Day of Dialogue Reflection

What did you know about the issues discussed  prior to the assembly? What did you learn at the assembly(assemblies)Make sure you focus on the topic of our block but feel free to add to it with anything learned at other assemblies.  What surprised you?  Other thoughts? What can you do to help?  What can Mrs S do to help?

Having been to at least one Day of Dialogue assembly every year for the past three years, I generally already know a lot about the issues that are discussed, but in the case of the assembly we went to see, I went in a bit blind. I knew transgender and gay people face a lot of discrimination around the world, but it was extremely powerful to be able to hear about specific cases. The most surprising speaker was the man from Uganda, because I had never heard someone describe such horrifying experiences. In most cases, coming out stories end with acceptance, or an ongoing tension between someone and their family, not potential arrest. It really hit me that the speaker has not seen his daughter for years, simply because he is persecuted for his sexuality. I am very happy that the GSA club decided to include international perspectives, because I think we can often become close-minded within the Brookline/US bubble, not only in terms of LGBTQ issues, but issues of gender and race as well. Because this is such a touchy and personal issue, I don’t think teachers need to get particularly involved apart from making students feel accepted no matter what their sexuality or gender expression (for example: using proper pronouns).

Unit 5 Reflection

Strings

• Chars(index) - Understand this very well
• Length - Understand this very well
• Strconv() function - Am not sure what this is
• ToUpper - Somewhat understand this
• ToLower - Somewhat understand this
• Trim - Understand this
• TrimEnd - Understand this
• TrimStart - Understand this
• PadLeft(len,char) - Understand this well
• PadRight(len,char) - Understand this well
• Substring(startPos,numOfChars) - I understand this
• Remove(startPos,numOfChars) - I think I understand this
• Replace(oldString,newString) - I think I understand this
• Insert(startPos, substring) - I understand this
• IndexOf(substring) - I somewhat understand this
• Comparing Strings - Do not know what this is

Loops

• For next loops - I am not as solid with these as I am with Do While loops
• Do loops
• Do While Loops
• Infinite Loops and how to recognize and not use them - I think I understand this

This was a very difficult unit and though I did not manage to complete every exercise required I really tried to gain a comprehensive understanding of loops and strings.

Race Day Reflection

How did today feel?

It felt like an important assembly/day for me to just sit and listen to what people of color had to say about their experiences and the change they want to see. I appreciated that they explained the Black Lives Matter movement more thoroughly, and also reiterated why the All Lives Matter movement is redundant, pointless, and hateful.

When did you feel comfortable and what was happening that made you feel comfortable?

I felt most comfortable when the girls from BLS were speaking, because I felt like they were enjoying the opportunity to spread the word about their cause and though they did not hold back when it came to making sure white people felt accountable, everything they said was warranted and educational.

When did you feel uncomfortable and what was happening that made you feel uncomfortable?

I honestly felt a little uncomfortable when Hal, the white student, answered certain questions. He gave a very good answer for why All Lives Matter doesn’t work, and I understand the need for a diverse group of voices at the panel, but I felt that for a day that is meant to be about hearing people of color, I didn’t expect to be lectured to be a white male.

What was the most important thing you heard or learned today?

The most important thing was probably the difference between equality and equity, which I did not even realize before. Now it seems obvious: if everyone has the same opportunities, there may still be people who begin in a more privileged position, but can still take advantage of those opportunities. It’s important to make sure that not only does everyone have the same opportunities, but we all begin from the same starting point as well.

What are you going to do about something you heard today?

I am going to take more time to consider my own privilege, and where I get benefits due to my skin color while other people are met with obstacles.

What do you want people to know about your experience?

I want people to know that while I was never against the Black Lives Matter movement, I am far more supportive of it now that I got to hear members of it speak outside of the context of a protest, march, or rally.

What do you hope will happen from here? What are things BHS could work on/do to make

everyone comfortable here?

I really would like the people of color in the school to become more integrated into the rest of the classes, especially on the more advanced levels. I still can’t believe that for every 20 white kids in AP, there is one black kid. This is evident even through my classes: I do not have a single African-American in any of my classes. One would expect that for a school that prides itself on being diverse, I would get to interact with more people who look different than I do.

What is the first step toward a change you want to make here?

I wonder if the process of “clustering” students of color together so they feel more comfortable (I believe that’s something that takes place) is really beneficial in the long run. Also, I want teachers to consider if they have biases that make them push white or asian students more than black or Hispanic ones, causing the former group to excel while the latter falls behind.

What do you need from me(Ms S) to make sure you feel comfortable?

I would push you to do what I mentioned above.

