The film “Remember the Titans” is about T.C Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia during 1971 when they had allowed it to be a mixed race high school. In the beginning of the movie it starts off with the ending scene where all the characters are at a funeral for their friend Gerry Bertier who was in a severe crash ten years ago near the end of their high school’s football season and was paralyzed from the waist down. As this goes on, the narrator of the movie starts to go back to the start of that year. As it starts the story, in 1971, the high school had gotten a new head coach, Herman Boone, for its football team who was the first African-American to lead that team. While talking to the now assistant head coach, Bill Yoast, Coach Boone described his previous positions at different schools where he had won a few championships and told Yoast the one reason he came there was to win.
During the summer, Coach Boone had a meeting with all the soon to be students who wanted to play football and described how training was going to be. While doing so, Coach Yoast had brought the rest who originally wanted to be the team and interrupted Boone while he was telling the plans for training. When they were getting on the buses to go to Gettysburg College for the training, Coach Boone had all the students divided between who would be on offense and who would be on defense. Once they went into position, Boone started to pair them up with the opposite race to try and get them to change the way they would act with one another. Once there and in the dorm rooms, some had started a fight that lead to several more joining in. When Coach Boone had stopped it, he had told them to control the anger for the field and took them to start practice. While the first practice hadn’t started the way Boone had wanted, he had made them keep doing more and more exercises until night hit. The next day Coach Boone and Coach Yoast had woke the team up early for a long run that had led to Gettysburg. While there, Coach Boone had described the battle of Gettysburg with the purpose of it and related the reason for it to how the team had been acting previously. It had helped him get most of the team to start to change and get along with one another. During their next practice as they kept trying over and over to perfect a play, the chaos that the players had between one another had finally stopped. Once school had started and football season had begun Coach Boone had been told that if he were to lose just once that he would be kicked off the team and Yoast would be the head coach again. This was something that had surprised Boone but also was motivation to keep training the team in any way to make sure they will succeed. Although it had ended in a victory for the Titans, it had also been a struggle. As their running back had now switched to the defense and their first quarterback got injured, things weren’t looking too good. Their backup quarterback had doubts on how he thought he could do, but during his first game he had surprised everyone with his skill. Near the end of the season as the celebrate making it to the state championship, Gerry Bertier had sadly gotten into a car accident that paralyzed his lower half. This had shocked the whole team, and his mother. While he was in the hospital he had talked to coach Boone and coach Yoast in a positive way about it to lift the depression away from the thought of his injury. Later that week was the Championship game. A game that both Coach Boone and Yoast were looking forward to throughout the entire season as they had the team practice over and over to try and be the best they could be. While Gerry was recovering he had started to watch the game. During it he would yell at the TV to cheer or go against plays by either team. In the last few seconds of the game Coach Boone had gave them a play that lead to fooling the enemy team and they ran the ball in for a touchdown and the first championship game for T.C Williams. After high school was over for all of them they had not meet up for a while until Gerry’s funeral in 1981. This had showed that they had all changed in a positive way toward one another and showed care for people they originally did not over ten years before.
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For my Academic mindset project I had worked a little with my mother. She had helped me try and stay on point with the writing. The most difficult part of my writing process is having it all fit with the main idea. For me it’s hard to spread out the topic and keep it all on the same point for the writing. For this, to overcome it I would re-read the paper over and over, quiet and out loud to try and find any errors. After, I would go and ask others to look over and give me their opinion on what I have done. This can lead to motivation in correcting it if needed, or having someone else approve on what I wrote.
