Welcome to my portfolio!
I am a sophomore and second year Pilot student. This is where you can find all my work for Pilot. I am doing English, French, Health, and Global Citizenship through Pilot while studying reproductive health, french, climate activism, and environmental movement history. My work can be found in the 2023-24 section and more about learning to learn in Pilot can be found in my narratives.
Have fun looking at my work!
-Una
I am a sophomore and second year Pilot student. This is where you can find all my work for Pilot. I am doing English, French, Health, and Global Citizenship through Pilot while studying reproductive health, french, climate activism, and environmental movement history. My work can be found in the 2023-24 section and more about learning to learn in Pilot can be found in my narratives.
Have fun looking at my work!
-Una
Q1 narrative & Bibliography
This quarter has gone by so fast already. Last year I ended on such a stressful note and I was worried that I would fall right back into that. But the combo of being a second year Pilot student and working on different stuff has made it really fun and I am so glad that I get to do Pilot again. This year I am doing French, English, and Health through Pilot. The credits I need to get for English are reading, expository writing, expressive writing, expository research writing, and language. I would like to get at least one of each of those this year. For French I have to get the speaking, listening, grammar, reading, writing, and culture. I have to get each of these this year to pass french 3. In health I have to learn about certain things because it teaches you specific things. Here is what I have done so far this year and what I have learned.
For English this quarter I wrote poems about climate change. I wrote 6 total in the first 5 weeks of school. I wanted to do something more creative compared to what I usually do. I have always had a hard time with poetry in general, but especially writing them, cause I just don't know what to say. But I really liked doing these because I just had to find the words and not come up with them. In the beginning I had a really hard time and they took a while, and then after the second one it all just started coming to me. I would find a word that I liked and then piece it all together one by one. I enjoyed doing the last few the most because I just didn;t really think about it that much. The first few I other thought a lot and it took so long. But I feel like the last few words kind of found me. They all had the theme of climate change, but the first few were more talking at you and then the last few were talking to you which I think made them more powerful and just flow better. I also looked at other people's poems for inspiration which was cool because they all gave me really cool design ideas. I liked the process of writing them and looking at other peoples. I learned about myself and my process along the way. I’m glad I started off the year like this because it gave me a way to ease back into school by doing something creative.
I also wrote a history of earth day essay in the last part of the quarter. My main question was how has the creation of earth day impacted the climate movement and our current earth day? What has changed over the years? I started by doing research on each one, the focus of it, something notable about it, who created it, and how many people participated. Then I compiled that all into a paragraph for each year earth day happened. I really enjoyed doing the research for the essay. It was so interesting to learn about how we got to where we are now in the climate movement. Earth day played a huge role in the creation of so many organizations, events, and spread so much awareness for the environmental movement. I feel like I didn’t know about Earth day until a few years ago and it wasn't something I thought was very important partly because I didn’t really know about it. I always kind of thought it was just this little thing that happened every year and it was a small event. But in reality it is the largest non-religious event in the world. It has had a huge impact on the climate movement today and helped in the creation of many laws and organizations in the U.S. I am so glad that I got to learn about Earth day because otherwise I wouldn’t have learned any of this stuff. For this process I wrote the entire thing on paper in my notebook and then I copied it all into a google doc. I really lived writing it by hand. I think it went much faster and I could get my ideas down more easily. I also just felt like I could write more. I have had a real hard time writing essays in the past, and I think part of that is because I just feel stuck, like I have so many ideas but I don’t know how to format them. This however was so much easier, it means more editing to do, but overall It was more fun and easier to write. I want to do more writing on paper in the future instead of all on the computer. Here is the link to it so that you can read it: Earth Day Essay
For French I have been reviewing things that I learned last year and learning new verb conjugations. I started off the year with reviewing and practicing Imparfait and passe compose tenses (two versions of past tense). I took notes on both of them because there were some things that I didn’t get about it, like what the difference was between them. Then I practiced by writing a story or sentences in those tenses and then going over them with my mentor during our meetings. It has been working pretty well and I have also been learning more about the small words that form sentences from those meetings. In the past 2 weeks I have been learning Passe simple which is a form of future tense. It has been kinda complicated because there are so many irregular verbs for it and I just have to memorize them. I was also having a really hard time finding ways to practice. I finally realized I could use Quizlet which has been working well. I definitely need more practice and I have a really hard time talking in it. I want to keep practicing all of these tenses throughout the year because I think that I will learn it better. In French class we mostly just learned it well and then never practiced again which didn;t really work for me, so I am hoping that this will be a better strategy for me.
Another thing that I have been doing is talking with my grandma (my mentor) who was a french teacher. She also spent a lot of time in France which is helpful because she can tell me how most people talk or what is most commonly used. We have been meeting weekly on Fridays for about 20-40 minutes. It has been really fun because she can help me with my French, but we also just get to talk more. We didn’t used to talk a lot, but now we have an excuse to talk to each other and it is all in french so I can learn at the same time. I have been writing things that we can go over during our meetings and I correct it with her and that has been working. Some parts are hard because I am not super good at speaking and I don’t get a lot of the things she says. A lot of it is her asking a question in french and then me answering in english or a combo of english and french. I am excited to keep talking with her because it is a really fun way to learn.
My other part of French is reading. I have been reading Heartstopper in french which is one of my favorite books. At first it was really hard because I would look up any word that I didn’t know and it wasn’t really going anywhere. Then I realized that If I had the english book to compare to then that worked a lot better. Ever since then it has been moving a lot faster. I also have just stopped getting hung up on every word, instead I just read and piece things together as I go and check the english version if I need to. I am about half way through the book and I want to finish it by the end of the semester. My commitment goal is to read for an hour each week, which has sometimes been happening and sometimes I don’t have time for a full hour. I want to start being more consistent about it and do it more often because I like it. Another goal of mine is to read Harry Potter in French with my mom. She is supposed to be reading it to me so that I can get better at listening and understanding it. But it is hard because we are both so busy so we can only do it at night, but by then we are both really tired and it is hard for me to understand it. We need to figure out some way to do it when we can both concentrate. I chose both Harry Potter and Heartstopper because they were both books that I have read a bunch in english so I know the story and if I don’t pick up all of it it’s OK. I think that was a good call because I don’t pick much up when someone is reading out loud to me.
Learning a language is hard and I am still figuring out what works for me. I think I have found some good strategies to practice reading, writing, speaking, and listening that works for me. Those are also the standards I need to meet plus culture. I think I am just going to do a project about a french speaking country for that. I am not too worried about getting the standards because I want to learn the language and in order to do that I have to practice. It is going to take a long time for me to be able to understand everything and speak well, but the more I practice the better I get.
I am taking health through Pilot which has been really fun. Ella, Mayla, Leela, Annalise, Ally and I have been meeting with Kayla Becker who is our mentor. We are learning about chakras, hormones, anatomy, reproductive justice, self care techniques, and utern health from her. I love meeting with her because it is so much fun and we learn about such interesting stuff. The last time we met we learned about reproductive justice, which was interesting, but also made me really mad. There is so much bad stuff that has happened to women in terms of reproductive rights. It is really sad to learn about and find out what many people had to go through. We also talked about why nobody knows this stuff now and it is partly because there is no research on it. No doctors have done research on the things we are learning about which means that there are very few resources on them. It is so annoying that women's health is not really prioritized in our country. I am so glad that I got to learn about this and hopefully educate a few other people. We are in the process of making a website with everything we have learned. We also made posters about period cramps for the bathrooms and put them up around the school. Kayla has been really interesting to work with and I am so glad that we got the opportunity to.
One of my favorite moments this year was a meeting with kayla. We had one of our meetings on a sunday at the Blossom Wellness center. We all brought snacks to this beautiful room with a lot of natural light. We sat in comfy chairs on the floor with incense and flowers on the floor. That day we learned about chakras, anatomy and learned self care techniques. When we were learning self care, there was this music going that made me think about ancient egypt. The whole afternoon was full of good snacks, comfy chairs, fun people, learning, and light. I was so present all day and it was the most amazing class I have ever had.
There are also a bunch of other things that I have to learn about for health, like substance use, addiction, contraceptives, and STI’s. I’m not sure if we are going to do this as a group or on our own, but I am thinking that I will just learn about those things and then do something to show what I have learned. I am going to do this in the next few weeks that Kayla can’t meet with us.it definitely won’t be the most interesting part of health, but is something I need to get done and learn about for health.
