Morals and Religions

What are the connections between morals and religions?

The main connection between morals and religions are that both things teach you something. It can be very small things to big things like how to live your life. Morals are lessons based on a real-life issue, a story, legend, folktale, myth, or fable. Take 'The Tortoise and the Hare' by Aesop for example. There are many morals to this fable; don't be over confident, don't boast, don't overlook others, slow and steady wins the race, and so on. At the same time, religions have rules and beliefs that also teaches people. Actually, many religions also use stories to explain and teach something. For example in Christianity, these stories are called parables. In Hinduism, there's the story of Rama and Sita. Of course, religions don't only use stories. Commandments and rules created by the Gods of each religion also teach its followers and believers alot of things, such as what's good and what's bad, what not to do and what to do.

This I Believe

The essay from This I Believe that I'm going to talk about now is named "Leave the Light On" by Marianne Rogowski.

This essay talks about a mother's love for her children. Marianne's mother told her the story of leaving the florescent light in the kitchen on, as that was a sign for home. Marianne's mother told her that no matter what mistakes, they are never too bad for her to return home. Marianne went off to college, everything was fine, and life was good. But in her Junior Year, after just turning twenty, everything changed. As Marianne drove home, she kept her head low. And as she entered the house, her mother knew straight away that something was not right. Marianne herself was horrified of what she was going to confess to her mother. She said, "I know you're going to hate me. I'm pregnant." But instead, her mother hugged her tight and comforted her saying that she could never hate her and everything will be all right. Leaving the light on is like keeping the fire burning. Many times you'll hear people compare fire with love. Yes, it is the same here. The light is like the love Marianne's mom has for her. And that now time has passed, Marianne passes on the story of the light to her children.

This essay touched me because it reminds me of the love my family has for me. Although I pass through many fights and disagreements with them, I will always know the unconditional love they have for me, and I have for them; just like Marianne and her mom.

A Perseus Summary

PERSEUS

Chapter 1

For Fear of Things to Come

When King Acrisius found out that his grandson would kill him, he locked his only daughter, Danae, up in a high tower with no stairs. But still, Danae had a son named Perseus. Acrisius ordered that they lock the two up in a chest and throw it away at sea.

I Remember...

I remember when I was 4 years old, I fell off an ancient ruin about 4- 5 metres tall as I was walking backwards, trying to explain a game to my brother, Tong.

I remember when I was 5 years old, I lost grip of my kick-board in a swimming pool and nearly drowned but fortunately, my brother (again) saved me.

I remember when I was 5 years old, I was at the swimming pool, warming up by running around the pool and scraping my toe with the rough, bumpy ground until it was totally covered in blood - only then did I realize what had happened.

I remember when I was 6 years old, I was learning how to ride a two - wheel bicycle with my dad supervising me.

I remember when I was 6 years old, I performed in a music concert for the first time.

I remember when I was 7 years old, I fixed the toilet doorknob because my brother just couldn't do it.

I remember when I was 7 years old, I found out about one of my new classmates, Megan, on the first day I met her that we shared the same music teacher, and since then, we became both best friends and music buddies.

I remember when I was 8 years old, I had sailing classes with one of my best friends in school, Megan, and those were some of the best times we had together.

I remember when I was 9 years old, I arrived in Japan for the first time.

I remember when I was 10 years old, I passed a music competition and entered the final round.

Bio Poem

Saranporn (Tem)

Kind, responsible, determined, talented, disciplined, fun, and enthusiastic

The sister of Sattha (Tong) Boonvanichyalert

Who loves looking and creating arts and crafts, horse riding and horses, and listening and playing music

Who feels relieved when she is with her lovely friends, and joy when she's watching movies

Who needs books, movies, true friends and comforting family.

Who gives/brings laughter to her family, her relatives love, and pride and joy to her parents

Who fears not getting a good grade for her subjects in school, getting scolded by her music teachers (outside of school)

Who would like to have her own bedroom with work tables, books and reading lamps for her own, have more privacy when she does things, and more freedom to choose to do things she prefers most

Who shares her bedroom and many things with her brother, who shares part of her life with her family

Who is a musical-hearted, typical 12 year-old girl

Who is a resident of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Boonvanichyalert

The End of The Path Has Arrived

6th Grade for me has eventually come to an end. I would like to share my feelings about my wonderful time in grade 6 accompanied by my friends, teachers, and, of course, stress from projects and homework.

