rights.  For example, “So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.” King stood up at that podium for one reason only.  He wanted to get people on his side of the big debate in the U.S. He spoke out against racism and delivered a very powerful and influential speech, to get black and white people on his side of the peaceful protests.

Some speeches even have two purposes. Eisenhower was giving his farewell address after a very successful presidency.  Eisenhower’s speech however, was also meant to inform people about racism and to warn people about the Military Industrial Complex. He knew that the future was going to throw a very fast curveball at the US, and in this speech, he intended to inform the U.S. about two things that he feared for his country.  His first objective was to inform the U.S. about impending racism and how it was going to change their lives.  He did so like this, “We face a hostile ideology global in scope, atheistic in character, ruthless in purpose, and insidious in method.” Sure enough he was right, people were protesting in the streets every day. His second purpose was to inform people that there were large amounts of money being invested in the military.  Eisenhower was afraid that there was going to be a Military Industrial Complex and that the military in the U.S. was going to become too powerful.

The tone of a speech makes all the difference when you are trying to express yourself and your purpose. King does a phenomenal job of getting his listeners engaged and focused on his purpose.  The reason King was such a passionate speaker is because he grew up in a preaching background.  He himself was a preacher in a small church in Alabama. When King spoke, he truly spoke from the heart, for example, “This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South with.” King used formal diction to get across the idea that his topic was truly an issue and that he was dead serious.

On the other hand, Eisenhower did a lot for our country.  Eisenhower is a respected figure so most people pay attention anyway, but he too does a great job of keeping his listeners listening. He doesn’t need a lot of passion to get peoples attention. However, he delivered deliberate speech when he gave his farewell address.  For example, “You and I, my fellow citizens need to be strong in our faith that all nations, under god, will reach the goal of peace with justice.” His tone was calm but passionate, and he used formal diction to get across his point that he was talking about something serious.

Writing is something amazing.  It is used in every aspect of life.  It is used to get messages and feelings across.  King and Eisenhower are two great American figures that used writing to say something that made them very famous and earned them a place in the great puzzle of the world.  Their writing styles are very similar and very different at the same time.  They gave their speeches at different times and had different purposes, yet they both used formal diction and a passionate tone.  They both did a great job using all the aspects of creating a speech to change the world forever.