Sorry, all...the service was down for new posts all weekend.
Friday, you engaged in a class "dialogue" a la Socrates. In your reflection (response to this blog), please comment on three areas.
1. Comment on something someone else said and the impact it had on you. Did you learn something new? Did it change your mind? Do you disagree?
2. What new connections did you make about the text, as a result of this dialogue?
3. Do you have any suggestions for our next round of "seminars"? What did you like? What would you change?
Thank you, in advance, for your participation. I hope that we can make "dialogue" a tradition in our classroom (and on this blog).
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1. Brittany mentioned that adults these days don't expect kids to do much. Like, they don't think we are useful and we don't care about anything. That's just because they look at the majority of the teenage population. Some of us have great potential and love to be challenged. I think this was a great point to make because I believe it's totally true.
ReplyDelete2. Going along with number 1... in the book they expected so much from just six year olds. I kept forgetting they were just little kids, and they were in training to save the world. The seminar made me realize how young these kids were and how much they were already dedicated to their work.
3. I can't wait until the next seminar thing because I thought it was really fun. (nerd alert, I know!) I like talking to my friends about the books and making new connections and seeing everyone else's perspectives.
So I accidentaly commented about Ender's Game under the Fahrenheit blog. So I'll write about fahrenheit under here.
ReplyDeleteA question was asked referring to if Beatty had a stash of books in his house. I think that he may have but it's not a fact. He knew alot about books and that was from his memory but he still could have had books hidden in his house because maybe he was just like Guy and all the others and loved books. He could have kept them because he thought no one would ever suspect him and if they did he could probably easily get rid of them.
I liked the seminars. Like someone said before, maybe we could get graded on the quality of our questions and that way the discussions would be more free flowing. I really enjoyed these though because it did not make class boring and we all got to talk and hear one another's opinions.
_Jelani Burchette_
1. Rahul pointed out how the law is changing from "No Child Left Behind to No Child can get ahead" for the fact that the government and school boards keep lowering the standards to suit the children that do not try as hard as others. I agree with this comment. Although, many others don't agree with this policy, because they do what they need to in school, the government continues to lower the standards.
ReplyDelete2. In our discussion, we talked about how we don't see six year olds being trained to be in the army with the same amount of responsibility that they had. Molly used her life to try to see what it would be like by saying she had a six year old sister; however, she wasn't able to see her sister in a battle school like Petra such as the one in the book.
3. I actually like this Socratic Seminar better than the first one. We were more organized this time around. All of us had about the same amount of time to talk and share our opinions this time. I wouldn't really change much. The only thing I would change are the questions. I think people should put more thought into their questions so we can get more discussion going, and so we won't all have the same questions.
-Alicia Beam
1. Brittany mentioned how most adults these days group all teenagers as one. meaning most are immature, and do not understand important topics going on in todays society. I agree with her completely.
ReplyDelete2. Using children as soldiers is going on in the world today. Governments in Africa are doing it. And I think it's so sad that those children do not get to experiance a happy childhood. Something like killing someone, or even seeing a person killed can be so tramatic to a child that they can never fully recover.
3. I liked this seminar better than the last. I like how we each have a set time to talk. I don't like to interupt people. So I think it's better. Other than that, I wouldn't change anything else.
Loran Murton
As Loran Murton mentioned in 2. using children in this world in very common in the continent of Africa and it is sad to submit children to the horror of war at the age they are being trained
ReplyDelete2. This seminar was better because we had alot of time to express ourselves on the topic of ender's game
Cameron Rice
1. Nick said, "JROTC could potentially lead into a battle school made for kids to learn combat." I agree with what he said because JROTC teaches kids to be disciplined and respect their elders. In the battle school in Ender's Game the kids were taught discipline and respect but also combat and battle stratigies. One day JROTC could teach kids combat and how to fight in battle.
ReplyDelete2. I learned that Ender was more protected than I originially thought. I knew that Graff isolated him and that he was watched over, but I didn't realize that they isolatd him to keep him from turning out like other kids in the battle school. The teachers wanted him to be different from the start.
