Christmas From a Wild Spirit

Lesson 11

Is it Lesson 11 already? Time sure flies when you work very hard.

Anyway, I did Worksheet A and only got one wrong on the quiz, which isn't too bad considering I have never done slope before in my life.

Post Lesson 8

I did my Life Plan Part 3 as best I could, but it was not really taught in the gathering, so I had to go by what the worksheets said. It's frustrating that most my classmates in the gathering, save the missionaries and the few special classmates, don't seem to care about helping me. Thank goodness for Sister Megan Hansen, as she is one of the best teachers I have ever had for Math, and she is helping me to figure out where I went wrong so I can fix it and keep moving forward.

I managed to get 74% on the same exam, so I will keep redoing it until I do better.

Lesson 9

After trying the Exam yet again, I managed a very sweet 81% and I am happy about it.

Lesson 10

I have been really busy this past weekend with freelance work, but I managed to get everything handed in that was supposed to be handed in.

Lesson 8

Is it really Lesson 8 already? Wow, time goes very fast when you are working as hard as I have been.

I did some of Worksheet A and then I decided to try the quiz and I ended up taking it twice, as I did rather badly the first time. The second time, however, I only got two wrong and I am VERY happy with that, as it amounts to 78% and means I am slowly getting there.

I'll work on the rest of Worksheet A LATER, as it's not due til Wednesday at midnight.

I eventually finished the worksheet and managed to get an 80% on the quiz after six times of taking it and realizing I could do the complex stuff on my calculator.

Lesson 7

My printer has no black ink in it currently, so I am doing Worksheet A's problems in a notebook and will probably go get some ink tomorrow. I am supposing that it doesn't matter if I do the work on a sheet or not as long as I get it done, so this way works.

I ended up taking the quiz twice and got 1 wrong each time, which equates to 88%, so I do have a basic understanding of these things, which is fine with me.

Lesson 6 and Post-Lesson 6

I am in Lesson 6 already. I did worksheet A and also watched the tutorial video by Brother Baird as I have in the previous weeks. I am surprised about how keen he is about math, but some people are.

There is no quiz this week! YAY! Instead, we have to submit a spreadsheet assignment!

I sent it off to get approval from the instructor and then I reviewed the pamphlet by Elder Ashton concerning money.

75 percent of all divorces result from clashes over finances.

Every family should have a budget.

1. Pay an honest tithing
2. Learn how to manage money before it manages you.
3. Learn self-discipline and restraint in money matters
4. Use a budget
5. Teach Family Members the importance of working and earning.
6. TEACH CHILDREN TO MAKE MONEY DECISIONS IN KEEPING WITH THEIR CAPACITIES TO COMPREHEND.
7. TEACH EACH FAMILY MEMBER TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE TOTAL FAMILY WELFARE
8. MAKE EDUCATION A CONTINUING PROCESS
9. WORK TOWARD HOME OWNERSHIP
10. APPROPRIATELY INVOLVE YOURSELF IN AN INSURANCE PROGRAM
11. UNDERSTAND THE INFLUENCE OF EXTERNAL FORCES ON FAMILY FINANCES AND INVESTMENTS
12. APPROPRIATELY INVOLVE YOURSELF IN A FOOD STORAGE AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM
-Use a debt-elimination calendar.

I started the exam at 12:21 p.m. and I ended at 2:17 p.m. I am tired. I got 72%, which means I must retake it once I get permission.

I got permission and restarted the exam at 5:08 and finished at 6:23. I am happy to report that I got 27/32, which is 84%!

After doing more studying, I decided to take the test again and I got the exact same mark. :)

Post Lesson 5

I did the worksheets I was supposed to and took the quiz twice, as I got one wrong the first time. However, I got 100% on the second try, so I'm very happy. I filled out the accountability surveys, the mid-course feedback, and also submitted my weekly report!

Lesson 5

Variables and formulas are an interesting concept and I find myself enamored by them.

I did the A worksheet according to the formula sheet and the only formula that I didn't understand was the temperature conversion one, as it didn't make sense.

I did the quiz twice and I ended up getting one wrong on the first try and 100% on the second try!

Post Lesson 3

May 12, 2016
I started the first exam, but I only did the questions that I knew and then saved the exam to complete at a later point in the weekend. The study sheet wasn't completely loading and the groups I have been part of during gatherings have been less than helpful in including me in their discussions of how to do the problem solving questions that involve unit conversions. I emailed my professor about that.

May 13, 2016
I learned a helpful trick from a visitor to Pathways last night and I also got a tutoring session in and screencapped the example he, the tutor gave me. I am going to try to finish the test. I did finish the test and ended up with 77% percent and even though that is a good grade, I emailed the professor for permission to retake it because I know I can do better.

Lesson 4

I was able to do the math work with a calculator today, so it was a lot faster and a lot less stressful! I ended up getting below the passing mark on the quiz, so Sister Hansen is letting me take it again and I did so in the evening after a prayer. I got the same questions wrong and so I wrote Sister Hansen and explained what I got wrong even though I knew what I was doing in the formulas.

Post Lesson 4

I managed to finally retake the test and get 80% on it, which I am happy with and I also did all my worksheets properly and with a lot of effort. I also got two wrong on my second attempt at the quiz, but one was completely my fault because I didn't trust what the calculator said and I need to. I also did my Portfolio assignment and it looks very interesting, much like Accounting.

Lesson 3

I started off by reading the online textbook and taking notes on fractions and unit conversions.

After I was done reading, I turned my attention to the first exercise sheet. I might have found an error on the answer key, but I am not sure, so I emailed my instructor about it. I was heavily distracted by Alex trying to tell me she lost her key, so I lost my concentration when it came to adding fractions and I ended up getting that question wrong again the second time I took the quiz, but I did my best and ultimately got 86% (only one wrong the second time) on this week's quiz.

Post Lesson 2

Today's work involved Part C of Section 1.3 exercises, which had to be done all by hand, and it was such a grueling exercise to get through, but I managed. I'm glad I said a prayer before I started.

I ended up taking the quiz twice and the multiplying and dividing decimals are the things I am still having issues with. I was able to figure everything else out thanks to a couple of tricks Brittany and Sarah, who are from my class, taught me during the gathering. 8/10 isn't overly a bad score.

Lesson 2

Decimals and division...ecch....I hope God gives me the patience for this.

I first had to watch a video and do a worksheet about decimals. Some of the math I simply cannot do in my head, but I know the proper way to do them, so I used the calculator on my computer. The worksheets were exhausting, but I might get a handle on this stuff eventually.

It took doing them on paper and watching the video by Brother Baird and thinking about it before I could figure out how to do it properly, but I'm getting there.

 I took the quiz once and got one wrong and took it again and got two wrong. I seem to be getting the percentages slowly, but I am still messing up on the decimals slightly when it comes to multiplication and subtraction. It amounts to a 90%, which I will gladly take and run with, as I am doing fairly well.

Post Lesson 1

I did Section 1.2 Exercises Part C, made a spreadsheet of my expenses, and also contacted those who have shared their contact information with me about how I did the assignment. I then took a quiz concerning what I have taught and learned and got 100% on the first try. I find that I need to write the estimation problems down because once I see them, they make complete sense to me.

I also made a decision on the book I am going to study for my financial review assignment and wrote a short explanation as to why I chose the book. After I finished that write-up, I turned my attention to the spreadsheet assignment and made up a budget for five years from now.

I did email the professor because I have done the assignments, but I am not sure if they are done the way she wants them. The professor did get back to me and she is so pleased with my Life Plan Part 1 spreadsheet and the way I went about determining an estimate income.

Teaching Lesson 1

I dressed up in Sunday clothes to teach Lesson 1 and we started out by the group of us waiting out in the parking lot for Brother Blackwell to get us into the building! We had no keys to get in so him and his son, Daniel, who is going to serve in Brussels, (kudos to him!) came and let us in.

The lesson went fairly well and Sister Gilmour even said I teach better by myself than with other people, which I wholeheartedly agree with! I picked Lesson 1 because it was rounding and estimation and I know how to do those things fairly well, so it was a no-brainer to pick it!

I had a really bad experience team teaching with two others in my first semester of Pathways and so I begged and pleaded to be allowed to teach alone for the other two semesters. In short, a member of the group didn't like me and found it proper to badmouth me to the other member of the group and also to the Pathway missionaries. This was after I had taken the initiative to do most of the work.