I am taking an extra global citizenship class through pilot. I am in the Dem. Roots class, but I am doing extra work through Pilot because there is stuff I want to learn about that I could get credit for. This means that it is not the biggest deal if I don’t get all the standards, it also means that I don’t have a designated time to work on it. I don’t get as much done as other classes, but here is what I have done so far. I am learning about climate activism and the environmental movement. I am making a timeline with important events that contributed to the climate movement. There is a lot of overlap with the Earth day essay. This is basically a broader version of the essay. So far I have 6 dates on the timeline, which includes everything from protests to the creation of policies. I have learned so much from writing the essay and making this timeline, like how the EPA was created or who discovered global warming. There are so many things that I had no idea happened but are such an important part of our history. I feel like I knew a lot of things but I didn't really know what they were and a lot of stuff surprised me. It kind of feels like I am uncovering hidden gems of our history that open up so many possibilities for the future. In a weird way it has made me more hopeful for our future. I want to keep learning about it because it is fun and it gives me many ideas for the future. I’m not sure if I will be done any time soon because it is so broad, but the information is so interesting and it is stuff that I want to learn about so I'm ok with not having it done. I am also interested in learning about environmental laws. I might just include this in my timeline and make it one huge project. I am excited to continue learning about the environmental movement so that I can understand more about the modern environmental movement. Through those topics I am getting the social sciences, civics, and history.
One of my biggest challenges is time management and staying focused. Last year I had a really hard time getting things done quickly partly because I couldn't focus on one task for enough time to make a lot of progress. I still have that problem, but I have found some better ways to keep me focused. One way is setting a timer. In Pilot we have these timers that I never thought to use last year, but they are really helpful. I often set a timer for 10-15 minutes and try to focus on one thing for that amount of time, and then I take a break for a few minutes and start something else, or keep going. I also do this at home with my phone so that I don’t get distracted doing something on my phone. It has been really helpful for keeping me on track and not getting distracted. Another strategy is using headphones. They have been helpful so I don’t get distracted by things going on around me. I also have a sort of schedule for myself, or at least in my head. Class 1 is for English, class 3 is for French, and class 5 is for Social Studies, Health, and some miscellaneous. I don’t know if this is helping me or not, but it is something I always have in the back of my mind and it often influences what I do when. There are many things I could do better in some moments, but I feel like I have improved so much. I also feel like I am getting better at getting things done. I don’t know if that is because I am just getting older and have more practice, or because of the strategies I have come up with. Either way I feel like I am getting it done faster, which is in turn making me less stressed.
Something that has been hard for me is setting goals. I have always had a hard time setting goals for myself whether that be short term or long term. My weekly goals are sometimes not really achievable and that makes me more stressed about getting them done. Sometimes I don’t even write goals because it just feels like a waste of time. It mostly depends on how I am feeling that week. At first I was doing well and then my life got busy and I haven't been doing it as much. I also have a really hard time with learning plans. I prefer to just figure out my projects as I go, and having to put all of that into a learning plan is hard for me. For me setting goals is a set up for disappointment. The problem is that goals are a huge part of Pilot and I can’t just not set them. However I think there are ways I can set goals in a less scary way. In the next quarter I want to try to set more achievable goals that I can do. I think part of this just comes with practice. Compared to last year I have gotten better, but I still feel like they are too large sometimes. The more I do something the more I learn about my process and how long it takes me to do things.
I have also had a hard time with documentation this year. Mostly remembering to take photos of everything that I do in my notebook. The first few weeks I didn’t put anything in my content documentation folder because it takes a while and I kept putting it off. I just need to have a dedicated time for updating everything so that i remember. It is something I can easily fix. I just forget to do it.
Other than those things Pilot is going really well. I am really enjoying what I am learning about. This summer there was some doubt about whether or not I should do Pilot because I might be behind. It was definitely the right decision to stay in it. Have learned so much already, more than some of my normal classes. It feels like a good mix of classes inside and outside of Pilot. My entire future is kind of unknown right now even in the summer and I weirdly like it. I think I am living in the moment more while also making plans for next year. I am excited to see what will happen this year and next year.
Works Cited
Native American Activism in the 1960s and 1970s, 31 October 2017, https://tea4avcastro.tea.state.tx.us/thl/ENG1.W6.L3andL4.native-american-activism-1960s-1970s.pdf. Accessed 27 October 2023.
Anderson, Regina. “On Earth Day, recognizing Indigenous Peoples' familial ties to these lands — Food Recovery Network.” Food Recovery Network, 20 April 2023, https://www.foodrecoverynetwork.org/blog/2023/4/20/on-earth-day-recognizing-indigenous-peoples-familial-ties-to-these-lands. Accessed 27 October 2023.
Davis, Casey E. “Exhibits - Climate Change Conversations: Causes, Impacts, Solutions.” American Archive of Public Broadcasting, https://americanarchive.org/exhibits/climate-change/history. Accessed 27 October 2023.
“Earth Day.” Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, https://www.ourair.org/earthday/. Accessed 27 October 2023.
“Earth Day.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day. Accessed 27 October 2023.
“The First Earth Day | American Experience.” PBS, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/earth-days-first-earth-day/. Accessed 27 October 2023.
“Found Poems | Poet Kate Hutchinson.” Poet Kate Hutchinson, 28 December 2014, https://poetkatehutchinson.wordpress.com/2014/12/28/found-poems/. Accessed 18 September 2023.
“found poetry.” The Slumbering Herd, 10 March 2015, https://www.theslumberingherd.com/tag/found-poetry/. Accessed 27 October 2023.
Griswold, Eliza. “How ‘Silent Spring’ Ignited the Environmental Movement.” The New York Times, 23 September 2012, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/magazine/how-silent-spring-ignited-the-environmental-movement.html. Accessed 27 October 2023.
Hamilton, Jon. “50th Anniversary Of Santa Barbara Oil Spill: An Environmental Turning Point.” NPR, 28 January 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/01/28/688219307/how-californias-worst-oil-spill-turned-beaches-black-and-the-nation-green. Accessed 27 October 2023.
“The History of Earth Day.” Earth Day, https://www.earthday.org/history/. Accessed 27 October 2023.
Mai, Christine. “The 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill that changed oil and gas exploration forever.” Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2015, https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-santa-barbara-oil-spill-1969-20150520-htmlstory.html. Accessed 27 October 2023.
“The Origins of EPA | US EPA.” Environmental Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov/history/origins-epa. Accessed 27 October 2023.
“The Paris Agreement | United Nations.” the United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/paris-agreement. Accessed 27 October 2023.
“The Second Industrial Revolution, 1870-1914.” Weinberg College IT Solutions, https://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/jmokyr/castronovo.pdf. Accessed 27 October 2023.
“Silent Spring by Rachel Carson | Summary, Impact & Analysis - Video & Lesson Transcript.” Study.com, 13 August 2022, https://study.com/learn/lesson/silent-spring-rachel-carson-summary-impact-analysis.html. Accessed 27 October 2023.
“Use It and Lose It: The Outsize Effect of U.S. Consumption on the Environment.” Scientific American, 14 September 2012, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/american-consumption-habits/. Accessed 27 October 2023.
“When did motor cars become commonplace in the USA? What was the mode of commuting before that?” Quora, https://www.quora.com/When-did-motor-cars-become-commonplace-in-the-USA-What-was-the-mode-of-commuting-before-that. Accessed 27 October 2023.
The First Earth Day | American Experience.” PBS, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/earth-days-first-earth-day/. Accessed 27 October 2023.
“French Conjugation Song | Futur Simple | Lingua Loops.” YouTube, 10 August 2021, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Db1fPp5UByU. Accessed 27 October 2023.
“French Imparfait.” Lingvist, https://lingvist.com/course/learn-french-online/resources/french-imparfait/. Accessed 27 October 2023.
“How to form and use the future simple in French: easy animated video explanation w practice work.” YouTube, 11 August 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L732xukgkWw. Accessed 27 October 2023.
Jackson, Peter. “From Stockholm to Kyoto: A Brief History of Climate Change | United Nations.” the United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/stockholm-kyoto-brief-history-climate-change. Accessed 27 October 2023.
Lawless, Laura K. “Passé composé vs Imparfait.” Lawless French, https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/passe-compose-vs-imparfait/. Accessed 27 October 2023.
“Le future simple: the future tense in French.” Lingolia Français, https://francais.lingolia.com/en/grammar/tenses/le-futur-simple. Accessed 27 October 2023.
Wilkinson, Katharine. “Why We Can't Forget Eunice Foote's Climate Science Work.” Time, 17 July 2019, https://time.com/5626806/eunice-foote-women-climate-science/. Accessed 27 October 2023.
For English this quarter I wrote poems about climate change. I wrote 6 total in the first 5 weeks of school. I wanted to do something more creative compared to what I usually do. I have always had a hard time with poetry in general, but especially writing them, cause I just don't know what to say. But I really liked doing these because I just had to find the words and not come up with them. In the beginning I had a really hard time and they took a while, and then after the second one it all just started coming to me. I would find a word that I liked and then piece it all together one by one. I enjoyed doing the last few the most because I just didn;t really think about it that much. The first few I other thought a lot and it took so long. But I feel like the last few words kind of found me. They all had the theme of climate change, but the first few were more talking at you and then the last few were talking to you which I think made them more powerful and just flow better. I also looked at other people's poems for inspiration which was cool because they all gave me really cool design ideas. I liked the process of writing them and looking at other peoples. I learned about myself and my process along the way. I’m glad I started off the year like this because it gave me a way to ease back into school by doing something creative.