3. Like I said in the Fahrenheit 451 blog. I believe that everyone needs to talk more, and voice their opinions more. It's too quiet and too boring. I like that no one gets into "fights" over what is being said but, I really think everyone should talk more, or just read the books so they can talk about the book.
like brittany said most of the adults these days make it seem like all of the teenagers are immature i dissagree with the whole grouping of us ideas. everyone is diffrent.
ReplyDeletechildren as soilders is terrible thing to do i think each child should have the same oppertunity as other children.
i like the seminars because it gives each of us a chance to talk
hayden hayes
Nick Carrasco
ReplyDelete1. When the question of 'what is Valentine to Ender, besides a sister,' came up, I really liked what Helen said. She explained how "Valentine was somewhat of a mother to Ender." I personally agree with her statement because it seems that she is the only person who is sincere to Ender as he progresses his way through the Battle School. His original mother did basically nothing for him, and paid almost no attention to him, being that he was their Third. While everyone around him either hated him, or ingored him completley, Valentine fought her way to eventually reaching him, and spending her life with her little brother.
2.I made the connection of Ender's game being related to a Hero's Quest. His mentor was Graff, somewhat. He provided plentyful knowledge to Ender as he was going through Battle school, and put out a fine path that Ender was guided on. He also left Ender when he was ready, and Ender had to fight the Buggers on his own. Ender was the hero, of course, and was 'realuctant to his call' at first. His Supreme ordeal was the last fight against the buggers where it was one of Ender's ships to a thousand of the buggers.
3.I really enjoyed this seminar. Some things that I would prefer more of is the enthusiasm of the people in the inner circle. People were too quiet, and depended on the more outgoing people to make a statement, then just say, "yea yea, what he said." Other than that, it was a really good information refresher for me.
1. When the question was brought up about the relationship between adults and children, someone brought up the influence Peter and Valentine had on the society of adults. They flat out manipulated them. Children maybe smaller than adults in size, but that is the only difference. I remember the journal entry we had to write about having to do with the relationship. I wrote about how the child's thoughts and emotions are just as real as adults. The proof of this is that the Battle School places the world's fate in the hands of Ender.
ReplyDelete2. I made the connection with children being trained for military at such a young age. There are many countries around the world that take in children at young ages and train them for their country's armies. This is similar in Ender's Game with the Battle School.
3. I like "running" the class. It is interesting to listen to the opinions of everyone. I still think there should be more involvement from the outer circle.
Aubrey Slaughter
[Angel]So my computer is still acting stupid so i have to keep this blog short sweet and full of important info. (:
ReplyDelete1.I dont really have a specific one persons thought that stood out to me. All of the topics taled about had a variety of people answering and a variety of different answers. I now that molly mentioned that she could not get over that Ender was only 6 when he started the battle school and i agree i cant beleive it.
2.One connection would have to be how sometimes children have to grow up at such a young age depending on whatever situations they are in. I know i had to grow up and i try to keep my younger brother from having to become an adult at only 8 years old.
3.Seminars are fun and i really like them but once again i do not like blogging. lol. i dont know whats wrong with me. and if there are any Ks missing its because my K button is really hard to push for some reason so if i dont it doesnt show up....haha just a side note. hasta luego. (:
Miranda Albert
ReplyDelete1. Okay so the question was “Do you think that there was a necessary for everyone who fought Ender to die?” They all said yes. Their reasoning was so the people would not hurt Ender again. I am going to disagree with that. I think that it was not exactly required for them to die. They might not have messed with Ender after their fights. Maybe Card did it to make a point.
Also I disagree when the question came up, “How is Ender like both his sister and his brother?” The inner circle answer was that Ender was nothing like either of them.” Or something along those lines. Ender is basically Peter and Valentine together. Valentine is gentle, patient, and loving. Peter is rash, dangerous, and cruel. Ender is a combination of both, he doesn’t like violence, but he will stand up for himself in a situation that action called for.
2. I put the connection that the teachers dialogue at the beginning of each chapter is so we receive information that we otherwise would never learned. Example is when we found out that he killed those boys, before he found. I didn’t put the two together, until they pointed it out.
