Charisse's Blog

To Kill A Mockingbird #7 - Jem Finch

2009-05-29T14:59:00.001-07:00

Seventh grade had finally started and I'm now in high school. Scout is now in the third grade. I started to see Scout less and we walked together in the mornings, and saw each other sometimes during the mealtimes. Since school started, I am extremely excited to finally play football one day. Right now the coach just gets me to carry water buckets for the team. When I got home, I was pretty tired. Water-carrying makes me worn out. I finished a milk bottle, and stuffed a bunch of bananas. I had so much, I had about twelve. The coach said if I can gain twenty-five pounds by next year, I could probably play football. So I lay down in bed, and Scout came in and asked me a question. She asked me about Mrs. Gates, her teacher, and then started yappin' about how she hated Hitler and then started talking about the courthouse. I got so furious, I just jumped off of the bed and almost choked her. I did not want to hear one word about the courthouse, and anything related to it. I just don't like talking about it...

Halloween came by and Scout was in a pageant, and she was a ham. She was stuffed in that costume, and I felt pretty bad for her. I bet she wouldda had no room to breathe and that thing was hard to carry. We headed for the high school and it was pretty dark. I should've brought a flashlight, but I wasn't expecting it to be this dark. When we reached the auditorium, Scout hung out with Cecil, which let me run off to other kids that are my own age. I gave her thirty cents and she ran off.

When it was time for Scout's performance, she had fallen asleep. She missed her cue of "po-ork" and she ended up running on stage and Judge Taylor and such started laughing. Mrs. Merriweather got mad at Scout, which really hurt her so we had waited backstage until the crowd left. After that, we headed home. I kept hearing a noise and I kept thinking it was Cecil Jacobs trying to scare us again. Scout and I tried calling him, but we heard no reply. If it wasn't Cecil, we didn't know who and where the noises were coming from. We preceded to run and I told Scout to keep running. She couldn't keep her balance, because of her uncomfortable ham costume. Someone was trying to hurt us. It was just too dark to figure out who. I heard the noise of someone trying to suffocate Scout. She was stuck in there, and she got hurt because of the chicken wire of the costume. I couldn't remember anything after that, it all just happened too fast. I awoke from an injury. I had broken my arm, and it hurt pretty badly. We found out that it was Mr. Bob Ewell, and he died. Someone had stabbed a knife under his ribs, and he's gone. I wondered who had killed him, because it was definitely not me. He had tried to follow us, and I was knocked unconscious. When I heal, I don't know how I would be able to play football now.... And it was all because of that case...

To Kill A Mockingbird #6 - Mayella Ewell

2009-05-20T20:19:00.000-07:00

The court case started, and I had to come up to the stand to speak. The whole silly town of Maycomb was pretty much there, and I had to do my best to win this case for my father. Several people had testified before me, such as Mr. Heck Tate, the town sheriff, and my father, Bob Ewell. After my father testified, it was my turn.

My father started off to the witness stand. He told to the jury of how he was coming in from the woods and heard me screaming in the house. He said that he saw me through the window, and saw Tom Robinson. He also said that the ran into the house and ran for Mr. Heck Tate. Then, Atticus Finch asked him if my father ran for a dctor. And he said no. Atticus was tryna get something outta him, but my father said that he never thought of it, and had never called a doctor in his life, and it would've cost him five dollars. My father also stated that I was beat up, and bruised. They told the jury of how my eye was blackened, and Atticus Finch randomly asked if my father could read and write. Atticus Finch probably thought somethin' stealthy was goin on. I wondered what Atticus Finch was geting to him, and he proved to the court that he wrote with his left hand. This revealed to the court that my father could've abused me. I was bruised with my right eye, and so since my father is left handed, they could've thought that he beat me up, and is trying to start a fraud.

The defense, Atticus Finch, scares me. The poor white guy had to defend a nigger, and I wonder how people reacted to that. I was extremely nervous and scared to just give my testimony. I started off by swearing the evidence I gave would be the truth, and nothing but the truth. I walked up to the stand as clean as I could be, and they started asking me questions. Mr. Gilmer told me to tell the jury of what happened on November twenty-first, and I started to tell my story. I told Judge Taylor that I was on the front porch, but they kept on throwing in more irrelevant questions. I couldn't give an answer, so I just burst into tears. I was afraid of what to say, and I didn't want to say the wrong things. I didn't want Atticus Finch to act to me as he did to my father, and give me the same attitude. Atticus Finch started off by asking me hold I was, and I told them how I was 19 and a half. I also told my side of the story, as I was hesitant enough to say so. I said that there was a old chiffarobe in the yard and my father was out in the woods, and Tom Robinson came by. I told the court that I would give Tom Robinson a nickel to bust up the chiffarobe. I said that I was in the house to get him the nickel, and when I truned around, Tom Robinson was on me. I told them that he ran up behind me, and got around the neck and starting cussin' and sayin' dirt.. I told them how I screamed and kicked around, and the more I told this story, I became more confident. Atticus spoke to me more and started throwin' in more questions, and acted like he was makin' fun of me. He kept callin' me "ma'am" and sayin' "Miss Mayella" to me... The Judge told me how he was really like that and he was being polite... But anyways, Atticus proceeded to ask me more random questions that didn't really relate to the case. I started to tell more about our family's home life. I explained stuff like how my father was a drunk, how when the weather was cold we had to make shoes out of old tires, how I didn't really go to school, and how our family hauled water in buckets. Atticus Finch kept proceedin' to ask me more questions, like how if I loved my father, and such like that. I told the court about my pauper life. My testimony was pretty ugly, because of makin' me cry and burst out like that. I wondered if the citizens of Maycomb were pretty prejudice if I was a weak young girl, but I just couldn't answer any more questions, and it was just too much... This trial has been pretty weird so far and I wonder how it'll end up.

To Kill A Mockingbird #5 - Aunt Alexandra

2009-05-17T17:35:00.000-07:00

I waited patiently on the front porch, and Scout and Jem arrived. I arrived to Maycomb for a visit and I believe that Jem and Scout Finch needed a feminine influence in their life. The poor kids lost their mother when they were young, and I think that I could help out in the situation. Jean Louise could become interested in boys and clothes, and she needs a role model in her life. And that would be me. The children really didn't seem to agree with me, but Atticus did. He appreciated my help. I'm doing a favor for this family, you know. These children should be really thankful that they still have me. Atticus' children do not even have well manners. They could learn a thing or two from me. Actually, they could learn everything. I'm pretty disappointed of the two children, they should live up to the Finch's name. They a shame in the Finch family. I asked Atticus to talk to the kids and let them know that they are a Finch, not one of those run-of-the-mill people..

I was listening to one of the stories that Jean Louise was telling Atticus. It was about how Calpurnia took the two children to her church. Jean Louise asked Atticus was rape was, and I just sat in a corner and I was quietly sewing. Calpurnia is starting to become close to the children, and I do not allow that. She promised Jean Louise that she could come to her home, and I simply denied the request. Jean Louise acted like a little brat and Atticus is becoming a better father and told her to apologize to me. He wasn't acting like a good enough father, though, and I told him that he should just get rid of Calpurnia. He refused and it just made me furious. He should get rid of the ol' cook, shes not a help at all. Look how Atticus' kids came out, you see my point? Ah, these folks just don't understand how to raise proper children. Even after Atticus talked to the kids, I still find Jem and Scout go into a fight. Even Miss Jean Louise is a girl, it is no way to act as a proper lady. And she was not a proper lady at all.

A new face arrived to Maycomb, and it was Dill. He was Miss Rachel's nephew, and a friend of Jem and Scout's. After seeing this little boy, I could see where some of Scout's behavior was inhabited from. This boy left his home and ran away three hundred miles. A crazy little boy just ran away like that.. and went all the way to Maycomb to see his little friends. Dill, or well his actual name was Charles, was actually let to stay. Which meant that Scout and Jem had more troubles to face. Raising children is hard...

Jem, however, isn't that bad of a boy. He is definetly becoming a gentleman and doesn't have bad behavior unlike little Miss Jean Louise. He doesn't need as much work as Jean Louise does. He is a good role model for Jean Louise, except for the fact that it made her become a tom boy.

Other than these two children, Maycomb was pretty welcome to me. Miss Maudie, a neighbor, baked me a Lane cake, which was really nice of her. Miss Rachel let me come over for coffee in the afternoons, and Mr. Nathan Radley came up to the front yard and said that he was glad to see me. The town was so welcoming.

To Kill A Mockingbird #4 - Atticus

2009-05-14T20:17:00.000-07:00

As a father, I feel pretty old. I've reached fifty years old, and I wasn't like Jem and Scout's school contemporaries' fathers. Even though I'm unlike other fathers, I feel that I've been pretty successful as a father, and I hope that my children feel the same. I don't do poker or fish or drink or smoke, nor do i hunt. I'm a pretty simple gentleman who sits in his living room and reads, and could play the Jew's Harp, hah. I'm pretty sure that my children wish that I was like other fathers, who may play football, especially at church. I wish that I could've played with Jem, but I think that I would probably break a bone or break my neck. I just can't put myself in some peril. I do not want to hurt myself, and I do not want my children to lose another parent. My kids know me pretty well, as a different type of father. One thing, however, I'm sure I pretty surprised my children.

Calpurnia had called for me one day furiously. She called for ol' Tim Johnson, which was a mad dog. I arrived to Cal and my kids as soon as I could with Mr. Heck Tate, the sherriff of Maycomb County. Heck Tate and I searched for Tim Johnson in sight, while other neighbors watched silently, hiding within their homes. The street was silent and dead, and was very inaudible. Heck Tate just decided to handed the rifle to me and it made me nervous. I didn't want to miss and aim for the Radley house, and I haven't even shot a gun for nearly thirty years. I didn't want to waste a bullet for nothing, and run fear for everyone in the whole town. Scout and Jem watched myself as I carefully aimed for Tim Johnson. He rested in front of the Radley gate and went up the street. I yanked the rifle and shot the dog. After I had shot Tim Johnson, neighbors started to come out and the street was no longer dead. Jem became paralyzed, and he was filled with confusion. I don't really understand why, but I guess he was just disappointed.