I also wrote a history of earth day essay in the last part of the quarter. My main question was how has the creation of earth day impacted the climate movement and our current earth day? What has changed over the years? I started by doing research on each one, the focus of it, something notable about it, who created it, and how many people participated. Then I compiled that all into a paragraph for each year earth day happened. I really enjoyed doing the research for the essay. It was so interesting to learn about how we got to where we are now in the climate movement. Earth day played a huge role in the creation of so many organizations, events, and spread so much awareness for the environmental movement. I feel like I didn’t know about Earth day until a few years ago and it wasn't something I thought was very important partly because I didn’t really know about it. I always kind of thought it was just this little thing that happened every year and it was a small event. But in reality it is the largest non-religious event in the world. It has had a huge impact on the climate movement today and helped in the creation of many laws and organizations in the U.S. I am so glad that I got to learn about Earth day because otherwise I wouldn’t have learned any of this stuff. For this process I wrote the entire thing on paper in my notebook and then I copied it all into a google doc. I really lived writing it by hand. I think it went much faster and I could get my ideas down more easily. I also just felt like I could write more. I have had a real hard time writing essays in the past, and I think part of that is because I just feel stuck, like I have so many ideas but I don’t know how to format them. This however was so much easier, it means more editing to do, but overall It was more fun and easier to write. I want to do more writing on paper in the future instead of all on the computer. Here is the link to it so that you can read it: Earth Day Essay
For French I have been reviewing things that I learned last year and learning new verb conjugations. I started off the year with reviewing and practicing Imparfait and passe compose tenses (two versions of past tense). I took notes on both of them because there were some things that I didn’t get about it, like what the difference was between them. Then I practiced by writing a story or sentences in those tenses and then going over them with my mentor during our meetings. It has been working pretty well and I have also been learning more about the small words that form sentences from those meetings. In the past 2 weeks I have been learning Passe simple which is a form of future tense. It has been kinda complicated because there are so many irregular verbs for it and I just have to memorize them. I was also having a really hard time finding ways to practice. I finally realized I could use Quizlet which has been working well. I definitely need more practice and I have a really hard time talking in it. I want to keep practicing all of these tenses throughout the year because I think that I will learn it better. In French class we mostly just learned it well and then never practiced again which didn;t really work for me, so I am hoping that this will be a better strategy for me.
Another thing that I have been doing is talking with my grandma (my mentor) who was a french teacher. She also spent a lot of time in France which is helpful because she can tell me how most people talk or what is most commonly used. We have been meeting weekly on Fridays for about 20-40 minutes. It has been really fun because she can help me with my French, but we also just get to talk more. We didn’t used to talk a lot, but now we have an excuse to talk to each other and it is all in french so I can learn at the same time. I have been writing things that we can go over during our meetings and I correct it with her and that has been working. Some parts are hard because I am not super good at speaking and I don’t get a lot of the things she says. A lot of it is her asking a question in french and then me answering in english or a combo of english and french. I am excited to keep talking with her because it is a really fun way to learn.
My other part of French is reading. I have been reading Heartstopper in french which is one of my favorite books. At first it was really hard because I would look up any word that I didn’t know and it wasn’t really going anywhere. Then I realized that If I had the english book to compare to then that worked a lot better. Ever since then it has been moving a lot faster. I also have just stopped getting hung up on every word, instead I just read and piece things together as I go and check the english version if I need to. I am about half way through the book and I want to finish it by the end of the semester. My commitment goal is to read for an hour each week, which has sometimes been happening and sometimes I don’t have time for a full hour. I want to start being more consistent about it and do it more often because I like it. Another goal of mine is to read Harry Potter in French with my mom. She is supposed to be reading it to me so that I can get better at listening and understanding it. But it is hard because we are both so busy so we can only do it at night, but by then we are both really tired and it is hard for me to understand it. We need to figure out some way to do it when we can both concentrate. I chose both Harry Potter and Heartstopper because they were both books that I have read a bunch in english so I know the story and if I don’t pick up all of it it’s OK. I think that was a good call because I don’t pick much up when someone is reading out loud to me.
Learning a language is hard and I am still figuring out what works for me. I think I have found some good strategies to practice reading, writing, speaking, and listening that works for me. Those are also the standards I need to meet plus culture. I think I am just going to do a project about a french speaking country for that. I am not too worried about getting the standards because I want to learn the language and in order to do that I have to practice. It is going to take a long time for me to be able to understand everything and speak well, but the more I practice the better I get.
I am taking health through Pilot which has been really fun. Ella, Mayla, Leela, Annalise, Ally and I have been meeting with Kayla Becker who is our mentor. We are learning about chakras, hormones, anatomy, reproductive justice, self care techniques, and utern health from her. I love meeting with her because it is so much fun and we learn about such interesting stuff. The last time we met we learned about reproductive justice, which was interesting, but also made me really mad. There is so much bad stuff that has happened to women in terms of reproductive rights. It is really sad to learn about and find out what many people had to go through. We also talked about why nobody knows this stuff now and it is partly because there is no research on it. No doctors have done research on the things we are learning about which means that there are very few resources on them. It is so annoying that women's health is not really prioritized in our country. I am so glad that I got to learn about this and hopefully educate a few other people. We are in the process of making a website with everything we have learned. We also made posters about period cramps for the bathrooms and put them up around the school. Kayla has been really interesting to work with and I am so glad that we got the opportunity to.
One of my favorite moments this year was a meeting with kayla. We had one of our meetings on a sunday at the Blossom Wellness center. We all brought snacks to this beautiful room with a lot of natural light. We sat in comfy chairs on the floor with incense and flowers on the floor. That day we learned about chakras, anatomy and learned self care techniques. When we were learning self care, there was this music going that made me think about ancient egypt. The whole afternoon was full of good snacks, comfy chairs, fun people, learning, and light. I was so present all day and it was the most amazing class I have ever had.
There are also a bunch of other things that I have to learn about for health, like substance use, addiction, contraceptives, and STI’s. I’m not sure if we are going to do this as a group or on our own, but I am thinking that I will just learn about those things and then do something to show what I have learned. I am going to do this in the next few weeks that Kayla can’t meet with us.it definitely won’t be the most interesting part of health, but is something I need to get done and learn about for health.
I am taking an extra global citizenship class through pilot. I am in the Dem. Roots class, but I am doing extra work through Pilot because there is stuff I want to learn about that I could get credit for. This means that it is not the biggest deal if I don’t get all the standards, it also means that I don’t have a designated time to work on it. I don’t get as much done as other classes, but here is what I have done so far. I am learning about climate activism and the environmental movement. I am making a timeline with important events that contributed to the climate movement. There is a lot of overlap with the Earth day essay. This is basically a broader version of the essay. So far I have 6 dates on the timeline, which includes everything from protests to the creation of policies. I have learned so much from writing the essay and making this timeline, like how the EPA was created or who discovered global warming. There are so many things that I had no idea happened but are such an important part of our history. I feel like I knew a lot of things but I didn't really know what they were and a lot of stuff surprised me. It kind of feels like I am uncovering hidden gems of our history that open up so many possibilities for the future. In a weird way it has made me more hopeful for our future. I want to keep learning about it because it is fun and it gives me many ideas for the future. I’m not sure if I will be done any time soon because it is so broad, but the information is so interesting and it is stuff that I want to learn about so I'm ok with not having it done. I am also interested in learning about environmental laws. I might just include this in my timeline and make it one huge project. I am excited to continue learning about the environmental movement so that I can understand more about the modern environmental movement. Through those topics I am getting the social sciences, civics, and history.
One of my biggest challenges is time management and staying focused. Last year I had a really hard time getting things done quickly partly because I couldn't focus on one task for enough time to make a lot of progress. I still have that problem, but I have found some better ways to keep me focused. One way is setting a timer. In Pilot we have these timers that I never thought to use last year, but they are really helpful. I often set a timer for 10-15 minutes and try to focus on one thing for that amount of time, and then I take a break for a few minutes and start something else, or keep going. I also do this at home with my phone so that I don’t get distracted doing something on my phone. It has been really helpful for keeping me on track and not getting distracted. Another strategy is using headphones. They have been helpful so I don’t get distracted by things going on around me. I also have a sort of schedule for myself, or at least in my head. Class 1 is for English, class 3 is for French, and class 5 is for Social Studies, Health, and some miscellaneous. I don’t know if this is helping me or not, but it is something I always have in the back of my mind and it often influences what I do when. There are many things I could do better in some moments, but I feel like I have improved so much. I also feel like I am getting better at getting things done. I don’t know if that is because I am just getting older and have more practice, or because of the strategies I have come up with. Either way I feel like I am getting it done faster, which is in turn making me less stressed.