Anyway, tonight went very well and I am working on finding the balance between being a teacher and being friends with the students I teach. Maybe someday, I will be able to do that even better.

Lesson 1

Rounding and estimation, the lesson I chose to teach because it looked the easiest...

One of those videos by Brother Baird was the first thing I got to look at in the lesson. Rounding is close to the real value, but not exactly the amount. The purpose of rounding is to help us pick up on patterns that might apply to the use of other numbers. It gives an approximate, not solid answer.

Rounding is the process of estimation.
1,234,567.8901
anything to the right of the decimal point is tenths, hundreths, and thousandths, ten thousandths, hundred thousandths, and so on.
anything to the left of the decimal point is ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, millions, etc.

Anything above 5 is rounded up and anything below 5 is rounded down.

I also did a worksheet about rounding and after I did the worksheet, I did a quiz on rounding. I took my time on the quiz and ended up getting 100%

I worked on this for a little over an hour and I printed out the pages I need to teach this week.

Post Introduction Lesson

Goals:
*I would like to earn a passing grade in this course and a very good grade in a math course would certainly be considered a bonus and reward of very hard work. I am going to merely pray a lot, work very hard, and do my best in this course.

*I am hoping to get through the next week simply by taking my time to do the work and also make a lesson plan that is both easy for me to teach and easy for others to understand.

Discussion Board
Initial Post: My name is Heather Cameron, I am 28 years old, and I live in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, but I also carry dual citizenship in the United States because my mother was born in Spokane, Washington. Besides being in Pathways, I write, make videos for YouTube, do things for theatre and/or acting, do photography, shop, and do a lot of physical activity. I have to confess that I am not a great big fan of math and the learning disability I have, Non-Verbal Learning Disorder (which is similar to Asperger's), makes me take a lot more time to do things than others probably would need. I have had several callings in church thus far such as greeter/bulletin maker, CTR 4 teacher, three times in the Nursery, and Library Assistant. I am eager to learn and to get to know all of you. After Pathways, I hope to go on and get some sort of certification in the Administrative Assistant program through BYU-Idaho online. It is very nice to meet all of you lovely people.

Personal Replies:

*Hi there, Sister Hansen!

Thank you for your kind words, first of all. Secondly, my most recent major purchase was a TV/VCR combo that I bought from Walmart because my old TV/VCR combo was not working well anymore. I am generally very frugal with my money, so much to the point that my own mother refers to me as a miser. If I end up needing something or needing to travel, somewhere, however, I work out how much I will need and manage money quite well wherever I am going. Money is quite an interesting concept, especially as you get older and your financial needs change.

****

*Hi there, Aaron,

I found out I could get dual citizenship back when I was in college for the first time and I decided to do it, as I didn't know if I would need it in the future. Once I had the money for it, I convinced my mom to take me up to Calgary to help me get an American passport and down to Great Falls so I could get a Social Security Number. I know the economies aren't the best right now, but who knows what the future might bring and if the dual citizenship will someday be useful for my future plans?

****

*Hi there Amanda,

There are several Bakers in Raymond and I am curious as to which ones you are related to now that you mention you have Bakers in your bloodline. I think, however, that Carol Dahl of Raymond might be your grandmother; is that correct? She is the only Dahl I know up there and she is an amazing lady. I have had many wonderful callings, but I have great faith that the best callings are yet to come! Do you travel to Raymond often to see your family?
***
Post Responses
Even though I am not yet a wife or a mother, I sometimes feel like there is not enough of me to go around. However, I wouldn't wish for a clone, as I love how unique Heavenly Father made me and the abilities He gifted me with that I might be able to help others who need it. I would love an eternal helpmeet someday to make an even better person than I already am, but until I get one, I am happy to love myself as God made me.

Andrea, I am envious that you and your family have been able to travel so much and I hope you were able to make lots of wonderful memories during your trips. Can I ask how you book such affordable vacations?

Hi there, Leland! It's really cool that you enjoy books so much and I'm happy that we have something in common, as I myself am an avid bookworm and book collector. I enjoy going to thrift stores or used bookstores to see what treasures I can find because you can get so much more for your money there than you can at a big-box bookstore

Pathway, the third semester.

Beginning again is always fun, but this is math...I feel like running...

Anyway, I started out by reading an Orientation for Online Courses with Pathway and it was short, but very detailed. We can't use our calculators for the first four weeks and we have to memorize the multiplication tables from 1 through 15. I've never been good at extensive memorization.

I then made a nice little discussion post introducing myself and then went on to the syllabus before I watched the video. It is not an open book course, so I am very scared about that.

Brother Baird's video
1. We are taking the course to fulfill the mission of BYU-Idaho.
-Producing disciples...not scientists...
-develop in your character those things that would be most valuable to building up a kingdom.

2. Learn Math
-class is essential...designed so we need each other.
-Education is not just individual.
-"Education is first an individual matter and then a collective matter. It is something you are expected to act, to learn, to prepare, and then to share with others what you have done and then to ponder and think about those things that you have learned and be able to apply them."

I finally took the syllabus quiz and ended up taking it only twice, as it was a closed book quiz, before I got 100%. I then took the Orientation quiz three times before I got 100%

After that, I watched a video on Flash cards for multiplication.

I then worked on these timed worksheets of multiplication and addition, which I didn't do so badly on.


I spent like an hour and a half or so on all this and I still have to make flash cards.

The LAST Pathway gathering for this semester

Tonight was the LAST Pathway gathering for this semester and I miss it already!

The most important thing that I learned in this course was that writing helps me to really expand upon personal experiences and it helps me to also appreciate the way my mind is. Since I do have a disability similar to Asperger's, my mind is rather unique and through all the work I've had to do in this English course, and also in the first semester course, I have learned to appreciate the way my mind is constructed and how the things within my mind can come out and inspire other people to appreciate learning new things. I want very much to use my personal struggles and experiences to inspire others so that they can come to love learning and not take the freedom and the joy of learning for granted. In future courses, I hope to continue to appreciate the way my mind is and learn how I can inspire others with my uniqueness.

Post Lesson 12 Work

Discussion Board Replies
I think keeping journals is EXTREMELY important and I have been doing so on and off since I was in high school, which is why I have several tubs full of journals at present. Besides keeping personal journals, I've also kept seminary and Institute journals over the years and I haven't really had a chance to read through them lately because I am in the middle of a move and have had to ship several personal effects to my mom, I know they are there and I love that they are there. My teenage years were very difficult because of my dad's alcoholism and due to the fact that I wasn't treated well in school and it was because I was able to record my thoughts and experiences that I was able to forgive them. I wrote a journal and a blog about my mission and because of that, I am able to relive those memories over and over again and I have also been able to write a really nice personal essay about the subject. When my dad ended up diagnosed with the cancer that ended up taking his life, I wrote a blog about it and the writing made it easier to cope with the whole experience. I have read some past journal entries before and it is amazing to me how different life was back then and how different I was years ago. I hope my posterity will someday benefit from reading my personal records.

We are taught to look deeper by the Lord because He Himself looks upon the hearts of all who have existed, currently exist, and will exist. Our lips and our minds can speak deception or guile, but our hearts are completely honest and that is why the Lord chooses to look there in order to assess individual character. We are encouraged to see others as the Lord sees all of us, but our limited intelligence causes us to often jump to incomplete conclusions based upon indifference, misunderstandings, or hearsay. The first great commandment is to love the Lord thy God with all that we have and the second is to love thy neighbor as we love ourselves and we find it very easy to love God, as He is perfect in all ways. It is, however, much harder to love others because we can clearly see their imperfections and weaknesses and it is extremely difficult for us to love ourselves because we often wish that we didn't have any imperfections or weaknesses and yet, we exhibit them on a daily basis. It is a good thing that God's love and Christ's love for us is infinite and unconditional, as we need someone to always remind us that we are all lovable and valuable.

Speaking Partner Experience # 12

I met with Ismenia today for the final time this semester and I told Ismenia that I would miss her, as this is our last session and she said the seasons just flies away. Ismenia said she is trying to catch up on her assignments so they are done on time. Ismenia asked if I am in English or Math and I said I am doing Math next semester and not looking forward to it. Ismenia said it will be good because I am already learning things now that will help me in Math.