What piece of work and learning are you most proud? Explain.

The work that I'm most proud of this year is my Ancient Egyptian Diary. What we had to do for this was basically put ourselves into an Ancient Egyptian's shoe. We had to write diaries as if we were that character from that social class. For me, I was lucky that I got "pharaoh" as my character. I am proud of this piece of work not mainly because I got a reasonably good grade, but rather because of the effort that I put in to it. My grade was an A-, obviously not that great, but still, it was pretty good. Normally I don't really say A- is a high grade, but for writing, it was. I'm not that type of person who is really good at writing, and that is why I put alot of effort in it. I had good teachers and peers that edited my work, so thanks to them too. Most of all, I really enjoyed the project because I was always curious about historical subjects.

What were your greatest challenges?

Humanities would be one of the most fun classes in grade 6, because all of the projects we did were really fun, creative, and interesting (not to mention about the literature circles), because those were, indeed, my worst nightmares in 6th grade. I had done lit circles in 5th grade, but those were completely different. We only had one role to do, which was nothing compared to what we had to do here in grade 6. At first, when I discovered about how hard it was to score points, I didn't get what were expected of me. I didn't understand how they wanted me to think deeper, and what that would be like. I also didn't know if my opinions were "deep" enough, or if they were up to standard or not. But as I gained experience through more lit circles, I came to understand my wonders. Then, at that point, my next problem was how to get there, and the amount of time it would take me. No matter how hard I tried, lit circles were still being obstacles for me every week. I needed a very long time to think and get all my ideas down. I found out that it took incredibly long, so I had to start on it alot earlier.

Reflecting on your growth this year, what did you learn about yourself as a learner?

I found that working individually is alot more easier in terms of convenience, organization, and confidence that the work will be completed in time. Usually what happens to me is that the people in my group figure out that I work alot, and they take advantage of that and do nothing, which makes me have to work harder in order to complete the work on time. On the other hand, working in groups are also helpful because there would be lots of different ideas to consider (if members actually contribute and take part in the assignment, obviously), which would be very useful. It also helps develop your collaborating constructively skills.

To evaluate your work habits, choose one of the following from each category (and provide explanations):