Something that has been hard for me is setting goals. I have always had a hard time setting goals for myself whether that be short term or long term. My weekly goals are sometimes not really achievable and that makes me more stressed about getting them done. Sometimes I don’t even write goals because it just feels like a waste of time. It mostly depends on how I am feeling that week. At first I was doing well and then my life got busy and I haven't been doing it as much. I also have a really hard time with learning plans. I prefer to just figure out my projects as I go, and having to put all of that into a learning plan is hard for me. For me setting goals is a set up for disappointment. The problem is that goals are a huge part of Pilot and I can’t just not set them. However I think there are ways I can set goals in a less scary way. In the next quarter I want to try to set more achievable goals that I can do. I think part of this just comes with practice. Compared to last year I have gotten better, but I still feel like they are too large sometimes. The more I do something the more I learn about my process and how long it takes me to do things.
I have also had a hard time with documentation this year. Mostly remembering to take photos of everything that I do in my notebook. The first few weeks I didn’t put anything in my content documentation folder because it takes a while and I kept putting it off. I just need to have a dedicated time for updating everything so that i remember. It is something I can easily fix. I just forget to do it.
Other than those things Pilot is going really well. I am really enjoying what I am learning about. This summer there was some doubt about whether or not I should do Pilot because I might be behind. It was definitely the right decision to stay in it. Have learned so much already, more than some of my normal classes. It feels like a good mix of classes inside and outside of Pilot. My entire future is kind of unknown right now even in the summer and I weirdly like it. I think I am living in the moment more while also making plans for next year. I am excited to see what will happen this year and next year.
Works Cited
Native American Activism in the 1960s and 1970s, 31 October 2017, https://tea4avcastro.tea.state.tx.us/thl/ENG1.W6.L3andL4.native-american-activism-1960s-1970s.pdf. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- This I used in my earth day essay for the paragraph about indigenous activism
Anderson, Regina. “On Earth Day, recognizing Indigenous Peoples' familial ties to these lands — Food Recovery Network.” Food Recovery Network, 20 April 2023, https://www.foodrecoverynetwork.org/blog/2023/4/20/on-earth-day-recognizing-indigenous-peoples-familial-ties-to-these-lands. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- I used in my earth day essay for the paragraph about indigenous activism
Davis, Casey E. “Exhibits - Climate Change Conversations: Causes, Impacts, Solutions.” American Archive of Public Broadcasting, https://americanarchive.org/exhibits/climate-change/history. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- Used this to figure out what silent spring is about without having to read
“Earth Day.” Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District, https://www.ourair.org/earthday/. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- I learned about the Santa Barbara oil spill.
“Earth Day.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day. Accessed 27 October 2023.
“The First Earth Day | American Experience.” PBS, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/earth-days-first-earth-day/. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- This was one of my main sources for my earth day essay and it was very helpful.
“Found Poems | Poet Kate Hutchinson.” Poet Kate Hutchinson, 28 December 2014, https://poetkatehutchinson.wordpress.com/2014/12/28/found-poems/. Accessed 18 September 2023.
- I used this to look at other peoples found poems
“found poetry.” The Slumbering Herd, 10 March 2015, https://www.theslumberingherd.com/tag/found-poetry/. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- This was a found poem I looked at for inspiration
Griswold, Eliza. “How ‘Silent Spring’ Ignited the Environmental Movement.” The New York Times, 23 September 2012, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/magazine/how-silent-spring-ignited-the-environmental-movement.html. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- I used this to figure out How many copies of slime spring were sold of silent spring and how it affected the climate movement.
Hamilton, Jon. “50th Anniversary Of Santa Barbara Oil Spill: An Environmental Turning Point.” NPR, 28 January 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/01/28/688219307/how-californias-worst-oil-spill-turned-beaches-black-and-the-nation-green. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- I used this in my earth day essay and to learn about the Santa Barbara oil spill.
“The History of Earth Day.” Earth Day, https://www.earthday.org/history/. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- This is where I got a lot of information about the history of earth day for my essay
Mai, Christine. “The 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill that changed oil and gas exploration forever.” Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2015, https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-santa-barbara-oil-spill-1969-20150520-htmlstory.html. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- I learned about the Santa Barbara oil spill
“The Origins of EPA | US EPA.” Environmental Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov/history/origins-epa. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- I used this to figure out how the EPA was created and by who
“The Paris Agreement | United Nations.” the United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/paris-agreement. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- used to figure out what the Paris agreement was about. I used this in my earth day essay.
“The Second Industrial Revolution, 1870-1914.” Weinberg College IT Solutions, https://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/jmokyr/castronovo.pdf. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- I was trying to figure out when things happened and this was one date I based it off of.
“Silent Spring by Rachel Carson | Summary, Impact & Analysis - Video & Lesson Transcript.” Study.com, 13 August 2022, https://study.com/learn/lesson/silent-spring-rachel-carson-summary-impact-analysis.html. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- I used this to figure out what the main ideas of silent spring were
“Use It and Lose It: The Outsize Effect of U.S. Consumption on the Environment.” Scientific American, 14 September 2012, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/american-consumption-habits/. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- I used this to get some data about resource consumption
“When did motor cars become commonplace in the USA? What was the mode of commuting before that?” Quora, https://www.quora.com/When-did-motor-cars-become-commonplace-in-the-USA-What-was-the-mode-of-commuting-before-that. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- I was trying to figure out when things happened and this was one date I based it off of.
The First Earth Day | American Experience.” PBS, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/earth-days-first-earth-day/. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- I got some quotes and ideas from this for my earth day essay
“French Conjugation Song | Futur Simple | Lingua Loops.” YouTube, 10 August 2021, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Db1fPp5UByU. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- I used this to learn verb conjugations for future tense
“French Imparfait.” Lingvist, https://lingvist.com/course/learn-french-online/resources/french-imparfait/. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- I used this for past tense review
“How to form and use the future simple in French: easy animated video explanation w practice work.” YouTube, 11 August 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L732xukgkWw. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- I took notes of future tense with this and it was just a general resource to learn the tense.
Jackson, Peter. “From Stockholm to Kyoto: A Brief History of Climate Change | United Nations.” the United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/chronicle/article/stockholm-kyoto-brief-history-climate-change. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- I just looked at this source for history of climate activism
Lawless, Laura K. “Passé composé vs Imparfait.” Lawless French, https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/passe-compose-vs-imparfait/. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- I used this to figure out the difference between different kinds of past tense in french.
“Le future simple: the future tense in French.” Lingolia Français, https://francais.lingolia.com/en/grammar/tenses/le-futur-simple. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- I took notes of future tense with this and it was just a general resource.
Wilkinson, Katharine. “Why We Can't Forget Eunice Foote's Climate Science Work.” Time, 17 July 2019, https://time.com/5626806/eunice-foote-women-climate-science/. Accessed 27 October 2023.
- I used this for my history of climate activism timeline for the first date on my timeline
Q2 narrative & Bibliography
This Quarter has been a lot of fun. I am loving what I am doing right now and it is very interesting. It is also very stressful because there are so many things to do. That is all made a lot worse with the very sudden decision to go on a winter semester program. I am so excited to spend an entire semester outside, living with the land and a small group of high school students. All the while reading books, doing place based science, and learning about the people who were here before us. I am overjoyed about the opportunity, however that has also come with some stress about how much such I have to do before I go, but I will talk about that later. In the meantime here is what I have been learning about this semester.
“For English this quarter I wrote poems about climate change. I wrote 6 total in the first 5 weeks of school. I wanted to do something more creative compared to what I usually do. I have always had a hard time with poetry in general, but especially writing them, cause I just don't know what to say. But I really liked doing these because I just had to find the words and not come up with them. In the beginning I had a really hard time and they took a while, and then after the second one it all just started coming to me. I would find a word that I liked and then piece it all together one by one. I enjoyed doing the last few the most because I just didn;t really think about it that much. The first few I other thought a lot and it took so long. But I feel like the last few words kind of found me. They all had the theme of climate change, but the first few were more talking at you and then the last few were talking to you which I think made them more powerful and just flow better. I also looked at other people's poems for inspiration which was cool because they all gave me really cool design ideas. I liked the process of writing them and looking at other peoples. I learned about myself and my process along the way. I’m glad I started off the year like this because it gave me a way to ease back into school by doing something creative.”
