Friday, January 16, 2015

Something New; Something Memorable


Write two paragraphs, one for each topic, one for "something new" and one for "something memorable." You may mention multiple examples or expand on one example. Your paragraphs should be a minimum of 150 words and maximum of 200 words for each topic.

Be specific and detailed in your writing. Use your best sentences and proofread carefully. Work is due before class time on Wednesday, January 21. Post here and bring a copy, properly formatted, to class to hand in that day. Thank you everyone.

My comments will follow yours and will be posted before the end of next week.

15 comments:

Famorshedy said...

Something New

My new experiences in Brad’s class were endless, and they began from the start. However, my most significant experience during this time was when he gave us the assignment to write our first poem “Here I Am.” Reading poems and its exercises always made me feel nervous, even though I have done it a few times in the past. However, this one made me more paranoid because not only did I have to write the poem, I also had to read it in front of the class. Here I was, with a few examples in my hand, trying to face my worst nightmare. Much to my surprise, once I started, I wasn’t feeling stressed or pressured, I was actually enjoying the whole process, and I was also able to finish something that I had been avoiding for many years. As a result, when I finished my second poem “A Note” near the end of the semester, I was very pleased with the process (mainly because of the grade I received); it showed how much I grew during this short period. With Brad’s help and his guidance through the process, I was able to overcome my fears, and I tried something new and unique. 

203 words

Something Memorable

As I look back through the entire semester, it is hard to believe that we have to say good bye to each other. Time flew by quite fast, but the only thing left among us are all the memories we made together during this time. However, one of my most memorable and extraordinary moments in Brad’s class was watching “City Lights” before Christmas break. It was an amazing silent movie played by Charlie Chaplin. The story follows the misadventures of Chaplin’s Tramp who falls in love with a blind girl, and he develops a turbulent friendship with an alcoholic millionaire.This film had many beautiful and poignant scenes which had a huge impact on many of us. Not only did this film make its audience laugh, but at the same time, it brought some tears to our eyes. Brad couldn’t have found a better way to wrap up the class before the holiday season.

153 words

Zelka rizov said...

Something New
Right at the start—at the beginning of the first class—our teacher, Brad, said:”No textbooks required.” That was something new and different to me. He described our learning would be through example paragraphs and work sheets he prepared himself. I knew I was into something challenging—to come. I can’t imagine how hard it was for him to do all that work. So, I decided to do my best and work hard as well. After Brad introduced William Zinsser’s written speech-- I was impressed. His idea of “simplicity” and “brevity” helped me realize that writing simple is good. It was so similar to what Brad, was teaching in class, and I highly appreciate it. I do realize Brad’s way of presenting all these (great examples) helped all of us to comfortably write in simple terms. Well, I think it made my writing more effective. I will keep implementing all these brilliant ideas into my future work. Hopefully, it will open a new chapter in other’s lives; it did in mine.
174 words

Something Memorable
My most memorable moment was the first day I came to register for the English 12 class; the student advisor said, “Brad is an excellent teacher, you will love his modern style,” and I did. His “unique” way to prepare studying materials and to pass the knowledge to the students is extremely effective and remarkable. I have enjoyed the group--work, and the blog as well; that was something I’ve never done before. I remember when we worked on the short story “Getting Closer,” differences were extreme; everyone had a unique vision and understanding to the story, but it helped me to build a new ideas and respect differences. Not just for me, but for all of us, I am sure this was a great journey. What can I say other than, “I will treasure these moments forever.” Hopefully—future students—you will have a great experience as I did. Good luck!
154 words

Emma He said...

Something New

Taking Mr. Brad’s class sure is an adventure in my study life, because I need to prepare to be surprised on each lesson. Brad not only introduced us quite a lot of new articles, but also some valuable ideas, like “learning from others”(especially from other students). The first time I met with this idea was the assignment after the presentation of poem “Here I Am”. We were asked to write a paragraph about other people’s performance. It was exactly a hard work for me, and I spent a whole day on it. I made a note for every student during the class; read their poems from blog again and again; summarized their similarities and differences; picked some specific examples; and finally completed the homework at a midnight. But after I finished, I realized how much I’ve learned from that. Besides reading, listening, writing and organizing techniques, Brad teaches us some more important things in the most kind and gentle way -- paying close attention to other people’s opinions; and finding the real beauty around us. I love these new ideas, and I will take them as a part of my life forever.