3. I still think there should be a way to showing that you have something to say. That way you don’t interrupt anyone and get to voice your opinion. Again I think the quiet people should not be punished because we aren’t as loud.
(Miranda Albert)
1. Regarding the question of whether it was necessary for the people Ender fought to be killed, the inner circle came to the decision that it was necessary. I totally agree.In the novel Ender faces many enemies. Each time he fights one of his enemies, he inadvertantly kills them in an attempt to end the struggle for good. Each time Ender faces on of his enemies, the enemy is stronger and a bigger threat than the one before (school bully < Bonzo). It creates a sort of crescendo, ending with Ender defeating the buggers, the biggest enemy of mankind, for good. And besides- his name is Ender; it just wouldn't be fitting if he didn't end things.
ReplyDelete2. Before having this dialogue, I wondered why Valentine was even included in the novel. But after participating in the dialogue, I made the connection that thinking of Valentine encouraged and helped Ender through the tough days at the battle school, and how Valentine was "Like a mother to Ender" (-Helen). I finally understand how Valentine was important in the novel.
3. Throughout this blog and the Fahrenheit 451 blog, suggestions that the outer circle become more involved in the dialogue have often been stated (and repeated?) by my fellow peers. I disagree; the outer circle should remain excluded from the inner circle dialogue. As good as it sounds that the outer circle would no longer just be "sitting there," incorporating the outer circle would make the dialogue too big to be a well functioning discussion. The incorporation of the outer circle would not only make grading comments and remarks more difficult (going from 8ish participants to 25+), but it would impede the overall dialogue. Such a large dialogue would make it even harder for people to get a word in, which in turn would make it easier for the more reserved and shy students to not participate in the dialogue.
The current dialogue set up is, in my opinion, very good as it is. The dialogue is between just a few participants, which encourages people to speak up. In addition, the small dialogue allows people to actually get a word into the discussion.
William Snider
Siu
ReplyDelete1. When Brittany Hartman said that adults do not expect children to do much, I had to partially agree. When adults state that teenagers do nothing, they are usually referring to their habit of being electronically involved. However, this usually depends on the teenager's lifestyle and the influence their parents give them.
2. In the discussion, I agreed that Ender had injured Bonzo and Stilson. What I did not realize was that Ender killed both of them inadvertently instead of just Bonzo.
3. I would suggest more excitement and involvement of the people outside of the inner circle. I liked the discussion because it gave some people a re-understanding of the book.
I would change the questions, specifically the close ended questions. Some close ended questions were too obvious and when the majority answers the right answer, I assume no credit is given and ideas aren't being expressed. We could make like a mini game with the close ended questions.
1. When the question about what Valentine is to Ender many people said that Valentine replaced the role of Ender's mother rather than playing the role of hi sister. I had never thought of it that way, but i completely agree. Valentine cared the most about Ender throughout the story and expressed her love for him over Peter. However, when Ender returns to visit Valentine he no longer treated her in the same, kind way her used to.
ReplyDelete2. One connection i made was that i never thought about how Ender's world and our world are anything alike. I just continued to look at the many differences. However, after the discussion i recalled all the other countries around the world and even our country in the past that forced young boys at ages such as 14 to fight in the war. Some children are even used as suicide bombers in countries such as Iraq. Much like Ender these children had to give up their whole life at a young age in order to protect their country or planet in Ender's case.
3. I really enjoyed the in class discussion both days. It was nice to hear different thoughts from my peers and make my mind think a little more in depth to the book.
1)Not to be vain, but a comment that stood out to me is one I made. The opinions being made by my peers really generated an epiphany in my mind. I shared that maybe Ender's world is only vice versa to ancient times. Back in Sparta and Rome, young boys and lads were trained to fight and battle. And maybe not that urgency and desperation has returned with them being forced to use younger boys again in the future.
ReplyDelete2)I didn't realize that Colonel Graff served as mentor and shadow. But after I heard it aloud that whole connection clicked as to how he guided Ender as a mentor would, but still used and manipulated him like a shadow.
