Author Archives: Spencer

Music Monday Reflection

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  1. Both songs discuss the indigenous perspective on what it was like when white settlers began taking over their land. The Zollas’s song does a good job at describing this perspective in a way that a white young adult would understand. They used lyrics like “Roman-candle”, and talking about partying on a beach with your friends to draw the attention of youth to the issue of colonization.
  2. Both these songs discuss how unfair it was for the indigenous people, and how unfair it still is. Simpson’s song says, “We don’t have to plan for the win, we always lose anyway”, this describes how because they are outnumbered, they will never win, and that the “whites” can do whatever they want to the indigenous community and they cant stop it. The Zollas’s song says, ” we drove around the edge of them and went on with our lives” this line is from the opposing perspective, how white people ignored what was happening, didn’t even care what was going on, and went on with their lives like normal.
  3. If you pay attention to both songs and understand all the symbolism, they are both equally sad. But, if you just hear the Zollas’s song in the background and don’t pay attention to it, then it appears not sad at all. Its a lot more up-beat than Simpson’s song. Simpson’s song is slow, quiet, and monotone, to really set that sad and upsetting vibe.
  4. Exposing truths, advocating for reconciliation and inclusivity is important to both bands/singers. Most of the Zollas’s songs are about current events and issues. As strong as the Zollas’s feel about this issue, it has no personal impact on them. On the other hand, Simpson, as an indigenous woman, has directly experienced this colonization, and more importantly the racism.
  5. In the Zollas’s song the line, “We drove around the edge of them and went on with our lives” is opposite to Simpson’s line, “deadening regret, collection of old parts”. The Zollas’s line explains how the “white” people ignored what was happening to the indigenous community, and went on with their lives like normal. Simpson’s line talks about the need to uncover these truths, and the need to talk about them, and that the “whites” need to regret their actions in order to begin reconciliation. Two songs with the same theme, yet opposing lines. This shows how songwriters can take different paths to talk about the same cause. This raises the most awareness because explaining something in many different ways has the best chance of reaching the most people. This is shown through the differences, yet similarities between The Zollas’s song and Simpson’s song.

Pre-Calculus 11 Core Competency Self-Assessment

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Core Competency Reflection

Learning and using math vocabulary
This semester we learnt a whole new variety of mathematical vocab. As much as I disliked having to learn new vocab, once learned, it definitely helped as I could use specific vocabulary over saying, “the thing, the thing, the thing,”. For example, the radicand vs. the thing inside the square root bracket. Learning, but more importantly, understanding and being able to use this math vocab has greatly helped me on tests, and for overall understanding of the course.

Dealing with challenges
A pre-calculus 11 course has many challenges. One of the most obvious and arguably most difficult challenge, is not understanding the topic. To break this down, not understanding a specific problem. There are many ways I dealt with this challenge over the course of the semester, some strategies were better than others. The most obvious, and best strategy would be asking the teacher for help, that was my first choice. When that wasn’t an option I’d ask a peer. If I was away from the classroom, my first choice would be re-reading the notes, if that still failed I’d photomath the problem for a full solution. Another challenge was making silly mistakes on a test, I looked over my work but sometimes still missed stuff because I thought it was right. For example, I minused the coefficient when that’s not allowed, it should have been divided. I can’t say I found a solution for this, obviously the more you practice the less likely it is to make a mistake, but when studying I am not making these mistakes.

Working collaboratively with others
Throughout the semester we did groupwork almost every day. The prompt for this paragraph is “Working collaboratively with others,” The word collaboratively is a good word because it does not mean it was effective, and that’s how I feel. Group work is awesome in building skills, and a great way to learn the material, but this is only the case if you are with the correct group members based on your skills and level of understanding. At the start of the semester when group work was random it was good, most weeks you had at least one or two people in your group that were at your level. For me, group work was important, it really helped me learn the material, and was an important piece of my success. I just wish I could have been with stronger math students more at my level. I realize I could have switched groups, but halfway through the course when everyone already had good groups set, I did not feel comfortable leaving my group. I really liked my group members, but sometimes we were getting stuck on the simplest mistakes, and they wouldn’t like when I tried to help. Because of this, we were not an efficient or effective group. To summarize, I found group work very helpful, but would have liked my permanent group to be slightly stronger students.