--192 words


Something Memorable

During the past 4 months, my classmates and I have had a lot of memorable experiences in our English 12 class. I couldn’t forget everyone’s smile when they read the poems about themselves; I couldn’t forget the pressure when I made my first presentation; I couldn’t forget the laughs and tears when we saw an amazing movie together. Among those precious memories, “An Image Presentation” is the most memorable one for me. It was such a warm-hearted time for listening each other’s stories. By this chance, we shared something unforgettable, sweet, encouraging, fun, angry or sad. I enjoyed every story in our class. At that time, I learned a beautiful place named “Burn’s Bog”; I knew my classmate Jenn is an outdoor lover; another lady, Shawna, who likes saying funny jokes, is also a strong and wonderful mommy. A piece of photo, a 3-minutes short presentation, Mr. Brad uses this simple way to let us get closer to each other. And now, it’s time to say good-bye to my dear friends, I want to thank you all for giving me so many beautiful memories.

--184 words

Unknown said...

Something New
I joined the English 12 class this semester and experienced Brad’s new teaching style. Unlike the normal English class, we have group discussion almost in every class. During the discussion, everyone has the chance to say something, so students could share their ideas, open their mind, and practice their oral skills. The other new aspect I have learned is a new concept of good English writing from William Zinsser’s speech. He said: “Short is better than long. Simple is good. Long Latin nouns are the enemy.” Since I’ve learned this concept, I don’t have to look for fancy words everywhere and tried to write complicated sentences. Writing feels easier than before. I have also experienced the open book exam in Brad’s class. Through the exam, I could review what I have learned and enhance my memory. The exam is not only a test of our English level, but it also became a process of learning. The most interesting new experience is that all students are asked to post their assignments on the blog. Brad posts his example on the blog first, so that we could fully understand what we need to do, and learn from the example. I like Brad’s English 12 class; there is less pressure and more new concepts, knowledge and experiences.

--214 words



Something Memorable
This is the last paragraph of the last assignment for my English 12 class. Thinking about this class, there are so many wonderful experiences that came to mind. The poetry presentation is my most memorable part. I found out, at the last presentation (the poem “A Note”), all my classmates have improved a lot compared to the first presentation (the poem “Here I Am”) that we did at the beginning of our term. Everyone’s seem more confident and comfortable during the presentations. There are no more tremble voice and shivering hands. It is amazing, how could Brad trains us to improve so much without pressure in one term? (Only three month excluding the winter break and teacher’s strike). This is the most joyful and efficient English class I have experienced. Our teacher, Brad, uses his unique teaching style did not only teach us to write good essay and do good presentation, but also leads us to enjoy the language and literature. I have learned ability to find beauty in the language and did not repel writing anymore. I believe the English 12 class has created a milestone in my life. It is unforgettable.

--193 words

Unknown said...

Something New

Through this whole semester of English 12 class, I’ve learned so many new things – punctuation marks, poetry terms and ways to write an essay – and I was able to practice it for several times. Now I feel glad that I’ve taken this course, and also reassured by noticing the improvements of my grammar skill and spelling: the score of my assignments and tests had risen by having a lot of practice, both at home and in class. Among all assignments that were provided to us, the ones that designated us to match up the number of words or syllables were new and unique to me. For instance, one of the poetry homework - to create your own version of “A Note”- was difficult because the number of syllables was limited, and also we needed to pay attention to the punctuation marks that are used in the original poem. But after we completed the work, I’ve become securer what those marks imply that in each single sentences. Thanks to take this course, I have more interests in reading stories and poems than before. At last, I hope that those incoming students will have the same feeling as mine after finishing it. -200words


