You Can Learn Anything. Really.

Famous people work hard and fail over and over just the like the rest of us. Have a listen to Will Smith share his thinking on greatness and making your life count.

Throughout history there have been those who have succeeded because they failed.

In sport….

In the arts….

One big idea that weaves its way through all of my teaching (and my learning) is the idea that we can learn anything. We need to work at it though. We need to extend effort. We need to be persistent. We need be prepared to take risks. We need to be ready to fail and fail and fail. We need a plan to get back up and try again. We need to surround ourselves with the people who will support us in our learning. But we must always remember that we need to do the work.

In the above video, Ed Sheeran shows us what growth mindset in action looks like. Not only does he take on something that he has never done and never gives up, even when he really wants to, he also makes his learning visible. You might think that that is no big deal because he is Ed Sheeran. But I don’t think that’s true. Remember that this is a guy who has gone from busking to selling out arenas around the world because he believed in himself and he worked hard at it.  He says in the video “9 Days and Nights of Ed Sheeran” that “if you can’t sing or play guitar, I couldn’t either. It is possible. You don’t have to be born with a special magic gift or anything, you just practice.”

We don’t have to be famous to have a growth mindset though. We do need to think about our beliefs and goals and the work that we need to be doing to realize our best self. Consider each of the following questions. Take time throughout your learning process to check in with yourself. How are you doing?

What’s your next step?

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146 thoughts on “You Can Learn Anything. Really.

  1. Thanks so much for this. First, for the Ed Sheeran content, because, I have some students in my classes who are all about Ed Sheeran, so they are going to love this! I love the line “I’ve never wanted to quit something so much.” And then there’s that piece of the diagram about procrastination and temptation. That’s me. In fact, I’m kind of doing it right now, as I write this response. I might need a copy of that one printed for my workspaces. It’s so hard sometimes to stay on track, especially when we know what we’re doing may fail. Whew! Would love to know what’s helping you move along that continuum.

    • That’s a mighty question Lisa.
      I have a strong moral imperative to help people create their best versions of themselves so that they might have lives that in turn make our world an increasingly better place. I know this is lofty and may even sound cliche, but it is what drives me…always. And I just learned via the EQi (emotional intelligence survey that I had to do for PQP2) that I have high levels of optimism. Maybe this explains why I keep showing up everyday!
      Thanks for adding your two cents here.

  2. This is a beautiful post.

    Over the past few years I have been really struggling with some learning. It wasn’t until I saw a documentary about masters in the field and the struggles they had in getting where they are. It taught me that there are “no straight lines” to our goals.

    We used to say “all kids can learn”, but “You can learn anything” is a much more powerful statement. The Khan Academy video is one of my favourites: https://www.khanacademy.org/youcanlearnanything

    “How are you doing” is such an important question as we check in with ourselves and our students on our learning journey.

    Thank you for sharing!

  3. Thanks for taking the time to drop by Donna. I have been collecting examples of growth mindset from everywhere. The Ed Sheeran example came to me because my daughter is a dancer (contemporary/modern/break…but what do I know?), so I will on occasion check out dance videos. I was so taken with Sheeran’s attitude in the music video that I felt there must be more.

    My students know about the Fresh Prince of Belair and Michael Jordan, but still contemporary examples are important to have. Educators may have recently come to know growth mindset, but for many in the past and in the present this is just the way it is.

    I have used the Khan Academy video in class, so it got cut in the final edit here.

  4. Hi Ms. Balen;
    Thank you so very much for sharing your blog post. I had never heard of Ed Sheeran before, but really enjoyed watching the video with my students. Next we are going to go watch the music video so I can catch up on my pop culture. We’ve had some great discussions in class about the Growth Mindset, and have received our mid term report cards today. Your blog post timing was excellent. Thanks!
    From, Jaclyn

    • Hi Ms. Calder,
      I am thrilled that you and your students decided to use this post to reflect on mid-term learning. It’s a big leap for all of us to be so public with our learning process. I am so proud of everyone participating! Now, I need to read and reply to all of our students!

  5. Hello Ms.Ballen
    I am a student at Midland Secondary School, I am in Ms.Calders class. and I have just got my Mid term report card. Your blog post made me think that I to work on my writing skills. My next step is to slow down and ask for help. I really like the Micheal Jorden video. because I understand how it feels to fail over and over again.
    thanks for shareing your blog post.
    Katherine

    • Hello Katherine,

      It is so nice to meet you online. Slowing down when writing is important, and asking for help is something even the best writers do. Famous writers use the editing process just like we do. They ask other skilled writers to read their work so that they can make improvements. Keep up the good effort!

      Ms. Balen

    • Hi Katherine,

      The fact that you were brave enough to to take a rist and talk about and share your areas of opportunity on a blog post shows that you already have a a solid base and understanding of growth mindset. Follow through with these goals, and keep asking for help when you need to.

      Thanks for sharing,

      Mr. Staruck

  6. Hi Ms.Balen
    I am a student at midland secondary school, I am in Ms. Calders class. I just got my report card, your blog made me thought about how failing makes you succeed on what skill you do. My report card tells me that I need to develop my writing skills. My next step is that i’m going to work on is to become a hockey player. I really like the video about Micheal Jordan because right away he says that every mistake/failure you make get up and try again, you will succeed.

    • Hi Cole!

      It’s a good idea to work on your writing because hockey players need to be able to communicate with their fans! Keep up the good effort!

      Ms. Balen

  7. Hi Ms. Balen i am a student from Midland secondary school in crazy Ms. calders class and i just got my midterm report card your blog post made me think that you should not give up even if you want to my report card tells me that i need to work on use time wisely and not to get destructed and my next step is to work harder and talk with friend in my spar time and i really like the video when the guy was dancing and he did not know how to dance and then he was doing all of cool tricks and stuff

    • Hi Andrew,

      We all have to work on using our time wisely and to avoid distractions. My students and I work on building our stamina in reading and writing so that we can do the best learning we can. Keep trying!

      Ms. Balen

  8. i am a student in ms calder’s class and i just got my midterm report card. your blog post made me think i could try harder in my classes my report card told me i need to work on English my next step is to work on how organized i am i really like the will smith video because it spoke to me

    • Hello Jacob,

      I think that being organized will help you in trying hard Jacob. I know it helps me if I know what I am suppose to do and if I can find all of my materials easily. I don’t get discouraged or confused, and I am ready to learn! Thanks for sharing your thoughts about Will Smith. So many people connect to his message about effort and hard work. Keep up your good efforts!

      Ms. Balen

  9. Hi Ms. Balen;
    I am a student at MSS in Ms Calders class and i just got my mid term report card. Your post made me think, that i need to get out of the fixed mindset zone and into the growth mindset. my report card tells me that i need to really step up. All my marks (except for one, which would be a 1-) are an R. My next step is to get all my marks up to at least 60 by the end of december. I really like the video about michael jordan, talking about how failiure makes you stronger.
    Thanks for sharing your post.
    Jacob

    • JacobS,
      This is a GREAT response to this blog post by Ms. Balen. I’m very proud of you. Remember – Learning Strategies is the class where we can make all this happen. We will do some more goal setting and work on getting you to “step up” next week. I can’t wait. Great work Jacob.
      From, Ms. Calder

    • Hi Jacob,

      I really like that video too. Every time I watch it, I get goosebumps! So often we think that “those” people must have some kind of magic that we don’t have, and that is why they have succeeded. It is important for us to recognize the role of hard work and effort in all of the things we do. You can do this Jacob!

      Ms. Balen

  10. Hello Ms. Balen

    I am at student at midland secondary school In crazy calder’s class i just got my midterm report card your blog post made me think about how ed famous people make mistakes my report card tells me i have to improve on listing skills my next step is to improve on my listing skills and pay more attention in class I really liked the Ed Sheeren video because it tells how even famous people make mistakes in life because that is how people learn in become successful in life

    from jade

    • Hi Jade,

      You got it! We do need to fail to learn. For many students this is a tough idea to figure out, but you sound like you have. Well done!

      Ms. Balen

  11. I am a student at main ms.calders class I just got my midterm report card. Your blog post made me think that the Ed Sherrington video made me think that you should never give up and keep trying and rerach for your goal.my report card tells me I need to work on to re look my work and try and fix the answer that I got rong.my next step is tot honk more on my work. I really like the video about Ed sherries because he didn’t stop trying even if he made mistakes he still tried. From logan

  12. i am a student at midland secondary school in ms Calder’s class and i just got my mid term report card your blog post made me think that failing is ok my report card tells me i have to work on geographer my next step is to work on doing better i really like the video about Michael Jordan because he is one of the best basketball player
    thanks you for sharing your blog post
    from dylan

    • Dylan,
      Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Michael Jordan. I look forward to working together with you next week to implement strategies for success in Geography.
      From, Calder

  13. Hi Ms. Balen;

    I am a student at Midland Secondary School in crazy Ms. Calders’ class and I just got my midterm report card. Your blog post made me think that if you always practice you will succeed. My report card tells me that I need to work on my numeracy skills My next step is to increase my math skills and work more without getting distracted I really like the picture of the famous fails because it shows that even celebrities fail sometime.

    Thank you for sharing your blog post.

    Caleb

    • Hi Caleb;

      It’s awesome to see you making your thinking visible in a blog comment.

      The adjective you used to describe your teacher is one I can identify with, because my students used it to describe me all the time.

      I want to share this post with you: https://twitter.com/jmsprincipal/status/532728915811651586

      I think you are really fortunate to be in a class with a teacher who won’t stop believing in you. I would want the very same for my own kids.

      Keep working hard. You CAN learn anything.

      • Mrs. Fry,
        You have no idea how funny that tweet is. My nickname for Caleb (who is my “tech master”) is often “trouble”. 🙂 This is because he is always pushing me to grow and think differently.

        I do agree with the premise though! We need to challenge things that don’t make sense and to advocate for our own learning!

  14. I like how Will Smith talks about the key to success or about growth mindset because. The only way you can be successful is if you go through failure! if you don’t fail over and over again it means that you haven’t tried nothing new. if you want to be successful you gotta work harder than the other guy. Try to be better than the person you were yesterday. “When he’s asleep, i’m at work, when he’s eating, I’m at work!” I think this quote by Will Smith is very empowering, and inspirational he also talks about how “Being successful or memorable isn’t only in the few of us. Its in those who work for it! You don’t start off by saying i’m going to build a great big brick wall! You start of by saying i’m going to place this brick as perfectly as a brick can be placed, and soon you’ll have your wall!”

    • Hi Joel,
      I really like how you used a specific example from the video to make your point. That quote from Will Smith stuck with me too. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here.
      Ms. Calder

    • Joel, I agree that Will Smith is super inspirational. I wonder how you might connect his message with our conversations about growth mindset and the work that we do everyday? Look through your long range plans and your planning frames. What goals have you set for yourself? How might Will Smith’s thinking help you achieve your goals?

      Ms. Balen

  15. 1.Yes. because i did a lot of work in both my daybook and my lit log but unfortunately i did not do enough to even raise my mark.
    2.Yes. I think i set high goals and almost achieved it but some of the work i was not here to do and it was only due in class.
    3.Yes.I spent a lot of time on my work which costed me some levels but im still proud of myself for doing some of the work.
    4.Yes.
    5.Yes.I did use a lot of the resources to do my work like my LAP.
    6.Yes.sometimes i did but after a while i realised i was running out of time.
    7.I sometimes re-review but thats something i need to work on.
    8.I did examine work to get ideas for my writing and to see how i can improve it.
    9.Yes i think i would show my work to a variety of people.