This project was back on February 20th, 2017. As I wrote it, I had tried the best that I could do. Writing is one thing that I have doubts with what I write whether I review it once or several times. For all the writing that I do, I do it in an office room at our house that we all use for work, or education. It is a good room to do it in since it is away from most of the things that can be distracting. I chose to write about the topic because it is one main thing in life. For any future writing assignments I will try my best to review while writing and once I complete the paper I will continue to look it over until I feel like it fits what is needed. While writing I could look back at any previous papers to see what I had done in the past and compare it to what I do currently. This will help me understand how I have improved in any way from before. Four Academic
Of the four academic mindsets the one that is the most important to me is a growth mindset. With a growth mindset you can easily expand with what you’re working on. It would help get a better understanding of what you’re learning. Along with that, it can also make you wonder about other things related to what you’re learning and lead into learning more about it in a different way. Although there are other options to me I find that a growth mindset is most important. With a growth mindset it can allow you to think outside the box on what interests you and why. In any situation you’re in a growth mindset can give you more reasonable idea on what you should do. If you had to do something with a person then with a growth mindset you would have a wider range of people that you could choose. As well as with what you should do, like with a paper, poster board, power point, and so on. With the wider range of ideas in a growth mindset you can expand with personal life. It will help you come up with ideas of things you could do that could help you out. If you’re not into your job then you could think of what interests you and see what jobs are available that are related to your interest. Along with that you could search their locations and salary and compare them to your current job. This could lead to a more exciting way of life. Overall, a growth mindset is important in all of our lives. Without it we would be doing the same things, talking to the same people, and would never consider changing our life at all. If we don’t then while watching others that have it could lead to regretting what choices we’ve made, and possibly depression. If we all would try it then in the end we could see what things are like for the people that enjoy it. Growth and Fixed Mindsets
After looking over these two texts, I have seen that the Stanford psychology professor, Carol Dweck, has described a growth mindset as some belief that people will become smarter. They tend to think more outside the box then the people who have a fixed mindset. If kids were to have a fixed mindset then they wouldn’t expand on thoughts they have. These two different types of mindsets are a factor to how well kids can do in future years. Because of growth and fixed mindsets we all will think and interact differently than one another. For a growth mindset, people will try to expand with their talents, usually passes down in family. It is stated in the article The Perils of “Growth Mindset” Education: Why we’re trying to fix our kids when we should be fixing the system, “The growth mindset has approached the status of a cultural meme.” They will try to improve in the way that they will choose to. People with a growth mindset towards something will enjoy learning more about it. They will also enjoy any new things related to what they like and would like to explore them more. Having a growth mindset can make everything easier in some way. In the article Teachers, Parents Often Misuse Growth Mindset Research, Carol Dweck Says (Carol Dweck) “However, it's possible that high-achieving kids are profiting in other ways.” One thing that is bad for a growth mindset is that with being able to expand more, certain things you know may not be as easy to remember as with a fixed mindset. Since a fixed mindset is mainly for certain things that person will do in their own way, they will have that way as a habit and get used to it easily. People with a growth mindset could struggle to do certain things if they haven’t done them in a long period of time. Eventually it will come back to them though, but it might not stick with them completely. However, people with a growth mindset could have other ways that could possibly even be better to do for a situation like this. A fixed mindset is when those people that have it will not expand with what they can do. Once they have their way on doing something, they will always stick to it. In the long run it’s something that can have its ups and downs. The main thing is that these people cannot expand on the way they process through any situation. With this, they will more likely give up if they don’t try and go outside the box. For some people, they could have a little of both a growth and a fixed mindset. With a combination of both it will help them expand more while still being able to do something specific to them in a way that they are used to. With this, these people will be able to do their work, whether for a job, or class, as best as they can, and also figure out ways to try and improve it and make it better for them. One situation though where having a combination both can be somewhat a struggle is if you are given a task that is one something in your fixed mindset. You can try to expand on it with the growth part of your mindset but even then your fixed mindset could make you not do it like you should. One thing people can have a growth or fixed mindset for is writing. It is something that we do here and there but the way we start it is different. For the people with a growth mindset, once they have a topic they might try to think of all that is related to it and could start describing the topic and lead to other things related with the similarities and differences. For writing with a fixed mindset, they could have a topic and write on just that topic. They could try and be descriptive on that one topic, but would not necessarily need to be. Personally, I feel like I have a more fixed mindset. Once I learn a specific way on how to do something then I will usually stick to that way. If I were to try to do it in a different way than it would be hard to do and I would start to go back to the way I had originally learned. In some incidents I feel like I have a more growth mindset. Usually for a growth mindset it would be toward somethings I’m really interested in and enjoy, and would like to learn more about it. If other people were asked then more likely they would say I have a growth mindset. Because of growth and fixed mindsets we all will think and interact differently than one another. With these two we will be able do things in ways that others might not be able to do, or not be able to do as good. Between the two overall a growth mindset would be better, however it is also a good thing if you happen to have a combination of growth and fixed mindsets. With that it can make things much easier to do. Overall growth and fixed mindsets, and a combination of the two, are what we all have in some way and what we are all used to in our lives. After a long day in school I had felt very tired. I felt completely exhausted as though I was going to fall asleep any second now. I had slowly started to walk up the stairs as the sun was blazing. When I reached the top I had felt a relief. After such a long day it had finally ended. I open the door and immediately feel a blast of cooler air. To me, it was something I was waiting for throughout the whole day. Then I hear someone in the background call out to me, “Hey it’s the Bubba.” It was my grandfather, James Charles Edwards or as we would all call him JC. Although I had just gotten home from school, he would always cheer me up.