- Quarter 1 Narrative
“I also wrote a history of earth day essay in the last part of the quarter. My main question was how has the creation of earth day impacted the climate movement and our current earth day? What has changed over the years? I started by doing research on each one, the focus of it, something notable about it, who created it, and how many people participated. Then I compiled that all into a paragraph for each year earth day happened. I really enjoyed doing the research for the essay. It was so interesting to learn about how we got to where we are now in the climate movement. Earth day played a huge role in the creation of so many organizations, events, and spread so much awareness for the environmental movement. I feel like I didn’t know about Earth day until a few years ago and it wasn't something I thought was very important partly because I didn’t really know about it. I always kind of thought it was just this little thing that happened every year and it was a small event. But in reality it is the largest non-religious event in the world. It has had a huge impact on the climate movement today and helped in the creation of many laws and organizations in the U.S. I am so glad that I got to learn about Earth day because otherwise I wouldn’t have learned any of this stuff. For this process I wrote the entire thing on paper in my notebook and then I copied it all into a google doc. I really lived writing it by hand. I think it went much faster and I could get my ideas down more easily. I also just felt like I could write more. I have had a real hard time writing essays in the past, and I think part of that is because I just feel stuck, like I have so many ideas but I don’t know how to format them. This however was so much easier, it means more editing to do, but overall It was more fun and easier to write. I want to do more writing on paper in the future instead of all on the computer. Here is the link to it so that you can read it: Earth Day Essay ”
-Quarter 1 Narrative
During this past quarter I have been reading The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein. I wanted to do some of the classic highschool essay writing where you read a book then write an essay about it, so I chose The Hobbit because I have wanted to read it forever just never did. So far in Pilot I haven't written an essay from a book, I have only done research essays, which I love, but it is definitely different from literary analysis essays. I spent about a month reading/listening to the book, and then I spent about a week getting quotes and organizing my thoughts. I was originally thinking it was going to be an essay about Bilbo’s character development, however I was having a hard time writing it, so I changed it a bit to be more adventure focused. Then I met with my advisor and we read it together and I realized that the original idea was better. I am now working on editing the second draft of the essay, and next I am going to ask others to read it and give me feedback. I really enjoyed reading it, because it just felt like I was just reading a book I loved, but it was also an excuse for myself to read it because I was getting credit for it. I am definitely going to read or listen to The Lord of the Rings next. I also liked writing the essay, because it helped me a lot with that format of writing, which I hadn’t done before. I have concluded that I like research essays better, but I am so glad that I wrote this one because it kind of retaught me how to do it. Here is the link to the essay: The Hobbit Essay Draft 1
Another reason why The Hobbit essay took me so long is because I was using some of my Pilot time to write application essays for exchange years next year. I spent a long time on those because I was doing many short ones that all responded to different prompts. However they are all submitted now, and I get to focus on other things.
“For French I have been reviewing things that I learned last year and learning new verb conjugations. I started off the year with reviewing and practicing Imparfait and passe compose tenses (two versions of past tense). I took notes on both of them because there were some things that I didn’t get about it, like what the difference was between them. Then I practiced by writing a story or sentences in those tenses and then going over them with my mentor during our meetings. I have also been practicing memorizing them as well.” -Quarter 1 Narrative
Since then, I have been continuing to practice those verb conjugations and I am trying to use them all together in stories now. It is going well. I haven't been practicing as much as I would like to, but part of that is that I have a lot of trouble finding good ways to practice. Not having enough resources has made this study really hard. I want to try to figure out where the teachers get the practice sheets. That has been making it really hard to study because I don’t have a good way to do it. I think that I am going to talk to the french teacher about it and see where she gets her practice sheets from.
“Another thing that I have been doing is talking with my grandma (my mentor) who was a french teacher. She also spent a lot of time in France which is helpful because she can tell me how most people talk or what is most commonly used. We have been meeting weekly on Fridays for about 20-40 minutes. It has been really fun because she can help me with my French, but we also just get to talk more. We didn’t used to talk a lot, but now we have an excuse to talk to each other and it is all in french so I can learn at the same time. I have been writing things that we can go over during our meetings and I correct it with her and that has been working. Some parts are hard because I am not super good at speaking and I don’t get a lot of the things she says. A lot of it is her asking a question in french and then me answering in english or a combo of english and french. I am excited to keep talking with her because it is a really fun way to learn. “ -Quarter 1 Narrative
I am still doing these meetings with my grandma, however we have been doing them about every other week. I realized that I need more time for the other parts of my French study, and the meetings were taking up a big chunk of that time. That is working a lot better for me because I am using less time outside of school to do my work.
“My other part of French is reading. I have been reading Heartstopper in french which is one of my favorite books. At first it was really hard because I would look up any word that I didn’t know and it wasn’t really going anywhere. Then I realized that If I had the english book to compare to then that worked a lot better. Ever since then it has been moving a lot faster. I also have just stopped getting hung up on every word, instead I just read and piece things together as I go and check the english version if I need to. I am about half way through the book and I want to finish it by the end of the semester.” -Quarter 1 Narrative
I actually ended up finishing the book a in the first couple of weeks of the second quarter, which means I could start the second book. My new goal is to finish the second book by the end of the semester. I have been a little less motivated to read it because I’m not at a super interesting part right now, however I think that I just need to sit down and read it, because I can. Once I finish, I am planning on writing a recap, review of it as a way to show that I read and understood it.
“Another goal of mine is to read Harry Potter in French with my mom. She is supposed to be reading it to me so that I can get better at listening and understanding it. But it is hard because we are both so busy so we can only do it at night, but by then we are both really tired and it is hard for me to understand it.” -Quarter 1 Narrative
Ya, not much has changed. We haven't really read at all since I wrote this. As much as I would love to make this a part of my study, I don’t think it is realistic. I will keep trying and we can read when we can for the next 2 weeks. Then hopefully we can read them in the summer too.
I was planning for a lot of things in this study that won’t happen because I am going away next semester. I am going to try and do some of it over the summer because I like doing it and I want to learn the language. It is hard because I am only getting half the french study I was planning for, which means I think I will be behind next year. I am still going to take French 4 next year, it will be hard, however I want to learn French so that's kind of my only option. I am sad that I can’t continue into next semester, however I will be having other amazing experiences, so I’m not too worried.
“I am taking an extra global citizenship class through Pilot. I am in the Dem. Roots class, but I am doing extra work through Pilot because there is stuff I want to learn about that I could get credit for. This means that it is not the biggest deal if I don’t get all the standards, it also means that I don’t have a designated time to work on it. I don’t get as much done as other classes, but here is what I have done so far. I am learning about climate activism and the environmental movement. I am making a timeline with important events that contributed to the climate movement.” -Quarter 1 Narrative
I currently have 13 dates on it. My goal is to add 1-2 more before the end of the semester, then put it into an actual timeline. I think I am going to do it by hand because I haven't found a good template/format I like. Also if I do it by hand I can look at it whenever I want and re-read it very easily. I have loved this process and I am learning so much about this movement. This project is mostly for myself to learn about the environmental movement. The physical timeline is just a way for me to show what I have learned. Learning about what we have done in the past has made me actually pretty hopeful for the future, because people had a huge impact.
“I am also taking health through Pilot which has been really fun. Ella, Mayla, Leela, Annalise, Ally and I have been meeting with Kayla Becker who is our mentor. We are learning about chakras, hormones, anatomy, reproductive justice, self care techniques, and utern health from her. I love meeting with her because it is so much fun and we learn about such interesting stuff.” -Quarter 1 Narrative
During our last meeting we learned about Herbalism, alternative medicine, and got connected with our Pen Pals from Ganh. Kayla went to Ganh to teach girls in a village about these Menstrual cups, when she came back she asked for our help to fundraise $5000 for these menstrual cups to go to Ganh. Through that connection we got pen pals from the village. We are going to email back and forth with them. We are also working on a website with everything we have learned with Kayla and for health on it. We wanted a way to share what we have learned, so we started by making posters to put around the school about period cramps, the posters had a QR code leading to the website on it. We are going to make a new poster to put around the school again to re-advertise the website when it is done. We are also hopefully going to present to the regular health classes about some of the things we have learned about. I’m not actually sure if that is going to happen this semester, Hopefully it does, but that is soon. I am so glad we are finding ways to show what we have learned with Kayla, because it is stuff that everyone should be learning about. This experience has been better than I ever imagined and I am so grateful that we got the opportunity to learn about this stuff. I have also learned about drug use, STIs, contraceptives, and relationships, because we have to in order for it to count as health. It wasn’t my favorite part, but it wasn’t that bad either.
One of the many challenges I have had this semester has been how I am managing my time. I feel like I have talked about this in every single narrative I have written in my year and a half of Pilot, and every time I say the same thing, I need to get better at it. Including sticking to my schedule, not getting distracted, and being efficient. However I feel like this semester I have kind of just accepted the fact that I am never going to be amazing at those things, and I should just do what I can in my own way. My brain just doesn't really work in a way that I can stay focused for 1-2 hours at a time on one task/class that I need to do. Instead I made myself a schedule that I kind of always just keep in the back of my mind, class 1 in English, class 3 is French, class 5 is Global Citizenship or Health, and if we have work time in seminar I usually work on whatever is due first. It’s simple and always in my head, but I rarely actually follow it. For example, this morning I worked on Global Citizenship for like 1.5 hours during my French time. However it was stuff I needed to get done and I am just doing my other work after school. It isn’t very organized physically, but it is all in my head and every week I have a mental list of everything I need to do and how far through it I am. In that time I also took many breaks which meant that when I did go back to my work I could focus more. We have a timer in the Pilot room which helps some days, and the others I kind of just keep one going in my head. At the beginning of the day I usually write down a goal or two for that time that I am going to get done, and I put it on my desk so I can see it. This helps me stay on task more because I have just one thing to focus on, usually what I most want to work on at the time. I try not to force myself to do work I don't want to do, but that happens quite often no matter how much I love the content
Making goals is another thing that I was having a lot of trouble with in quarter 1. Mostly being able to make realistic goals that I feel like I can achieve. This past quarter I have gotten a little better at that. I started making daily goals, which are very helpful, and I also started paying less attention to my weekly goals. It seems counter intuitive, but It means that there is less pressure from myself to complete all of them by a certain time and I still get most of them done. It’s not the best strategy, because really I just need to learn how to make realistic goals. I think this is something that will just come with practice and I can’t really force myself to do it. In the meantime though, caring less about them and taking it more day by day, has removed some of the stress associated with making goals.