    • Hi Stephan,
      I think its really cool that you shared both what you did well and what you need to focus on next. I often do the same thing – forget to review and go back to work I’ve done in courses.
      Thanks for sharing,
      Ms. Calder

    • Stephen,
      You have some thoughtful responses here. I wonder if you might consider beginning your comment with more introduction, so that a newcomer to our conversation could follow the thread of the conversation? As writers, we need to guide our readers. We need to be sure that they know what the topic is, and then they can better appreciate your views.

      Ms. Balen

  16. I worked as hard as I could, I know because I got a level 4 on my day book. Yes I have high expectations for myself cause I come to class every day, and i hand in my work on time. I do spend enough time to go quality work, because I put a lot of effort into my work. Sometimes I put my device aside and turn off my music in order to complete my work. I did make good use of resources, because I accessed my thinking I already done to help me with my LAP. I ask questions when I need help, and I get a better understanding of what I am supposed to be doing. I do review and re-review my work, because I make sure I don’t have any errors before I hand it in. I use exemplars to help me when I write, because I look at examples of a writing piece before I do my own, just so I can get an idea of what to write. I am proud of my work.

  17. Delani,
    I think it is really great that you are proud of your work and have high expectations of yourself. I feel that both those things are very important to success. Using exemplars is a great strategy that my students and I tried today in class when writing our responses to Ms. Balen’s blog post. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
    Ms. Calder

  18. My name is Carlos from Wikwemikong and this is my thinking on my mid-term assignment.I feel that I could have did better with my work.When working,I was thinking of high standards and tried to maintain it.For the time I was working I did use quality time.I know I needed a lot of help and asked for it.When the resources came up like C&C I was came back to it many of times.I rarely made distractions for myself.I looked at my work for mistakes on some of my work.I do not practice in my work only at school.I am glad to share my work to a large audience for their questions.

    • Hi Carlos,
      I like that you use resources and go back to them for support when you are working. That can be a big help in maintaining high standards.
      Thanks for sharing,
      Ms. Calder

    • Carlos,

      You have some good learning strategies already in place. Asking for help when you need it and referring back to your thinking in the lit log are both ways that you are developing the skills to be an independent learner. Keep up the good effort!

    • Hi Carlos,

      I really appreciate how you broke down and shared your thinking, and the processes you used. I encourage you to take that next step, and practice your work outside of school as well. I could feel your determination through your blog post.

      Thanks for sharing,

      Mr. Staruck

  19. Hi my name is Patrina
    Here’s my answers for Growth Mindset: Personal Accountability & Reflection

    1.)I think I did work hard because I come to class everyday, I listen and I finish most of my assignments but I could work on my organization because I have work everywhere.
    2.)I think I did because sometimes I didn’t feel like doing my work and I pushed myself to finish it so I can get a good mark because my grades are really important to me so I always try and set and maintain and high standard for myself and I think it’s one of the most important things to be successful is to keep a high standard and always try and have a positive attitude towards tasks.
    3.)I think I do spend enough time because I like to have my work finished so I can be successful.
    4.)personally sometimes I get shy to ask the teacher so I keep my questions to myself but I do try and ask but I usually just ask peers. 5.)I do I try ask teachers or people in my classroom for help before I leave school so I can get a lot of my work finished at home so I can get a good mark on my work if I didn’t I don’t think I would get the best mark I know I’m capable of.
    6.) I tried my best I think I did pretty good considering I’m a really loud person I got a lot of my work done.
    7.)I did review my work to check for errors or I’d ask my peers to review my work to make sure everything looked alright.
    8.)I do all the time to see if I do my work right I do it with my A&A and C&C to make sure I’m not doing something way different sometimes I get a little confused.
    9.)I am proud of my work because I always try to get the highest level I possible can and sometimes that can be hard for me because I’m very unorganized with my work but I make sure I get my assignments in on time sometimes I stay up late so I can finish my work because I get very determined even If a lower mark than I expected I usually ask what I did wrong so I know what I can do to get a better mark next time.

    • Hello Patrina,
      Thanks for sharing your honest reflection. I can often be very disorganized as well. I use a variety of tools to help me stay organized. One is note-taking tool on my phone to record everything I need (typed or picture) to remember. The other is my calendar on my phone. I’d be lost without it. Do you use any digital tools to help you get organized?
      Thanks for sharing, its great that you have such a positive attitude.
      Ms. Calder

    • Patrina,

      You have some great learning strategies in place: attending class, listening, asking your peers questions and to look over your work, and doing homework. I am thinking about your comment about being too shy to ask me questions. This is good feedback to me. I need to remember that some students are shy. I will create a place in the classroom for a “parking lot” where you can leave questions you have that your peers cannot answer for you. Thanks for sharing your thinking. Keep up the strong effort!

  20. Introducing myself
    Hi my name is Shawl I’m 14 writing answering questions being growth mindset about me on my work and reflecting on my work.

    1)I think i work hard as hard i could like I’m trying my hardest to work and focus.
    2) think i did because i wouldn’t be trying my hardest at working to get my high maintain standards.
    3)No i didn’t spend enough time to finish my work because sometimes i just wanna hand in my work but sometimes i take the quality time to finish work to get a higher mark.
    4)Yes i do put away my ipod sometimes so it won’t distract me but one distraction would be me being negative all that time but thats why i try and work to keep negative things away but i still finish my work some how.
    5)Yes i did put good use in my available resources like my lit log and my day book because they had information in the books to get my work.
    6)Yep i sure did ask questions when i needed help because the teachers answers back are right all the time so i just ask questions when i needed help because so i can get the answer right and get a good mark
    7)I kinda did review my work to check my errors cause i want to fix them up and get possible good right answers to get better marks.
    8)No i didn’t bother practicing on questions that are similar because i already knew how to do them.
    9)Lets just say 50/50 my work sounds good most of the time when i’m in a really good mood i just wanna get work done but thats why i say 50/50 if i wanna show my work cause some if its wrong and some of its write but gotta learn from mistakes.But i am still proud of my work at least i’m still trying.

    • Hi Shawl,
      Thanks for sharing your reflection. I think that its great that you know yourself and can explain how your negative attitude can be distracting. Learning from our mistakes is so very important, just as you said. Thanks for sharing,
      Ms. Calder

    • Shawl,

      Thanks for sharing your thinking about your learning. Revisiting and revising our work is hard for all learners, and you are right, there comes a time when we just want to be done with it! If there are times when you hand in work that you are not yet happy with, remember you can always revise it later using the teacher feedback and resubmit it for re-assessment. I like this process because it reminds us that our thinking and learning doesn’t end when we “finish” an assignment, and having the chance to revise older thinking is one way we can build a positive attitude about learning! Growth Mindset!!

  21. Mid-term Metacognition

    Did I work as hard as I could ?

    I didn’t work as hard as I could but I did strive to complete as much as I could when I was given the last opportunity to get everything handed in.

    Did I set and maintain high standards for myself ?

    I set a goal to use my time wisely and get help on the last day so I could complete what was assigned and hand it in to get marked because I was lucky enough to get the extra day to accomplish my work.

    Did I spend enough time to do quality work ?

    I unfortunately did not use my time wisely trying to accomplish the work that was assigned to me until I was given an extra day, although I did accomplish as much as I understood when I was told to. Which lead to getting it done faster.

    Did I regulate my procrastinations/distractions and temptations in order to complete my work ?

    I wasted a lot of my time trying to catch up, and talking to my group/helping them understand even though I had no idea what I hadn’t done yet.

    Did I make good use of available resources ?

    I did not make good use of my available resources because I wasn’t sure where to start, or what was not completed until the last day and I asked the teacher for plenty of help and, got it all finished.

    Did I ask questions if I needed help ?

    I would try to ask for help but frequently I’d have to wait till the teacher finishes with the other students, which could take till the end of class, or I wouldn’t know what to ask to get the needed help.

    Did I review my work for possible errors ?

    I would go through my work so much for errors depending on what it was and if I wouldn’t, I was either unsure or extremely too tired to care about my work and was just glad that it was done.

    Did I examine best practices for similar work ?

    I did not use my practices to help me complete my good copies, besides for the portfolio, because I couldn’t remember what I wrote off by heart.

    Am I proud of my work to display publicly ?

    I am most definitely not proud of my work to show it to anyone besides the teacher because she has to look at it to correct my errors and help me better understand what she has assigned to me/us.

    • Hello Brandy,
      It sounds like you maybe feel behind on this activity and then worked hard to catch-up. Its great that you did that instead of giving up! Good for you. I know the feeling of falling behind and feeling swamped. For me, it is a very stressful feeling. After having been in that situation many times before, I decided that I truly didn’t like it. Since then, I’ve tried my hardest to get things done early. I personally work much better when I’m not rushed. Too often, I would want to give up when I fell behind. Thanks for sharing your reflection on work. Congrats on getting it done! 🙂
      Ms. Calder

    • Brandy,

      I have noticed that you do support your group well; in fact, everyone at your table collaborates well. I appreciate your feedback around having to wait for the teacher to be free to talk to. This needs to change, so I will find a place in the classroom to create a “parking lot” where you can post questions you have for me as they occur to you. I think this will support your learning because 1) you won’t forget the questions you have and 2) the post-its will draw my attention to the fact that you are waiting for assistance.

      Revisiting and revising our work is hard for all learners, and you are right, there comes a time when we just want to be done with it! If there are times when you hand in work that you are not yet happy with, remember you can always revise it later using the teacher feedback and resubmit it for re-assessment. I like this process because it reminds us that our thinking and learning doesn’t end when we “finish” an assignment, and having the chance to revise older thinking is one way we can build a positive attitude about learning! Growth Mindset!!

  22. Hi my name is Summer and this is my growth mindset personal accountability & reflection this is what I learned during mid term.
    1.I think I reached my learning goal with working hard. Because I am on task in class.and on time everyday getting work done. But i think i need to improve on finishing assignments during my spare time and hand my work on time.
    2.I think i have high standards for myself because i keep pushing myself to get my work done in class and asking for feedback. I also see what i need to work on to improve to be the successful person in life i want to be.
    3.I think I take the time to revise my work and fix it to the best I can do. I ask for feedback and talk to classmates if it sounds good. I think it can be hard at times because it can be hard trying to make it sound right and fixing the mistakes. But I try my best to do quality work because I love to be proud of my work its not just any rough draft .
    4.I try my best to get all my work done during class time. But i have to say I have troubles procrastination because i get lazy at times… But i need to improve on that a bit more.
    5.I made good use using resources because i used my daybook for help and my lit log to help me do assignments i asked the teacher for help and to revise my work i use everything i can possibly do to make my work sound right.
    6.I asked Ms. Balen for help doing my work because if you’re not making mistakes then you’re not learning anything. I think its important for feedback on your work to see how your doing and for you to improve and keep trying till you reach your goal.
    7.I do revise and re-read my work to make it sound right and look good to hand in. Sometimes I go through pages and pages just to make it successful. But one of the hardest parts in life is deciding whether to walk away or try harder.
    8.I think i did examine my work for best practices because i like to look at other peoples work for ideas and to make sure I am on track doing my work. My teacher Ms.Balen modeled how to write our LAP and gives us great exemplars.
    9.My work is something I am proud of because I do the best i can everytime I do a assiment. I really don’t like to hand in work i am not proud of because that just not what I do. I really think i wouldn’t show my work to a large audience because standing in front of a large crowd is really not my thing I would get stage fright!

    • Hello Summer,
      I really like your focus on feedback. I agree – I think getting feedback is one of the most important things we can do. Actually, I think being OPEN to feedback (accepting it and using it to improve our work) is the most important.
      Thanks for sharing,
      Ms. Calder

      • Hey Summer!
        I agree with you. I understand how to work hard! Please listing to my saying “Work hard, Play hard, And be kind”. Thanks
        ~Katherine

    • Summer you have really picked up on the growth mindset message “without failure there is no learning”! I also hear in your reflection the hesitation to be a public learner. I get that it’s hard to let people watch us as we struggle. I think that is what makes the Ed Sheeran video incredible and I think that becoming a public learner is a worthy goal.
      We will have lots of opportunity to work on this in the upcoming projects! Hang on!

