Everest English Blog

 Prompt Response: Food provides an anchor to individuals who feel caught between cultures because it connects directly to their childhood eating habits. Smell is the strongest gateway to memory of the five senses, so food can bring back those memories and feelings of childhood easily with the right meal. Therefore it allows people who feel lost to have a sense of home with food. In the Mississippi Delta film they blended fried rice with bacon. They took aspects of their ancestors' homeland and blended it with American culture to create this new feeling of home and belonging.  Summary: In class we answered various questions on writable about three different articles/videos about culture and food.  Reflection: Food is one of the easiest ways to feel better about oneself. It provides a gateway into childhood while also giving you the dopamine hit of eating. I believe food is a universal connector and as long as you have a meal that reminds you of home, you will never be lost...

 Prompt Response: The choice to serve leftover Chinese food signifies how there is no longer the same level of effort being put forth into food anymore. The author could have tried cooking herself, she could have tried to make Sancocho to show that their tradition of cooking is not dying off. I could have learned some of my mom’s recipes when she still cooked often. Though I didn’t, because at the time I had no desire to learn or carry on our tradition of food.  Summary: In class we read Lunch by Cristina Henriquez, then answered a short quiz about the passage with our classmates.  Reflection: You can always do more for others but you can’t change what’s already happened. Sometimes things fall apart whether you try to stop it or not. What’s important is to keep trying to improve day after day because you never know what you can save. 

 Prompt Response: When I was little I thought steaks and red meat were higher class meals that lower class people didn't get to eat like me. As I grew older I realized my parents didn't know how to buy red meat at lower prices. It wasn't due to our lower income at the time we just needed to get more creative. When I got older we found ways to have red meat, in particular we'd buy in bulk. This way we could get more food worth our buck.  Summary: In class we worked on our presentations for our food that connect to our culture slide show.  Reflection: One food isn't just meant for one people. Yes, it may have been created for a certain group, but food is universal. It's meant for all to enjoy regardless of who you.   

Prompt Response: Their food shows their history of the people who live in the community. The dishes are based on the practicality of what people had at the time and could share with one another. This led to many unique dishes and recipes that the people of New  Orleans still eat today. For example Yaramein was a poor man’s meal to eat on the way home from work to sober up for the night. This demonstrates how the food matches the need for the people, and shows the everlasting effect of food on its community.  Summary: In class we watched a documentary and answered questions about the documentary.  Reflection: Food is, I would say, crucial to a place and its culture. It provides an identity and history to what came before giving life to the place and community that now lives there. 

 Prompt Response: I think the burger is a must-have as a representation of my culture because of how it connects to both significant events and minor events. You can eat a burger just as a meal with friends or by yourself but it can also represent a large get together of people in celebration of America.  Summary: In class we discussed more about the connection between culture and food.  Reflection: I think the hamburger as an American meal has the ability to be both casual, and fancy. Thereby making it a great meal to represent America. There is so many things to do to a burger but all of them still are a burger. Burgers are patriotic. 

 Prompt Response: One of the most meaningful dishes to me is mushroom chicken. What made it special was the person who made it, which was my nana. My nana always made mushroom chicken when I came down to visit. No place, or person could replicate the way she made it. Now whenever I eat mushroom chicken I think of my nana and the peace I felt when I would go see her.  Summary: In class we went over how food and culture connect.  Reflection: I don't have a lot of meals that I hold dear to me besides mushroom chicken. Yes, I have food that connect with certain memories but I don't have that connection to food like most people. My nana as past which I think has also reinforced my love of her mushroom chicken and those memories making them even more sweet. 

 Prompt Response: Due to the multiple steps plus the stop and go method of writing for the essay allowed the finer details to be more filled in. The extra time and separating steps allowed for detail that could not have been present if it all was done in one shot.  Summary: In class we typed up our essays and submitted them. Reflection: I believe the trick to making a writing piece is writing and editing it in pieces. When you have multiple breaks you can see which pieces don't quite align. Thereby enhancing your paper. 

Prompt Response: Drafting your essay is essential in the writing process because it allows you to see the whole picture with how each piece works together. It allows you to see where you need to improve and what doesn’t quite fit with one another. In my personal experience drafting can allow you to see gaping holes in your argument or writing you didn’t see before saving your grade from a C- to an A-.  Summary: In class we typed up our Literary Argument Draft online.  Reflection: I think drafting is my favorite step of the writing process because you get a sort of flow state and you get to see where all your ideas land on the paper. It's both gratifying and humbling at once. Though it can be time consuming, I think it's worth the effort. 

