i have no special talent, but am always curious.
-albert einstein
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
SOCIAL AWARENESS
October 23rd
http://politics.gaeatimes.com/2010/10/23/french-protests-continue-against-pension-reform-plan-104400/
362 days in a year. 235 of those days are work days. The retirement age in France was 60. At 60 years old you would receive a pension (money) for your retirement. But until a few weeks ago the age of retirement has increased by two years. The French say "This is unjust!"
Altogether that adds up to 470 more days of work. If life is short, and the life expectancy is about 82- 85 in France, you would not want to spend two 'extra' years in a cubical. Thus, there are many protests taking place in France. According to another article I read, there are so many protests in France right now, it is tearing up the country. This is a social issue, because if life is short why waste time?
October 24th
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2010/1024/Earthquake-supplies-Why-Haiti-may-turn-tide-of-cholera-outbreak
This is a real medical disaster, and in my mind, altogether, A DISASTER. Haiti already went through that terrible earth quake, now they have to deal with a terrible disease that people often get after natural disasters. What happens is you drink water that has been polluted, either by rubble after an earth quake, or ash after a volcanic eruption. Whatever it be, the water isn't clean, and makes you very sick.
How is this an injustice? Well, we (Americans) use water everyday. Wether it is in my 15 minute showers, or brewing tea when I am sick. It is not an injustice that we use water, but how we use it. We take for-granted that we have clean water, and use it wastefully. Meanwhile people in Haiti don't even have clean water, let alone enough water that they could use wastefully. Many Haitians wash up in a lake, and wash their clothes by hand. To me this is a social injustice.
October 25th
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/09/30/national/main6914293.shtml
Clementi, face book. face book. face book. face book. You may think something is funny, which someone else could be devastated by. A gay male, was having sex with his male partner, when his stupid roommate decided to do, what to me, sounds like a crime. His roommate set up video cameras in a Clementi's room and broadcast live on face book what was happening. Now, if this was straight sex, I highly doubt that people would've posted the comments they did, or even post it at all. Gay kids are 10% more likely to commit suicide, than straight kids. This is why a blogger, and you tuber came up with a very good idea, even though it was too late. He started a website where adult gay people can post their experiences, and tell gay kids it will be okay. Unfortunately, making fun of gay people is not illegal, but luckily, the roommate is charged for 5 years of jail for invading personal privacy. It may have started out as a careless, but behind bars I hope he rethinks that.
October 26th
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/nyregion/27frisk.html
To me this is not a joke. In action movies, did you ever notice how 85% of the time, the villains are black? This article reminded me of that. To summarize this article, let me start by stating how this is a serious case of racial injustice. This article says police have stopped many people and randomly questioned them. This is true, and many people have witnessed this bad crime fighting strategy. As if that isn't social injustice, turns out a good chunk of those people happen to be of colored skin. Now that is social, and racial injustice! Oh my, where does it stop!
October 27th
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20101027/el_yblog_upshot/separation-of-church-and-state-hyped-as-a-campaign-issue/print
The constitution protects us, and our rights. IN THE FIRST AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION it states separation of court and state. Which is another way of saying you can't bring religion to the court. But tea party republicans disagree. MY OPION: No one should mess this the constitution. A document of justice, written over 200 years ago (When the country was founded).
That is really all I can say on the subject, and we must fight against, fighting against the constitution. This is not injustice, yet, but a mere social issue.
REFLECTION
I will start by saying, news is somewhat depressing. There is never any good news. I wasn't allowed to watch the news till I was 10 years old. There is mostly news about lives being lost, crimes, and cases of injustice. When reading all these stories about places all around the world having a hard time living, I knew we weren't alone in this time of injustice. In korea, child labor is still legal. Reminding me that in many places things are a lot worse. In NY injustice is something that occurs EVERY day.
Saying the N word is illegal, but in many schools it is said daily. Injustice is all around, we just need to do our part, reporting what we see, and commenting on what we think is wrong. There can be change.
http://politics.gaeatimes.com/2010/10/23/french-protests-continue-against-pension-reform-plan-104400/
362 days in a year. 235 of those days are work days. The retirement age in France was 60. At 60 years old you would receive a pension (money) for your retirement. But until a few weeks ago the age of retirement has increased by two years. The French say "This is unjust!"
Altogether that adds up to 470 more days of work. If life is short, and the life expectancy is about 82- 85 in France, you would not want to spend two 'extra' years in a cubical. Thus, there are many protests taking place in France. According to another article I read, there are so many protests in France right now, it is tearing up the country. This is a social issue, because if life is short why waste time?
October 24th
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2010/1024/Earthquake-supplies-Why-Haiti-may-turn-tide-of-cholera-outbreak
This is a real medical disaster, and in my mind, altogether, A DISASTER. Haiti already went through that terrible earth quake, now they have to deal with a terrible disease that people often get after natural disasters. What happens is you drink water that has been polluted, either by rubble after an earth quake, or ash after a volcanic eruption. Whatever it be, the water isn't clean, and makes you very sick.
