Reflective Response to Part II, "Portfolio Keeping" (due 11/5)

What do you think about the author's discussion of assessment regarding the final portfolio?

simple gift

summary: Derek

Robert J. Matthews is a writer who took a trip to Nepal. Towards the end of his stay he struck up a conversation with a man. He would see this man everyday sitting outside a marketplace. He would walk past him everyday. One day Matthews started to talk to him. He knew a few words of English so they would have small conversations and smoke cigarettes together. He soon noticed that the man's feet were swollen. The man was a leper. On his last night in Nepal Matthews gave the man a pair of wool socks. The man was very grateful for this and his gratitude made a big impact on Matthews' life.

Researcher :chris

Robert Matthews story was about a man in a different country, learning about different people from different cultures. He never really had friendly relationships with anyone until he passed a man sitting on a bench. The first time they met they just smiled at each other. As time passed every time he’d walk by this man’s spot they would just smile at each other, or smoke cigarettes together. Then finally he had a conversation with the man in which he referred to him as daju, which means older brother. The older man responded by calling him bahai which meant little brother. Later he found out the man had leopards and couldn’t walk well. Before he left to go back home he bought the man socks, and the man thanked him. This story shows how people in other countries can be friends. My friend went to London to visit his grand parents and when he first got there he was talking to some people, and they asked where he was from. When he responded America they just walked away. Its hard to except people from different countries do to appearances, language, and there culture. Though if people like the ones in this story just stopped and were respectful of each other we wouldn’t have this problem.

Creative Connection: casey

In “A Simple Gift,” Matthews befriends an old man who he passes everyday on his journey in Nepal. Matthews always noticed the old man’s sincere expression and sense of peacefulness. The old man’s expressions made Matthews put forth effort to be friends with him. The old man was thankful for his new friend that he made. In a way, Matthews helped the old man. The story, “Liked for Myself,” involves a friendship between a little girl and an old woman. In the story, the old woman befriends the little girl. The little girl needs someone to like her and counts on the old woman to be her friend. In both “A Simple Gift” and “Liked for Myself,” individuals are helped by the efforts that others make. The old man appreciated his new friend bringing him socks for his crippled feet. The little girl appreciated the old woman taking time to talk to her and show her that she is liked.
I think that each story represents a friendship being formed by the effort of individuals. One of my friends made an effort to seek out an individual that was sitting alone in the cafeteria. I think the individual was happy because then he did not have to eat by himself.

Discussion Director:sandy

• The purpose of the story was to show what friendship means to the narrator and how a short-term friendship can have a long-lasting impact or effect on both people.
• The main points that the narrator is attempting to get across to the reader are that we should look past the outside appearance of people to discover who they really are and we should take the time to get to know others, especially the ones that we might normally pass by without a second look. Just a few minutes of someone’s time could impact someone else’s life drastically because it can show them that someone does notice they are alive, instead of treating them like they are just taking up extra space. I think these main points are shown through the connection that the leper and the narrator have when it comes to calling each other “bhai” and “daju” and also when the narrator gives the man his socks. When the man told him that no one has touched him before, it illustrates the main points above. Every one else pretended he wasn’t there and never took the time to speak to him like the narrator did.
• The narrator wanted to tell this story because it was obviously a memorable experience for him. It had such an impact on his life that he felt everyone else should know what they could be missing out on.

Passage picker:sophia

—

—As I passed him he smiled at me again just as he had before. I was taken by how sincere this man’s expression was, and also how peaceful he seemed to be. I smiled back and offered the traditional Namaste, which he returned. I could not quite explain why, but it was the ingenuous smile of his that many times made me detour just to see him and say hello.

—Some time after this I again stopped to greet him. He smiled and appeared glad to see me. We spoke easily now; he in his broken English , and I in my fractured Nepalie. Out of respect I now called him daju ,or “older brother,” as is the custom. The first time I addressed him as daju his expression did not change, but from then on he called me bhai, or “younger brother,” as though he had been doing so for years.

—For a long moment he did not speak. I feared that I might have made him uncomfortable, but then he looked at me with marvelous compassion in his eyes and said, “ God bless you, bhai. No one has touched me in a very long time.”

