Second Semester Honors Book Club
Gatsby Project: Added Scenes
Scene 1: Calming the Hurricane
Daisy has always had a delicate snore. Never loud enough to wake me up, but just audible enough. My snore, though I’ve never heard it, was more thunderous and bulky, and Daisy used to complain that it kept her up at night. That night, however, our room was completely silent. There were no whistles of the nose or sighs from the throats. The hushed rustling of sheets was the only sound heard during that sleepless night. However, the tension between Daisy and I could be sensed from West Egg. Daisy seemed withdrawn and focused on herself, as was I. We both mourned for our lost relationships on that fretful night; our affairs had been swiftly and officially terminated, as had Daisy’s innocence.
To see the entire project, click here.
Scene 1: Calming the Hurricane
Daisy has always had a delicate snore. Never loud enough to wake me up, but just audible enough. My snore, though I’ve never heard it, was more thunderous and bulky, and Daisy used to complain that it kept her up at night. That night, however, our room was completely silent. There were no whistles of the nose or sighs from the throats. The hushed rustling of sheets was the only sound heard during that sleepless night. However, the tension between Daisy and I could be sensed from West Egg. Daisy seemed withdrawn and focused on herself, as was I. We both mourned for our lost relationships on that fretful night; our affairs had been swiftly and officially terminated, as had Daisy’s innocence.
To see the entire project, click here.
First Semester Honors Independent Study
Visual Element - VideoFor my independent study, I chose to research the use of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. My main research question was: "Under the circumstances, was it justified for the U.S.A. to drop the atomic bombs on Japan?" After researching the event for many months, I created a video documenting the events leading up to the atomic bombings of Japan. Also posted here is my Documentation Binder which is a compilation of project proposal, responses to readings, responses to my research questions, and other components.
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Documentation Binder
Independent Study Project Reflection
PART I
For Honors Humanities, each student that chose to take the honors course was required to complete an independent study. This project was very open-ended and each student could chose whatever topic they would like to study. Upon that selection, each student studied their topic in depth through the analysis of several primary, secondary, and other sources. For my project, I chose to study the use of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II (WWII) because it’s a defining era in the history of the United States that I hadn’t studied in depth before. My initial research question was: “Under the circumstances, was it justified for the U.S.A. to drop the atomic bombs on Japan?” My research question was very dialed to my personal interests allowing me to keep the same research question throughout the course of my independent study.
PART II
This project mainly helped me with perseverance because even though we had about six months to complete the project, it was still a great amount of work. It took a lot of self-encouragement and inspiration to keep pushing through this project week by week and complete each section while still modeling beautiful work. The most challenging portion of this project to persevere through was the research and critical reaction section. This was because I selected mainly lengthy sources that were time consuming and challenging to read. For example, I chose to read Henry Stimson’s diary entries, which I thought would be an easier source to read. However, this turned out to be one of the most prolonged sources of my entire project. Also, I struggled with refinement during this project. Even though the feedback from Ashley was useful and necessary for success during this project, I was often unmotivated to revise my critical reactions after receiving feedback. After completing this project, I feel more prepared for Senior Year and college experiences because I now understand how to manage my time, persevere, and refine my work during a long-term independent study.
PART III
One substantial revision I made for this project was during the last couple of weeks of the project. My initial idea for my project was to create a museum exhibit by printing out about ten pictures to hang around a room. I would then write a script and create an audio track of me reading significant information about the use of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki for people to listen to while viewing the pictures. However, after realizing that it would cost upward of thirty dollars to print all of the pictures I wanted, I decided to create a compilation of pictures on the computer while reading the same script. If I could further refine my project, I think it would have been more interesting if my compilation of pictures also included some video footage. I had thought of this before the exhibition, but I wasn’t sure how to legally find, download, and use these videos in my project. If it was possible to legally include videos from the Internet, I would have liked to find footage of the bombings of Pearl Harbor, the Trinity Test, President Truman’s speech that I quoted, the Battle of Okinawa, the bombs being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the celebration after the war had ended. These video clip could have helped my project be more interesting to watch and convey the ideas of the events more efficiently. For example, footage of the use of the atomic bomb would have made it easier for viewers to imagine the size of the explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
PART IV
If I had to give advice to a future honor’s student, I would tell them to pick a topic that is interesting to them. Although this may seem obvious, this is important because you’re going to be spending six months researching the topic. In order to create beautiful work, you have to be engaged in the project and it is definitely easier to be engaged if you are actually fascinated by the topic you are studying. Also, I would tell future students to have multiple friends peer critique their projects, even if they aren’t taking honors classes. That way, you can know if your project makes sense to someone who hasn’t spent six months studying the project. In addition, it’s important to keep a running document of all websites you visit during the course of your study. Sometimes, you will read a piece of information on a website and remember it later while working on your project. Even though you remember reading the information, it can be very difficult to find that piece of information in the future. Most importantly, make sure you gain something personally throughout the project. When you begin, set one goal to focus on during your research. For example, you could focus on any of the habits of heart and mind or 21st century thinking skills.