For Lesson 12, we started off by discussing conversation fillers, asking for and thanking help, apologizing, and Ismenia did very well pronouncing them, so I told Ismenia that her English is so good and she said I was so kind. We then discussed questions concerning the conversation fillers. Ismenia said she is comfortable with the phrases used to express gratitude and ask for help. In terms of expressing thanks to someone in English, Ismenia said that when she sent an email to her instructor asking for help in taking an exam she missed, he opened it and Ismenia thanked him and appreciation for his help and he said it was his pleasure. Ismenia asked about the difference in feelings when I say sorry as opposed to 'I am very sorry' and I said it depended on the problem.

We then moved on to consonant clusters and then worked on practicing consonant clusters. During that time, I had to explain the meaning of some of the words, but I didn't mind at all because explaining the meaning of things to those who don't understand it is part of teaching. After that, we took turns asking each other questions using the clusters. It was a good way to practice.

Ismenia told me a story about how she was in the library one day in the States and she saw a woman come to the library. As she was sitting there, she saw a small yellow snake come out of the woman's purse and it scared her; she wondered if the snake was going to kill her and she was scared. Ismenia said she doesn't have the courage to take care of a snake even though I explained some are harmless.

We then moved on to pronunciation of numbers and equations to conclude the lesson. When Ismenia had a problem with a number, I pronounced it properly and then made her repeat it, telling her that the only way she was going to learn was for me to make her pronounce it properly.

Ismenia explained that she was appreciative of all the time that I could spend with her helping her with her work. She said that she hoped that we could be speaking partners again next semester, but she didn't know how it would work on my end. I am a little sad to be done the Speaking Partner part of this semester, but it has been an invaluable experience nonetheless.

Lesson 12

I cannot believe it is Lesson 12 of English already! The time has certainly flown!

I started out by reading the readings for the week, which are 'The Angels May Quote From It' by President Spencer W. Kimball and 'On a Hill Far Away' by Annie Dillard.

'The Angels May Quote From It' is what I picked to write my Discussion Board post on
Everyone has experiences in their lives, whether it be a long life or a short life, and nobody wants to be forgotten even after they are gone. We write down experiences as we have them so that our posterity can know about us and so that we can be remembered after we are no longer around. We have many great lessons and revelations from the past because the Lord had the foresight to know that we would need the counsel of yesterday to make decisions for today and tomorrow and commanded people to keep records.

We cannot change what happens in our lifetime, nor can we change the past, but we dishonor history's value if we do not take the time to write things down, as we are meant to learn something from every experience we have. If we omit details or simply don't write things down, how are we going to teach the people of tomorrow how we coped with things in our day? As the world continues to evolve, life will become more complicated than it already is, yet the people of tomorrow will most likely face problems very similar to the ones we face today.

By keeping records of our experiences, we are showing people how we handled our problems and perhaps providing an insight as to how they should handle their problems. If it weren't for people listening to the Lord and keeping histories of both the gospel and different periods of time, we would never come to a knowledge of the gospel, nor would we have any understanding about the Atonement and what it can do for all who come to pass. Writings teach us about our divine and temporal heritage and about how important it is for us to live up to the legacies we have been bequeathed.

The written word also teaches us about what can happen if we don't take such information seriously. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ aspire for us to learn out of the best books and we wouldn't have those books if people didn't listen to promptings to make personal histories and histories concerning their beliefs. Without people writing histories, we would have no written witness of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, as the scriptures wouldn't exist and we wouldn't be able to gain a sense of self, a sense of joy, and a sense of who we are and who we can become because of the Atonement.

I then read a page on Paragraph and Essay Development called 'Showing and Telling.'

Once I finished the reading, I turned my attention to the Grammar Lesson for the week, which was on capitalization. I read a handout and watched a video on it before I did the quiz. I took the quick twice and got one wrong both times, which is 90%, as I thought 'philosophy' had to be capitalized.

Post Lesson 11 Work

Discussion Board Replies
I have heard that the more you are around someone, the more you become like them and that is because you pick up mannerisms and habits after observing them for so long. Even though pick up behaviors from each other through daily observation, I love that we all can still hold on to our own individuality; that is what makes us so diverse as people. We talk and act differently around different people according to the situation and that's fine, but we musn't forget who we are and change how we speak or act permanently just because our situation may change. We can keep our individuality in new situations and still respect our environment, its culture, and the individuals within.

Nobody, even the most secure people on earth, is immune from experiencing fear and sorrow, but we don't have to dwell upon it. Even in difficult times, we can have a positive attitude and seek to live life to the fullest in a righteous manner. Fear does not have to dominate our faith nor does it have to destroy the opportunities that life hands us. We can choose to allow fear to rule our every move and miss out on what life has to offer, or we can acknowledge that although difficult times may exist and we will most certainly have them, they do not have to control our every waking moment.

Speaking Partner Experience # 11

Ismenia got 77% on her quiz! Yay!

Today, we discussed question words and I had to explained that 'whose' deals with possession and what belongs to which person. We then reviewed follow-up questions.

In the Discussion Questions, Ismenia said that asking follow-up questions means asking for clarification if she does not understand something. She also said that practicing writing down questions helps one to be more comfortable with asking the questions.

We then had to play Twenty Questions as an activity, which I have never played before. I admitted to Ismenia that I have never played the game before and it turned out she hasn't either, so I invited her to get us started. She thinks it would be better to ask questions using the examples of questions.

Ismenia asked what I wanted to do after Pathways and I said I wanted to do an Administrative Assistant certificate course. I then asked her what she wanted to do and she said Web Design. We both said that we wanted to do the courses online. Ismenia said that once she is finished Pathway, she will go slower with the education course because she wants to spend time with her kids. I then asked Ismenia why she came to Pathways and she said she wanted to improve her English and wanted to reach the degree certification at BYU.

We then turned our attention to pronunciation practice using words that have an 's' ending. I reminded Ismenia that her English is getting so much better and that I only say something if she needs a correction. Ismenia says she worries about it because she sometimes makes speaking mistakes at the gathering, but I said she was improving and should be proud. We then practiced our question words.

There are 10 to 15 students in Ismenia's gathering, which is interesting.

We then practiced pronunciation of words and numbers.

At the end of the lesson, Ismenia thanked me for her time and said she really appreciated my help and I responded by giving her two thumbs up.

Lesson 11

I finished putting my personal essay together and it's now four pages, which is somewhat bad because the actual essay itself is supposed to be between one and three pages.

I then turned my attention to the reading assignments for the week.
Superman and Me. - by Sherman Alexie
The mention of a Spokane Indian reservation caught my attention immediately, as my mother was born in and grew up in Spokane. I have also visited Spokane many times during my life and I enjoy it immensely. It is also amazing that the young one in the story found simple pleasure in reading despite the hard circumstances handed to him in childhood. I find it intriguing that the boy took the word paragraph and used it to describe the differences between his family and others, as different families and paragraphs each contain diversity, but also have differences within them that make them unique. Each paragraph, like each family, has individuality in it and yet, they both have common factors: a paragraph is part of an overall statement of information and a family unit, though comprised of unique individuals, is comprised of people that are part of an overall society. I'm not sure I wholly agree with the statement, "a smart Indian is a dangerous Indian", however, as anyone who is overly smart about something could be potentially dangerous, not just Indians. The statement also makes it seem as if anyone who has any intelligence at all could have the potential to cause harm. Dangerous does not automatically mean harmful; it could mean serving as a threat to negative societal traits such as conformity and indifference. Intelligence can save society from things that the people within are trying to use in order to make it pleasurable for themselves. Conformity and indifference are not pleasurable, however; they strip away individuality and passion that make intelligence what it is. Intelligence fueled by passion can keep a person alive simply because they choose to use such things to save themselves rather than bow to conformity and have their free spirit drained away.

I also read an essay called 'The Monsters in My Head' by Frank Langella.

Once I posted on the Discussion Board, I turned my attention to the Grammar Lesson for the week, which was on 'Confused Words.' I read a handout and watched a video before doing the quiz, which I took once and got 100% on.

I then watched Paragraph and Essay Development videos on Narrative and Writing, Description and Detail, and Tone and Voice.

Post Lesson 10 Work

Discussion Board Response Posts
If people grew up being close to their father or had them as a good example to look up to, it's only natural that people would have a connection to the 'Dad' essay. However, those who didn't have such a paternal connection may find essays not related to parenting a more comfortable thing to deal with. I personally thought that all of the essays were interesting, but I enjoyed the first one the most because it discussed the struggle mankind faces between their own desires and peer pressure.

