Downtown Clarkston

Clarkston Parks group, Mrs.Cleland 2nd Hour ELA

Here is a video of some of the best-known parks in Clarkston, along with us explaining what each photo is a part of, or what it is generally used for.

Clarkston Parks Video

Sashabaw Road

This video shows pictures and footage from a main road in Clarkston

Brought to you by: Nathan Johnson, Matt Heilman, Christian Lawler, Jake Spicer, and Dominic Smith

Poetry Slam 2015 by Casey Quigley

Poetry Slam 2015

Clarkston Recreation: Sports

This is a video made about Clarkston Recreation, the topic we focused on was sports. 

By: Sydney Vanbuskirk and Liana Smith

Sashabaw Road By Stephanie Laing, Rebecca Snyder & Jillian Haas

Parks Video

Our Perspective of Downtown Clarkston, MI by Karolina Oronowicz, Caitlyn Maloney, Ethan Martin

The Story of Downtown Clarkston

Relay For Life BRADY CHRISTINE AND NOLAN

Here is a video that we worked on displaying Clarkston's Relay for Life, this is an annual event every year in Clarkston. I do not want to tell you anything else as you should watch the video to find our more on Relay For Life.

-Christine Wakefield, narrator
-Brady Wilson, narrator
-Nolan Young, editor

Amy Peterson took the some of the photos

Places We've Traveled Outside Clarkston

This our video of places we have traveled outside of Clarkston. Enjoy! - Kaylee, Megan, Meagan

Places Outside of Clarkston- by Taylor Davis, Morgan Davis, and Emily Welanko

Youtube Video

To see our video, click on the words above.

A video about Relay for Life

By Julia Nellis, Christie Flood, Conner Donnelly, Corrin Gualtieri, Kristen Cummings, Maureen Stewart, Morgan Stanzuk, and Hannah Laing. Enjoy!

A video about downtown

Madison Mych, Colby Mazure, Alyssa John, and Jonah Meyer collaborated together to create a short video about what its like downtown. In the video Colby and his friend Jacob are walking around. Click here, enjoy :)

The Story of Downtown Clarkston By Karolina Oronowicz, Ethan Martin, Caitlyn Maloney

See Think Wonder from Bao Tran and Tra My

See  Think Wonder from Bao Tran and Tra My

Hello, we are Bao Tran and Tra My. Honestly, we are really impressed with your posts about what you see, think and wonder about your country – the USA. Therefore, today, we would like to share our thoughts on Vietnamese society and culture and we hope that you will enjoy it as well.

See: To begin with, one of the most outstanding features of Vietnam is “sidewalk cuisine”. You may wonder what “sidewalk cuisine” means. In fact, sidewalk cuisine means eating simple dishes on the pavement, which is considered as a must-experience activity for the majority of foreign tourists. And even though they are sold on the street but they are all delicious. Here we have some photos about our special tradition food.

 

As you can see from these photos, our sidewalk cuisine is extremely diverse and colorful.

 

And even a foreigner also felt excited when he experienced Vietnamese sidewalk cuisine.

 

Indeed, selling and eating food on the pavement can be seen easily every day and somehow they have gradually become parts of our daily routine.  For many people in our country, sidewalk cuisine is a way to connect strange people on the street and also, to preserve the beauty of our culture.

 Here are some of our common sidewalk dishes. In fact, they are all locally named so there are no exact translations for them.

 

Nem chua ran

 

Bun cha

 



Banh my kep

Think:  In our country, studying overload has long been discussed as a major issue that has not been solved yet. In fact, students in Vietnam are forced to study lots of complex theories which can hardly apply to the reality. Every day, students in our country have to solve lots difficult Math problems along with writing long literature reviews without knowing how these activities will help them to shape their future. Sometimes it is said that Vietnamese students study for their parents more than study for themselves. Additionally, students in our countries are lacks of basic life skills such as team work, presenting ideas or convincing other people to their way of thinking. As a result, the majority of Vietnamese students have difficulty in finding job opportunities. Of course, the issue that we mentioned above is certainly not right for every situation as some of private schools in Vietnam are against the old teaching and studying methods (such as our school – the Olympia school) However, studying overload is still a phenomenon that affects badly our educational system. You may find it surprising that thousands of Vietnamese students try their best to get scholarship from overseas university as they cannot put up with our harsh and less effective system.

Wonder: Indeed, we really wonder how our country would be if the government focused more on changing the contemporary educational system. Would our country be richer and more prosperous? Would students in Vietnam be much happier and comfortable than they used to? Would Vietnamese parents decide to let their kids study in their hometown instead of studying overseas? These questions have come to us without a clear answer yet.

 

 

 

 

 

See, Think, Wonder

Our names are Ethan, Dalton, and Brett and here is our See, Think, Wonder.

              See- Culture is everywhere in America and we never really notice it, when you walk down the street you'll see Pasties which or basically a meat pie, a Chinese Dim Sum restaurant, and a fast food restaurant. Lots of roads and highways, sometimes too many, are used for transportation. In America it kind of smells, the smog gets pretty bad in some areas and if you go camping or leave the city it becomes really distinguished when you come back. There are different kinds of people everywhere and different communities, an example is the Amish which are a religious community that live off the electric grid.


