The Movement of Movies

First, let me mention your previous posts. . . I enjoyed every single one of them. . . Chelsey, I love your spring break tradition with Alexis - you will always cherish those moments. Josh, your family tradition amazed me - I can imagine that you will never forget those fireworks! Megan, I too, have traditions that occur during Thanksgiving .. . that is such a wonderful time to reflect on the blessings in our lives. Kelsey, I think the tradition of your grandfather's gun is a very neat idea. . . what a special and unique way to remember your grandfather -- I'm sure it is an emotional and heartfelt moment. Clayton, I'm worried. lol . . . I think that you boys had better put an end to your tradition. . . do your parents know about this?! Nonetheless, thanks for sharing. And Monica, I'll be at your house next Sunday. lol I thought yours was so sweet until the last sentence and then you threw me for a loop! haha

As we continue to study American history and literature, I encourage to always consider what can be interpreted as being inspirational. . . whether it is the Puritans deciding to set sail for a new life on a new land, the Native Americans standing their ground and refusing to alter their ways of living, or JD Salinger making an attempt at portraying the life of a miserable teenager.

In the first post, you discussed where you hope your journey leads you and what you think will be your next destination. In the second post, you discussed the importance of tradition and what traditions you value in your family. In this post, we are doing to define inspiration that we have not received from a person or an event (both of which we've already discussed in class), but inspiration you discovered in a film or movie. Film can be extremely influential just as literature can be. . . there are movies that simply entertain us, but there are also movies that influence us, inspire us, motivate us, and really jumpstart our thinking machines. . .

I have so many movies in my life that have really stirred some emotions and cranked up my motivation meter! Just to name a few - Rocky, Dead Poets Society, Family Man, It's a Wonderful Life, The Pursuit of Happyness, Sound of Music, and one movie that we will view scenes of this Thursday and Friday if time allows. In this post, I would like for you to think of a movie that really impacted you in a positive manner. . . a movie that changed your perspective. . . share that movie with us and then explain with several reasons for why it inspired you.

Traditions: Roots and Origins of Our Lives

I truly enjoyed reading everyone's posts. You seem to have your priorities organized and you are thinking now what you plan to do later in life. The journey of life itself is an exciting adventure. .. be sure to appreciate every moment. . . the highs AND the lows. . . I would like to put the spotlight on Dustin Glover's post this week. . . he really embraced the question. . . and I think we can all say safely say that he will embark on an admirable journey one day. . . and ten years from now, you ALL will be successful and you will have special memories of where you are at this very moment. And as you continue to age, you will learn how important tradition can be in one's life. Traditions provide us comfort and familiarity so that no matter what we do in life, how we change, or where we go, those traditions always remain intact. . . they are our security blankets in life that remind us of our roots and origins in life.

As the Europeans traveled to this country in the 15th century, they immediately began creating traditions and some of those still exist today. . . within documents that we still honor, holidays we celebrate, and customs we practice. Think within your own community or even family. . . what traditions do you have in your life? These can be unique or common, everyday moments or events that only occur once a year. What traditions do you feel are necessary? If you do not feel you have significant traditions in your life now, what traditions do you plan to set in place for your own family one day? Provide us with detail . .. tell us stories. . .

The Smart Table

Inspiration, Motivation, Change, and Independence

This blog will be used as a continued outlet for extended discussions of what we cover in class. Each week you may participate and post your comments (please make sure they are detailed and consist of at least one, full paragraph) for extra credit on daily assignments. The first topic is below:

As you, my students, continue your educational journey, you will meet people who will inspire you to enhance your life. You will also meet people who will take a step further to motivate you to reach new goals in your life. And then, one day you will decide that there will be a time in your life to change . . . could be a minor or major detail, but you will at some point, evolve. And finally, you will continuously gain independence. . .physically and mentally. So, this week as we cover new standards and review the lives of the Early Americans, think what or who could have inspired and motivated them to want to change and become independent. . . not only as individuals, but independent as a nation . . . they were evolving and creating a new nation. . . now, that is quite a journey. . . where do you see your journey leading you? What will be your next destination? What is your plan and what are your goals? How do you plan to achieve them?