C4K Summary for September

Summary of C4K Comments

Porscha

My first C4K assignment was to an eighth grade student named Porscha who attends Pt England School in Auckland, New Zealand. While scrolling through her blog, I noticed an interesting post she wrote on September 4, 2014, in which she made a proposal to New Zealand's Prime Minister, John Key. In this letter, Porscha respectfully asked that there be a ban on plastic bags because she did not like the pollution that it was causing to the local marine life. She suggested a number of great ideas to reduce sea pollution through the ban and reduction of the use of plastic bags. She also provided many great facts that I never would have guessed.

One key fact that I learned from Porscha is that over 1 million plastic bags are used in New Zealand each year. She went on to say that when plastic bags are not disposed of properly, they can wind up in the ocean, and the animals can mistake it for food. This then can be the cause of many deaths amongst sea creatures.

I enjoyed reading and learning from Porscha's post, so I wrote her to thank her for sharing and to suggest a few ideas. Here is my response to her proposal to New Zealand's Prime Minister, John Key on banning plastic bags:

"Hello Porscha! I loved this proposal to ban plastic bags. It makes me proud to see a young lady so concerned with improving the environment. Sea pollution is a serious problem, and it is a great thing that you are choosing to be an activist in the movement to end it. One question that I do have is have you presented this letter to Mr. John Key himself? I am sure he would love to hear your opinion. Your proposal is very well formulated, and I suggest that you consider mailing this letter to him. I am an animal lover, and I would love to see your letter make it to his office. Good luck in your journey to end this issue!"

Heaven

The following week, I was assigned to the blog of a student named Heaven, a high school student in Virginia. The title of her blog post that I commented on is "Make your mark on the world, world, world!!." In this post, Heaven tells how she plans to make her mark on the world by becoming a famous professional actress. She says that she would love to become a great African-American actress like Dorothy Dandridge or another African-American actress. I found this post quite interesting because I like her pursuit for a career that she would enjoy.

Thinking back on my life, I always made choices based off of what people wanted me to do or what "everyone else" was doing. But I one thing I never thought about was about making MY mark on the world. I never questioned what was really for ME. It wasn't until now that I have become sure of what it is that I want to do, and I am proud to say that teaching is something that I plan to use to make MY mark on the world.

In my response to Heaven's post, I did not go into great detail about my own thoughts about making my mark on the world, but instead I further questioned her about her plans to make her own mark. This was my response:

"Hello Heaven! I am Candace Harris, a student at the University of South Alabama, and I love your plan to become a professional actress! What a great career choice! Personally, I love actors and actresses because without them the world would be a lot less entertaining. What kind of acting do you like the most? In the future, do you think you would prefer being an actor on television or on the big screen, in movies? Have you ever considered becoming a Broadway actress? I would love to know!"

Chloe F

For my third C4k assignment, I chose the student Chloe F, an Iowa High School Student. In her post "Talent or Hard Work?" Chloe explained that hard work was much more important than talent because of how far hard work can take you in life. Not only was her blog post very detailed, but Chloe made several valid points, which all lead back to her thesis that hard work is more important than talent.

One important point that Chloe made was that hard work could really take you far in life. This makes me think about my own experiences throughout life. I have noticed that when I am patient, and I put in time and effort for something, I usually get better results. People also notice when you are passionate about something, and you may work harder to achieve a goal when you start gaining notice. I agree with Chloe 100 percent. Here is my statement in response to Chloe's post:

"Hello Chloe! I agree totally. I also think that hard work is much more important than talent. It is a great thing to have a talent, however, what good does it do to have a talent that goes to waste because of laziness? One quote that has always stuck in my head is by Tim Notke, “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” I have found this quote to be very true, not only throughout my life, but through looking at the lives of many talented people who let their gifts go to waste. Great post! Keep up the good work! I would love to hear what inspires you to work hard!"

Click the following links to read the full posts by Porscha, Heaven, and Chloe:

Porscha's Letter to John Key

Heaven's Plan to Make Her Mark on The World

Chloe's view on Hard work vs. Talent