              Think- We think that we often don't give ourselves enough credit for our accomplishments and focus on the bad things even though we do need to work on some things.
-We think that how privileged we are as a country we should accomplish more with it.



               Wonder- We wonder what you guys hear about us in your like classroom or from your parents and if its good things.
-We wonder if you guys would like more pictures.

SEE THINK WONDER
Mrs. Cleland's 2nd hour students (Caroline, Janet, Sarah, and Maya)

SEE....

We see a clashing culture between the old and the young.

We see our consumerist economy.

We see a country that never sleeps, and never stops doing something.

We see huge bodies of water, as Michigan touches four out of the five Great Lakes.

We see huge malls with really nice stores.

We see a lot of political campaigning.

We see a large diversity of different cuisines.

We see a lot of things but most teenagers and adults don't think about a lot of things.

We see a ton of tired schoolchildren
THINK...

We think the young in our country pretty much all like gay rights and women's rights and think they are important, however the elderly in our country want us to be more traditional and oppressive.

We think our people always want more and think they never have enough when they have way more than they need.

We think people in our country are too connected to technology, in the ways that it can become addictive, and we spend all of our time on phones and tablets.

We think spending a day out on the lake is great. The water is great, and it's not polluted like most parts of the U.S.

We think shopping is a huge part of our society.

We think politicians in our country need to stop worrying about having the perfect public image and actually work on solving issues within our country.

We think that our country is a big melting pot of culture, and we, luckily, get to eat the food those cultures have given to us.

We think that we are given opportunities but we don't use them, and we also see a lot of things in our country but don't act on them.

WONDER...
What controversies do you guys have in your country?

What languages do you have the ability to take at your school?

What TV shows do you have in your country?

What fashions are in your country?

What's trending in your area?

How addicted, on a scale of 1 to 10,  are your fellow teenagers, to technology?

What do you classify as 'American' food?

What celebrities do you have in Vietnam?

What is the wildlife in your area? What animals do you see?

See Think Wonder America by Jaydon Septer, Lila ninotti, Josh Kelley

See: Lots of different nationalities a lot of different religions.  Big buildings and lots of people and the roads are really bad in Michigan.  There are a lot of fast food restureants, corner stores and gas stations. In the U.S.  there is  alot of lakes or bodies of water and forests. 

Think: I think that we are spoiled and selfish and take many things for granted. The U.S. is very unique because there are some many different types of people the U.S. is like a big mixing pot. We think that even though there are so many different types of people that they may not be friendly or accepting to others. In the U.S. we think that you see a lot of different people but they may be all strangers. 

Wonder: How are things in the U.S similar or different to vietnam. Do you wish you had the same life in vietnam as we do in the United States.  I wonder why we don't have street venders and food.

See-Think-Wonder by Taylor Davis, Jillian Haas, Rebecca Snyder, Stephanie Laing, and Morgan Davis

SEE - We see a lot of different cultures here in America, in people, food, and the arts. We also see a many disagreements a lot of the time because of the different cultures. People tend to be extremely consumed by the technology available. We also see lots of technology in today's society and we see most Americans consumed by their technology. Social media is also a big thing in America and many teenagers are on their social media constantly.

THINK - We think that we are very lucky to live in a country where people are allowed to live the life that they want to live and not what they have to live. We also think that it's cool that we are allowed to have our own opinions on debatable topics. On the other hand, there are a lot of people that think being allowed to have an opinion gives them the right to be mean to anyone else with a different opinion. We think that having the freedom to be anyone you choose warrants a lot more of creative ideas and new inventions.

WONDER- We wonder if we really live in a free country. We also wonder if you guys have some culture similarities with us, or if our cultures are extremely different from each other. We wonder if people in America will ever agree on something, or if we will always disagree with each other. We wonder if it is America's duty to help develping countries in need and spread our ideals of opportunity, liberty, rights, equality and democracy, or if we shouldn't meddle in other countries buisness. We have always felt that it is our duty to help others, but we are highly criticized when we help or don't help.

See Think Wonder in America

SEE... In America you can find people of all nationally and religion. At our school people come from all walk of life and are very different. On the streets you won't find many people walking because we all have cars. You can find a fast food restaurant and or drug store on each corner. In our town there are a few thousand people. The state of Michigan has many lakes and forests. Where ever you stand in Michigan there are at least one lake seven miles away from you.
-Everyone has their own styles, with so many clothing stores to choose from, you can be unique through your choice of clothes.

THINK... We think we are spoiled and take many things for granted. What is cool about the U.S.A is we can get things very quickly. The U.S. is pretty cool because we are a mixing pot from around the world which makes us unique but starts some problems.
-We think that your school seems like a very nice place, and its very advanced.
-We think it would be cool to live in a different country, and experience their culture.

WONDER... We wonder why America gets into everyone business which creates big problems. Since America is so advanced I wonder when we have flying cars or jet packs or when we will have robots. 
- We also wonder how far technology will go, everything seems so advanced already. 
- Do you guys have summer vacation? What is the weather like in the summer?
-Do you go through all four seasons? (summer, spring, winter, fall)

Can't wait to hear from you guys again soon!

