Storytelling and Identity - Fall 2023

we are made of stories

08/31/2023 – Class Notes

By

On August 31, 2023

In Angelos, Daily Class Notes

Comments on our personal stories of collaboration with others
-Specialization and responsibility are common themes in stories of collaboration
-Only through work and collaboration of individuals, the final result could be achieved
-The conclusion may be shine however the process of getting there is meaningful as well
-The common element is essential for people to come together
-Challenges may be faced during the process of creation; different backgrounds, perspectives, and interests may crush with each other – > therefore, compromise is key
-The importance of a leader was highlighted throughout the stories
-Emergent can be a key thing when it comes to being a leader

Comments on grading in high school
-Grades can reflect how hard someone has worked, how smart they are, or how much time they have spent
-Different elements or criteria contribute towards the creation of a grade
-Not sharing the grade may incentivize students to care more about the content rather than just numbers
-Education goes beyond just classes, grades, and certifications but developing skills, being exposed to experiences etc. leading to personal growth

group brainstorm boards

Prep Note 8/31

By

On August 31, 2023

In Wesley

Back in 10th grade, I founded the Environmental Protection Organization at my school. To make it run smoothly, I set up different teams for different tasks, and we did pretty well, putting together events and activities for a few weeks.

However, we hit a few bumps in the road. Our efficiency dipped because of the bureaucracy. Realizing that our group wasn’t that big, I decided to switch things up. Instead of splitting everyone into teams, I brought us all together as one big team.

This new approach worked wonders. We could tackle problems together as a united group, and the old issues were a thing of the past. We all worked better as a team and shared the rewards equally. This change made us a lot more effective, and our club ended up becoming one of the top clubs in the school.

Prep Note, 8/31

By

On August 31, 2023

In prep note, Will S

When I was younger, I spent my summers at a nature camp, hiking in the woods, playing in streams, and having fun outside. I had a great time, but the point of the camp was to educate, not just entertain, so there were times when my fellow campers and I had some sort of task to accomplish or mission to complete.

One such mission was given to me when I was about ten years old. Some of my friends and I were playing in the woods per usual, when our counselor called us over and told us that he wanted us to make a fire. That usually wouldn’t have been too hard of a task, as we all had been doing similar things at that camp for years. However, the night before, it had rained pretty heavily, so most the sticks we collected were wet.

It took us about twenty minutes, but eventually we found enough material to start the fire. There was some debate about the type of fire structure we should build, but in the end we figured out what would work best with the materials we had and got the fire going.

08/31 Prep Note

By

On August 31, 2023

In Angelos

For those who think that teenagers can not be influential and are not mature enough to give back to the world, I am here to prove them wrong. Me and my friend group have the same interest in TEDx talking and that is how we started our own TEDx Event in high school as seniors. Even just getting the license seemed a struggle but in the end, we were majorly rewarded not only by the result but by the process of creating the TEDx that for us was more than just an event.

Linquata – Prep Note 8/31/23

By

On August 31, 2023

In prep note, Will L

Last year, as a senior, in my Native American Spirituality course our teacher organized us into groups and assigned us different indigenous groups to research and present about. My group was able to be successful because we delegated out different areas of research to each person in the group and then swapped to fact check each other before putting it all together into a slideshow and presenting our original area of the project.

Prep Note 8/31

By

On August 31, 2023

In Ana

What comes to mind is the most successful soccer team I was ever a part of. Being from Arkansas, our team was rarely ever able to compete with the high quality teams from Texas and Oklahoma. In fact, many girls left our team to play on a team two hours away with better resources and higher quality coaches.

Eventually, the teams we were on got changed from being split by grade to the year you were born, so we were all mixed with new girls, and we were put with two new coaches from California. They were a married couple, Kris and Bill and, to this day, were the best coaches I have ever had. In the span of two years, we went from barely being able to compete against regional teams to winning a national championship in Colorado, playing teams from California, Florida, Louisiana and New Jersey.

We worked so well together because we had a new coach who actually believed we could improve and be successful. We also trained and practiced harder, and this helped improve the chemistry with our new team over the span of a couple years. I realized that we all worked well together because we were so different, and complimented each other well. Each of us having different attributes to bring to the table. 

Prep Note – 8/31/2023

By

On August 31, 2023

In Mitch, prep note

About two months ago, I flew up to Boston with my mom and dad to be a part of the Berklee College of Music (In Boston, not California) EDM Production summer program. Me and my parents spend a few days hitting tourist spots around the city before they dropped me off at check-in for the actual program.