The other day, Mrs. Dubose had passed away. She was an old woman who was a neighbor of ours. She was nearly one hundred years old, and was very ill. Jem and Scout passes by her house sometimes, and she would raise her voice and was disrespectful to them. She was cantankerous, but she was a good woman. Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose would tell Jem and Scout nasty and bad things, but I just told Jem to not to let it get to him. I told Jem to hold his head high, and be a gentleman. I thought he would take my advice. To Mrs. Dubose, I acted like a very well gentleman and acted as if nothing was wrong. I would tell her the courthouse news, and and wished for the best for her. I guess I may had surprised Scout for acting like that, but I think that she could learn from this. One day Mrs. Dubose told Jem that I was a nigger-lover. He did not take my advice for acting like a gentleman, and instead he decided to destroy her flowers. Jem used the baton he had bought for Scout and ruined every one of Mrs. Dubose's camellia bushes. As soon as I found out about this, I had to talk to Jem about it. I scared him a bit for getting him in trouble, but he just needed to know that he couldn't act like that to an old lady, especially who was sick. Many people in this town had been getting mad and crazed at the fact that I am simply defending a black man in a case. I told Jem to apologize to Mrs. Dubose, and so I hoped he learned from his lesson. My children do not understand that I would've been a wrong person to not defend Tom Robinson's case, and that other people think that I am wrong, but I simply am not. They need to learn to ignore other people, and they have their own opinons that shouldn't let it get to Scout or Jem. People may say ignorant terms to them, and my kids just simply fight if they hear something bad about them. Many people contradict the two. There was Francis, and now Mrs. Dubose. I know it may be my fault for their troubles, but I had done the right thing. To pay back to Mrs. Dubose, Jem would go to her house every afternoon after school and Saturdays and read to her our loud for two hours. Jem was scared to do so, but I just told him to act like he was in the Radley Place. Jem and Scout came by to Mrs. Dubose's home and did a good deed for her. About a month later, Mrs. Dubose passed away and died a free woman. She was a morphine addict that her doctor had put her on and suffered alot. She was a pretty brave person, and was a good lady.

To Kill A Mockingbird #3 - Miss Maudie

2009-05-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

The seasons changed; from autumn to winter, the weather had changed as well. It's been years since snow have appeared in Maycomb. It hasn't been this cold in Maycomb since 1885. The snow really bothers me. The snow messes up my azaleas! The weather might freeze up my precious plants. I wanted something to just warm them up, so I just asked Jem and Scout Finch. The kids didn't have school today, so I called for Jem and Scout Finch to come over. They asked to borrow for some of my snow, and heck, if I could just let the snow not come on my house, I would let it skip my home. The darn snow messes up my plants! But anyways, the two teenyboppers got one of the old peach baskets that were lying around, and they just transfered the snow into their front yard. They ran off and made a snowman or somethin', but Jem Finch took my sunhat! He took my sunhat from my yard and placed it on their snowman. It made me so mad. Kids nowadays.. Especially Aticus Finchs'.

The next morning I was awoken by smoke in my home. I came out at about six o'clock in the morning, and I felt pretty frozen like ice. Fire spat out from my dining room windows. Oh my, it was about time that my house burned down. I've been waiting for this to happen for a really long time, but I was afraid that I would've gotten in trouble or something. All of the citizens of Maycomb gathered around and watched my house. The men of Maycomb took furniture from my home to some other yard across the street. Even Nathan Radley was helping out. Dick Avery's face appeared in an upstairs window, and he was stuck.. People were shouting for him to come out. He crossed the upstairs porch and swung his legs over the railing. He slid down a pillar and fell onto my shubbery. That man almost lost it... And then the fire started to spread out and knock out the roof. It ate the second floor and the window frames turned black. Men were working their way to make the fire stop, and they stopped moving the furniture. I stood next to Atticus within a group of neighbors. People became pumping water and water shot out everywhere especially the Finch's home and Rachel's. . People worked in pajama pants and in the early morning. Even though a fire was nearby, it was pretty darn cold. People were in long coats and bathrobes and it was a unexpected situation. I watched as my home finally burst into flames. I bet the kids were cold, but Scout had oddly appeared with a blanket on her back. She wasn't even sure of where the blanket had came from, and it was weird because all the men in Maycomb were helping out in the fire.. The blanket had appeared on her back, and Atticus said that it must've been Boo Radley. I guess after the lil kids games, they finally got him to come out... and they didn't realize it.

Well, I didn't really like my home anyways. I was in relief, yet I didn't know what was going to happen next. I guess I'll stay with Rachel or Stephanie for now, but who knows where I'll end up next. My home had fire gushed everywhere and I watched it burn down. There was a smoking black hole in my yard. I was relieved, yet it was pretty tragic. I wasn't exactly in the mood to talk to anyone. It was now almost Christmas. And I'm pretty excited.

To Kill A Mockingbird #2 - Jem

2009-05-10T16:46:00.001-07:00

I got home from school today and Scout finds Wrigley’s Double-Mint gum. She found it in a tree… gross. But it wasn’t just any tree, it was at the Radley Place! She just picked it up and chewed it! She could’ve gotten killed or something! So Scout took me to the place where she found the gum, and we found another tiny little package. It was two Indian-heads pennies. They were really old and valuable. It was packed in one of those small velvet packages where you keep rings and other jewelry. Scout and I didn’t really know what to do with them.

Since summer was finally here, Dill came back from Mississippi. With all our freedom, we really couldn’t find anything to do this summer. Dill looked over at the Radley Place and said he smelled death. He acted like he believed in Hot Steams. As bored as we were, Scout was in the tire and I shoved her down the road with all the force that I could apply. She landed in the Radley Place which frightened me. She wouldn’t get up and she couldn’t get out of there as fast as she could. Scout had left the tire there. It was time for our summertime ritual—lemonade time. And then I figured out what we were gonna play. I gave out roles of Scout being with Mrs. Radley and Dill was Mr. Radley. We played Boo Radley. Over the summer, we continued to play Boo Radley. One day, Atticus caught us playing and asked us if we were doing something that had to do with the Radleys. I panicked. I lied and said that we weren’t, but I’m not sure about playing Boo Radley anymore. Atticus didn’t want us to play this game, so was it safe? The evasion of the situtation stopped us.

I spent the summer hanging with Dill. Sometimes we would play in the tree house and we had fun times together. Sometimes Scout with be with us, but most of the time she was always with Miss Muadie Atkinson, who is a chameleon lady. Dill and I tried to plan a way to give Boo Radley a note. We want him to come out. Dill and I were pretty unanimous about our plan, and we would put the note on the end of a fishing pole and stick it through the shutters. Scout tried to butt into our plan, and if she wanted to know what was going on, she would have to be in it. I forced her into the plan and she called us crazy. But whatever, we did it anyways. I attached the note to the end of the fishing pole, placed it across the yard and struggled to push it onto the window. The fishing pole was short several inches and I couldn’t get the note off the fishing pole. Dill started ringing the bell and before I knew it, Atticus appeared. Atticus told us to stop tormenting the man, and Atticus’ tyranny made me not wanna be a lawyer no more. I didn't want to keep quibbiling with my father, but Atticus didn’t stop us.

When it was Dill’s last day in Maycomb, Dill and I decided to go and peak through a window at the Radley place for one last time. Our malignant scheme made Scout to not leave us alone, and she kept actin’ like a little brat. She ended up joining us anyways at night and we quietly tried to teeter through the Radley house. We then see a man with a shadow wearing a hat. I put my arms over my head and the shadow was close to me. We quickly tried to escape. My pants had gotten stuck in the fence, and I tried kicking my pants off to escape. I had to run out with my shorts on. A shotgun had gone off, and as we came back, Miss Maudie told us that Mr. Radley shot at a Negro in his yard. I panicked and Atticus had asked me where my pants went. Dill had saved me and said that we were playing strip poker and Dill had won them. I later snuck out, and tried to get my pants back. What a crazy summer.

Jem

To Kill A Mockingbird #1 - Scout

2009-05-03T15:05:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that summer already ended. I'm going to miss playing with Dill and his eccentric mind. Dill left his Aunt's house to the town of Meridian. It made me really sad to see him gone. I'm also going to miss playing with Jem too. He doesn't even want to talk to me at school. He just wants me to leave him alone. Dill, Jem, and I had interesting summer days. One day, Dill dared Jem to go and touch the Radley Place. Boo Radley was one I can't believe that summer already ended. I'm going to miss playing with Dill and his eccentricmaleovent human who lived in that house. It seemed pretty intimidating but Jem did the dare anyways. For some reason, Dill thought that house was so fascinating. I have never seen Boo Radley before nor either has Jem. I’ve heard crazy and weird stories about that Radley Place. Dill wants Boo Radley to come out. I got pretty scared for Jem because I wondered what would happen if Boo Radley would pop up out of nowhere. What if Boo Radley was going to go out to get us?!

School started and I despise it. I actually was really looking forward on going to school. Jem even condesended me to school that day which was pretty odd of him. Atticus should have taken me, but I guess Atticus bribed Jem to take me. My teacher, Miss Caroline Fisher, is one horrible teacher. She was a pretty woman who was pretty young. She wasn’t any older than 21. Even Jem was pretty amazed by her. Miss Caroline was from North Alabama and she went to college. Supposedly she’s trying to teach some new way of reading… I don’t think that’s working very well. Miss Caroline told me that Atticus shouldn’t teach me anymore about reading. Atticus doesn’t even teach me anything, it was all Calpurnia! Calpurnia taught me how to read and write. Miss Caroline made me so irked about knowing how to read. I’ve been reading ever since I was born, and Miss Caroline can’t just tell me to not read. It’s like saying to stop breathing. School was pretty boring so I even tried to write Dill a letter. I missed Dill. Miss Caroline caught me writing a letter and told me that I won’t learn to write until I’m in the third grade. Maybe I should just get sent to the third grade then!

Miss Caroline is so silly. She doesn’t really know anything about Maycomb. She offered Walter Cunningham money for lunch since he didn’t have any. He’s a Cunningham! She should know that they don’t borrow what they can’t pay back. I tried telling some sense into Miss Caroline, but she just wouldn’t listen to me. The Cunninghams didn’t really have much money and Miss Caroline didn’t really understand how they were. She didn’t understand anybody. Miss Caroline even whipped me; I guess that’s how I’m going to spend my schoolyear.

Immigration Project Reflection

2009-03-29T15:01:00.000-07:00

In this Immigration unit, I read the two books: The Circuit & Breaking Through written by Francisco Jimenez. I felt that this book was quite interesting because it taught me more about immigration. I wasn't exactly satisfied with my book at first. I thought that it wouldn't be as great to read 2 books, but after reading the book, I'm quite glad with my book choice. The two books weren't that boring and it gave me a new perspective on immigration. Something that I learned from the two books was how immigrants were treated and how they lived. These books show different races were treated and how that changed over time. I think that the LC process is currently fine as it is, and there wouldn't be anything that I would like to change. I think that blogging is more efficient rather than writing. I think this because when you're writing, you don't really write the whole idea down. Blogging is also more interesting because you can hear other thoughts from other students as well. The only problem with this blogging experience is that other group members would not do a blog post, which affects the other group members. I think that sometimes other people would interpret the book a different way and it is interesting to read their opinions. Sometimes they wouldn't go in depth into the book and they wouldn't understand that scene as well, which gets confusing.

