I used my collaboration skills when dividing up the tasks. I talked with my group member’s and asked them what they felt comfortable doing. Based on that information I decided to make the icing, which no one wanted to do. I feel that it’s important for everyone to work on the tasks they want so that the lab would actually be fun for them. I also used collaboration while brainstorming what cupcake and we should make. We came up with a main idea (berry themed) and branched off from there. One of my group members wanted to have a lot of fruit flavour in the cupcake. I came up with the idea of making a berry flavoured icing.
My first year of high school was intimidating but eventually fun. I was overwhelmed by the size of the building and was scared that I was going to get lost when trying to find my classes. I used the map to help me find my classes and soon enough, I got used to the schedule and where I needed to go. As I settled in my classes, I met a lot of new people and made a variety of friends. This year I really enjoyed my English and Japanese class. I really liked my classmates because they were super supportive and fun to be around. Those subjects are also the most interesting for me and I enjoyed learning new things. This year I also found out that I work and learn better in groups. Having a variety of opinions and views on topics help me see different perspectives and further my learning. Working with my friends is also just super fun and I look forward to completing assignments with them. This year flew by super fast and I’m excited to go back next year!
Quizlet has helped me tremendously this year and even previous years. Quizlet is my favourite website for studying for tests. It has many different features for studying from flashcards to matching games and even an AI chat bot. Quizlet makes studying fun and I find myself reviewing and studying more. I found that using Quizlet to study for Japanese has helped me memorize words faster and longer.
A Useful Educational Video
I chose this video because I made it for the ADL debate assignment. I spent a lot of time and effort with my partner to brainstorm ideas, create an argument and turn it into a video. I used topics and ideas that I have learned in different classes to support my claims. For example, in socials I learned that people resort to violence as a last resort, and I used that fact in my argument. I think that this assignment clearly shows the skills that I have learned and developed this year.
A Useful Educational Image
I chose this image because for me, its the most important thing I learned this year. I looked forward all year to take Japanese and its my favourite class. This image shows the Hiragana chart which is one of the alphabets that Japan has. This alphabet is the fundamental one and I think that its the most important. This chart is very helpful because it shows how the characters are pronounced and how to write them in the right order. Without memorizing the characters, Japanese would be very hard to learn so that’s why I think this image is the most important.
An Inspirational Quote
-Nelson Mandela
I like this quote because it applies to many different areas in my life. This quote is telling you to just push through all the challenges because when you look back, you will realize that it wasn’t impossible to do. When I think an assignment is hard, I try my best to get it done and it almost always ends up being easy to do.
Works Cited
8 Nelson Mandela Quotes That Inspire Me Every Day. https://www.lionworldtravel.com/news/8-nelson-mandela-day-quotes. Accessed 27 May 2024.
David. _25A0059. photo, 3 July 2020. Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/bootbearwdc/50076780993/.
The Japanese version of Spiderman differs quite a bit from the western version, mostly in the plot. Takuya Yamashiro who is a motorcycle racer got his powers by encountering a guy who is from the planet Spider. The guy, Garia wants to avenge his planet because it got destroyed by an evil group called the Iron Cross Army. He gives Takuya “spider extract” which makes him gain powers. Takuya’s goal is to fight the Iron Cross Army because it was their fault that is father died and to fulfill Garia’s wish. Peter Parker is a high school student who went on a field trip to see spiders. While he was distracted, a genetically altered spider bit him causing him to gain powers. Peter Parker fights more humanized creatures who are threatening the city. Both spidermen have the same costume and string power, but the main difference is that Takuya is fighting for revenge and Peter is fighting to protect.
I would say that the graphics and costuming are the most interesting part of this show. Whenever the Iron Cross Army shows up its funny because they are toy looking robots. Its hard to take them seriously when they look so plasticity and childish. This show was made quite some time ago so the graphics are obviously not good, but they still could have made the villains scarier. Supaidaman’s costume is also funny because it looks poorly made. The fabric is very thin, his eyes are glittery, too high up and too small. Other than that, I would say that the other costumes look cool. I am a fan of Garia and Professor Monster’s outfits because they are detailed and relate to their character.