I find it a comfort that many find positive examples in their fathers and that those who do strive not to take it for granted. Not everyone has that sort of positive role model in their life and everyone needs a positive role model of some sort in order to grow from a child into a productive member of society. Anyone and everyone who has positive role models in their lives should never take such a thing for granted and cherish every moment that they have with that role model. Time is so short and fragile that we cannot afford to take anyone or anything for granted.

Speaking Partner Experience # 10

I met with Ismenia today and did the following:
-Chronological order 'R' pronunciations.
Ismenia had difficulties, but we worked through them.

Discussion Questions
Ismenia said the words were important because when you are explaining things to someone, you need to put one phrase with another so they can understand it. I explained to Ismenia that you cannot explain to someone else how to do something without using the words because the words are used to explain steps in a process. Ismenia then got to explain how to add 358 and 89 using the words and see how many times the words are used. Since we've worked on math problems in our past discussions and I've taught her how to do problems properly, she really did a good job. She then had to explain how to create an Excel document without showing the screen using the same words as before in her explanation. She drew a picture of the spreadsheet and explained it to me using her words and she really did a wonderful job in showing me how much she has learned. Then, Ismenia explained how she celebrates Christmas with her family and that she celebrates with her sisters, their families, her mother, and her nephews by having a dinner containing interesting cultural foods and a prayer before hand. Every year, someone is chosen to say a prayer and then they eat and drink, but do not include alcohol. After the dinner, they open gifts and most of the time, the gifts are for kids and not for adults. They then count to midnight and celebrate Happy Christmas. Everyone has come to Ismenia's house in the past because her house was big, but she doesn't know where they will go this year because they live in an apartment; they will have to go somewhere else. I got to explain a bit about my Christmas and how I like to go to a religious service on Christmas Eve sometimes to learn about Jesus's birth or watch Mass on TV. I then explained Christmas Day was opening presents, breakfast, and for two years, I volunteered at a community dinner before going home to eat with my family. I have not, however, done the volunteering since 2014 and I will find something new to do for Christmas now.

I then listened to Ismenia practice pronouncing years, dollar amounts, math equations, numerical values, and the English pronunciation of the 'R' word. I had to explain to Ismenia about 'rat race' as being people always being busy, a rifle range being a field of land of shooting, rave as being positive, culturally rich as being full of cultural artifacts, food, or information, and retail as selling many goods. We then discussed countries and cities that have the R word that we want to visit.

Ismenia said she has to do the last exam because she is afraid, but I told her she will do well and that her English and Math is so much better. I also said I wanted to hear about the text next week,

Lesson 10

I began this lesson by reviewing some reading assignments and the assignment this week was to pick one essay and writing something on it for the Discussion Board.

Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell
I like this essay because it clearly shows the struggle between man's desire to do what he wants to do versus doing what is expected of him by others. The man in the story initially wanted to shoot the elephant and ended up attracting a great deal of attention in his pursuit of this goal. When he actually came face to face with the elephant, however, the man saw no value in shooting it because it was clearly striving to be as productive as it could possibly be. A hype been created, however, and the crowd wanted to see the goal accomplished even if the man himself did not want to see it achieved. Isn't it funny how sometimes we ourselves lose the desire to accomplish a goal, but keep pursuing the goal simply because others expect us not to quit. Quitting a goal over discomfort is often viewed by society as showing weakness and society would rather see people accomplish things than be comfortable with the choices they make. People often make choices not because they want to, but because they want to avoid looking foolish, as the man did in the essay. It is unfortunate that we have grown to care less about ourselves and what we are comfortable with because society dictates such a thing as being selfish. For the crowd, the actual shooting of the elephant was very climactic, but for the man himself, he felt no joy in accomplishing his goal simply because it was not his own anymore.

The theme of this essay is the joy that an individual sacrifices when they give up their own will and pursue goals simply because peer pressure demands it. When the man comes to realize that he himself does not want to shoot the elephant because it is being productive, he is finally honest with himself about the fact that there is no joy to be found in doing so. A sad, but very clear epiphany comes to pass in the man's heart and mind when he admits to himself that he only ended up shooting the elephant because he did not want to look foolish in front of those who wanted a show.

I read the other two essays and then turned my attention to the day's Grammar Lesson, which concerned pronouns. I took the quiz twice and got 100% on the second try.

I also watched a video on Paragraph and Essay Development about Elements of a Personal Essay and read a handout about it.

Post Lesson 9 Work

Discussion Board Responses

In order to be a good writer or to even consider turning writing into any sort of career, one has to first understand the necessity of editing. Writers cannot be afraid to edit their own work, nor can they be afraid to let unnecessary words or passages drift into oblivion when they don't contribute to the effectiveness of the overall piece. Before I came to Pathways, I was in a college journalism course for two years and I learned very quickly that the finished product is often very different than what you start out with. A good writer cares about the quality of the piece and works very hard at saying what needs to be said with as few words as possible. Good writers understand that if too many words are in a piece, readers could get bored very easily, so they maximize their creativity wherever they can. In writing, less is often more.

All beings who have bodies do have power over those who do not, but those with bodies also have a very sacred responsibility to help those who cannot help themselves. Temples are there for people who have bodies to make themselves spiritually right with the Lord through ordinances and sacred covenants. After people have made covenants with God themselves and shown commitment to those covenants through sacred ordinances, they have a sacred responsibility to help rescue those who cannot rescue themselves because they have no body. The Atonement enables both the living and the dead to move beyond their imperfections, but the living need to help the dead by serving as their proxies in the ordinances and agreeing to the covenants on behalf of those who cannot do so for themselves. Those on the other side can choose whether or not to accept the ordinances and covenants, but they are able to make that choice because the living are there to help them via the temple.

I then went to the Writing Center for help with my paper and managed to get in for a session with a tutor. 

Speaking Partner Experience # 9

Ismenia got 80% on her math test! Yay for her!

She first asked about the weather and I said there were blue skies, but it was windy. Ismenia is in the middle of moving and it is a very busy time. She has to give her dog up because he cannot live in the apartment and it is hard for her.

We learned about the verb 'To do', this week. Ismenia asked if 'do' is used when she wants to affirm something and I said it shows that you are doing something. Ismenia asked if do is doing something and make is creating something? I said that it was and am pleased with her progress. Ismenia said that most of the time she has to make a question, she has the auxiliary verb first. I explained that the phrase 'to do' refers to things that have yet to be completed and shared the term 'to-do list.'

I also explained the meaning of trembling was 'to shake.' I explained that the words 'I do' is promising to love your partner and take the vows of the marriage seriously. Ismenia explained that in Brazil, brides and grooms say, "Yes," or "I will," when it comes to marriage vows. Ismenia asked if 'I do' showed more commitment and I honestly confessed that I didn't know because I was single.

We then did some pronunciation practice.The sounds of r vs. or are confusing to Ismenia and I explained that I am still learning BYU's style. Ismenia says this is good, as we are both learning.

We also practiced pronouncing math equations and different years. Ismenia had a few issues with pronouncing, but we worked through it patiently. She thanked me for my help at the end.

Lesson 9

I started off by looking at the reading assignments for the week

Seeing Red: To Write is to Edit - by Josh Ritter
In this essay, Ritter describes the angst that is involved in perfecting a piece of writing and how it not only affects him, but his loved ones. He expresses the importance of knowing how to write creative thoughts down in a way that is organized and will appeal to the reader. When it comes to writing, you have to realize that your first attempt will not be perfect, but probably far from it, and editing and often the sacrificing of words and/or passages is sometimes essential to bringing out the best of the written word. You cannot expect to be even a decent writer without being willing to sacrifice words or passages that holds your writing back from reaching its potential. Writers not only need to know how to edit themselves, they also need the support of others who are willing to look at the writing objectively and help the writer flush out anything that detracts from the attractiveness of the piece.

