Please respond to the following questions electronically with perfect spelling and grammar and good sentence structure to my email address:  scronin@twobolt.com

1.  What did you like most about the trip to Roger Williams University?

2.  Did anything you see, observe or hear during the tour of the RWU campus surprise you?

3.  Is there anything you would recommend for the next tour of a university campus by our Life Skills class?

1. Read your textbook “The Story of Singapore and The Change Agent Who Created It” from page 1 to page 54.  After carefully reading and then reflecting on these pages, prepare one question to pose to next week’s guest to our class,  Tino Chow.   Tino is Singaporean, i.e. born and raised in Singapore.   He is about 28 years old.  He went to college at the Rhode Island School of Design majoring in Industrial Design.  Your question can be about anything you want to ask about the country of Singapore or Singaporean people.   You could ask Tino for his opinion about something related to Singapore.  You could ask him to compare his experiences in Singapore and the United States.  You could ask Tino for his reaction to something mentioned in our textbook to question the accuracy of this author’s description of Singapore.  Remember, the author of this textbook is an American.  He is simply sharing his perspective of what he’s read and observed about Singapore.   Does a Singaporean agree with this author’s perspective?  You will have an opportunity to find out from next Friday’s conversation with Tino Chow. You are searching for the truth; always!  The goal is to get you comfortable asking a question to get the accurate and truthful information you’re interested in about our topic, i.e. Singapore.  Rest assured, there is no right or wrong question here.   You could ask for additional information about Singapore beyond what you’ve read about.  Write this question on the index card I distributed today in class.   If you were not in class today, write your question on a piece of paper the size of an index card.  I will collect your index card at the beginning of next week’s class.   Please feel free to send me your question if you’d like my feedback by Wednesday night, May 6th.   I go to bed very early so I will not respond until the next day, Thursday, May 7th.  I appreciate your patience on the wait.
2. Roger Williams University tour.    Bus will leave Hope High a 9am.   Make sure you have your permission slips.  Bus will return to Hope High around 2:15pm.  We will have lunch at the University’s cafeteria.

1.   Imagine you are applying to a college you really wish to attend.  As Margaret Lysy, the Associate Director of Admissions at Georgetown University, informed us today, the mission of our interview and essay is to convince, WITH CONFIDENCE AND HUMILITY, the University’s Admission staff how our special attributes, talents or skills can enrich their University community.   IN A WELL WRITTEN PARAGRAPH with perfect spelling, grammar and punctuation and exceptional sentence structure (no run-on sentences!!!), identify your special attributes, talents or skills.      Explain, WITH CONFIDENCE AND HUMILITY, how your talents, attributes or skills will enable you to contribute to their college community and, in the process, enable other students potentially experience a more fulfilling, educational experience.   For example, Alexander Solzhenitsyn Romanov is a high school senior from Jersey City, New Jersey, with a 3.25 high school GPA, fluent in English and Russian and is the lead violinist in the school orchestra who wishes to major in computer programming and Russian (language).  Alexander was born in Russia and emigrated to the United States when he was 12 years old.   Alexander’s essay COULD begin as follows:

I appreciate the time taken to consider my application to Georgetown University.   I truly believe my background and skills will enable me to contribute to Georgetown’s student community during my undergraduate studies and after as a successful alum.   I spent the formative years of my life in Russia which has often found itself in an opposing position to the United States on the Security Council of the United Nations.   In every class, dormitory conversation or community service project I find myself, my knowledge of Russia’s culture, language and history will enable me to offer a unique and credible perspective for thought provoking conversations with fellow students and professors.  I have learned Georgetown appreciates the value ethnic, political and cultural diversity brings to the education of its students.  My life experience and perspective can highten empathy within the student body and provide greater diversity in collaborative activities.   Secondly, my research of Georgetown’s extracurricular clubs revealed a Georgetown Coding Club which I would love to be part of if fortunate enough to be admitted to the University.   Finally, I also plan to audition for one of the school’s instrumental groups.  I performed in the Jersey City Russian Junior Symphony during ………………………………..      Thank you for taking the time to consider my application for admittance to Georgetown University.  ”

 

I hope you get the idea of what I am looking for in your essay.   This assignment is due NO LATER than Friday, April, 24th.  Thank you.   I look forward to reading your well written paragraph.

Margaret Lysy (center), the Associate Director of Admissions at Georgetown University, is escorted into Friday’s Life Skills class by the class’s host of the day, Hafzat Akanni (left in the red blouse).