I would recommend this show to others if they are bored and looking for something interesting but funny to watch. This show is unintentionally funny because it is very outdated and overdramatic. It has a good number of episodes to get invested in without having too many to the point that people won’t want to watch it anymore. I think that it’s a perfect show to watch casually because its very simple to follow along and its hard to forget the plot.
I think that future generations would think that our media is cringy and overdramatic. I find that as the years go on, media becomes less dramatic and has a lack of flair. Serious themes are being introduced and consumed more often and I think this trend will keep on going into the future. Even if we think that our media today is amazing, future generations probably will disagree. This is a cycle that will keep on happening throughout humanity.
School in Japan is quite different from Canada, but still have some similarities. Some differences are that Japanese schools use blackboards, the desks are arranged in rows, students stay with their class all year and all middle and high school students wear uniforms. Some similarities are that there are 3 levels of school, elementary, middle, high and that there are a lot of clubs. I wish that students were more involved in clubs, I would say only about half the students in Centennial are a part of a club. In Japan basically everyone is a part of a club. I think this is because people over here do more outside of school activities instead of their school clubs. Students in Japan don’t have much time after school to do these activities. A lot of them have cram school (after school school) and don’t come home until very late.
I think that students should have more responsibilities at school to prepare them for the future. Its important for kids to build on good habits at an early age. It also teaches kids to respect property and be tidy because they will have to clean it up in the end. Students will also feel more connected to their school and have a stronger community because everyone is working together to make it a better place to learn.
I would say that I am decent at じゃんけん. I don’t win a lot, but also don’t lose a lot. To snag leftovers, I think that I would make it to the final rounds but lose in the end. I don’t have a strategy for rock paper scissors so I just throw random hands in hopes that I would win. I think that having a strategy would help my chances go up.
I showed the skill of collaboration in this food’s lab. This was the very first lab we did, and I had to work with very new people. My partner and I divided the roles in this lab. I took on the role of measuring the dry ingredients and mixing it all together. Having equal roles helped us find success in this lab because it went by faster, and we finished on time. I also had the role of dishwasher when cleaning up after the lab. I followed the instructions posted on the cupboards which helped me know what to do and what was expected. Overall, I worked with others to achieve the common goal of baking yummy cookies, getting out of class on time and that’s what we did.
What I can improve on is getting support by other groups when I need help. When my group and I need help we ask the teacher, but we should really ask the groups around us. I shouldn’t be hesitant to ask because it will help my communication skills. In future labs, I will try to keep this in mind to build on this skill further.
AI helped me during this project by generating main ideas and citing websites that it took their information from. I came up with my own points but I needed sources to back up my claims and provide more in depth information about the topic. I made sure that the work I created was still my own by thinking on my own and jotting down ideas, then going to AI to help me further those thoughts. I read what AI had to say and summarized/rewrote what it generated. This helped me understand the topics given to me on a deeper level.
I argued about pro violence in this debate and I half agree with the claims I made. I think that violence helps people gain attention and awareness of what is happening. Even if its bad attention, people would still see and talk about it. Violence is also the last resort for people, so it isn’t used all the time. It shows that people are serious about their beliefs and want change. But I also agree that it can be very traumatizing to victims of violence and scary for people who don’t want to get harmed. Violence can be used stupidly during protests and revolutions which is bad for everyone. That’s why I think violence needs to be used in the right situation when extremely needed.
Core Competency Reflection
I am clear on the difference between simple “group work” and collaboration as evidenced by working together on tasks. We worked together on writing the introduction and conclusion. I knew that we both had things we wanted to say in those parts so I proposed that we work on it together. This is way better than one person doing the intro and the other person doing the conclusion because we collaborated more which helped us create more ideas. Another time where we worked together is the making of arguments. Even though we had our own side, we helped each other get more ideas and a different perspective on the topic.
I compile and synthesize information to draw reasoned conclusions, such as when I wrote the conclusion with my partner. I summarized what I thought were the most important points in this debate and shared it with my partner to make a conclusion. We agreed that violence can be helpful, but it can backfire at times. It is a short conclusion, but I feel like it summarized everything that we talked about while including both sides of the argument.