Things as They Really Are - by Elder Bednar
Do we see things as they really are or as we want them to be? The Lord obviously worries about how we perceive things and our choices weigh heavily on his mind even if we are not as thoughtful concerning our own behavior. If we are open-minded and faithful to the promises of the Lord, we will see the windows of heaven open and blessings come down into our lives to make up for every pain, sorrow, and sacrifice that has been made in the name of the Lord. We will know if we have the Spirit to be with us because we will have a sense of peace and safety within us that others will also be able to see and identify as a 'spirit of righteousness.' We all start out as children of God, but we alone are to choose whether or not we remain as such and while some choose to stay close to God and live up to divine potential that was there even before birth, others will walk away with the preference of choosing their own path. Unfortunately, those who walk away from God are not truly free, as they have chosen to give Satan power over them through the exercising of their own ignorance or unfettered pride. If we give Satan power over us, we are defiling our temple and disregarding our own holiness for the sake of comfort or convenience and that causes God much grief. Satan only has power of us if we choose to give it to him because he is nothing more than a spirit condemned to eternal ignorance, but it is incredibly easy for others to give him dominion without realizing that they are doing so. By choosing to see things as we want them to be instead of how they really are, we are choosing the path of willful ignorance and pushing the Spirit of God aside. When we push the Spirit of God aside, we are being unfaithful to the Lord and choosing to sacrifice spiritual fidelity in favor of pleasure. Satan likes to feed on our carnal desires and entices us to make those temporal pleasures a priority over that which will last. Satan teaches us to use others and abuse ourselves for the purpose of pleasure and getting what we want when we want it. He knows that when we act on a misguided or incomplete perception, we don't see the whole picture and do things that cause a great deal of damage. The illusion that an inaccurate perception may provide may give us comfort or pleasure for a short while, but all illusions eventually fade and we are left to look over the damage that was done.

After that, I watched videos on Plagiarism and Proofreading. I then turned my attention to the Grammar Lesson, which was about Parallel Structure. After I read a handout on it and watched a video, I did the quiz and got 100% on the first try because I took my time and read each question very carefully, keeping the handouts open in case I needed to refer to them.

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Discussion Board Replies.
It is both interesting and sad that people do not take a lot of time to understand how things work, they just care if things are working. People develop a sense of ingratitude when something they want doesn't work or is unavailable to them. A great deal of work goes into creating anything and if people took the time to understand how things are made, maybe they would come to appreciate them more. People take available things for granted and don't treat them as well as they should most of the time and then they get upset when those available things wear down or disappear! People have a lack of appreciation for things because they think the supply is unlimited and easy to produce. If people truly understood that the frailty of things and how hard it is to create things, maybe they would appreciate what they had more when they had it.

Details are the determining factor in whether or not a piece of writing will actually be enjoyed by a reader. If there are too few details, the writing will be boring and the reader will quickly find something else to occupy their attention. If there are too many details, a reader will become confused as to what the subject is about and want something else to occupy their attention. There has to be enough detail to capture the attention of a reader, but not an excessive enough amount that the reader will be driven away from the piece. There are appropriate times and places for detail in writing and a good writer will know how, where, and when to apply proper details in their writing. It is a useful skill that we can all benefit from learning.

Speaking Partner Experience # 8

Today, we worked on words on transportation and word stress. I explained that a fare is what it costs per person to ride public transportation.

We also talked about forms of transportation and Ismenia uses the car mostly and only uses a bus at certain times. Ismenia said that traffic is a problem in her area because people do not obey the street signs and when you cross the road at a green sign, cars do not obey the signs and cut off pedestrians. People also do not cross the street safely there and so there are a lot of traffic problems. Ismenia was curious about how drivers are in Canada and I explained a bit about Canada's Worst Driver and that driver's ed costs a lot and is not necessarily mandatory.

Ismenia sometimes spends half a day travelling around to places because she has to go to multiple places sometimes. We also went over pronunciation of words with stressed syllables. I love how well Ismenia is doing and I love how eager she is to learn. Ismenia does have struggles with numbers sometimes when it comes to pronunciation, but we will work through it.

Ismenia is busy this week because she is moving with her family from a house to an apartment and her assignment was late, so she is a little stressed. I gave her a virtual hug at the end of the call.

Lesson 8

I am the lead student on this lesson and I hope I do a good job of teaching it.

I started by fixing the citations and submitting the rough draft of my persuasive essay, which has to be sourced in MLA style. I had to look it up, as I have never used MLA style before.

I then moved on to the readings. The first essay was called 'The Pleasure of Eating' and one of the first things I read was a comment on eating responsibly. I believe that not only do people need to be aware of what they eat and what food may contribute to issues with their health, people also need to be aware of where their food comes from. The author makes it clear that food simply does not appear magically in a grocery store, ready for eager consumers to buy and eat. There is a very interesting, but complex process involved in getting food from the source to the shelf and the politics involved in that process is how difficult the  transition is made by those who have authority over food. Power and money are at play when it comes to the production and distribution of food and those fighting over those factors often step over innocent consumers while trying to keep hold of such control. Consumers, in turn, try not to get involved in the politics of food because all they want to do is get the food so that they and their loved ones can survive. Unfortunately, consumers become involved in the politics of food when they end up paying a high price to eat simply because those involved in the politics of food care more about the almighty dollar than pleasing consumers. The consumer sometimes also suffers reactions from the chemicals put into food during the transitional process, so there ends up being lawsuits and protests against those involved in food politics. The author has a very lovely poem at the bottom that reminds us that God gave us sources of food on the earth that we might live and live well, but when politics are involved, everyone forgets the beauty of food.

After that, I moved on to the Grammar Lesson, which dealt with Shifts in Time, or, in other words, tenses. I read a handout on Shifts in Time and also watched a video on it. I took the quiz twice and got two wrong the first time and I only got one wrong the second time because I thought a question was wrong that ended up being correct.

I moved on to the Paragraph and Essay Development readings, which were on Introductions and Conclusions; Revision, and Development.

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Discussion Board Replies

Seatbelt use is certainly a controversial topic because people are polar opposites on this issue. Some think that seatbelts are more of a constraint and stop people from having fun while others think that seatbelts are a protection that saves lives. I find myself comparing seatbelts to the commandments and how both were given to us as laws for a reason. Seatbelts protect us from physical danger that could come as a result of accidents or automobile difficulties and commandments protect us from spiritual difficulties if we choose to follow them. Both seatbelts and commandments have reasons for existing and there are also consequences for not listening and/or taking them seriously.

I think your topics interconnect with one another, so why not use a little bit of both to support a common thesis? Some people who are abused as children end up thinking they are not good enough as they grow older and they end up abusing their bodies in the fight to become perfect according to the world's standards. Those abused end up abusing themselves and therefore end up abusing others who come under their responsibility as time goes on simply because they do not know any other way to deal with problematic situations. Your mention of the Bystander Effect plays into both these topics because people see child abuse and self-abuse every day and may even unknowingly encourage it because people are too quick to judge rather than look beyond what they see. Self-abuse and child abuse need compassion and intervention, but all people give are apathy and judgment because they don't want to be involved or don't think that it is their concern.

Speaking Partner Experience # 7

I met with Ismenia today and her children have been sick, so she was worried that I would be mad that she missed last week, but I was more worried about her than upset with her not showing up. It turns out her, oldest son had an allergic reaction to a mosquito bite and ended up needing to go to the hospital for treatment. The sun time is over in Brazil, so they are an hour behind now. I told Ismenia that I was more concerned about whether or not she was okay and she was relieved, as she was worried that I was mad at her for not coming.

We were looking at Math terminology and I ended up explaining a couple of the terms and having to look one up to explain it because I wasn't sure what it meant. I told Ismenia that Math is not my strength and I would rather look something up and give her the right answer than the wrong one.

Translating word problems into numerical problems is tough and I ended up looking up the answers through Google to see if it would help Ismenia. I hope I do better at algebra than I do at teaching it.

We then did some pronunciation practice. After that, we discussed provident living and Ismenia said that to her, provident living is living out goals you set and become provident involves having a profession that involves having a sufficient income so that she can provide for her family's needs.

Ismenia says she appreciates my help and that makes me feel good.

Lesson 7

Discussion Board topic

For my persuasive paper, I chose the topic of anger and how untamed anger can lead people making bad spiritual and temporal decisions. I chose this topic because throughout history, it is apparent that a lot of incidents stemmed from people who chose to let their frustration grow into anger rather than keep themselves in a rational state. Anger often makes people think and behave irrationally and such behavior has led to terrible things happening and many people either being hurt or killed. To me, anger is such an easy emotion to harness, yet people don't seem to want to harness it because anger gives them power over others where they might otherwise have none. While power is a nice thing to have, it is nice only as long as it is used in a responsible manner that provides a positive influence. The moment that anger and negative emotions control the aspect of power, the holder of the power loses all common sense and does whatever will get them more power, even if it means causing harm to others.