How is this an injustice? Well, we (Americans) use water everyday. Wether it is in my 15 minute showers, or brewing tea when I am sick. It is not an injustice that we use water, but how we use it. We take for-granted that we have clean water, and use it wastefully. Meanwhile people in Haiti don't even have clean water, let alone enough water that they could use wastefully. Many Haitians wash up in a lake, and wash their clothes by hand. To me this is a social injustice.
October 25th
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/09/30/national/main6914293.shtml
Clementi, face book. face book. face book. face book. You may think something is funny, which someone else could be devastated by. A gay male, was having sex with his male partner, when his stupid roommate decided to do, what to me, sounds like a crime. His roommate set up video cameras in a Clementi's room and broadcast live on face book what was happening. Now, if this was straight sex, I highly doubt that people would've posted the comments they did, or even post it at all. Gay kids are 10% more likely to commit suicide, than straight kids. This is why a blogger, and you tuber came up with a very good idea, even though it was too late. He started a website where adult gay people can post their experiences, and tell gay kids it will be okay. Unfortunately, making fun of gay people is not illegal, but luckily, the roommate is charged for 5 years of jail for invading personal privacy. It may have started out as a careless, but behind bars I hope he rethinks that.
October 26th
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/27/nyregion/27frisk.html
To me this is not a joke. In action movies, did you ever notice how 85% of the time, the villains are black? This article reminded me of that. To summarize this article, let me start by stating how this is a serious case of racial injustice. This article says police have stopped many people and randomly questioned them. This is true, and many people have witnessed this bad crime fighting strategy. As if that isn't social injustice, turns out a good chunk of those people happen to be of colored skin. Now that is social, and racial injustice! Oh my, where does it stop!
October 27th
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20101027/el_yblog_upshot/separation-of-church-and-state-hyped-as-a-campaign-issue/print
The constitution protects us, and our rights. IN THE FIRST AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION it states separation of court and state. Which is another way of saying you can't bring religion to the court. But tea party republicans disagree. MY OPION: No one should mess this the constitution. A document of justice, written over 200 years ago (When the country was founded).
That is really all I can say on the subject, and we must fight against, fighting against the constitution. This is not injustice, yet, but a mere social issue.
REFLECTION
I will start by saying, news is somewhat depressing. There is never any good news. I wasn't allowed to watch the news till I was 10 years old. There is mostly news about lives being lost, crimes, and cases of injustice. When reading all these stories about places all around the world having a hard time living, I knew we weren't alone in this time of injustice. In korea, child labor is still legal. Reminding me that in many places things are a lot worse. In NY injustice is something that occurs EVERY day.
Saying the N word is illegal, but in many schools it is said daily. Injustice is all around, we just need to do our part, reporting what we see, and commenting on what we think is wrong. There can be change.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Entry 8
I read "Mother to Son", by Langston Hughes in 7th grade. Rereading this poem was the same then, as it is now, enjoyable. The mother in this poem is defiantly a wise, older figure in this boys life.
The mother says to her son "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair."
When reading this line, I always envision a staircase, a long spiraling staircase, almost like the one that I envision when listening to Led Zeppelin's "stairway to heaven."
The "Stairway to heaven", in my mind, represents perfection. She is saying life has not been perfect. The main reason I love this poem so much is because at a very young age children are told the wrong things. At a very young age my parents told me I was safe, nothing will go wrong, there will never be any bad days, etc. They told me these things whenever i was in doubt. Now I am older, and life isn't actually sugar coated, and there are bad days, and moods where everything makes me sad and sometimes mad. On those days, I wish my parents had not lied, and instead told me from the start that life wouldn't be perfect. The Mom in this poem doesn't fluff up the truth, she knows if you have low expectations, it is better than having high expectations and then getting disappointed.
Even though the Mom says to her son,
"Life has Splinters, boards torn up, and places with no carpet on the floor." She shows a new perspective to that statement, in the next paragraph
when she says "An unperfect life is one worth living".
But in the paragraph in between those two the mom says "Reachin' landin's, and turning corners, sometimes goin' into the dark." The Mom is saying try things out before they are defiantly 'good' or 'bad'. This reminds me to keep taking risks.
The last thing I noticed when reading the poem, was I became very aware of voice and tone. There are many grammatical errors, and the dialogue sounds as though it is coming from someone who was never educated. But that also adds to the poem, because she spells out exactly how she feels, and by the end nothing is sugar coated.
The mother says to her son "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair."
When reading this line, I always envision a staircase, a long spiraling staircase, almost like the one that I envision when listening to Led Zeppelin's "stairway to heaven."
