The tribes project
description of project
This project has taken over two months to complete; it all started when we were required to read the fascinating book "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian". This book gave my class insight to the struggles of belonging in a community. We read about a small town Indian boy who was forced to leave his hometown school in the hope of finding a better future. My whole class was able to connect and relate to the struggles of the main character. After reading the novel the whole class split into groups to develop a mix of skits, poems and songs inspired off of what we read. The main focus of the exhibition revolved around belonging. However, before we were able to read this novel I had to do a few assignments including; a 'House on Mango Street' performance, a dialogical interview, a poem and a self portrait.
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House on mango street description
For this mini project I was put into a group of four and we had to create a quick performance about a vignette from "The House on Mango Street". My group and I had to read a short chapter about the main character being separated due to her gender; after reading we had to assign lines evenly through out the group. We then had to decide what kind of emotions we wanted to display through our performances, and we decided that adding a constant beat would be the best way to add more emotion. So in the end each group member said a few lines separately and a few lines together with a constant beat of a glass bowl drum. This creative exercise forced me to collaborate and perform with my peers.
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Dialogical interview description
In my humanities class Dr. P assigned each student a partner and we were given a set of questions to ask. The student I had to interview was Javier; he is a peer that was on my former HTH team but I didn't know much about him. At first the interview was a little awkward because the question that were asked were a little intrusive to our personal life, but the awkward feeling soon changed to curiosity. I quickly realized that Javier was someone who had a deep character and only wanted to help others; I knew people cast false judgments over him and I wanted to change that. So, in my 'Write Club Journal' I brainstormed all my ideas and wrote quick side notes during the interview so I wouldn't forget any information. Conducting this interview gave me insight into how important it is to ask precise questions and to take notes.
First draft of poem
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partners CRITIQUE
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Specificity self critique
critique session
Once I created a first draft I had to share my poem with an eight grade student. In exchange for the students critique on my poem I had to provide them with critique on their autobiographic essay. At first I was a little skeptical on the idea of receiving feedback from a student two grades below me, but after I thought about it made sense. A reader at a young age looks for different things in literature; for example, more advanced readers look at structure and grammar while a child would look for sensory objects that trigger their imagination. Having new fresh feedback from my eight grader allowed me to go more personable and abstract in my poem. The student pointed out that it flowed well but was missing heart, and that was very helpful advice. I was able to revise my poem and add more life to it.
Finale draft
Human sculptures
Each day in class we always do a funky little warm up activity; the point of doing outlandish activities in the beginning of the period is to get our brains thinking. In school students are always a bit slow to get involved and start collaborating about a class assignment, so having weird activities stimulates the brain. This time the activity was about visually showing quotes form the book; 'The Absolute True Diary of a Part Time Indian'. So, one student would have to be the statue and the other the artist. After every artist sculpted a student into their interpretation of the quote all artist would have a gallery walk. Overall it was a fun exercise the workout my creativity and artistic talents.
Self portrait description
For this project I was required to describe myself with only a self portrait. For me this was very difficult, because I wanted to represent myself as someone strong, hopeful, eager and ready for the future. I choose to take the photo outside with the canyon in the back to represent that I know I have mountains of challenges to over come, but I am ready to take them on. I choose to wear white to show that I'm a hopeful person, and my jean jacket to show my country roots. My hair is loose and down because it gives me a sense of pride; my hair lets me stand out. For my pose I choose to make it look like I want to leave but can't due to my current responsibilities, and finally I choose to have a competitive look in my eye. I am a very prideful person and always willing to accept a new challenge.
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Article link; 'same anger, different ideologies'
Belonging article
In class we had to read articles about belonging and the affects of what belonging can do to an individual. The article that I choose to read about was titled; 'Same anger, different ideologies: Radical Muslim and Neo-Nazi.' In a short summery this reading went in to describe two men who once belonged to an extremest group; one was about his religion and the other was about his race. Both men had similarities in their childhood growing up; they both were the minority race and had to deal with bullying. They were outcast by there peers and found refuge in extremest groups. They were promised brotherhood, purpose and belonging. So it is evident that people do extreme things just to belong.
Performance skit
For this exhibition I was placed in the group of readings from the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. This subject is very broad so it gave me and my group members a chance to think of creative ideas that ranged from skits to poetry. The main idea of our performances was belonging, because we realized the main idea of the book was about excepting who you are and as a teenager it is something we constantly struggle with. Our script changed drastically from the first draft; our first idea was to create skits from the readings but due to the time crunch we had to changed it. My group finally settled on describing a little of the book and saying our favorite quotes; each group member had a speaking line.
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Reflection
If I was asked what tribes I belong to I would list out many adjectives and activities that I belong to, but in the end I know I belong to a tribe of one that is all my own. I am not lonely or lost I just know I am my own person and there is no one that belongs to the same tribes I do at the same time. In my life I have never truly fit or belonged in any one place and time, but that's fine I have found peace in being me. My perspective on belonging has defiantly changed through out the past months; I used to feel that one day I would find my place but I now know that I already belong.
When I created the poem for my partner I was able to take a few key points to remember when I write for others. The points are always take notes; the notes don't have to be long and detailed but enough information to remind you. Dr. P made us take notes in our journals and it really helped when I had to go back and look for brainstorm ideas. Another important factor is asking precise question, you should always ask more questions then necessary just to make sure. Through out this writing piece I also learned how to conduct a proper interview.
Something I learned about descriptive writing is it can make the difference from a good piece of writing into a great piece of writing. As I have grown as a writer I tend to worry more about proper structure and format rather then adding heart and person. However, receiving fresh new feedback about making it more personable really helped my writing piece.
When collaborating with others I think the most important thing to do is to just get up and try the idea, because then you either know if it works or not. Someone could spend hours discussing a 'perfect idea' but you do not know if it works until you actually try it, and once you and your group is up and moving around more creative ideas will come. So, when collaborating with others don't be afraid to get up and try it.
My favorite moment through out the whole project was the morning warm ups, because everyday we would do something fun and awkward to get us thinking like a class. Some days we would stretch or play pass the invisible object, but whatever it was it got everyone involved and laughing. Every second period I was excited to see what crazy activity we are doing next; it just would bring the class in together.
When I created the poem for my partner I was able to take a few key points to remember when I write for others. The points are always take notes; the notes don't have to be long and detailed but enough information to remind you. Dr. P made us take notes in our journals and it really helped when I had to go back and look for brainstorm ideas. Another important factor is asking precise question, you should always ask more questions then necessary just to make sure. Through out this writing piece I also learned how to conduct a proper interview.
Something I learned about descriptive writing is it can make the difference from a good piece of writing into a great piece of writing. As I have grown as a writer I tend to worry more about proper structure and format rather then adding heart and person. However, receiving fresh new feedback about making it more personable really helped my writing piece.
When collaborating with others I think the most important thing to do is to just get up and try the idea, because then you either know if it works or not. Someone could spend hours discussing a 'perfect idea' but you do not know if it works until you actually try it, and once you and your group is up and moving around more creative ideas will come. So, when collaborating with others don't be afraid to get up and try it.
My favorite moment through out the whole project was the morning warm ups, because everyday we would do something fun and awkward to get us thinking like a class. Some days we would stretch or play pass the invisible object, but whatever it was it got everyone involved and laughing. Every second period I was excited to see what crazy activity we are doing next; it just would bring the class in together.