a) Behaviour

=> Perfect - the model student
I am not the kind of student that would go goofing around in class, and not paying attention. When work time is given in class, I try to take the most advantage out of it and not chat with my friends. But yes, I admit, that sometimes, though rarely, I do get distracted and that is something that I probably need to work on next year. I am also nice to everyone, and I treat everyone with respect, and kindness. I try my best to follow the middle school core values.
b) Participation
=> Satisfactory
I participate in class activities and those kind of things, but I'm not the one who always actively participate in everything. That doesn't mean that I'm always a quiet student who doesn't share any ideas at all, though. When I have ideas or questions, I raise up my hand.
c) Organization
=> I'm super organized
I am always a very organized student. I keep everything in seperate folders or binders, and I label them. I memorize my schedule, and I always know where my stuff are. When homework is assigned, even though it's not due the next day, I always complete as soon as possible, because I'm afraid that I might forget or have to rush through it in the end. I am a clean freak, so when things are not organized I get irritated and have to do it in the end. I also think that them more organized you are, the better you will succeed in things. As a result, I always keep my locker organized, my binders and schoolwork organized in one place, and many other things like that so when I need something I don't have to go and dig everything out and get things even messier just to find something that should be simple.
d) Effort
=>Satisfactory / I always go above and beyond what is required.
I say that I'm between the two levels because I always try to go beyond what I have to do, even though I don't always make it. But I do think that I can do better because some of the mistakes I make involve me being careless. For example, in tests. I complete the test, but sometimes, I don't check over as detailed as I should, and I miss certain mistakes that cost me some points.
Based upon your reflections, write two personal learning goals for Grade 7 next year.
In Grade 7, I plan to.....
Organize my time more wisely so that I get all the work done well with effort on time both working in groups and alone, so that I can keep my grades high.
In Grade 7, I plan to.....
Participate a little bit more in class and not to get distracted easily by my friends or anything.
Is there any more information about yourself that you would like your teachers to know?
There is something that I would like my teachers to know about me. I am a hardworking student, and I will be responsible for getting things done in time. If I need to do something, I will do it without having to be told so many times. I always try to do the best I can, I really care about my grades, so I will focus on school. Sometimes I might seem a like a quiet student, but that does not mean that I'm bored or anything like that.
What was your favorite activity lesson in Humanities this year? What did you enjoy about it?
My favorite activity lesson in Humanities was probably the Tic-Tac-Toe Assignments. I really liked the idea that you could choose the projects you wanted to do, and I also really like do things outside of the box and thinking creatively about different ways to do things. Because the assignments were supposed to make us do creative things, it was open to all sorts of ideas that my group and I could think of.
What activity do you think we could have spent more time on?
The activity that I thought we could have spent more time on was the auto-biography books. I was really excited at the beginning that I would have a whole book of memories from grade 6 created by myself. But, unfortunately, as time passed by we got busy with other things and totally forgot about out books.
Finally, cast your minds back to the first few months of middle school(when you arrived in grade 6) what "Words of Wisdom" or "Advice" could you pass on to the Class of 2018?
Some "Words of Wisdom" or "Advice" I would give the Class of 2018 would be to not stress about anything. Keep in mind that everything is always possible to handle, so relax, and buckle your seatbelts. Be ready. Be ready for anything that would come in your way - fun, bad, sad, exciting, fascinating, all kinds of events!! Be ready to ask uestions, and be ready to explore middle school!!!

Books, Books, Books

Title: The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Author: Avi

The book that I'm going to introduce here is "The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle" by Avi. The reason I chose this book to discuss was not only because it was a really good book that I enjoyed reading, but it also taught me a lesson. That is why I would like to share today with you about this book.

When I read this book, it made me think of the difference between happiness and freedom, and wealth. People say that having lots of money could give you everything. But no, not really. At least not for Charlotte, and, I believe, for most people too. Reading this book made me realize that there was a huge difference in living only a wealthy life, and living a not wealthy, but happy life. You can sometimes feel trapped or frustrated when living in such a wealthy, planned, protected life. It's not always that you would find a good and healthy life when you have lots of money. What I think is that as long as you're not happy with the life you're living, then you are not living a good and healthy life. What I mean by 'good and healthy' is not only living good and healthily physically, but also mentally. I have always thought this way, because I had kind of experienced it. But, this book really shows the difference between the two lifestyles. And, in addition, I was even more convinced that some people actually preferred a happy life rather than a wealthy life when at the end of the book, Charlotte decides to return to the Seahawk, where she can actually find freedom and happiness.

This book challenged me as a reader by the words that Avi decided to use. There were a ton of words that I didn't understand, but that helped me to learn more. I now know more vocab, such as upholstered, etc. Also, since some of the sentences were complexed and sometimes confused me, it made me re-read the passage again, until I understand the meaning. I doing this, I was able to understand the book more, and I could also relate many things together, and tie in so many events and end up with a bunch of questions I needed to answer myself. But that procedure was fun, and helpful.

Don't read this book if you are not prepared to receive many details and vocabulary words that you don't understand. Also, this book uses English-English, not American English. Trust me, you will come across fascinating adjectives through your journey in the book - so beware!!!

In chapters 16 - 18, it was about some of the memories and the free time that Jonas had. These three chapters relate to the theme of freedom and choice. My reasons are based on evidence from the book.

My first evidence is that when The Giver shared hist favorite memory with Jonas, the one about Christmas, it was such a sonderful time. It had love, joy, happiness, and relationships tooo. It was a type of freedom that Jonas experienced THese feelings were such flexible feelings, that it gave Jonas so much freedom. He had the freedom and choice of who to love and not love. In chapter 18, it describes about the unexpected holiday. At that point Jonas had another choice too. He could go anywhere, do whatever he wanted to do. With all the feelings from the memories, he might have had a better time with his friends, and understand things more too.