Something Memorable

After taking a whole semester of Brad’s class, I still remember what it was like in every class: presentations, tests, group working and reading or writing tasks. What most represents as a memorable work (day) to me, was the time when we were showing our memoir projects; a memoir that emphasize the theme, “finding beauty” or “child play” or “something that makes you anger”. In this assignment, I chose “finding beauty” and wrote around 700words. During the process, I found it quite fun to recall my past memories and to type it into words. The day when we brought our memoir sheets, we shared it to another group of two students, and wrote down our comments of others one. In my group, we were provided two pair of memoir sheets – a different theme and much different setting from mine – and read it out to my partner. After reading it, we both enjoyed it and found something new about two other students. Despite the fact that the whole semester had shortened, we were able to know each other students: not only from this work, but also from other presentations and group works as well. -193words

Unknown said...

Something New

Learning in English 12 was an unusual experience. At the start, I expected to study only English. Of course, like in other English classes, Brad taught us English skills. However, His teaching method was thoughtful and effective; it evoked my learning passion. In the class, Brad showed us interesting films, lectures, and articles. These helpful learning materials connected with us and have improved our abilities. For example, William Zinsser’s advice fixed our writing problems and helped us write effectively. After several months persistent practicing, now, I have become a better writer. Moreover, the class has become an important guiding light of my life journey. Through movies and stories, Brad encouraged us to see and think. Find the substance of things; understand different kinds of people’s thinking. The movie “Temple Grandin” suggested us to accept the “different” people, and it was my first time –a new thing—to study about an autistic person. This class has helped me change the attitude to those unusual people. I appreciate it. It was a unique class that we could learn not only English skills but also life skills.

---184 words



Something Memorable

Looking back to this course, I have many valuable memories. My writing wasn’t good. I felt frustrated when I found my errors. I was still far away from the top of this mountain, so I worked hard. I attended every class. In a group discussion, we shared our writing rules. The most impressive rule was this: “make it simple.” Also, our class blog was a useful learning resource. I read Brad’s writing tips and our classmates’ comments. I found many helpful writing ideas and then used them on my work. Then, Brad said he liked the way I wrote. His comment was so inspiring; it was the best prize. I kept studying hard, trying my best to do every work. Writing the poem “the note” was the most difficult task. It took me two days to finish. I sometimes made some grammatical errors. Remembering Brad’s feedback, I corrected my mistakes and tried not to make it again in the future. The mistakes had become —the “benefit of failure” (from J.K. Rowling’s speech). I believe that failure help us approach to success. I would remember this helpful learning experience forever.

---189 words

Unknown said...

Something New
Taking English 12 with Brad has been enjoyable and interesting. Brad uses new method of teaching, for example, the introduction of using the blog was new to me. I had trouble posting my first assignment on the blog but later I got used to it. I find the blog a very useful tool in education. The blog allows you to learn from your classmates and your teacher; and also stores the information for the whole course so you could look back on what you and others are doing. You could also post your assignment online so it is very convenient. Apart from the blog, I also enjoy the assignment of writing a poem “Here I Am”, and “A Note”, both were to use the same method and style of the original writer but incorporated with your own vision. It was a difficult challenge, however, I did enjoy the process. It make me realized that poetry reading is a form of art.

163 Words.
Something Memorable
Looking back at the semester, it has gone by so fast, but it has been such a wonderful and enjoyble moment with all the classmates. I enjoy the group work and all the chats that we have in class. I enjoy the presentations and the stories that we have to read. I remember that the most difficult story to understand was “The woman of the House” but with the group work we were able to analyse the story page by page. We also watch a few videos one of my favourite movie was Temple Grandin, the film was base on a real story, a woman who was diagnosed with autism but was able to impact the cattle industry with her ability. The story was so touching, and yet encourging, Temple had taught us to overcome our fears and challenges. English 12 was a challenge for me, yet with the help of the teacher and classmates I was able to learn a lot. I wish all the best for the coming students and I am sure you would enjoy Brad’s class.
180 words

Unknown said...