Every day after school I was always happy to see him while my parents were at work. It felt special and would always make my day. After sitting down and starting to watch some TV he’d ask me if I was thirsty. If I was he would be kind enough to get me a nice cold glass of iced tea, and sometimes a small snack. As I sit there and start to take a sip of the iced tea I’d think of how great the day is now being here with him. Whether sad, frustrated, mad, depressed, or in some cases scared he would always change my mood in a positive way. Each weekend I would spend as much time over there as I could. During the late fall and winter he would wear a green sweater. On that sweater it had the Philadelphia Eagles logo. They were the one team that he had cared about. During the season they would have their ups and downs. When they won he would be so excited and happy for it. It meant to him that they were one step closer to a goal. When they had lost he was sad over it. Feeling like the hope for a good season could come to an end. One thing that he, at first was very happy about, but later was sad an eventually really mad for the outcome and how it happened, was when the Eagles lost to the Patriots in the Eagles second Super Bowl that they’ve ever made it to. Every once in a while a couple people would come over to visit JC and my grandmother and they would all go into the what was a dining room, which later on became his bedroom after they changed his first bed room around, and would start to play poker. The way they would play it was five cards and deuces wild, allowing them to be any card, and suit that could help you out the most. I would go in and watch him and the rest play and I started to get entertained by it. Eventually I had joined them and he would help me understand the basic rules and goals of the game. During that moment when I was dealt my first hand, he helped me decide which to keep and get rid of. After I got my cards back I had no idea what I had as a hand. At first I was puzzled with what I had in my hand so I had showed him and he was very surprised with what I had got. I still had no clue so I showed it to everyone at the table and they were also surprised. Apparently I had gotten a royal straight flush, the best hand in poker unless you play with jokers or two’s as wild cards which in this case the best hand is five aces. After that I was excited to learn more and I continued to play and learn more about it from him and continued to play it more and more. Because of the way JC was towards me in any situation, he always had some possible way to make my day. He would do anything from a very small favor to a big favor if I had asked him. Every time I got to go and see him was always such a wonderful moment. These are some of the many moments I look back on today for old times’ sake. They will always bring a good and bad feeling to me, but overall these moments I’ll never forget. In the end JC was always there for me in any situation and these moments meant a lot to me. He is the one I still think about quite often and, no matter what, I will never forget about. My initial understanding for the term “Hiraeth” is that it’s like being homesick. For the assignment some topics could be about moving to a new place to live, starting a new job, or starting a new school. Each of these you would have this feeling through. It could lead to some emotions, like sadness. Although we all like what we do now we will have some Hiraeth toward our past.
