Fall Vocab #7

1) Cursory (adj) -going rapidly over something, without noticing details

I have a bad habit of treating my homework in a very cursory manner.

2) Impetus (n) -a moving force; impulse; stimulus

The impetus gave me the opportunity of answering the question with the correct answer and get over my shyness.

3) Pinnacle (n) -the highest or culminating point as of success, power or fame

At the pinnacle of her career, Beoyonce knowles proceeded with her nose job.

4) Contumely (n) -insulting display of contempt in words or actions; humiliating treatment

Teacher's feel as though putting a student through a contumely process, the consequence will then teach them better and they will once again think twice about doing something. 

5) Bereavement (n) -a period of mourning after a loss, especially after the death of a loved one

We could tell her bereavement had begun to take place the minute she began to wear Black every day.

6) Cache (n) -a hiding place, especially one in the ground, for ammunition, food, treasures

The fort in the basement became my little sister's cache in the summer.

7) Consummation (n) -to bring to a state of perfection; fulfill

The consummation of her work was a result of multiple months of hard work, blood, sweat and tears. 

8) Calamity (n) -a great misfortune or disaster, as a flood or serious injury

Calamities tend to misguide us from our everyday lives and sidetrack us.

9) Avarice (n) -insatiable greed for riches; inordinate, miserly desire to gain and hoard wealth

Avarice is a common mutual feeling among all human beings atleast in this society. 

10) Fortify (v) -to protect or strengthen against attack; surround or provide with defensive military works.

The American Revolution took much fortification against the British.

11) Erratic (adj) -deviating from the usual or proper course in conduct or opinion; eccentric

The student carried on quite an erratic sense of humor than the rest of my students. 

12) Ubiquitous (adj) -existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time; omnipresent

Although my grandmother had passed away 8 years ago, I felt her spirit was ubiquitous during the holidays. 

13) Fortitude (n) -mental and emotional strength in facing difficulty, adversity, danger, or temptation courageously

I have to constantly remind myself that fortitude is always what will get me through any obstacle I face.

14) Nonchalant (adj) -coolly unconcerned, indifferent, or unexcited; casual 

His nonchalant manner informed me that he truly could not care any less about the class.

15) Affect (v) -to act on; produce an effect or change in

My grandfather's death affected my studies greatly.

16) Effect (n) -something that is produced by an agency or cause; result

The effect of the World War II Holocaust was 6 million Jews dead. 

17) Misappropriate (v) -to put to a wrong use.

The misappropriate student did something that screwed up the trip for the rest of the innocent students. 

18) Pragmatic (agj) -of or pertaining to a practical point of view or practical considerations

The pragmatic arguments of the women favoring abortion defended their rights with the ammendments. 

19) Metacognition (n) -higher-order thinking that enables understanding, analysis, and control of one’s cognitive processes, especially when engaged in learning

Metacognition is something we all strive to achieve at some point in our lives to be able to make the proper decisions among ourselves. 

20) Devoutly (adj) -devoted to divine worship or service; pious; religious

A devout Catholic tends to judge others' lifestyles, forgetting the fact that we're human. 

TO BE OR NOT TO BE

The differences between Hamlet's soliloquy and Jobs' speech are that the soliloquy is more of an internal conflict which we all come across and Jobs' speech is more of a statement that tells you to do something rather than questions it like in Hamlet. Hamlet focuses more on our feelings and thoughts when our brains wonder and how we get lost in them which he explains that is not necessarily a bad thing. We need that sometimes to relieve our stresses in life and to forget about certain things in the moment and that this is perfectly fine. Yet, Jobs' points out that although we may feel like this a lot of the time and we may just want to constantly escape from the challenges we face on a day-to-day basis, it's best to ALWAYS push ourselves forward and truly find what we want in our lives. Not our mothers or fathers or aunts uncles friends teachers or grandparents. But to find what truly inspires us and what we have a passion for because ultimately that is the key to success and when you love something enough, you do whatever it takes to make it possible no matter how many times you have failed. Everything is possible as long as we want it as bad.