The "Stairway to heaven", in my mind, represents perfection. She is saying life has not been perfect. The main reason I love this poem so much is because at a very young age children are told the wrong things. At a very young age my parents told me I was safe, nothing will go wrong, there will never be any bad days, etc. They told me these things whenever i was in doubt. Now I am older, and life isn't actually sugar coated, and there are bad days, and moods where everything makes me sad and sometimes mad. On those days, I wish my parents had not lied, and instead told me from the start that life wouldn't be perfect. The Mom in this poem doesn't fluff up the truth, she knows if you have low expectations, it is better than having high expectations and then getting disappointed.
Even though the Mom says to her son,
"Life has Splinters, boards torn up, and places with no carpet on the floor." She shows a new perspective to that statement, in the next paragraph
when she says "An unperfect life is one worth living".
But in the paragraph in between those two the mom says "Reachin' landin's, and turning corners, sometimes goin' into the dark." The Mom is saying try things out before they are defiantly 'good' or 'bad'. This reminds me to keep taking risks.
The last thing I noticed when reading the poem, was I became very aware of voice and tone. There are many grammatical errors, and the dialogue sounds as though it is coming from someone who was never educated. But that also adds to the poem, because she spells out exactly how she feels, and by the end nothing is sugar coated.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Appreciation
I am going to begin 100% honest, i didn't like "Bridge to Terabithia". I think i enjoyed the book a lot better when I was younger, and I didn't read searching for big ideas in the text. I still can appreciate the writing; I appreciate how the author, Katherine Paterson, ties in many essential life lessons in a children's book. An important moral in the book was 'A change in perspective can help anyone accomplish a new way of life' and 'All children start out delicate, and unaware of all the harm this world posses. But every person has got to learn sometime.'
I apprechiate how Katherine Paterson ties in essential life lessons in children's books.In "Bridge to Terabithia", Jess is in need of a change in heart and a change in perspective. Leslie Brooks might as well have come prescribed for Jess. Leslie is able to change his perspective on the world that surronds him. 'New perspectives' is what makes this book so special, and timeless. Change is written on every page of this book. As Jess lets Leslie guide him, and transform him, he lets go of his old self, and becomes a new totally character. I appreciate this book because I am always reminded "How someone can come into your life, and change it, and leave in a flash".
One of the most famous scenes in this book/ movie, is the scene where Leslie asks him to see without his eyes open. She is forcing him to take a look around him, without really looking around him. "To use his imagination". It almost sounds as though he is dreaming, when he looks around him with his eyes shut. He sees literally "A whole new world". And throughout the Ferris wheel of seasons, Jess changes. Jess is ruling a fantastical land called Terabithia, meanwhile Leslie is showing him how to master the art of troll hunting. He later applies this skill, of being able to defend himself- while not hurting his opponent, into his school life. He takes everything Leslie teaches him, and applies it to his life.
This book reminds me how to keep moving forward without forgetting the past. My friend called this book "The story of my life." Because it is so easy to relate to. when I was a small girl my grandma came to live in New York. I visited her a lot with my Dad. She would bake me cake, listen to music, draw, and speak to me in Portuguese. The more time I spent near her, the more she molded me into creative, growing girl. As quickly as she came, she left. Sometimes all we have left is rituals, and lessons the person left behind for us to use.
This is a hard lesson for even an adults to learn. Try explaining it to a little kid. I was assigned to write a kids book in 7th grade, and was amazed how hard it was to tie in a moral into a story, without the story seeming as though it may scare, or harm the poor kids that would've had to read my picture book. That is one very important thing I appreciate about this book. One of the (I realize) MANY THINGS I appreciate about this book.
I apprechiate how Katherine Paterson ties in essential life lessons in children's books.In "Bridge to Terabithia", Jess is in need of a change in heart and a change in perspective. Leslie Brooks might as well have come prescribed for Jess. Leslie is able to change his perspective on the world that surronds him. 'New perspectives' is what makes this book so special, and timeless. Change is written on every page of this book. As Jess lets Leslie guide him, and transform him, he lets go of his old self, and becomes a new totally character. I appreciate this book because I am always reminded "How someone can come into your life, and change it, and leave in a flash".
One of the most famous scenes in this book/ movie, is the scene where Leslie asks him to see without his eyes open. She is forcing him to take a look around him, without really looking around him. "To use his imagination". It almost sounds as though he is dreaming, when he looks around him with his eyes shut. He sees literally "A whole new world". And throughout the Ferris wheel of seasons, Jess changes. Jess is ruling a fantastical land called Terabithia, meanwhile Leslie is showing him how to master the art of troll hunting. He later applies this skill, of being able to defend himself- while not hurting his opponent, into his school life. He takes everything Leslie teaches him, and applies it to his life.