It was kind of difficult for me to choose what I should do for my painting. The scene that popped into my head when I first received the assignment was when Francisco & his family got caught by the border patrol. The only problem with this scene was how to interpret it. When you first look at the painting, you wouldn't exactly know what the scene is and how it is significant to the book. The painting is more understandable if you had read the book. I felt that my painting turned out fine, and the only problem was capturing the detail in this picture. I think that I should have chose my other choice for the painting because it would've been easier and simpler to paint. I think that if I chose the other choice, my painting would look better. From this experience, I think that painting is a different way to reflection on a novel. It is a simple way to reflect on the book instead of writing about the book.

The interview process was smooth and kind of difficult. It was kind of hard to communicate with my participant because he had a busy schedule. I think that interviewing the participant 3 times made me feel like I was bothering the person a lot. It was kind of helpful because then I would have more follow-up questions the next time I had an interview. I think that 2 interviews would've been better, because through e-mail was kind of difficult for people who don't really check their email. You would have to call the person to tell them to check the e-mail, when you could have just done it over the phone. Something unique that I learned was that my participant was placed in a refugee camp in Thailand in order to America. I've always thought that you could just hop on a plane and get here, but there is a longer process in order to immigrate here. I also learned that since his father was a high-rank officer in Laos, his family was not safe and the communists felt that his father was a threat. I thought that this was interesting because things like that actually did happen and wasn't made up. His father was caught and placed in a underground camp where he was paralyzed waist-down, and barely saw sunlight for 9 years. I think that having the opportunity to interview a immigrant helped me understand immigration more. It helped me see immigration in a real point of view, in person. It wasn't through a book or through a painting, but it was coming out of a person who experienced immigration.

In conclusion, this immigration unit taught me a whole lot about immigration and gave me a whole new point of view on immigrants. I got to experience reading someone's perspective on immigration, go through an interview process, learn more about immigration on a in-person POV, and even express and reflect on a novel through art. I enjoyed this unit pretty well and it was valuable to learning.

The Circuit & Breaking Through Book Review

2009-03-13T14:34:00.001-07:00

The Circuit and Breaking Through by Francisco Jimenez are two inspiring books. These books are a collection of stories about Francisco's childhood as a migrant child. They come from Guadalajara, Mexico to California for a better life. His family faces poverty and discrimination in America and struggle to live as a big family. The family moves a lot for work which causes Francisco to not stay in school as much. Francisco and his family face a new life--trying to fit in and learn a new language. They work extremely hard for very little money, such as a janitor job that only pays $1.25 an hour(minimum wage at the time). Even though they were a very poor family, they made the best of their situation and still was a caring family.

The two books are stories of Francisco's life. One of my favorite stories within the two books was when Francisco goes to visit colleges and gets accepted. I liked this story because it shows that you can achieve anything as long as you can put your mind to it. It didn't matter that Francisco was a poor kid and he actually made it to college even though it was costly. He was able to receive scholarships and made more opportunities in America rather than he may had back in Mexico. Francisco made a good future in America which helped me realize why many immigrants are coming to America.

Francisco Jimenez writes with detail and feeling. You can feel how difficult their life was and the book really motivates you to enjoy life. Francisco Jimenez helps you understand the situation well and really captures how Mexican illegal immigrants felt when they came to this country. For living in San Diego, I never really knew why illegal immigrants came here until after reading this book.

The first book is mainly about Francisco's family, while the second is about Francisco and his life through school. Personally, I enjoyed Breaking Through more because I could relate to some of the stories and I thought that the stories were more interesting than the other book. One of the things that I really liked was the growth of Francisco's character. Throughout the book, you would see Francisco become more responsible and a leader. He becomes someone in the new country and makes a difference, especially at school.

I recommend these two books to everyone especially for kids ages 7-18, and if you would like to learn more about Mexican immigrants. In these books, the family are very grateful for every little thing that they had compared to other kids who may take many things for granted. The family made many sacrifices and didn't complain as much. They also took that the opportunities that they had in this country to succeed. These two books definitely make you appreciate every thing that you have.

Breaking Through by Francisco Jimenez

2009-03-11T17:13:00.000-07:00

"I hear college is really hard", I said, remembering how anxious I felt when Ms. Taylor, my social studies teacher, told the class how difficult college was compared to high school." - Francisco, pg 115

I could relate to Francisco, because people make college sound really difficult and stressful. I always wonder if its really that hard or not. I wonder if you're really well prepared in high school, that it wouldn't be that hard. I think that for Francisco it wouldn't be that difficult because he doesn't have that much of a hard time at school, besides for reading. I think that this is part of the reason why Francisco went to America, so that they have a better future, and I think that Francisco would have a good future by going to college.

I think what Francisco heard, he believed it and got scared from that. It made him more hesitant about college and it made him think that he wouldn't do so well. Since Mr. Kinkade was a guidance counselor, I think that he probably just does that to encourage students that they can go to college and do well.

Do you think that college is difficult?

"This is a very special christmas, mijo," Mama said excitedly, clasping her hands. "This afternoon the Salvation Army brought us a huge box full of groceries. God is truly watching over us." - Mama, page 121

I think that this quote shows how poor the family is. The Salvation Army donated to very poor families, and the Jimenez' were one of them. Mama was very thankful to have the groceries. It helped them survive better in America by helping them save more money, which meant a lot for them. I wondered if Francisco eventually told Mama that it was from his school and that it was his idea for that.

This quote also shows how good Francisco's character is. Francisco's idea had a impact on many families, especially his. It made their Christmas much better. He wasn't selfish and gave out to the poor. It helped his family out and it was all because of Franisco. I think that it was also odd that it was someone from another country that helped people within the country, rather than the people who were born and raised there.

After reading this book, did it give you more respect for very poor families?

Breaking Through by Francisco Jimenez

2009-03-05T20:10:00.000-08:00

"What about working for me on weekends? I can pay you $1.25 an hour." Mike Nevel, pg 86

I thought that this was the hardships that the characters faced. I thought that it was really sad for them to live in America especially when they don't have enough money. They could take any job that they could possibly get, and receiving $1.25 an hour was extremely little. I wondered how much money that they needed to spend for groceries and rent.

I think that Francisco spent a lot of money on the typewriter because he gave him $5 for it when it would take him several hours to pay for it. I think that he could've just took it even though they didn't have any money for it at all. I thought that it was really weird because they find other things such as baby clothes and tennis shoes in the dumpster.

If you were in their position would you have taken the typewriter for school purposes? Or would you have left it so you wouldn't have to pay?

"Her father even promised her to buy a car if she stopped seeing me. Can you believe that?" Roberto, pg 107

I thought that this was a hardship that Roberto faced because he was discriminated and I thought that it was really sad. I don't understand why Susan's parents did not want her to see Roberto. I don't get what they had against Mexicans. I thought that it was weird and that it reminded me of Romeo and Juliet, except I wondered what Roberto's parents would've thought about that. I thought that Roberto and Susan would've probably gotten married or something, but I guess she just moved on.

What do you think Susan's parents not like about Mexicans?

Breaking Through by Francisco Jimenez

2009-03-01T17:01:00.000-08:00

"From that day on, Papa's spirits began to die too. His moods changed from day to day. He began to complain about his back and got angry about everything and everyone" page 53

This was one of the challenges that Papa faced when living in America. I thought that he was starting to get sick and die soon. In the first book Papa seems caring and funny, and in this chapter he is angry and irritant. His sickness really changes his character and I wondered how the rest of the family felt about that. If I was Francisco I would be annoyed, worried, and scared of Papa.

I could relate to Papa, because when your back hurts you get very irritant and nervous. It's a strange mood, but since Papa gets extremely angry, you can tell that the pain must be really bad, and he must be really sick.

So did the family get sent back to Mexico then went back to America? I didn't understand that part.

""You can't wear that t-shirt, mijo, Mama cried out. "It's yellow-ish and frayed." -Mama, page 58

Francisco had to wear something nice for his 8th grade graduation, but he only had a yellow-ish shirt that was frayed. I think that this shows how poor the family was. They couldn't really buy a nice shirt since they didn't have the money. Francisco's only choice was to wear a bigger shirt that didn't fit him as well. Francisco could've worn a collared shirt, but I'm guessing that he didn't have one.

I think that Francisco was also hesitant about the t-shirt, because many other boys wore a white collared shirt. He was glad that his friend was wearing a t-shirt too, but I don't think it's dressy for a junior high graduation. I think that Francisco could've saved up money for a nice shirt for that occasion.

Why couldn't Francisco's Mama and Papa go to his graduation?

The Circuit by Francisco Jimenez #3

2009-02-25T20:27:00.000-08:00

"I reached underneath the front seat and pulled out my penny collection, which I kept in a small, white cardboard box." page 97, Francisco.

I thought that this was interesting, because even though Francisco was very poor, he still collected pennies for a collection. I think that he could have used these pennies for food or something; but they pennies may be very valuable later.

I can relate to Francisco, because I like to collect things as well. I like to collect the quarters that has different states on them. I was also surprised because the pennies are really valuable now. An 1865 indian head penny (the one that Francisco said he had) is worth about $20 now, and I wonder if he still has that collection.

Do you think that Francisco was ashamed of where he had lived?

"I am useless; I can't work; I can't feed my family; I can't even protect you from la migra." page 116, Papa

I thought that this was pretty sad because the family works hard for their money, and one less worker would have less money. I felt bad for him because he works extremely hard for the family and helped them get all the way to America, but now he's getting weak.

I think that Papa might die soon; it seems like he's getting weaker. I think that it would be difficult to live without him, because he is the one who brought them to America, and brings the family together. Papa also brings more delight and jokes to the family and seems like a happy person.

Do you think that the Papa might die soon?

The Circuit by Francisco Jimenez #2

2009-02-20T17:57:00.000-08:00

"I was paying attention to Miss Scalapino, I was so embarrassed. I laid my head on top of my desk and closed my eyes...........I wanted to fall asleep and wake up to find it was only a dream." Francisco, pg 23

This was a hardship for Francisco as he lived in America. I wondered how it felt like just in a classroom learning something, but you can't learn it since you don't understand it. I would feel so confused hearing someone and I can't understand them; it's as if I don't have ears and I wouldn't be able to hear anything.

I think that Francisco needs a translator, and try to learn English more. I don't understand how the teacher does not want Francisco to speak Spanish. I don't get how he should only speak English when he doesn't even know it. I think that she should at least try to teach him or help him out... I think that he should learn English especially since he's living in America now.

If you were in Francisco's position, how would you handle his situtation?

