Closing Comments

1. The grade 12 Writers Craft course has helped me in so many ways. This course has improved my writing skills and taught me things I would have never known without taking it. In regards to my writing skills, I think that they have improved tremendously. Before this year, I can honestly say that I was still misplacing commas, using dialogue incorrectly, and using a lot of run-on sentences. My work that has been submitted and marked has given me feedback on how to improve my writing and correct those mistakes. This new skill has helped me in my other courses as well, such as English and even Biology. In terms of personal growth, I feel as though I have improved greatly in regards to creativity. Before this course, I was not a creative writer by any means. I have really stepped out of my comfort zone and this has sparked a true love for writing. I have learned to try new things, which is something I struggled with before taking this course.

 2. I think that the instructor should start to include some oral presentations of writing to really open up the creativity in the classroom. This well help students become more comfortable with speaking in front of crowds, and will be a fun way to do assignments and get marks for it as well. Something that could possibly be stopped is accepting work past particular due dates, unless the reasoning is absolutely valid, or take marks off for late work. This will help prepare students for university or college, where due dates are very important. Something that should be continued is having the instructor edit work before handing it in. Having this collaborative work really helps the student see their work from another persons perspective and allows them to accept criticism from the instructor. This also allows for the student to do as well as they possibly can on the assignment which really helps when applying to university with a good mark in the course. Overall, I think I have really grown as a writer and I would absolutely recommend this course to anybody, whether they are interested in writing or not.

Christmas! What's it all About?

Christmas is the most wonderful time of year in my opinion. There is nothing better than sitting by the fire, drinking hot chocolate, and watching your favourite festive movie. For me, Elf would certainly be on the television. Christmas for me is all about family time, whether it is watching a movie together, eating Christmas dinner, or seeing someone open the gift you got them. This time of year makes being with your family ten times more enjoyable. It is not about the gifts I get to open, but rather about the smile I see on my mother's face when she sees the lovely gift I have made her or bought her. Sitting around the table eating turkey and stuffing and laughing with my aunts, uncles, and grandparents is my idea of a perfect Christmas. So, in my opinion, Christmas is about family. Whether it is movies, dinner, or decorating the tree, it is all done with family and love. Many people do not have a family to celebrate Christmas with so it is very important for me to be grateful for the people in my life I have to make this beautiful time of year that much better.

Lying Journalists

When a journalist lies I believe that there should definitely be a consequence. As a journalist, their job is to report facts, not made up material. The consequence should be that they are unemployed for a certain amount of time, dependent on the severity of the situation. I don't think an apology is enough, however after doing it once, they would most likely learn their lesson and not do it again, so a second chance is necessary. If fined, I think the money should be given to the newspaper because they were clearly not aware of the behaviour of the journalist and they should not be penalized or get a bad reputation from the lying journalist. I don't think prison would accomplish anything, a time penalty from working is the most logical approach in my opinion or to do community work. They should not be allowed to profit from the book or movie because then they aren't really losing, they are still getting money and benefitting from their mistakes which is wrong.

"First Leaf Fall"

by Katherine L. Gordon

An Impact of Butterflies (pg 38)

Katherine L. Gordon is a Canadian poet that lives by the Eramosa River, located near Guelph Ontario. Her writing is inspired by nature. This poem was published in October 1997 and correlates with nature, the outdoors, and most importantly the best season of all, Fall. The imagery of fall is created when she says;

Green woods that knew our love in summer

Shrivelled, at the sense-shattering sound

These few lines created an image in my head of a cool day when the bright leaves are falling but this poem has a much deeper meaning. It appears to me that this poem is more about heartbreak than it is about autumn. I noticed this when I read over the lines ahead because it speaks of how someones love has shrivelled, similar to the leaves in the fall time. Another line that indicated this was;

Last night the javelin-tossed the speech of farewell

A line that stood out to me is;

There is a sword-chill in your glance

This was the opening line of the poem and opens the theme of romance. To me, this means that the person's glance was like a sword, indicating that there was possibly a heartbreak and seeing the person cuts deep like a sword does. 

I enjoyed this poem at first because I was under the impression that it was about fall, however there was a much deeper meaning to it which made it a little more confusing. I like that the author used imagery, like autumn leaves, that describes a heartbreak in a unique way.

The Right To Vote

In my opinion, the voting age should not be lowered to 16. My reasoning behind this is solely the fact that children and teenagers are not educated enough on politics in their life to vote at 16 years of age. Personally, I don't even think I will feel ready to vote when I am 18. At 16 years of age, we are not mature enough or educated enough to make such a mature decision. I think that the voting age should be 18 at the very least.

Personal Growth

Curiosity, empathy, and creativity are traits that I possess in life. Curiosity and creativity are demonstrated in my life because I question many things. I am somebody that wonders about life in general, and I try to think of ways to make the world a better place, past the point of just thinking but physically engaging in doing so. I show empathy in that I always think of others and put myself in their position to really know what it feels like. Some skills I should work on are taking initiative and improving on multi-disiplinary thinking.

Education Is The Key?

After watching Darryll Suliman Amoako's spoken word performance "Why I Hate School But Love Education", I have formed particular opinions on education as a whole. Education is something that is very important in my opinion. You must be well educated to have a basic understanding of every day things in life. Education helps teach people how to read and write, which are two skills that are quite valuable in life. As important as education is, I do not by any means think that somebody's success has any relevance to their education. Success comes from ambition, and willingness to work hard, not from how intellectual you are, or may seem to be. Some of the most successful people in the world do not base their success from their education. Success may mean a variety of different things to different people, but in my opinion, success is being happy and content with yourself and your life. Success isn't about making the most money, but being happy and feeling accomplished in your own life, regardless of other people's views. In conclusion, education helps build the common knowledge that everybodyneeds in life, but is not the key.