  23. Hello my name is Austin Barnsdale and i am doing my mid term assignment.

    #1. I think that i did not work as hard as i could have because i usually give lots of points about what i learned.

    #2. I did set high standards for myself but i am not sure if i got those standards yet because i did not see them yet.

    #3. I think that i spent some time doing quality work i work on it and revise it when i’m done and sometimes i get my peers to read it.

    #4. I didn’t get distracted by my i pod or anything like that i got my work done and i listen to the teacher.

    #5. When we were doing contrast and contradictions and again and again i looked at the anchor charts to help me get a better understanding of what im trying to do,so i think i was making good use of resources.

    #6.I ask lots of questions actually when i need help so i can get a good understanding on what i’m doing.

    #7. I do review my work for errors for example when i was writing this comments i used spell check for proper grammar.

    #8.I didn’t use best practices :3

    #9. I am proud of my work but i’m not sure if i would want to show it to the world because i feel mine is not the best but i’m still proud of what i have done. 😀

    • Hi Austin,
      Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I like the idea of using anchor charts to help you understand what you need to do. Your last statement about not necessarily wanting to share your work with a global audience because its not the best has made me think. I know that most often my work is not the “best” out there. For example, your teacher Mrs. Balen is much better at helping her students improve and develop skills of metacognition than I am. However, because I do share my work sometimes, she has been able to help me. I think its important to share sometimes even if you do not think you are the absolute best. Your comment also made me realize that sometimes it’s ok not to share. 🙂 Sometimes our writing is just for ourselves, right?
      Thanks so much for making me think so hard,
      Ms. Calder

    • Terrific reflection Austin!

      You have many good strategies in place (limiting distractions, asking peers to review your work, and asking questions when you need help) to help you be a successful learner. There are times when it is helpful to use models or exemplars when we are learning new things. These best practices might be anchor charts that the teacher creates or that we create together, or they may be work samples from other students. Keep an eye out for them in our classroom!

      Ms. Balen

  24. Mid-Term Metacognition (ELS20)
    My name is Skye , I’m working on getting my credit for this course (ELS20) and pass the OSSLT test.
    1) Did I Work As Hard As I Could Have?
    No I could have done better on my work , it could have better grammar and spelling
    2) Did I Set And Maintain High Standards For Myself?
    Yes I have high standards for myself , want to get the credit and pass the literacy test .
    3) Did I Spend Enough Time To Do Quality Work?
    Yes, but my work isn’t as good as it should be . I could always do better.
    4) Do I Ask Questions When I Needed Help?
    Yes, sometimes.
    5) Did I Make A Good Use Of Available Resources?
    Most of the times , yes.
    6) Did I Regulate My Procrastination , Distractions , And Temptations In Order To Complete My Work?
    I regulate and restrict my use of electronics , I try not to use my electronic in class.
    7) Did I Review And Re-review My Work For Possible Errors?
    I reviewed my work , I did not re-review it.
    8) Did I Examine Practice For Similar Work?
    I did no such thing.
    9) Is My Work Something For Which I Am Proud That I Would Proudly Show To A Global Audience?
    No , I do not want global audiences to view my work , my spelling and grammar is too terrible.

    • Hi Skye,
      Thanks for sharing your thoughts about your work at midterm. I like the ideas you shared for improving your work next time. I often use digital tools to help improve my spelling and grammar. It can be tough to balance the use of digital tools or electronic devices for good, not “evil” (distraction) sometimes. 🙂
      Thanks for sharing,
      Ms. Calder

    • Skye thanks for agreeing to adding your mid-term thinking on this post. It is a step towards growing our comfort levels in sharing our work publicly.

      Now that we have some writing to work with, we will be spending time understanding the errors we regularly make and how to repair them. This is good learning because we can use it in every course and in our lives outside of school. We all want to be able to write error free!

      Ms. Balen

  25. Hey Ms.Balen ,
    this blog was really helpful.
    ive been trying to finish all my work in class and seeing these famous people succeeded just by failing made me think that id can succeeded a failure or not but i think that i did not work as hard as i could have.. because i guess thinking and doing other things. Also that ed sheeran video made me really think just to keep trying and trying and not to give up even if your tired of it . Thanks 🙂

    • Hi Ally,
      Thanks for sharing your honest reflection. Mrs. Balen’s blog post helped me understand how failure is a necessary step in learning as well!
      Thanks,
      Ms. Calder

    • Ally I am so glad that you found this post useful. That is always my goal, but I am not sure if I always hit it!

      Effort and persistence–the keep trying part–is the key to our success. Somewhere I read that Ed Sheeran kept himself going by not having a plan B–make it as a musician, that’s it. What can help you keep going with your studies even when the going gets tiring, boring, or hard?

      Maybe you can blog about this on your own blog?

      Ms. Balen

  26. Hello!

    My name is Samuel i’m in grade 9 and a student at WAHS. On the class blog the post i liked the most was the commercial “Failure” the one Michael Jordan in it. The commercial shows that you can still be a winner no matter how much times you lose or fail and still succeed at something. In this course in my opinion i’m not doing so well because sometimes i do not attend class on time or i don’t come at all. I do have to catch up on some work and do make small changes on the work i have already handed in like in my day book and lit log and also hand out assignments I also still need to complete and hand in to get a level 4 or 3 mark. My next step is to try to attend class and try my best not to get distracted in class i might have to change the environment i work in and try to put myself in the “learning” attitude before coming in to class.

    See you next class Ms. Balen

    • A “learning attitude”…I like that Samuel! Well said.

      A learning attitude for me includes deep thinking and that is often hard for us to get used to. We often want to copy the teacher’s thinking because we think that is what the teacher wants. But, it’s our own work, effort, and thinking that gets us where we want to be. So just like Michael Jordan we can ‘fail’ in our thinking many times and still be successful!

      See you in class Samuel.

      Ms. Balen

  27. Hey!

    My name is Sean, I’m a Mountain Biker and student at WAHS and what I found really interesting was how Micheal Jordon (As Cole commented) even when he failed he still succeeded, so he kept trying and practising and never gave up…he has a growth mindset, so when you fail you put in twice the effort just like me if can’t ace a trail I’ll keep trying till I could go threw it at 45km/h…so Jordon and me have something in common.

    • Hi Sean.

      You absolutely have a grow mindset when it comes to biking!

      How might you apply that same thinking to your learning in English class? Here we are working on “acing” reading of complex texts, to read deeply and connect. As Mikaela Warner says, “I study literature because I believe there is power in stories. Literature is both intensely personal as well as a communal experience. I love examining how words, sentences, characters, plot-lines and tropes reveal who we are as humans. Humanity is a complicated thing, and requires an infinite amount of words to describe and analyze. That’s the joy of studying literature, there is always a new reality to discover.”

      Please share your thinking about your learning in another comment.

      Ms. Balen

    • For my learning in my English Class when I couldn’t finish or I got a low mark in my work I attempt to improve my work for example my metacognition assignment right now I re-replied to my comment to add on, adding evidence to support my thinking and improving on past works to get a higher mark, When you fail put in twice the effort to improve! Wow, I should make that a quote.

  28. Hello.. My name is Whitney and this is my reflection on metacognition assignment.
    I viewed the video’s that was asked to be viewed by me from my teacher, and I think the main message is very important it is mainly to never give up even when it is hard you will get back on track and success in life, you may fail the first time but it is always important to go back and try again.
    And honestly I think that I am doing good in this course I mean it is hard at the same time but I ask for the help that I need to stay on track with my work as possible.
    And I don’t really think that I need to catch up on any work, I was able to understand the standards of this semester. My next step is to learn to start focusing on my work more often and spend my time more wisely so that I could hand in my work, assignments in on time. thankyou,

    • Whitney you are right on! You use a variety of strategies to help you stay on track. You ask questions, you revise your work, and you listen and follow instructions well.

      Thanks for sharing this honest reflection with me.

      Ms. Balen

  29. Hi Ms.Balen. Its a lovely day.
    Here`s my reflection on the questions for the Growth mindset questions.
    1. Yes, but someday’s i don’t focus but i’ve been working on that. I caught up on work in my daybook and Lit log. I moved to a level 2 to a level 3 almost but i’m gonna try to change it to level 4.
    2. I did set high goals. I tried making it nice and in the right order. I did pass a couple of goals, i was able to get work done and being focused. I’m gonna try to pass my other goals and get caught up and not being behind.
    3.Yes I did have time to do work, At home my parents make sure i get my homework done and do my work after school before I do anything and it’s been habit of doing homework after school. i did get half of my work done but i got it finished.
    4. Yes i got rid of the distraction of my ipod i’ve been turning it off during English but use it for help, i’m blocking out the distractions and the temptations but i do get my work done.
    5.Yes i do use for Daybook for extra help for my work or when i’m typing up some work. I do use my ipod and my daybook and lit log for help. (Example: The literary analysis)
    6. Sometimes yes i did ask questions but i do get the work sometimes if i don’t i ask someone what is it or the teacher but i got to work on asking questions more often.
    7. Yes i did, review and re-review my work and fixed up the things I did wrong or i finished unfinished work I didn’t or forgot to do.
    8. Yes. I looked at models for some assignments.
    9. Yeah buddy! I’m proud of the work i did throughout all of the English classes.
    All done!

    • Good for you Brooke that you have already developed the habit of setting time aside at home to do independent practice or work completion! It’s a big learning skill and it will definitely help you be a successful learner.

      Ms. Balen

  30. Hi, my name’s Aurora and i’m in Ms. Balen’s grade 9 academic class. These are my answers to the growth mindset questions.

    I’d say I worked as hard as I could have because I went from a level 2 to a level 4 on my daybook. Yes, I set high standards for myself because I’m honestly really hard on myself, when teachers give me a low mark, I’ll be really mad at myself and usually give up or be really pissed off. So yes I maintain high standards for myself. Sometimes I spend enough time to fix and perfect my work, when I know I really have to do this and finish it, I’ll spend all the time I need to finish and perfect it. I’m not really good at using my time wisely, I don’t really have good focus, I do tend to procrastinate BUT when I really set my mind to something I will have good focus, I will use my time wisely but there are times that I will procationate. Sometimes I will use my resources but sometimes that feels like cheating so I try my best to dig deep into whatever we’re working on. I’m honestly to scared to ask questions but most of the time I like to think I can do it on my own, plus we’re told that because we’re academic students we shouldn’t ask much questions either. Yes, I always review my work because there could be mistakes, errors or because there are just better things I could put into my work. Nope, I did not examine any best practices?..Yes I am proud of my work (most of the time). So I think I am confident enough to show my work to a large audience. 🙂

    • Thank you for sharing such an honest reflection Aurora.

      As more information becomes so easily available to us, we do need to think about what “our” work is and is not. For example, remixing is very common with DJs who “sample” music to create new music. If we use ideas from other people in combination with our own thinking, and we properly cite where we got that information, we are not cheating. The challenge is always being able to use others’ thinking to jump start our own thinking, but not to replace the process of thinking through ideas (in a novel say) ourselves.

      Keep build your growth mindset…you don’t have to do everything on your own. Ask questions, collaborate with your peers, take risks by moving out of your comfort zone.

      Ms. Balen

  31. Yo, Ms. Balen
    These Blogs are starting be useful in work, I’m still having a tough time read the A.O.T.W. and using strategy’s that are use to work with the Article of the Week, but these Blogs and Videos are really useful for me probably in the future.