After moving out of our house many years ago I had really missed living there. As I’d walk down the street from the bus after school I would look back at it and think of how life was before moving out. It was sad for me the day we had to move and today I still miss living there. In that house I had a small bedroom that I actually was hardly ever in but I had kept all my stuff in there. In our backyard we had a pool that we’d go in a lot during summer. Although I don’t live there anymore I still have a feeling toward that house. The house itself was a good size, not too big and not too small. It was on the same street that some of my family also lived on so back then I could go visit at any time. It was also right across the street from where my best friend had lived. He and I would meet up at the park that was right behind my house once in a while. Once last thing that was great was that it was close to a field where me and my cousin would go have a football catch. This made it feel more entertaining than in our backyard. Inside the house there were two bedrooms. Mine was the smaller one but to me back then it seemed like a good size. It had also had a window to our backyard which I could also see the park that was behind our house. During our time there we had eventually built an above ground pool which had blocked most of my view from the window. One thing I enjoyed was our attic. Up there we had two drum sets, one regular sized one for my father, and one small one for me. I was not good with drums but would just like to mess around on them while listening to my father. The pool was one thing I’m glad we had added to that house. It was an above ground pool that was about four feet deep. During the days of summer when the blazing heat felt too bad we’d go for a swim. Back then it always felt special to go in there during the summer but once fall would hit we would close it up and have to wait months before going in it again. That was one of the main things I hated back than about fall and winter. Because of my life at that house before we moved, I will always have some feeling towards it. Starting off there was a great thing for me. Family and friends all on the same street made it easier to go visit. If we had never moved then I would’ve had a good time over there near everyone. However, I would have also not had nearly as many friends as I do now so even though I miss it there I am happy that we eventually moved. Why I Write
Joan Didion author of “Why I Write,” is a well-known writer. She enjoys writing and wants to “impose oneself upon other people” (why I write: Joan Didion), Try to change other people’s thoughts and make them understand yours. She can find it to be aggressive toward readers. For a writer as long as they put down what they think is the best they can do then they’ll try to find a way to improve it. Overall she writes to just let it out and relieve herself of stress. Because of writing she has a way to express her thoughts on what she chooses to. I write only when I have to or if I’m communicating with someone through texting. Writing is something I never really got into doing when it’s not for any class. However it’s the way I keep in touch with many people. To me it’s better to text then to call, just in case whoever I’m trying to contact happens to be busy. Sometimes I also write on social media, but that hardly happens. Although I don’t like to write, I will when it is necessary. When it’s for a class, I will try my best. I’m not good with writing like other people, but for writing it can depend on a topic and purpose. Some I could enjoy writing about and have possibly written about in the past. Others could be stressful and something brand new that I’ve never heard of or read before. In the end though writing for me for education is all for the same purpose and something that I would have to do. Texting though is something that really is not necessary. I just use it to contact certain people and have a conversation. For most situations it is a good way for me to communicate with others. In other situations, texting is a very bad and dangerous thing that nobody should be doing, specifically when driving. When texting people don’t always expect an answer back right away, and if you’re driving and get a text then wait till you get to your destination or pull over, stop and respond before driving again. For social media, even though I have the apps I don’t post on them often. For some people though they can use them to talk with people that they haven’t heard from in a while. Others could use them to share an idea on a current topic going on, Along with that, others could put their opinion on the topic as well. Doing this is a good way to share opinions and compare the reasons behind them. However, doing this can also lead to arguments and possibly losing a friend, depending on the reason of the post and thoughts about it. My Writing Process These two articles, “How Can You Create Fiction When Reality Comes to Call” by Carolyn Chute and “6 Ways to Be a Hemingway-Level Productive Badass” by Drake Baer, describe writers and how they take their time to write. In “How can you create fiction when reality comes to call” the main character is trying to write but keeps procrastinating with things to do around the house. In “6 ways to be a Hemingway-level productive badass” it describes a process that can help you improve your writing ability. In this one the six steps are, 1) He knew that standing desks are awesome 2) He began unmediated 3) He quantified his progress 4) He attacked early hours 5) He protected his time and lastly 6) He paid attention. For me the major distraction I face when it comes to writing is things going on around me. Could I become a better writer, personally I think I could however it would take a lot more practice and patience to even slightly improve. |
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