Boarding School

Karla Zabel

English 101

Dr. Sonia Apgar Begert                       

Formal Term Paper 1 1-31-13

And The Seventh Day Shall be Kept Holy

        I had attended religious schools in the past, but I was fourteen when I was sent away from home. I had a fight with my boyfriend and came home well after curfew, I remember my mom coming up behind me that night screaming, “That’s it you’re out of here, gone.” There was nothing more to say on the subject, her mind was made up. The very next day she was on the phone and arrangements were made.

        I was on my way to a whole new life, new school, new teachers, new friends and, oh so many new rules. It started with wardrobe. We had to go shopping for appropriate Seventh Day Adventist attire, not a uniform exactly but it may as well have been. Girl’s shirts had to be at least fingertip in length and four fingers past the collarbone. No shorts or jeans and no form fitting pants, skirts were permitted but had to be past the knee. There was absolutely no jewelry or makeup of any kind. I can even remember the tissue test; if faculty had any suspicions that you may be wearing makeup they would wipe your face with a white tissue to be sure. There were so many new rules to get used to.

        The day I arrived I was shown to my dorm room and introduced to my new roommate; I would now be living hours from home with a person I had never met. Each room had two twin beds, two desks and a closet for two. You could basically draw a line down the center of the floor, hers and mine. There were 20 rooms in a hall that made up the girls dorm, with a living type room at one end and a bathroom with five showers and stalls at the other. We were permitted no radio, no television or even a phone. We were completely cut off from the outside world. What a change from the life I once had.

        I was informed that worship was promptly 6:00am to 7:30am each morning in our chapel and we were expected to be there every day, except Saturdays (we’ll talk about Saturdays later). Breakfast was 7:45 to 8:30; it consisted of artificial eggs, soy cheese and milk and some vegetarian sausage, bacon or ham. Millet or oatmeal were the other choices.  I would be given my chore along with my school schedule and tour following breakfast the next day.

               I was exhausted. That first night in a strange room with a strange person at a new school in a new town I slept soundly. It was 4:30 in the morning when my alarm went off, time to begin. But why did I think it would take me so long to get ready with no blow dryer or makeup. Well at least I didn’t have to wait for a shower. By 5:30 the halls were filled with girls I didn’t know wearing finger length shirts and long skirts hustling past me, preparing for the day. There was nowhere I could hide; I wanted to run away. But where would I go, we were in the middle of nowhere without a phone. I missed my friends, my family, everyone I knew. Everything I knew.

               My mind was racing that first morning in worship, I felt so alone. I sat by myself at breakfast too, and then I was introduced to Vicky. Vicky was obviously raised a devout Seventh Day Adventist from birth and she would be my go to girl, she was assigned to be my mentor. Mentoring me was Vickie’s chore for the time. She would explain how things worked, my chores, my classes, who was who, and when to be where. Vicky was a plain looking girl, very simple, a senior who carried her bible everywhere and knew each page by heart. I grew to admire her loyalty and devotion, she was the only friend I had and I looked up to her.

               First we started with my assigned daily chore; I was to mop our school building from one end to the other (someone must have gotten a promotion). Then I was off to my classes, just your everyday ordinary classes, math, English, social studies and science. Except there were only fifteen students in each classroom and men were on one side, women on the other and the funny clothes and no makeup. I would never have been caught in the real world like this, and that’s what I began to call it “the real world”, my old life.

               Lunch - would I ever get used to soy cheese and fake meat? After school, we would participate in soccer or volley ball. But it was Florida and we played in dress pants and fingertip shirts. Dinner, fake meat and soy cheese, oh yes, and fried okra, I haven’t eaten okra since. Then it was worship from 6:00pm to 7:30pm, homework and off to bed. One day down, only four years to go.

               The next morning I didn’t set my alarm as early and woke up to my roommate Valerie moving about the room. Valerie had shoulder length red wavy course hair and was covered with freckles, she was another devout Adventist who knew all of the rules forwards and backwards, she would later be known to me as the snitch. I was off to shower, in the hallway Vicky my mentor, introduced me to some of the other girls like Ronda, she was a model in the real world and she, like me, wasn’t there of her own freewill. She would become my best friend here and on the outside. Then there was Bonny or Bonbon as I call her now. She would become a great support, someone who watched out for me and tried to keep me in line and Cindy a very large girl, a senior who was always good for laughs. I was starting to settle in.

