Week Twelve

     Week Twelve was short but sweet. Starting Monday I was very tired and had just come out of a long hard weekend. Monday I had a lot of presentations to do in class but I was hoping I could do some presentations on Tuesday as well, just to spread it out. However, it did not end up happening that way. I ended up doing all three of my presentations in English, World Studies and Chemistry on Monday. I thought I did well in each of them surprisingly, and when the day was over I had a feeling of so much relief. This way, by the time Tuesday came I was very relaxed and just ready for Thanksgiving break. Sadly, I got lots of homework but ended up procrastinating until Sunday which was a terrible idea. As for the rest of the week, it went very well. Thanksgiving was hosted at my house and lots of family and friends stopped by and it was one of the best Thanksgivings I have had in a while, considering my family has been through a lot this year. I also did a bit of Black Friday shopping, over the weekend and spent time with friends. Overall, it was just a great week considering I got to be with lots of different people.

Black Boy: Killing of the Cat (Pixton Post)

https://Pixton.com/ic:6k1ze64v

Week Eleven

     This week went really well for me. I started off with a nice and cheerful Monday. However, I was trying to do some last minute adjusting with my grades before prent teacher conferences on Thursday.  Same went for Tuesday and Wednesday. Then on Thursday even though we did not have school, for GND we had to be at school from 11:30-6:30 considering we were just starting to learn dances for our show which isn't until January. However, Ms. G (the instructor of GND) just announced she would be taking a break until the beginning of January next year. She did not inform us as to why but she seemed very emotional about it. Later that day, my parents came home happy they spoke with my teachers. On Friday I was feeling sore from dance Thursday, but I was also looking forward to seeing my sister perform at a dance competition later that day. As for the weekend, it was very interesting. On Saturday I woke up to many inches of snow in the suburbs. Later that evening I was home alone and the power in my house shut off while it was dark outside which sucked. That definitely had me a little shaken up but I soon after went to perform with GND at our competition at the Anthenaium Theater. My weekend after this turned out fine but Friday and Saturday were a little extra.

Week Ten

     Throughout this entire week I felt confused, especially considering the school schedule, there was only school four days of the week. On Monday and Tuesday of this week I was for some reason very tired. On Monday I almost felt dragged to school considering I was up late that Sunday before. Then Tuesday I had a lot of classwork in pretty much all of my classes except for English and World Studies however, what made it better was knowing I did not have school the next day. Although it was relieving to have Wednesday off, it felt like each of my teachers gave extra homework considering there was no school, so I spent that entire day doing homework. On Thursday, I had my drivers ed test to get my permit, a vocabulary test, a Chemistry test and a Math test. Going into Thursday I was pretty stressed but after the day was over I felt better knowing it was all over. On Friday there was also no school so I went to get a present for my younger sisters birthday which was Saturday. Her birthday was probably the highlight of my week considering she turned 13 which is I guess a big deal. Overall, it was a great short week.

Week Nine

    This past week was really good for me actually. Going into it was nervous because I had taken a Spanish test last week and I was expecting to get it back on Monday. I was also expecting a terrible terrible grade, however it turned out I did not do as bad as I thought. What made me feel even better was seeing the scores some of my other classmates got. Then in Guys and Dolls, we were rehearsing hard all week because this week, we would perform at Dance Chicago. That is the only competition we do all year. Lastly, I was feeling disappointed the end of the week because I was nervous about my grades considering the quarter grades are almost coming out. I feel as if my grammar skills are lacking, which I want to change by the end of the year considering I spend most of my time working on getting better at writing. Overall however, it was a pretty good week.

Week Eight

     Week eight was pretty normal for me. If there was one thing that went wrong I would have to say it was me waking up almost three days in a row this week. On one day, I got there right at eight which I would consider being late. Then another day, I was about five minutes late but I did not get penalized. Then the last day, I got there once again right before eight. I also had a lot of tests and quizzes this week on top of one another. The highlight of my week was definitely getting my braces off on Friday. I left after 6th period to get them off then came back to school in time to go to the football game. I have been excited to get them off for so long and it has almost been three years since they were put on me. I was also looking forward to the weekend for the entire week considering it would be Halloween. I love Halloween and I was especially looking forward to it this year considering my friends and I were planning on doing something fun. However, I was also kind of nervous because some people wanted to go to a haunted house which I do not do well with... at all. Overall it was a good week but I am nervous for next week and what is in store.

Assimilationist Test

       
Assimilationist Argument

        10/28/15

Period 4

At the beginning of the book the Life of a Part time Indian, you immediately recognize how Arnold is struggling to find his identity. He seems to be caught in between two worlds and somehow split in half. One side is telling him to embrace the Indian in him, the other side is trying to come more intact with the “white side” of himself. He starts off at a majority filled Indian school but begins to feel “less than” and wants a better education. Arnold then moves to a mostly white school and things begin to change for him.

In my opinion, Arnold is an assimilationist because although he was not fully invested in his culture for the entire book length, he tried as best he could to accept himself for what he is but also learn about the white culture and how they differ in ways he might not have known before. An assimilationist is one who is invested in their culture and encourages assimilation of groups and that is what Arnold is striving for in this book but, there are so many things going on around him he loses track of who really he is.

One example where you are able to see how he is beginning to have a hard time holding onto his race and holding onto being an assimilationist, “I was carrying the burden of my race, you know? I was going to get a bad back from it” (pg.43). Then as he begins to try to do what he thinks is fitting in with society, he begin to stand out even more. As the book goes on, he realizes it himself. He wants to fit in so badly with all the children at his new school however, he seems to start turn into a different person when around them. Even deeper into the book when he has just begun playing on the basketball team, he experiences a type of betrayal from his culture. At the basketball game,  “My fellow tribal members saw me and they all stopped cheering, talking, and moving” (pg.143). And although he ended up leaving his reservation, this did not mean that he was still not fully attached to hi reservation. He says, “I would always love and miss my grandmother, my big sister, and Eugene. Just as I would always love and miss my reservation and my tribe. I hope and prayed that they would someday forgive me for leaving them I hoped and prayed that I would someday forgive myself for leaving them” (pg.230).

He at the end learns to accept himself for being an Indian but still seems to wish to explore other cultures. He finds confidence in himself and is not as afraid or embarrassed as he was in the beginning of the book. Not only this but he seems to find the perfect balance within himself and is able to find his identity. The balance of being an indian part of the time and part of the white culture at other times.