  Prompt Response: The part of the essay that I struggle with the most is commentary/explaining my evidence with how it connects to the claim of the paragraph. The part of the essay I feel most comfortable writing about is getting quotes and writing those down because I feel like I always know where to look just not to articulate what I am seeing. I plan to improve my writing by thinking about explaining quotes by remembering how they connect back to the main claim of the paragraph so I can keep on track.  Summary: In class we went over the introduction and conclusion for our essay, then I started writing my draft in class.  Reflection: Since Mr. Reese has given us a lot of planning time. I feel pretty confident going into writing the essay Wednesday. I think having this planner makes things a lot easier and I’ll try to capitalize on this opportunity to expand my writing skills further. 

 Prompt Response: For me it was the last idea I came up with for my 5 subtopics. It was the topic of fulfillment. I think all journeys involve some level of fulfillment otherwise why would you complete them? We all look for something on the journey and at the end. Sometimes the journey is what we wanted but we all want something out of it. I believe this topic will allow me to reach all points in the novel while still being specific enough.  Summary: In class we did our cluster for our upcoming essay about Wild.  Reflection: When you really sit down and brainstorm you can surprise yourself. I tend to underestimate myself if I don’t immediately get it or have something off the top of my head. This activity helped me realize that sometimes ideas need time to bake. 

 Prompt Response: They need to pick a college that they’ll know they can pay off or be able to afford later in life. Seniors need to understand the costs of college so they can prepare for that debt so that they’ll be able to get out of it.  Summary: In class we completed two Common Lits about college.  Reflection: I think the most important thing to consider about college is whether or not you’ll be able to pay it off in a timely manner after college. If you know your timeline you can plan appropriate for whatever may come up in the future. 

 Prompt Response: I first started by editing my quotes to make sure my context for the quotes were included so they made sense. Next I revised my main claim at the beginning of the body paragraph to make it more concise. The most mental effort I put into editing was changing commentary from more claims to elaborating. My commentary wasn't commentating anything it was summarizing what the reader already knows from the book. Once I sat back and found a way to articulate myself in a manner that elaborated on my quotes I believe my paragraph came together nicely.  Summary: In class we took time to edit our body paragraphs and ask questions about what we need to revise in our body paragraphs.  Reflection: It was humbling to see 25/50 for points. Though it was good for me. It made me realize my writing had gotten rusty and I needed a kick start to really get those gears moving again. I'm happy for this opportunity to improve once more. 

 Prompt Response: It is important to write essays in your own voice rather than using AI because you will never develop the appropriate skills to write/think later in life when it may be required. By using AI you cheat yourself out of the academic integrity of the school or whichever board of education you are pursuing.  Summary: I was absent.  Reflection: I have never used AI before to write my own essays or assignments. Though I can see the appeal of using it if you are running low on time or lazy. I think a helpful use of AI would be to develop an outline with AI along with brainstorming.   

  Prompt Response: What I found most difficult was finding the right way to explain my quotes. I had to remind myself I wasn’t summarizing, and make sure every line was building off the point of the argument. Once I reminded myself of that, it began to flow well. I think it's more difficult to make an arguable claim, because if your claim is good then the rest will fall into place. But if you have an alright claim you’ll find holes in it later on making your paragraph less effective.  Summary: In class we went over body paragraph structures, and did a brainstorming idea activity.  Reflection: It was fun writing a body paragraph for class again. I think once I start writing more and we do more practice in class, the process will become a lot easier. I enjoy the process of writing and if I can imagine the argument working in my head, then it's only a matter of time until it works out on paper. 

 Prompt Response: My most intense writing experience was taking AP Lang last year. During that year my skill was pushed to its extreme and I found that finding quotes was the most annoying thing for me. I could always make good claims and find ways to explain them in ways that made sense but fitting a quote in the middle of that always felt awkward to me.  Summary: In class, we read chapter 16 of Wild, and went down essay format along with making some claims for ideas in the chapter.  Reflection: I like writing essay's unless the topic personally bores me. I can do it, its just a miserable process. If I can find passion in writing for something then I can make something out of it. 

 Prompt Response: The feedback on what your classmates said was helpful because it highlighted what was good about it. What they didn’t talk about you could use to improve on those parts.  Summary: In class we did a gallery walk of our classmate’s posters regarding their similes and metaphors.  Reflection: I enjoyed creating the similes and metaphors for the project but what I did not enjoy was decorating the poster. My weak point was creativity and how to look. Next time we do something similar to this, I think I’ll structure my text and images in a manner that is more digestible.