Hannah Guess
Current Events Debate
Our Current Events Debate, which took place in my English 2 class. This debate was based on the topic of whether animals should or should not be used for scientific testing or experiments. One side argued that animals should be used for scientfic testing and experiments and the other side argued that animals should not be used for scientific testing or experiments, and I was on the side that argued that animal use in labs should not be allowed. My team founded our argument on the beliefs that it is illogical and immoral to test on animals. After much preparation for the debate, both sides worked hard to present their topics.
This activity taught me many leadership skills. I learned the importance of preparation in order to be successful in anything. I also learned that one has to truly believe in their argument if they are going to be successful in conveying their ideas to their audience.
Poetry Project
For the poetry project, we had to choose a poem that we would read and analyze. After analyzing it, we had to create a music video for the poem that expressed the theme and the connotations that we associalted with it. The poem that I chose was To Be Held by Linda Hogan. It was about someone that wanted to be protected but also to protect others. It taught me that you have to think deeper than the surface to get the real meaning of things. On the surface, this poem was talking about trees and going into the light, but I had to go deeper and think about it on an interpretive level. It also taught me that creativity is necessary where its not expected.