Brady Wilson & Christine Wakefield

See, Think, Wonder of America

Hello!(: There are four of us doing a see think wonder in this group! Our names are Megan, Meagan, Emily, and Kaylee. We really enjoyed yours and discussed them in class and in small groups! We hope you enjoy ours too!

In America we see...

• A lot of diversity
• races, ethnicity, religion, language
• Even fashion is very diverse
• Big Cities
• in some of the big cities we often see some poverty- such as homeless people, lack of food, etc.
• Some big cities include Chicago, New York City, and Atlanta
• Technology
• From an early age, many of us got smart phones
• There is a lot of tv's and other things such as Netflix
• It can make someone antisocial because most people are very technology immersed
• In school we have Ipads, laptops, computers, etc
• Video games
• Electricity/Running water almost always available
• Pollution
• We have so many cars and factories that there is a lot of pollution especially around big cities
• Parts of America have more rural areas
• Advertisements
• Billboards, Commercials, etc
• All the time
• Waste
• Americans tend to waste food and other things such as paper or other materials
• we take more than we will use
• A lot of sports
• America's pastime is often referred to as watching sports.
• All kinds
• Different levels
• Variety of food
•  A lot of restaurants
• Fast food
• Unhealthy

We think...

• We are too submerged in technology and it is actually becoming a problem. 
• From a very early age, life becomes surrounded by our phones or tablets, or tv's 
• That we should try to be more friendly, especially to tourists. 
• Despite the fact that we have a lot of diversity, we still see racism, sexism, and prejudices. 
• Opportunity to take our education very far, however it is expensive past high school and not everyone can afford college. 
• Social media, has become a problem especially around bullying. It is called cyber bullying  and it causing a lot of problems.
• We need to change the country as a whole.

We wonder...

• Why other countries want to be like us?
• When will discrimination end (racial ,sexism, etc)?
• How have your views of America changed?

See Think Wonder

By Reilly, Ashley and Hannah
In America We.......................
See- 

• McDonald's everywhere
• Bullying inside and out of schools
• A lot of technology (iPhone's, iPad's, etc.)
• All four seasons in Michigan
• Social media sites
• Worthless past times such as watching television and being consumed in technology.
• A lot of photo shopping
• Selfies

Think-

• America is good in someways but also has a lot of problems
• America is too consumed in technology
• People think they have to be as perfect as the people in magazines and movies that aren't real. Ex: Disney princesses and celebrities
• Technology can be a bad thing for our country

Wonder-

• Will our country ever change?
• Will we ever stop making new technology and be thankful for what we have?
• Are we making too much technology? 

See Think Wonder About America

Karolina Oronowicz and Caitlin Maloney

Mrs. Cleland

Honors ELA 9

May 5th, 2015

See, think, and wonder about our country

See: 

• Many buildings and stores, with people rushing in and out of them
• A lot of roads that were built for the many cars and trucks and buses that people in this country own
• A lot of different cultures in our country, a lot of different races and traditions
• A lot of different types of food that is sold here
• Many different types of technology
• Advertisements everywhere

Think: 

• There is a lot of greed and selfishness in our country
• Our different cultures do not mix together as much as they could
• Americans do not realize that they are so fortunate, so they take everything for granted
• Not everyone in America is "well off", some are still poor, but the majority of the country is not

Wonder: 

• Why we do not know so much about other countries around the world?
• How could this be changed?
• What could we do to help those in need?
• What do other countries see, think, and wonder about America?

Alyson, Hannah, and Chiristian's See Think Wonder

See: 
- Lot's of fast food restaurants 
- Many varieties of music 
- Lot's of technology
- Different cultures
- Lot's of people
- Really good food
- Many different styles (clothes, hair etc.)

Think: 
- Technology has taken over and makes us feel comfortable and improves our daily lives 
- we're trying to improve our health here by changing what we eat and by exercising more 
-here in Michigan there is not really a lot of traffic but if you were in New York or Las Angeles it would be loaded with traffic 

Wonder:
- Do a lot of people in Vietnam have the same style? Or is it pretty diverse?
- What genre of music is most common and popular?
- What are some good songs?
- What is the legal age to drive?
- Are Vietnamese outgoing?
- Or are you shy?

Vietnam – what can we see?

Hi, we are: Minh Anh Vo, Vy Nguyen and Linh Nguyen. Here are our perspective and viewpoint from Vietnam. Hope that you will enjoy it with some meaningful news. Thank you!

SEE:

-          In general, Vietnam is the developing country so people usually busy with their own electronic devices.(global trend you know) 

-           Vietnamese main food is rice because Vietnam is the agricultural country.

-          In  our traditional wedding, bride and groom’s mother/grandma/aunt…wear “Ao Dai”(you can understand as Long Dresses) – our traditional clothes.

-          About food, we have “Phở” – one of the most attractive with foreign people when they come to Vietnam. It combined beef or chicken, green onion, noodles made from paddy, but the most important is the broth.