When I was about 9 years old, I remember my uncle showing my brother and I a music video of a chick mascot. The tune was very catchy and so the song stuck with me the rest of my life even though he only showed us the video once. I find myself going back to the video every couple of years because the song randomly pops into my head, and I feel the need to watch it again. Its not until now that I found out what the mascot was for and why it was created. ChickyBoo was created by a YouTube channel called RocketJump. I think they created a sort of parody video of the Kumamomon music video because the lyrics and tune are very similar. RocketJump created this video as a prank to its viewers, but people didn’t like ChickyBoo and so they disliked the video. Because of this, RocketJump only created 2 more videos with ChickyBoo in it, then he was never seen again. This was one of my earliest memories of seeing a Japanese style mascot and I will never forget him.
My favourite mascot from the ranking is ざおうさま (Zaosama) because he caught my eye. He is a very jolly looking king that is also very colourful. His description states that he lives in the depths of Miyagi Zao Forest because he is shy, he also likes hot springs, and he is a gourmet king. I found this funny because its relatable and I could imagine him as an actual person. I also like that he is a human because a lot of the mascots are food or animals, so a human mascot is more unique. Another character that I really like is Keroppi from Sanrio. He is my favourite out of all the Sanrio characters because he is a frog and one of my favourite animals are frogs. Keroppi looks the happiest out of a lot of the characters and he makes me happy when I look at him. My mom also likes keroppi a lot, so I knew him from a very early age and that’s one of the contributing factors to why he’s my favourite.
I think the most important factor of a mascot is its appearance. The first thing that people are going to see is the mascots appearance and their design. If people don’t like the look of the mascot, then they wouldn’t be interested, and the mascot would have little to no popularity. This will affect its revenue, activism, etc… because no one will be paying attention to what the mascot is doing and what its standing for. The design of the mascot should also be clearly related to the company, prefecture, city, etc… they are representing. When people see the mascot, they should easily tell where its from, this will help the creators get more attention. I think another important factor for a mascot is their personality. People will be interacting with the mascot so its important for the mascot to have a likeable personality. I also think a mascot with a unique personality would stick out in a good way because they will be different from the others and people might be more attracted to that. An exception to this is ちぃたん (Chiitan). He has a very bad personality and causes chaos wherever he goes. But he is not connected to any company or place in Japan, he is an independent mascot. I think the reason why people like him so much is because he is a rebel and the activities he partakes in are chaotic but funny. He also has a cute design which makes up for his bad personality.
I like having the idea of having a mascot for Coquitlam and other cities in the Greater Vancouver area. I think it will make living here more fun and less serious. Unlike Japan, I don’t think having city mascots will be as popular. People here wont care as much and would be less obsessed with the mascot than people in Japan. People over here are also judgmental to things that they think are “uncool” and “cringe” so having mascots might be subject to this thinking, like ChickyBoo. Japanese people love cute things and are more enthusiastic about characters and mascots. In Canada, there are many diverse people with different cultural and personal backgrounds so it would be hard to make a mascot that everyone would be interested in and care about. In Japan, many people are the same and as a society they like to blend and fit in to avoid attention. Working in Japan is very depressing because they work long hours, and their employers are harsher on them. I think that having these joyful mascots all around the country helps people cope with their stress and gives them a push to keep on working hard and to not give up. Mascots are always joyful and bring smiles to people, even in the form of Chiitan and they are a place of escape for people in need.
Honestly, I don’t do chores nor do my parents make me. My parents don’t give my brother and I certain tasks to do around the house each day. They don’t feel the need for us to do chores and I’ve never asked why. I am still responsible and clean up my room, my dishes and other messes that I make. My parents taught me from an early age to clean up after myself and I started cleaning up my messes myself when I was about 6. I think it’s the fact that I’m responsible and know how to do simple chores already is the reason why they don’t make me do chores. I’m very grateful for this because I’m often tired when I come home after my activities and have homework still left to finish. Having a list of chores to compete would make me busier and I would have little time to enjoy myself.
I have gone to some places by myself, but with my parents dropping me off and usually being accompanied by a friend. When I was in grade 3-4, I would sometimes walk home from school with my friend because we live close to each other, and the walk wasn’t far. The very first time I walked home by myself was just a few months ago when I wanted to get bubble tea with my friend. I didn’t want to keep my mom waiting so I just told her that I will walk home. The main reason why I don’t walk home regularly is because I’m usually in a rush to go to my extracurricular activities. When my schedule clears up in the spring, I would like to walk home more often because I find it relaxing and good exercise.