  32. 1. This semester i`m working hard on passing this course to go to grade 11 english and learn how to blog on this gizmo thingy and i need more help on assignments, i am really working hard on the assignments….like this

  33. My name is Adrayn and I’m doing my Mid-Term Metacognition assignment.

    1. Did I work as hard as I could have?

    Personally I don’t think I worked as hard I should have. It really took me awhile to get on track and figure out what needed to be done. It takes me awhile to focus and I need to fix that.

    2. Did I set and maintain high standards for myself?

    Yes I did set high goals for myself. I have been falling behind and I believe I need to put those distractions behind me that way I can finish and accomplish all those goals.

    3. Did I spend enough time to do quality work?

    I have a lot of time to do quality work but I never really focus on it and do it. I need to change that, that way all my work can be handed in on time.

    4. Did I regulate my procrastination, distractions and temptations in order to complete my work?

    Some days I do, some days I don’t. My phone is a big distraction for me and I got to learn to put it away during class. Another distraction is friends and always talking to them, but I do know how to just block everything out and focus on my work.

    5. Did I make good use of available resources?

    Yes I make good use of my available resources, most of the time.

    6. Did I ask questions if I needed help?

    Yes I do.

    7. Did I review and re-review my work for possible errors?

    Most of the time I just review it.

    8. Did I examine best practices for similar work?

    Yes I do, it helps me to understand on how I should do and finish my work.

    9. Is my work something for which I am proud that I would proudly show to a large, global audience?

    I am proud when I do finish my work and it looks really good to me but I don’t necessarily think I would show it to a large global audience.

    • Adrayn this is a thoughtful post. Many of us struggle to regulate our use of technology and social media. It can both be useful to our learning and a distraction, and the regulation means that we know the difference and act on it. But it’s hard :(.

      This is where growth mindset needs to kick in. We need to focus on our effort, persistence, and ability to overcome obstacles. We need to set our goals (getting the credit, becoming a stronger writer, knowing how to read complex texts with confidence) and go for it!!

      Here’s to a better second term!

      Ms. Balen

  34. Did I work as hard as I could have?
    During the beginning of term one, I did not work as hard as I could have because I would only work if I wanted to. There would be days where I wouldn’t want to do anything. The reason I did this was because I didn’t really understand what I was working on in the classroom. To solve this problem, I conferenced with my teachers to get a better understanding. Near the end of the term, that’s when I started to do my work all at once. I got it all done, and I’m glad I conferenced with my teachers.
    Did I set and maintain high standards for myself?
    I do not think I set high standards for myself to be honest. From the moment I walked into class, I didn’t like it and I thought I was going to fail. Later on, I didn’t mind the work, and then I noticed it was actually kind of easy once you knew how to do it. Once I got the hang of it, that’s when I started to make goals for myself to finish the work by midterm.
    Did I spend enough time to do quality work?
    I use class time, and even my own time at home to finish my school work. So, yes, I do think I spend enough time doing quality work.
    Did I regulate my procrastination, distractions, and temptations in order to complete my work?
    No, not at first. Like I said before, I would only work when I wanted to or was in the mood. When I was in the mood though, that’s when I’d be working non-stop. Other times I’d be distracted by my friends, I’d be temp to go on my laptop at home, and I would procrastinate a lot! So, most of the time I did not regulate my procrastination and all that stuff to complete my work, but I still got my work done!
    Did I make good use of available resources?
    Yes, I think I did anyways.
    Did I ask questions if I needed help?
    Ofcourse! I would always ask questions, because I want to understand what I’m working on. If I know what I’m doing, it makes it a whole lot easier to do the work.
    Did I review and re-review my work for possible errors?
    Not all the time. When I’m done a piece of work, I would just hand it in, and say, “Thank God, I don’t have to deal with that anymore!” Only sometimes I would review my work if I thought it was worth good marks.
    Did I examine best practices for similar work?
    I don’t really know.
    Is my work something for which I’m proud that I would proudly show to a large, global audience?
    No, I don’t think so. I don’t really like sharing my thoughts with others.

    • Tessa, I appreciate your feedback on the course in this post. I am always looking for better ways to help students understand that learning is a process, not an activity.

      At first, most students do struggle to understand that there is no worksheet to complete, no textbook chapter to read, no test to study for. The learning is in the reading, discussing, writing, thinking, revising loop. It is gradual (although sometimes we have sudden moments of clarity and understanding!); this work builds upon itself…the more I read and work with text, the more I can think deeply about ideas and in turn, the more I can write about those ideas, which means I can play with language, words, organization of ideas, and voice. Reading and writing are inseparable; we can’t do one well without the other.

      Ms. Balen

  35. I think Michael Jordan is is very inspirational because in the video it say’s “he’s missed over 9000 shots in his career, lost almost 300 games, 26 times he’s been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. He’s failed over and over again in his life but that’s why he succeeds!” and I think that’s very, VERY wise because it say’s that if you have never failed you have never tried anything new(in the will smith video) and winning takes risks. Risks are taking when you go with your gut feeling on a decision, it’s the difference between winning and losing! If a player blocks your every move you know, you surprise him with some new random move or strategy, it might not always work but at least your taking risks to win and succeed!

    • You have definitely connected with this post Seth! I wonder how you might connect the messages of growth mindset (effort matters, overcome obstacles, take risks) with your learning in this class?

      Would you post another comment where you explore this idea?

      Thanks,
      Ms. Balen

  36. Mid-term Metacognition
    Did I work as hard as I could ?
    I didn’t work as hard as I could but I did try to complete as much as I could when I was given the work..
    Did I set and maintain high standards for myself ?
    i set a goal too finish my work before class ended, but i was distracted.
    Did I spend enough time to do quality work ?
    well…unfortunately i did not use my time wisely to try and accomplish the work that was assigned to me.
    Did I regulate my procrastinations/distractions and temptations in order to complete my work ?
    I sometimes would waste half the class of doing my work.
    Did I make good use of available resources ?
    I did not make good use of my available resources because I wasn’t sure where to start. Sometimes i just didnt feel like doing work ((personal))
    Did I ask questions if I needed help ?
    yes of course i asked questions if i needed help, and Ms.Balen helps alot when im usually stuck on a question or if i dont know what to do.
    Did I review my work for possible errors ?
    no, sometimes i wouldnt review my work for possible errors because i just didnt feel like doing work that day or i was just too tired from other classes before Ms.Balens. But when i have this class in the mornings i would review my work.
    Am I proud of my work to display publicly ?
    Am i proud of my work… No, not really… I am most definitely not proud of my work to show it to anybody else besides the Ms.Balen because she has to look at it and correct my errors or tell me what i forgot, too help me understand more that way next time i will do it right.

    • Hannah thank you for taking the time to write a detailed and honest post. The terrific part about this course is that its goal is to strengthen your reading and writing skills. So, the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it. Even if you are not satisfied with the first term, you can decide to put a lot more into the course and your learning about reading complex texts, thinking deeply about things that interest you, and how to communicate your ideas in writing with clarity and force.

      Growth mindset in action!!!!

      Ms. Balen

  37. Great blog post! Not only did I love the content of the post, but the way WAHS students have responded has brought it to life in the classroom. Thank you!

    • Thank you for dropping by Cathy to have a look at what we are doing in grade 9 and 10. We are learning to be learners with all the struggle that has traditionally existed along with the newer issues of distraction and balance.

      I aim to make the learning in the classroom, mine and my students’, as visible as possible. We are not yet ready to put our learning on video, for example, but it’s a goal.

      I must tell you that there is a class of students from MSS who have also posted their midterm reflections here. Their teacher, Jaclyn Calder, and I are working together to flatten the classroom walls for our students.

      I am so proud of all of us! This work represents the kind of risk-taking that growth mindset thinking supports. It’s terrific to see it in action.

      Julie

  38. Mid-Term Metacognition

    Did i work as hard as i could?
    i did work as hard as i could this term at first i didn’t because i thought it was hard but i got some help then i tried really hard so i could pass this class

    did i set and maintain high standard for myself?
    i set myself some goals i did not write them down in my daybook i did not think they were imported goals.the goals I set for my self were complet every day i think i could have done a bit better and i will try harder next time i’m in this class but sometimes i think i push myself too hard and if i fail i take it really badly so yes i set high standards for myself but sometimes i don’t maintain those standards.

    did i spend enough time to do quality work?
    i did, i tried to make my work really nice i got my friends to help me to complete and make sure its good.i did try to make it my best work yet so i can get a good grade on it

    did i regulate my procrastination distractions,and temptations in order to complete my work?
    i did not, i gave in to some temptations and distractions but eventually got back on track and did my work.i try not give in but to the distractions that are in my way but sometimes i just give in but i do my best to avoid them so i can get the job done.

    did i make good use of available resources.
    i did use some of my notes to help me and i asked the teacher questions and i asked my peers in the class to help me if i needed help.

    did i ask questions when i needed help.
    yes i did ask question if i needed help and i didn’t have time i would use my free time to ask the questions and if the teachers is busy i would ask my peers to help me out

    did i review and re-review my work for possible errors

    . yes i did check my work for incorrect spelling because i cant really spell that well

    did i examine best practice for similar work

    . i revised my work i did my homework

    is my work something for which i am proud that i would proudly show to a large to a global audience

    yes i would show my work off to people,i am proud of my work

    • Dehmin thank you for your honest reflection.

      How about trying to view your learning through the growth mindset lens that says failure is not a bad thing. Rather, it identifies areas of need, which can, in turn, lead to great successes. Failure means that you’re not yet fulfilling your potential.

      You already have at least one growth mindset thinking strategy: The need to ask for help! This is one of the most useful strategies for growth.

      Ms. Balen

  39. Hello

    My name in Wiingash and I go to school WAHS. MY favorite video on the class blog was failure with Michael Jordan in it no matter how much times he fails he always succeeds. It kinda reminds me of me whenever I fail at sports I still give it 100% i try i get it even if i don’t know how to play the sport. I was doing bad in this course at first but now I’m stepping up cause i wanna start doing good in my education. I need to work on staying on task and not distracting others and finish all my work. My next step is to finish this course and get my credit well not just this credit all 38 credits.

    • Wiin-gash
      You should be very proud of how you have grown in your learning mindset this semester. Your willingness to try new tasks is a good attitude to have. What skills do you need to work on to help you get this credit?

      Ms. Balen

  40. Hello, My name is Jacob. The thing I found most interesting was how The Beatles were rejected by Record Studios early on in their career but they still kept trying, later they would become the most influential band of the 60’s all because they would not give up. In ENG1P I think I am doing well because, I am rarely late to class and I finished all of my midterm on time. But… the thing I need to work the most is using my class time effectively and getting rid of distractions. My next step would be getting rid of my distractions and then stop procrastinating.
    Sincerely, Jacob

    • Jacob,

      We tend to think that the famous and successful have never failed. It’s good to be made aware of how they have failed and how they learned from their failures.

      Learning to use class time effectively is a challenge for many of us. What other skills would you like to work on to help you read and /or write better?

      Ms. Balen

  41. Hi, My name is Larissa. I go to Wasse Abin Highschool. I liked this blog a lot, I really liked the video of behind the scenes for that Ed sheran video. Just knowing that others have failed so many time and at so many things. and they still keep trying. they never give up on the things they want. This blog is very inspiring. It inspires me to follow my dreams and never give up. Even to never give up on my school work and things i’ve fallen behind on. So i will not give up on trying to catch up on my work and stay on top of things.
    Thanks for sharing this blog. Larissa.

  42. Hello Ms.Balen

    My name is Colton I’m a student at WAHS. These blogs were useful because they will help me in work to motivate me to keep trying to work when i fail,they will help me to keep trying and trying so i will succeed in my education. Michael Jordan didn’t always succeed but he kept trying he made mistakes over and over but he succeeded after all the times he failed.

