Valentina Gutierrez

Harrison Delfin
Advisory
June 8, 2014

Sophomore Year - HoM Summary

This year, like all others, has come with its own set of challenges, but I have also made
some achievements. For one, Im extremely proud of my grades, because even though the topics
we discussed in each class were very difficult, I managed to succeed. The key to succeeding in
each class has been nothing more than determination to show my best work in each and every
single one of my assignments. Although this may have seemed like a waste of time on occasion,
it helped me absorb the material. Moreover, the always available additional help from my
teachers also propelled my success. However, even with all of the help and studying, I struggled
to balance my time between school work and pleasure. In an attempt to deal with this struggle, I
have used a timer in order to keep myself from spending more time on my assignments than my
teacher recommends. Furthermore, I dedicate my Saturdays to doing anything other than school
work. In reality, theres not very much to do about the amount of time I spend on school work,
because it both benefits me and harms me. However, I admit that there were some assignments
that I could have done less work on and still have absorbed the lesson just as well. Next year, I
hope to spend less time on school work and more time helping my community. In order to
achieve this goal, I will need to focus on the Habits of Mind known as Community Engagement,
which is active participation in my school, local and global community; Upstanderness,
demonstrating active compassion and helping those who are situationally disempowered;
Optimism, which is the belief that I can make the world around me a better place, as long as I
have Grit, which persevering despite difficulties.
There are a few Habits of Mind that I have mastered, or improved on this year.
Organization, for example, has always been a strength of mine. In school, I have demonstrated
this Habit of Mind by keeping my work and priorities in place, therefore helping me turn in my
work on time and well done. Outside of school, my organizational skills help me keep my plans
as a Sophomore Representative in order, too. Unquestionably, this strength will help me
prioritize everything in my life. Therefore, it can be applied to every aspect of life, including
college, my future career, and my personal life.
In addition to Organization, I have also improved my level of Optimism. In school I have
shown this through my Action Research paper in English class and Upstander Project in US
History, where I researched the issues of increased college tuition, and the problem of
insufficient school funding, and developed a plan to address both issues. Outside of school, I
have shown Optimism by volunteering at the Rhode Island Food Bank. By volunteering, I
proved that with effort the world can in fact become a better place. In the future, Optimism will
propel me in all of my endeavors, where I will contribute to society and rest knowing that my
effort will improve a situation.
Although I acknowledge the fact that I am successful in regards to grades, I know that
there are still areas in which I need to improve upon, which brings me into the Habit of Mind of
Humility. This year, I have demonstrated Humility in school by humbly acknowledging
success when receiving appraisal from teachers in the form of high grades, yet not showing it
off to my peers. Simultaneously, I hold the belief that regardless of the grade, there will always
be space for improvement. In addition to this, I realize that there will always be someone who
can do something better than me, or someone who puts more work into a project than me, or less.
Humility will help keep me from having extraordinarily high expectations for myself when I
leave Blackstone; not to say that I wont work to reach an extraordinarily high standard anyway.
Currently, I am working towards improving a select few Habits of Mind. For instance,
although I recognize that I have amazing opportunities at Blackstone, I have a hard time showing
my Gratitude for such chances. I displayed Gratitude this year when I was chosen by Team Ten
to attend HOBY RI, a leadership seminar that happens in each state nationally and even in some
countries overseas. However, I fail to show Gratitude when Im absent to school, because as
some believe, it seems like I dont care about school when I do so.
Additionally, I must work on Upstanderness, which is, demonstrating active
compassion, even when afraid or in front of a crowd; righting a wrong; helping those who are
situationally disempowered. Although I am a compassionate person, and Ive shown this in
class, especially when I stood up for the rights of Native Americans not to be used and
misrepresented by sports teams (because the majority must work to protect the rights of the
minority), I must act in accordance. This means that I will volunteer for causes that I support,
learn more about them, etc.
I am also actively working to increase my Creativity. Although Im willing to reconsider
ideas during projects, for example, I find it hard to use any ones techniques but my own. It can
also be alarming for me to step out of my comfort zone and let someone else take the lead on
projects, even though sometimes it may be the appropriate risk to take.
Alternatively, Im also working on Self-Advocacy, which means being the director of
ones own life; demonstrating agency to become empowered. I demonstrate Self-Advocacy
from time to time, when I admit that I know I can change the world for the better, as long as I
keep working with determination. However, I have failed in Self-Advocacy by not yet asking
Beth for local volunteer opportunities. I have a goal of volunteering for 100 hours in the next
year, however, have not made an exceptional effort to reach that end.
Despite the fact that I am improving as a student and individual, there are still habits that
need to be developed. Community Engagement, for one, is still difficult for me, especially
because of my time management skills regarding school work. Although I participated in student
government and debate, I did not participate in any activities that were not provided by the
school. I only volunteered outside of school, at the Rhode Island Food Bank, once. In order to
address this issue, I have committed to spending 100 hours doing some sort of volunteer service
(a commitment I made while at HOBY RI). To find places to volunteer at, I will talk to Beth. In
addition to this, I can count my Service Learning Project as a contribution to the community.
Quite importantly, I must learn appropriate Collaboration skills. I do my best to listen
empathically and lead sensitively; I always contribute meaningfully, but still, it is extremely
difficult for me to work with individuals who may not want to put in as much work, or who need
additional help to understand each task, thus making it difficult for me to learn from my group
members. I have shown leadership skills in Debate, as a Sophomore Representative, and in group
projects, however, I failed horribly when it came to the Team Ten project on World War II. In
fact, I found myself talking to teachers about how to deal with team members who were not
putting in very much effort. I have to improve upon this skill, because I will be working with
people for the rest of my life, in my career, relationships, etc. In order to enhance this habit, I
must simply practice it.
More than anything, I struggle with Wellness. In spite of the fact that I enjoy physical
activities, like yoga, swimming, walking, rock climbing, etc., I rarely participate in these
activities. I blame this on the fact that I spend so much time doing homework that I dont leave
the house because of it. I have shown an interest in yoga, especially by my volunteer work last
summer, and practiced it this year in Gils Wellness class. Yet, outside of school, I have made no
attempts to literally move, because Im always sitting, typing away an assignment. My lack of
literal movement has led to an increase in stress, that I often dont know how to deal with. To
address this problem, I shall commit to working out at the gym with my mom again.
Furthermore, I struggle with sleeping enough. Again, this is because I stay up really late studying
and working on homework. In order to fix this, I can continue to set a timer so that I dont spend
an exorbitant amount of time on less important work. This year has been challenging, however, I
realize that it has also helped me master some Habits of Mind, and has shown me how to
continue working on others.