Assessment Journal- Entry #1

Amita Bose
12/20/2008

Assessment Journal – First Entry
Despite the heavy snow fall on Saturday, I still journeyed to my first volunteering session at Academy Point, and I am so glad that I did. At first I felt nervous and out of place in the small, comfortable kitchen at Academy Point, but after awhile all of my anxieties melted away. Everyone in the kitchen was amiable and their conversations swelled out to include me. I felt comforted as I joined in on their conversations, and the irresistible scent of baking cookies added to the friendly, home-like atmosphere. Also, I was surprised by how alive and exuberant everyone I met was. I am not quite sure what sorts of people I was expecting to discover at Academy Point, but I can honestly say that never thought that they would be so lively and energetic. As I sat and watched two elderly women talking to each other about the happenings of the day, I could easily imagine my friends and me in their positions. Everything about these two women exuded youthful energy and happiness that I originally thought was found only among the younger generations. My first visit to Academy Point was filled with new discoveries, quite happiness, and tranquility.

An Essay about a Favorite Holiday Memory

Amita Bose
Mr. Salsich
English 8
December 9, 2008

Perfection on Christmas Morning:
An Essay about a Treasured Christmas Memory

If asked, most people will probably reply that their favorite Christmas memory is one filled with family, friends, heaps of laughter, and glowing bliss all around, but for me, this is not the case. My favorite Christmas memory is one of solitude and quite contentment. This memory took place in the wee hours of Christmas Day, when the sun had not yet risen in the dark sky, yet I was wide awake. I will always remember sitting in front of our radiant Christmas tree in the early morning when I was seven years old.
TS My favorite holiday memory is of the time I spent downstairs in front of our twinkling Christmas tree as white snow fell silently beyond the frosted windows. SD The house was silent except for the gentle ticking of clocks and the sporadic crackle from the radiator. CM This kind of tranquility is a rare treasure in our house, and I was lucky enough to stumble upon it during the most perfect moment. CM As I sat in front the tree, bathed in its blue, yellow, red, and green glow, the bobbles shimmered, and the puppets danced overhead on lush branches. CM I was able to truly appreciate the sheer beauty of the moment in the silence that accompanies the dawn hours of a lazy December day. SD Also, the moment was further enhanced by the feelings of intimacy and secrecy that passed between my surroundings and me. CM I knew that no one had sat where I sat, admired the tree the way I did, or appreciated it more than myself. I knew that I was the first to do these things, and my new adventure was a secret to be kept locked away in my mind and known only by the Christmas tree that watched my endeavor. CS I would have loved to spend all day sitting in front of the Christmas tree, admiring its astounding beauty, but as the sun started to peek over the horizon, I returned to my bad, lest the magical memory be tainted by disturbances.
Everyone has different memories that mean everything to them. Some memories are filled with happiness, rambunctious antics, and pealing laughter, but others are quiet, peaceful and filled with magic. My favorite holiday memory is filled with perfect moments that allowed me to realize the beauty of my surroundings. I will never forget the amazing time I spent seated before our beautiful Christmas tree, as I waited for the dawn of a day filled with joy.

Dreamers Essay

Amita Bose
Mr.Salsich
English 8
December 2, 2007

Dreaming of My Home:
An Essay about the Poem “Dreamers” by Siegfried Sassoon

They are the men and women fighting to protect their nation in the middle of raging battles. They are the men and women who dream of their “firelit homes, clean beds, and wives”, as they defend their country. They are our soldiers. In the poem “Dreamer” by Siegfried Sassoon, the author describes these soldiers as they live in the front lines of a fierce war by using imagery, and as I read his poem, I realized what I would miss if I were the one in those front lines.
TS In the poem “Dreamers”, Siegfried Sassoon weaves beautiful, vivid
phrases into his poetic lines, to create the perfect image of the soldiers’ lives. SD He uses exquisite imagery to describe the soldiers, as they lived in the dangerous front lines of the battle. CM When you read the sentence “soldiers are citizens of death’s grey land”, you can clearly see and feel the perilous times those soldiers lived in. CM The sense of uncertainty the soldiers experienced creeps into your head, and you can feel the fear they felt, as they waited for next attack that could signal the end of their lives. SD Also, Siegfried Sassoon uses imagery to bring the soldier’s dreams to life. CM When he wrote the soldiers were “mocked by a hopeless longing to regain bank-holidays, and picture shows, and spats”, the reader feels the yearning the soldiers experienced as they lived so far away from their homes. CM This beautiful sentence allows you to see the soldiers back home, walking around their home town as they enjoyed their lives, and highlights the sharp contrast between their former lives and the lives they were living during the war. CS Siegfried Sassoon uses stunning imagery to allow the reader to journey into the soldiers’ heads, hometowns, and the war, and illuminates the soldier’s lives through these descriptive phrases.
TS Just like the soldiers in the war, I would yearn for many parts of my daily life that I sacrificed to protect and fight for my country. SD One of the things I would mourn for the loss of would be my friends. CM My friends are always there for me in the darkest of times, and stand by me, no matter what happens. CM If I were fighting in midst of a perilous, arduous war, I would feel forlorn without my friends to keep my spirits up. SD Also, I would miss having time to rest if I were fighting in a war. CM Even though I may feel exhausted during the school week, I know that I only have to wait a few more days until I can sleep late, laze around the house, and spend my time leisurely. CM If I were in a war, I would never get time to relax, because I would always need to be ready and alert for the next twist of events. CS If I left my hometown to fight in hazardous conditions, on the other side of the world, I would miss some parts of my life with all my heart.
After reading the poem “Dreamers” many times, I finally began to understand the true meaning of the words. Siegfried Sassoon wants us to realize that even though the soldiers are fighting in a war, they are dreaming of us, the ones back home. Likewise, we dream of them too, and we hope they will return to us. This poem shows us that despite the fact that we are separated by many oceans and continents and live in radically different conditions, the soldiers and we, the people back home, are dreaming of each other, and the day when it will be time for our blissful reunion.
* * * *
Self-Assessment
1) Writing the conclusion took the most time because I wanted to find a good way to tie together my essay.
2) I went through and found and corrected many small mistakes when writing this essay.
3) I think that conclusion is the best part of this essay.
4) I feel that I could go back and try to make this essay more graceful and smooth.