I have never used public transit by myself because I don’t really use it at all. When I was younger, I used public transit with my grandma and my mom on some occasions. My grandma doesn’t know how to drive so she would use public transit to take me places, while my grandpa who can drive stayed at home to watch over their dog and sometimes my brother. The times when I took public transit with my mom was when we wanted to go somewhere downtown, like Science World or Rogers Arena. To avoid paying for parking, she would drive to my grandparent’s house and leave the car (they live near downtown), then we would walk to the SkyTrain station which was only 1 block away and go downtown. I don’t think my parents would be comfortable with young me using public transit by myself. My parents were born and raised in Canada so they are used to this society and ideals. My grandparents who were born and raised in Japan would also be worried and paranoid about me in public alone. Even when I wanted to use the washroom in malls or other public spaces, my grandma will always go with me even though I have went in many times by myself when with my mom. I wasn’t even that young, probably about 7 years old. In the present day, I don’t use public transit because my parents are always available to drive me places. I also do a lot of extracurricular activities that take up quite a bit of time, so I don’t really have opportunities to go out myself or with friends all the time. I do have my own compass card and would I like to use it sometime in the near future.
I think that children around the world should grow up with the ideals of Japanese independence but with lower intensity. I agree with the idea of young children cleaning up after themselves and having responsibilities at home. It teaches them to be more mature and to not rely on your parents for everything. Teaching independence can be hard for older kids because they are so used to everyone else doing things for them, so that’s why I think parents should step back a bit and let their child do tasks on their own. Some kids may even like having independence because it gives them freedom and a voice. When I was a toddler, I wanted to do a lot of things myself, like picking out my own clothes and opening/shutting drawers. My mom let me do those things and I think her stepping back helped me build more independence. But what I disagree with is having young children leaving the house by themselves.
Japan is a very safe country and kid related crimes rarely happen. But in the rest of the world, many countries are not safe for children to be going out by themselves. This is why I think children should be accompanied by an adult until a certain age (depending on the safety of the place) and if they know their way around. The reason why this works for Japan is because the streets are safe for kids. The society in Japan has a belief that adults should watch over children and make sure that they are safe when travelling alone. This doesn’t mean follow the kid home, but being aware that there is a child and looking out for their well being. Many busy intersections have crossing guards to help children safely cross from their way to and from school. Other countries also have crossing guards, but it can still be unsafe due to the driver’s recklessness. There have been numerous incidences of crossing guards being hit or in danger because of unaware drivers.
In Japan, drivers are taught to yield to pedestrians, speed limits are lower and have more intersections in neighbourhoods to make cars go slower. Overall, as a society we should be more accommodating to the safety of children and people in general. This is important because letting children have independence and more responsibilities early on will help them survive in the world when they live on their own.
What inspired me to learn Japanese was the fact that I am half Japanese. I realized that I should learn the language so I could connect and communicate with my grandparents on a deeper level. I always wanted to be able to speak the language. My brother has also taken Japanese and I have seen that he has learned a lot in the 4 years he has taken it. Another thing that made me want to take this language is my interest in Japanese media. I find a lot a lot of joy watching anime, reading manga and listening to J-pop. I find that the translations are not always correct or don’t get the deeper meaning of the words. I would like to be able to understand what the artists are truly saying, even if its just a little bit. Another big factor in my choice is that I didn’t enjoy learning French in middle school and I didn’t want to take Spanish because its similar to French.
Goal
My main goal for the end of Japanese 9 is to be able to engage in simple conversation with someone and confidently know hiragana and katakana. I feel like this is a reasonable and important goal to achieve for this semester. I hope that I could understand what my grandparents are saying to me when they try to teach me new words and phrases. My end goal for grade 12 is to be able to go to Japan and talk to people without fear and to read most things there. My ultimate dream is to be able to play hockey in Japan at a high level because hockey is my passion and I think it would be a fun experience to play in a different country.
Motivation
I would keep myself motivated by pushing through the challenges and telling myself that I could do it. I will keep on remembering why I want to take Japanese and my end goal to help me stay motivated. This course is the one that I wanted to take the most and so I think I will stay pretty motivated and eager to learn throughout this semester. If I am struggling I will ask my brother or grandparents for help because they are the ones who I have easy access to and can understand the things I am learning.
