How am I achieving my annotation goals? My biggest goal with annotation was that I wanted to use it as a resource to help me better understand the essays that I read. Before this class, I would just annotate and not really put any effort into it. Now, I use it as a tool to allow me to better comprehend what I read.
1. What is the surrounding context for this essay? This essay was published in 2014, and it was written by cellist and songwriter, Yo-Yo Ma. He was born in Paris in 1955 but went to school in New York City, which is where he became a child prodigy. Yo-Yo Ma attended Julliard and Harvard University, and he has achieved many awards. Ma advocates for STEAM education, which is why he describes its significance in this essay. In my high school, we had A STEAM program which was highly advocated by teachers and mentors.
2. What is the circumstantial context for this essay? I am reading this essay for my English class. In this class, we are beginning to learn about reading strategies, so finding context clues in essays will give us experience for when we write our formal paper. It also emphasizes the importance of art in education, and I am a freshman and I still have time to sign up for art classes. I think that this reading is necessary for us to read sooner rather than later considering it does imply that art is important in learning.
3. Describe the intentional context. The intentional context of this essay is to explain the important connection between art and science, and how it eventually leads to a better understanding of the world. I think that his credentials makes this essay even better because Ma is very passionate about this, and it is something he truly believes in.
Words I didn’t know:
Counterproductive: “Having the opposite of the desired effect.” He puts this word in context to talking about enlightenment.
Meridian: “A circle of constant longitude passing through a given place on the earth’s surface and the terrestrial poles.” This is just used as a more sophisticated word for a pathway.
Michelangelo: He was a famous Italian painter, poet, and architect during the Renaissance Era. Michelangelo is considered one of the greatest artists in history because of his large influence on Western art. He and his paintings show an example of the Renaissance Man, which helped historians understand this era. Yo-Yo Ma uses this as a reference to his essay because he agrees with a quote that Michelangelo once said about art.
What a thoughtful preliminary read. Well done! I can see that you are making all kinds of connections in the margins. Keep up the wonderful work.