In ''The Bystander Effect', it makes it clear that people are afraid to intervene because they don't want to put themselves in harm's away even if it means sacrificing an innocent person in the process. There are too many people in today's world and in yesterday's world and that apathetic response has led to some of the most tragic things in history happening. Just think, how would the world have changed if people would have just spoken up in the days before Hitler came into power and used their voice to actively stop him from gaining power and influence? World War Two and millions of deaths might have never happened had people not been taken in by false promises and lulled into a sense of false security by soothsaying. People are hurt or killed every day simply because people don't want to intervene in the actions caused by the untamed anger of another person. It is often necessary for another to help one with untamed anger be able to calm down, but if nobody steps in to help, the anger will remain untamed.

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Grammar Lesson

This week's Grammar Lesson was on improving style and I read a handout and also watched a video before doing the quiz. I did the quiz twice and got two wrong the first time, but 100% on the second try because I kept my notes open, took my time, and said a prayer before I began the quiz.

I then watched videos on Paragraph and Essay development that discussed thesis development, organizing and outlining, and elements of persuasion. 

I also worked on my outline for my Persuasive Paper assignment.

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Discussion Board Replies

In terms of Sydnee's post on the drinking age, I have to say that reading and watching news stories about how teens or even very young adults behaved irresponsibly with alcohol and ended up paying a very steep price has made me think that the drinking age is too low and should be raised. We can't stop people from drinking, but perhaps we can teach them how to drink responsibly. The opposing perspective would more than likely attribute irresponsible alcohol use to the need for curious people to experiment with things that are new to them. Even experiments can get out of hand, however, if those running the experiment don't have an understanding of what they are working with and the impact each thing could have on both the experiment and those involved. People who behave irresponsibly because of alcohol don't truly have an understanding of the consequences for themselves or others around them. That is why there are programs like Students/Mothers Against Drunk Driving and D.A.R.E. out there; such programs are meant to educate people on the effects of anything they may indulge in, as any sort of indulgence can turn into a drug if it is used excessively or improperly. We don't have enough awareness about consequences of excessive or inappropriate use of substances in general out there and that needs to change.

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If only the guns were to blame for violence, life would be so much easier. Unfortunately, guns cannot fire themselves and are usually used as a means to an end or to instigate conflict. People instigate violence every day even though it solves nothing and only creates more pain and problems, but those against violence are choosing to blame the gun itself rather than the shooter. A shooter usually has a reason to use a gun and perhaps if society took the time to help each other with problems that lead to violence, shootings might not happen so often. It is tragic that people would rather respond apathetically to the problems of another instead of trying to help them and perhaps avoid violence that could come as a result of unaddressed issues. How many problematic situations could be avoided and how many lives could be saved if people simply took the time to help one another instead of choosing to be apathetic?

Lesson 6

I altered and submitted the rough draft of my critical thinking essay and then I went on to the readings, reading through four of them before making a discussion board post.

Discussion Board Post: The drinking age should not be lowered from 21 because young people are very irresponsible with alcohol and at such a young age, they are still not fully aware of how their actions affect other people. Alcohol impairs common sense and with just one drink, people lose enough of their common sense that they end up overindulging. Overindulgence of alcohol definitely has physical, social, and emotional consequences that don't just affect the drinker. 

When a person overindulges in alcohol, they can turn either angry enough to cause harm to other things of people, quiet, or funny enough to make a fool of themselves. A person who succumbs to anger fueled by alcohol can become abusive to others or do things that can cause lasting damage to both objects and relationships. I definitely do not agree that underage drinking should be allowed at all because minors don't have a definite awareness of who they are and consuming alcohol will only decrease that awareness. Additionally, not all parents are responsible in parenting under normal circumstances and to introduce alcohol into such situations would be disastrous for minors. If parents are already irresponsible under normal circumstances, unstable factors such as alcohol should not be introduced into the equation as it would make both parent and child act irresponsibly. 

Although there are people who do occasionally indulge for religious or cultural reasons, limits are set on how much alcohol can be consumed so that the drinkers won't lose the ability to behave responsibly. If people are going to drink, they need to set limits beforehand so that their drinking doesn't become out of control and they end up causing harm to other people or things. If people are going to drink, they are better off to do so around others so that people are there to remind them of their limits and stop them from overindulging. If one drinks alone, they are more than likely to overindulge.

When a person drinks, it clouds their common sense and also puts stress on more responsible people to make sure that the drinker is safe by serving as a designated driver, which is stressful because they are holding the drinker's life in their hands. Life is so fragile and short as it is, so why make it even more fragile and potentially shorter for youth by wanting to lower the minimum drinking age? The minimum age in Alberta is 18 and the fact that 18 year olds can drink scares me, as I often see people that young bragging about how irresponsibly they act because they can drink and it's very upsetting. It's as if they don't care or know that too much drinking or mixing it with other activities can have grave effects.

I then turned my attention to the Grammar Lesson for the week, which was awkward sentences. I read a handout and then watched a video before moving on to the quiz. I took the quiz twice and got two wrong the first time, but I got 100% the second time. Thank you, my dear Lord!

After that, I watched the videos on writing that talked about transition and coherence, integrating questions, and paragraphing, summarizing, and quoting. After that, I wrote an essay about my experiences as a speaking tutor.

Mid-Term Writing Assignment

Speaking Partner Mid-Term Assignment

In the second semester of Pathways, I applied for and got assigned to a speaking partner from Brazil named Ismenia Riberio. We were both so eager to get into this assignment that we actually started a week earlier than we were supposed to, so now we are a lesson ahead! Our plan in the beginning was to meet every Tuesday at 4 P.M. her time on Skype, which is 11 A.M. my time and when we haven't met on the designated day for whatever reason, we simply picked an alternate day and kept the time the same for the sake of consistency. It has been a fun experience thus far and I have come to discover that I really enjoy teaching others things they don't know well.
            I  have learned that Ismenia is a very dedicated wife and mother to a seven year old and a five year old boy and also works both at home and on the internet to help support her family. Her husband is also from Brazil, but he is from a different city. Ismenia likes to listen to music, loves going to church, and loves going to the cinema with her family. She is so very eager to learn and is very grateful that I am willing to help her work on the English terminology that she needs to know for Math and also help her with ways in which to do her math problems, as we did some math problems verbally during one of our calls. 

Besides using our speaking partner appointments to go through each lesson, Ismenia and I have also worked on grammar in speaking, as she told me very early on into her lessons that her Pathway teacher said that she sometimes uses improper grammar when speaking and she needed to work on it. During our appointments, Ismenia told me that she sometimes doesn't understand what people said and it is embarrassing because she doesn't know what they are saying because they speak fast, they put words together, and their pronunciation. Ismenia says that at the Pathway gathering, she doesn't have any problem understanding the language because everyone, including the missionaries, speaks slowly and helps everyone to understand. I gently reminded Ismenia that I am here to help her and that if she has questions, she can ask them and to not be afraid of asking me questions. Sometimes, Ismenia feels uncomfortable about asking people to repeat what they have said because it makes her feel limited in trying to express her thoughts. I do my best to make Ismenia feel comfortable and safe enough to ask questions during our sessions by encouraging her to be honest when she doesn't understand something so we can work on it right away rather than wait until later on.

I love working with Ismenia and it makes me to teach English to others in another country someday or even help people learn English in Canada or the United States, as I am a citizen of both countries and can work in both places. Ismenia seems so eager to learn and do her best, but her internet gives her problems at times, so I often copy the lesson text from the page and share it on Skype line by line so that she will not miss the opportunity to learn anything. I love how determined Ismenia is to learn and how positive she is throughout the entire learning process. She makes such an amazing effort to learn and I am very pleased with her efforts to do her absolute best.

I make an effort to continually compliment Ismenia on her improvement in English and I have to say that she has improved so much from when we started. I love helping anyone rise to the potential they have as children of God and it brings me joy when others gain joy through learning. I am so grateful that God gave me the opportunity to do this, as I am learning that I am capable of being a good teacher.

Post Lesson 5 Work

Discussion Board Replies
It's not fair to judge something like Facebook solely on the bad posts you see on there, as Facebook is also used for good things like keeping in touch with family and friends and also sharing the gospel. To judge something or someone based solely on one imperfection is not what the Lord wants us to do, as we are all imperfect and if we are to judge others, we should first look at ourselves. While I agree that it is better to avoid the toxic people and posts on Facebook, I also believe that there is good to be found in Facebook and that we can use it in the way that it was meant to be used; to connect with each other. We do, however, need to be cautious about who we choose to connect with, as it is so easy for people to endanger themselves or others close to them because they choose to connect with the wrong person and be too open with them. It is okay to enjoy Facebook, but at the same time, be careful about who you share private information with because it could come back to haunt and harm you.

