What does it mean to be an independent learner ?

In language art class with Mrs Taynton, we talked about being an independent learner. For me, being an independent learner means learning with control about ”what am I going to learn ?” , ”How am I going to process ?”, ”Why do I have to learn it ?” you have to chose a main idea before starting. To be an independent learner you have to be engaged, practice a lot, evaluate your sources by being a critical reader. You need to know when to ask for help by asking questions to the teacher when you are not sure.

For me, being an independent learner means also no sharing talking to the others students.

You also need to know how to manage the time and use the time wisely and not procrastinate because when you are an independent learner you can’t waste your time to search wrong things.

Being an independent learner is a way to know the best way for us to learn.

The main idea of being an independent learner is to discover new things by your own. Set up your own goals, and your own way to reach them.

Laurence Yep, The Serpent’s Children

In language art class we are learning about culture, and I am reading The Serpent’s Children by Laurence Yep. He is born in San Francisco’s Chinatown so his is between two culture. He has been to a Catholic high school in San Francisco where he continued his interest in chemistry and he became intrigued by writing. He writes a lot about Chinese culture and Chinese tradition. He writes fiction books for children.

Laurence Yep feels different, he said ”I was too American to fit in Chinatown, and too Chinese to fit in anywhere else.” He explain in some books how it is like to be an outsider. He expresses his feeling in The Serpent’s Children by making the main person different.

The story happened in the 19th century in a Chinese village. The villagers call Cassia and her brother ”the serpent’s children”, they mean it as an insult. But Cassia is proud of it. When famine and violence mark her family, Cassia fights for survival and for keeping her family together.