-          Vietnamese people commonly have to wake up and work early (usually starts  between 5:30 to 7AM)

-          Our language sometime borrows from other countries such as : PEDAL(French), TV(from your country), radio,…

Ha Long Bay - Unesco recognized as being a site of Natural World Heritage

"Phở" - the most attractive food

THINK:

-          Overview, electronic devices help us to increase the speed of work, more comfortable, faster and also for entertain. But this lead to the new problem:  most of students in VN are wearing glasses. Not only in our age but also toddlers using technology too early, it effects on children’s health.
- Vietnamese people usually impatient, especially on traffic. The traffic can be a nightmare with visitors at first come to Vietnam. There are many rules seem strictly but people not really interested in following them.
- Going to Vietnam, vitsitors will see a lot of personal transport. We call Vietnamese people "Busy people". Going somewhere by our own transport will make us feel independent, However, it effects on environment because of emissions.
- People usually do their work on the last day before the deadline. Otherwise, being late is popular with most of adults when they have meeting(because schools in Vietnam have rules about time strictly so it doesn't happen with children a lot). For example, we have meeting start at 8.AM but people usually have to start meeting after 15 -30 minutes.
-  Vietnam's cuisine is really delicious and plentiful. "Roadside restaurants" is one of the most interesting. We are sure that you will be surprise with Vietnamese food. There are a lot of news and votes from foreign people about Vietnamese food.
- When you go to Vietnam, countryside city will bring to you a relaxed feeling with nature and beautiful sightseeing.

WONDER:

1/ Do American litters a lot ?

2/ What is the difference about education between Vietnam & America ?

3/ What do you think about Vietnamese people?

4/ What do American thinks about Vietnam after the war ?

5/ Do American likes Vietnamese cuisine ?

6/ What about your traffic? Do you get traffic jam a lot? Are there any air pollution that came out of the traffic?

Hey, we are An Thanh, Linh Giang, and Kieu Trang. In return for your impressive writing, we are doing the same format with what we See - Think - Wonder about Vietnam. Hopefully this will help you to know more about our lives.

SEE: There are many things that can make you surprise when you visit Vietnam. Specifically, there are 3 things which I believe is the most interesting in my country.

Street food: We have a rather diversed cuisine. You could find almost anything at the 36 ancient street, actually; and the price is reasonable, which was due to the intentional lack of ingrediences or the addition of chemical (so that the food would look appealing and bring great profit). Although not all seller does this, we still always have to be on our guard whenever we choose a food-shop to eat.

Traffic: It is chaotic and frustrating, especially during rush hours. The streets are crowded with people on their motorbikes to or from work, yet the traffic looks slow, chaos but somehow very regulated. Vietnamese citizens are more careful on the road now than they did in the past, however there are still people who do not obey the law, causing the traffic to be more dangerous.

Market: It is the antiilliteracy and most common way of trading in Vietnam. Goods at the market consist mostly of fresh vegetable, fruits, fish and meat, and they should be sold within a day so as to maintain the freshness  of the food. In the capital - Hanoi, market is the ideal place for farmers to sell their goods.

THINK: There are many problems in Vietnam that have been increasing recently but we believe that the main reason behind these issues is that people are living a selfish lifestyle. They are only concerned about their own benefits, busy living their own life and ignore other’s. It is shown in our daily life, as you have stated, when people use their smartphones instead of talking to each other, or the aforementioned seller's purpose of gaining profit by adding chemical that is not good for the customer.

WONDER: Here are some of the question that we would like to ask you:

What do American students think about Asian lifestyles and cultures, especially Vietnamese?

Have you ever considered visiting Vietnam?
What have the American citizens/government done to solve this kind of problem (selfish lifestyle) in your country? Do you have any idea to stop it?

If you have any other questions that you would like to ask, just email us.

EXCUSE OUR GRAMMAR MISTAKES || THANK YOU VERY MUCH

We are Anh Phuong, Minh Ngoc and Minh Anh and here is our SEE - THINK - WONDER

SEE:

• Crowed street with vehicles and people.
• Different cultures between 50 ethnic groups.
• We don't have a lot of fancy restaurants, we rather eat snacks and meals at small shops on the streets.
• We like to eat Pho - a traditional dish. It contents rice noodle, various kinds of meat and vegetables. 
• Vietnamese people nowadays surround themselves with electronic devices and forget about their daily lives. 

THINK:

• Everyday, traffic accidents happen caused by crowded street and over speeding. A lot of people lost their relatives due to lack of responsibility.
• Our snanks are very tasty and cheap but the quality is poor and not good for our health. If we eat them too much, you may get diarrhea. 
• Some of us are technology addicted, spend too much time on social network pages, on TV programmes. 

WONDER:

• Is American traffic as horrible and dangerous as ours?
• Have you ever eaten in a small, simply shop on the street? 
• Have you ever tried Pho? What do you think about it?
• How much time do you spend on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,....?

SEE-THINK-WONDER from Hoang Anh and Tue Minh

SEE:

- the diversity of culinary cuisine 

- Vietnam has a high level of biodiversity, it is home to approximately 16% of the world's species.

-  Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Vietnam, other sports of interest include table tennis, volleyball, badminton, tennis, and martial arts.