The Giver

Would you want your future to be decided by others? Why or why not?

No, I wouldn't. Even though the community the Jonas lives in a "perfect" community, and the Assignments given were carefully chosen by the elders, it is always us who know ourselves the best. They might be carefully chosen, but just by observation and not communicating at all isn't enough to limit or decide someone else's future, especially for the rest of their lives. There can be some mis-understanding or whatever Assignment someone gets might not be the one that they have always hoped for. Evidence is from the book, when Jonas was standing there in the Ceremony of Twelve. He wanted to shout out "NO", that they chose the wrong person, and just run off the stage. I wouldn't that to happen to me. I'd rather choose what I want to be, and I'd rather be the one who is in control of my own future.

Another Four i-Movie Reflections!!!!

Maria's and Andrea's iMovie.

Maria's and Andrea's iMovie was about Ramses II. I think that they did a pretty good job achieving the expectations in the rubric. They had transitions between pictures, a creative theme, and all their images were of good quality. The images matched the narration throughout, which was good. There were no background noises, there voices were clear and loud, so everybody could hear and understand. What I really liked about their presentation was that they not only created one imovie, but two. The second one was all acting, and it was HILARIOUS. They introduced their pharaoh well, telling about what period of time he ruled in, which dynasty and everything. They also spoke clearly about his achievements and architectual accomplishments.

Stephanie's and Kennedy's iMovie.

Stephanie's and Kennedy's iMovie was on Hatshepsut. I think they intruduced Hatshepsut well, and did tell us about the achievementsand architectual accomplishments. Their voices were loud, but not all that clear, and there were some background noises. Although the matched the narration throughout, they of good quality. I'm not sure if they did the citations in MLA format or not, because on their blogs, the video the uploaded wasn't very clear. There were transitions between pictures, which made the iMovie interesting to watch.

Ashika's and Alvin's iMovie.

This iMovie was based on Queen Nefertiti. They did describe the accomplishments and architectual achievements, but they were talking waaaaaayyyyy too fast. Their images were of good quality, and if they had talked slower, I believe their voices would be clear. They did have transitions between pictures, so that was good. They did cite their sources in MLA format, which was really good, because hardly anyone did. There images did match the narration throughout, so in conclusion, it think that apart from the speed of which they talked in, everything else was pretty fine.

Laura's and Megan's iMovie.

Their imovie was on Akhenaten. There voices weren't that easy to listen to, and they had background noises. Megan spoke most of the time, but Laura hardly discussed anything about the achievements and accomplishments. She only said things like "OH really? Tell me some more?" and all those stuff to make the iMovie a sort of conversation. I don't think they did their MLA citations or not because the sources went really fast. Their images did match their narration, and there were transitions though. The good about their's is that they some acting scenes as well.

Pharaoh i-Movie reflection

In humanities, we got into partners and created an i - movie about Ancient Egypt's pharaohs. Me and my partner, Yu Ern, chose the pharaoh Tutankhamun. I think that we didn't do too bad on the i-movie itself, but the bad thing was we weren't able to finish in time, because we only got about one day two work together. The rest of the days it was either me absent, or Yu Ern, so that wasn't really good. But now that we've finished, I can reflect on our i - movie. What I think that did not meet the expectations in the rubric was that we forgot cite our sources in MLA format. I think we did achieve the contents required in the rubric, mostly I think we got a four on that. The images were good, I think that the quality of them weren't too bad. All of the images fit with what we say, because you just can't simply put a picture of a random guy when you're talking about Tutankhamun's famous monuments....that's just wrong.

