Class Discussions

The discussions in class have had me thinking about the American Society today. Media rarely shows "normal" people on TV unless they've done something to harm the public. Rarely a "normal" person is shown helping people; such as donating money to a school or tutoring kids. Also, the media never recognizes teachers and all the good they do. The media would rather focus on the sex scandals with teachers and students. I believe this is giving our society a negative image to the younger, more influenced population. Teachers should be recognized through a positive view, helping kids reach their goals and ultimately succeeding. This is the society that I want to live in when I become a teacher. Somehow I have very little faith in that.

Paper 1

The Beauty in Dance
Beauty is not always displayed in a physical form; it can also be displayed in an emotional form. The emotional part of beauty is often very moving. Sometimes people can cry at the presentation of emotional beauty. Emotional beauty struck me while I watched the TV show So You Think You Can Dance. A contemporary routine choreographed by Mia Michaels. Her dance was not only physically beautiful, but emotionally moving as well. This routine made me cry. Not only because the beauty of the dance but the emotion behind the movements. There are many forms of beauty in dance: symbolism, passion and music/movement.
The routine choreographed by Mia Michaels was titled “Time,” and was performed to a song written by Billy Porter. Mia choreographed this routine for her late father. This dance is performed by Lacey Schwimmer and Neil Haskell. This dance is first and foremost very symbolic. Lacey and Neil symbolize Mia and her father reuniting for the first time. Both Lacey and Neil are dressed in white, symbolizing that they are both in Heaven. Also, the stage is covered in fake, bright colored flowers symbolizing the innocence Mia still experiences around her father. To dance this routine, a dancer has to be very passionate on the story they are portraying. The story behind the dance was told by Mia Michaels before the performance.
Lacey and Neil definitely have passion when they perform this routine. This routine would not be the same if the dancers did not have passion behind the movement. Lacey and Neil performed this piece with emotion. They surprised the audience with the beauty of the story. Without the passion in this particular routine, it simply wouldn’t have made the same impact. When I watched this routine, I can see the passion of Neil and Lacey not only through the facial expressions, but also through the movement. They are very technical when they dance meaning that their toes were pointed, and extensions were great. Mia Michaels has choreographed this routine to the point of perfection. Each movement is choreographed beautifully with the lyrics of the song.
Dancing would not be as beautiful if a choreographer didn’t pay attention to the lyrics of a song.Mia Michaels is a talented choreographer. She can choreograph a dance to fit perfectly with any song. In this routine, Lacey and Neil start on opposite sides of the stage and begin by waving to each other when it says “Where’s the time?” It symbolizes the first time they see each other in heaven. A sentimental part of the routine is when Billy Porter says, “Or snow that floats from the sky,” .Lacey throws Neil a flower that he bounces on his knees and elbows. This simple movement shows the playfulness of the routine, truly symbolizing a father goofing around with his daughter. A cute part of this routine is when Billy Porter sings, “We live, we learn, we love in time.” While Neil throws Lacey, then soon after that they jump and skip together. Then Lacey puts her arms around Neil’s neck, and they spin in a circle together. The best choreographed part of this routine is when Porter sings, “All we have is time,” and Neil kisses Lacey’s hand. Then they both look for a flower. Neil takes his time and picks the perfect one to give Lacey, while she picks up as many flowers as she can and drops them on his face.
Dancing has three forms of emotional beauty: symbolism, passion and music/movement. Mia Michaels created an emotionally beautiful routine that moves people. I will always have the same emotions every time I watch this routine. After watching this routine several times I realize the beauty and passion of the dance Lacey Schwimmer and Neil Haskell performed this routine with a great deal of emotion that truly shows the beauty of the dance. To summarize this routine, it must be summarized through a quote from Constanze, “Dancing is like dreaming with your feet!” This routine truly symbolizes the quote with emotional and physical beauty.

The Spirit of Education

The Spirit of Education by Norman Rockwell is a painting of a mother and son. She is wrapping a banner around him that says "The Spirit of Education", the young boy looks really upset. The boy is dressing in what looks like Olympian clothing, with a torch that symbolizes success. The mother is proud to be dressing her son and sending him to school to make him successful young man. The boy looks like every kid does when they learn that school is not all fun and games anymore. There is a point in a kids life when they realize that school actually includes work and I think that is why he is holding a book.

I'm from a school that started off really unfortunate but has become amazing! Partly because our parents are really involved at my old high school unlike the movie Stand and Deliver. I can't imagine our teams or academics suffering because there wasn't enough funding. If our teams or academics were suffering the parents of Leander High School would find a way to support and fund the activity. The parents there are involved in every sport especially in my dance team, the Blue Belles. Also, our director was similar to the teacher in, Stand and Deliver. She goes out of her way to make sure we are safe, and that we support each other. Every year Mrs. Anderson has a pictionary party for the leaders of the team at her house. The party brings the team closer and we have a blast! Without the teacher and parent support Leander would be pretty crappy.

Varisty Baseball

Baseball is my favorite sport. Entering high school I knew very little about baseball, I just knew the basics. So to my delight my freshman Health teacher asked me to be a statistician for the boys baseball team! He explained that it wasn't that big of deal and I really didn't have to know a lot about baseball because they were just freshman. Being the shy and chicken person that I am, I asked my friend Laura to help me. We ended up being STAT girls all throughout high school! It was the best experience I have ever had!! Not only was I with cute boys all the time but I was learning a lot about baseball! My senior year Laura and I were stating for the Varsity team. My last year I truly found myself, I let go of the boring girl that never went out after we won a game. This year I made sure that I always went out and made the best of every situation. This year also taught me to deal with disappointment, during my senior year that team hit a rough spot (really rough). With the boys not winning they became really angry and disappointed. Eventually we all got over it and decided to make the best out of losing, who cares if we only won three games! Being STAT girl really made me outgoing and gave me the best experience in high school!