  43. Hello

    I am a student at Wasse Abin High School, in Ms. Balens English class. I just got my mid-term work. This blog made me think, I need to improve on my writing skills. I didn’t really do well on anything, and I want to improve on my working skills and writing skill.. And finishing all of my work. My next step is to really slow down, and no get frustrated while I’m working, and ask for help. Also like the Michael Jordan video, I understand what it’s like to fail over and over again.

  44. Hello.
    My name is dante i am in eng1p.
    The videos were good.
    The course is good so far.
    I need to keep up on my work.
    My next step is to pay attention in class.
    See you later.

  45. Hello, My name is Harmony and I am from Wasse Abin High School. Something i read/reviewed on the blog was that if you never failed, you never tried something new. Meaning everyone once failed in their life-time or they will at one point. In this course, ENG1P, I feel that I am doing pretty good. What i need to work on is keeping my daybook up to date. My next step in this course is to keep up with the work and hand everything in.

    Thanks,
    -Harmony

  46. Hello, my name is Sapper Van-che-due costerd, I’m a grade 9 student at WAH School. I have viewed the Growth mind set picture in this blog post. I’m taking a Grade 9 ENG cores and I don’t think Im doing that well in the cores. Im trying to get better in this subject and by viewing this picture I can see what kind of mind set I need to help me get my work done more faster and better. I need to pay more attention to my teacher well shes teaching because at the end of the class I don’t really know what to do. I can start with staying off my device while in class and I can stop myself from talking to people while my teacher teaches. Getting to class on time is another problem for me so I can start on making a better agenda so I can get stuff i need done and still make all my classes on time.

    • Hi Sapper,

      You may be discouraged and feel like you’re falling behind, but sharing through writing your thinking, and articulating your next steps is a huge step in the right direction. I encourage you to commit to at least one or two of the next steps you list today, and I am sure you will feel better about your learning at the end of the day.

      Courageous post,

      Mr. Staruck

  47. Hi my name is Maheengun i thought it was interesting on how it is about how failure is key to success and agree with it. I am doing okay in my english class what i am learning about store`s is helping me on how i can make my book better that i am making. my next step is to work on my writing.

    • Aanii Maheengun,

      I appreciate when you gave me a preview of what you have accomplished in your book so far. Rich text to compliment your artwork will make it an amazing product. Your connection to how failure is key to success is a deep thought, and shows the growth mindset you are developing.

      Thanks for sharing,

      Mr. Staruck

  48. Hello my name is Hunter and these are my answers to Growth Mindset:Personal Accountability & Reflection
    1.Did I work as hard as I could have?
    Not as much because I get distracted most of the time and now i know its half way through the semester I must work harder!
    2.DId I set and maintain high standards for myself?
    Yes after i got told how to get a level 3 but I slowly started doing no work.
    3.Did I spend enough time to do quality work?
    Most of time in class but I get distracted sometimes
    4.Did I regulate my procrastination,distractions and temptations in order to complete work?
    Most of the time I ignore this stuff but number one is distractions. I get distracted by peers.
    5.Did I make good use of available resources?
    Yeah.
    6.Did I ask questions when I needed help?
    Yes.most of the time when I don’t understand and sometimes are when repeated.
    7.Did I review and re-review my work for possible errors?
    Not as much.Mostly peers.
    8.Did I examine best practice for similar work?
    Sometimes,Not as much,only on different subjects.
    9.Is my work something for which I am proud that I would proudly show to a large, global audience?
    Yeah! i’m proud to show this to a large group.

  49. Aanii Hunter,

    Thank you for sharing these thoughts on your learning. You have painted a picture of how you have taken this learning to a certain level. I encourage you to take the next step, and take even greater control of your learning. I have watched you persevere in deep discussions with your classmates, and take a lead in challenging the perspectives of others. Take that same strong spirit and challenge yourself to do that revising of your work, and build yourself back up to the high level of engagement and effort you mentioned you provided evidence of to start the semester.

    The fact that you are willing to share your learning is a significant step in the right direction. Keeping working hard!

    Mr. Staruck

  50. I personally think I did not work as hard as I could. There seems to be a bad habit I have developed of knowing school comes easy for myself. Then it usually leads me to handing in work that gets me an 80 but I know I could have put more effort and hand in a 90+ assignment. On the other hand I do have high standards for myself. If my assignment has anything less than a level 4-, I will implore what I can improve on. Then I will most likely revise my work.
    I do well on the course assignments, but to say they are of quality I do not know. For an example I got a level 4 on my unit one inquiry, an 80 on my unit test, a level 4 on my writers portfolio. If that means my work is quality then I guess it is. I personally feel that my work could be better if I was not so stubborn and asked for help when needed. As opposed to suffering quietly in the corner. I should stop putting things off to get my work handed in on time. Often times I do the work but, I let it sit in my bag till a couple days later. Thus I can work on not coasting and getting stuff handed in on time. In conclusion I am maintaining good speed in learning in English.

    • Aanii Ms. Wemigwans,

      Thanks for sharing. I like how you reflected on the habit of revising. I use this habit/skill on a regular basis. When I have to write a letter or create a paper or presentation, I usually create a rough draft, read through it on the screen to revise and edit, read through a second time to revise and edit, print off a hard copy to do this again (and I always seem to find something to revise when I read the hard copy) and then finally complete the final product. I am taking classes every other weekend in Sudbury on Saturdays and Sundays. Two weeks ago I was up late on Friday evening completing an assignment for Saturday morning. I completed it and then posted it without revising, because it was so late and I had to get up early to get to class in the morning. When I received it back, my teacher provided feedback that the content was excellent (level 4), but that I had an error in my conventions, a spelling error, so I received a level 3 in this part of my rubric/feedback. I was not concerned with the level 3. My reflections and learning from this assignment were not based on the content. I recognized that if I was going to do the learning I was capable of and produce a product that met the outlined criteria the next time, I had to improve in the skills of revising (not posting without revising) and time management (not waiting until the last minute to complete the assignment.) It was my lapse in applying my skills and habits, not my knowledge of the topic, that held me back a bit.

      I really appreciate your reflection. It actually inspired me to work on my assignments in advance (starting yesterday evening) to give myself more time instead of procrastinating and waiting until Friday evening again.

      Miigwech Annie,

      Mr. Staruck

    • Learning to advocate for yourself, to reach out for assistance, is an incredibly valuable skill and worth developing. The people you work with and learn with cannot always see when you need help. Consider the variety of ways we have available to us today to communicate with others. Which ones might you feel comfortable using: email, phone, face-to-face, twitter direct message?

  51. This semester in English has not been my best so far. I only handed in a few assignments, and have already missed the deadline for the Hero`s Journey Essay assignment. I think I could have worked harder. For my Writers` Portfolio assignment, I could have worked more on my persuasive essay and came up with better supporting ideas for my argument, and
    improved the essay overall. I like to maintain high standards for my work, and I want to do the best work I can. The main problem was that I didn’t spend enough time on each of my assignments to get the level of work that I wanted. Procrastination, distractions, and other school work that I have to get done got in the way. I did not regulate these factors as well as I should have. In the work I have submitted so far, I think I made good use of the resources available to me. I looked at examples provided and used outlines. I used the Readers` Notes example as a template for my own notes, and I used the essay outline to organize my ideas for my Hero`s Journey Essay. When I am given an assignment, I read the instructions carefully and listen to what is asked so I usually do not have many questions. Before I submit all my work, I review it and make sure I have all the ideas I want to include and check my spelling, punctuation, and grammar. My work so far this semester is not something I am very proud of, and I could have worked harder to submit good pieces of work before the given deadlines. For future work, I will make time to get things done.

    • This is a thorough reflection. You have many good learning skills and work habits that will serve you well. You might want to investigate a productivity tool that could track your deadlines and commitments. You may find it easier to self-regulate if you have a schedule.

    • Aanii Derek,

      I like how you reflect on the granular details that you understand you need to address for improvement (for example, when talking about your persuasive essay) instead of just using broad overall general statements for improvement. This shows you have a clear understanding of your next steps. I understand what you mean by procrastination getting in your way; to this day, it is at times still my worst enemy. I was impressed by the way you identified resources and strategies that did help you when you felt good about completing work. This shows that you have a good growth mindset, and you will find that this will be valuable to you when you engage in post-secondary studies.

      I found this to be an extremely strong reflection and you should be proud of yourself for this learning you are undertaking.

      Miigwech,

      Mr. Staruck

  52. I do not believe that I worked as hard as I may have the capability to throughout the first half of this course, however my work has left me satisfaction. The amount of time I spent doing my work wasn’t as much as it could’ve been, but I got it done. When I’m stuck, I will ask a peer, but if I’m still stuck then I will figure it out myself or skip it. I hope to change that so I will be able to understand every task to complete it. When there are resources available to help me, I will take advantage of it to help me succeed. One of the hardest things for me is to actually start my work when I’m not 100% sure what to do, but once I get passed that I am able to carry on and finish. Once it’s done, I continue to review it until I’m confident enough to hand it in.

    • I hope you can learn to reach out for assistance when you need it too. This skill is important because it helps us work efficiently and with confidence. There are many ways to ‘talk’ to the people who you need to speak with beyond a face-to-face conversation. Email comes to mind.

    • Aanii Jacqueline,

      I like how you do not automatically go to the teacher if you need help. You have identified a variety of ways to find assistance and answers, and this is very important for when you go on to post-secondary studies because if you are in a class of 100 or more people, it will be difficult to move forward in your learning with minimal access to the teacher. If you build these strategies you are referring to, you will be able to move forward and find the support you need for your learning.

      Remember that if you are really stuck, the Student Success Block from 3:00 pm to 3:30 pm is an ideal time to get additional, more one-on-one support from your teachers.

      Thanks for sharing,

      Mr. Staruck

  53. There are some things you got to ask your self after or ahead of tasks, things like “did I work as hard as I could have?” or “did I set and maintain high standards for my self?”. Well I didn’t and look at me know fell behind and work is poor as ever. So very slowly changing my mindset and so “slowly” improving at tasks. Imaging what would happen if I put a little more effort into the work and if I ask for assistance.

    • I hope you move past the imagining stage! I wonder if creating a schedule for yourself that includes time for working on school work could be a first step?

    • Aanii John,

      The first step to shifting towards a growth mindset is identifying that you realize that this has to happen, and is important for your success. I encourage you to make a commitment moving forward to push your learning forward, providing evidence of your learning for feedback and growth. It is difficult. This is why you have to ensure to take care of all of the supports available and in place for you.

      Thanks for sharing,

      Mick Staruck

  54. Hi there,
    I believe that I’m doing the best of my ability, I did miss more did need of school, but I know that doesn’t matter because I have to try to make up all the work that I have miss. I ideas are to finish High School, and applied myself at Cambrian College for Graphic Design, so for me to able to get to achieve ideas I must get caught up in my miss work. Next semi-mister I’ll attained more School, and be better on my work like: Homework, Assignment, Test, Notes, and ask for help if their something that I need help or don’t fully understand of what the question is asking me.

    • Aanii Cole,

      I am glad that you identified that you have a lot of work you are behind it, but you seem determined to catch up. Keep in mind that it is important to be in school as consistently as you can. Getting your work completed is important, but there is many other learning opportunities that occur during a class that you may not be able to replicate if you are not there.

      It was also encouraging to learn that you have set a future goal that you are focused on working towards.

      Thanks for sharing,

      Mr. Staruck

  55. Hello,My name is William.And I found this blog post very amazing.Because the focus here I would think is “Growth Mindset.” and without that we would just give up and not want to try and succeed at whatever it is we are trying too.Eminem for example had difficult times in his life and he never gave up what he loved doing.And now he is a huge celebrity in the Music Industry.HE over came at what he was struggling,Like being a highschool dropout,Drugs and poverty.And sadly.Suicide was on his mind back then.But look at him now!.
    Sincerly,William.