"The contrastista walked up to Gabriel and yelled in his face, "Well this isn't your country, idiot! You either do what I say or I'll have you fired!""

The "contrastista" was cruel to the workers. I thought that it was really mean and hard for them. I think that it was already bad enough for them to be working hard for their money, and the immigrant families already had a difficult life.

I wondered how it felt to be in that position. They only send few dollars and right now in America, several dollars wouldn't help that much. I think that it was really difficult for the family back then but they seem fine. I also wondered how the families did not get caught for being illegal immigrants. I think that you could of somewhat suspected it especially since they didn't understand English as much.

Do you think that Francisco's father still "sparkled" his eyes when he's living in California now? Or do you think they're still living the same as they were in Mexico?

The Circuit

2009-02-16T19:24:00.000-08:00

"Yes, they caught us," I repeated. I had never seen my brother so sad. Angry, I added in a whisper, "But it took them ten years."" -Francisco, pg 4

This relates to one of the questions because it was how Americans treated the characters; they got caught of being in America and they just took them away and sent them to wherever. I think that it was sad that someone turned them in after a while and I would feel betrayed.

I think that it was surprising how the family got caught and it made me wonder how I would feel if I got caught being a illegal immigrant, on a random day. I think that it was weird that they got caught after ten years.. I wondered if anyone at least suspected they were immigrants. I would've been adapted to the lifestyle for within ten years and it would suck if I would have to go back to the home country and come back and face how it used to be.

Q: What could have been a reason that someone would want to turn in Francisco and his family?

"During the night we dug a hole underneath the wire wall and wiggled like snakes under it to the other side." pg 1

This relates to the question of how they came to America; they had to sneak in and be careful after a long, 2-day journey. It must have been weird to settle to a new place and had to sneak in. I tried to picture how they would've came through a hole and had to dig for in order to get here.

I thought that part of the journey reminded me of what people do now a days to get here to America. I wondered how they didn't get caught. I thought that it was weird that it was what they had to do, but in a way they had to do it because they wanted to escape poverty and have a better life. I found it surprising that this is what people do to escape from their old life to a new one.

Why couldn't the family just come to America legally?

Field Trip Reflection

2009-02-13T17:47:00.000-08:00

Part I: From Haven To Home

In this exhibit it shows the history of the Jewish and how they made an impact in America. I learned many things about Jewish history. There was about 350 years of Jewish history and about 23 Jewish people first immigrated to New York, or 'New Amsterdam' in 1654. The Jewish have been struggling for freedom and rights and they came from Russia, Romania, and Austria. They were fleeing from religious persecution, grinding poverty, and violent attacks. The Jewish first came and they worked in poorly paid industries such as clothing factories and cigarette manufacturers. They were crowded into small homes and lived a hard life in America. An interesting thing that I learned was that 20,000 Jewish women boycotted a kosher meat shop. They did this because it was twice the price of regular meat--9 cents for non kosher and 18 cents for kosher. I thought that this was interesting because it was a lot of women that boycotted and I found this surprising. I also learned that the Jewish kind of started on Las Vegas, and that makes a big impact to America.

Part II: Children of Immigrants

Photograph: This image that I chose was two little boys on one of those mini-rides in Chinatown in New York. The two little boys seemed like siblings and the younger sibling stuck to the older one. One of the boys were looking at the camera and another was waving at it. I thought that it was interesting because I could relate having to go on one of those mini rides.

Quote: "If we have stayed in Bonsia we would have probably been killed. Although none of us can predict the future, just imagine a seven-year old child wondering if he would be killed the next day or spared in this world we call home." - Denis Tuzinovi, Bonsia

I thought that this quote was interesting because I tried to picture in my head a seven year old. It was difficult to imagine this since it's pretty cruel and scary. The quote portrays how difficult it would've been on Bonsia. I think that if I was seven and was wondering if I would've been killed the next day, I would have nightmares. This quote also says, 'in this world we call home'. I think that this means that the world could be mean and cruel but this is how we live.

Immigration

2009-02-08T18:29:00.001-08:00

An immigrant is a person who settles in another country where they were not born there. An immigrant would want to leave their home country because they would like to have a new opportunity in a different country. An immigrant may not like it in their country, and think that they would have a better life in another one. Many immigrants come to America because we have freedom and our own rights. Our country gives many rights such as freedom in religion. We have the right to practice a religion for what we believe in. There are also more job opportunities here and a chance for a better life than somewhere else. Our country has a more easier life of living. In different countries, you may have to hunt for your food. In this country, we could just buy food.

The US has really been affected with immigration. Since a lot of people from different countries would want to live in America, it really makes this country really diverse. Different types of cultures are everywhere—there are a wide variety of foods to try and different traditions. There are many different languages to learn and also different religions. Since many people want to come to America, then others would try to sneak in and come here illegally. This has caused many problems with immigration which resulted to have strict rules for coming here.

My life has been affected by immigration because my parents came to America from the Philippines. If my parents didn't come here, then I would probably be living in the Philippines, or I wouldn't be alive at all. Most of my family has immigrated from the Philippines and came to America for a better living and especially jobs. Some of my relatives came here to join the navy and wanted to be with family in this country. Immigration has really affected my life for the better.

The Color of Water

2009-01-16T09:34:00.000-08:00

The Color of Water is a book written by James McBride. This book is a memoir for his mother who raised 12 children. James' mother, Ruth, is a "light-skinned" daughter of an Orthodox rabbi and her family immigrated from Poland to a small town in Virginia. The story retraces his mother's footsteps who abandoned her family because of her husband—an African American minister. James has always wondered about the rest of his family and who his identity was. As he grew up, he learned that his mother is a different color. His family faced racism yet his mother never admitted that she was white. McBride also talks about his childhood and as he grew up; he was an interracial child who was poor, but his mother commanded a lot from her children. She expected good grades from them and managed to send all 12 children to college. Her children ranged from doctors, to writers, and to professors.

Ruth, or otherwise known as Rachel, is a character that is strong and a great mother. She loved a black man even though her parents despised black people. Her parents stopped caring for her and didn't love her anymore. They wanted Ruth to stay out of their lives. Ruth didn't care what color people were. She really didn't care what others thought of her and she just ignored them. People would give her comments for being with black children, but the comments didn't get to her. I felt bad of how Ruth's parents didn't love her anymore because of her marriage. Though in this story you can tell that James really loves his mother no matter what color she was.

This book is a inspiring memoir; it shows the hardships and love that the family had. The family went through a lot of things. McBride's father and step-father died and left Ruth to take care of her twelve black children. James dealt with shoplifting, bad grades, doing drugs and creating violence because of his fathers' death. The book jumps around though which left me confused at times. One moment he was talking about leaving for college and the next it was Thanksgiving.

The author switches off chapters between him and his mother. At first I thought it was the same person, but it turns out to be two different stories—one with his mother dealing with childhood and adult life and another with McBride's memories growing up. I thought it was kind of confusing at first, but then I kept reading it and it started to make more sense.

This book is long but worth reading if you have the patience. It's a nice book to read especially to learn about cruel racism was and how James tried to find his true identity. This book is a inspiring American story and I recommend it to anyone especially teenagers that would like to learn about racial issues, life lessons, and finding yourself.

Ashes of Roses by Mary Jane Auch

2008-12-10T09:52:00.000-08:00

Ashes of Roses
by Mary Jane Auch

16 year old Rose Nolan and her Irish family arrive to America by a ship with high hopes and searching for a better life than back home. Her hopes are crushed when part of her family is sent back home. Her young brother, Joseph, is forced back home because of a disease, trachoma, which is an eye infection. Her father escorted him back to Ireland. After a few weeks of living in America, their mother gave up and went back to Ireland. Rose and Maureen refused to go back with their mother, so they demanded to stay in New York. Rose is stuck in New York with her younger sister Maureen, a stubborn child who later becomes into a more mature, independent young girl. The two sisters struggle to survive and fight through obstacles in America.

In this book you see the friendships that Rose forms and her progress of becoming someone. As soon as everything seemed to be fine, disaster struck. One day as Rose was working at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, a fire broke out. Rose is on the 9th floor and they try to find a way out. The ladders aren’t tall enough to reach the 9th floor and the doors were locked and they were stuck. Rose, Maureen, and their friends try to fight for their lives to survive. This fire killed one hundred and forty-six employees, out of five hundred. The way that the author described the fire and Rose’s emotions for losing Maureen felt real. You could really feel the fear of losing her sister and the fire was very well-researched. This event was interesting to read because the chaotic event actually happened in 1911. I had never heard of this fire before I started reading this book. This disastrous event was an eye-opener that led to better factory conditions for workers across the nation.

The beginning of the book was a slow start, since it was setting up for the middle and end. The book seemed to end a little quickly. It ended a bit quick after the fire occurred and you don’t really get to see what happened to Rose’s life afterwards. The end really just shows that Rose has more hopes for America and that she wouldn’t want to go back home to Ireland. You would see the changes in the characters throughout the book; the two sisters become very independent young women. Rose becomes a stronger person and Maureen really changes from being a very stubborn child.

I really liked how the author told the story. At some parts it really made you want to cry since it was so sad and tragic. The ending felt like as if you actually experienced it. This book shows the challenges that immigrants, or ‘greenhorns’ faced as they struggle in a new land and it also portrays of what sweatshop workers faced. This book showed the difficulties that they went through to provide themselves with a better life.

This was an inspiring and engaging book. This book makes me more thankful for the life I have now, and I’m glad that I don’t have to struggle like the characters in this book did. This book teaches many lessons and is told in a very good way. I recommend this book to teenage girls, especially if you love historical fiction.

Lord of The Flies by William Golding #12

2008-10-06T09:51:00.000-07:00

Chapter 12 - Cry of the Hunters

If Only. by Jack

Ralph thinks that he's better than me, huh? Well yeah right. I got everybody in my tribe, and how many in Ralph's? None! Nada. I'm better than him and my tribe is better! We dance and cheer and hunt for pigs. We all have a good time and I make living on this island much better. I've got Simon and Piggy murdered, and my next target is Ralph. Hah. He thinks he can run away from me, huh? Nope! My plan kind of worked. Ralph would go to Samneric to talk to them and I'd find out where Ralph is. But Samneric wouldn't tell me! I attempted to torture them, but I guess Ralph probably ran away in the jungle so I set it on fire to smoke him out. He tried to hide away from me. I guess he ran away from the ululation of our hunters scared him away. But anyways, I saw him and tried to fight him. As soon as we almost killed him, he hid away and a naval officer that had a white drill and epaulettes and he found us on the island and finally rescued us. I wanted to get rescued, but I mean, why now? Why couldn't we kill Ralph first? Ralph doesn't need to be rescued! We all can live without him, now can't we? I wanted to pull a diddle on him.. Aghh.. So that's the end of the power I gained on this island.. And we all left with distended stomaches..

