C4K Summary for November

For my first C4K assignment in November I read a post from Cade, a student from Mr. Boylen's class. He wrote a post on Hoot, the novel. It was only a short summary of the book, including a statement saying that he liked it.
This is the comment I left for Cade:
"Hi Cade,
My name is Victoria, and I am a college student at the University of South Alabama. I am studying to become a teacher! I think Hoot is a great book! Did you like it? I love owls and think they are amazing creatures. Do you want to know what I don’t like? I don’t like bullies! Being bullied is not fun and people should really stop and think about their actions before they hurt someone. I hope you recognize this and always do something if you see someone in need of help. I like how you blog a lot about books. I love to read! I hope you keep up with your blogging; you’re doing a nice job!
Best wishes, Victoria"

My second C4K for November was for Faye. She wrote a post on all of the things that her class had done in the month of October. Her class read a book, each student wrote their own stories, they did a project on the thirteen colonies, learned about the phases of the moon, and they even went out for smoothies on their teacher's birthday. She did such a great job covering all of the things her class did during the month.
This is the comment I left for Faye:
"Hi Faye,
My name is Victoria. I am a student at the University of South Alabama where I am studying to become an elementary school teacher. It looks like you did a lot of neat things in October! I have never read The One and Only Ivan, but after you told me about it, I want to! It seems like it is a good book. I also like learning about the moon! Did you know that during the day the moon can get to be as hot as 225F (107C) and at night it can get as cold as -243F (-153C)? That is really hot, and really cold! It looks like you had a lot of fun and learned a lot of things in your classroom last month! I hope you are having just as much fun this month. I really enjoyed reading your post, so keep up the blogging!
Best wishes, Victoria"

This is the comment she left back for me:
"Thank you for reading my October Reflection! I really appreciate it a lot. I hope that you will read The One And Only Ivan! Thank you again. Have a great year at University of South Alabama! – Faye"

My third C4K comment was for Katie, a high school student. Katie wrote a post about 10 lies that people tell you in high school. After reading some of the things she thought were lies being told to high school aged students, I felt the need to respond to her. My comment was quite long, but something told me she needed to hear what I had to say. I tried to make her see the good things about the four years of high school instead of focusing on the negative.
This is the comment I left for her:
"Hi Katie,
My name is Victoria and I am a student at the University of South Alabama. I am currently studying to become an educator and I completely understand the way you feel about High School. Most kids feel the same way that you do and your ideas are mostly universal. I have been assigned to comment on your blog for one of my classes, and this post really popped out and spoke to me. I just want to comment on a few of the lies you have been told.
Let’s start with lie number 1; it goes along with number 7. I was told this many, many times in high school. It was actually plastered in every room on campus. “If you have a problem, tell us your problem, and we will do our best to fix your problem…” blah blah blah. What a load of bull! However, if you can find one teacher or coach that you really “click” with, he or she is your person to run to when you need something. Fortunately, I had one of those, and for the last three years of high school, I knew that if I had any problem, whether it had something to do with school or not, she would be there to help me. It is important to establish bonds like that with adults, especially for students in high school, because let’s face it, it’s a cruel, cruel world out there.
Number 2- Bullying is one thing that truly disgusts me. Every school says the same thing; there is a zero tolerance for bullying. But, when something serious occurs, it feels like the consequences are laughable. This is one thing that schools everywhere need to work on, unfortunately.
Lie 3 is completely true. I brought my lunch every day. After eating the mystery meat a few times, I decided that there was no way I would be able to stomach that stuff all year.
Number 4- No matter how hard high school gets to be, or has already been, those four years ARE the best of your life. I didn’t think they were while I was there, but looking back now, I would trade a lot to be able to go back. I am a senior here at South, and I still feel that way. As long as you are surrounded by people you love, and people who love and support you, there is no reason that these four years shouldn’t be the absolute best.
Lastly, lie number ten- No matter what anyone says to you, you ARE important. In whatever way your peers, family members, or even teachers bring you down, you are truly special. I don’t know you personally, obviously, but believe me, whatever you may be going through, remember that you are important to someone. You may not think you are important to the right people, but that just means you should surround yourself with those who think you are. As far as administration and the like, sometimes you just get bad school officials who make the school year a drag. It is often hard to feel special at school, but you are.
I’m sorry for posting such a long comment; I just really felt the need to speak to you. I am glad that you recognize bullying as problematic in the school system. If you are a take charge kind of girl, I challenge you to do something about it. Start a club or organization, or you can make a petition to call attention to the problems in your school, or anything along these lines. I’ll go with just a few more words. High school may be tough, but just remember to apply yourself and the best you can be will shine through in your work. Find a teacher or coach to bond with. If you feel like the administration at your school is being phony when they say they will help you (like I did), then find someone you actually can run to with your problems. Lastly, high school is fun! Try making friends with different people, even if you don’t have any problems with your friends now. You will be surprised at the relationships you gain with people you never thought you would. You can never have too many true friends. I wish you the very best of luck this year, the next two years, and in your life.
Victoria =)"