    • Aanii William,

      This is an interesting post. It is encouraging to see you reflecting on growth mindset. Have you made connections to what you may be doing this year, and how you think growth mindset is influencing your approach?

      I believe you are leaning more and more towards a growth mindset. One example I can recall that would support this, is when I observed you in your Geography class a month or so ago. You were working on an assignment where you had to identify main idea and supporting details in an article. You had your highlighters available, and were employing the annotation skills and note-taking strategies you were using from your English classes to assist you in this activity. To see you use these strategies in your other classes impressed me. You should be proud of the learning you are doing and applying throughout all of your classes this school year.

      Thanks for sharing,

      Mr. Staruck

  56. 1. I don’t think I worked as hard as I could have. Considering I was in a dance program and to stay in it, I had to get all my work finished, which didn’t happened and I got cut from the program. I’m sure next time if I really focused and handed things in on time, I won’t be in a situation like this again.
    2. I don’t usually do. At the start of the semester I told myself I was going to try really hard and get all my work done, and it didn’t work out as well. So, yes I did but it doesn’t go well with me.
    3. Yes I did have quality time but I don’t use it wisely.
    4. No I didn’t, but I need to improve on that big time.
    5. Most of time, I think I made good use of available resources. I would use my daybook sometimes, or if there were anchor charts I could look at, I would.
    6. Sometimes I did but most of the time I didn’t. Probably why I didn’t get most of my work done. Sometimes at home I would ask my parents on what they think about everything and get some understanding from them.
    7. Most of time I do. When I re-read my sentences, they don’t make sense or my words are sometimes misspelled, I just go back and fix them up.
    8. Yes I did. Looking at the anchor charts, asking my parents or other teachers, and I also asked people around my table about what their ideas were.
    9. I am being honest when I say i’m not proud of work for other people to see. I would prefer for only my teacher to read it over and talk to me about it, but I wouldn’t want anyone to see it.

    • Aanii Adrayn,

      I appreciate your reflection. Showing understanding of where you can improve, and taking ownership of where you currently are, is very important in strengthening your future learning opportunities. Like you, there are still times where I identify that I need to use my time more wisely so I don’t fall behind in the tasks that need to get done. I liked the way you identified specific resources that could assist you in your learning.

      Thank you for sharing,

      Mr. Staruck

  57. 1.I did not really work as hard as I should have in this course. I could have done better than I did. I did my work and handed it in , but not on time.
    2.I did set and maintain high standards for myself, but I did not reach them. So, to set and maintain high standards for myself is something I would need to work on.
    3. I had enough time to do quality work but I did not take advantage of it so I did not really get enough of my work done.
    4. I did regulate my procrastination, distractions, and temptations to complete my work but if I tried a little bit more to complete my work then it all would have been completed and handed in on time.
    5.I did not really make good uses of available resources.
    6. I did ask questions to the teacher when I needed help with my work.
    7. When I was finished my work I did review and re-review my work for possible errors. But I could work on that a little bit more.
    8. I did examine best practices for similar work because it was a lot of help and it made things a bit more easier to do.
    9. I am proud of my work but I would not proudly show it to a large, global audience. I would only want a certain amount of people to read it, like my teacher.

    • Aanii Tammara,

      I am glad to hear that you are trying to set high standards for your learning. Do you think the standards you set for yourself are aligned with what your teacher feels you are capable of?

      You identified that you did take time to review and revise work, but that you could do this more. This is a skill that will improve essential as you move on to post-secondary, and I encourage you to continue to try to review and revise everything you do.

      Thanks for sharing,

      Mr. Staruck

  58. I know I didn’t work as work as I could of for the first half of the semester, mostly cause I didn’t take it seriously. I set a pretty high goal for myself in the beginning, and wasn’t able to keep it up. I didn’t use my time to do much work at home or at school, and that resulted in sloppy work. I was easily distracted by the littlest things that were going on around me. I didn’t use much of the tools, resource, or sample work around the room around me either to do my work, or even ask questions. For what little work that I did so far, I notice I didn’t review or look it over for little errors, like punctuation,and spelling. Probably wouldn’t want to show my work to anyone but my teacher only for marks though. For the second part of the semester I’ll try to be a more productive student and actually get some work done.

    • Aanii Matthew,

      I was impressed with your reflection because you identified some general and specific areas for improvement. You have identified a number of the areas you want to work on, and I have already witnessed the positive shifts you have implemented that show you are moving in the positive direction that you have stated you are striving for. Your current work ethic will prove to be a major factor to helping you achieve your stated goals. You have recognized that reviewing your work more thoroughly is important, and this will take you to the next level.

      I appreciate you sharing,

      Mr. Staruck

  59. 1. The work I have done and completed this semester I think I worked well and tried to keep up with everything that has been going on into this class I know I could have pushed myself a little more than what I have did.

    2. At the start of this course I set a pretty good goal for myself and I am still trying to reach it. in the start I was doing good keeping up and doing what have been told but then I slowly started messing up and falling behind but still did my best to keep up and keep moving forward no matter how much times I failed to finish and I am now making up for it and doing more work at home then I have ever did.

    3. It felt like I have spent quality time 75% of the time on my work until I got behind on couple assignments then I lost motivation and just fell behind but now Mid-term is here I am finally doing good quality work time more at home and more in school.

    4. I have been asking questions on what I am doing in this class and what my work is helping me with since day one, On my bad days I didn’t do much and thats when I wouldnt ask questions or do work. But then I would ask students what do i gotta do.

    5. It have felt like I have made good use of available resources in this class and all my others using chromebooks or laptops. If was not able to reach or get one I would use my I-pad to help me out if I am really lost then I would get a teacher to help me.

    6. The things that came me going from quitting and not doing the work is wanting to go to OLI & Spartan those are the 2 events I really want to go to and they are making me doing my best showing progress the best way I can even when I have fallen back I am making a comeback by asking for help when needed and going in for SSB to help get started and talk with the teacher.

    7. I usually review my work once just to see what I have done good on and what I have done bad on but the only way on successes is if you fail so you know to get better and when I look at my work I didn’t do so well on I do my best to make it better and work on the weaknesses I have.

    8. I practice a lot of reading and re-reading to try and make everything clear and understandable best practice right now Is the skimming and scanning it helps me when I need to find quick information about a certain things or helps me find out if I’d like a book a lot faster.

    9. I am really proud of the work I have done in this English class after falling behind so much and having a week when I finally realize it was mid-term coming up I accomplished a lot of writing and work I didn’t think I’d ever finish. But I don’t think I am proudly enough to show in a public audience, if I had more practice and actually paid attention and did the work when the date was due then I would probably show other people.

    Who ever reads this comment “Remember not every time you do something for the first time it might not be perfect but keep trying and practising you can be a role model to younger generations and things you do and things you say they will watch and follow so stay in school be on time do your work and practice hard you will succeed”
    Aho Bamaapii!

    • Aanii Adrian,

      As the principal of the school, I have the mobility to see what all students are doing on a regular basis. The past month or so, I have witnessed you pushing yourself in your learning more than any other student. You have an understanding that learning skills and work habits, even though not explicitly assessed, are integral to doing well and learning; you are a walking example of this.

      You have identified a number of times in your reflection that using class time wisely and attending the Student Success Block regularly are important. What currently separates you from many other students though is your understanding of continuing the learning and the work at home. This shows that you are understanding what it will take to continue with post-secondary studies, and the routines that you will have to self-regulate for success. Excellent understanding!

      I also like how you reflected on how the various formats of technology have helped you in your learning.

      When I read the part of your reflection on growth mindset, all I could think of saying was “Shtaa-taa-haa! You seem to truly understand that if you worry more about the actual learning, and the importance of reviewing and revising in order to give your best effort, that the grades will take care of themselves. You exuded confidence when you declared that you are proud of your learning. You should be proud.

      I encourage you to continue to approach learning like you currently are.

      Chi-miigwech for sharing,

      Mr. Staruck

  60. Kyle.Jackson
    Ms.Black- ENG4E
    April, 23, 2015

    Did I work as hard as I could have?
    I believe I have worked hard to get to where I am right now.

    2) Did I set and maintain high standards for myself?
    I haven’t set high standards for myself because I am not perfect.

    3) Did I spend enough time to do quality work?
    I may have not spend time for quality work because so much is happening in my life right now.

    4) Did I regulate my procrastination, distractions, and temptations in order to complete my work?
    I dont know what these words mean so to answer your question, no I haven’t.

    5) Did I make good use of available resources?
    I was given a computer to use to get work done, so yes I am using resources when it’s offered.

    6) Did I ask questions if I needed help?
    Yes I did, it took a while for the teacher to come by.

    7) Did I review and re-review my work for possible errors?
    I have on some hand outs, haven’t gotten any lately , so I must be doing alright.

    8) Did I examine best practices for similar work?
    Nope I believe I haven’t.

    9) Is my work something for which I am proud. That I would proudly show to a large, global audience?
    I am proud of what I am currently doing, I would just keep it to my self. Don’t feel like being told if I wrote any of these questions above wrong, but I answered them to my knowledge.

    • Aanii Kyle,

      I appreciated your honest reflections that you shared above. When you are reflecting, you don’t have to worry about being right or wrong. I encourage you to keep attending on a regular basis so you do not miss learning opportunities that occur in the classroom. I am glad you are taking advantage of technology when it is made available.

      Thanks for sharing,

      Mr. Staruck

  61. 1. Did I work as hard as I could have?
    NO i did not work as hard as i could have like i could have worked on my conflict map better, and my readers journal.
    2. Did I set and maintain high standards for myself?
    One high standard was to finish this class with a 80% or higher. I dont think i reached it just by looking at my unit one test.
    3. Did I spend enough time to do quality work?
    I sometimes take my time and do the work properly and sometimes i just rush thru just to finish it.
    4. DId I regulate my procrastination, distractions, and temptations in order to complete my work?
    I don’t think that i get distracted when i do my work, but at the same time i do think i get distracted doing school work. I think i should do my work at home if i don’t finish it at school.
    5. Did I make good use of available resources?
    I do believe that i make good use of my time in class to try and finish my work. I also believe that i do use available resources in a good way to complete my work well i try anyways.
    6. Did I ask questions if I needed help?
    I do ask questions if I need help because some work i can’t do so I ask questions so I could help better understand.
    7. Did i I review and re-review my work for possible errors?
    I do review my work for possible errors but i never really re-review my work I did not think about it, never came to mind.
    8. Did I examine best practices for similar work?
    No i do not examine best practice for similar work.
    9. Is my work something for which I am proud that I would proudly show to a large, global audience?
    I am proud of most of my work but not proud enough to show to a larger or global audience.

    • Aanii Dakota,

      I like how you identified specific assignments you felt you could have improved on. What are some of the strategies you think you could use that would lead to their improvement?

      It was important that you identified that you might consider doing more work at home to support your learning. I also like how you reflected that reviewing and revising your work more than once could be a next step. To this day, I sometimes review and revise letters or tasks three, four, or even five times before I finally submit the final product. I think reviewing your work more than once will give you the confidence

  62. 1) Did I work as hard as I could have?
    on the first half of the second semester I had a hard time getting on time or doing my work on time and hand it in on time.
    I should work harder on my news articles because there are few mistakes on it and I should proof-reading my notes before handing them in.

    2) Did I set and maintain high standards for myself?
    when I do my assignment I sometimes rush and I take my time.
    I ask my teacher about my work anwhd she gives me an idea and I fix the mistake and I can improve my writing skills. when we do a discussion of the whole class I participate and asking a lot of questions.
    I really need to work on and to improve, pre- read before I hand my work in.

    3) Did I spend enough time to do quality work?
    when I am on my spare I do my work and I usually bring my work home and do it. I get stumped pretty easily and I get my mom to help me to complete my work.

