Connection: Sophie and Alberto + Martin Luther King Jr.

         One thing we began to discuss to kick off second semester was Martin Luther King Jr. and challenging the status quo and some of its criteria. By reading the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," we studied many different aspects of challenging the status quo. From annotating and pointing out these aspects, not only did I learn a lot from the activity, I began to draw a connection to "Sophie's World." 

         The main focus of "Sophie's World" was to discuss and inform the readers about the many famous and well known philosophers who impacted the world. What I did not discover till our activity in class with the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" activity was "Sophie's World" also focuses on challenging the status quo. 

         Fulfilling their role as fictional characters of Jostein Gaarder's book, Sophie and Alberto played along at first because, well, they had no idea they were mere ideas and thoughts of Knag. However, once they discovered the fact they were fiction, they began to challenge the status quo of the world, or Sophie's world at least. 

         The status quo of the characters were to fulfill their fictional roles and play along, however Sophie and Alberto could not just stand around and do nothing after they realized their so called life was nonexistent. They came up with many plots to bust their escape; they eventually did. 

         Yes, I do realize that in the end Sophie and Alberto were still mere fictional characters, but their determination and bravery was not any less real than Martin Luther King Jr's courage in my opinion. One might call this rather odd, but this is my belief. These three really motivate me to attempt to fight the trends and  status quo of not only high school, but for the rest of my life. Sophie and Alberto, although fiction, motivate me just as much as MLK does; isn't that all that matters, fiction or non-fiction?     

Blog 10:Steps to Learn

          Throughout first semester, I have learned a lot about my old study habits and its flaws. Personally, I never had a problem with my study habits until this year when I discovered just reading over my notes over and over again wasn't going to cut it. Not only in Humanities, but also in my AP Psychology class, my old study habits has inhibited me to earn the grades I desired. I have been able to improve my study habits to learn more efficiently.

          As Mr. Allen said today, you can't just "look it over" and expect to earn a good grade. Especially with the connect the dots assignments, I learned that the process of connecting the terms helps you understand the material on a whole new level. This process pushes you to genuinely understand the material, rather than just recognizing the terms. Thinking beyond the definition of the term or who the philosophers were enabled me to really dive into the material.

          With my old study habits, I would only have been able to recite the definition of a term or what a philosopher was mainly known for. After practicing the connecting the dots assignments, I am able to fully explain the terms into deeper levels. I am able to compare and contrast two different philosophies and philosophers and dive into a full out philosophical conversation. I have gotten to really engage in the book after connecting the dots because it helped draw myself into the book to learn more and more.

          However, in order to engage in the book, I had to take on Mr. Allen's optional assignment of annotating, especially the more efficient technique. In previous years, all I did for annotations were underline random sentences I assumed were significant; this was of no assistance.

          Progressively, I learned how to annotate in a way that would best benefit me when it comes to remembering the information for future tests. I began to draw circles, boxes, arrows, and more. These symbols and margin notes eventually became an outline of the major events or information I needed to know. Although I may not be able to remember everything I annotated, the annotations enable me to find what I am looking for with great ease.This new skill of annotating has really enabled a more efficient way of processing the ocean of facts about philosophy rather than an unorganized, meaningless array of lines. 

          Overall, the process of analyzing Sophie's World with these two assignments has become a more manageable task. Not only was I able to understand the book more, I was able to set a stable foundation of skills for my future, such as college. These skills will continue to assist me beyond the class of Humanities.