Something New
This class is completely different with the English courses I had before. I don’t need to analyze each character,theme or plot in every story I read. Shakespeare is gone. Generally, Mr.Brad asks us to write our comments about stories, movies and some assignments we did. He encourages us to relate to personal experience and express our own opinions. It makes me feel comfortable that I don’t need to read a story over and over to find the meanings inside. It’s also new to me that classmates are mostly elders, as I just graduated from high school when I took this class. It does bring some benefits. They have more life experience; their thoughts are more mature than me. I have learned many things from them in group discussions. The special limitation of some assignments is new to me as well, such as write a poem which requires the same structure and syllables as “A Note” and use Patrick Lane’s first paragraph as a model to write about a memory of my own. Those challenges make my writing become better and better. I truly enjoy in this class.
197 words
Something Memorable
Although this semester is shorter than usual because of teachers’ strike, it has so many memorable moments: the nervous faces when we did our first presentation, the speech of Temple Grandin, the video that Leonard Cohen recites his poem “A Thousand Kisses Deep”, every group discussion and so on. The most impressive part to me is the short story “Getting Closer”. It’s about a young boy who is excited because the day he waits for has finally arrived that he can go to the river. However, he begins to feel nervous that when the day begins, things will rush away from him, and he sees ending is everywhere, embedded in the beginning. It’s quite depressing that everything will be defeated by time one day. These memorable moments are doomed to become memories at the first day of our class. However, all of us have learned something from this process, haven’t we? Although this class almost ends, I will always remember those wonderful moments I had with all of you. Best wishes to everyone.
186 words

Paul Chen said...

Something New

Having been studying English for more than a decade, I have never read any poem in my life until I started learning English 12 in Pearson Adult Learning Centre. I found it hard for me to understand the beauty of the poems which authors wanted to deliver their messages to the readers. During the group discussion, I found it very useful to have English native speakers share their opinions about the poems. Their explanations open my eyes and minds to get closer to the authors’ feelings as if the light of the sun came out from the dark cloud after the thunderstorm. As English is my second language, I would like to suggest Mr. Hyde could talk more about the structures and theories of the poem and analyze each poem’s strength and weakness. Without knowing the theories, the discussion will be on the surface and the students won’t learn much about the beauty of English. Moreover, learning poems can help us improve our English.

- 164 words


Something Memorable

Time is flying like lightning so quick and swift. Now the end of the semester has come in. Looking back the past few months, I couldn’t believe what I have been through, tests, assignments, group discussing, and presentations. I found it fun and enjoyable to study with different people from different countries. We could learn from one another and understand different cultures with different values. What made me surprised was one of my classmates made a comment about my opinion which I thought it was acceptable in the most countries and it was very common to be used in the public speech. Another thing made me enjoyable was group discussion. Not only could I practise my English speaking, but I could also learn about new ideas from the classmates. The most important thing I got was I have got what I wanted. I treasure and value what I have experienced in the class.

- 153 words

Unknown said...

Something New

My English 12 class was completely new to me. In this class I learned with new ways and gained experience in many things. Blog posting, poem writing and presenting, group discussions and watching videos gave me a different taste of learning than I was accustomed to in my previous schools. I found the first assignment of blog posting very difficult and uncomfortable, but I grew familiar after a few postings and even started to enjoy it. I also wrote two poems in English 12. I still remember the day when the first homework to write a poem was given. Poetry was not my favorite topic and I was drowning in an anxiety. I was thinking about quitting the school because poem writing was a herculean task for me, but by the time I wrote the second poem. I had learned a lot and it gave me great satisfaction. Reciting a poem in front of the class was an amazing experience. Group discussions with the teenagers provided a new type of participative learning approach for me. Poem, blog assignment and group work enlarged my way of learning. I feel honored to Brad for all these fabulous style of teaching for adults. (200 words)

Something Memorable

There are very few moments which are memorable and everlasting in the life of an individual. Being a human being it also applied on me. The entire semester of English 12 will be an everlasting memory but there are two events that inspired me and affected me very much. The moment of reciting the poem "Here I am" and "Note" gave me the courage to face a mass of people. I will never forget this event and these two poems. The film "Temple Grandin" reengineered my learning of diseases and stayed strongly in my memory. Being a chronic insulin patient of diabetes, sometimes I get upset with my physical condition, but after I watched the video of Temple Grandin, it energized me and made me ready to do anything as if I was a teenager. Temple's each action and work changed my perception towards diseases. That character has been fixated in my memory forever. (154 words)

Unknown said...