    4) Did I regulate my procrastination, destructions, and temptations in order to complete my work?
    If there is a lot of sounds or talking I cannot concentrate on my work, I usually listen to music so I can block the sound and talking, laughing.
    if I get interrupted on my work, then I will get lost where I am. If I bring my game I will not concentrate or I will have temptation to play my game or check my facebook.

    5) Did I make a good use of available resources?
    Well I asked a lot of questions to my teacher and I looked up on my work and used my notes for the Navajo people in WWII and about their language. I always use my notes, use the dictionary if I don’t know what is the word and learn what the words means.

    6) Did I ask questions if I needed help?
    When I get stuck or I don’t know what to do, I ask my teacher for some help and some helpful advice. Sometimes I get my friends to help me out on a question that is hard to answer and I answered it my best that I can.
    When I get stuck or having hard time I will ask my teachers, parents, relatives, friends for some help.

    7) Did I review and re-review my work for possible errors?
    I do check my work and I have a lots of mistake and I fixed the mistakes before I hand my work but sometimes I rush and hand in my work before anyone has finished. next time I will re-read and review my work before I hand it in by capitalized and put the periods at the right place and other things.

    8) did I examine best practices for similar work?
    I did looked at a similar work of my teachers and I did my own writing, not copy and paste. We looked at a sample of a timelines,news article, project and I get ideas from my friends/teachers and my mom.

    9) Is my work something for which I am proud- that I would proudly show at a large, global audience.

    I would be happy if my work can be shared with a large global audience because I worked hard and I never gived up on my work and I kept working on it. I will be very happy that people will read what I wrote and how I think, thought.

    • Aaniii Darlene,

      It is good that you are able to identify specific assignments and skills (for example proofreading) that you need to improve on. Your identification that it is important to do homework will help you keep up with your classes. It was also a good observation that games and Facebook do distract you from your learning, and that you understand that you have to put them away when you are engaged in your learning. I like how you shared different strategies to try to find the answer for something you do not know. You are one of the few students who would be willing to share your work with a global audience. This is commendable.

      Thank you for sharing through your reflection,

      Darlene

  63. Did I work as hard as I could have?. I Think i worked to my full potential because i got a 84% on my unit 1 Test.

    Did I set and maintain high standards for myself? I have set them but i don’t think i maintained it ,well maybe because i have most of my work complete.

    Did I spend enough time to do quality work? I think i spent enough time on my work to make it look good and to make it have a passing mark.

    Did I ask questions if i needed help? Not really ,Because i don’t like it when my work is read because its not done.i wait to till im done so teachers can read it.

    Did i make good use of available resources? I used my phone to do some research and my day-book to keep me on track .

    Did I regulate my procrastination,distractions, and temptations in order to complete my work?
    Sometimes when i took my phone out to check who sent me something would get me off track because i would reply to them.

    Did i review and re-review my work for possible errors? i never reviewed my work because most of my work was pretty ugly and didn’t make sense sometimes.

    Did i examine best practices for similar work? I did when i had to write a news article about the WW2 code talkers.

    Is my work something for which i am proud that i would proudly show to a large, global audience? Ahhh probably not because i’m not really proud of my work because sometimes my work isn’t perfect.

  64. Personal accountability & Reflection

    1. Working in Ms.blacks class in the beginning of the semester was a quite hard for me, only because I was still adjusting to rolling back in school doing english again. The work became a little difficult for me to understand, there’s times I would be frustrated doing my work, and that’s where I started slacking, I felt lost and confused with what she was teaching the class therefore those are most likely the consequences for not paying attention when I should be. So this is where I picked myself up, and started going into my notes, and re-reading them till I got the lesson. Knowing I’ve passed 2 english classes without failing once, I could do this again, and I will not fail. So having some improvement I knew would help me so this is where I further got into our work I boosted myself using feedback from the teacher, and asking students about our english work which really helped me.

    2. In english class the only way to get my goal, and be successful feeling well accomplished with a good passing mark would have to be at least 80% and that’s my goal. Now, in order to get that mark I have to pay full attention to the teacher during class, and stay in class full ssp time. Taking extra work home, finishing it up and studying for what’s coming up for the next lesson even though we haven’t started it yet.

    3. Spending time doing my work lately, has been a success, so I noticed by some improvement with my writing skills, and organization with my work, but I don’t think I’m putting enough time into my english work. So I’m going to have to stay in class a lot more during half an hour ssp time to fill that in. Having the patience to sit down after school to do my work, and study at home finishing up what has to be done for english class.

    4. Asking questions to the teacher in front of the class can be hard for me sometimes, only because I’m afraid others may judge me, or laugh at what i’m asking the teacher. I guess this is what you call insecurity, but I will change this soon and learn to not be afraid to ask any questions, cause it is important when I need help so I can complete my work.

    5. What more harder can it be without technology? Using the chromebooks in class do help me a lot, especially if I need to google something related to our work makes that much of a big difference. Using our notes going over them, and re-reading them helps me, and also using our editing and proofreading marks when I mistakes comes in handy. Asking the teacher for helping, and having that guidance so I know what I am doing also makes a difference.

    6. Distractions in class during lessons are not good. Most times during class my ipod can be quite a distraction, however its something I’ve been working on, by putting away while I’m in class. Which is turning out great. Lately I haven’t had any distractions since then.

    7. Yes, I review my work after it’s completed to check for any errors. It may be tricky sometimes, only because you when you re-read your work you wouldn’t see any errors but others do, funny how it works that way huh? However since i’ve been paying attention my work lately I haven’t had many mistakes as I did before.

    8. I looked at some examples in class for my slideshow presentation, which I was nervous for. Everything worked very well, the only reason I was able to do my presentation was because my english teacher helped me by showing me some ideas.

    9. My work, and everything I’ve completed ain’t ready to show the world completely, but as I made some changes and achieving quite a few things in english seeing improvement I definitely will when I’m ready.

  65. Mid-term Metacognition

    Did I work as hard as I could ?
    No, I didnt work as hard as I could have. I realize that now when I am missing marks that were easy to get.

    Did I set and maintain high standards for myself ?
    I set high standards for myself all the time but maintaining them is my problem.

    Did I spend enough time to do quality work ?
    For a long time I got out of the routine of doing homework. So now I suffer when I run out of class time and cant push myself to do homework or even remember.

    Did I regulate my procrastinations/distractions and temptations in order to complete my work ?
    No , I let myself once again wait till last minute for almost every assignment.

    Did I make good use of available resources ?
    I did when I needed to, I used SSB recently in the last few weeks when I could and it really helped.

    Did I ask questions if I needed help ?
    Yes, but sometimes I dont when i really need to.

    Did I review my work for possible errors ?
    Yes, I look back at past work for mistakes and bad habits I don’t notice at the time.

    Did I examine best practices for similar work ?

    Am I proud of my work to display publicly ?

    When I submit an assignment I am usually very proud, I actually show a lot of my friends and family . Im kind of perfectionist, i think thats why its takes me awhile to get started or even prepare or hand in anything.

    • Next steps include :
      1. Making time everyday for homework. so I dont miss deadlines like I miss the deadline for The hero journey Essay.

      2. Getting started on assignments earlier

      3. Do the little things and not leave them to the end. Like hero cards or Cyu’s.

      4. Ask ms.balen more questions to clarify my assignment and what is asked of me.

  66. We have reached mid-term, and already nine weeks have passed. Most of our work has been done online. This came with advantages and disadvantages, and I took my time with my work, so much so, that some of the work didn’t get handed in on the days they were due. Grudgingly slow paced , but I did work hard on each of the assignments, even staying up late to finish the unfinished ones. In the beginning, I had set some goals for myself, but I don’t know if I’ll reach them. Some of the goals were similar to last years, and I don’t really know if thats a good thing or not. In some assignments, I know I could’ve done better. I know I could have put in more effort, rather than just doing the bare minimum. I told myself in the beginning of the semester, that I would better than in my previous year. This meant that I’d do the work, all of it, and I’d hand the work in on time. Now, I know that I didn’t do much of the latter, but I can say that I’ve improved. It was a gradual improvement, but an improvement nonetheless. As my work started piling up, and I was beginning to get stressed, I sat down on my bed, grabbed my laptop, and my papers, and worked till I was donet. And I spent a good enough of time on each assignment in order to be somewhat pleased with the outcome. There were obstacles along the way, a new movie here, a new book there, but I resisted the temptation, and waited until I was done, in order to completely relish in whatever I wanted to do (sometimes I couldn’t wait). Because, most of our work was done online, this came with many reasons to procrastinate. I’d start with the assignment, then I’d remember something, or I’d open a new tab and then it’s downhill from there. However, I knew when I should do the work, especially in class. Improving on becoming a responsible student. And if I needed help, I’d ask the people at my table, and if I was brave enough, I’d ask Ms. Balen (not that you’re scary or anything, I just find it scary to ask for help), The work that I’ve done, I looked over and over before handing in, a small reason for why they were usually handed in late, because I wasn’t really happy with the finished piece. So far this semester was good to me. I’d put more detail into my work and I’m slowly starting to take pride in the work that I’ve done. Even if improvements are needed. (sorry it’s long!)

  67. Looking back now, there’s a big difference between this semester and last. I believe last semester I was more motivated to do work, and now I’m just wasting time and dreading for school to be over. Right now I’m stuck with a fixed mindset, and I need to change that.
    This semester, I know I did not work as hard as I could have. At the start of this semester, I was very inspired and ready to take on the work because I was proud I was in an academic class. But as the semester went on, I wasn’t able to maintain the high standards that I set for myself before. I believe I could do better.
    In the end, I didn’t spend enough time doing the work, but when I did I was able to set my distractions aside and not procrastinate… Except I wouldn’t complete the work that was assigned. I also didn’t make good use of available resources, nor did I review and re-review my work before handing it in; mostly because it wasn’t completed. I didn’t examine the best practices for similar work, and I don’t think my work is something I’m proud of. I never asked the teacher if I needed help, but I did conference with some of them and they helped me get on the right path. With their advice I will try and finish the rest of this semester strongly. If I try hard enough, I know I can change these habits around.

  68. Already half way through the semester, and it’s not about to get any easier, because the end of the school year is slowly coming up.
    But first let’s get through mid-terms.

    Did I work as hard as I could have?
    As I am looking back, and reflecting on the assignments I finished, I think that I could have tried my best to achieve more than what I usually do. In every assignment that we have done, I could have asked more questions, and making sure that I was reaching the criteria that was needed.

    Did I set and maintain high standards for myself?
    In some assignments like the Hero Journey essay, Haida Gwaii Paragraphs, my writer’s portfolio, I set high standards for myself. Considering that I was told to write a 700-1000 word essay, I think that even though I was close to the maximum amount, I did my best. Knowing that I set my standard was to be able to have my essay more than 700 words, I think that I achieved it. Making it a more academic level, such as going more than 1000 words, should have been my highest standard. As going through each assignment, I improved, as giving more details, and doing my best to explain the information.

    Did I spend enough time to do quality work?
    In the assignments, Haida Gwaii, and my writer’s portfolio, I can definitely say that my work wasn’t that good of quality work. I could of went to my extent to do my very best, as in using the work of doing in-text citations, MLA format. All quality work takes time, but even if I take my time, and finish the assignment, sometimes I wouldn’t consider my work to be known as quality work. It is all known as good work, but it’s not good work, because I don’t review it, revise it, as much as I should.

    Did I regulate my procrastination, distractions, and temptations in order to complete my work?
    When I would complete my work, I would have distractions, and sometimes I would procrastinate. It’s kind of a habit to have distractions, and to procrastinate, but I think as when I go through these “phases”, I at least think of my ideas. Although most times I don’t write my ideas down or I can never think of them again. Sometimes I consider that procrastination is a bad habit of mine, which I’m sure I can fix, and to make myself better. The temptation of getting my assignments done, has always come to my mind, and although I never really listened to my conscious, I at least got my assignments done.

