We are finally all done with Capstone. I, personally, can’t believe it. At the start of Capstone 1, Charlie and I were in way over our heads. We had the whisper of an idea of what we wanted to do, which made us think we were hot shots. We were not. I think we changed a lot through this year, and a good amount of that I would credit to Capstone. It was difficult. It was time consuming. It was a year of struggling to make deadlines. But it was needed. I am on the other side and much better for it. It helped me write better essays, read scientific articles easier, and speak in front of a large audience without fear. Or with little fear. Less fear? Public speaking is scary and Capstone helped it a little bit, okay. Let’s give it some credit. I was not very good at public speaking before Capstone. Look at me now! Speaking in the black box like some kind of daring knight from the Middle Ages. Charlie feels pretty similarly. He struggled with writing a bit more than I did before Capstone 1, but he has improved so much. He is so much better at writing quickly thanks to these blogs, and formally, thanks to our proposal. He also improved in his public speaking skills. We are both so glad Capstone is over, but I know neither of us would be where we are now with public speaking or writing without it. Tags:#Collaboration #Problem Solving #Communication
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The week before finals and the only thing left to do was our Launch pad profile so we will be ready in end of May for the Expo fest. This consists of uploading three videos, our references, cover image, advisers, and answer some questions about our project. Our teacher was kind enough to help lay out a rough schedule of what with have to get done on each day of this week. So far Connor and I have gotten everything done on our each day besides the “Big Pitch” and “Big Bang”. The reason we had done this is because the school is forcing us to take an electronic test to measure where our levels of math and reading skills are. I understand that these tests have the opportunity to help students, but this test is just treacherously long and in my opinion was such a waste of time. Besides the test and filling out the Launch pad profile, Connor and I have been practicing for final presentation in front of our class one last time. I personally think this will be for the better even since our judges on presentation night were very harsh while judging us and allow our teacher to view our presentation for herself. Tags: #Collaboration #Communication Chaos. Utter chaos. Capstone night was, in my opinion, a hot mess. Nothing went smoothly. The clicker to change slides wouldn’t connect in the Black box, no one was there for our presentation, and the posters for science fair weren’t printed. That was by far the worst part to me. It affected all Capstone Science fair projects in Bio. It was so messed up: I can’t believe a teacher would do that. I mean I can believe it, but he better get some serious repercussions. He totally disregarded the hard work we did for a full year, because he was lazy. I’m furious. It is absolutely unacceptable… We should sicc Hel on him, and maybe the Gluttony Gang too. I know in the long run it isn’t important for capstone,but it made me feel utterly defeated. Charlie and I got to see our rubrics from the judges today too. I know being in the Black box meant harder judges, but they were hard judges. Truely, I was a poet in my former life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m so happy we got into the Black box.As someone who has struggled with social anxiety, being chosen as A Good Public Speaker is unreal to me. It feels amazing, and I’m so happy with how far Charlie and I have come. I would like to think it is a pretty nice contrast to being a freshman who couldn’t order a coffee on his own, or an eighth grader in speech therapy. Both of us now are actually good public speakers. Even amidst all this chaos, (and said anxiety reminding me he’s still here) we did it. We put our blood, sweat, and tears into this beast of a project, and I am so happy with how far we’ve come. #Responsible Citizenship #Problem Solving |
AuthorSConnor O'Clair Archives
January 2019
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