Investigating The World Artifact Reflection

Lindsey Connolly
February 23, 2017

Most high schools have a common focus on being aware of what is going on in
your own community. However, DCIS pushes its students to go far beyond that limit,in
order to learn about cultures were not a part of, and consider what it is like to live in a
foreign place. We are encouraged to see the bigger picture, and be aware of how we
choose to impact the world. Since Ive been at The Denver Center for International
Studies I have devoted a significant amount of my education to the study of the
Japanese language. I have also gone beyond the surface of the Japanese culture to
look at their deeply rooted traditional values and perspectives. The cultural awareness
that I have gained during my time at DCIS also reaches far beyond Japan. In various
core classes such as world history and cross culture communications , I have done
projects, presentations, and essays focusing on India, China, Ukraine and countless
other places. DCIS also aims to keep its students informed of situations in foreign
countries by presenting information from all over the world in announcements and
assemblies. Im certain that there are some foreign places that I wouldve never even
heard of if I wouldve gone to another school. Looking into foreign countries is not the
only way I have been able to gain foreign knowledge. I was also given the opportunity
to go outside of my comfort zone and perform in a play in drama. This allowed me to
investigate a part of the world that was more of a distinct concept rather than a place. I
have a strong feeling that I am a more informed, involved and culturally aware citizen
due to the fact that I have stayed at DCIS for the past 7 years.

What is Passages 1 and Passages 2?

 At DCIS, 11th grade students are required to write a 15 page research paper in
their first semester. The research topic can be chosen by the student, which means that
there is much more freedom when it comes to actually researching and composing their
paper. The fact that students get the opportunity to write about an interest or passion of
theirs has been shown to be one of the most effective ways for students to become
more open and invested in their writing. This first installment of passages also improves
students self discipline and professional writing skills.
In the second semester of passages, students dive into another self lead project.
This time around, the focus goes from being able to write about something youre
passionate about to being to do something youre passionate about. This inspires
students to become completely mindful and invested in their required school and
community service.

In this domain, I have chosen to only use my first passage, which I feel
relates better to the concepts behind Investigating the world.

1. In my first passage of junior year, I wrote a 15 page paper detailing the

cultural views and actions surrounding mental illness in Japan and the United
States. I made connections between several ideologies that are prominent in
these both of these countries . I also paid close attention to what progress they
have made over time in regards to diminishing the stigma surrounding mental
illness. I could have written my passage on an issue that has a larger focus in my
own country, but I chose to give my paper an international perspective that is
important to me. I am sure that if I had not gone to DCIS, I would not have
continued my Japanese language study, and my papers that Id write would be
more one sided, or closed off from foreign ideas. I am very fortunate to have
gained so much knowledge about the world, and I am forever grateful for being
able to continue studying the Japanese language and culture. I will be graduating
with all of this knowledge about Japanese culture, and this will allow me to follow
my dreams after high school, and travel to Japan. It is hard to imagine my life
without Japanese in it, but that might have been the reality had I gone to another
high school.
2. I chose to have my second artifact to be my reflection on my first semester
ever of drama during senior year. In this reflection, I wrote about how my
confidence increased when it comes to performing on stage. I was able to gain a
better understanding and appreciation for all the work that goes into producing a
play, and I also have gained a more theatrical perspective on everyday things.
3. In Junior Year, I did an investigation and presentation of the role of inertia
in swimming.This year, I went out of my comfort zone and joined the swim team,
and I was excited to be able to relate my new found hobby to a science project. I
chose to include this short project because it made it significantly easier to see
which physics concepts are present in an activity that I wouldnt give much
investigative thought to otherwise.I also felt as though I made a professional
presentation.
4. In my 11th grade english class, we did an assignment called a
discography. It is essentially an analysis of how the songs I chose to listen to that
resonate with me and provoke a variety of thoughts. Looking back on the
assignment, I see some things that I wrote which were very pertinent to what was
going on in my life solely as a Junior in high school. Although I have evolved as a
person and have been in various other situations since then, I still feel like this
assignment opened me up as a person, and gave me a better understanding of
not only the music I like now, but also my present self. I find it equally important
to have an understanding of not only the world around you, but also yourself. I
feel that I am on the path to understanding both as my high school career comes
to an end.