Lord of The Flies by William Golding #11

2008-10-05T13:55:00.000-07:00

Chapter 11 - Castle Rock

I Want To Go Home Already! by Ralph

This island is so delirious. Everything is getting out of control! If only there was some cessation of this nonsense already. I want to go home already! I'm tired of everything. We tried going to Jack's campsite but instead his silly followers told us to leave. I tried blowing the conch if anything would work.. But I guess it's just useless now. Only Piggy and Samneric would join the assembly. Anyways, Jack told me to leave but I demanded Piggy's glasses back. Of course, knowing him, he just attacked me and we fought. I just wanted the specs back so we could start a fire and just get rescued already!! Instead he takes Samneric away.. What the heck man..

Jack is just something else. If only I could just kill him. I hate him. What is up with him.. He's truculent. It's like talismans wouldn't work if you used it against him. Piggy couldn't see anymore because of Jack taking his glasses away for his stupid meat. And now we can't even light a fire to get rescued. Speaking of Piggy... Oh, Piggy.. First there's Simon.. Now Piggy. He can't even see anything. It's all a blur to him. Geez. Roger had thrown a big boulder over a ledge and I knew that something worse was going to happen. I hoped the rock wouldn't hurt me. And It didn't. Instead, the rock landed on Piggy!! He fell over like forty feet, and disappeared into the sea. That was the last of him. Poor Piggy, he shouldn't of ended his life that way. Nobody even seemed to care about Piggy's death! I mean, his head opened and nasty stuff came out and it was all red. It was one of the most disgusting, cruel things I've seen.

And now I have nobody on my side. We mistakenly murdered Simon, Samneric was captured, and Piggy was now killed. Is this Jack's way of getting me to join his tribe? No. Never. I'm never going to join something like that. I just want to go home already...

Lord of The Flies by William Golding #10

2008-10-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

Chapter 10 - The Shell and The Glasses

There Was No Murder! by Piggy

I can't believe it! Simon! Ah... I miss him. I don't know why we did it.. but.. I don't know. I guess you can say I was caught up in the moment. The dancing, everything-- I can't believe it. It was barmy. The illumination just wasn't right. Ralph kept trying to talk to me about it, but it's just too sad. He wants to call an assembly, and talk to everyone about it- but he's not really a chief anymore. The conch is now useless. Nobody will listen to it anymore. Jack took over the island now. He has all the power. I don't want to go to Jack's tribe. It's too evil. He even tried to beat us and scare us by howling and shrieking when we were sleeping. It's mean. He tried to take away my glasses, and I know why. I thought he might have wanted the conch. You know, for the power and everything that Jack wants. But he just wanted my specs for his fire. Stupid, greedy Jack...

I don't want another incident like this to happen again. I don't want to talk about it. It's too awkward. I guess we could act like it never happened. I'm not a murderer! Well, I don't want to be one.. It's not theological. Ahh.. I want to be purged out or something.

Lord of The Flies by William Golding #9

2008-10-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

Chapter 9 - A View To A Death

The Beast Is In Us by Simon

The Lord of The Flies told me that someone would get me. It could be Jack, or Roger, or Maurice, or Robert, or Bill, or Piggy, or even Ralph. What else is there to do? It's dark and my nose was bleeding. I was weak. I noticed that there was a parachute and I find an old, rotten man. This wasn't a beast that Samneric thought it was. I needed to tell everyone the news that the beast was harmless. I just saw a poor, corpulent old man lying there rotting away.

I saw a light nearby and perhaps all of the boys were there. I followed the light to tell everyone that there is no beast. Thunder struck on the island and rain was coming. It was going to rain like it did after we landed on this island. Lighting and thunder struck again beyond the forest. I came to the boys' campsite. When I came, they started to follow me anthe hunters took their spears, and the others took something too. I was terrified of what was happening. The Lord of The Flies was right. They were going to get me. The boys started to form a circle and they started chanting. "Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!"

There is no beast that they were talking about. It was all just a dead man on a parachute. I tried to cry it out.. There was just a dead man on a hill! But yet again, "Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!" I found myself in the middle of the circle. I was terrifed with my arms folded over my face. I'm not the beast! Why are they doing this to me? They were attacking me-- I was torn up and struck with their teeth and bare hands. The phosphorescence started to fade away. The rain poured and I lay still. My dead body found itself lying toward the sea. The Lord of the Flies was all starting to make sense. They all got me. They murdered me. I guess there's a beast in us after all.

Lord of The Flies by William Golding #8

2008-09-29T19:46:00.000-07:00

Chapter 8 - Gift For The Darkness

Come To Our Side, We've Got Cookies - by Jack

Ralph is soo... I don't know. But he's a bad chief. He's not a prefect. He shouldn't be chief anymore. I should!! But nobody wants to listen to me. Nobody wanted to vote for me to be the leader. Ugh, don't tell anyone but.. it made me really humiliated. What is wrong with people these days? Personally I think that I'd make a better leader. Yeah, we did see the beast but whatever. We could just forget about it. We don't need to kill it. We can kill pigs and eat that meat. So I ran off and whoever wanted to join me could. I managed to recuit a few boys later and it made me really happy. Those boys have smart thinking. We killed a pig and even stuck a spear up its' ass. Hah. We also paunched its' guts out and also cut off its' head and stuck a stick through it. Since we captured a pig we needed to roast it. The boys and I decided to go to Ralph's campsite and steal their fire so we can eat our pig. Even though it was kind of a taboo we came there with demoniac faces and I tried to recuit more boys. Pretty soon Ralph would have nobody to be in charge of except for Piggy. Hahaha! I thought that raiding the site was demure of myself. Finally this island is starting to get better.

Lord of The Flies by William Golding #7

2008-09-28T16:15:00.000-07:00

Chapter 7 - Shadows and Tall Trees

A Pig. by Ralph

I really miss back home. I wish I could go back. Lately I've been having day dreams about home while I was using the lavatory. Today I almost caught a pig! It felt like kind of like rugger. I managed to hit the pig but I didn't catch it. I was pretty proud of what I've done. I told the other boys and they said they wanted to reenact it. They said that they'd even get drums and fire, but, uh.. I just wanted to say that I hit a pig. How could they be so dun? Hah, if I caught it I'd eat it and I'd put brine all over it.

We also went around the island today. We wanted to search for the beast. We had left Piggy with the littluns. Poor Piggy, I wonder how he kept up with the littluns. I guess that wasn't a sage decision. In search for the beast, Jack decided for us to go up the mountain. We went and looked and then went to a slope. We crept forward and it was dark. A few yards away, we saw something. It was a creature; something like a great ape. We sat there, being impervious.

Lord of The Flies by William Golding #6

2008-09-24T18:45:00.000-07:00

Chapter 6 - Beast From Air

Where's The Beastie? by Piggy

It was dark out and I was trying to sleep. All of a sudden Sam & Eric go to our shelter and they woke up Ralph and I. They claimed that they saw a beastie. I guess this beastie mania will be interminable. So Ralph did another meeting. As they explained what they saw, it seemed pretty scary. I asked if we could all just stay where we were, but Ralphed shouted at me that we shouldn't. In the meeting, Jack just mutinously said that we don't really need a conch anymore. Jack also decided that we all should just move and we're wasting time talking about it. Jack is so waxy. I was then assigned to watch the littluns but how could I with just one eye to see with? What if the beast came and I didn't know it?! So anyways we decided to just go and search for this "beastie". I was so embroiled that I started to get a asthma attack. It was getting hard for me to breathe. But nobody really minded me... As we started searching for the beastie, everyone started acting up again. They would all just run off and play. The boys played with the rocks and they were flailing them. Ralph then told them to stop. He said that we needed smoke since there could be a ship out there. But what if there's a beastie? What if it's going to get us?!

Lord of The Flies by William Golding #5

2008-09-23T18:44:00.000-07:00

Chapter 5 - Beast From Water

Every thing's Getting Outta Control by Simon

Ralph called a meeting today. At night. We haven't had a meeting at night yet. The meeting filled up pretty quickly, and Ralph was pretty serious about it. The assembly of boys gave discursive noises and such. But Ralph was starting to get more strict. I get his position though. He's been trying to take care of everyone and make sure that we will survive. Ralph tried to explain to everyone that we need decorum. Like, we shouldn't urinate at random places and such. Ralph also made a rule that we can only have one fire-- at the mountain. I guess it's kinda weird, but I also think that he's just trying to decide what's for the best of us.

While Ralph was talking, Jack decided to interrupt and just yapped that we needed to suck it up and just deal with it. Jack thought that the whole thing was ludicrous. He then brought up the beastie to the conversation. Piggy tried to tell his thoughts but somehow nobody really listens to him.. Jack always tempestously messes with Piggy. Oddly, I stood up and grabbed the conch and started talking about my relaxing place in the jungle. I started to get hesitant about telling everyone, but then Ralph just told me to never go there again. The conversation in the meeting just started to get more about the beastie. They were talking about if there were ghosts, or beasties, and so on.

I guess everything for Ralph has been getting really frustrating. So frustrating that Ralph wanted to give up being chief. Piggy and I didn't want him to give up his position. I mean, if Jack was chief all we would have is all hunting and no fire, so no rescue. If only a grownup was here. Everything would've been so much easier.. Boy, if we were never rescued.. the lamentation of the littluns would go on for a long, long time.

Lord of The Flies by William Golding #4

2008-09-21T13:40:00.001-07:00

Chapter 4 - Painted Faces and Long Hair
My Capture + Stupid Fatty by Jack

Finally, I killed a pig! We finally got to eat meat. I came up with a good plan and the hunters helped me out. We went up to the pig and surrounded it and we killed it! The hunters and I went to the beach and all I saw was blatant boys playing around. I noticed how all of the boys on the island had swarthiness of their skin and it was different than when we first got here. We need some kind of balm or something here..

I then tried telling Ralph my capture of the pig but all he told me was "You let the fire go out." But I mean, it's just a fire! We could always light the fire again. I tried explaining everything to Ralph of our achievement, but he just gave me a belligerence attitude. Ralph then started to tell me how there was a ship and if I had kept the fire going we would've been rescued and stuff. Then, stupid Piggy repeated of what Ralph kept trying to tell me and I just lost my temper from there. I just wanted to hit that boy. So I stuck my fist into Piggy's stomach and he sat down with a grunt. Hah! I even smacked Piggy's head and his glasses flew off and his specs broke. But whatever, he deserves it anyways. Piggy is super annoying.. One side is now broken and he then looked malevolently at me.