Another huge challenge that is coming is the winter semester program I mentioned at the beginning. I am so excited for the challenge and for everything I will learn. I’m also really nervous. I am going to be spending the next four and a half months with people I haven't met yet, living almost completely outdoors, and traveling 500 miles by ski, canoe, and bike. There is so much unknown in it all and so much that could go wrong, like me hurting myself, or not doing well in the school portion. That is the thing I am most worried about, because I don’t really know what it’s going to be like. I have no idea how we are going to study science. That scares me a lot, but I will figure them out like I always do. Mostly what I feel is excitement, and readiness. I am so ready to not be stuck in the same routine of going to school, spending all day inside, then going home and doing homework. I actually feel a lot of relief that I get to do that more seamlessly and make school a part of my everyday life. They are going to be one simple thing, and I am so ready. Spending almost 5 months outside sounds like exactly what I need right now, and no matter how nervous and scared I am, it is going to be amazing and this is what I need right now. That’s why I am going!
This Semester has been full of fun, stress, learning, and excitement. I am so glad that I got to be in Pilot for a second semester. It has made me realize what I actually care about, and I wouldn’t be going on a semester if I hadn’t joined Pilot last year. I have changed so much over the past year and gotten way more confident in myself and what I am learning. I am very excited for my next adventure, and can’t wait to tell you about it when I get back.
Works Cited
Fridays For Future is an international climate movement active in most countries and our website offers information on who we are and what you can do., https://fridaysforfuture.org/. Accessed 5 January 2024.
Bibard, Frederic. French Grammar for Intermediate Level: The Most Complete Textbook and Workbook for French Learners. 2020.
“Birth of a National Park - Yellowstone National Park (U.S.” National Park Service, 5 February 2020, https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/yellowstoneestablishment.htm. Accessed 5 January 2024.
“Celebrating 50 Years of Success in Wildlife Conservation | U.S. Department of the Interior.” DOI.gov, 1 December 2023, https://www.doi.gov/blog/endangered-species-act-celebrating-50-years-success-wildlife-conservation. Accessed 5 January 2024.
“Clean Water Act – Celebrating 50 Years | California State Water Resources Control Board.” State Water Resources Control Board, 10 November 2022, https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/campaigns/clean-water-act-50-years.html. Accessed 5 January 2024.
“Clean Water Act (CWA).” Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, https://www.boem.gov/environment/environmental-assessment/clean-water-act-cwa. Accessed 5 January 2024.
“Endangered Species Act Milestones: Pre 1973 | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, https://www.fws.gov/node/266462. Accessed 5 January 2024.
“Endangered Species Act | NOAA Fisheries.” NOAA Fisheries, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/endangered-species-conservation/endangered-species-act. Accessed 5 January 2024.
“Endangered Species Act | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 28 December 1973, https://www.fws.gov/law/endangered-species-act. Accessed 5 January 2024.
“Essay Ideas for Pre-university Students.” The Tolkien Society, https://www.tolkiensociety.org/app/uploads/2016/11/Essay-Ideas-for-Pre-university-Students.pdf. Accessed 5 January 2024.
Hamilton, Jon. “50th Anniversary Of Santa Barbara Oil Spill: An Environmental Turning Point.” NPR, 28 January 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/01/28/688219307/how-californias-worst-oil-spill-turned-beaches-black-and-the-nation-green. Accessed 5 January 2024.
Hammond, Wayne G. “J.R.R. Tolkien | Biography, Books, Movies, & Facts.” Britannica, https://britannica.com/biography/J-R-R-Tolkien. Accessed 5 January 2024.
“Healthy Relationships - The Hotline.” National Domestic Violence Hotline, https://www.thehotline.org/resources/healthy-relationships/. Accessed 5 January 2024.
“Historical Accomplishments.” Sierra Club, https://www.sierraclub.org/accomplishments. Accessed 5 January 2024.
Joosse, Tess, and Carlyn Iverson. “This Month in Physics History.” This Month in Physics History, 13 July 2023, https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/202307/history.cfm. Accessed 5 January 2024.
“Maintaining our bipartisan wildlife history.” Environmental Defense Fund, https://www.edf.org/ecosystems/maintaining-our-bipartisan-wildlife-history. Accessed 5 January 2024.
“National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).” SAMHSA, https://www.samhsa.gov/data/data-we-collect/nsduh-national-survey-drug-use-and-health. Accessed 5 January 2024.
“Quick Facts on the Risks of E-cigarettes for Young People.” CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/Quick-Facts-on-the-Risks-of-E-cigarettes-for-Kids-Teens-and-Young-Adults.html. Accessed 5 January 2024.
Resnick, Ariane. “What Is Somatic Therapy?” Verywell Mind, 7 November 2023, https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-somatic-therapy-5190064. Accessed 5 January 2024.
“Summary of the Clean Water Act | US EPA.” Environmental Protection Agency, 22 June 2023, https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-water-act. Accessed 5 January 2024.
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit (Movie Tie-in Edition). Random House Worlds, 2012.
TOLKIEN, JRR. “The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again.” RSD2 ALERT, https://rsd2-alert-durden-reading-room.weebly.com/uploads/6/7/1/6/6716949/the_hobbit_tolkien.pdf. Accessed 5 January 2024.
“UN Conference on Environment and Development – UNCED | IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin.” Earth Negotiations Bulletin, https://enb.iisd.org/negotiations/un-conference-environment-and-development-unced. Accessed 5 January 2024.
“United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 3-14 June 1992 | United Nations.” the United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/conferences/environment/rio1992. Accessed 5 January 2024.
Wilkins, Alex. “Eunice Newton Foote: The woman who discovered the greenhouse effect.” New Scientist, 17 July 2023, https://www.newscientist.com/article/2382758-eunice-newton-foote-the-woman-who-discovered-the-greenhouse-effect/. Accessed 5 January 2024.
Cassidy, Emily. “Cyclone Freddy Hits Madagascar.” NASA Earth Observatory, 21 February 2023, https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151002/cyclone-freddy-hits-madagascar. Accessed 11 January 2024.
“Madagascar has contingencies to aid its swift recovery from devastating impacts of tropical cyclones - Madagascar.” ReliefWeb, 27 February 2023, https://reliefweb.int/report/madagascar/madagascar-has-contingencies-aid-its-swift-recovery-devastating-impacts-tropical-cyclones. Accessed 11 January 2024.
Quiggin, John. “Cyclone Freddy makes landfall in Madagascar, leaving destruction in its wake – video.” The Guardian, 22 February 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2023/feb/22/cyclone-freddy-makes-landfall-in-madagascar-leaving-destruction-in-its-wake-video. Accessed 11 January 2024.
Tetaud, Sarah. “Madagascar faces 'catastrophic' hunger after 3 cyclones.” AP News, 19 April 2023, https://apnews.com/article/madagascar-climate-hunger-cyclones-d446e1146db06b0829e3e68fad76a6f5. Accessed 11 January 2024.
“Tropical Cyclone Freddy Breaks Records before Lashing Madagascar.” nesdis, 23 February 2023, https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/tropical-cyclone-freddy-breaks-records-lashing-madagascar. Accessed 11 January 2024.
“For English this quarter I wrote poems about climate change. I wrote 6 total in the first 5 weeks of school. I wanted to do something more creative compared to what I usually do. I have always had a hard time with poetry in general, but especially writing them, cause I just don't know what to say. But I really liked doing these because I just had to find the words and not come up with them. In the beginning I had a really hard time and they took a while, and then after the second one it all just started coming to me. I would find a word that I liked and then piece it all together one by one. I enjoyed doing the last few the most because I just didn;t really think about it that much. The first few I other thought a lot and it took so long. But I feel like the last few words kind of found me. They all had the theme of climate change, but the first few were more talking at you and then the last few were talking to you which I think made them more powerful and just flow better. I also looked at other people's poems for inspiration which was cool because they all gave me really cool design ideas. I liked the process of writing them and looking at other peoples. I learned about myself and my process along the way. I’m glad I started off the year like this because it gave me a way to ease back into school by doing something creative.”
