Masterpiece Presentation

      It has gone by quick but a lot of things have happened in my open source learning experience. It is definitely something that takes some getting used to but once you do it is so worth it. It took me some time to get used to a class that you can modify for yourself and I can't stay that I'm fully used to it yet. After coming out of this class I think that I do look at things differently so that means I did grow from my experiences. I am not an expert on literature now but I do look for and notice grammar mistakes without even thinking about it and I didn't do that as much before taking this class.
      There were many times this school year that I was very motivated to do something and then it just fell through. I either eventually did end up doing it or never got around to it and changed it completely like I did with my masterpiece project. After just being told what to do in school for so long it was incredibly different to be asked, "what do you want to do?" It actually caught me and probably everyone else off guard. In many ways it is almost too good to be true and it takes time before you realize it is real, no strings attached. Being treated as a colleague rather than a student is a huge change but I think opens up a lot more possibilities and brings a whole new level respect between student and teacher. However I honestly don't think that I personally deserved to be treated like a colleague at first but I did get used to it and I think I did earn that right but I cannot speak for everyone else.
      Finding your passion was a huge part of the school year especially the second semester. Through the year I was uncertain what I was truly passionate about and that lasted almost until the last couple weeks of school. I bounced from topic to topic until landing on something that I have always enjoyed doing but was never the best at, writing short stories. I found many things that interested me but I couldn't really find something that I was passionate enough about to use a whole semester moving towards. I feel as though it was time wasted but the time will come that I find out what I love doing and I will pursue it. As of right now I'm just going to continue on with school and my life in general and take opportunities as they present themselves until I am doing what I love.
      I did not get to witness all of the presentations but as for the ones I was there for there was one thing that really stood out in all of them. You could tell that everyone who was speaking really cared about what they were doing their masterpiece on. Some more than others but I could tell that there was real passion behind it by what they were doing and how they talked about it. Jon Garcia, Rachael, Roman, Jon Begg, and Analyssa's presentations really stood out to me because you could tell they were completely dedicated to what they were passionate about and they were excited about it. Everyone has enough motivation and creativity to make a career out of what they love but these five stood out the most to me. When Jon Garcia said he has been working on a story since freshman year I couldn't believe it and I knew that he was destined to be a great writer and same goes for Jon Begg. Another thing that proved to me they really cared was when Rachael sung a song in front of the class. It probably took a lot of courage to do that but maybe not since she loved doing it so much. There are many more examples but the final one was when Roman said he made a whole instrumental album just for this class. The work that was put into it was plentiful, I'm sure and you could just tell he was going to do great things in music.
      I can't say for sure if I completed the hero's journey. For what it's worth I think that I did not but I know that I could have. I did what needed to be done this year but I know I could have put in more work and effort to make my work that much better. Lack of motivation gets me every year and being a senior this year only amplified it. I feel as though I did the minimum on some things and went all out on others when I should have just put 100% in to everything I did. I responded to the call to adventure as I do with other things. I didn't. I sadly passed up a few opportunities in this class but I also took part in others. After writing the short stories I did feel enlightened but I just wish I had found that sooner in the year. I wouldn't call myself a hero.
      This class is definitely unique but in a good way. I think that more and more classes should and will be like this in the future. This is where modern day schooling is headed and I think it will be a good change. I know that if I had gotten into the rhythm of this class sooner I would have enjoyed it more and it would have been a lot easier but I still plan on using my experiences in open source learning out in the world.

Acme

"No! Put that back right this second!"

"But mom it's mine I found it."

"Amethyst Rose Adler, put it back now. We don't have time for this. We were supposed to be at the museum to meet your father twenty minutes ago." "Fine," Amethyst walked back down the trail and knelt down to put the oddly fluorescent headdress back but instead of putting it on the ground, she put it in her backpack. She swiftly ran back up the hill and was greeted by her smiling mother. A short time there after they arrived at the museum and entered. "Where have you been? I've been waiting here for nearly half an hour."

"I'm sorry Robert. Somebody wouldn't put down this headdress thing they found in the woods today," Marceline said as she rolled her eyes towards Amethyst. "It's fine I just wish I knew you two were going to be running late so I didn't have to leave work so early."

"Can we see the reptiles first, Mommy?"

"We'll get there honey just be patient. We have all afternoon to see the museum." First they went to the American History part of the museum. (IN PROGRESS)

Despair

"Oh... Hey."
"Hey.. Is something wrong?"
"..."
"What the hell are you doing?" "..." "Wait, why are there cuts on your arm?!
He looked down. He saw the sleeve of his long sleeve shirt rolled up to his elbow. Below his hand he saw cuts, five of them that he had never seen before. The lights in the room grew more brilliant and scintillating and he began to feel weightless, as if gravity had given up on him. He fell to the floor and was motionless. She cried out and fell next to him in despair. She did not know what to do so she wept until someone, anyone came, but no one did. Many questions and thoughts raced through her head as she lie there nearly sleeping.

164 Barred's Way

He stands there waiting,  waiting for his train. His senses then begin to heighten. Every foreign noise whether internal or external permitting from inside him. The ever changing wind that passes by him switches from cold to hot then back again. The dull colors become vibrant, every variation of color becoming noticeable. His thoughts are clouded, it's his train. His vision becoming distorted,  images becoming bent. Bent by him. "I wonder if it will be like everyone says" he whispers to himself. "What if it's worse?" he utters. "What if it's better? If there's a possibility of it being worse than it can also be better." As the cool breeze hits his face, a sudden sense of euphoria lays itself upon him. With a brief look of relief on his face he began to get nervous about what was to come. Compared to the things he did before, this should be a calm-walk. He can see the smoke of the train in the distance and the closer it got, the more nervous he became. He glanced down "164 Barred's Way" was engraved into his forearm. He nodded and looked back up, the train roaring even closer now. "I hope she knows where to look," he says to himself as he stares down the oncoming train. With the nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach growing he stuck out his left arm and waited. Before he knew it the train had come and all nervousness and feeling had been lost. He was free.

Mars One Expedition - Launch date, 7-8-18

Approximately two weeks after the crash...

She put a finger to his lips, "stop" she said. "We shouldn't."

"..."

"No! You're crazy."

Her once well nourished body is now a decrepit bag of bones.

As she staggers through the stream of blood, corpses lie in her wake. Nearly falling as she kneels down, she picks up the arm of her now deceased captain.

"Do you promise you won't mind?" she whispers as she slowly lifts the rotting limb to her mouth.

"..."

"Okay, but remember, this was your idea."

She opens her mouth and the flesh connects with her teeth.

Without hesitation she takes a chunk out of the limb as if it were at apple.

The smell putrid, the texture coriceous, the taste outré.

She starts chewing like she's never chewed before until she gets to the bone.

She whispers, "thank you" and waits for a response.

There is nothing.

Design

As far as physical goes, I wouldn't change much. I think the classroom is fine as is and changing something wouldn't make a big difference anyway. When it comes to structural I think just explaining things clearly and thoroughly would be the easiest and best way to hack the environment. For cultural I'm not too sure what you mean by that so I will probably have to update this later on.

Raising a Moral Child

I agree that praise is the best way to teach a child from what is right and what is wrong. Children are like monkeys, they see and they do so it makes sense that modeling the correct behavior will help them in the long run. It was also very interesting to see the extensive research done on it.