JONATHAN M. DE LEON
Week 1: Introduction
Haiku Poem
Hi class my name is Jonathan De Leon. I am fourth year, double major in Social Ecology and Educational Sciences as well as a minor in Psychology and Social Behavior. When I started here at UCI I took an Education class and grew a passion for the major. I hope to one day become a great teacher, not just a good one. I am currently employed at two chilcare centers on campus and I work with kids ages 1 to 5. In the future, I hope to work with children in all facets of education and development. I really enjoy working with children. My hectic and absurd goal is to diminish the academic performance gap between high social economic status students and low social economic students.
Week 2: Assignment 1
The Mad City
I am from South Central Los Angeles. This city's toughness has taught me life lessons like hard work beats talent. I love being a product of Los Angeles; it has made me into the individual I am today. In this picture I was sitting in traffic, something LA is notorious for.
Kat
This is my younger sister Katherine; she is 15 years of age. When we were younger we argued all the time but now we don’t even raise our voices at each other. My sister, like me, wants to be a future Anteater and aspires to be doctor in the future. Right now she is in High School and participates in extra curricular activities like volleyball, drill team, and basketball.
Momma and Poppa Bear
My mom's name is Reina Isabel Escobar. She is from El Salvador, and is currently the best chef I know. My dad's name is Rafael Merari De Leon. He is from Guatemala and he has been one of my biggest inspirations growing up. If I had to describe them in a few words I would say they are like the tour guides of my life because without them life would be difficult. My parents are authoritative, but great parents none the less.
Melanie
This is Melanie. My youngest sister she is 11 years old. Her main priorities include chips, Spongebob, and Netflix. At this very young age my sister has actually managed to participate in marathons extending up to 3 miles. She is the baby in the family and a very important reason why I feel motivated to do well.
Week 3: Assignment 2
Santa Monica Beach
Santa Monica Pier
During this photo-shoot I was working with a client (my sister) at Santa Monica Beach. We were taking pictures for her upcoming Quinceanera. A Quinceanera, in our culture, is a rite of passage for girls. During this photo-shoot I took some pictures of Santa Monica’s geographical landscape. I really like the sunset picture because of its lighting, the location of the sun, and the fact that a wave was crashing when I snapped the photo. To take this picture I had to adjust my lens to not allow in too much light because the sun was pointing straight at me. For my second picture I took a picture of the beach’s pier. Santa Monica Pier, to me, brings back memories as a child. I remember going there on field trips and with friends to hangout. To take this picture, again I had to adjust the lighting coming into my lens. I tried to center the whole pier and absorb as much light as possible. I really like this picture too because it brings back memories, the lighting is fair, and I really like the way you can see the roller coaster in the background.
Week 4 : Assignment 3
When I was a teenager, I listened to a variety of music. My music consisted of hip-hop, rap, electronic, Spanish, and rock music. Some of my favorite groups and artists included Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Jay Z, G.Unit, Game, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, System of a Down, Anberlin, Metallica, and many more. As of now, I mainly listen to the same thing, however, I am always open to new music inquiries, but I mostly listen rap music. Some of my current favorite groups and artists include TDE, Dreamville, ASAP Mob, OPM, Chance The Rapper, Action Bronson, Drake, Dom Kennedy, Mac Miller, and even The Weeknd. The music I listened to influenced who I was, and whom I hung around with as a teen. Music permeated itself into my culture because I remember countless hours I spent listening to music with my friends. Not only did it influence my friends and I it also influenced what we found was cool. Music my friends listened to resembled the same music taste I preferred. The impact music had on my life cannot be measured. If I were to implement music into my curriculum, I would implement it in a fun and creative way. For example, if I had to teach biology, and I would create rappers named “Cellja Boii” and make a song that’s showed all the steps of cell division. I feel this is something thte kids can relate to and its creative!!
Week 5: Assignment 4
When I was younger I never read books. My interest included playing basketball and listening to music. However, I did read a series of books by Dave Pelzer. The first book was A Child called It. This book was about a young boy who is abused physically, mentally, and deprived of food by his own mother. I felt like at a young age, I connected with this book because I knew many of my friends lived under horrible conditions, just like the main character in that book. The second book I read was called The Lost Boy. In this book the author (Dave) talks about his hardships he faced living in foster homes. Throughout the book you see the development and consequences of posttraumatic stress. I liked this book as well because one of my best friends lived in foster care, and I remember asking him about his experiences in foster care and comparing it to the ones the author spoke about in his book. The last book I remember reading was A Man named Dave. In this book the Dave talks about the struggles he faced trying to join the Air Force. When he joined his goal was to become a pilot. He eventually does, but not without first experiencing difficulties. These three books by Dave Pelzer I read on my spare time and I really enjoyed them. What I learned from the books was how hard life is. It made me reflect on my life at the time and made me appreciate my blessings bestowed upon me by my family.
Week 6: Assignment 5
When I was in High School I played sports. During my freshmen year of High School I remember trying for my football team during hell week and I absolutely hated it. I then decided to try out for my basketball team and I loved it. The coaching staff and varsity players seemed intimidating but I knew this is where I wanted to be. That freshmen year I ended up playing basketball and basketball only. During sophomore year, I played basketball and ran track and field. Track and field, for me, consisted the 800-meter event, and shot putting. I was horrible at both, but I do remember improving my running times, which as a result made me faster for basketball. During my junior year of High School I played basketball and really tried to develop my jump shot. I knew that in order to make the varsity team I would have to focus on basketball only. As a result during my junior and senior year I focused on my game and made it to varsity. I feel like playing sports helped me build confidence because I was always around people who had similar interests as me and thus friendships came with ease. Sports also taught me life lessons that include teamwork, losing, and winning. Basketball also gave me a killer instinct mentality, which I applied in a academic setting. Sports in High School were some of the best times of my life. .