For Honors Humanities, each student that chose to take the honors course was required to complete an independent study. This project was very open-ended and each student could chose whatever topic they would like to study. Upon that selection, each student studied their topic in depth through the analysis of several primary, secondary, and other sources. For my project, I chose to study the use of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II (WWII) because it’s a defining era in the history of the United States that I hadn’t studied in depth before. My initial research question was: “Under the circumstances, was it justified for the U.S.A. to drop the atomic bombs on Japan?” My research question was very dialed to my personal interests allowing me to keep the same research question throughout the course of my independent study.
PART II
This project mainly helped me with perseverance because even though we had about six months to complete the project, it was still a great amount of work. It took a lot of self-encouragement and inspiration to keep pushing through this project week by week and complete each section while still modeling beautiful work. The most challenging portion of this project to persevere through was the research and critical reaction section. This was because I selected mainly lengthy sources that were time consuming and challenging to read. For example, I chose to read Henry Stimson’s diary entries, which I thought would be an easier source to read. However, this turned out to be one of the most prolonged sources of my entire project. Also, I struggled with refinement during this project. Even though the feedback from Ashley was useful and necessary for success during this project, I was often unmotivated to revise my critical reactions after receiving feedback. After completing this project, I feel more prepared for Senior Year and college experiences because I now understand how to manage my time, persevere, and refine my work during a long-term independent study.
PART III
One substantial revision I made for this project was during the last couple of weeks of the project. My initial idea for my project was to create a museum exhibit by printing out about ten pictures to hang around a room. I would then write a script and create an audio track of me reading significant information about the use of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki for people to listen to while viewing the pictures. However, after realizing that it would cost upward of thirty dollars to print all of the pictures I wanted, I decided to create a compilation of pictures on the computer while reading the same script. If I could further refine my project, I think it would have been more interesting if my compilation of pictures also included some video footage. I had thought of this before the exhibition, but I wasn’t sure how to legally find, download, and use these videos in my project. If it was possible to legally include videos from the Internet, I would have liked to find footage of the bombings of Pearl Harbor, the Trinity Test, President Truman’s speech that I quoted, the Battle of Okinawa, the bombs being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the celebration after the war had ended. These video clip could have helped my project be more interesting to watch and convey the ideas of the events more efficiently. For example, footage of the use of the atomic bomb would have made it easier for viewers to imagine the size of the explosions at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
PART IV
If I had to give advice to a future honor’s student, I would tell them to pick a topic that is interesting to them. Although this may seem obvious, this is important because you’re going to be spending six months researching the topic. In order to create beautiful work, you have to be engaged in the project and it is definitely easier to be engaged if you are actually fascinated by the topic you are studying. Also, I would tell future students to have multiple friends peer critique their projects, even if they aren’t taking honors classes. That way, you can know if your project makes sense to someone who hasn’t spent six months studying the project. In addition, it’s important to keep a running document of all websites you visit during the course of your study. Sometimes, you will read a piece of information on a website and remember it later while working on your project. Even though you remember reading the information, it can be very difficult to find that piece of information in the future. Most importantly, make sure you gain something personally throughout the project. When you begin, set one goal to focus on during your research. For example, you could focus on any of the habits of heart and mind or 21st century thinking skills.