riff poem ^

In my different schools before SLA, everyone knew English and history was not my forte. In those classes I have to be creative and spontaneous. I had to remember multiple dates and names of famous people, things that wouldn’t benefit me in the future I thought it was pointless and gave up before school start. Once I entered Block’s class there were motivating posters on the wall, and things seem more quiet and simple. This was a classroom I can feel safe in and concentrate on my work. Mr. Block is also my advisor so I know how he works and things I should focus on to get a good grade in the class. One of those things is collaboration. All of the projects we completed, one of our steps were too exchange our finish project with another person and work together to make it even better. I care about my work and I like asking people what they feel about it, getting opinions and help.
    When we read Lord of the Flies, Mr. Block asked us to complete a political ad for a character, a character that is good enough to become the new leader. In this project we used multiple quotes to describe the character and made propaganda “Vote for Simon, the mute thinker!” After we were completed we switch with someone else to critique the other’s work. This type of editing helped us throughout the year, making work easier to understand. Another project in history class was our Colonialism project. After we read Things Fall Apart, we wrote a letter to the main character who committed suicide, asking him what was his purpose and if he had any other choices. Some of my classmates said he was a coward for committing suicide, and others thought differently. This is another way to collaborate, voicing out our opinions in class discussions, or jotting down notes.
    Another project we collaborated on was our last project with Leah Stein. We practice interpretive dancing with the whole class then picked our own spots and performed. Our team had trouble starting off our dance, so we decided to watch other dances, to get an idea. The collaborating helped us comprehend our assignment so we can start on our own. Collaborating is a good thing, especially with a teacher. The key is to find someone who knows the knowledge of the project your on. Leah Stein also collaborated with our group, showing us different moves and different ways to view our spot. In the end, Ms. Stein enjoyed our group saying it was different, but made sense.
    In that classroom, I felt like I can open up and talk about what’s on my mind. Mr. Block believes that there is no right or wrong answer so just jump out there and do it. One thing I learned in his class is not to be shy. “Never shall I forget, the time I voiced my opinion….. and was happy…” In my previous schools, I would get shot down and become shyer, before I had a phobia of getting rejected, it would stick to me forever.  But the difference in Block’s class everyone started on a clean slate, that person can decide whether he wants to start off his year right. Even though Mr. Block was on my heels the whole time, he made sure I got things done and stayed with me to help. Thank you Mr. Block for being there for me.