Advice for Future Students

I have a few points of advice for future students. The first one, and what I think is the most important is do ALL the workbook questions, and do them right away. Some of the days have a lot of questions and if you wait, you will get overloaded and never do them. My second point is to slowly prepare for unit tests and quizzes at least a few days before the test. Doing this helped me do better on the test, and not be stress studying the night before when I’m not retaining knowledge as well as I would when I’m calm the days before the test. My last piece of advise would be learn the math vocab. Not only learn it, but be able to use it on a connecting and reflecting, or reasoning and modeling question. Using these words correctly is the key to getting extending on these types of questions.

Transforming Parabolas

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An imagine showing a graph with two parabolas, the parent function in green, and my equation in blue.

My Equation, and the Parent Function

The parent function.
The equation I was given in red, and some explanations of each value.
Solving for the X-Intercept
Solving for the Vertex of the parabola.
Solving for the axis of symmetry.
Solving for the Y-Intercept.
An imagine show the Domain, Range, and Maximum value of the parabola

h, k, a? What Are They?

What do the values of “h”, “k” and “a” in the equation y=a(x+h)^2+k mean? And how do they change and transform the parabola from the parent function?

To begin, the value of “h” is the horizontal shift, (easy to remember! “h for horizontal”). Remember that if the parabola is shifted to the left (or negative side of the graph) “h” will be positive. If the parabola is to the right (positive side of the graph), “h” will be negative. The value of “h” also gives is the “x” point of the vertex.

The value of “a” is a coefficient that controls all of the stretching and compressing. If a>1 the parabola will be more compressed (narrower) than the parent function. If a<1 the parabola will be more stretched (wider) than the parent function. If a is negative, the parabola will reflect down, if a is positive, the parabola will open upwards.

Lastly, the value of “k” is the vertical shift. If “k” is positive, the parabola will be shifted up. If “k” is negative, the parabola will be shifted down. The value of “k” also gives us the “y” point of the vertex. “h” and “k” together give us the entire vertex.

Specifically in my equation:
In my equation (y=-1/4(x-5)^2 -5) the “a” value is negative, and less than 1. This means, my parabola will reflect down, and be wider than the parent function (as shown in the Desmos graph below). In my equation the “h” value is negative 5 meaning, the parabola is shifted 5 spaces to the right from the parent parabola (as shown in graph below). The “k” value is also -5 meaning the parabola will be shifted 5 spaces down from the parent function, (as shown below).

An imagine showing a graph with two parabolas, the parent function in green, and my equation in blue.

Self Reflection

1. Give an example from this assignment where you represented the same mathematical idea in multiple ways? I represented the values of h, k, and a in 3 ways. In words and explanation, in graph form, and in numerical, mathematical form.

2. Give an example from this assignment where you used mathematical vocabulary to demonstrate your understanding. In all of my explanations I used mathematical vocabulary like, stretched, compressed, parent function, transformed, shifted, reflected, less than, and a few more.

3. Give an example from this assignment where you used formatting to share the information in a clear and organized way. I formatted my Desmos graph to show both my equation and the parent function so while I was explaining, the reader had a chance to visualize this. For this reason (another formatting situation) I posted my graph twice.

Desert Island Project

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Desert Island Artifact

An image containing the first page to our project.

About the Project

We as a class were tasked with creating a legal system in partners or alone. This legal system would accommodate our class being stranded on an island. The goal is to create laws, and a governing body which is fair, ethical, and keeps everyone alive.

Core Competency Reflection

I can form new ideas to create new things. I can also build on the ideas of others. This project was a great example of this as it was a group project. I included many of my own ideas, but I also, while working with him, added and built onto his ideas, making the project contain an even amount of both of our ideas.

I can deliberately learn about things that interest me, and new ideas pop into my head. I am heavily interested in law. This is evident in the effort that was put into this assignment. I not only completed it to complete it, It was fun for me. I used my knowledge of current law as well as my ethical judgment skills to design a legal system that is fair for all, keeps crime rates low, and ensures the definite survival of the island.

I can recognize different points of view and can disagree respectfully. I did this quite a bit during this project. I wanted a harsher government and laws whereas my partner wanted a lighter form of government. I was able to acknowledge his views, I was able to politely agree with some of his ideas, as he was able to do the same with mine. We combined our political views allowing us both to be satisfied with the severity of our created government.