-  Vietnamese food is a blend of Chinese and Thai styles and is considered one of the healthiest cuisines in the world with its combination of fresh ingredients like fresh herbs, seafoods, fruits and vegetables along with fish sauce, shrimp paste, soy sauce and rice.

-  The Vietnamese keep potbelly pigs as pets.

THINK:

-trafics in Vietnam is very terrified

- people in Vietnam are very friendly

- we love Vietnamese food

- Vietnamese parents enjoy spanking their children?=))

- Pho and spring rolls are  2 best dishes of Vietnam we have ever tasted

WONDER:

- What are favorite foods in America?

- What do you think about VietNam?

- Do you like our traditonal food in VietNam?

Minh Bui Tue- Dang Hoang Anh

      Heyyy, we are Ha Anh the girl and Lan the boy :) Now, we are going to tell you about our lovely country - Vietnam.

      - We live in the capital of Vietnam: Hanoi. At the central of the city, there is Hoan Kiem lake which related to a very long historical legend. The tale goes that at the time of war, Le Loi king came across Hoan Kiem lake, found a bar and maked it into a sword. Le Loi knew it was a gift from heaven and used it to battle against the war. At the beginning of 1428, when peace prevailed, on a trip to Hoan Kiem lake, he met a tortoise. It shouted: "Please returned the sword to the Dragon King" Without hesitation, the King threw the sword back to the lake,the tortoise took the sword and dove down the water. - The end- :)

     - Moreover, Ha Long Bay is one of the most beautiful land mark. It includes 1600 islands and islets, forming a wonderful seascape of limestone pillar. Because of their precipitous nature, most of the island is unhabitated and uneffected by human presence. 

     - Lastly, were going to write about Cuc Phuong national park. Established in 1962, Cuc Phuong is the oldest national park in Vietnam. It located only 120 km southwest from Hanoi. Cover in a dense forest, this landscape forms the habitat for some of Asian’s rarest animal and plant species. It is no wonder that researchers and naturalists are drawn to this corner of the world. The ancient forest harbors over 2234 vascular and non-vascular plants, 122 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 135 mammals, including Clouded Leopard, Asian Black Bear,…

Duc Minh and Duc Huy see, think and wonder

Heyyo it's us Duc Huy and Duc Minh. We will talk about what we see, think and wonder in Vietnam.
What we see:
- A beautiful country with nice sunshine and hot weather.
- Beautiful people (not really everybody)
- Peace
- People workin' HARD
- All sort of good foods
- Nice beaches and resorts.
- Traffic jam EVERYWHERE

What we think:
- Vietnam is a wonderful place to visit, but maybe REALLY hard to live because of the weather.
- People are friendly and very good at selling stuffs.
- No racism, we are religous free and don't judge other's believes.
- We are kind of bad at business so guess that's why we are poor =((
- People don't treat each other very well

What we wonder:
- Duc Minh always wonders about how did we won all the wars in the past even though he passed History.
- Duc Huy always wonders whether Vietnam would be a developed country like America.

SEE THINK WONDER FROM A VIETNAMESE STUDENT

See, think and wonder? -Le Minh Thai
So let me answer the "SEE" question first, for example this morning when I woke up i saw the ceiling of my house. When I got out of my bed and went to the bathroom I saw the bathroom door, when I open the door I saw my beautiful reflected self in the mirror. After I got out of the house I walked a little more than 50 meter to my school. At school I spend 8 hours looking at the white board, After that, I headed back to my house and end my day. That's about it! But on Sunday I often when out and see some tree vehicle and human being living happy on the road. I also see some small building standing next to some tall building. I see the blue blue sky and the white white cloud and also the hot hot sun. There are Hoang Kiem Lake which have the turtle tower. There are also alot of mountant outside the city.
THINK
- There are a lot of wheat field so i think that Viet Nam has a lot of rice
- There are a lot of museum with weapon and tank so i think that Viet nam is very good at fighting
- There are a lot of historical heroes so i think that Viet nam has a lot of talented leader
- There are a lot of mountain so i think that climbing mountain is a very good sport in Viet nam
- There are a lot of Pho's restaurant so i think that Pho is the traditional food in Viet nam
WONDER
-I wonder If the world war III ever breakout, Viet Nam is going to survive
- I wonder when the ice's melting and sea level's rising Viet nam is going to survive
- I wonder If Viet nam ever going to be the best country the whole universe
- I wonder when will technology in Viet nam will ever be at the top
- I wonder If Viet nam ever going to get the World's Cup in soccer




P.s: I wrote this on 1/4 so some of them might not be true

 H3Y M8...This is xXx_n0$c0p34_360_xXx (Phung Dinh Quang) ... Im gonna talk about what I see in Vietnam

SEE:
- Vietnamese people are very kind and always thinks about the other, even if they're stranger.
- No racism
- A lovely country with beautiful country sides
- A lot of delicious dishes like Pho, Bun,...( A kind of noodle)

Think:

- Vietnamese sometime short thinking
- Traffic in Vietnam is very crazy....they don't follow the rule
- Education program in Vietnam sometime does not apply in real life....

Wonder:

- When will we join the World Cup ?
- When will Vietnam have more supercar...
- When will farmer escape farmine ?