               That morning even worship seemed a little calmer, Ronda started passing me notes and Bonbon braided my hair. At breakfast I was introduced to some of the guys, Charles a big jock and another devoted Adventist. Mike, a tall lanky blonde who became my boyfriend, although we were never even allowed to hold hands, and Laurence the bad boy; he was always in trouble for something. I started to realize that there were two types of students, those who lived and breathed the Seventh Day Adventist life, and those whose parents wanted to straighten them out.

            I quickly learned how to join the hot, sweaty, disheveled kids as we finished our choirs and rushed to first period, but I never figured out what lesson I learned from one grumpy teacher, Mr. Finney who loved singling students out by raising his voice and making them look stupid. I was however thankful that I had new friends in some of my classes taking a bit of the sting out of being the new kid.

               The routine of fake foods, continuous mopping and endless worship, it astounded me that kids my age were choosing to live like this. But as time went on I began to respect them for their discipline. Now let’s talk about Sabbath. According to Adventists the seventh day is Saturday and the seventh day shall be kept holy. On Saturday we could sleep in because worship didn’t start until 8:00, but don’t get excited, it’s an ALL day thing, breaking only for soy cheese and mystery meats. The last Saturday of the month of course everyone fasted to cleanse the body, 24 hours with nothing to eat, only water. Four years of this?

        I wondered throughout my time at school whether I would make it. But I found this experience has given me patience, taught me that I am capable of growing to the occasion, that I’m stronger than I ever thought I was and that I can survive with much less than I feel I must have. Fake it till you make it, a strategy that served me well throughout the years. When I’m afraid of walking into a room, maybe a meeting a classroom, or Heaven forbid a presentation, this works for me. I tell myself “You got this, or act as if” I told myself this throughout this experience and still more so today.

        I can’t imagine sending my children from their home, or from me, and expecting them to live without the comforts we all take for granted. I think even though I no longer consider myself Seventh Day Adventist I do believe in the seventh day. The seventh day on my calendar is Saturday, and the seventh day to me shall always be kept holy. Saturdays in my house I save for worship and spending time with family and remembering how lucky I am for the lessons learned along the way.

Writing Development

Successful Strategies for Development

       

It has been 28 years for me since high school and being asked to develop my own story or ideas; through my work as a Mental Health Ombudsman I am given a particular situation with a particular problem, maybe a client’s rights have been violated in some way or there is a breakdown in communication. This doesn’t leave a lot of room for developing my own style so I feel a little out of touch as far as my writing abilities.  

 To be honest I don’t know that I have my own strategy for development other than maybe the occasional outline. I love brainstorming the problem at hand and getting as many perspectives as possible, but are these my own strategies? I was recently involved in a writing workshop   (through work) where we were given sentences and asked to complete them, and in previous classes we were given the assignment to free write for ten minutes on anything that came to mind, is this development I hope so?

In one assignment we were asked to go outside and given ten minutes, then asked to write a poem on something that stood out to us, it was up to the rest of the class to figure out what we were describing. At this point every day I am learning something new about writing and just trying to apply it and take it all in. I would like to try a combination of free writing with looping? 

A Love for Books

 

A Love for Books

        In reading both Malcolm X’s and Benjamin Franklin’s educational narratives I found as many similarities as there were differences. Of course one of the prevalent differences would be the era in which the pieces were written. Malcolm X’s autobiography was published in 1965 where Benjamin Franklin’ piece was from the early 1700s making it especially difficult to read.

        I found that Malcolm X”s excerpt was more of a step by step educational piece that the reader could easily follow. If someone wanted to try this for their own benefit, they certainly could.

        On a similar note, they were both self-taught and shared their love for reading and books, practically ingesting anything they could get their hands on. They both stayed up well into the night taking in the gift of written words with every spare moment they had.

        I found both stories inspirational, although Malcolm X’s narrative made me want to keep going, I want to read more, know more about him. It almost made me want to pick up the dictionary myself, where Benjamin Franklin’s narrative I just wanted to get through in the hopes that I might be able to retain enough information to complete my assignment.