Since everyone was hungry I cut it and roasted it and gave some for everyone to eat. Except Piggy, of course. Silly Simon tried giving some food to Piggy. Psh! They should be thankful that I got some food for everyone.

Lord of The Flies by William Golding #3

2008-09-16T18:24:00.000-07:00

Chapter 3 - Hut on The Beach

Frustration by Ralph

Simon and I created two shelters over the past few days. Only two.. and there's how many boys on this island? Nobody is bothering to help. The shelters Simon and I made are unstable and shaky. They won't stay in place! Being a chief is filled with vicissitudes.. I'm under a lot of pressure and the boys are very errant here. They all had ran off while Simon and I tried to make shelters out of leaves and branches. Everyone had been bathing, eating, or playing! If I called a meeting then everyone would listen, and then work for five minutes. Then they would go run off and swim or something. This frustration just gives me compulsion to hit them to make them listen!Nobody really bothers to do work around here. Am I being inscrutable to these boys?! How are we supposed to survive? I hope someone would feel contrite for me. I mean, everyone had agreed to help, right? But Jack had went to go hunt for food but he didn't catch anything yet. Jack really wants to just get meat instead of creating a shelter before getting rescued. His hunters would help hunt, but would come back early and go swimming. The only thing I can do is look at him with opaque eyes...

Lord of The Flies by William Golding #2

2008-09-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

Chapter 2 - Fire on The Mountain

I Have Good Ideas Too....
by Piggy

So today this little boy Roger, told all of us that there was a beastie, you know, a snake-like thing. He said he saw it in the woods but nobody really believed him. Anyways nobody knows that we're stuck in this island. Who knows when we'd be rescued! Ralph said that his father was in the navy and he says that the Queen has a big room full of maps and all the islands in the world is drawn there. So there's hope for us and his dad's ship would find us sooner or later. Ralph then decided to make a fire on the mountain so that a ship could notice us by seeing the smoke from the fire. When we decided to make a fire, all of the boys went crazy and were capering around the island. All of the boys were being errant. Once the boys got on the top of the mountain they started to gather dried bark and dried leaves from the tree. They needed to light the fire so the guys wanted to use my specs. I wanted to go away and run, but I was surrounded so I didn't have a chance. Jack snatched the glasses from me and now I could hardly see. My asthma even got me because of the fire.

I then got the conch but Jack got annoyed of me and told me to shut up. Nobody listens to me! Ralph took the conch again. I wanted to say something, but Jack looked at me as if I shouldn't. So I didn't. Anyways, I took the conch and tried to speak; but nobody wanted to listen to me. I lost my temper and tried to tell everyone how I felt.. but since Ralph said fire.. all of the kids goes running off to the mountain. I then told everyone of what I felt; how I was supposed to get everyone's names, since Ralph assigned that to me. They all ran off, so how could I? But then Ralph pinched the conch away from me and didn't want to listen anymore. But like, I have good ideas too.. not just Ralph or Jack! I mean, we should've made shelters by the beach... Why can't people listen to me too?

Lord of The Flies by William Golding

2008-09-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

The Sound of The Shell - Chapter 1

Untitled - by Simon

Living on this island is just weird, and scary. Just knowing that someone might never be able to find us is just incredulous. Today the choir and I heard a trumpet-like sound so Jack led us to the beach full of kids. Jack ordered us into lines and he told us to stand still. I stood next to twins that had hair of tow. All of a sudden, I fainted, and broke the line. I’ve fainted before, like at a matins over the precentor. I awoke later and sat against a palm trunk.

Since there are no grown-ups, we had to choose a leader. The leader was between Ralph or Jack. All of the boys in the choir (including me) chose for Jack, just because he pretty much controlled the choir. Everyone else voted for Ralph to be chief. Jack wanted to be the chief really badly. I could tell by his reaction when he lost. The freckles on his face looked like it disappeared. But to be fair, Ralph told Jack that he could be in charge of the choir. As soon as he said that, the suffusion came away from Jack’s face. The choir is now Jack’s hunters.

Later, Ralph and Jack decided to go on an expedition to look around the island. Out of everyone else, they decided to choose me to come. I stood up and laughed a bit. Piggy was supposed to come but Ralph sent him to go do another job. So anyways, we tried to climb up the mountain. The journey was really dirty, hot, and exhausting. We later found a big rock that was as large as a small motor car. The three of us came up with the idea to push it over. The rock fell over, and smashed a deep hole into the forest. We were glad that we accomplished something.

We got to reach the top of the mountain and we discovered water on every side of the island. We got hungry later and found a pig that was tangled in the vines and Jack was going to kill it with the knife he had. Just as he was about to kill it, the pig tore loose and ran away.

Because of Romek

2008-06-11T13:57:00.000-07:00

1) The part in the book that I found most shocking and disturbing is when Romek gets tortured to death and David gets thrown into the street. It wasn't as shocking as it was when I read it in the book but it really was when David Faber explained it to us. It was really disturbing because it's shocking to imagine and it's very cruel. This part was really sad and I couldn't believe that it was true.

2) David gets a job of of feeding the dogs. It seemed scary at first to David, but then he got comfortable around the dogs. This job helped him because he ate some of the dogs' food and he got away from other harsh jobs that other prisoners had to do.

3) The conditions at the camp was harsh, and one of the worst that David had to go through. At this camp, David had to carry the dead bodies to the furnace. David develops typhus at this camp, which makes him really sick and he barely makes it.

4) A proud moment that David faced towards the end of the book was when Rachel's husband met him at the hospital. This was a great relief for David, and he still would have family. He would have someone that would take care of him and he survived through everything he has been through.

5)David Faber's book, Because of Romek, should be required reading in all middle schools, high schools, and universities because all students need to learn about the horrors of the Holocaust. This book explains how cruel the Nazis treated the Jewish. Students should be aware of how lucky they are to not face of what David Faber had been through. This important event in history should be studied about so that people can prevent history from repeating itself.

Renaissance Project Reflection

2008-06-04T10:14:00.001-07:00

For this project, we needed to learn about a famous Renaissance figure. We chose a famous Renaissance figure and studied their life and accomplishments. At the end of this project, we had a "Renaissance Ball" which we came as the person we studied. I chose to be Marguerite de Navarre. We were supposed to dress up for the ball, and also even learn a dance, called The Pavan.

I learned who Marguerite de Navarre was, and what she did in her life. I learned that she was a woman that was an outstanding figure in Renaissance; she also achieved many things that most women didn't get to do. For example, she joined her brother, who was King Francis I, in court and often traveled with them. Her brother got captured in a war, and she helped release him as a prisoner. Marguerite also was a religous activist and a queen. She also wrote several plays and poems, as well as a collection of stories, The Heptameron. In this project, I also learned more about Europe. I learned more about the Black Plague and the city of Florence.

I think that this was a good project and I learned many things about the Renaissance. I think that I could've been ahead in the project if I chose the person I wanted to study about faster. It took me a while to think of someone, and it kind of wasted time, though I wanted to choose carefully of who I wanted to learn about.

Because of Romek #3

2008-05-27T19:50:00.000-07:00

1) I think that he was a very good speaker, and I was surprised that the main commons was very quiet. I also was surprised that he remembered everything that happened. His speech is very emotional and powerful, which got you into the story. He has taught me to be very lucky and thankful for what I have.

2) I think that the Russian Partisans took good care of David, even though he was put to work. David was pretty lucky that he escaped and took out the screws of the rail road tracks. I think that Romek is proud of David because he survived and made it on his own, and David was growing up.

3) Gestapo probably saved David's life to let him suffer that he had to go through witnessing the murder of his brother. Knowing that your brother got murdered in front of you, would most likely haunt you, which is pretty sad. I also think he spared him because David was a young boy, and they probably thought he wasn't worth killing.

Because of Romek #2

2008-05-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

1. David's pigeon helped the family. If it wasn't for the pigeons, the Faber family could've gotten killed. The idea of keeping a pigeon was weird at first, but it helped warn the family. Since the family hid, they didn't get murdered and was safe.

2. The conditions at the "Puskow Vacation Camp" isn't much of a vacation. I thought that the old name of the camp was called "Puskow Vacation Camp" and the Nazis' must of took over the camp or something. The conditions were very bad. The prisoners were tired and the Nazis didn't really care about the prisoners. They were underfed and the Nazis' made them work extremely hard.

3. My questions:

1) What would you say the scariest part was throughout the World War II experience?
2) How do you remember every detail of the book?

Because of Romek #1

2008-05-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

1) So far in this book, I've learned that the Nazis were extremely cruel to the Jews. For example, they made the Jews dig a trench. When it was deep enough, the Nazis shot all of the Jews that dug the trench. The Nazis didn't really care about them and treated them harshly. It's really sad and hard to believe that it's a true story.

2) The Fabers' is a very kind and caring family. They are like a normal family trying to make the best out of things. The family looks out for each other and just makes sure that they are safe. If it wasn't for David, his father might've never escaped and would've been dead like the Clapers' father.

2b) I think it's pretty surprising of how much David Faber remembers in this book. He probably remembers every detail because it is very life-changing. It's a very hard time to go through and it's something that you should remember, but you don't want to.

3) David seems very brave and caring. David left the rest of his family to look for his father, since it was bugging him that he didn't have a clue of what happened to his father. He took a big risk to slip out of the back door. David could've gotten captured when he went out. Thankfully, he got to rescue his father and the Faber family is together again.

Aztec Mural Project Reflection: AC

2008-05-05T10:22:00.000-07:00

In this project, a group and I had to create a mural about the Aztecs. We needed to learn about Aztec culture and the importance of murals in the Latin culture. The mural was based on a topic of the Aztecs such as clothing, social classes, education, food, marriage, sacrifices, and Gods. Our group chose to make our mural based on Gods.

I learned more about the Aztecs especially the Gods. I learned that there were many different Gods with long (and hard to pronounce) names. The Aztecs were very religious and would sacrifice their self for a God. The Aztecs believed that there was a God for something, such as there was a God of the sun, and there was a God of the earth. I also learned that the Aztecs sacraficed themselves because they believed that the Gods needed "precious water"--which was blood from animals and humans.

I liked this project because we got to paint. It was pretty fun but kind of hard to keep everybody in the group focused. I guess that you shouldn't be lazy in projects because you wouldn't know if you have the time to finish later. Next time, I would try to get everybody focused and doing something so that the group would finish it in time, instead of having to finish at mornings and such. I think that I should've spent more time on the story of the mural, because the mural doesn't really show a story, it's just a painting. In conclusion, this project taught me many things about the Aztecs in a fun way.

A Time For Dancing by Davida Wills Hurwin

2008-04-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

This book was sad, especially at the end. I can't believe that her best friend died. I wouldn't know what to do if that happened to me. I never thought that the ending would turn out like that. It is very depressing that a main character dies. I was very surprised especially when she decided not to have chemo anymore. Julie would put her life at risk and it wasn't a very good decision.

I think that it was good that Jack finally talked to Sam about Julie. It was sad to see him cry , but it was good that he finally faced the facts about Julie, how she helped him get through his father's death. I think that Sam should've listened to him more but she just ran off. Jack was talking heart to heart to her and Sam just ran away.

If you were Jack, how would you feel about dumping a girl he cheated on and then died?

A Time For Dancing by Davida Wills Hurwin

2008-04-11T21:11:00.000-07:00

1) I don't completely understand why Jules avoids her friends and her problems. She would want to be alone and and always wants to leave situtations such as at the dinner. It seemed like Jules doesn't want to talk to her friends and family that wants to help her through this. I felt pretty bad at the part where she was at the mirror and her hair... I would be pretty freaked out too if I was in her shoes.

2) "but I was beginning to realize that I didn't know them..........I couldn't have said what they thought about late at night, how they felt about themselves, or what they wanted from their lives. They knew even less about me, because they probably thought they knew it all." - pg 119
As I read this, it got me to think about myself. I wondered about who were the friends that were like this, and what I would do if I had a friend like Sam. Sam would have probably given up banging on Jules' door to come in her room if she wasn't a true friend that cared about Julie and wanted to help her.

3) Like my last question. If you were in Jules' position, what would you in this situation? (such as dance, friends, family)

A Time For Dancing by Davida Wills Hurwin

2008-04-04T15:05:00.000-07:00

Pages Read: 1 to 74 (Part 1)

1. Sometimes in this book I get confused if whether I'm reading Jules or Sam. Though you can carefully tell if by how they each talk, and the characters and setting that take place. I don't really read the beginning of the chapter to see who the narrarator is (Julie or Sam), or I would forget after a page or two. I keep getting confused on which characters family is who. At first I thought Rosie was Sam's sister but it was actually Jule's.

2. This is a pretty good book so far. I though felt that the book was pretty spoiled for me since in the back it says that Julie gets cancer. The beginning gets a little boring because you know that Julie gets cancer, and I really just want to get to the part where Julie finds out she gets cancer. It is sad that she has cancer since she is only 17.

3. If you were in Sam's position, what would you do to help Jules?

MC Website Project

2008-03-13T20:12:00.000-07:00

In this project, a group of 4-6 people create a informative website that teaches others about a topic that is related to moral courage. The group would have to research information on te topic, and recreate the researched info into a learning resource.

I learned more about global warming. I learned what global warming is, the cause, and if it is actually true or what not. In addition, I learned about others' opinions on global warming through the survey. I also increased my skill on creating graphs on Microsoft Excel when I analyzed the data from the survey. I created the graphs faster and I think that the Exercise Project helped me with that. I also improved using dreamweaver and coding, since I've never actually uploaded all the files I coded onto a website.

I think that this was a good project. Next time, I would focus more on the content than other smaller things. When you have a good design, you would expect good content, so I think I could've worked more on that. I learned that it was a bad thing if you tend to get lazy in the middle of the project. In conclusion, the website project was a good learning project that I think will help me later.

She Said Yes by Misty Bernall

2008-03-09T14:57:00.000-07:00

time: 2 hours.
pages read: 67

Today I started reading the book She Said Yes written by Misty Bernall. This book was about the author's daughter that got shot in a high school shooting. There were two high school students that went rampaging around the school setting off bombs and shooting everybody. The author so far mostly talked about what happened in the shooting, and just the 17 years of her daughter's life. She wrote about letters she found that her daughter and her friend wrote, and her story of the last day of her daughter's life.

It's really sad how her daughter dies. The shooters asked Cassie if she believed in god. "She paused, like she didn't know what to answer, and then she said yes. . . . . .Then they asked her why, though they didn't give her a chance to respond. They just blew her away. "--pg14 It's pretty sad why they shot her, and why they even thought of doing that. It's pretty stupid and it got me to wonder if the shooters got an influence from video games. In some video games, they plant bombs and shoot people, and which is what the high school shooters were doing.

I feel kind of bad for her mother in the part where she found the letters about Cassie wanting to kill her and such. Cassie got influenced by her friends, especially Mona. The author kept talking about how she was horrified and kind of scared. I was also shocked at the part about the letter Cassie wrote. " I would lock myself in the bathroom and hit my head on the counters. I also did this in the walls of my bedroom." It's weird that a high-schooler would write and want to do something like that. I wouldn't want to do that....

Heidi by Joanna Spyri

2008-03-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

Pages Read: 1 to 232
Time: 2 hours

This week I started reading a new book instead of Moby Dick. I got bored of the book, and I didn't find it that interesting. The book didn't really leave me excited. So, I decided to start reading the book Heidi.

As Detie told the stories, I noticed that a lot of Heidi's friends and family had died. Some of them had died because of construction work. For example, Peter's father died because he was chopping down a tree. Also, Tobias, Heidi's father, was killed by a falling beam when building a house. I find this pretty sad and I wondered if many people have been killed because of construction work.

I thought that it was a bad idea for Heidi to go to her Uncle Alp. Then, after I saw how Uncle Alp changed as a character toawrds Heidi, I didn't mind Uncle Alp staying. I felt really bad that Heidi had to move and her life in the mountains should've not ended. Meanwhile, as Heidi stayed with Clara, it seemed as interesting as Heidi did when she lived with her Uncle Alp.

During the book I realized what a good person Heidi and her grandfather was. Her grandfather had changed so much as a character, which wanted me to see more people that were very kind like this in the world. I also felt very happy for Clara, because she actually walked. In the book, I was afraid that someone might die because in the book had mentioned many people dying. Overall, 'Heidi' was actually a good book that teaches a good lesson. The only thing I'm wondering is that, what happened to the cats ?!

Moby Dick by Herman Melville

2008-02-24T18:00:00.000-08:00

Pages: 1 to 50
Time: 1 hour

This week I started to read the book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville. In the beginning of the book, Ishmael goes to this low cost inn. I found it weird at the part where the 'tomahawk', actually named Queequeq, scared Ishmael when he was in the room. Queequeg is a weird name and he is a weirdly interesting character that I wouldn't want to be friends with.

When I started reading the part where the rude man fell overboard, I thought that Queequeg would've not do anything to the man. After reading that part, I figured maybe I would want to be friends with this guy, he would have my back at times. Queequeg acts like a nice guy but he doesn't look like it.

2008-02-12T19:44:00.000-08:00

1. Were you satisfied with the end of the book?

Eh, it was alright. I agree with what you said, how you would want a conclusion rather than an ending point. Also, how there wasn't really a ending that wanted you to read more.

2. Were you satisfied with the book as a whole?

Yeah, it was kinda interesting at first, then it gets boring, and you're not really excited for the end. I guess it's maybe because the english is different, and it was probably exciting years ago when now it's ehhh.

3. Would you read a sequal to the book? Why?

Uhhh, probably not. There wasn't really anything I was looking forward to in the book. I guess if there's another book it would be like, "ohh great. another one!" [x

2008-02-11T18:43:00.001-08:00

1. What do you think went on with the court?

I'm not really sure either..... I wanted to know what happened also.

2. Why do you think the author put in all that stuff about the poems and the writing?

I agree with what you pretty much said, like when you said 'i think he wanted to expose a softer side of huck finn and others'

3. Why do you think that the author put in the Notes at the end of some paragraphs? Did you think that was a good idea?

I agree also. It wouldn't let you left confused in the book, and you wouldn't want to read a book that you don't understand.

2008-01-22T16:46:00.001-08:00

1. What do you think it means to 'meow'?
I think that it probably means to scream or something, because when you're scared they would call you a scaredy cat or something, and a cat meows, so they call it 'meow'.
2. What were you thinking when you read about Tom and Becky?
I was kind of surprised, how Tom 'loved' Becky, and I just thought that they were two kids that didn't really know anything, like being engaged. I thought it was kind of funny how they were 'engaged', but then sad how Tom brings up Amy Laurence.
3. I don't really get what happened in the chapter, "Tragedy in the Graveyard." What did the boys see?

2008-01-19T10:30:00.000-08:00

1. What do you think was going through Tom's mind when he lured Ben and all those other boys into white washing the fence for him?
I think he just wanted to get the things done so he can go and play, like he said. "Mayn't I go play now, aunt?"

2. What do you think lick means? Support your answer.

I think it probably means to mess with someone. Kind of like what you said, though. When Tom said, "Siddy, I'll lick you for that." It probably meant that he was going to do something to him, like beat him up.

3. Is Tom really into this girl, Amy?
I think he was into this girl. In the book, it says "He had been months winning her; she had confessed hardly a week ago; he had been the happiest and the proudest boy in the world" Which meant that Tom tried to win her heart for months, but then Amy told him that she probably liked him I guess, and Tom was really happy. But then, it says, "she had gone out of his heart like a casual stranger whose visit is done." I think this meant that he liked Amy, but then his love for her just vanished.

So Far From The Bamboo Grove Final Post

2007-12-19T08:37:00.000-08:00

1. The ending of the story was a nice ending but it felt too sudden. They didn't really explain about the dad, which I wanted to know more of, but the sisters got to reunite with their brother. I guess that they were lucky that their brother found the sign that Yoko wrote, but I think that the author could have been descriptive or somewhat of what Hideyo was doing when he found the sign. I guess Yoko ended the book there because her, Ko, and her brother became together as a family again after being separated for a long time. She probably also ended it there without talking about her dad to leave the reader wondering about what happened to him.

2. I think that they did the Japanese customs to follow their culture, being proud that they reached their homeland after so long. The family followed the tradition to keep it up in the family, and I think that they shouldn't forget the customs and you would want to keep the lifestyle when you're older and teach it to others. I would want to keep the same customs if I was in the family's position, and practice them as I grow.

3. I admire and respect Ko the most in this book. Ko had worked very hard to keep the family in shape, and gotten Yoko to complain less and the sisters made a good team to survive in life. Without Ko, I think that Yoko would've probably been more whiny and complained a lot because she was different, with her two-inch hair and "rag doll" clothes, but Ko got Yoko to just be glad that she's living. Ko was pretty strong and brave especially through the journey, doing whatever it takes just to live peacefully. For example, Ko was brave enough to cross the railroad track in the dark and Yoko and their mother was worried to go through it.

4. I learned many things in history especially about World War II. I learned how tough life was during the time. For example, the Kawashima family had to walk through many many miles to get to their destination, but now in this time era you could just take an airplane and such. I learned that it was a hard time for the Japanese that lived in Korea. In addition, I learned how harsh the soldiers treated people and I never though it would be rough like that. I thought it was interesting of the Japanese traditions such as when its the new years, it's like a new age for them. I would want to know more about Yoko's father and how he ended up in a prison camp.