Cr38t!v3 CoN3cToR!- T.Scott

T.SCOTT
“Liked For Myself” (Excerpt from “I Know why the Caged bird Sings”)
Author: Maya Angelou
Theme: “THE MEASURE OF WHAT A HUMAN CAN BE”-MAYA ANGELOU
Purpose: The purpose of the excerption was to show how befriending someone can not only benefit you in the sense of having a new friend but it can be life changing, The purpose also included a look into the authors childhood, and how she went through things that made her feel ashamed, which cause her to be solitaire. The purpose was also to let the reader/audience to understand that friend/friends do not come in a specific size, color, race, ages etc. I also believe that the purpose was for the audience to understand that a friendship does not have to be big and spectacular; it can just be simple. A friend: It’s not what they have but what they give”.
Connections: I connected two stories to the essay “Liked for myself”. The first connection was made between the essay” What are friends For?”, Marion Wink. The connection I made was that the essay was just a overall view of the different friends there are in the world and the friend I related to the essay “Liked for myself”, was “HERO FRIENDS”, and “A NEW FRIEND”. I chose these two friends because a Hero friend, according to the essay is someone who you consider better than you in aspects such as career wise, houses, relationships are great, they aren’t negative, non- gossipers, helpful and caring. These are the feelings young Marguerite had about Mrs. Flowers. “She was our side’s answer to the richest white woman in town (pg.148)”. “ I was certain that like everything else about her the cookies would be perfect”(149).The other type of friend would be the new friend, which is self-explanatory. “Suddenly your life story is interesting again, your insights fresh, your opinion valued. Your various shortcomings are as yet completely invisible. It’s almost like falling in Love (pg.170)”. Marguerite described Mrs. Flowers as her life line, she also enclosed with: “it was enough to prove that she liked me”. All she wanted was for someone to like, and talk to her for herself and nothing more nothing less. She just needed that feeling of comfort, support encouragement that ever person needs.
The second passage I connected the essay with was, “ A simple Gift” by Robert Matthews. This connection was similar. The man sort of befriended the elder man by just speaking to him, and then he did the most simplest thing of giving him a pair of socks because of the cold weather in November. This is similar to Mrs. Flowers just giving Marguerite a chance to express herself. A chance for her to enjoy herself, feel special and loved. “God Bless you, Bhai. No one has touched me in a very long time”( 190). This I what the old man said to the man for giving him the socks. This connection is very similar to Marguerites feelings towards Mrs. Flowers. She was very thankful for, Mrs. Flowers reading a favorite book t0 her and making tea cookies for her.
The actions of the man goes back to the saying it’s not what you have but what you give that leaves lifelong impressions or foot prints in a person’s heart. “The action was so graceful and inclusively benign.”

"A Small Act" By Jimmy Carter

Icon Crafter- Mike Cramer


Discussion Director-Steve Wainwright

The purpose of the story is to show an evolution of a cross-racial friendship over a time of segregation. When Jimmy and A.D. were young, nothing mattered to them. They didn’t see each other as opposites, and they both treated one another as if they were brothers. When they came of age though, they were slammed into the segregated society. Jimmy began to become more in-tuned with white society, and A.D. began to remove himself from Jimmy’s world. They began to take their roles-A.D. and his cousins began to look up to Jimmy as if he were superior, just because of skin color. While the change in the relationship was unintentional, it had a massive effect on how they viewed each other. The writer wanted to reader to see how childhood friendships can deteriorate so much in a short amount of time, and for really no reason other than the sociological psyche of the given time period.) I think this because of Jimmy’s usage of words. Jimmy conveyed that message with the way he described the deterioration of the relationship, by citing specific events that led to the loss of friendship. “Around age fourteen, I began to develop closer ties with the white community” Jimmy began. He then went on to speak about how he strived to be part of the basketball team, and became more interested in girls. He later cited a specific event in which the change in the relationship was apparent, saying that “A.D. and Edmund opened the gate and stepped back to let me go through first. I was immediately suspicious they were playing some trick on me, but I passed through without stumbling over a tripwire or having them slam the gate in my face.”(154)

Researcher-Morgan Foster

Jimmy Carter:

•Jimmy Carter was the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981
•Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002
•Born in Georgia on the outskirts of Americus in the Plains
•Raised During the Great Depression
•Strong believer in Racial Segregation (Based off of his fathers influence and the world he grew up in) but was balanced with his mother’s belief that all people were equal and cared for both whites and blacks.
•In 1971 he was on the cover of Times Magazine for his declaration that "the time for racial discrimination is over."
•Appointed more African Americans and women into office than any other President