Average

Mike Rose 

1)   After having his tests scores confused with Tommy Rose, it seemed that Mike received a second rate education by teachers who were not qualified to teach Voc. Ed, and not inventive enough to keep a student’s mind involved. This is especially true for a class of hard to reach students. I have had teachers that were meant to do what they do; teachers that made me look forward to class. I have also had teachers that have no business in the classroom. The right teacher can make all the difference in the world as can the wrong teacher, and it only takes one.

2)   I feel that the Vocational Education that the students of Our Lady of Mercy’s school received lowered the student’s expectations of themselves and the expectations that others had of them. “Students will float to the mark you set.” I believe this statement to be true, the students of these classes learned to have a don’t care attitude. This was to protect them emotionally and socially.

3)   Some students can check out while others adopt humor or sarcasm and even bullying to cope. Ken Harvey just gave up on pushing himself past the point of average. He decided that it was good enough to be mediocre.

4)   What I am finding disorienting about college is that it has been so long for me since I was in school that I have forgotten things I haven’t used and things have changed so much. I feel a little out of the loop and definitely out of my comfort zone. The only thing I know to do is to keep going and to be honest about my insecurities. I know that I am not alone.

5)   In being honest I was placed in EH (Emotionally Handicapped) classes in elementary school and then later diagnosed with mental illness. I understand having lowered expectations but that just means that I have to work a little harder.

 

I found “I Just Wanna Be Average” full of rich character descriptions; this allows the reader to visualize each person and brings the story to life. I will use detailed descriptions, such as sight, smell and sound to try to place my reader right there with me in my own narrative.   

Cubing

Boarding School

Describing it:

Boarding school is of course a private school where you reside day and night throughout the school year. You would eat your meals there; you would spend your nights there. You would study for classes and take those classes all in the same location. You may or may not have a roommate; it may be of a religious background as was mine. I went to a Seventh Day Adventist boarding school where we had worship starting at six in the morning. You may have a job or chore you are required to perform. It may have a military background. In my school, students and staff all lived on the same campus. Boarding school put simply; is a school where you attend, live and board.

Compare it:

I will compare the differences and similarities of boarding schools with traditional schools. In traditional schools you attend class for approximately six hours per day, and then return home for social activities, family time and homework, maybe a sport or music lesson and chores. Whereas in boarding school all of that is done in one location, classmates become more of your family and your teachers more like your parental figures. In boarding school, you can’t say “the dog ate my homework” and if you are out sick you are sent to the staff doctor. In traditional school, it more up to you and your family structure as to how seriously you take your education and what you have to put in.

Associate it:

There are many ways that boarding school and traditional schools are the same. Many of the same subjects are taught and the food is usually lousy. But I would probably associate it more closely to a military type of rigorous schedule, maybe between a college type dorm experiences with a military type of structure. As the school I attended was also Seventh Day Adventist, it could also be associated with church and worship; we ate vegetarian meals and wore no makeup or jewelry as in the Seventh Day teachings and men and women were separated other than in class.

Argue it:

There are many benefits to attending a private boarding school, the structure and discipline you gain and the educational experiences. My home and office are immaculate at all times.

What I would argue is that in my school situation I feel that individuality and identities were lost. I’m not sure that we were taught to think for ourselves or outside of the box. When I am not given clear parameters, it makes me nervous, I don’t know where to start and need a lot impute from others.  

Analyzing Swim Suits

Swim Suits

Swim suits can be made from many different fabrics, some have beads or sequins, and on run ways I have even seen them made with feathers. They come in many shapes and sizes from speedos (no one should ever wear a speedo by the way) to thongs, from one piece to two. Back in some of our great grandparent’s day they may have even gone past the knee. But primarily swim suits were created for swimming. In Florida where I am from people live in there swim suits and a pair of shorts all year round. In the winter they may throw a pair of sweat pants over the suit, but it's still there.

Confetti's Application

Confetti’s  

Confetti has many uses, my favorite would be the use for vacuuming as in vacuuming up the little holes punched out of my papers at work, or even from the paper shredder spread all over the floor fresh after being emptied, of course that may not be as much fun as the confetti showering down on you at a new year’s eve party or any party for that matter. Do you remember those little plastic bottles with the string? You would pull the string and a loud pop would be heard then a stream of crinkly paper would shoot out all over your target. Then there is also the silly string form of confetti used to attack your kids with, oh and I almost forgot about that plastic stuff used in our Easter baskets. There are many many uses for confetti!

