First Semeter Reflection

I have learned many things during the first semester. I have learned how to write thesis statements, along with learning what Q.C.V.I’s are. I learned about Aboriginal culture, the Rwandan genocide and participating in cultural events


When writing a paper, the thesis is an important part to the introduction of a paper. I learned that this gives the reader a preview of what your paper is like. It is just a simple statement that could be nothing more than a sentence long. In the beginning of the school year, I had a very hard time writing these. For some reason, I just didn’t understand how to do it. Looking back at my inability to write a simple thesis seems almost humorous.


I have found that Q.C.V.I’s have been a very useful strategy in understanding complicated articles. Q.C.V.I stands for question, connection, vocabulary and interesting/important information. Now, whenever I get an article that is above my reading comprehension level, I use Q.C.V.I’s to help me better understand what the article is saying. In my opinion, the easiest and most helpful part of Q.C.V.I’s, is the vocabulary. This is because you just have to find a word you don’t know, write it down along with the definition and then use it in a sentence. This has helped me learn many new words such as malaise and ramifications and demise. I’m glad I was able to learn about Q.C.V.I’s, and I think I will always be able to use this strategy.


Before taking this class, I had no idea, nor did I care to know, about the native people in Australia. Now after watching the movie Rabbit Proof Fence and reading the novel Walkabout, I am very interested in the native Aborigines of Australia. I have learned many things about their culture and the thing I find the most fascinating, is the fact that Aborigines live day by day. I think this is a neat concept. People today have such scheduled and structured lives I think it would be a good experience to be an Aborigine.


The Rwandan genocide was completely foreign to me. I had never heard about this horrible event in history. Now I cannot believe how uninformed I was. There were thousands of innocent Rwandans brutally slaughtered for no other reason than who they were. In Rwanda, the MRND (a military group) broadcasted to the country telling the Hutu citizens to kill their Tutsi neighbors. I was able to get a glimpse of this tragedy through the movie Hotel Rwanda, which we watched in class. As realistic as this was, I still couldn’t imagine going through what the people of Rwanda went through.

I really enjoy getting to do cultural events, more than I ever thought I would. I like them because it gives me an opportunity to participate in events that I normally wouldn’t think twice about. Already this year, I have been to a Greek Festival, a leadership conference and Little House on the Prairie, the Musical. These were all great learning experiences that I would never have thought to go to if not for Global Ed. I find myself planning ahead and thinking of what I could do for my next cultural event. I’m glad we are required to do this because it is nice to learn about new things. My favorite format out of the three is the creative display. I have found in high school that we don’t get to be creative often so it’s cool we can use the creative display as a cultural event. My least favorite format is the speech because I get nervous talking in front of people. I’m hoping by the end of the year to be able to improve my public speaking skills.