Creative Connector- John Byron

nThe story takes place in a small southern town named Archery, Georgia. The time period is in the mid 1930’s, prior to the civil right’s movement, but at the height of racial oppression. This kind of friendship between these two boys was extremely rare- Jimmy was an upper class white kid, and A.D. came from a poor black farming family. Just the fact that this kind of relationship existed speaks volumes for the families of the two involved. Race didn’t matter to the parent’s of the two boys, and that was hard to find in those days. While society may have ultimately caught up to the two, the relationship shows that both of them had no preference of race, and therefore, progress in the right direction was being made in a time way before the civil rights movement.

Vinnie’s Jacket by Anna Nussbaum

Jen Greselin - Summarizer
This story is about a girl whose best friend passed away right after graduation. He had taken too many painkillers, and this stopped his heart. The girl was so saddened by his death and did not know how she would ever move on without him. He was the person that she could be herself the most with, and he made her be a better person. She was amazed with their friendship, and how it taught her about loyalty and laughter. Before Vinnie passed away, he let her borrow one of his jackets. This jacket smelled like him, like cigarettes and cologne, and had a stain on it from when he was fixing his car. When she wore his jacket to a party it made her feel cool and safe even though she was the youngest person there. He eventually let her keep the jacket. She still wears Vinnie’s jacket now that he is gone, and even though it no longer smells like him, she still remembers him. They loved each other, and that is what she remembers about him. This story is about remembering the good times you had with someone rather than asking questions about why it happened.

Meghan Earnest-Passage Picker
“The jacket smelled like him, like Marlboros and sweat and Calvin Klein cologne. It had a grease stain on the sleeve from when he’s worn it while repairing his old Ford. Its cotton exterior and nylon lining were worn and smooth,” that was Vinnie’s jacket (p. 159) Vinnie gave Anna his jacket one night to ware it was cold in the basement because the door was open. Over time Vinnie decided that Anna should just keep the jacket, and that’s what she did forever. Anna went to Vinnie’s house one night they promised each other “To NEVER lose touch (p.160).” Vinnie died in June he had been sick for awhile but no one exactly knew what was wrong. Vinnie took too many painkillers that had been given to him by a shrink, which stopped his heart. It was an accidental over dose and least that’s what everyone was told. Anna states, “Vinnie was the last person with whom I could still be a kid, long after I would no long be a kid myself (p.160).” I think the message Anna wants to get across to the readers is that we need to focus on who Vinnie was while he was alive, not who he is made out to be now that he is dead. “Adults want to focus on why Vinnie died. They want to know who was at fault (p.160).” I’ve learned from experience that trying to find someone to blame or a reason behind what has happened just causes more pain. Anna was able to learn from Vinnie, “Friendship can teach you about loyalty and laughter; it also shows you how one friend can carry you from one road to the next (p.161).” In the end Anna knows that Vinnie loved her and that’s what she is able to take away with her. Anna’s story was a hard one to tell, but she doesn’t want Vinnie to be forgotten.

Zara Zaengle-Researcher
The story Vinnie’s Jacket is about a young girl named Anna who found that the closest person to her has died from an unintentional overdose. She has kept his jacket as a symbol of the friendship with Vinnie and the times they had shared. It helped her keep a part of him in presence because at one point it smelled like Vinnie, but now the scent is all but gone. Although she was heartbroken with grief she was not interested in who was at fault but found that their friendship taught her many positive things and found that Vinnie was her greatest memory.
“Memories are one of the most important treasures we share with family and friends. Making everlasting memories helps to celebrate life by presenting life stories to share with friends and family, whether it be a building of a child’s life story or memorializing a loved one after their passing” states (mem.com) This shows that people all over the world keep memories of loved ones closest to them that had passed away in remembrance. Here, she kept a jacket that has very much value to her and helps her to remember Vinnie just the way he was.
On Journal Sentinel, Carter Doering stated “No man is dead until he is forgotten.” Anna, keeps Vinnie alive by reenacting the way he had and lessons she had learned from him. The jacket shows that Vinnie will always be with her.

Reflective Response to Unit 3: Self w/Friends (due 10/19)

What key themes involving friendships and relationships are discussed in the reading for Unit 3: Self with Friends?