 

 

1.  As we prepare for our visit to the campus of Roger Williams University in April, please do the f0llowing:

• search the Roger Williams University web site for major areas of study, extracurricular clubs and sports, ethnic and racial diversity of the student body, study abroad programs, professor-student ratios and pictures of their Bristol, Rhode Island campus.  Also, attempt to find comments of students who have attended the school for their opinions of their experience at RWU.
• list the characteristics of the people you would like to meet and speak with during our tour.   I will forward your request to Mr Mays so that he might find someone on campus with these characteristics for you to speak with.  For instance, you might request: a political science major with an interest in law enforcement.   You might add someone who is involved in the University’s theatre productions or a member of the school’s multicultural organization.

• 

  Don Mays, the Interim Director of the Intercultural Center at Roger Williams University, greeting the Hope HIgh Life Skills class after his introduction by Fernando Perez at the beginning of the class.

  2.   Read the profile of “Sam Houston” in your “Study of Change” text book from pages 63 to 70.  Write a summary statement for Mr Houston’s resume.  Remember, a summary statement lists the positive qualities of a person in well written sentences at the top of one’s resume.  Mr Houston will be presenting this resume with the summary statement you’ve written during his upcoming job interview.   Mr Houston thanks you profusely!

3.   Have an enjoyable and fulfilling school vacation!   See you again on April 10.

1.   Please provide me with constructive criticism of today’s class in a well written paragraph.   What could I, Stephen Cronin, have done to make today’s class a better learning experience for you?
2.  Please critique your own performance during today’s class.   If there is nothing you believe you could have done to improve today’s class, feel free to say so and why.   For those who believe they could have done something to improve the learning experience of today’s class, please let me know what it was you could have done and what you believe the benefits of this action would have been for you.  Please express either response in a well written paragraph with perfect spelling and grammar, no run on sentences and at least the correct use of one exclamation point!
3. Please feel free to post a reaction to today’s class on our web site.   This is not the same response from #1 and #2; I’m simply looking for your reaction to Salyna and Laura’s visit and conversation.  If you don’t feel comfortable doing this, good!   It’s about trying something constructive out of our comfort zone. The life goals we strive for are often realized when we extend ourselves out of our comfort zone.  We all learn valuable lessons doing this and, in the process, we discover ways to improve our skills, performance and personal brand.
4. Once more, you should all be proud of yourselves.   Our guests were genuinely impressed with your intelligence, your interpersonal skills and curiosity.   This is good.  Keep up the good work.  And,
5. for those of you who are not caught up with your homework, please complete it.  It’s important to me.  Thank you.  As always, I look forward to reading your comments.

1.  Read pages 78 to 86 in your “A Study of Change” textbook.  Please consider traveling back in time to go to dinner with President Abraham Lincoln and his good friend, Frederick Douglass, in 1865. Please list 3 questions you would ask Frederick Douglass during the course of your meal.

2.   I’m interested in your feedback on today’s field trip to Teespring.  We had several objectives for the trip:

• Prepare you for our KG3 activity on designing, marketing and selling your KG3 teeshirt(s)
• Encourage you to continue to push yourself out of your comfort zone and build confidence
• Expand your network of talented, trustworthy, diverse people
• Learn more about the benefits of collaboration, diversity, persistence and creativity
• Learn about the culture, employment/intern opportunities and business model of one of Providence’s fasting growing and fun companies – Teespring

Hope students opening their gift bags from the Teespring staff and quickly sporting their Teespring shades!

Please share with me your reaction to today’s Teespring field trip:

• what did you get out of today’s trip to Teespring?   Please explain in a well written paragraph what you learned during the field trip that will help you with our ‘Life Skills’ teeshirt activity and any other lessons that may help you in your future.
• was there anything you wish YOU did during our visit to Teespring but didn’t?
• what, if anything, you would suggest we change for a visit to Teespring with next year’s class.
• AND, list the names of the people in your KG3 North American division who will be designing and selling teeshirt(s) through the Teespring web site.