Chapter 4 Reflection

1. if..then..else statements

Definitely feel comfortable with these, they make a lot of sense.

2. nested if..then..else statements

Same with these, because I understand if..then..else statements I also get inputting more within them.

3. boolean expression

I am still a little confused about what this is.

4. relational operators
5. Select case

I was worried that I would have trouble with select case and select case is, but it’s actually quite simple.

6. Select case is.
7. generating random numbers

Seeing the example code in the packet was really helpful for this and understanding Randomize.

8. static variables

I think I understand static and counter variables, but I’m worried that as we build upon this more I’m at risk of getting confused.

9. Counter variables
10. the checkbox control

I get how it works, but I would like to learn more just to solidify my understanding.

11. the message box

Like checkbox control, I get how it works but I’ll definitely have to check back on code I’ve done before to remember how to input this into future code.

Chapter 3 Reflection

1. Naming Variables and Constants Do you know what they are?

Yes they are symbols or words that stand for a certain other value.

2. Declaring and initializing variables and constants

I learned about the use of Dim as Integer and other forms of declaring and initializing variables and constants.

3. User input Are you comfortable with how your write code to get input from the user?

Yes, you always need a label that prompts them with a question or a command, and then somewhere where they can input, like a Text Box or radio buttons they can select.

4. VB keywords Do you understand the importance of knowing them especially when naming things such as variables?

Yes, like inputting “lbl” so you know you’re working with a label or “btn” for a button.

5. Recognizing syntax and logic errors_Are you getting comfortable with correcting your code?

Definitely- VB makes it really easy when they list the errors in your code, but sometimes there might not be an obvious error. The code itself might work in practice, but not in the way that you want it to.

6. What challenged you/what still confuses you?

There were a lot of new concepts that we faced this unit, and working through the formatting and language of the code was most difficult.

7. What are you confident understanding and doing in this unit?

I am confident in my understanding of the theory: I completely get variables and constants and calculations, but like I said above it’s the application that still trips me up a little.

Human Trafficking Assembly Response

The assembly was incredibly powerful, and I’m happy that we went. I’d been to other human trafficking assemblies in previous years, though all of them focused on some aspect of female trafficking, without much mention of the LBGTQ+ community, so I was curious as to whether or not there are outstanding differences between the groups. What I found particularly interesting are the varying motivations for partaking in trafficking and then remaining in it- while women generally stay with their pimps for love and a feeling of safety, LGBTQ+ people are usually young adults who either want to belong or feel a need to rebel against the forces that oppress them due to their sexuality (generally their family). I could not believe the story of the man who was forced to turn to survival sex just for a place to stay. I also appreciated that men, though queer, were mentioned in the presentation. Though human trafficking overwhelmingly affects females, I am sure there is a male victim side that is overlooked, like with domestic abuse.

Chapter 2 Reflection

Ola Soltan

Chapter 2 Reflection

1.       The Visual Basic Environment in Microsoft Visual Studio: What did you struggle with?  What have you learned about the environment? How does this environment compare to other programming languages you have explored?

The thing that really tripped me up in this chapter was remembering to not just modify the text displayed in labels, buttons, etc., but also remembering to name the elements themselves. I did not realize I had to change “Label1” to “lblQuestion” or “lblAnswer” or whatever, and so when I went to write the actual code and I tried to add a value to “lblAnswer”, it did not come up as an element and it took me a while to realize that I had to ‘create’ it. Despite this trip up, this environment seems easier than some other programs I’ve looked at, like C, but definitely more challenging than SmallBasic or Scratch from last year.

2.      Running, compiling and saving programs.   How comfortable are you with the process?  Is your routine established so that you have saved to the lab students drive as well as the C drive?

This is super easy and I’m definitely comfortable with the process- I also put in so much work into my programs that I’m often saving more than I need to just in case!

3.      Displaying and formatting output:  How confident are you that you can write code to produce output precisely using the concepts covered?

I am fairly confident I can produce output precisely, though I do sometimes have trouble with new exercises and new concepts where I forget basic old ones, and have to go back to previous programs to see how I did something and build off of that.

4.      Coding conventions: Are you clear on naming conventions as well as when you need to put comments in your code?

I’m clear on naming conventions, though not so sure about comments. I put a comment whenever an integer is set, and I suspect I should have comments about the date, my name, and the program, but I’m not sure if there’s anything else.

5. Radio Buttons, button, label control

All of these elements are easy to understand and manipulate, and I know how they work (basically).

5.      Challenges you had while getting used to the VB programming environment this week?

Like I said, mainly difficulties with understanding the properties and what each part stands for (text is for text displayed inside an element, while name is the name that the element is referred to by in the code, etc.)