Second Paragraph of the "Dreamers" Essay

Amita Bose

Mr. Salsich

English 8

December 2, 2008

Dreaming of My Home:

An Essay about the Poem "Dreamers" by Siegfried Sassoon

TS Just like the soldiers in the war, I would yearn for many parts of my daily life that I sacrificed to protect and fight for my country. SD One of the things I would mourn for the loss of would be my friends. CM My friends are always there for my in the darkest of times, and stand by me, no matter what happens. CM If I were fighting in midst of a perilous, arduous war, I would feel forlorn without my friends to keep my spirits up. SD Also, I would miss having time to rest if I were fighting in a war. CM Even though I may feel exhausted during the school week, I know that I only have to wait a few more days until I can sleep late, laze around the house, and spend my time leisurely. CM If I were in a war, I would never get any time to relax, because I would always need to be ready and alert for the next twist of events. CS If I left my hometown to fight in hazardous conditions, on the other side of the world, I would miss some parts of my life with all my heart.

First Paragraph of the "Dreamers" Essay

Amita Bose
Mr.Salsich
English 8
December 2, 2007

Dreaming of My Home:
An Essay about the Poem “Dreamers” by Siegfried Sassoon

TS In the poem “Dreamers”, Siegfried Sassoon weaves beautiful, vivid
phrases into his poetic lines, to create the perfect image of the soldiers’ lives. SD He uses exquisite imagery to describe the soldiers, as they lived in the dangerous front lines of the battle. CM When you read the sentence “soldiers are citizens of death’s grey land”, you can clearly see and feel the perilous times those soldiers lived in. CM The sense of uncertainty the soldiers experienced creeps into your head, and you can feel the fear they felt, as they waited for next attack that could signal the end of their lives. SD Also, Siegfried Sassoon uses imagery to bring the soldier’s dreams to life. CM When he wrote the soldiers were “mocked by a hopeless longing to regain bank-holidays, and picture shows, and spats”, the reader feels the yearning the soldiers experienced as they lived so far away from their homes. CM This beautiful sentence allows you to see the soldiers back home, walking around their home town as they enjoyed their lives, and highlights the sharp contrast between their former lives and the lives they were living during the war. CS Siegfried Sassoon uses stunning imagery to allow the reader to journey into the soldiers’ heads, hometowns, and the war, and illuminates the soldier’s lives.

The Open Boat Essay

Amita Bose
Mr.Salsich
English 8
November 21, 2008

A Theme and Personification
An Essay about the Theme of “The Open Boat” and Personification
When you are rowing a ten foot dinghy in the middle of a roaring sea storm, thousands of thoughts must be flying through your mind. You would be scared, panicked, and anxious, but you might also unearth a glimmer of solace in the fact that you will keep on rowing, no matter what happens. In the short story, “The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane, four crew members of the steamer, “Commodore”, take comfort in their perseverance, as they struggle to reach land after their ship sunk in a storm. I feel that the theme of this short story was to always persevere, despite the numerous and perilous obstacles you may face.

TS Throughout the story, the four crew members learn to persevere, and Stephen Crane emphasizes this theme by skillfully using personification. SD As the men discover perseverance, they come to cherish their routines. CM They know that as they continue to row, another man will relieve them of their duty when they are ready to be “plunged in slumber.” CM This routine gives the crew members a glimmer of joy as they continue to steer the dingy, waiting for when their time to rest will arrive. SD Also, the crew must persevere to survive. CM If the stopped rowing, even for an hour, the boat would veer completely of course, and they would be lost forever. CM The four men must endure exhaustion, hunger, and stinging weather, in order to make it back to the safety and comfort of land.
SD Lastly, the author, Stephen Crane, intertwines personification with the beautiful sentences and paragraphs of this story, to accentuate the theme of perseverance. CM When the author wrote, “[the boat] seemed like a horse making at a fence outrageously high”, the reader can clearly grasp just how hard it was for the crew members to control the dingy in the midst of a raging sea storm. CM The boat and the four men in it made it through the storm because they persevered, and refused to be thwarted by the roaring winds and rolling waves. CS The four men aboard the dingy discover the beauty of perseverance, and Stephen Crane emphasizes the magnificence of persevering through personification.

The crew members of the sunken “Commodore” learned many things while struggling for survival in the middle of a storm in the ocean. The most prevalent thing they learned was to always persevere. If the men had given up, then they would have most likely died in that storm. The theme of this story shows you just how important it is to always persevere, and maybe, just maybe, your perseverance will be what gets you through your darkest hour.


Amita Bose
Self-Evaluation
1) The introduction of this essay took me the most time to write.
2) As I was writing, I often went back and changed any spelling or grammatical mistakes that I found.
3) I think the best part of my essay is the third chunk in the body paragraph because it seems to roll smoothly.
4) I think that my conclusion could be improved because it doesn’t seem to flow well.