DEAR STEVE

Dear Steve,

Oh my, this is crazy. Truly inspirational! I cannot imagine how terrible you must have felt and how bad you might have wanted to give up when you failed. For you to be able to climb yourself out of such a deep hole at a time in your life when you felt all hope was lost when the majority of human beings would have normally given up right there (not necessarily suicide but their lives' would have remained exactly where they were at) was truly incredible. Sometimes we think, or at least I always do, that most of you rich people who've made it have had it easy all their lives or that someday an idea sprout in their day and from that day forth it was all good and from that idea all money came to them but I now see that that cannot be true in all cases. It makes sense that to achieve greatness you might have to be put through hell first. I'm sure you touched all hearts of those graduates' that day because you have touched mine. Thank you very much for sharing these personal stories.

THE VALUE OF CHOICE

     The value of choice is a controversy topic I would say. Many are firm believers of having choice yet others, averse it. Regardless of your position it is important to learn about it. I would agree that the majority of the expected requirements in the Teacher's module make a lot of sense especially if the teacher himself and the students as well can come up with new ways to make what needs to be taught,learned more comprehensible ways in which the student can connect with better. For example the Hamlet's soliloquy would make sense to learn the traditional way instead of wasting our time acting it our since all we are simply doing is analyzing the text. However, it can be agreed that by acting out a particular scene in the classroom, visual learners will indeed have connected much better with the text and actually would have understood it compared to if the class had never quite taken the action.
     I really want to master persuasion skills for my essays which will be extremely beneficial to my educational career and just extremely useful in everyday life and negotiating with irrational human beings. I really like the idea of quick writes and brainstorming before a major assignment of essay to introduce the class to the new topic without it being a slap across the face. Key vocabulary is definitely a core concept I feel needs to be tackled by all former high school students because it truly makes you stand out among the rest. Not only will the majority of these activities and requirements be beneficial to us for our future English classes in college, but also in many aspects of our real life which many students at the moment do not realize but will in the future if not tomorrow, then in five years or somewhere else down the road. I think the most important thing to keep in mind is that we need to allocate and strategize new ways of presenting these ideas to students so that we do not receive the usual tepid responses and dead atmosphere. We need to find these new ways in which the student will become attentive by choice and not by force. This is the problem many teachers have been attempting to solve for many years now but failed because they missed the key point- the students; hearing the students and what they have to say since in the end, the education is for them.

Fall Vocab #6

1) Accede (v) -to give consent, approval or adherence

I was acceded from class when the phone rang requesting me for my dentist appointment.

2) Brandish (v) -to shake or wave, as a weapon 

Angel brandished his sword at Maggie's body as a form of defense. 

3) Comprise (v) -to include or contain

My chemistry teacher managed to comprise a sixteen by sixteen Aluminum piece of foil into a two by two squared cube. 

4) Deft (adj) -dexterous; nimble; skillfull; clever

The Blacksmith was quite defty in the process of creating the horseshoe.

5) Destitute (adj) -deprived of; lacking food, clothing and shelter

At times, I find myself feeling destitute when I compare myself to my classmates.

6) Explicit (adj) -clearly developed or formulated

Her claim was explicitly stated in her intricate speech. 

7) Extirpate (v) -to remove or destroy totally; do away with

My little sister extirpated the ladybug from the surface of the windshield.

8) Inopportune (adj) -inappropriate; inconvenient; untimely 

My environmental science teacher was inopportune atthe worst of times. 

9) Ironic (adj) -using words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning

Life is ironic in so many ways; for example, we ignore those who love us and love those who ignore us. 

10) Musty (adj) -having an odor or flavor suggestive of mold

My shoes had become quite musty after being left out in the rain for two days.

11) Officious (adj) -objectionably aggressive in offering one's unrequested and unwanted services

The officious waiter insisted that we order the lobster plate when clearly no one at the table so desired it.

12) Ominous (adj) -portrending evil or harm; threatening

I felt a tadbit uncertain about the ominous-looking police officer at my door. 

13) Pinnacle (n) -the highest or culminating point, as of success, power, fame

On the pinnacle of her career, Katy Perry has released her new outstanding single titled, "Roar."

14) Premeditated (adj) -done deliberately; planned in advance

Many believe Tupac Shakur's death was the result of a premeditated murder. 

15) Rampant (adj) -violent in action or spirit; raging; furious

When my sister acts in a very rampant way when my parents refuse to purchase something for her. 

16) Solace (n) -comfort in sorrow, misfortune or trouble; alleviation of distress or discomfort

Sometimes I like to go outdoors during the nighttime and become lost in solace returning feeling satisfied.