Fast forward a few days, after I moved into a sketchy off-campus dorm and got the gist of what I was supposed to be doing with my time there, me and all 60-something others in the program were divided into groups of six and given a group mentor responsible for keeping us from burning a studio we’d be working in to the ground. Each group had the same task; collaborate to produce one track to be played at the end of the week. To anyone that doesn’t make music, having six people and more than five days to work with sounds like more than enough to make just one song, right? Try agreeing on what kind of story to collaboratively write in a room with five other people.

Over the course of the next five days, me and the other four group members (one of them stopped showing up after the first two days, we never figured out what happened to them) threw around ideas and blended multiple genres into the same track. The key to collaborative success, in our case and most others, is compromise. Instead of blending all of our individual styles into one continuous piece, we decided to have separate sections in the track for each of our particular strong points and often working off of what another one of us had made; I produced the drums, someone else put down a synth over it, someone else would add another layer, and so on.

The final product was an incoherent chaotic mess with jarring transitions between genres, but it was something we were all proud of. Every group had a similar experience, having several people each different musical backgrounds. It was an incredible experience and I’m glad I got to go and be a part of it.

Prep Note – 8/31/2023

By

On August 31, 2023

In Nick G, prep note

The experience that comes to mind when I think about creating something successful as a group is when my friends and I founded the PopDarts club at my high school. Everyday before our AP Calc began, my friends and I would all play this game called PopDarts. The game is played by placing the orange target dart anywhere in the room, whether it be on the floor, on the whiteboard, on a desk, etc. Along with the orange dart, there are three blue and three purple darts that each player gets and the goal is to shoot your blue or purple dart and land it as close to the orange dart as possible. Whoever lands their dart the closest wins. It was a simple game, but we all loved it and played every single day, without fail. One day we were playing and I suggested we create a PopDarts club. My friends all agreed and we began talking with the administration to help us start our club. Eventually, the club was official and we received some funding to purchase more sets of PopDarts. We all worked together to promote the club, increase the number of members, and organize some small events like tournaments. Now, the club has been passed down to the junior class and it is still up and running.

 

Prep Note for August 31st

By

On August 30, 2023

In Kaylee, prep note

Whether it’s in a classroom or in an extracurricular setting, working with others is a great way to get things done. There have been many times when I’ve successfully created something with a group. For example, during my senior year,  I did a lot of work with the members of a club I was in. I joined the  TAFE club during my freshmen year, and by my senior year I was the president. I had known some of the members all four years of high school and we became very close. We all had similar interests, and it just so happened that Halloween was one of everyone’s favorite holidays. Every year in October my high school did a trunk-or-treat party where all of the clubs get to decide on decorations for a car and passed out candy. In previous years, our club would often just buy little skull decorations and stick them on a car or do something similar. Although our car always got a good turnout, last year we wanted to do something a little different. We decided that we wanted to pick a theme and decorate it with handmade decorations. We landed on “Monster House” and got to work. Everyone in the club had a different role. Whether it was drawing, painting, or coloring, everyone did their share of the work. By the time we were done, it looked great, and our car was a hit at the party. It was amazing to step back and see how well it turned out, and how well everyone’s pieces fit together. Our group worked so well together because we respected and trusted each other. We were respectful of everyone’s ideas and what they wanted to bring to the table. We trusted each other with doing things and making sure it was done the correct way. It was wonderful being able to bond with the members of my club, and I’m still extremely proud of how well our project went.

Prep Note 8/31/23

By

On August 30, 2023

In Julia, prep note

I dreamed of my senior night on the softball team since I was in the seventh grade. I had watched the seniors during my first year on the team get flowers, gifts, and recognition for all of their hard work and dedication to the team and to the school. When my senior night finally rolled around last May, our team was in unfortunate standing. In order to make it to the State tournament, every team needs at least ten wins and ten losses. On my senior night, we had nine wins and ten losses. This game would make or break our chances. I remember our coach sitting us down and attempting to give us a pep talk, but honestly, it didn’t help. It was her first year coaching us and while she did a good job, I didn’t find myself particularly motivated by her speech. However, two of my best friends were the team captains, and I am still convinced they were the only two who actually cared if we won this game. As we got closer to the start of the game, fans started crowding the bleachers at our local city field. I have never seen so many people genuinely excited to watch a softball game after all of my years of playing. The game was a nail-biter. Our defense was stronger than ever, but so was theirs. We played five and a half innings and the score was still zero-zero. I was about to go up to bat when my best friend/captain approached me and said “This could be your last time ever hitting.” Somehow, that really resonated with me. I approached the plate and prepared myself for whatever would happen. The crowd was silent as I swung the bat and launched the ball into center field, driving in three runs. Finally, the score was three to zero, and everyone was so excited about what had happened, that our team gained this unreal energy that fueled us to a win. But if we hadn’t worked as a group and supported each other in that game, or even during the season, I cannot say that that game would have had the same outcome.

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