Something New
Every Wednesday and Friday was a new lesson, an exciting journey and a fresh idea. There were so many differences such as blogs, group discussions, and poems between Brad's English class and my high school English class. The blog was a beneficial source for students to have a better idea of the homework and to interact with one another. Moreover, the group discussion was a big chunk of our English 12 course helping us to exchange and share ideas. It helped us gather information, bring new ideas, give feedbacks, and improve listening and comprehension. An example would be the punctuation group discussion in which we corrected each other’s' paragraph and explained anything we did not understand. Brad told us to write a poem called “A Note" based on Wislawa Szymborska's poem. The poem had to have the same number of words and structure along with the same number of syllables. Writing the poem was a bit complicated; however, it helped me learn many incredible bits and pieces about myself and the greatness of life. As a result, Brad showed me what a class can be, any class, not just English. He opened my eyes to the beauty of learning and the potential in myself.
-203 words

Something Memorable
Can you imagine how scary it would be to present on your first day of class without knowing the
teacher and the students? On the first day, I had to present the poem “Here I am “in front of my
class. It was scary, yet something memorable because the class was very cheerful and non-
judgmental. That made me stand up happily and read my poem. A significant moment was when I
was watching the movie "Temple Grandin" and smiling like a little kid who just received a candy. I
was amazed how Temple's personality and talent had a huge impact of the world that blew so many
people's minds away. She showed the world that anything is possible. A memory is created with a
happiness, and for me happiness was created when I finally finished my "A Note" poem that I have
worked on for three days. Another notable moment during Brad's class was when he gave us an
extra thirty minutes to finish our paragraphs while he went on his lunch break. Brad's unique way of
teaching left us nothing, but memories that we can look back on any time and smile.
-194 words

Unknown said...

Something New:

I remember one of the first assignment that we did in Brad's English 12 class was handed back to me and I was told to revise it to fit the word limit. I almost felt offended at the time because I thought that writing so much was the only way I could fully express myself. However, after several months in Brad's class, working on various assignments (like William Zinsser's speech, “Writing Good English,”) I feel I have better learned to control how to get my thoughts and ideas down in a limited amount of words. Additionally, something new to me was working with people of many different ages and backgrounds. In high school most of the kids were either the same age or the same colour as me so it was a very different experience working in this English class—and school—for the first time. We had a diverse class which led to many different and interesting opinions—which I think is just what an English class needs. I'm glad I had the chance to work with and get to know people from all over the world that I may have never met outside of the classroom.

-195 words

Something Memorable:

I will always remember Brad's enthusiasm for teaching and the overall experience being in such a unique class. The way Brad teaches, it's almost an art. I never once felt pressure or stress over something in class other than tests (but who doesn't stress over tests?) I knew that whatever assignment we worked on—even if we didn't like it or didn't understand it—we would always at the very least be able to take something away from it. Doing things like working in groups was also memorable and greatly helped in the learning process because I could hear other peoples thoughts and ideas—which can be particularly helpful when there are assignments that are difficult. Even if you don't feel like talking you can listen to what other people have to say which is always beneficial. No matter how many times I misuse a semicolon, or place one to many commas, I'll always try to remember the little things Brad taught us that helped our writing skills. English is a hard skill to be good at, but like Brad has told us, “It's is one of the subjects that even the greatest can still improve on.”

-194 words

Unknown said...