Hello. our names are Minh and Viet. We will answer the questions : See, think and wonder.

SEE:
- Love country , love people
- Study and work hard
- good solidarity, good discipline
- Good tradiontal food
- Honesty, bravery

THINK:
- Developing country
- Freedom
- Independent
- Wonderful attractions
- Alot of people

WONDER:
- Can the new generation can keep these good personality ?
- In the competitive world , can people still work with others and live peacefully?
- Can Vietnamese people keep the quality of traditional food?
- Can Vietnamese people keep these tourist attractions clean?
- Is Vietnam really freedom?

See, Think, Wonder on America and American Culture

Hello, our names are Casey, Enjeune, Hannah, and Morgan. Below we have a See, Think, Wonder:

See: When we see America we see what is commonly known as the 5 American Ideals, these ideals are Opportunity, Liberty, Democracy, Equality, and Rights. This country is full of these ideals throughout our everyday lives. Not only do we such influential values, but we see diversity. No one person is identical to the other in their beliefs, foods they choose eat, or even the classes that we take in Clarkston Schools. Even though we are a small community compared to the vast number of individuals in America, we are all interconnected through various devices. This is evident through social media, which has become a large part of our lives as teenagers. We often see students walk down the hallway, and yet they are communicating with individuals across the world, similar to this blog. It can sometimes seem as though we as a generation in America are drowning in technology. We often see advertisements for the new technologies or items we "must have" and this type of media exposure is clearly evident in our generation's actions. Not only are there copious amounts of technology, but we have become dependent on it. There are students who are required to give their phone to the teacher before class starts because they are incapable of not being on their phone.

Think: We think that though America does have it's flaws of materialism and narcissism. Materialism is the value of material objects over something much deeper, such as happiness or relationships. Narcissism is to be self absorbed, which is common within teenagers here unfortunately. Despite this, America is a place of overall freedom to act and live as you desire. We as American citizens are given opportunities to voice how we feel our country should be run and have control over our personal environment. The ability to control certain aspects of our future is a gift Americans possesses, specifically voting or the choices we are able to make. Just recently, we had chosen our classes for 10th grade, at the high school. The number of classes we can take is immense, and some of them are tailored to our desired future careers to allow us to see what it will be like. These prepare us for the future and the future of our country. For example, Hannah wants to go into the medical field. The classes she is taking now are preparing her for the trying tasks of using medical advances to save people that lay ahead. It seems so small to chose what classes you take in school, but that freedom to do what she wants and be prepared for it is such a blessing. One thing about America, is that things are often taken for granted, but once you take a step back it is evident how fortunate we are.

Wonder: We were discussing our wonderings and one thing that we wondered was how other countries view America? New media here pokes fun at how we as a country are disliked for various reasons, specifically in the new movie coming out Pitch Perfect 2, is this accurate? Another wondering that we had was how does Vietnam compare to America? We described what we see and think about America, is Vietnam similar or different? If so, what are those similarities or differences?

Max Anderson, Nathan Johnson, Micheal Flugel, Trey Roy, Sam Gipe

SEE: In our country we see ourselves as very privileged. We have education, food, water, clothing, all in excess. We see a lot of people submersed in there own personal lives, with their iPhones and electronics. We see people taking advantage of everything that we have. We see obesity all around us, and everyone is always stressed out. People seem tired all the time because of their "stressful" lives. We live close to Detroit, so we also see another side of our culture in poverty.
THINK: We think that technology has begun to rule our lives, and our society has become antisocial. We think that this is a result of the new technological advancements that have been brought to our country including smartphones, social media, games, etc.
WONDER: We wonder how our daily lives compare to yours? We would like to know if you guys use technology as much as we do, and whether you have smartphones and social media accounts? We wonder in what ways you guys communicate as we mostly use social media and do not always have face to face conversations? Finally, we would like to know what your society is like and how you go about your day?

See Think Wonder On America

                                   See Think Wonder

                                                                                                            By: Taylor Leonard
   See: 

• Many people with electronics.
• If you were to drive around in a city in America you would see a lot of restaurants, and buildings.
• Many cars
• A lot of people in the American school system dress similar unless you have a uniform
• Also in the American school systems you will see a lot or groups. Groups of friends and people, a lot of people will only engage with the people in their "group" and sometimes leave other people out.
• On a more positive note you will see a lot of chances to engage with people like after school clubs, and sports teams.
• Sometimes in America you will see a lot of people goofing of and getting in trouble, and if someone makes a really bad decision they would go to jail or prison, which is a place where a lot of people go once they've done something bad, you could be there for days, or years, it all depends on what happens when you go to court.
• In America there are many different places you can go, and each place you go to you will see something different, like if you go to New York you will see a lot of traffic, If you go to California you will see a lot of people walking, skateboarding, surfing, If you go to Michigan in the winter you will see people snowboarding, and skiing. These are just a few examples on the things you will see in America. 