- Quarter 1 Narrative
“I also wrote a history of earth day essay in the last part of the quarter. My main question was how has the creation of earth day impacted the climate movement and our current earth day? What has changed over the years? I started by doing research on each one, the focus of it, something notable about it, who created it, and how many people participated. Then I compiled that all into a paragraph for each year earth day happened. I really enjoyed doing the research for the essay. It was so interesting to learn about how we got to where we are now in the climate movement. Earth day played a huge role in the creation of so many organizations, events, and spread so much awareness for the environmental movement. I feel like I didn’t know about Earth day until a few years ago and it wasn't something I thought was very important partly because I didn’t really know about it. I always kind of thought it was just this little thing that happened every year and it was a small event. But in reality it is the largest non-religious event in the world. It has had a huge impact on the climate movement today and helped in the creation of many laws and organizations in the U.S. I am so glad that I got to learn about Earth day because otherwise I wouldn’t have learned any of this stuff. For this process I wrote the entire thing on paper in my notebook and then I copied it all into a google doc. I really lived writing it by hand. I think it went much faster and I could get my ideas down more easily. I also just felt like I could write more. I have had a real hard time writing essays in the past, and I think part of that is because I just feel stuck, like I have so many ideas but I don’t know how to format them. This however was so much easier, it means more editing to do, but overall It was more fun and easier to write. I want to do more writing on paper in the future instead of all on the computer. Here is the link to it so that you can read it: Earth Day Essay ”
-Quarter 1 Narrative
During this past quarter I have been reading The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein. I wanted to do some of the classic highschool essay writing where you read a book then write an essay about it, so I chose The Hobbit because I have wanted to read it forever just never did. So far in Pilot I haven't written an essay from a book, I have only done research essays, which I love, but it is definitely different from literary analysis essays. I spent about a month reading/listening to the book, and then I spent about a week getting quotes and organizing my thoughts. I was originally thinking it was going to be an essay about Bilbo’s character development, however I was having a hard time writing it, so I changed it a bit to be more adventure focused. Then I met with my advisor and we read it together and I realized that the original idea was better. I am now working on editing the second draft of the essay, and next I am going to ask others to read it and give me feedback. I really enjoyed reading it, because it just felt like I was just reading a book I loved, but it was also an excuse for myself to read it because I was getting credit for it. I am definitely going to read or listen to The Lord of the Rings next. I also liked writing the essay, because it helped me a lot with that format of writing, which I hadn’t done before. I have concluded that I like research essays better, but I am so glad that I wrote this one because it kind of retaught me how to do it. Here is the link to the essay: The Hobbit Essay Draft 1
Another reason why The Hobbit essay took me so long is because I was using some of my Pilot time to write application essays for exchange years next year. I spent a long time on those because I was doing many short ones that all responded to different prompts. However they are all submitted now, and I get to focus on other things.
“For French I have been reviewing things that I learned last year and learning new verb conjugations. I started off the year with reviewing and practicing Imparfait and passe compose tenses (two versions of past tense). I took notes on both of them because there were some things that I didn’t get about it, like what the difference was between them. Then I practiced by writing a story or sentences in those tenses and then going over them with my mentor during our meetings. I have also been practicing memorizing them as well.” -Quarter 1 Narrative
Since then, I have been continuing to practice those verb conjugations and I am trying to use them all together in stories now. It is going well. I haven't been practicing as much as I would like to, but part of that is that I have a lot of trouble finding good ways to practice. Not having enough resources has made this study really hard. I want to try to figure out where the teachers get the practice sheets. That has been making it really hard to study because I don’t have a good way to do it. I think that I am going to talk to the french teacher about it and see where she gets her practice sheets from.
“Another thing that I have been doing is talking with my grandma (my mentor) who was a french teacher. She also spent a lot of time in France which is helpful because she can tell me how most people talk or what is most commonly used. We have been meeting weekly on Fridays for about 20-40 minutes. It has been really fun because she can help me with my French, but we also just get to talk more. We didn’t used to talk a lot, but now we have an excuse to talk to each other and it is all in french so I can learn at the same time. I have been writing things that we can go over during our meetings and I correct it with her and that has been working. Some parts are hard because I am not super good at speaking and I don’t get a lot of the things she says. A lot of it is her asking a question in french and then me answering in english or a combo of english and french. I am excited to keep talking with her because it is a really fun way to learn. “ -Quarter 1 Narrative
I am still doing these meetings with my grandma, however we have been doing them about every other week. I realized that I need more time for the other parts of my French study, and the meetings were taking up a big chunk of that time. That is working a lot better for me because I am using less time outside of school to do my work.
“My other part of French is reading. I have been reading Heartstopper in french which is one of my favorite books. At first it was really hard because I would look up any word that I didn’t know and it wasn’t really going anywhere. Then I realized that If I had the english book to compare to then that worked a lot better. Ever since then it has been moving a lot faster. I also have just stopped getting hung up on every word, instead I just read and piece things together as I go and check the english version if I need to. I am about half way through the book and I want to finish it by the end of the semester.” -Quarter 1 Narrative
I actually ended up finishing the book a in the first couple of weeks of the second quarter, which means I could start the second book. My new goal is to finish the second book by the end of the semester. I have been a little less motivated to read it because I’m not at a super interesting part right now, however I think that I just need to sit down and read it, because I can. Once I finish, I am planning on writing a recap, review of it as a way to show that I read and understood it.
“Another goal of mine is to read Harry Potter in French with my mom. She is supposed to be reading it to me so that I can get better at listening and understanding it. But it is hard because we are both so busy so we can only do it at night, but by then we are both really tired and it is hard for me to understand it.” -Quarter 1 Narrative
Ya, not much has changed. We haven't really read at all since I wrote this. As much as I would love to make this a part of my study, I don’t think it is realistic. I will keep trying and we can read when we can for the next 2 weeks. Then hopefully we can read them in the summer too.
I was planning for a lot of things in this study that won’t happen because I am going away next semester. I am going to try and do some of it over the summer because I like doing it and I want to learn the language. It is hard because I am only getting half the french study I was planning for, which means I think I will be behind next year. I am still going to take French 4 next year, it will be hard, however I want to learn French so that's kind of my only option. I am sad that I can’t continue into next semester, however I will be having other amazing experiences, so I’m not too worried.
“I am taking an extra global citizenship class through Pilot. I am in the Dem. Roots class, but I am doing extra work through Pilot because there is stuff I want to learn about that I could get credit for. This means that it is not the biggest deal if I don’t get all the standards, it also means that I don’t have a designated time to work on it. I don’t get as much done as other classes, but here is what I have done so far. I am learning about climate activism and the environmental movement. I am making a timeline with important events that contributed to the climate movement.” -Quarter 1 Narrative
I currently have 13 dates on it. My goal is to add 1-2 more before the end of the semester, then put it into an actual timeline. I think I am going to do it by hand because I haven't found a good template/format I like. Also if I do it by hand I can look at it whenever I want and re-read it very easily. I have loved this process and I am learning so much about this movement. This project is mostly for myself to learn about the environmental movement. The physical timeline is just a way for me to show what I have learned. Learning about what we have done in the past has made me actually pretty hopeful for the future, because people had a huge impact.
“I am also taking health through Pilot which has been really fun. Ella, Mayla, Leela, Annalise, Ally and I have been meeting with Kayla Becker who is our mentor. We are learning about chakras, hormones, anatomy, reproductive justice, self care techniques, and utern health from her. I love meeting with her because it is so much fun and we learn about such interesting stuff.” -Quarter 1 Narrative
During our last meeting we learned about Herbalism, alternative medicine, and got connected with our Pen Pals from Ganh. Kayla went to Ganh to teach girls in a village about these Menstrual cups, when she came back she asked for our help to fundraise $5000 for these menstrual cups to go to Ganh. Through that connection we got pen pals from the village. We are going to email back and forth with them. We are also working on a website with everything we have learned with Kayla and for health on it. We wanted a way to share what we have learned, so we started by making posters to put around the school about period cramps, the posters had a QR code leading to the website on it. We are going to make a new poster to put around the school again to re-advertise the website when it is done. We are also hopefully going to present to the regular health classes about some of the things we have learned about. I’m not actually sure if that is going to happen this semester, Hopefully it does, but that is soon. I am so glad we are finding ways to show what we have learned with Kayla, because it is stuff that everyone should be learning about. This experience has been better than I ever imagined and I am so grateful that we got the opportunity to learn about this stuff. I have also learned about drug use, STIs, contraceptives, and relationships, because we have to in order for it to count as health. It wasn’t my favorite part, but it wasn’t that bad either.