This book reminds me how to keep moving forward without forgetting the past. My friend called this book "The story of my life." Because it is so easy to relate to. when I was a small girl my grandma came to live in New York. I visited her a lot with my Dad. She would bake me cake, listen to music, draw, and speak to me in Portuguese. The more time I spent near her, the more she molded me into creative, growing girl. As quickly as she came, she left. Sometimes all we have left is rituals, and lessons the person left behind for us to use.
This is a hard lesson for even an adults to learn. Try explaining it to a little kid. I was assigned to write a kids book in 7th grade, and was amazed how hard it was to tie in a moral into a story, without the story seeming as though it may scare, or harm the poor kids that would've had to read my picture book. That is one very important thing I appreciate about this book. One of the (I realize) MANY THINGS I appreciate about this book.
Monday, October 11, 2010
ENtry # 4
To fully appreciate my book I did research about the author. I also looked at some commentary, reviews and criticism about the books she has written.
I learned that when the author, Katherine paterson, was a young girl, she dreamt of being a movie star.
She never thought much about writing, until the war started. Her father was a soldier- who she saw very rarely. She began writing letters to him as a very young girl. As we know, Katherine Paterson never became a movie-star. She never fulfilled her dream, but she learned a lot on the way. While studying to be an actress, she wrote letters, scripts, and screen plays. Which lead into her next career, as a teacher. Later, she no longer wanted to be a movie star, and had discovered her true talent for writing. She fully understood what "Not getting exactly what you want and learning n the way" meant.
When reading reviews of the book I heard many different opinions. Some people said it was just another "Drippy book about friendship"; Other people loved the book, and believed leslie, and Jesse's friendship was something very special.
The fact that after Leslie died- 'even though she left her teachings to guide Jess through the course of his life', but just fact fact that she died, and this is a children's book, not romeo and Juliet, could be slightly depressing for a kids globally reading the book.
But over all, many people loved the book. How Katherine Paterson can reach out and grasp all different audiences. With aspects of adventure, love and friendship "All mixed up into one masterpiece".
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
entry #6
By page four, it was already obvious that their was a barrier dividing the lassies from lasses in that neighborhood. Specifically at Lark Creek Elementary. The author says:" At recess boys would play sports on the upper fields, for example baseball, and track. The girls took up a small section of the playground, used for hopscotch, jumping rope, and talking."
Staging from an early belief of 'cooties', and other rare fake diseases you can catch from being touched by someone of a different gender, girls and boys kept there distance. The more clear how 'uncool' it is to be a friends with a girl/boy, the more clear how unique Jess and Leslie's friendship truly became. The friendship breaks all the 'rules', and is another baby step for Jess beginning to think for himself.
For many people this story screams out 'pier pressure', but that is one perspective of looking at this interesting story. Another theme can be 'Choosing to go your own way'. All of these themes are important, because even though this book is clearly written for a younger audience, it has some very grown up morals snuck inside. An important repeating moral in this book is (As my Mom tells me)
"Go your own way, and not care what people say". Which for me means:
follow your instinct, and don't give in to pier pressure.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
My edited reading response to Charlotte's web.
I think the main themes in the "Charlotte's Web" are life, death, and moving forward. The story revolves around life. We meet Wilbur as a child; as he grows older and his brain develops, Wilbur gets filled with the wisdom and knowledge which later he graciously shares with others.
But as this story is about life, it is also about death. When Wilbur is a baby, Fern saves Wilbur from his terrible fate (involving an ax). Wilbur grows up in Fern's uncle's barn. There he meets Charlotte.
Charlotte is an old, gray spider, but more importantly, a motherly figure to Wilbur. Charlotte teaches Wilbur vital skills that Wilbur may need in the future. For example, Charlotte teaches Wilbur manners, and spelling. When Charlotte passes away, Wilbur thinks it is the end of the world. Charlotte leaves behind a gift. A sac full of over one-hundred baby spider eggs. Wilbur teaches Charlotte's babies everything Charlotte had taught him; Wilbur loves Charlotte's children the way he loved Charlotte, even though there will always be a special spot in Wilbur's heart for her.
When I was younger, I had a cousin who died very young from cancer. I felt exactly like Wilbur; my family and I all thought we would never recover. A year and a half later, my 4th cousin was pregnant with our newest addition to the family. My family got together and celebrated. My aunt even made a toast to "New life". When baby Eric turned three, we tried to explain to him some of our families traditions and rituals, which he would have to carry on. We had recovered gracefully, but we will never forget my cousin.
To symbolize life, death, and moving forward the author has Fern riding a ferris wheel. I don't know why I adore this scene so much. This scene is about Fern growing up, and becoming an independent girl, as she rides the ferris wheel round and round. I believe it is a symbolic way to show the cycle of life. E.B White shows us that the cycle of life is like the cycle of a spider's web. At the end of the book Charlotte's web is inherited by her children.
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