  Think:

• When I see many people on their phones at dinner or with a friend I just think that these people need a break from their electronics, and they need to engage with the people around them.
• When I see the social groups at school it makes me think about how a lot of the kids these days in America are so isolated and care mostly just about there three friends and their phones.
• When I see people in jail I think what did they do to get into that situation? and if they are just going in and out of jail i think what are you doing? You've had the opportunity to correct your wrongs and start your life back up again yet you still choose to do something stupid and get put back in jail.

Wonder:

• I wonder what life would be like if IPhones were never invented?
• I wonder what life would be like if everyone would talk to people they don't know, and just make friends for their personality not their face?
• I wonder if anyone would make a commitment to limit their electronic usage?
• I wonder what life would be like without stereotypes and discrimination?
• I wonder what school would be like if we weren't given so much home work?
• I wonder what life would be like without any clubs or sports teams?

What We Are seeing, What We Are Thinking, And What We Are Wondering.

Kristen Cumming

Chirstie Flood

Kylie Martens

Corrin Gualtieri

See, Think, Wonder

In America We See....

1. Consumerism, EVERYWHERE!
2. Everybody on their phones/tablets.
3. Conformity (No one has their own thoughts/ideas, everybody looks and acts the same).
4. Everybody is consumed with themselves.
5. Cities and Cars.
6. Different types of music.
7. Public and Private education.
8. People Value actors and actresses more then the people that matter such as policemen or firemen.
9. People always looking for an answer.
10. People having conspiracy theories.
11. People watching/playing sports.
12. People reading.
13. A Democracy.
14. People are dedicated to giving money to charities.
15. People say "like" and "um" way to much!

We Think...

1. We think our society could use more face to face interaction (Ex: We don't know our neighbors).
2. We think we are tech savvy.
3. We think if we weren't conformists then our country would be more diverse.
4. We think people in America are dedicated to what they are passionate about.

We Wonder...

1. How would America act differently without social media?
2. How would America operate without a Democracy?
3. How do other countries view America?                                                             

See,Think,Wonder Madison Mychalowych & Jordyn Rumbold

See, Think, Wonder

By: Madison Mychalowych & Jordyn Rumbold

What do we see in our country?

     In our country we see a lot of big cities and opportunities. We see our life after college, and all of the different chances we have. We see some happy and sad families, torn apart. Our country has so many different cultures. Every city is very diverse. Each citizen has their own way of life and way of doing thing. This is the best part of our country. We are always meeting new people and learning new things, even when we aren't in school. We also see lots of suburbs and little towns creating their own lifestyle. People in America are dedicated to working hard and succeeding. 

What do we think about our country?

    We think that our country is very well put together and runs smoothly. We think that we learn more by have such diverse cultures and we are able to experience so many unique things. Even in our LA class we think deeper and try to figure out the true meaning of America. We also think that technology has become much more advanced in and out of the classroom. With all of the new technology we are able to learn faster, and succeed in many more things.

  

What do we wonder about our country?

       We wonder if technology has made us lazier, because it can do everything for us. We also wonder what will happen in the future with our generation. Everyone is so smart, so how will everyone get jobs? We also wonder what it would be like to go to an international school and experience all of the diversity. We also wonder what our country would be like if we did not have any technology. 

We don't see everything, but we see a lot of things.

Max Wiedemann
Jake Spicer

SEE:

• Many people do not look at the world around them, and are too focused on their own lives.
• People have a lot of technology on them at all times, and many will freak out if they do not have their phones.
• We have a very diverse cultural society, especially in big cities such as New York or Chicago. 
• People like to go to fast- we have a fast-paced society.
• We have people in our society which we call hipsters, who bring up new fashion trends, and somewhat reminds us of style from the 70's.
• Americans put a lot of toppings on their foods.

THINK:

• People are too focused on their own lives, due to social media and just America's nature in general. Americans get really happy when people like their post (Tweets, pictures, etc.) and want to keep stimulating this feeling, so keep trying to impress others with their lives.
• People are too dependent on their phones, because of social media, games, social media, the Internet, and social media. Basically, social media is the main culprit. People constantly want to see what going on the world, and cannot do so without their tech.
• We have a very diverse culture, because lots of people immigrate to the United States, especially large cities. This makes certain towns that will be based on one culture, such as Chinatown, Mexican Village, and others. This makes it so we have very diverse restaurants, and stores.
• People like to go fast in our society because there is always somewhere to go and something to see. Americans do not want to live in the past, and are constantly moving to stay in the present.
• Hipsters set trends because they want to be different, or "not follow the mainstream," which is how they prefer to view it. 
• Americans put a lot of toppings on their foods because we are over consumers, and want the most of everything.

WONDER:

• How would our world 
• be different if people focused less on themselves and more on others?
• How much chaos would happen if all Americans personal tech shut down in an instant?
• Will our culture completely diversify?
• Will people ever slow down and live in the moment?
• Do hipsters feel as if they need to prove something?
• Will Americans ever stop putting so many toppings on food? No.

See, Think, Wonder

See, Think, Wonder

See: many different ethnicity all over our country,  Our country has different types of  cultures all around our county and we are very materialistic. If you were to walk outside you would see large buildings, Lots of traffic on the roads. We rely heavily on technology and material goods, but we also greatly value quality time with our family and friends.