We are exposed to knowledge from different sources every day of our lives and that is how we come to broaden the intelligence God gives us. However, not all sources or credible or safe for us to glean knowledge from simply because they provide limited knowledge that could possibly cause us to make bad decisions. We certainly should not be afraid to express our opinion or share our perspective on things that interest us, but we need to make sure that our knowledge is accurate enough that we don't end up making ourselves look foolish and/or uninformed. When expressing thoughts on the knowledge we have, we also need to make sure that we respect the viewpoints of others and not treat them badly over their opinion. Although we have the right to choose what we say and do, we don't have the right to make others feel inferior simply because their opinions may differ from ours.

Speaking Partner Experience # 6

I met with Ismenia a little late today, but she seems so eager to learn and do her best, so it's fine and we went ahead with the next lesson. Her internet is giving her problems today, but we'll work with what we can and do our best to get through today's lesson successfully.

Today, we are discussing visual language comparisons and we are doing it verbally and with me posting the notes in the chat because Ismenia's internet is acting up. I explained the concept of tug of war and Ismenia found it funny. When we discussed the comparisons, Ismenia went back to the practice examples and wanted to read them carefully before trying to explain. I love how determined Ismenia is to learn and how positive she is throughout the entire learning process. She makes such an amazing effort to learn and I am very pleased with her efforts to do her absolute best.

I complimented Ismenia on her improvement in English and she says the hardest part is using conjunctions and prepositions properly, but she has improved so much from when we started and I was not afraid to tell her that. We then discussed the finer points and necessity of budgeting.

Evaluating the budget to Ismenia is recording how much is earned and spent, as it gives a perspective on whether or not to increase the proper budget. When Ismenia sets a budget, she says, she needs to work with the proper value, no more and no less. The biggest expense on Ismenia's budget, she says, is her mortgage. When it comes to financial changes, Ismenia says that after she starts recording on her spreadsheet, she receives more peace of mind in her life because she has more control over her debts and what she can spend on other things that she needs. She also has the opportunity to start saving with a budget and that brings her peace of mind.

Ismenia learned from Church teachings the importance of starting a food storage and being prepared for unexpected things. It helps her with her job and she can teach her kids the importance of spending money on things that really matter. We then engaged in pronunciation practice of words.

Ismenia is very happy to learn and asks if it is freezing when I go outside and if my pet and I go out in the snow. She thanked me for my kindness and said she hoped I had a wonderful week.

Lesson 5

Discussion Board posts

Notes on the Ophelia Syndrome
Do we really know everything we want in life or are we simply blinded by the lust over what appears exciting and right away? Quite often, our lust for immediate blessings overshadows and draws our attention away from the blessings we are so anxiously waiting for. When we desire a blessing immediately instead of waiting on Heavenly Father's time and place in our lives, we tend to be rather impulsive about pursuing what is in front of us. Our impulsiveness can stop us from feeling the Spirit because extreme impulsiveness can bring out our inner aggressiveness because when we want something badly enough, we do not care what we have to do to get it. We need to know what we want and understand that although what we want may not come immediately, it will come in time and it will be worth the wait. We all have our own thoughts and our own desires, but people may try to convince us that we are merely lusting after unreachable goals because our wants may interfere or prove inconvenient to their wants. Unfortunately, we try to do the same thing to others when their wants or desires interfere with ours simply because our hunger for those wants are insatiable.

We need to trust ourselves when we decide what we want and we need to trust our decisions enough that people cannot change our minds. The Spirit of God gives us revelation and when we receive it and come to accept it as revelation, it needs to remain important to us. Others may not understand when we receive revelation or determine the revelation to be non-existent because it may not happen immediately. Revelation comes to pass in God's time and not in ours, so we may need to endure patiently even when others urge us to let it go and move on. God will not punish people for listening and acting on revelation even if others murmur about it, but He will withhold blessings from those who ignore revelation. Is it really worth losing a blessing because you ignored a revelation from God for the sake of personal comfort or convenience? It is not worth denying yourself anything from God for the sake of either, as God will give us a way to handle anything He asks us to do. We cannot trust others to decide what is best for us; we need to trust that God will give us opportunity and the freedom to decide if it is best for us. If it IS best for us to do something, God WILL let us know.

Others can choose to ignore revelation wonder what blessings they would have received had they listened to the Lord, but we can choose to listen and learn when we have the chance.


Actual discussion board post

A solution to the Ophelia Syndrome is to simply to make people aware of the information available concerning choices they have the right to make and the consequences of said choices. People often act impulsively simply because they aren't aware of what information they may be missing and increased awareness can change that. We have the right to think and learn for ourselves and we also have the right to make choices based on what we learn. Society wants everyone to have common ideas and conform to social norms that have been dictated by an authority figure who does not rely on God's standard of thinking, but their own misguided ways of thinking that come as a result of limited observation or inaccurate information from dictatorial minority groups.

However, we don't have the right to choose the consequences of the choices that we make and people don't often use their brains when it comes to making choices; they make choices based on hearsay or inaccurate information instead of making a choice based on their own knowledge. It is very unfortunate that people would rather rely on the hearsay of others to make choices rather than make the effort to improve their own decision-making process, but that is the way of the world. It is becoming much too easy for people to live life as followers rather than leaders; it is easier to go with the choices of the majority than it is to stand alone, as those who stand alone are seen as social outcasts and treated as such. People want things immediately and quickly and they try to force everyone to give into the quality of impatience.

Do we really know everything we want in life or are we simply blinded by the lust over what appears exciting and right away? Quite often, our lust for immediate blessings overshadows and draws our attention away from the blessings we are so anxiously waiting for. When we desire a blessing immediately instead of waiting on Heavenly Father's time and place in our lives, we tend to be rather impulsive about pursuing what is in front of us. Our impulsiveness can stop us from feeling the Spirit because extreme impulsiveness can bring out our inner aggressiveness because when we want something badly enough, we do not care what we have to do to get it. We need to trust ourselves when we decide what we want and we need to trust our decisions enough that people cannot change our minds. We give in to the demands of others and often compromise or give up what we want simply because we do not trust our ability to fight for it.

I then turned my attention to this week's Grammar Lesson, which was on wordy sentences. I read a very interesting handout on wordy sentences and also watched a video on them.

I did the quiz twice and I got four wrong the first time, so I tried again and got three wrong the second time, making my average 70%. Wordy sentences are very hard because I would simplify most of those sentences in a different way than BYU-Idaho would simplify them.

Post Lesson 4 Work

I went to the Writing Center for tutoring on my 'This I Believe' paper and I have been told by Tutor Lauren that I have a great strong style and voice and the strength of it shows from my journalism.

Discussion Board Replies
It is not only difficult to recognize our talents, but it is also difficult to use them when others around us may believe that we have no talents. When we allow the negative opinions of others to influence us into believing that we are of little or no worth, we find it hard to act in faith and use the talents that God gave us to make the world a little better than it is. It not only takes faith to recognize that we have talents, it also takes faith to actually use the talents in the way that we were intended to use them. Making the choice to use what God gave us is not only acting in faith, but also using our agency in such a way that we will have the Spirit of God to be with us as we act. When we have the Spirit of God with us, it tells us how we can use our talents to positively impact others around us.

In a world where failures are so judged so harshly, it is terribly easy to give up and never make an effort to do anything productive for the rest of our lives. However, it is Heavenly Father's will and desire that we make the most of our mortality and do so even when our efforts may prove inconvenient to others or to society as a whole. Satan wants us to believe that we are only wasting our time when we attempt to do something that we know we will not succeed at and wants us to do nothing. There is a beauty, though, in simply giving our best effort and it is through giving our best effort that we become an example to those around us who are struggling just to get by in life. Through our best efforts, we show others that just trying your absolute best is good enough and truly loved in God's eyes.

I also handed in my final draft of my 'This I Believe' paper.

Speaking Partner Experience # 5

I met with Isemenia today and we talked about transitions and variables in terms of math terminology. We then discussed the use of transitional words in lectures and guiding people through speech. We also used the transition words to discuss budgeting and keeping track of expenses. I then used the transitional words to explain an experience I have had with budgeting so that Ismenia could understand the proper use of the transitional words. Ismenia then had to pronounce different shapes and draw pictures of each shape from pictures in her textbook to show her understanding of them.