17) Stately (adj) -majestic; imposing in magnificence 

The stately statue was displaced at the Museum of Tolerance for all to enjoy. 

18) Supple (adj) -bending readily 

without breaking or becoming deformed; pliant; flexible

My supple ruler was able to bend 360 degrees. 

19) Suppress (v) -to put an end to the activities of a person, body of  persons

Before the 20th century, when fenales were supressed by males, many did not feel the need to fight back and truly felt they were not worthy. 

20) Venal (adj) -willing to sell one's influence; especially in return for a bribe 

The venal english teachers always presented us with new ways for extra credit to raise our grades.

21) Adroit (adj) -cleverly skillful, resourceful or ingenious

The Romans introduced us to their adroit water system consisting of multiple aqueducts, similar to what we use today. 

22) Amicable (adj) -characterized or showing goodwill; friendly

Since my mother is extremely amicable  we are normally able to receive more goods than usual.

23) Averse (adj) -strong feeling of opposition; opposed

The averse team presented ideas that I had not yet considered or rarely ever thought of which were completely true. 

24) Belligerent (adj) -warlike character, aggresively hostile

The principal came off as belligerent when she yelled atthe students the minute they stepped off the bus. 

25) Benevolent (adj) -characterized by or expressing good will or kindly feelings

Some teachers feel the need to express their benevolent side by raising the students grade on their report cards even if they may not have earned it. 

26)  Cursory (adj) -going rapidly over something, without noticing details

The exam was so strenious that I had gone through it very cursory  

and regreted it right after.

27) Duplicity (n) -deceitfulness in speech or conduct; acting in two different ways to different people concerning the same matter

I could read the duplicity in her words during her speech and respected the fact that she viewed both sides of the argument instead of remaining strongly opposed to the averse team. 

28) Extol (v) -to praise highly, laud

I extol about four good teachers in my past thirteen years of edcation of which whom I shall never forget. 

29) Feasible (adj) -capable of being done, effected or accomplished 

Although strenious, I knew the amount of work was tackable and feasible. 

30) Grimace (n) -a facial expression, often ugly or contorted that indicates disapproval, pain

The grimace on my father's face told me the answer to my question, "Can I go to the game on Friday?"

31) Holocaust (n) -a great or complete devastation or destruction especially by firing

Hitler's holocaust during World War II was one of the worst acts in the history of mankind. 

 32) Impervious (adj) -not permitting penetration or passage incapable of being injured or impaired; immune

The dam served as an inpervious institution for the people living in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

33) Impetus (n) -moving force, impulse, stimulus

When he walks past me in the hallways he creates this impetus within me that I cannot control.

34) Jeopardy (n) -hazard or risk of exposure to loss harm, death or injury; peril or danger

I tend to put myself in jeopardy of not proving my true self when I stress too much about schoolwork.

 35) Meticulous (adj) -taking or showing minute details; precise, thorough

I appreciate art work that presents meticulous meaning.

36) Nostalgia (n) -a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's lives

Certain smells and songs do nothing but return a sense of nostalgia.

37) Quintessence (n) -the pure and concentrated essence of a substance

The quintessence of H2O is a vital resource necessary to survive by everyone.

38) Retrogress (v) -to go backward into an earlier and usually wise condition

Many of us wish we could retrogress time to return to those happier and easier times.

39) Scrutinize (v) -to examine in detail with careful or critical attention

My mother scrutinizes every single piece of clothing she comes across with when it comes to shopping. 

40) Tepid (adj) -characterized by a lack of force or enthusiasm

This English class has been acting tepid in the previous six weeks and I sometimes wonder if it is because we are all experiencing the exact same thing yet we avoid the situation by not talking about it. 

Time Investment Portfolio

*Based on a single week schedule, not a weekly average.

                 Mon    Tues    Wed    Thurs    Fri    Sat    Sun

Selling         7          7          6          5       4        6       7

Giving         2          1          2          3       2        4       9

Spending    5          3          3          10     4        17     23

Passing       4          3          2          2       3        4       8

*Total= Selling: 42 hours not enough

             Giving: 23 hours too much

             Spending: 65 hours way too much

             Passing: 26 hours way too much

WILL STUDY FOR FOOD

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