    Did I make good use of available resources?
    As there were resources from school, and home, I used them to the very best. Trying to use my time wisely. Most times, I was always doing my work on google docs, because it would save it for me automatically, which I find is just great, and that it wouldn’t crash.

    Did I ask questions if I needed help?
    Of course, if I needed help, I would definitely ask for help. Most times I would email, and ask different questions regarding about different assignments, making sure I understand that I would be doing the assignment correctly, or at my very best.

    Did I review and re-review my work for possible errors?
    Most times when I did my work, I would review it, but I wouldn’t exactly re-review it. Although I would review it, and make sure that I was doing it correctly, but it’s again with doing my revision, and making sure that my assignment is at it’s very best.

    Did I examine best practices for similar work?
    When doing ‘best practices’, it helps me to do my work in the best way, and in a way I consider to be the ‘right way’. I consider that best practices are an outline on how I should do my assignment, or at least in some similar way, or making sure there’s no errors and such.

    Is my work something for which I am proud- that I would proudly show to a large, global audience?
    After each assignment, or sometimes even before doing the assignment, I do my best so that I’m proud of it, and that I have this ability to share it to a global audience. Most assignments, inquiries, I believe that I would show to a large, global audience, as in posting on my blog. My work being shown to a large audience, helps me think that my work is something worth reading.

    Next steps?
    As for my next steps, I need to make sure that I give my work enough time, and that I’m doing my best. Reaching a level 4 criteria. Always making time to work on an assignment, or even small assignments. All assignments can help me to achieve a better idea in my reading, ideas, and thoughts. A huge next step I need to take is doing revision on my work, so that my writing is more professional like, as in asking peers, or a teacher to revise my work.

  69. I think I could have worked harder, and by working harder I could have done better on assignments and get them in on time. I didn’t maintain a high standard of myself, which by working harder I could have maintained it, but I had a lot of personal problems happening and they affected me quite a bit. I could have spent more time on some assignments, but overall I did the best I could at the time and got some pretty good marks. As for distractions and such, I could have stopped myself more than as much as I did, but I’m a teen, I do get distracted easily. I used all resources to my benefits, I used them whenever and as much I could to better assignments and my learning process. I would always seek guidance for anything I didn’t understand or needed a better understanding with. I tried to revise my work as much as I could, but sometimes I just wanted to get the assignment over and done with because it was past the due date, but that was on my part. But for the most part I think everything was good without revising it. I did not examine best practices for simple work, I never have thought of doing this honestly. I think my assignments were very well done, I would proudly offer to show the world my work. Not all will like my work and say it needs improvement but I am fine with it.

    -Kira Dowdall

  70. I find I did really push myself the last 4 weeks. Sure I was late on a few essays but I got them done before the deadline. I love English class believe it or not, it flows nicely with me. So it’s easy to push myself because I enjoy it very well. I make a reasonable goal for myself and try my hardest to make it there or higher, by the final term. With a few essays I really took time and did a good job, I would sit down at home till I finished something I was proud of. To make sure I got things done on time I stayed after school till 4:00pm on Wednesday. I worked on essays outside of school, at school. While at school made sure to check my understanding with Ms.Balen and also have her and peers look over my work. Fixed all errors on rough drafts in order to have a successfully writers portfolio. I like the way my writing can have nice flow with main points included. Really enjoy writing so these weren’t a problem for me. I was really happy when I got my writers portfolio done, told my grandma right when I got home as I always do when I accomplished something in any of my classes. She is very proud of how good I can be with making school one of my main priorities. Writers portfolio is something I wouldn’t mind sharing but I would make sure to learn from the criticism, if any come up.

  71. Did I work as hard as I could have ?
    No, I didn’t work as hard as i could have why? because I wasn’t doing everything i could to make my goal. My goal was to get a 90% in my english class. Unfortunately, I was putting my work off to the side, during the time I wasn’t at school.

    2. Did I set and maintain high standards for myself?
    I set myself some high goals, but I went off track for awhile. The reason why, is because I i wasn’t at school for about 6 days. So, that set me back a little. Although, from here from this point on i want to work on catching up on my reading notes, and writing.

    3. Did I spend enough time to do quality work?
    I spend a little too much on some of my assignments, sometimes i just put it off until the last minute. For example, my paragraph portfolio project. I’ve been putting off a lot, I’ll say I will do this at home but i never do. That’s what i mean by last minute, when it’s too late that’s when i start to work on it. Then ask for more time when I should’ve been working on it before its due. My next step for this is to spend as much time to be working on my class work than hanging out with friends.

    4. Did I regulate my procrastination, distractions, and temptations in order to complete my work?
    I have done all three of these, and yes it happen a lot over the time of my english class. However, procrastination I’ve always done that time and time again. My distractions were by my friends that would walk by my class or they would text my phone, which was a bad idea to have my phone on at all in my classes. The temptations was my phone trying my best to just not even touch it, but I did most of the time it was very important when I did. Therefore from these things having to be in my way. I am not going to let them in my way, because my next step for here is to turn off my phone, do whatever i need to do and not be distracted by anything other than my work.

    5. Did i make good use of available resources?
    At first, I never used the SSB until i noticed that i needed to catch up on my work for my english & dance classes. So since I knew, i started to use those times for time to catch up on what i needed done, and for work that was overdue.

    6. Did I ask questions if I needed help?
    I asked questions every time I didn’t understand a word or a question. Like just as I was going through these questions I didn’t know how to answer. I needed an example for the question I was stuck on then I asked for a little help from my teacher, then she give me the example I needed.

    7. Did i review and re-review my work for possible errors?
    I have never reviewed any of my work. Until the first time I came into Ms.Blacks class, she has helped through the hardest times in my work. Since then I have been doing my best to review and re-review my work. Like I will review my writing in my the questions make sure I don’t have any errors.

    8. Did I examine best practices for similar work ?
    Sometimes I do but, most likely I go with whatever idea i have in my head. I usually don’t really look at other work.

    9. Is my work something for which I am proud – that I would proudly show to a large global audience?
    My work isn’t something i would want to show to a global audience. Because, I’ve never liked anyone seeing my work. I feel uncomfortable when i see people checking my work or something like that. I’m always thinking that I’m wrong about everything. But from now I just need to be asking for help, when i need it the most.

  72. I worked pretty hard this semester. For my long-term planning goals, I told myself I would get an 80% on my assignments that I handed in and I also said that I wanted to start learning how to write better stories and paragraphs, how ever this has not happened as of yet. I also told myself that I would get most of the assignments in my daybook finished, although this is true, some of the assignments are only half way done and I need to complete them still.
    I did in fact set some high standards for myself as I wanted to get at least an 80% mark of higher on my work. I also said that I wanted to write better stories and paragraphs and improve my writing and grammar. I also try to get my teachers feedback on paragraphs and stories to see if I improve.
    I think I need to spend some more of my time working on my assignments that I have due and eliminating all of the possible distractions that I could come across.
    I need to work on learning to put my personal things to the side in order to complete my work. I also learned to put all of my temptations and wants to leave the assignment behind in order to finish my work either at home or in class.
    I always use all of the resources that I get to my advantage in order to help me in the assignments that the teacher hands out. I listen to the teacher every chance I get in order to understand an assignment or if i’m stuck on a question.
    Yes and no. Most of the time I would always ask questions, but other times I would not ask questions and try to figure out the assignment or question on my own. I need to learn to ask more questions if i’m stuck on an assignment and not try to figure it out on my own because that ends up with me leaving the assignment alone and not even try to figure it out afterwards.
    Yes, I usually review my work after looking over my assignments to see if I had made any mistakes along the way and usually re-check it again to see if I missed anything the first time I looked it over.
    I usually don’t look at other practices to help me complete something. If I figure out one way to do the assignment than I usually try it and just stick with it and don’t try anything new, so I will try this practice on future assignment.
    I am proud of all my work that I have finished, but I’m not so proud of it that I would share it with a large global audience. I mainly won’t because of personal reasons and because the work ( in my opinion) isn’t that great anyways.

  73. Mid-Term Metacognition

    1. Did I work as hard as I could have?
    I often missed classes in the beginning of school and that put me behind in work which made me rush to just get it done. Recently, I’ve been working harder to get things done and not to rush my work so I can get a good mark.

    2. Did I set and maintain high standards for myself?
    The way I think about my work is that it needs to be completely great and thorough to hand it in. In order for my work to meet my expectations are to sit in class and actually listen, do homework every night and and to make sure I understand what I’m supposed to be doing. Often, I don’t do my work like this but I try a lot to catch up. So I do set high standards for myself but I end up maintaining it afterwards which, I know now, needs works.

    3. Did I spend enough time to do quality work?
    Every time I do homework or in-class work, I push myself to do great work, which I learned to do because of Ms. Balen. The problem is that I sometimes don’t follow through to after school at home. It exhausts me thinking of how much I need to prepare to start homework.

    4. Did I regulate my procrastinations, distractions, and temptations in order to complete my work?
    In class, I’ve gotten really good at not being on my phone constantly but I get so distracted by the simplest things. I get back on track easily but I’m just so darn nosey. I don’t have temptations to go on my phone either but whenever were on chromebooks, I really want to go on Pinterest.com. At home, I need to limit myself to Netflix because lately that’s all I’ve been doing on my spare time. For an assignment that needed to be due in the first month, I didn’t hand it in until a few weeks ago. All the procrastinating ended up with me not learning in my mistakes of the assignment.

    5.Did I make good use of available resources?
    I didn’t understand what my Good Life Teachings Essay was going to be about but, after I went to see Ms. Balen during SSB and she explained it and broke down all the concepts of it, I finally understood it. So for SSB, I go to my teachers whenever I can so they can work with me one-on-one to help me understand what I’m supposed to do for an assignment.

    6. Did I ask questions if I needed help?
    I usually google questions to get more of a broad understanding and if google doesn’t help me out, I ask Ms. Balen. I also ask classmates if they can help me understand anything or what we did in a class I missed out on.

    7. Did I review and re-review my work for possible errors?
    I do like to know what I did wrong so next time I can get it better but because I am a procrastinator, I don’t have much time to look at things and know where I made a mistake. (Here I am, reviewing my work and knowing where errors are-PROCRASTINATING.)

    8.Did I examine best practices for similar work?
    For my reader’s notes for my novel, I had to learn how to not write so much. I think I was told that because I didn’t want to waste time writing stuff down I already know and when I write, I like to go into detail. Also, when I write my Good Life Teachings essay, it’s very helpful when I plan out everything using a mind map and then jot down notes in order of how my essay would go and then fill in the gaps.

    9. Is my work something for which I am proud that I would probably show to a large, global audience?
    My mark in this class, although graded on what I have handed in so far (only two assignments), is very high. I plan to keep on working hard for a good grade. I don’t often get good comments regarding my english classes, but when someone did, I felt really accomplished. So yes, I am proud of my work and I would want to show it to an audience of any size.

  74. No i don’t think i worked as hard as I could have. I could have done better and did more work.
    No i didn’t any standards so no i didn’t maintain anything.
    No i didn’t spend quality time on my work but when i did i got stuff done.
    I did not really regulate my procrastination for all them.
    Yes sometimes i used my resources and sometimes i didn’t if i used more i would have go to complete more assignment.
    Sometimes i asked questions when i needed help but not all the time if i did i would have completed more work
    When i wrote big paragraphs i checked for errors but not the little stuff.
    No i didn’t use examples to do my work i did it on my own.
    No i am not proud of my work and no i wouldn’t wanna show it to the world.

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