Prewriting Techniques

Past Prewriting Techniques

        I have tried various types of prewriting techniques for a number of projects and assignments, but they almost always begin with brainstorming. I like to get several points of views and gather ideas and data before putting them down on paper.

        Another technique I am becoming comfortable with is Mapping. My Mapping to date is a combination of Clustering and Branching, where my subject is in the center of the page and my ideas sprawled out in all directions around it. I used this technique in our first blog when comparing the two narratives we were assigned.

        Last but easily my favorite would be free writing where sometimes my very first sentence starts with; I don’t know what to write about, or I don’t know where to begin. I will write nonstop for ten to twenty minutes before reading what I’ve written. Some of it may have no relevance what so ever, but somewhere in there I usually find what I’m looking for.

        I have not tried Listing, but I may use this for our first assignment. For me the hardest part is just getting started and prewriting is a way to get your ideas on paper sometimes before you even know what they are.    

"Learning to Read" The Autobiography of Malcolm X

           

            In “Learning to Read,” an excerpt from Malcolm X’s autobiography, he talks about the frustrations of not being able to adequately express himself in the letters he wrote to Mohammad during his time in prison. He then takes it upon himself to write down the entire dictionary word for word as a form of a “homemade education.” He shows the exact steps he took to learn to read, to write, and to understand far beyond his eighth grade education.

            To begin his project, Malcolm was flipping through the pages of his dictionary and said, “Finally, just to start some kind of action, I began copying.” This is also something that I found in common with Feross Aboukhadiejeh’s attitude in “How I Learned to Program Computers.” He states, “It doesn’t matter what you build, as long as you pick something and start.” This stands out to me because that is where I get stuck in my writing; I spend so much time in the planning phases that sometimes it’s hard to know just where to begin and to let things flow.

            With our first assignment, I think the best thing for me is to just get started, to start at the beginning and see where it takes me.

Group Response on how to get an "A"

Group Respone on What must you do on Paper #1 to get an "A"?

Make sure that there are at least 1200-1500 words. Our narrative essay should be on a personal significant educational experience. Make the essay as general as possible for the readers and try to direct your essay to a wide audience. Our essay can be an informal paper, may use I and you and doesn’t need a thesis statement.  Make sure to provide detail examples on your experience. Show a step by step process of your personal experience and how it affected your life. No matter the topic, try to make sure the essay is easy to read and interesting.  Make sure to have it typed in MLA style, which is provided in the back of “Writing Simplified” on page 93. Turn it in on due date or 7 days after due date. Make your paper convincing   for the audience. Since this essay is a personal paper make sure to use personal experiences and know that a work sited page is not needed. 

Our group has a wide range of ideas on what we are writing about. Karla is considering writing about how her boarding school showed her structure and the pros and cons of this. Kelsey is writing about how her French teacher in high school stood up for her and showed her how not to cast off teachers, and understand they are actually supportive and considerate towards students. Tiffany is thinking about writing on how her church shows her how to grow and learn as a Christian woman. Josie decided to write about how her 2 year old is showing her patience and how to adapt to imperfect situations.

Narrative Models

Narrative Models

After reading both narratives I have decided that I want this blog to be a starting point for my assignment, much in the same way I want this class to be a starting point for my education.

I am finding our first paper assignment somewhat challenging in coming up with ideas but will use Feross’s jump right in attitude to explore my options, while keeping Joshua’s experimental approach to seek out the opportunities.

Blogging is brand new for me so I found it very helpful to see two authors using very different styles. I found that both narratives did however, have several things in common for example, both writers seemed to write for themselves and their audiences and they were both educational, kind of a how to, using illustration and hyperlinks. They kept the reader drawn in by being enthusiastic, articulate and somewhat interesting. I found that Joshua Romero’s use of technical language is sometimes necessary but really appreciated the humorous side of Feross Aboukhadliejeh.

Both Joshua and Feross shared their learning experiences through step by step instruction. I don’t know if I could program a computer or even close all my Google accounts but I do know a whole lot more about blogging.