Think: Viewing our society we are not very mindful of ourselves and what is really happening in the moment. We would rather think about the new iPhone and our plans for the weekend rather than taking a moment to stop and appreciate our lives. Our lives although fast paced are filled with great memories and we are very fortunate to live in the society we do and have the opportunities that are given to us. We are all so thankful to live the lives we do.

Wonder: This makes us wonder how our lives would differ if we lived in a society where technology wasn't so important to us? This also makes us wonder how our lives would be different it we spent more time being mindful of ourselves and others? How does the overuse of social media impact our opinions on ourselves?

-Chloe, Julia, and Courtney

America from our perspective

          Hey friends it's us again with another blog. We have a roster change this time, with Matt and Connor instead of Jake. So this time we'll be doing a See (What we notice), Think (What we think about what we see), and Wonder (What we wonder about these discoveries). It's going to be about the U.S. as a whole, good and bad.
          See: In the US we see a lot of variety of cultures and people. There are Blacks, Whites, Asians, Native Americans and so on. With these different people there is both equality and unfortunately a little inequality. We are the mixing pot as they say. There are many streets filled with buildings and houses that sometimes look much the same, destroying the nature as they rise. To the adversary there are marvelous buildings and nature of beauty. Our economy runs on capitalism with tons of people competing for your money. There are Countrysides and Mountains, as well as Great Lakes and Plains.
          Think: We think that we live in a very privileged and opportunistic Country where in most cases if you can dream it you can do it. We often forget of the problems of the world and about how lucky we truly are. But at the same times there are many problems that riddle society, such as lack of human interaction due to technology, different sides in government constantly arguing and getting nothing done. Our perception of happiness may be skewed by the attraction towards money. Our assumption for the reason behind these problems is that with every answer for one problem another query arises.
          Wonder: We should wonder where we will be in future as well how different we may be had history altered itself. What if technology didn't steal social interaction to the extent that is does? What if our country was a dictatorship? What if the Cold War had begun? How do other Countries see us? Are we as well off as we think? There are many questions of which you could answer. What kinds of good and bad things do y'all experience, and what's your perspective?

USA in our eyes...

See: We see a diverse culture, no two neighbors are the same. We see everyone with Iphones, you can't look up for a minute,otherwise you'll miss the latest news. We see in each state there is a different way to live your life, 50 states make up the US, there is in total 50 different styles of life. For example: In New York, you've got the tough bunch opposed to Alabama where southern hospitality is something you always strive for. There's also different kinds of attractions to the different states. Like Michigan has the Great Lakes and Arizona has the deserts.

Think: We think that the diverse cultures of each state is what makes America unique to the world. Although we have our downfall with technology, we still have something positive to attribute to the world.

Wonder:  I wonder how we can get people to realize that the whole world doesn't revolve around their phone. I wonder where technology will lead to in the future and whether or not it will make us more productive or less. I wonder how people who have seen the more basic technology and how it has grown are reacting to the changes it brings America.



Sydney VanBuskirk, Liana Smith, Maureen Stewart

Life From the Perspective of an American High School Student

Kylie Kalinowski, Dominic Smith, Samuel Witzke, and Alyssa John

Life From the Perspective of an American High School Student

See... 

For America as a whole, it is very beneficial for us students to be able to experience diversity in our country and in our everyday lives, as we can be able to become a more respectful generation of individuals towards others. However, when it comes to clothing and expression, America usually has the same type of clothing around generations, usually there is a typical dress style that fits the general population. Generally, high school aged students (between 12-17 years old approximately) will dress either relaxed, wearing denim jeans and a hoodie or comfortable tee shirt, some people dress so comfortably, that some people even wear sweat pants or pajamas to their classes! 

Also, to add on to the diversity, geographically, America has many different types of environments. People live anywhere from deserts in Texas to big Forests in Michigan. From high mountain ranges in Colorado to flat sandy beaches in Florida. From even desolate areas of snowy Alaska to the high buildings in New York City. In some states, farmland can reach all over! 

Think...

From perspective of Clarkston, Michigan high school students, we would say that looking back on what we saw, we are very lucky to be living in the privileged, free, richly resourced country that we do today. However, we will go so far as to say that poverty in our country is hard to see at times because good clothing is very accessible. Poverty is definitely becoming less of a problem in America, compared to our country's past, however is still a prevalent problem in our society. 

Wonder...

• What would our country be like without as much cultural diversity?
• What would our society look like without as much technology in our day to day lives?
• How would our country look without our laws of freedom of expression?
• How many people in America actually live in poverty?
• If our country is one of the richest countries in the world, why do we have so much poverty?
• What would happen if our freedoms were taken away from us?
• What would our country be like if we did not have as much geographical diversity?
• How would Americans react to other societies if we were more exposed to them? 
• What do other people in other countries think of America and Americans?

From left to right, we are Karolina, Reilly, Caitlin, and Hannah. We hope to see pictures of you too! :)

Hello Duck Ming, this is a picture of us.

Hello! Here's a picture of some of Mrs. Cleland's students! From left to right we are Kaylee, Emily, Megan, and Meagan! Hopefully this uploads correctly this time, sorry for before! We hope to see pictures of you too!(: