Final Reflection

      We have reached the end of the year, in fact, as of today, there are only three days of school left. I have mixed feelings about this. I am sad, because I am going to miss some of the things here, some of the teachers, seeing my friends (because we'll be going to different high schools next year). But, on the other hand, I am so happy for the school year to be over because, who doesn't love summer? 

What is something we did this year that you think you will remember for the rest of your life?

I think that I will remember our TKAM Southern Sampler. In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there were several foods mentioned. When we finished the book, we brought in some of those foods and had a feast. There was fried chicken, corn bread, Tootsie Rolls, sardines (but no crackers, thanks to Carter), and we had a cake war between me and Hazelle. She brought in an Angel Food Cake, and I brought in a Lane Cake. We had a great time. Especially Sam who ate a sardine and almost threw up into the trash can on video.

What was the nicest thing someone in our class did for you this year?

I think that the nicest thing people in our class did for me this year was saying, "you can do it" when I had to present my speech. I was really nervous to present to the class, and I really didn't want to do it, but everyone kept saying, "You can do it!", which I thought was really nice of them.

What is something you taught your teacher or classmates this year?

Throughout the year, we have done many AOW gallery walks, where we get to teach our classmates about an article that we read. I have taught my classmates many things. For example, I taught some of my classmates about a sexual assault that happened on Facebook Live. I taught some of my classmates about the pros and cons of self driving cars, about how smoking can lead to a cancer related death, and about how Donald Trump's comments about a women's weight could've hurt kids with body image issues. 

In what area do you feel you made your biggest improvements? What is something you accomplished this year that you are proud of?

I think that I improved with the level of confidence I have in my work (with the exception of my speech). Especially with the Butterfly Project and the Aphorism project. I am very much a perfectionist, and I am usually never satisfied with the work that I produce. But, I put a lot of work into these projects and I am really proud of how they turned out. 

What was the most challenging part of this year for you?

The most challenging part of the year for me was in third quarter. There was about a month where I was so tired of going to school everyday, and I was so tired of doing my work, that I would just not do it. I would procrastinate at home and end up having to rush to get it done in other classes. It was really hard to stay focused on the work that I was doing, and I just wasn't doing very good work. I am not entirely sure why this happened, but I did eventually get out of this phase. 

What was the best piece of writing that you did this year? Why do you think it is your best? 

My favorite piece of writing that I did this year was a little story that I wrote with Melissa for our Edgar Allan Poe unit. It was a little continuation of  "A Cask of Amontillado". Our story was called Confessions of A Madman. We wrote it as if it was an interview between Montressor, the narrator of the story, and a policeman. And Montressor was confessing to his crimes. This was my favorite piece of writing because it was just really fun to write. I loved being able to write from the perspective of someone who was not entirely sane. (And we had a very long debate about if Montressor was a scociopath or a psychopath because the characteristics of both are pretty similar) It was also really fun to come up with a cliff hanger at the end of the story, becuase you aren't exactly sure how the confession ends. 

Of the books you read this year, which was your favorite? Why?

There are two books that we read this year that were my favorite were To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom. I really liked To Kill A Mockingbird because I liked watching the relationships form and change between Scout, the town, and the people in it. It was really interesting how some of the themes and problems in the book are still relevant today. I really liked Tuesdays With Morrie because of all of the life lessons and advice Morrie gave. His aphorisms were really powerful and beautiful. For example, "Love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone", "Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live", "Love each other or perish", "Death ends a life not a relationship", "You are not a wave, you are a part of an ocean", and so many more. We had some of the best Socratic seminars about this book. I actually finished the book the first day that we started it because I was so interested in it.   

What advice would you give students who will be in this class next year?

The advice that I would give to the students who will be in the class next year is that if you need help with something, ask for clarification. Don't just sit there not knowing what to do. And don't wait until the last minute to ask for help either. Send Mrs. Larson a message on Schoology or Edmodo. And chances are, someone else has the same question you do. 

This I Believe - "There's No Such Thing As Trying Too Hard"

      I know that school is not for everyone. Some people like it, some people don't. I know that most kids here are just dying to get out, and they think that because it is the end of the year, they don’t have do anything but show up. However, I don’t believe that people should do that. I believe that people should be passionate and put effort into everything they do, no matter how small.

      A few years ago, when I was in about 4th or 5th grade, I was working on a science project. This boy walked over to me, looked at my project, and told me, “You're trying too hard.” I just stared at him, not knowing what to say. I was confused. Why was that a bad thing? Since when was putting effort into something wrong? I had always been the kind of person to work really hard on everything and try to go above and beyond. I loved school. But I knew that there were kids who didn't. I never understood why some people think that it is “cool” to not care. To not try. Especially now, in middle school. People would say that I was annoying or some other words that would get me in trouble if I say them, because I suggested they to do their work instead of talking. I would get extremely frustrated that they didn't even bother with starting their work. It annoyed me that they didn't care about school as much as I did. But I did think it was kind of funny when we got tests back and I got a better grade them because they would ask me, “Oh my god, how did you get a 4? I got a 1!” Or something along those lines. They didn't understand that not caring, and slacking off was causing them to get bad grades.

      Throughout the years, I have learned that I cannot control other people, no matter how much I want to. I cannot force them to do their work, I cannot force them to stop talking, but I can work my hardest, and hope that they realize that they're not helping themselves. That they will get so much farther if they actually tried. The putting effort into things is not dumb or pointless. And maybe I do try too hard, but maybe that’s not a bad thing.

Tuesdays With Morrie - Final Project

Now that we have finished Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom, we are going to take one of Morrie's aphorisms and make a poster about it. The aphorism that I chose was "Love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone." (Pg. 133) I think that this aphorism means that even when a person is dead, love from other people is what keeps them "alive". If the person who loves them keeps thinking about them, and loving them, obviously they will not come back to life, but it keeps their memory alive. They aren't gone completely, even if they are dead.

A few years ago, my grandpa died, and last year, I was talking with my grandma, who said that she talks to my grandpa sometimes, which I think is what Morrie was saying. If the person who died is loved, and remembered, that person isn't gone completely. That is why I agree with this aphorism. It also reminds me of when Morrie told Mitch to visit his grave and talk to him. That would keep his memory alive. On page 170, Morrie says, "'Tell you what. After I'm dead, you talk. And I'll listen." Morrie wants Mitch to tell him his problems, which is "keeping him alive".

My Aphorism: Good doesn't have to be perfect.

Tuesdays With Morrie- Socratic Seminar Reflections

      Throughout the time that we were reading Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom, we were having Socratic Seminars. Now that we have finished the book, I am going to reflect on all of the seminars that we have had. 

What trends did you notice with yourself and your personal goals for each seminar? 

I noticed that throughout the seminars, I started to talk more and more. I noticed that the more I wrote on my guide, the more I participated, even if what I said had nothing to do with what was on my guide. My personal goals changed also throughout the seminars. The first seminar, I said that I wanted to participate more. Then, the second seminar, I said that I participated a lot, and so I wanted to work on engaging people in the conversations who may not have added enough. The third seminar, I thought that I may have participated a bit too much, and I wanted to work on not interrupting people when they were trying to talk. I did try to be mindful of how much I was talking, and this last seminar I definitely tried to engage people in the conversation, which I think I did well. 

What trends did you notice with the class for each seminar? 

I noticed that a lot of the time, the same people were not adding enough, and the same people were talking a lot. I noticed that the people who only added one or two things to their guide didn't add anything to the conversation, and if they did, they only participated once. The people who added many things to their guide, were the people who were participating a lot.

What did you notice that helped or hindered a specific seminar?

I found that the more interesting the questions were, the more people participated. During the second seminar, I asked, "Would you want to know your death date?" And that sparked a really interesting conversation, because a lot of people had a lot of opinions and a lot of really good points. Today, someone asked, "How would you want to die? If you had the choice." That also sparked a really interesting conversation, which ended with Lorin saying that she would want to die on death row, but we don't have to get into that. I noticed that what hindered the seminars was people talking over each other. Because of the no raising hands rule, a lot of people would get cut off in what they were trying to say, and then when that person was finished, someone else would chime in, and the person who was trying to talk originally, is ignored. That was something that happened a lot, but I think that by the fourth seminar, things went really well. And Carter brought the crackers, so that's great. 

  

Tuesdays With Morrie- My Perfect Day

      For the past two weeks, we have been reading Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom, and on the Thirteenth Tuesday, Mitch and Morrie start taking about their perfect day. If Morrie could be perfectly healthy for a day, for twenty-four hours, what would he do? Morrie would wake up, excercise, eat his favorite breakfast, swim, and meet with his friends. They would come over and talk about their issues. They would go for a walk in the garden, and go out to dinner for duck, or pasta, and they would dance all night until they were exhausted. Then, Morrie would go home and sleep. To Mitch, is seemed like just an average day, but, because of Morrie's disease, he couldnt excercise, he couldn't swim, he couldn't walk in the garden, he couldn't eat the foods he liked, and he couldn't dance. So, if he was healthy for a day, he would want to do all of those things.

What would my perfect day look like?

I think that my perfect day would be in the summer. I would wake up, my mom and I would make the Pillsbury biscuits from the can, and have a family breakfast with biscuits, bacon, fruit, etc, etc, etc. Then, I would meet up with some of my friends, and walk around in the park, maybe going to the gas station to get ice cream. We would just walk and talk and laugh. Then, when it got late, we would walk back to my house and have dinner. My friends and I would probably have pizza or Mac & Cheese, and we would eat it and watch a movie, or American Horror Story, or something like that. After that, we would stay up late just talking and laughing until we couldn't keep our eyes open. And then we would sleep. 

I think that if I want more of these perfect days to happen, I need to start getting off my phone, and going outside. I need to spend more time with my friends and family. 

Tuesdays With Morrie - My Favorite Tuesday

      Last week, we started reading the book Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom. It is about the author, Mitch, and his relationship with his old college professor, Morrie. Morrie was diagnosed with ALS, or Amyotrophic Laterals Sclerosis. Mitch reconnects with him and every Tuesday, he comes over and talks with Morrie. They talk about the world, regrets in life, feeling sorry for yourself, family, death, and many more topics like that. My favorite conversation that they had was about the world. 

      The first Tuesday, they talk about the world. They also talk about the news. On page 50, Morrie says, "'The other night, on TV, I saw people in Bosnia running across the street, getting fired upon, killed, innocent victims... and I just started to cry. I feel their anguish as if it were my own. I don't know any of these people. But-- how can I put this? I'm almost... drawn to them.'" Mitch then talks about how, as a journalist, he's reported on many stories like that. People were being killed, innocent people were being killed, and he never cried, he even went to the funerals of some of these people. But he never cried. He didn't understand why Morrie felt so attached to these people. I think that most of the world, because they don't know any of the people personally, they aren't affected as much. If they see refugees getting shot at, and killed, it wouldn't affect them as much as, say, their own child being shot at. I feel like becuase they don't know these people personally, they have a lack of compassion, which Morrie also talks about.

      Earlier in the book, Morrie had said, "The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. We're teaching the wrong things. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn't work, don't buy it. Create your own. Most people can't do it. They're more unhappy than me-- even in my current condition" (Albom 35). I very much agree with that statement. I feel as though in our culture, we are taught to judge people who are different. So many people try so hard to fit in, myself included, because they are afraid of standing out and being judged. I also agree with Morrie's other statement, which is that most people are unhappy, even though they don't have any kind of fatal disease, like Morrie. I think that is because our society is also obsessed with things. Materialistic things. We are obsessed with getting the newest shoes, the newest phones, the newest cars, etc. A lot of people think that money will make people happy, when clearly that is not the case. People are unhappy because they are never satisfied with the things that they have. They will always see something else that they want. Morrie, however, surrounds himself with great people. He has great friends, and great family, so he is happy, even in the condition that he is in. 

Tuesdays With Morrie- Bucket List

      This week, we have started to read the book Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. It is about the author and his relationship with his old college professor, who was diagnosed with ALS. The whole book is about their conversations about life, death, family, love, etc. Morrie, has a wonderful sense of humor and likes to make jokes about his own death, which I thought was interesting, because most people are afraid of death, but he embraces it. He doesn't want to take life for granted. Because of this, I will be making a bucket list.

1. Travel

• Italy
• London
• France
• Spain
• Germany
• Ireland
• New York
• Hawaii
• Japan
• New Orleans (Again)
• California (Again)
• Etc.

2. Write A Song

3. Take A Photography Class

4. Live In Another Country For A While

5. Sell My Photography

6. Get A Tattoo

8. Graduate High School

9. Graduate College

10. Add To And Complete My Bucket List

So, it is not the most original bucket list ever, but these are the things that I really want to do. I really love photography, so I wanted to add something with that. I also love traveling, so I wanted to make a list of places to go. I know that I can work hard to make sure that these things can happen.

Psycho by Robert Bloch *contains spoilers*

      One of the books that I read over Spring Break was Psycho by Robert Bloch. It is about a nam named Norman Bates, who runs the Bates Motel. The back of the book says, "Norman Bates loves his Mother. She has been dead for the past twenty years, or so people think. Norman knows better though. He has lived with Mother ever since leaving the hospital in the old house up on the hill above the Bates motel. One night Norman spies on a beautiful woman that checks into the hotel as she undresses. Norman can't help but spy on her. Mother is there though. She is there to protect Norman from his filthy thoughts. She is there to protect him with her butcher knife." The book was also turned into an Alfred Hitchcock movie in 1960. So basically, a woman, Mary Crane, checks into the motel after stealing $40,000 and Norman Bates's mother kills the girl because Norman was spying on her. The rest of the book about the missing persons investigation that goes on about her. 

After reading, I wonder how many other people Norman's "mother" has killed. In the end of the book, a psychiatrist, after learning the whole story and diagnosing Norman, asks the police if they have any missing persons cases that were not solved. We find out that it was Norman's "mother" who had murdered those people. But we never find out just how many people were murdered at the Bates Motel. 

In the book, we learn a lot about Norman and his relationship with his mother. We learn that he loves his mother so much that he becomes her. He dresses up like her, talks like her, and thinks like her. When he becomes her, if he notices Norman's attraction to another woman, he, or should I say his mother, becomes jealous. That jealousy takes over and "his mother" kills the girl. As they described it in the book, he can never be 100% Norman, but he can be 100% mother. 

Something that I think is interesting is that Psycho is based on a real person. A man named Ed Gein who was a "murderer who lived a double life." I don't know how much of the story was real and how much was made up, but I think it is really interesting that it is based on a real person.

3rd Quarter Reflections

      I cannot believe that the year is almost over. Next year, I will be in high school. It is crazy. It went by so fast. Every quarter, we have to reflect on what we did.

- In what area do you think you made your biggest improvements in English Language Arts? 

I think that this quarter I have improved the most with getting my work done on time. Especially during 2nd Quarter when we were reading To Kill A Mockingbird and answering the questions, I would forget to fill in the graphic organizer or answer a question, and so I would have to go to working lunch. This quarter, I think that I have really improved and I haven't really had to go to working lunch. I have been trying to make sure to do my homework right when I get home from school instead of procrastinating until 10:00, like I sometimes did in 2nd Quarter.

- What has been the most challenging part of 3rd Quarter for you and what did/can you do to help overcome this?

The most challenging part of 3rd Quarter has been time management. I have been so busy lately that I don't have enough time to do everything that I need to do. Or I forget that I have to do something and don't give myself enough time to do it. Since my mom is running for school board and sometimes have to help out with that, and I have after school activities, sometimes it is hard to find time to do everything that I need to do. Also, when I get home, all I want to do is go on my phone and watch Netflix or Youtbe, but, I think that I have been doing a better job at turning my phone off and doing my homework first. 

- Where are you in your 40 Book Challenge?

For the 40 Book Challenge, I have read 30 books. I have read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K Rowling. I also finished the Series of Unfortunate Events series by Lemony Snicket: The Hostile Hospital, The Carnivourous Carnival, The Slippery Slope, The Grim Grotto, The Penultimate Peril, and The End. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, Wonder by R. J. Palacio, The Alchemyst by Michael Scott, Notes From A Midnight Driver by Jordon Sonnenblick, Turning 15 On The Road To Freedom by Lynda Blackmon Lowery, Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan, Unstoppable by Tim Green, Scat by Carl Hiaasen, A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall, and Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen. We, as a class have also read some books. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Of Beetles and Angels by Mawi Asgedom, and Night by Elie Wiesel. Most of the books that read this quarter have been for Battle of the Books, which is really helping with the 40 Book Challenge, and also getting me to read books that I normally wouldn't read. 

Life is Beautiful

      Today, we watched the movie, Life is Beautiful. We also recently read the book Night by Elie Wiesel and did research about the Holocaust. There were many ideas and events that were similar in the book and the movie. For example, something that is similar is the father/son bonds. In Night, Elie talks a lot about the relationship he had with his father. In the movie, Life is Beautiful, we see how Guido, the main character, is trying to protect his son, Joshua. The whole time they are at the camp, he is trying to convince his son that it is a game. That if they follow a specific set of rules, they will win a big tank. That is what helps Joshua to survive, since almost all of the other kids were killed. There were also a lot of similar ideas in the beginning of the movie. For example, we see Guido's property get vandalized. We also see Guido's uncle's horse get vandalized with the words: "Jewish Horse". There were also references to heiling Hitler. Also, when Guido was pretending to be a school inspector, he is supposed to give a speech about how "one race is superior", which is a theme we see during Holocaust research a lot, and during the speech, he starts out by saying, "I am of pure Aryan blood..." This is something that comes up in both the research and Night. Some other things that are similar are the tattoos. When the Jews got to the camp, they were given number tattoos. Elie was also given a number tattoo, and mentions it in his book.
      There were a couple differences between the book and the movie. For example, in the movie, we get to see the mother throughout the camp. In the book, we learn that Elie's mother and sister are sent to the crematoriums on the first day. Another difference is that in the book, before Elie's family went to a ghetto before they went to a concentration camp, but in the movie, they were taken from their homes and forced into the cattle cars. An obvious difference is the location. Elie was born in Sighet, Transylvania and is taken to Birkenau, which is in Poland. In the movie, the main character is from Italy. We don't know which concentration camp Guido and his family went to. Another difference is that the characters are older. Guido, his friend, and Dora look like they are in their 30s. Elie was 15 when he went to the camp. Some other differences are that in the movie,  the main character really wants to open a book store in the beginning, and in the book, the main character really wants to study religion in the beginning.
      In the movie, there was a lot of humor. Especially in the beginning. For example, when Guido is trying to open his book store, he runs into some mean people at the office. And he accidentally knocks a plant out of the window and onto the man's head. When he trys to help clean up the mess, he accidentally causes raw eggs to break on the man's head. Twice. The second time was at his wedding announcement party. Another funny part was when Guido was driving around with Dora, because he liked her, and when she asked, "When did you learn to drive?" he said, "Ten minutes ago." Another funny moment, probably the funniest in the whole movie, is when Guido pretends to know how to speak German and volunteers to be a translator for a German Nazi in his barrack. The entire time the Nazi was giving instructions about what the rules were at camp, Guido was just making up funny things about the Nazi, pretending that it was the translation, because since the Nazi did not speak Italian, he would never know the difference. One of the things that Guido said was. "On some days you will get lollipops, but not today, because I ate all of them. We Nazis do that sometimes." Or something along those lines, I cannot remember exactly what he said.
      In the movie, Life is Beautiful, life is shown as beautiful in many ways. One of those ways is that Guido and Dora keep running into each other everywhere they go. When his car breaks down, and he ends up on a farm, she literally falls into his arms after jumping out of the barn window (I think to avoid being attacked by a chicken). When Guido and his friend go to stay in the city, they run into each other when she is walking to work. He happens to be the waiter at her engagement party. Before that though, he would try to find out where she was going and meet her there. At the opera, at the school, everywhere. He saves her from her own engagement party, and they end up getting married and having Joshua. Another way that life is shows beautiful is when they are in the concentration camp, Guido keeps finding ways to let Dora know that he is alive. Even though Dora was not supposed  to go to the concentration camp, she forced the Nazis to stop the trim so that she could  get one she did not want to leave her family. When they were in the concentration camp, Guido wanted  to let Dora know that he was alive. So, when the guard went on break, Guido went to the intercom system and said what he always says to her: "Buongiorno Principessa!" He gives a whole speech too, just to let her know that he was alive. Also, when he got a  job as a waiter for a Nazi dinner, he had to change the music. He noticed in the pile of records the song from the opera that he followed her too. He opened the window and flipped the record player so that it was facing out the window, hoping that the song would get to her barracks. Luckily, it did, and she knew that it was coming from him. It was really beautiful.

Argumentative AOW

      Today, we were educated by our peers about different arguments in the world currently. Some of them include: self-driving cars, school food, fast food, GMO labels, surveillance and privacy, e-cigarettes, and more. In Eamonn's article, we learned about new school food rules that regulate how many calories the school lunches should have and what kinds of foods they can give the children. The PRO side of the article was talking about how since parents have really no way to know what their kids are eating at school, this will help to assure them that they are eating healthier. The CON side of the article says that every kid is different. Every child has their own nutritional needs and their parents know what is best for their own kids. The government should not be able to decide how many calories the child can eat. I agree with the CON side of the article because I think that the parents really do know better than the government when it comes to their kids. They should be the ones to decide how many calories their child can or cannot eat. 

       In Carter's article, we learned the PROs and CONs about putting GMO labels on foods. In the PRO side of the article, it says that 93% of Americans want GMO (genetically modified organism) products to be labeled and that GMO products have dangerous chemicals that could harm people. In the CON side of the article, it says that GMO products have never actually hurt anyone and that they are 31% cheaper than natural foods. They also said that if companies put GMO labels on their foods, it will drive people away, which will cause the prices of the food to go up. The CON side of the article also says that GMO is not just dangerous chemicals; it can help to reduce spoilage and allergens in food. 

      My article was about self-driving cars and if they will be good for Armeica or not. The PRO side of the article says that this kind of technology in cars will be helpful because it will help to reduce crashes and vehicle accidents. In the article, it says, "In the U.S alone, vehicular accidents have killed more than 32,000 people annually for the past five years for which data is available." Many people die from car accidents and if the driver was no longer driving, would that reduce it? That is what one author thinks. He also says that this kind of technology would give disabled people and elderly people, ones who wouldn't be able to have licenses otherwise, the chance to drive.  The CON side of the article thinks that the technology, the kind that can help drivers park, or stop for the driver if they were about to crash, is very helpful, but that taking the driver out of the equation is a very bad idea. What if the car were to malfunction in the middle of the highway? It could be dangerous for a lot of people. Also, what if a child were to run across the middle fo the street into the car's path? The autonomous car wouldn't be able to swerve out of the way like a human driver would, because the car would be programmed to follow the law. I think that this is a pretty important argument because if these kinds of cars would be on the road, it would change a lot of things. It would be a big change and a big argument. 

Night by Elie Wiesel

      In the book Night, by Elie Wiesel, the author describes his experiences during the Holocaust. He was was born in Sighet, Transylvania, and was taken into concentration camps when he was about 14, almost 15. He spent about a year in five different concentration camps: Birkenau, Auschwitz, Buna, Gliewitz, and Buchenwald. In those camps, he was changed forever. 

      One of the biggest changes that he went through in the camps, was losing his faith. In the beginning of the memoir, we learn that Eliezer is very pious. Religion is very important to him. On page 4, it says, "Why did I pray? Strange question. Why did I live? Why did I 
breathe?" This shows that his religion is a part of him. It comes as naturally to him as breathing. However, when he is forced into the concentration camp and sees all of these horrible things happening, he begins to wonder why God isn't doing anything. On page 33, he says, "For the first time, I felt anger rising within me. Why should I sanctify His name? The Almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the Universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank Him for? " He was saying that he did not want to pray with the rest of the Jews. He was angry at God for not doing anything to stop the Holocaust. In fact, he was angry at the world for not doing anything about it because he also says, "Was I still alive? Was I awake? How was it possible that men, women, and children were being burned and that the world kept silent? No. All this could not be real. A night- mare perhaps..." He is almost refusing to believe that what he is seeing is real becuase, how could something so horrible be happening and no one around him is doing anything to stop it?

Another example of when we see his faith being destroyed is when he says, "Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever....Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes." He is saying that all of the things that he saw in that camp, pretty much destroyed his morals and religious beliefs. Before the concentration camps,  his religion was a part of him. The Holocaust destroyed a part of him. 

Another big change we see in Elie throughout the concentration camps is with his father. When he first gets to the concentration camps, Elie and his father rely on each other. In fact, Elie considers his father to be the only reason to live. On page, 86, Elie says, "My father's presence was the only thing that stopped me. He was running next to me, out of breath, out of strength, desperate. I had no right to let myself die. What would he do without me? I was his sole support." This is saying that Elie doesn't think that his father would survive in the camp without him. So, even though it would be easier to stop and be killed, he keeps on running for his father. Another example of him helping his father is when Elie teaches his father how to march in step. On page, 55, it says, "My father had never served in the military and could not march in step. But here, whenever we moved from one place to another, it was in step. That presented Franek with the oppor- tunity to torment him and, on a daily basis, to thrash him savagely. ... I decided to give my father lessons in marching in step, in keeping time. We began practicing in front of our block. I would command: 'Left, right!' and my father would try." This shows that he truely cares about his father because he is taking time out of his day to teach him. He doesn't want his father to get hurt. Even though the other inmates make fun of them, and even though his father doesn't learn it very fast, Elie continues to teach him. 

Towards the end of the book, Elie's feelings about his father begin to change a little bit. He begins to wonder if he would be better off without his father. Especially because some of the inmates keep telling him this: "'Listen to me, kid. Don't forget that you are in a concentration camp. In this place, it is every man for himself, and you cannot think of others. Not even your father. In this place, there is no such thing as father, brother, friend. Each of us lives and dies alone. Let me give you good advice: stop giving your ration of bread and soup to your old father. You cannot help him anymore.'" (P. 110) Elie begins to wonder if that was true. On page 111, he says, "I listened to him without interrupting. He was right, I thought deep down, not daring to admit it to myself. Too late to save your old  father...You could have two rations of bread, two rations of soup..." He is starting to think that he would be better off without his father because, if his father wasn't' there, he wouldn't have to give away his ration of bread and soup. He wouldn't be threatened because his father wouldn't stop calling Elie's name to go get him water.  When Elie's father dies, Elie does not cry. Instead, on page 112, he says, "But I was out of tears. And deep inside me, if I could have searched the recesses of my feeble conscience, I might have found something like: Free at last!..." He says that he feels free without his father, letting the reader know that he has changed forever.  

Works Cited:

Wiesel, Elie. Night. Trans. Marion Wiesel. New York: Hill and Wang, 2006. 
      Print.

Butterfly Project

"Pain Strikes Sparks On Me, The Pain Of Terezin"

Fifteen beds. Fifteen charts with names,
Fifteen people without a family tree.
Fifteen bodies for whom torture is medicine and pills.
Beds over which crimson blood of ages spills.
Fifteen bodies that want to live here.
Thirty eyes seeking quietness.
Bald heads that gape from out of the prison.
The holines of suffering, which is none of my business.

The loveliness of the air, which day after day
Smells of strangeness and carbolic,
The nurses that carry thermometers
Mothers who grope after a smile.
Food is such a luxury here.
A long, long night, and a brief day.

But anyway, I don't want to leave
The lighted rooms and the burning cheeks,
Nurses who leave behind them only a shadow
To help the little sufferers.

I'd like to stay here, a small patient, 
Waiting the doctor's daily round,
Until  after a long, long time, I'd be well again.

Then I'd like to live
And go back home again.

Anonymous

I commented on: Dena's Blog, Mario's Blog, Sofia's Blog, Carter's Blog, and Dylan's Blog.

Holocaust AOW Impressions

      What I learned is that even though the Holocaust happened so long ago, there are still so many ways that the memories are living on. For example, in the article that I read this week, I learned about a Holocaust museum in LA that connects survivors of the Holocaust to high school students. The survivors tell their stories, and the students create art projects to express their thoughts. The program started because the teachers believe that students can express themselves more with art than with a conversation. The museum hangs their artwork up, so the memory of the Holocaust lives on.

      Another thing that I learned is the Nicholas Winton, who saved 670 Jewish children during the Holocaust, died recently at 106 years old. The rescue mission that he started became known as the Czech Kindertransport. He put these children, who were in the Czech Republic, on a boat, and then onto a train into London. He then used his resources to find foster homes for these children. There were 250 more children that were supposed to go to London, but unfortunately, their train got stopped on the way. Nicholas was a Nobel Prize nominee and was even knighted by the Queen in 2003.

Berlin Memorial Activity

What did you learn?

      In class this week, we learned a little bit about the laws that Adolf Hitler wrote against the Jews. There were over 400 of them put in place between 1933 and 1945. We learned that they came in bursts rather than a certain number every year. They started out with just taking away social activities, like "Jews cannot belong to a German Automobile Club", but over the years, they started to get a bit more severe. One of them was "Jews were not allowed to graduate". Their education was taken away. Some of the laws had a close resemblemce to American segregation in the 1900s. For example, "Jews not allowed to use swimming pools" or  "Jews only allowed to sit on benches marked with yellow color".

Why do you think this monument was built?

      I think this monument was built to remember the Holocaust. Monuments are almost always built to remember something or someone. It is important for people to learn about these historic events and tragedies, so that we can prevent them from happening again. We have not always been able to prevent them from happening in the past, and there have been other genocides in other countries, but we might be able to prevent them in the future.