I admit that I myself had to look up what a couple of the shapes were because I didn't understand the BYU-Idaho terminology and I wasn't afraid to admit that to Ismenia. We then turned to -ed verbs and pronouncing them.  We also practiced pronouncing more words.

Lesson 4

Discussion Board Post
I read an essay about discrimination called 'Free Minds and Hearts at Work' that was written by Jackie Robinson. I like the fact that it is a mere belief that his fight had a chance of being won that motivated Jackie to keep going even when the odds off success were stacked very strongly against him. I find myself likening the struggle for equality to myself as, even though I am a white person and living in a socially freer area, I too have encountered prejudices simply because of who I am and the fact that it differs from the definition of 'normal.' I myself have an invisible disability known as Non-Verbal Learning Disorder, which is similar to Asperger's, but there is not a lot of information about it that is available. The battle between the races has gone on visibly for a very long time, but the battle between what is intellectually normal and different has been somewhat invisible to society until about 20 or 30 years ago. It is sad to admit that the human race still has a long way to go.

While the battle between races was fought in the public eye from early on, people with disabilities were often simply shut away from society because nobody wanted to take the time or patience to love them as they were. After a failed lobotomy, Rosemary Kennedy became one of those people who were shut away simply because they were different. This essay is titled 'Free Minds and Hearts' and yet, people were not always able to show that they had free minds or hearts because it would easily be perceived as abnormal and swiftly dealt with. Jackie Robinson talks about having a belief in a warm heart and yet, how many hearts turned cold because their owners choose to be indifferent? The epidemic of indifference seems to be spreading throughout the world and it seems that nobody wants to do anything to really stop it, as they don't want to bring attention to themselves. If people don't care about expressing their minds or hearts freely, that freedom to do so could someday disappear.

Society as a whole claims to be trying to improve, but people still put barriers in the way of their own success and the success of others. Even though we live in what Jackie Robinson refers to as a free society, it is easier for us to imperfection in each other than it is to find it in ourselves and strive to improve upon it. In order to truly set ourselves free from our own barriers that we put on ourselves and society puts on us, we need to learn to love ourselves as God loves and truly cherishes us. I think humans have difficulty caring for themselves or each other as they should because they have forgotten who they really are and who they can become. People are becoming apathetic about themselves and each other because they have forgotten that they are beloved children of God.

After I completed the initial post, I turned my attention to the grammar lesson, which was again on comma rules! The rules were about placing commas around nonessential words and/or phrases, addressing someone directly, and around dates and places. I also watched a video about commas.

I then took the comma quiz and got two wrong the first time because I forgot the FANBOYS rule and put a comma where it didn't need to be. The second time, however, I got 100% and that registered on my grades, as the tests take the higher of the two marks.

Post Lesson 3 Work

Discussion Board Replies
Writing has to be organized or else it won't make sense to the reader. Even though passages of writing can be plain and seen as precious, they need adequate description of events, places, people, and things that are going on in the story or else the reader will not understand what they are reading about. However, too much description will simply cause the reader to lose focus and wonder if there is something of a simpler nature that they can read instead. One does not simply gain knowledge just by reading something new; one gains knowledge by reading something that they can understand and appreciate even if it is something they have read before. All writing has a certain amount of potential and whether that potential grows or shrinks is up to the writer. The writer of something has control of what they write and how much it can draw people in depending on how it is written. Written work that is given time and enough love that it is written in a pleasurable fashion will attract positive attention. Writing is not well organized and either over or under-descriptive, however, will not attract attention of readers simply because a messy piece of writing is not often considered attractive enough to read. 

It is truly a wonderful thing if one who reads about the gospel already has a knowledge of it, as they can come to love it even more than they already do. However, it is even more wonderful when someone who doesn't have a knowledge of the gospel reads something associated with it, as it is an opportunity for them to learn something new if they are willing to open their mind. The gospel was written in such a way that even people who don't know of it or much about it can read and learn to appreciate it if they want to. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ provide plain truths that are reasonably easy for those with open minds to understand if they choose to. Those who find beauty in the plain truths of the gospel make those truths precious simply by embracing them into their lives. We can enjoy the blessings that come from the gospel if we are so willing to just have an open mind and take the time to learn.

Speaking Partner Experience # 4

I met with Ismenia this morning and we went over the pronunciation of interjections and exponents.

I try to speak using proper grammar, so a lot of the terms were somewhat strange, but not hard to understand. Some of the terms are more to familiar to Ismenia than other terms are. We discussed what experiences have prompted us to have 'Aha' or moments of understanding.

I love working with Ismenia and it makes me to teach English to others in another country someday.

Lesson 3

I started the lesson preparation by reading this week's reading assignments, which were three essays that sounded very interesting. The essays were about the personal beliefs of individuals and they all started with a clear declaration of the belief itself. A belief has to be clear before it can be declared.

I then watched three videos on Paragraph and Essay Development that talked about narrative writing, tone and voice, and how reading improves writing. 

I also made an initial Discussion Board post as part of the weekly assignments.

"I believe that people should take pride in what they do, even if it is scorned or misunderstood by the public at large." from the essay Do What You Love by Tony Hawk perfectly illustrates the point the author is trying to make because the whole essay is largely about following your own dreams as you dream them and not changing your dreams just because they are scorned or misunderstood by others. Not everyone has the same goals or ambitions and we should all be comfortable with that fact, but in reality, not everyone is comfortable with the idea of independent thinking. We all have the choice to keep our dream as we have laid it out, even if all we can do is keep it in our heart and mind until our circumstances change. Circumstances may not be in our control, but nobody can control our desires.

Nobody has the right to control our heart and mind even if we do not have control over our personal circumstances. In his essay, Tony Hawk makes it clear that he chose and continues to choose keeping his dream the way he wants it even if it is viewed as a waste of time by others around him. It is sadly very true that some who have dreams change them in order to fit in with their circumstances or the demands of others, but people shouldn't have to fully walk away from what they love in order to please others. Even if you have to do something else in order to meet personal or familial needs, it is still very possible to hold on to and even dabble in things that contribute to living your dream. 

We may not be able to pursue our dreams full-time all the time, but that doesn't mean we should give them up entirely. There is a beauty in balancing life's demands with activities related to dreams, as life is too short to be focused solely on seriousness and dabbling in dreams can breathe new life into you. However, as Professor Dumbledore said in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone said, "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." There must be a balance between living life and living out dreams, as neither can really be beneficial without the other to keep one's self in check.

This week's Grammar Lesson was on Comma Use and I have to admit that the reading and video were very informative, as I have never worked with American grammar before. This is all very new to me and even though I may not get perfect marks on everything, I want to do my absolute best.

I then took the Comma Use quiz and got 100% on the first try because I remembered the FANBOYS rule and took my time doing the quiz.

Post Lesson 2 Work

I met with a writing tutor to finalize modifications on my paper before I handed it in. I have been told I did a good job with it for the most part, but I am nervous about writing university-level papers.

I was just told my opening paragraph was FLAWLESS! I was also told that I am amazing at writing and have kicked off the writing portion with eloquence. Tutor Brietta said my professor will be blown away by how eloquent my writing is, which I hope will turn out to be the case.

Discussion Board Replies:
I think that it's really important to remember that not everyone has the sense of sight, so they use their other senses to understand what is out in the world. The naked eye can see everyday things and occurrences, but it takes a deeper vision to see the inner beauty of everything and that is my reasoning behind why the Lord looks upon our hearts; our hearts tell him the truth and our desires while our words may not be what is necessarily true. There is more fun and more to learn when you try to see with more than just your eyes, as you can see truths and hidden treasures with your other senses and also your feelings.

I find it fascinating that in plain sight, turtles can be seen as slow and defenseless, but they know how to take care of themselves and know how to enjoy life. Turtles are slow not because they are big, but because they are treading through life with a caution that more of us should have when it comes to mortality. Turtles are often perceived as lazy and defenseless simply because of their appearance, but they have a hard shell to protect them when evil seeks to subtly destroy them and they can also fight back to protect what is sacred to them. Instead of rushing through life, maybe we need to take a lesson or two from the turtle and actually take the time to look around at our life. Knowing where we are and where we want to go, as a turtle does, may help us avoid subtle dangers. Turtles take the time to become aware of their surroundings and they are better at avoiding trouble than we often are, as we don't often take the time to take in our surroundings.