FINAL ESSAY

Since the beginning of this year I have changed tremendously. Not only as a student but as a person in general. Yes, the challenges and experiences I’ve had this year have helped me evolve into the person I am today, but also the lectures and strategies that have been taught to me by Dr. Preston this year have really developed my thinking process and helped me make smarter choices. A year with Dr. Preston has also helped me become organized and taught me how to manage my time properly. Learning how to manage my time properly has been very effective in showing me how to complete my homework and chores, and still have some free time to spare. This was a very important strategy/tool for me to learn especially because I like to keep myself busy so that I would stay out of trouble and also because there’s so many things that I want/love to do. The only way I can continue doing all these things that I love too much to let go is by managing my time properly. My reading and writing skills have also improved. I began noticing an improvement in my reading while I was reading a book for my third literature analysis last semester. My reading skills are still increasing every day exponentially. As for my writing skills, they have also been getting better and better every day not only because writing is almost involved in everything we do now a days, but also because Dr. Preston used to prepare vocabulary quizzes every week with new vocabulary words each week. I honestly think that we did deserve to be treated as colleagues because we are now considered as young adults and we aren’t little kids anymore. Also it helps strengthen the relationship between the student and the teacher almost as if they were friends, except the difference is that the student still has respect for the teacher. We did not earn this write to be treated as colleagues. Dr. Preston just decided to take this teaching process and tried to change it so that it can benefit both the student and teacher in their own ways.

Survey

https://surveymonkey.com/Home_Landing.aspx?sm=1q8NgsZQ1QySaOsaBiYYOtWwOFQUdR%2bcNcOIy7xq0kI%3d

BEGINNINGS

I honestly don't feel like my masterpiece is opening a new chapter for me. If I were to get the proper preparations for it then maybe it would, but as of right now with everything, all the information that I've gathered I don't feel like my masterpiece is really playing a huge roll in my life. My masterpiece is to rebuild and or reconstruct a new and improved class room. So students can feel comfortable in the environment in which they spend every day learning. I guess my masterpiece does open something new to me, but I don't know if it affects my life or not. It opens my eyes and shows me what architects think of every day before designing a building. They focus a lot on the structure of things and the way they look, but they also take in consideration the different needs and customs people will have. They have to take everyone's opinions before officially establishing something. This is something that I never knew before I began working on my masterpiece. I didn't learn this information myself or by research. I came across this information when I  visited the architecture studio that's offered in Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. I already knew I was a very creative person and especially as an artist, but building a class room is something completely new to me and it has helped my creativity expand to a whole new level of thinking. 

CONNECTIONS

3-5 things today that reminded me or had me make some kind of connection with my masterpiece are:
First thing that reminded me of my masterpiece today was when I entered my art classroom today and I sat next to Taylor Harms, someone who is helping me with me masterpiece, and we briefly discussed what we are going to do for our masterpiece.
Second time I was reminded of my masterpiece was when  I entered art class, because what I'm doing for my masterpiece requires the capacity to draw.
Third thing that reminded me of my masterpiece was looking at the different structures that architects utilized in creating the homes in Orcutt.

DESIGN

I think hacking into your physical environment can benefit you to be more successful. After spending five hours in the Architecture Studio I saw pure evidence with my own eyes that hacking into the environment in which you work at can help you tremendously. The architecture students changed the structure of their studio and constructed/ redecorated their class room completely different from the original structure to a structure more suitable for them. Changing your environment can help a person feel more at home, comfortable, and maybe even help them focus or learn more. For example I love working in my bedroom because it has all my books, pencils, calculators, laptop, and all the other accessories necessary to do my school work. Changing your environment can benefit someone in many ways.

EXPERIENCE AT CAL POLY(Architecture)

If I remember correctly Dustin, Taylor, Cecilio, and I volunteered our time to travel to the famous University known as Cal Poly. I honestly had no idea of what I was getting myself into, but I've always loved to take risks and this was a perfect opportunity to do so. When I first entered the Architecture Studio I was so nervous and shy to meet people who are pursuing the career that I one day hope to pursue. I introduced myself and then quickly sat down and joined in on the conversation that they were having. We began the lecture like any normal, standardized class. Dr. Preston led the lecture or the talk by asking us questions that we had no preparation what so ever for. I really don't like being put on the spot especially in front of a class full of college students, but we answer all of his questions at the best of our abilities. After a short period of time Dr. Preston had to attend to private matters and we continued without him. No offense to Dr. Preston, but I felt a lot less nervous and more accustomed to the collaboration once he left. We all brought snacks and shared and ate together. Afterwards we split into groups and we collaborated about their class project. They began asking me a bunch of questions about high school and how I think we can make it a better place for students to learn and study in the environment that their in. They were shocked to find out that not a lot of students spend their time in the library our school provides us with because they utilize their library frequently, almost all the time. Afterwards we presented what we came up with to the class. The trip to Cal Poly was an experience that I will never forget. Thank you Dr. Preston fopr making one of my biggest dreams come true.

ESSAY: PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT

Matthew Berumen

Period: 0

Parental Involvement

            Is parental involvement in children’s learning environment beneficial for the child? Most people believe it to be true and encourage parents to be more active in their child’s academics, but statistics have proven otherwise. It’d make more sense if children benefited from the guidance of their parents. It’s ironic to me that the results of this experiment resulted in the way it did, because when I was a kid I remember that my parent’s involvement with my academics was a tremendous help in my school work. My parents were always active and involved in everything that I participated in. Their help, support, and motivation is what kept me going all these years and still is the main source that drives me to succeed.  I was so shocked to find out that parental involvement affected the young students negatively.

            Over the past few years studies have been focused on whether or not the parental engagement in children’s academic lives improve test scores and grades. Despite this, increasing parental involvement has been one of the focal points of both President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act and President Obama’s Race to the Top. Both programs promote parental engagement as one remedy for persistent socioeconomic and racial achievement gaps. What did we find? One group of parents, including blacks and Hispanics, as well as some Asians (like Cambodians, Vietnamese and Pacific Islanders), appeared quite similar to a second group, made up of white parents and other Asians (like Chinese, Koreans and Indians) in the frequency of their involvement. The majority of the time the reason why children do worse in the first group because maybe education isn’t seen as important or valuable in the eyes of the student which reflects on the parents and their teaching habits.

            Like I stated earlier my parents were always involved in my school work and they were also active in all the extracurricular activities I participated in. I honestly don’t think that parental involvement can ever be in any way negative. At the same time I can understand why parental involvement can result negatively. Not all children are blessed with such loving and supporting parents who have the time and patience to help their child like the way my parents did with my siblings and I.

            In conclusion the article believes that parents should not be involved in their child’s learning activities/criteria.