What do you notice about the number of laws passed in certain years?

      I notice that the laws came in bursts instead of a certain number every single year. Obviously we didn't look at all 400 of the laws, but we looked at enough to get information about what they were like. The first year, 1933, there were many laws passed. But then in 1934, things slowed down a bit. In 1938, there was another burst, and again in 1942. In the years in between, there were laws passed, but not as many as 1933, 1938, or 1942.

Which restrictions do you think would have been the most trouble dealing with and why?

      I think that the most troubling law to deal with was the loss of jobs. If you were already poor, losing your job would make everything ten times worse. Your job is the only way you can get money for food and clothes for yourself and your family, and without it, you could starve.

2nd Quarter Refliections

      I cannot believe that we are already halfway through the year. It is just now starting to sink in that next year I am going to be in HIGH SCHOOL.

In what area do you think you made your biggest improvements in English Language Arts? 

      I think that the biggest improvement that I have made in ELA this year is with my annotating. This year, we read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and we had to annotate A LOT. Last year, when we read Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck, I think I did okay with annotating. Almost all of the annotations were questions. But this year, I really think I did a better job and I am really proud of myself for that.  

What is something you have accomplished since the new year that you are proud of?

      Something that I accomplished this year that I am proud of is finishing the 20 Book Challenge. The goal for everyone in the class was 20 books, but people could set higher goals if they wanted to. My goal was 40 books, like last year. I really think that I can finish it this year.

Where are you in your 40 Book Challenge? 

      So far for the 40 book challenge, I have read 23 books. I have read Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen, Counting by 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan, Paper Towns by John Green, Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K Rowling. The Hostile Hospital, The Carnivorous Carnival, The Slippery Slope, The Grim Grotto, The Penultimate Peril, and The End by Lemony Snicket. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, A Tree Grows in  Brooklyn by Betty Smith, Wonder by R. J. Palacio, Of Beetles And Angels by Mawi Asgedom, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, The Alchemyst by Michael Scott, and Notes From A Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonnenblick. I am halfway through the challenge which is perfect because we are halfway through the year! I am also doing Battle of the Books this year, which I think is going to help with this challenge. 

What has been the most challenging part of 2nd Quarter for you and what did/can you do to help overcome this?

      This Quarter, I have really struggled with the vocab tests. This year, I think that I have a lot more things that I have to do, whether it's clubs or homework or whatever I have to do, I forget to study for the vocab tests, and so I don't do as well as I did last year. I think that something that I can do to help is to set an alarm on Thursday nights to remember. I spend so much time on my phone that if I have to remember to do something, I either set an alarm or a calendar reminder. If I remember to study for the tests, I know that I will do better.

To Kill A Mockingbird Comparative Analysis

1.  What do you think is the most important difference between the written and filmed version? Provide evidence with specific details.

      There were many differences between the movie and the book. One of those differences is that they completely cut out an important character that was in the second part of the book. In the second part of the book, Scout and Jem's Aunt Alexandra comes and stays with them to "teach Scout how to become a woman". We learn a lot about the town and the time period through her. As she says on page 127, "'We decided that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence. It wont be many years before you become interested in clothes and boys--'" She ends up being a fairly important character in the second half of the book, but she is never mentioned in the movie. 

      Another big difference is with Mrs. Dubose. In the book, Jem learns a big life lesson because of her. In the book, she is described as a horrible, mean, nasty woman who insults Atticus and the children. When she dies, Atticus tells Jem her life story and how she was the bravest woman he ever knew. But, in the movie, she was only mentioned once: in the very beginning of the movie, she yells at Scout about being an ugly girl. They never mention her death, and Jem doesn't learn the lesson about courage.

3. What is the purpose in having different versions of a story? Think about how different versions contribute to the overall understanding and interpretation of that piece of work. Use specific concepts to support your opinion.

      There are many reasons for having different versions of a story. One reason could be different perspectives. For example, in the book, everything was from Scout's perspective, which meant that we could really see everything that as going on. But, in the movie, we got to see parts of the story that we couldn't see from the book, like Atticus going to visit Helen Robinson. Another reason for having different versions of a story is to understand it better. Sometimes during the book, I got a little confused as to what was happening, like when Mr. Ewell attacked the kids, but in the movie, I was able to understand it a little better.