About the voices we recorded in the imovie, I think it was clear and well-done, apart from one thing in the beginning of the presentation. We decided to act out a small "skit" to introduce and lead into out imovie, but that didn't work that well. We filmed it in a corrider, so that the darkness gives it abit of reality/emotion. The bad thing about that was that there were noises all over in the background. I think that because of the background noise, some parts of the skit was a little bit too soft. That was kind of a pain....overall, we did and redid that skit for about nearly ten times. One of the times, we were about to finish the skit (we were on our last sentence), and this 8th grader just simply came in and shouted "Yo, whatz up, you guys. Stop doing your stupid thing" right in front of our screen. To tell the truth, we were quite angry with him....the bad thing was that he didn't even feel sorry.

Now...I'm supposed to reflect on somebody else's imovie presentation, right? Well, maybe I should comment on Ashika's and Alvin's. Their presentation was pretty good actually. I think that they met the course expectations, but I'm not sure. The thing I can really say they didn't quite meet the course expectations was the narration. They literally spoke at the speed of light, and that was why I can't tell if they actually met the course expectations or not.

However, their imovie had a good theme, and it was very creative of them to put a picture of the globe and run an arrow to show where Egypt was, at the beginning of their presentation. I understood some parts of their presentation, and was able to tell that their images did match what they said. The quality of the images were good.

City Connection Reflection

In humanities class, we worked on a project about a city we've lived in, which we presented on a PowerPoint slide-show. I think the things that I did good on this PowerPoint was that I didn't include too much text in my slides. Instead, I memorized all the information and spoke it to the audience. If I put all the information on the PowerPoint, it would be hard for the audience to read. Also, there wouldn't be any point in presenting the PowerPoint, because the audience could also just read from the screen.

I think the things that I need to improve in my future presentations are to make sure I don't get too excited or worried about presenting because when I am, I tend to speak fast and sometimes forget what I have to say. Or sometimes, I gradually speed up towards the end of the presentation and mix some words up. Mostly when that happens, I find myself doing a tongue twister of my PowerPoint to the audiences!!

Coming to think about how much I have met the course expectations.....well, to tell the truth, I did try my best to do it. In the statistical information slide, it had the word resources in it, which I did not understand. I included the rest of the others, and added the climate for my city. Especially in this presentation, I think that I didn't meet the expectations for historical factors. This is because I only had one historical factor for my city, but went deep into that factor and added interesting information. I think that I should have got at least 3 historical factors to meet the expectations.

Personally, I think that I didn't do too bad on this project. I had at least a picture for each slide, except for the statistical information and bibliography slides. I didn't put so much information on the slides, but instead presented everything to the audience, so that it catches there attention a little bit. I also threw in interesting information to keep the audience awake at all times. The only thing I wasn't sure about how good I did was the volume of my voice during the presentation. I wasn't sure if the people at the back could hear me clearly, but I guess they could because some of people sitting at the back gave me comments (not about the volume!!!)

Normally, the rubric would be most helpful resource for me in whatever assignment I do. But in this case, the rubric did help, but not as much as the "B" example from last year. I looked at the rubric, and at the example, but spent more time with the example than the rubric because it tended to give me a clearer vision of what my presentation should look like. It helped me to understand what historical factors are and while doing that, I thought of ways to make mine better than the example, so I could get an "A". Really, what struck in the beginning was the level of expectation for this assignment. I thought that the example might as well be an "A-". But, I took that into consideration and tried my best to make mine an "A".

My Learning Profile

In humanities class, we have been figuring out our learning profile. We did it by finding out our dominant hand, foot, eye, ear, and brain hemisphere. I ended up with the profile "K", which is Gestalt Dominant. 


I learn best when I am relaxed. When I am stressed, I would not be able to focus on things going on around me. I would only be able to think of the thing that worries me. I normally need to spend quiet time alone to cool and regather myself. I also try to do something that I really like, such as listening to songs I like, would also help me. Sometimes I think logically, and sometimes, I use my gestalt hemisphere. When I don't understand something, most of the times examples would help me. Sometimes, I just need explanations in words. 


I need to manage my time more wisely both in class and at home. I can sometimes go off task easily, and realize that I was wasting my time later. Or sometimes I spend too much time on one subject, and end up having to rush on the other things. Sometimes I expect good grades, so that's why I put so much effort on one thing while I forget about the time.


