Brief Background

Eugenia Chun

MSED 403

April 26, 2010

Into the Private Blog of John

For this midterm, I chose to interview an eighth grade adolescent boy named John (pseudonym) and to present his life passions, thoughts, views, and desires in the form of a blog. During the interview, it surfaced that he uses a blog for private recollections only, and thus, this blog should be read in the same light – as a private journal in media form. While the entries in this blog were all fabricated, I hope I captured some sense of his passions: his religion, music, and his care for people. Following Stern’s structure, I also annotated important entries with specific connections I made between the interview and the materials we have been exploring in the course, specifically the theories of development. During this exercise, I particularly found that “no single theory offers a totally adequate account of human development” (Shaffer and Kipp, p. 74). Each theory helped to contribute to my understanding of my interviewee. Another limitation of this assignment was the length. Since I wanted to show how his passions had developed through various experiences, the blog entries sporadically span from June 2, 2008 and to the present. Unfortunately, due to the format of the blog, you should utilize the archive feature on the right to go from the oldest blog to the newest; that way the chronological effect will be complete. Finally, all the names in this story have been changed to protect the interviewee and his story.

April 26, 2010

We performed at the concert!!!!!! All of our original compositions and tunes!! I’m so totally blown out of my mind that everyone liked it and that it went so awesome! I’m so glad that Tim pushed me to stick to learning the drums, that I was able to find something that I like so much and relate to so much. The Red Hot Chili Peppers rule! And I’m going to be a fan for life.

-------

Rewards, rewards, rewards! The applause of everyone at the concert is a clear reward for John and Tim’s hard work and creativity. This and his love for music will probably continue to push John towards pursuing new heights of creativity.

January 12, 2010

I think I might want to be a counselor when I grow up. Kind of out of the blue? Haha. But still, I really like helping people especially when I see that they are feeling kind of down or depressed. It definitely is a burden sometimes because I have my own stuff to do, but then I think of what they must be going through.

-----

John’s intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence especially came out when he stated that he wanted to be a counselor. This particularly impressed me because it proves that John is introspective about his abilities, interests, and intelligences to choose a tentative career path. His self-recognition is beyond physical qualities and includes his inner qualities. As we saw from his questions about his political beliefs, it isn’t complete.

November 18, 2009

Tim and I started our own band! We don’t have a name yet – we’re still trying to figure that one out. And so far it’s just me and him – one drummer and one guitarist. But we’re hoping to find someone who can play the bass and maybe a singer too. Mrs. Meyers lets us stay after school and practice because she loves us haha. It’s awesome though, because last week we started making our own tunes and we just have to practice to get really good. Mrs. Meyers said that if we do, we can perform at the choir concert too. By the way, my parents are going to buy me a drum set!! No more guitar lessons!

-----

I was amazed to discover the creativity of John when he said that he was in a band and that he and a friend composed their own songs. In fact, listening to John’s passion for music pointed me to both Ian McEwan’s book The Daydreamer because he likened playing music as “being off in a dream.” I found it extremely encouraging that this behavior is being encouraged by Mrs. Meyers and his parents. It reminded me of Vivian Paley’s strong statement that children need to play. I feel that music is a sort of play to John where he can use his imaginations and creativity to express himself freely.