One of the many challenges I have had this semester has been how I am managing my time. I feel like I have talked about this in every single narrative I have written in my year and a half of Pilot, and every time I say the same thing, I need to get better at it. Including sticking to my schedule, not getting distracted, and being efficient. However I feel like this semester I have kind of just accepted the fact that I am never going to be amazing at those things, and I should just do what I can in my own way. My brain just doesn't really work in a way that I can stay focused for 1-2 hours at a time on one task/class that I need to do. Instead I made myself a schedule that I kind of always just keep in the back of my mind, class 1 in English, class 3 is French, class 5 is Global Citizenship or Health, and if we have work time in seminar I usually work on whatever is due first. It’s simple and always in my head, but I rarely actually follow it. For example, this morning I worked on Global Citizenship for like 1.5 hours during my French time. However it was stuff I needed to get done and I am just doing my other work after school. It isn’t very organized physically, but it is all in my head and every week I have a mental list of everything I need to do and how far through it I am. In that time I also took many breaks which meant that when I did go back to my work I could focus more. We have a timer in the Pilot room which helps some days, and the others I kind of just keep one going in my head. At the beginning of the day I usually write down a goal or two for that time that I am going to get done, and I put it on my desk so I can see it. This helps me stay on task more because I have just one thing to focus on, usually what I most want to work on at the time. I try not to force myself to do work I don't want to do, but that happens quite often no matter how much I love the content
Making goals is another thing that I was having a lot of trouble with in quarter 1. Mostly being able to make realistic goals that I feel like I can achieve. This past quarter I have gotten a little better at that. I started making daily goals, which are very helpful, and I also started paying less attention to my weekly goals. It seems counter intuitive, but It means that there is less pressure from myself to complete all of them by a certain time and I still get most of them done. It’s not the best strategy, because really I just need to learn how to make realistic goals. I think this is something that will just come with practice and I can’t really force myself to do it. In the meantime though, caring less about them and taking it more day by day, has removed some of the stress associated with making goals.
Another huge challenge that is coming is the winter semester program I mentioned at the beginning. I am so excited for the challenge and for everything I will learn. I’m also really nervous. I am going to be spending the next four and a half months with people I haven't met yet, living almost completely outdoors, and traveling 500 miles by ski, canoe, and bike. There is so much unknown in it all and so much that could go wrong, like me hurting myself, or not doing well in the school portion. That is the thing I am most worried about, because I don’t really know what it’s going to be like. I have no idea how we are going to study science. That scares me a lot, but I will figure them out like I always do. Mostly what I feel is excitement, and readiness. I am so ready to not be stuck in the same routine of going to school, spending all day inside, then going home and doing homework. I actually feel a lot of relief that I get to do that more seamlessly and make school a part of my everyday life. They are going to be one simple thing, and I am so ready. Spending almost 5 months outside sounds like exactly what I need right now, and no matter how nervous and scared I am, it is going to be amazing and this is what I need right now. That’s why I am going!
This Semester has been full of fun, stress, learning, and excitement. I am so glad that I got to be in Pilot for a second semester. It has made me realize what I actually care about, and I wouldn’t be going on a semester if I hadn’t joined Pilot last year. I have changed so much over the past year and gotten way more confident in myself and what I am learning. I am very excited for my next adventure, and can’t wait to tell you about it when I get back.
Works Cited
Fridays For Future is an international climate movement active in most countries and our website offers information on who we are and what you can do., https://fridaysforfuture.org/. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- For my climate timeline date 2018
Bibard, Frederic. French Grammar for Intermediate Level: The Most Complete Textbook and Workbook for French Learners. 2020.
- French practice workbook
“Birth of a National Park - Yellowstone National Park (U.S.” National Park Service, 5 February 2020, https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/yellowstoneestablishment.htm. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used for climate timeline
“Celebrating 50 Years of Success in Wildlife Conservation | U.S. Department of the Interior.” DOI.gov, 1 December 2023, https://www.doi.gov/blog/endangered-species-act-celebrating-50-years-success-wildlife-conservation. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used for climate timeline
“Clean Water Act – Celebrating 50 Years | California State Water Resources Control Board.” State Water Resources Control Board, 10 November 2022, https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/campaigns/clean-water-act-50-years.html. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used for climate timeline
“Clean Water Act (CWA).” Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, https://www.boem.gov/environment/environmental-assessment/clean-water-act-cwa. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used for climate timeline
“Endangered Species Act Milestones: Pre 1973 | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, https://www.fws.gov/node/266462. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- I used this for my climate timeline
“Endangered Species Act | NOAA Fisheries.” NOAA Fisheries, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/endangered-species-conservation/endangered-species-act. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used for climate timeline
“Endangered Species Act | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 28 December 1973, https://www.fws.gov/law/endangered-species-act. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used for climate timeline
“Essay Ideas for Pre-university Students.” The Tolkien Society, https://www.tolkiensociety.org/app/uploads/2016/11/Essay-Ideas-for-Pre-university-Students.pdf. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used for essay ideas for the hobbit essay
Hamilton, Jon. “50th Anniversary Of Santa Barbara Oil Spill: An Environmental Turning Point.” NPR, 28 January 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/01/28/688219307/how-californias-worst-oil-spill-turned-beaches-black-and-the-nation-green. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used for climate timeline for the oil spill date
Hammond, Wayne G. “J.R.R. Tolkien | Biography, Books, Movies, & Facts.” Britannica, https://britannica.com/biography/J-R-R-Tolkien. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used to find information about J.R.R. Tolkien
“Healthy Relationships - The Hotline.” National Domestic Violence Hotline, https://www.thehotline.org/resources/healthy-relationships/. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used for health work on relationships to put on the website
“Historical Accomplishments.” Sierra Club, https://www.sierraclub.org/accomplishments. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used for the most recent date on the climate timeline
Joosse, Tess, and Carlyn Iverson. “This Month in Physics History.” This Month in Physics History, 13 July 2023, https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/202307/history.cfm. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used for the first date on the climate timeline
“Maintaining our bipartisan wildlife history.” Environmental Defense Fund, https://www.edf.org/ecosystems/maintaining-our-bipartisan-wildlife-history. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used for climate timeline
“National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).” SAMHSA, https://www.samhsa.gov/data/data-we-collect/nsduh-national-survey-drug-use-and-health. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used for substance use stuff for health
“Quick Facts on the Risks of E-cigarettes for Young People.” CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/Quick-Facts-on-the-Risks-of-E-cigarettes-for-Kids-Teens-and-Young-Adults.html. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used for drug use stuff for health
Resnick, Ariane. “What Is Somatic Therapy?” Verywell Mind, 7 November 2023, https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-somatic-therapy-5190064. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used for health to learn about alternative healthcare
“Summary of the Clean Water Act | US EPA.” Environmental Protection Agency, 22 June 2023, https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-water-act. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used for climate timeline
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit (Movie Tie-in Edition). Random House Worlds, 2012.
TOLKIEN, JRR. “The Hobbit: Or There and Back Again.” RSD2 ALERT, https://rsd2-alert-durden-reading-room.weebly.com/uploads/6/7/1/6/6716949/the_hobbit_tolkien.pdf. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used to find quotes for The hobbit essay online
“UN Conference on Environment and Development – UNCED | IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin.” Earth Negotiations Bulletin, https://enb.iisd.org/negotiations/un-conference-environment-and-development-unced. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used to learn about a climate conference for my climate timeline
“United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 3-14 June 1992 | United Nations.” the United Nations, https://www.un.org/en/conferences/environment/rio1992. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used for climate timeline
Wilkins, Alex. “Eunice Newton Foote: The woman who discovered the greenhouse effect.” New Scientist, 17 July 2023, https://www.newscientist.com/article/2382758-eunice-newton-foote-the-woman-who-discovered-the-greenhouse-effect/. Accessed 5 January 2024.
- Used to learn about Eunice Foote for my climate timeline
- Used for a French culture project
Cassidy, Emily. “Cyclone Freddy Hits Madagascar.” NASA Earth Observatory, 21 February 2023, https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/151002/cyclone-freddy-hits-madagascar. Accessed 11 January 2024.
- Used for a French culture project
“Madagascar has contingencies to aid its swift recovery from devastating impacts of tropical cyclones - Madagascar.” ReliefWeb, 27 February 2023, https://reliefweb.int/report/madagascar/madagascar-has-contingencies-aid-its-swift-recovery-devastating-impacts-tropical-cyclones. Accessed 11 January 2024.
- Used for a French culture project
Quiggin, John. “Cyclone Freddy makes landfall in Madagascar, leaving destruction in its wake – video.” The Guardian, 22 February 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2023/feb/22/cyclone-freddy-makes-landfall-in-madagascar-leaving-destruction-in-its-wake-video. Accessed 11 January 2024.
- Used for a French culture project
Tetaud, Sarah. “Madagascar faces 'catastrophic' hunger after 3 cyclones.” AP News, 19 April 2023, https://apnews.com/article/madagascar-climate-hunger-cyclones-d446e1146db06b0829e3e68fad76a6f5. Accessed 11 January 2024.
- Used for a French culture project
“Tropical Cyclone Freddy Breaks Records before Lashing Madagascar.” nesdis, 23 February 2023, https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/tropical-cyclone-freddy-breaks-records-lashing-madagascar. Accessed 11 January 2024.
- Used for a French culture project