Something New

Throughout the last five months in Mr. Brad Hyde’s English 12 class, I have experienced both highs and lows. I enjoyed the way the class was taught, having a more interactive aspect with fellow students than I am used to. We got to express our opinions quite a bit, as opposed to what I find to be boring things like just analysing the short stories and poems etc. I experienced many thought provoking conversations and opinions different than my own. Having students both older and younger (give or take ten years) to work with brought a lot of different outlooks on life. One of the more difficult projects was working on the short story “The Woman of the House”. I find short stories hard to stir up ideas or opinions because they are so only a few pages long and not very detailed. This story in particular was difficult to follow the plot which consisted of an untrusting woman who is a caretaker for a man, and two hired painters to work on their house. Here was one example where my fellow class mates helped me to spark new ideas.
-196 words
Something Memorable
I will never forget the non-fictional story that was introduced me to of Temple Grandin, a young woman with autism who conquers what many believed she could not. This was very inspirational to me. More memorable and enjoyable parts of this class were the oral presentations of the poems we wrote. The first poem we read, entitled “Here I Am’ was very nerve-wracking, and as we got to know each other and closed off with our second poem “A Note”, felt cool and comfortable, as if we had known each other for years. I will also remember the inspiring speech by J.K. Rowling that he showed to us on video at the end of class as it wrapped things up very nicely before final exams. Even though I have been speaking and writing English all my life, I feel a sense of improvement in my skills. Taking this class was an overall great experience and I’m glad you were all part of it!
-167 words

Unknown said...

Something Memorable

The first time I took Brad’s class, I felt alienated because there were people of various age and cultural backgrounds; the same feature which I later liked. At first, I was devastated for the lost opportunities, to have end up taking courses at Pearson Adult Learning Centre. In the end, I realized that it was good opportunity to meet new people that I otherwise wouldn’t meet in ordinary circumstances. It was fun breaking down the poem since everyone had their own input. Whenever we were stuck, someone would point something and our discussion flourished engaging all students to share each others view. Similar to J.K. Rowling, I am getting the “benefit of failure” since failures teach us greater things than success, which is the result of determination, hard work and unspoken failures. I, with Brad’s guidance, able to turn a page in my life and pursue my post secondary education.
-151 words

Something New

I took Brad’s classes multiple times but it never felt the same as the previous one. Brad’s class offers diverse community of people who share common goal to pursue formal education. Even though following the spring, the courses will have price tags for some students, I hope his class retains its diversity of people with different background cultures and various age. In Brad’s class, I explored one the most diverse classes I have taken in my life. Some of the students I met at work and pizza place; it is nice to talk outside classes. After taking Brad’s classes, I don't feel as much anxious as I used to have when I first entered them. When I was writing in-class essay, I would get really anxious to clutch the idea that it would take me a lot of my writing time before finally putting my pen to work. I learned that instead of thinking of worst scenarios, to look for better outcomes because that's the only you get out of that situation.
-149 words

Brad said...

Something New
This term brought me a few new challenges. The first and most important one was having to compress my curriculum into a semester shortened by three weeks. I had to decide what to leave in and what to leave out while, at the same time, fulfilling the complex requirements of a senior English course. That meant we had no time for my usual media-related unit (of which I have several variations) and, for that, I feel both frustrated and sorry. At the same time, however, I faced new students as I always do. This term, for the first time ever, I had no students from my June 2014 English 11 join my English 12 class. It was all new faces, which, although students may not feel it as I do, makes my job even more challenging. This classroom, because of the interactions among you, depends very heavily on your good nature and willingness to try something new yourselves. I was very relieved to find that my students were capable of doing so (not saying we didn’t have any problems along the way!) and could adapt to my personal style. Thank you all for helping me meet the challenges this term.—200 words

Something Memorable
I plan to retire soon and this has lead to a number of memorable incidents, not always as part of my classroom teaching. In the past, I had a reputation for being a “strict” and “difficult” teacher. It wasn’t entirely a wrong assumption. I was tougher and less flexible in my early years, but working with students has taught me a great deal about human nature. Giving someone the benefit of the doubt (without being a pushover of course) has made my classroom a better and more welcoming place. Now, I face a new problem: students don’t want me to retire! I have been approached a number of times this semester by students who plan to take my courses and are worried that I may leave before they have the chance to attend. Sometimes, they are students who may not make it to English 11 until 2017 or later. It is an interesting dilemma for me, both personally and professionally. Teaching is tiring work and, to be effective, teachers need energy and enthusiasm each and every day. Most days I am fine; others, it is hard and I know I am not my best. Whatever happens, I will remember all the students here at PALC with great fondness when I do decide to go.—214 words