A strategy that would help me is that at home while do school homework, "private" homework that my mom gives me to do daily, and my chores (but I don't get pocket money for doing that; I just have to do it), I should set a timer, and try to finish it within that time. Another strategy would be to right a note in planner (in big and bold) about the work assigned and the due date, and then in my calender set up a routine. If it's a project, then I would break up the work into parts and do one or two parts per day, so that at the due date, everything is ready to turn in.


The thing that I want my teachers to know about me is that if you look over what I have written so far in this blogpost, it doesn't seem that I am a gestalt learner as what my profile said so. I tend to put everything in order, and I like to organize everything I do. To tell the truth, I don't really agree with the profile I ended up with. When I took the booklet home to review with my mom, she also didn't agree with my profile. So we used the chart on page 20 to figure out which hemisphere was my dominant one. I found out that I was more logic than gestalt. Here are some examples.

1. I usually process from pieces to whole, not whole to pieces.
2. I like to do everything exact - exact numbers, not estimation.
3. I am planned and structured, not spontaneous, fluid.
4. I think logically, I don't estimate so much.
5. When I'm under stress, I tend to try harder, and still able to control my emotions.

Anyway, this doesn't mean that I am completely logical. I also have gestalt ways, for example:

1. When figuring something out, I look for similarities, not differences.
2. I am both future oriented and now oriented. (Both logic and gestalt)
3. I am both structured oriented, and people oriented. (Both logic and gestalt)
4. I have trouble expressing and cannot remember details when under stress.

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!! I've never thought of New Year's Resolutions until the past two years. I remember that my first New Year Resolution in my life was a really weird one....but I can't remember what it was. Anyway, my New Year's Resolution for 2011 is to enjoy studying, and get determined. My second resolution for the year is to start organizing my time more wisely. This resolution is important because as I've told you in my first blog post, I am a slow worker. I know that 7th and 8th grade is going to be tougher so now I have to start preparing myself for that by organizing my time more efficiently.

During the winter break, I went back to my home country, Thailand. Just before Christmas, my uncle and aunt brought my cousins, brother, and I to a restaurant named Hajime, the robot restaurant. The price was 60RM per adult, and 30RM per child. Customers order through a touchscreen at their table and robots come and serve the food. But they can order everything they want within 2 hours and 45 minutes. Well, we ordered, and everything came quick, and yummy. After finishing what we ordered, we wanted some more. So, we ordered the second time, and waited for a long time, and it still didn't arrive. We thought that what we ordered didn't reach the robot, so we pressed the same thing again, and again. After another half an hour of waiting, the robot came. It carried ten trays, five stacked up on one side, and five on the other. Then the robot came again, with ten more trays, and then came the third time with ten more trays. So there we had on our table, 30 trays of food.

 We gave about 10 trays back to the waiters, so we had 20 left. We had 6 people, and 20 trays of food. After the six of us shoved in 10 trays of food, my aunt, younger cousin, and I went to the toilet. We had to clear our stomachs before shoving another lot in. Then, when we went back to our table, the rest of the people at the table said that we were so unlucky - the robots just finished dancing Spiderman and "Nobody" by the Wonder Girls as well. Argh!!!! Anyway, we each ate one more tray, leaving us with four more trays to clear. Since no one else's stomach had space for the food, my brother decided to finish it all. In total, he ate about 7 - 8 trays of food (not including the rice!!!!) I had no idea how he managed all that, and actually, no one did, not even he himself!! What an experience!



My talents lean towards the arts. I like art, no matter what kind - crafts work, painting, drawing, sculpting, mixed media in art, music, etc. People say that I'm good at arts, but I think that I'm especially good at crafts work and music. I know how to knit and sew, and I play the piano and violin. I also play a Chinese instrument named erhu. Now my mother wants me to start on a Thai instrument, called the sor duang, but I prefer another instrument named Kim better. I was also trained as a swimmer for about 6 - 7 years already. The best thing I like in swimming is competitions. You have the opportunity to get medals in competitions, and on competition days, you don't need to train as hard as normal times. The only bad thing is the training on competition days are in the morning, when the weather is cold along with the pool and you have to wake up early as well.