3)I wouldn't mind watching other people in world's point of view on the book and what they thought. Like viewing an online video made by a reader of the book. Just a brief opening to the seminar that could really influence our thoughts :)
1. Through of the discussion, we mostly agreed on the same thing. There were not many questions that anybody strongly agreed with or strongly disagreed with. Many times the topic of how old Ender actually was came up. Molly said that she could not believe that he was six years old. I agree with her because it’s hard to believe that Ender is so young when he is put through all kinds of tests and battles.
ReplyDelete2. Similar to what I wrote before, Molly’s comment helped me picture that Ender is a kid going through adult tasks. The author makes it seem like Ender is a grown man.
3. I liked this seminar, just as I liked the last one. They both made me remember parts of the book. I still think the outer circle should be involved in some way because it is difficult to sit there without saying anything if you disagree with what the inner circle says.
Marisa McKnight
I was not present for this seminar, but I hope that there are many more to come. I really enjoyed the discussion and analyzation of the books.
ReplyDelete1. I don't remember who said this but one of the questions was "Do you think kids are forced to grow up too fast?" and someone's answer got my attention. They said if a child, had a baby, which is another child, they would have to grow up to take care of their child. Also, if a child was left on their own, they would have to grow up to take care of themeelfs or else they wouldn't survive.
ReplyDelete2. From this dicussion I realized that the imagery in this book was amazing. The reader could picture every little thing that happened. This is good because the story was expressed in a better manner and it could be understood more clearly.
3. I think that the outer circle should become more involved like passing in questions that come to mind.
Ender's game consisted of many evil games and lies to force Ender to kill the Buggers, but one game encouraged Ender to reform the bugger society.
ReplyDeleteThe fantasy game showed Ender that even though he killed millions of buggers he could still right the battle school's wrong, by hatching the egg found at the end of the unbeatable game. I think Ender took the right choice of putting the egg in a place the buggers could call home.
1.I don’t have any specific memory of a statement during this seminar. However, there were some questions that were asked that sparked my attention. For example, are kids treated the same? Or is ender really a killer. These made me think of the different meanings in the book, and helped me to make connections
ReplyDelete2.This seminar wasn’t as helpful with the whole making connections thing, unlike the Fahrenheit 451 seminar. The only thing that might come close is how the book might apply to the hero quest map, but other than that, I’m drawing a blank.
3.Maybe in the seminar, you could throw some “gifted” questions into the bag. You know the kind that really makes your brain think :)
Mary Cathering Hydrick
Will Wilhelm
ReplyDelete1. Should knowledge be limited? I wasn't surprised by the question just everybodies responses. Knowledge should be limited. People should be able to know information our goverment keeps secret for a reason. If people knew what the government knew riots would be beaking out everywhere.
2. The dialogue helped me relate the charachters to the archeotypes in the story.
3. I think the main topic for improvement is better questions.
By the way the one above is for Farenheit 451.
ReplyDeleteWill Wilhelm
this one is for Ender's Game
1. I think Nick's relation from JROTC to the battle school. They might not teach them how to manage a fleet of ships, but they do produce leaderhip, respect, and honesty.
2. Using children as soldiers happened in the book and it is happening today. Many middle eastern contries are teaching 4 year olds how to shoot guns, and they are going into war at 13. While our youth is in school until we are 18.
3.Once again I believe our questions should be better than "Who is the main character?"
1. Someone asked the question " Do we think that our government will every send kids to fight wars or something like that?" I agreed with Brittany when she said they don't trust us.
ReplyDelete2.you don't have to be isolated from people to be a hero. you can all you can be and still have a family.
3. Ask More world connection And universal theme questions.
-Brianna Turner- Wale&Khalifa
[RAHUL SHAH]
ReplyDeleteWe had a world connections question in which it asked "Do you think parents are expecting too much" or something like that... A lot of people had really good answers, but someone pointed out that it may depend on your background. I can relate! My parents expect a lot from me, and I can probably say that their expectations are higher than MOST other parents.
2. One connection I made with the text that I did not realize before is that Ender may have not realized his own potential and strength. That is why he injured his "bullies" the way he did.
3. I have pretty much the same suggestions as everyone else: eliminate the simple questions/let people from the outside circle comment once in a while.