1.  Field trip preparation:   This Friday we will leave Hope High at 10am for a field trip to the amazing office of “TeeSpring” in Providence, Rhode Island.  We will return to Hope High shortly after 2pm.  You are expected to research “TeeSpring” on Wikipedia, the TeeSpring web site and any other credible source you can find.   Part of the search should include the founders of the company and any other important people or products associated with the company.   This will prepare you for our question and answer session with the TeeSpring staff.  Finally, check with Ms Lora to make sure you have passed in your permission slip.  You don’t need to write anything to send to me for this part of our homework.  I simply ask you to prepare for this field trip as you would for any important event.  Preparation enables you to get the most out of an event as well as maximizing your brand and our Hope Life Skills brand.  Finally, preparation will enable you to successfully complete your assignment on page 55 and 56 in your “My Story” textbook to design, market and sell your KG3 North American division teeshirt on TeeSpring.

2.  Metaphor:   As you have probably been informed in an English class long ago, a metaphor is “something used, or regarded as being used, to represent something else; a metaphor is a symbol representing something else“.   Examine the cover of your newest textbook, “A Study of Change“.  The cover is a photograph by the famous Rhode Island photographer, Richard Benjamin.   Explain why you believe the author of your textbook chose this photograph for the cover of this book and if you feel the photograph may serve as a metaphor for something.   As always, your explanation must be well written with perfect spelling and capitalization, good grammar and NO RUN ON SENTENCES.   Thank you.

3.  Read pages 1 through 33 in your new textbook, “A Study of Change“.   The author presents his perspective on ‘change’ throughout these pages.    In a well written paragraph with perfect spelling and capitalization, good grammar and NO RUN ON SENTENCES, compare your perspective on ‘change’ with the author’s stated perspective on ‘change’.  If the perspectives are different, explain how your perspective is different from the author’s.  If they are similar, explain the similarities of your ‘change’ perspective and the author’s.

4. After reading the assigned pages in “A Study of Change“, please tell me in one well written sentence what you believe your “Element” is as defined by Sir Ken Robinson.  Thank you.

5. I am always looking for feedback on our conversations with our class guests.   Please give me your feedback on our conversation with Sydney Flanagan yesterday.   Did the conversation make you think and reflect and, as a result, did Sydney’s story help you refine or embolden your plan for success?  As always, I expect your candid, constructive opinions.   My objective for our class is to provide an experience for you to improve your skills, expand your perspectives, and build confidence in your ability to extend yourself out of your comfort zone.  In the process, you will be better prepared to create and exploit opportunities for success, both now and in your future.  Thank you for your feedback.

1.  Read the article distributed in class today entitled “Graduate of the Year” by New York Times columnist, Nicholas Kristof.  Refer to a specific line in the article that resonated with you the most and CAUSED YOU TO REFLECT.  Next, explain in a well written paragraph why this particular line in the column affected you the way it did.  AND BY THE WAY, ‘Thank you’ JENNIFER, for your recommendation about providing links to the articles.   IT WAS VERY HELPFUL.  Click Here.

2.   Last week, I was teaching a ‘Personal Branding‘ seminar to a class of Boston high school students in Cambridge.  I was showing pictures of various people and companies, from Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and the Nike logo to England’s King George the Third, and asking the students what their opinions were of the personal and corporate brands they saw.  When I held up the picture of King George the Third of England, a student’s reaction was “a tyrant, an evil leader.  He was brutal.  He was a person who did bad things to America“.   I then gave this student a copy of your textbook, “My Story“,  and asked him to read King George’s telling of his own story.   The next day, the student returned to class to once again share his perception of England’s King George the Third’s brand.   I AM ASKING YOU TO READ KING GEORGE’S STORY AS TOLD BY THE KING HIMSELF FROM PAGES 25 TO 47.  IN A WELL WRITTEN PARAGRAPH WITH PERFECT SPELLING, GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION, STATE YOUR PERCEPTION OF KING GEORGE THE THIRD’S BRAND.   The intended lesson of this assignment is the important of getting all sides of a story before drawing any conclusions about anyone or anything.

3. Thanks to TRAVIS for the constructive criticism on this site.  Today’s guest, Nick DeCesare, and I await examples of other sites to look to for improvements.

4. You, once again, were great in class today.  You always make me proud.  Every guest we’ve had in class this year has given me the same feedback on your brand:   “Wow.  These students are impressive.  They’re bright.   They present themselves well.  They’re so respectful and curious.  I’ve never met 16 year olds like this;  in fact, I don’t find many professionals who act like this.  Their eye contact during introductions and handshakes.   Their genuine smiles.  They say ‘Please’ and ‘thank you for coming to our class’; they’re great hosts.  And, they’re so curious.  An impressive bunch of young people.   I’m glad I met them……..”.    You all are developing great networks and brands for yourself and the school.