I can analyze evidence to make judgements. To complete this project I analyzed many legal systems. Some from the past, some from the present. I researched what worked and what didn’t. This research shaped my judgments for our project.

Curricular Competency Reflection

Through this project my partner and I were able to create a government highlighting ethical judgments about controversial decisions, legislation, or policy. I chose to add in (with my partners agreement) some harsher highly controversial laws like forced unpaid labour (no currency on the island), and euthanizing people who no longer contribute to the island. I believe although they may seem unethical, these laws will ensure the survival of this island. There are limited resources, and if you are consuming more than you are replacing, the island will quickly die.

Facing a challenge

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A picture showing a mathematical problem I solved from chapter 1.6

The first time I tried this problem I found it challenging because I did not properly read the notes, therefore I missed an important step on how to change the index of the radical.

Below is a photo of my mistakes with an explanation.

A photo of my incorrect solution to the same problem above.

My mistake was not realizing that a radical with no index written still has an “imaginary” index of 2. What I did wrong was I multiplied the radical in the numerator by 10, when I should have only multiplied it by 5. The radical in the denominator is correct. Although I made a mistake on the first step of the problem, everything after that was correct in a sense that you ignore the original question. My combining exponents and simplifying was technically correct.

To find the correct strategy to solve this problem I first read the notes, when I still didn’t understand I consulted a neighboring peer to assist me. This peer explained it well, I then understood the concept and not only could solve this one problem, but I learnt the correct way to solve all of these like problems.

Concepts I will need to remember for the next time I solve this type of problem, is remember that a radical with no index show is a radical of 2. As an example, if I am trying to get to a common index of 6, I would multiple the square radical by 3, instead of 6.

Next time I am struggling with a problem I believe I will use the same strategy, first check the notes, then consult peers. If I am still struggling I will try the teacher, or online resources.

Physics Core Competency Reflection

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This is my physics slinky wave lab. During this project I put to practice several core competencies. To start, I am clear on the difference between simple “group work” and collaboration as evident in my work. I not only talked and worked out the problems with my own group, but I also collaborated with other groups when my group was stuck. Secondly, I remain open minded as I explore viable options or alternative approaches, like when I turned the Slinkey sideways so It was easier for us to interpret the results, as we were in a far from perfect world because of bent Slinkey’s, extra friction, etc. This lab was a great time to use my groupwork skills, and my critical thinking skills as we had to figure out everything among us peers.

Auto 11 self-reflection.

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One of my most recent projects was starting to replace the exhaust on a 1991 F-150. Although Mr. Kent has not yet gone into detail about exhaust, I have a general idea of knowledge to help me complete this project. To be successful with this replacement I will need to use critical thinking, because the exhaust is not a perfect fit, some modification is needed. I will also need personal and social responsibility because I am working together with another student on this project. 

A picture of the new exhaust laid out on the ground.
A picture of the underside of the truck on the drive on hoist.

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Spencer Eigenmann                           Explain the Character of Mooch. 

There are many examples within the literature that describe the character of Mooch. Mooch is a physiologically messed up person. To begin, Mooch was badly abused in residential school. They “Brought [him] down to the basement,” Beat and raped him. Mooch had it worse off than any of his friends. He witnessed but was more often a victim of abuse. Other people in his community that experienced less trauma have committed suicide. But Mooch is still around, surrounded by his friends, and saved by alcohol. Next, Mooch relies on everyone for everything. Mooch is always getting people to give and buy him things and then saying, “Oh I’ll get the next one,” To explain, Mooch has not much left, both money, and mentally. Given the magnitude of dysfunction he has been a victim to, he cannot fully provide for himself. Because of this reason, his friends and family cannot say no to him. Whenever Mooch asks for anything, beer, money, food, the answer is always yes. Nobody can say no to the guy because they are aware of what he has been through. To conclude, Mooch is an alcoholic. Mooch “Drinks his problems away.” Mooch relies heavily on alcohol to stay sane. Mooch was terribly abused, verbally, physically, and even sexually, drugs like alcohol are the only way for him to face each day. Mooch spends a lot of money on alcohol to get over the trauma. This is a reason Mooch is always asking other people for things. He cannot support himself. From what has been said, Mooch’s mental state is rotten.