5. From this novel, I've seen that Yoko had to learn to live with things she likes or dislikes. Yoko didn't get everything she wanted, like an average life, but she started to not complain or anything about it. I also think that you should appreciate life no matter how bad it may get. No matter what, you should just be glad that you're still living life.

So Far From The Bamboo Grove #4

2007-12-13T18:24:00.000-08:00

1. I think that Yoko wants to help Mr. Naido to be generous, and also because of what her father said. Her father told her to talk slowly with someone who stutters, so Yoko followed her father especially since he's not around. Mr. Naido helps Yoko by giving her useful papers, books, etc. that other girls find wasteful. I think it's pretty nice of him to give her them because of the tough situation Yoko is in.

2. Ko's "idea" got Yoko to think that Ko was at school doing work, though Ko was just making more money by shoe shining. Yoko found that Ko was working more after to help the sisters survive, especially through their tough time. Yoko then seemed to be more nicer to Ko. I think it's kind of unfair since Ko was out when she told Yoko that she shouldn't be out of the house.

3. If you were in Yoko's position, would you have saved up your money for shoes? Or would you do something else?
If I was in Yoko's position I would work hard to buy a new pair of shoes instead of anything else so that my feet would be nice and comfy instead of the shoes I would've had right now.

So Far From The Bamboo Grove #3

2007-12-10T15:06:00.000-08:00

1a. In my opinion, Ko, Yoko, and their mother feels that they must leave Korea to be more safer at their homeland country, Japan. They would of probably been more protected with their relatives, such as their father and grandmother. Ko, Yoko, and their Mother wouldn't of been able to survive in Korea because of all of the soldiers capturing the Japanese, and a shortage of food. There were many escapees to Japan, trying to save their life and not get captured by the Korean Communist Army.

1b. I kind of agree with the girls' decisions to leave Hideyo behind. Otherwise, Ko, Yoko, and their Mother would've been captured or even killed. I think that the girls' could of left a note to meet Hideyo in their homeland, instead of Seoul.

2. If you were in Hideyo's position, would you have climbed the tree? Or would you have done something else? Of course, you would want to hide to not get killed. So would you plant a tricky scheme or whatsoever? If so, why?

I would've most likely climb the tree. It's a smart thing to do, and if I was in Hideyo's position I would probably not even think of doing that. I wouldn't of want to increase the risk of getting killed by pulling a prank or looking like an animal or something.

So Far From The Bamboo Grove #2

2007-12-04T18:40:00.000-08:00

1. Hideyo is a very caring and brave person. He would not stop his journey until he meets his family. He even left off alone on his journey, and lied in order to survive, which is really something I wouldn't think of doing. I think that Hideyo is very determined to walk to Seoul to meet with his family.

2. If I had to bring 10 things, I would bring my cell phone&charger, nice clothes, my photo album, a bunch of water, money, a jacket, my flash drive, a warm blanket with a pillow, and food, such as canned corn or something. I would bring my cell phone & charger to communicate with others, just in case I really need to. I would bring nice clothes, such as underwear, clothes I really admire, etc. I would also bring a photo album to bring some memories with me. I also would bring water and food to survive. In addition, I would collect important files such as pictures, music, etc. with me onto my flash drive. Finally, I would also bring a warm blanket and a pillow, so that at night I would sleep warm.

3. The part where I found was really shocking and upsetting was the part where the soilders came into the factory and the soilders killed people. Hideyo almost got killed, and it would be very shocking if he did. It was very upsetting that Hideyo's friend got killed literally like right next to him. If I was in Hideyo's position, I would be very sad, yet glad that I would have survived.

So Far From The Bamboo Grove #1

2007-11-29T18:18:00.000-08:00

1. Yoko is a caring, young girl of the family that acts toward her age. She gets whiny when she doesn't get what she wants sometimes, such as walking when she's tired, or eating when she's hungry. Yoko is nice, especially towards people who need help. For example, she gave the rest of her food to the woman in the train.

2. Yoko and Ko are really pretty normal for being sisters, since they always fight, though they're caring. They love each other, but can hate each other at times. Yoko can get annoyed of how bossy Ko can be, but Ko is doing it for their own good. Ko is just being bossy because she just wants Yoko and the family to be safe. I guess Yoko calls her "honorable sister" since Ko is brave and caring for the family, especially towards Yoko.

3. The Kawashima family were nice to the patients on the train. They didn't really complain about them, and they helped them in the tough situation. They shared some of their food, especially when they didn't have many much. As much as how unusual the author described the train, it didn't seem like the family minded where they were. I think that it was worth the generosity since the nurse saved them from being captured by the solider.

Weekly Vocabulary

2007-11-13T18:56:00.000-08:00

I found some interesting words as I was reading Stargirl.

absurdity - something that is absurd, unreasonable;

balking - to stop short and refuse to proceed

hoisting - to raise into position by or as if by means of tackle

elated - marked by high spirits

apprenticeship- an inexperienced person

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

2007-11-13T18:46:00.000-08:00

PAGES READ: 67 [i was reading slow :P in the car]
TOTAL TIME: 2:05

After finishing the book Cut, I'm now reading the book Stargirl. I've read this book before, but I want to understand it better so I'm reading it again. Anywho, I don't get what's the big commotion over Stargirl. She was different, but everybody thought there was something wrong with her. Like she wasn't real or something.

If I went to Mica Area High School I would probably find Stargirl weird, and unusal. I just wouldn't want to make a big deal out of her, like she was the breaking news in the world. I guess it was because she was different than everybody else, and probably there was nobody else like her at MAHS.

I was surprised at the part when there was many people at Stargirl's cheerleading practice. I didn't expect of how many people thought it would be interesting to watch Stargirl learn the dances. I was also kind of surprised when Stargirl wore the cheerleading outfit. I thought that she would of rebeled against it or something.

Weekly Vocaubulary

2007-11-08T22:25:00.000-08:00

appraising - to set a value on, estimate the amount of

sheepishly - affected by or showing embarrassment caused by consciousness of a fault

self-loathing - itself - extreme disgust

hostility - conflict, opposition, or resistance in thought or principle

convulsion - a violent disturbance

Cut by Patricia McCormick

2007-11-06T19:46:00.000-08:00

TIME: 2:16
PAGES READ: 78 to end = 73 pages

I was surpised when Callie decided to speak in Group, because she usually really doesn't speak. Sydney calls her S.T., which stands for Silent Treatment. I guess Callie spoke for a good thing kind of, so that she wouldn't feel guilty if she didn't say anything about Becca. Although it was good for hear to speak, I guess it wasn't good of exactly of what she said, since she knew that Becca was vomiting and everything.

I don't exactly understand of when Callie speaks to "you". When I first read the book I didn't understand it, but then I read it again and now I get it. I just don't get if Callie is actually speaking out loud, or it's just a thought in her head. I kind of think that it's a thought in her head, because if she was speaking out loud I guess people would think she was weird or something.

I like how the author is very descriptive on very small moments. Like how the author describes random feelings that Callie has, that I could really relate to. It gets me to understand the moment better, and I could picture it better in my head.

Weekly Vocaublary

2007-10-31T20:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some words that I couldn't exactly figure out the meaning, so I looked it up.

crimson - a dark red color.

linoleum - a material for flooring

fledged - to cover with

sachets - a small bag or packet

reverberates - to become reflected

Cut by Patricia McCormick

2007-10-31T13:53:00.000-07:00

PAGES READ: 76
TiME: 1:52

I'm currently reading the book Cut written by Patricia McCormick. This is the second time that I'm going to read this book, since the first time I didn't really understnad it. It was kind of weird, so now I'm going to try and read it again to understand it better. I thought that the plot was interesting, so I decided to read this book.

I noticed that Callie says "I'd tell you" a lot. I guess it's because Callie doesn't talk, she just mostly thinks about things and pretends that she's talking to someone. It confuses me sometimes, but you have to read the text carefully to understand what's happening. I end up reading some of the passages over and over again to understand it better. I also noticed that Callie kind of gets distracted easily, like she memorizes colors of the cars in the parking lot. She describes of tiny things that she does such as pulling on a loose thread.

I don't understand why Callie doesn't talk. She wants to speak, but she doesn't. I guess it's because she goes to the "residental treatment facility", but I don't understand why she cuts herself and why her mom wants her there. It doesn't seem that Callie is mad at her parents that she's at Sea Pines since she doesn't beg them to pull her out of the facility.

Family History Project Reflection

2007-10-18T13:41:00.000-07:00

The purpose of this project was to learn about an event in family history like a Historian. We also had to write narratives about myself and my family. We had to do an interview with a family member about the event that they have gone through. With that event, I had to write a historical narrative describing of what happened and why it happened. After collecting narratives and an interview, we also had to collect at least 4 tools/artifacts, labeling them with captions. With that, I had to create either a scrapbook or a newsletter containing these elements.

In this project, I improved my writing skills and learned more about World War II. I didn't know how devastating World War II was, and I didn't even know about World War II in the Philippines until now. I learned to create an interview using various types of questions to understand what happened in my event, which was World War II. I learned about the Bataan Death March, and how scary it was to live through World War II.

I liked this project very much. I think that I should of took better notes and and look for better sources, because for the Historical Narrative I had to look back for more information. I also think that I should of took more time on my captions and finding better pictures. I think that I did a really good job on my scrapbook. Next time, I would work on my Historical Narrative better because it's kinda hard to include every piece of information since there is so many.

For my DP, I will post a picture of my project, and maybe scan a picture that was included in my project and add that, too.

The Wave by Todd Strasser Final

2007-10-12T19:05:00.000-07:00

1) "For the rest of your lives…never, ever, allow a group’s will to usurp your individual rights." I think that this quote means that don't let someone to take over you. Don't let them take over of how you feel, act, or say towards things. You should do what you want, not what others want you to do. If someone tells me to not talk to someone, I wouldn't listen to them. I wouldn't let them tell me of what I should do, so I would want to make my own choices of what I think is best.

2) In the beginning of the book, Robert started off as a student who didn't care about his life, especially his grades. He slept through class almost everyday and he didn't have many friends. When the Wave started, he started participating more in class because everybody was treated equally, and he liked that. The Wave gave Robert to receive more attention. Robert started to talk with fellow classmates at lunch, although before he used to sit alone at lunch. The Wave made Robert dress nicer, since Mr. Ross' power changed the students discipline. After getting more attention and participating more in class, The Wave got Robert to boost his confidence. He even volunteered to be Mr. Ross' bodyguard, and supported The Wave in various different ways, like the Wave rally. At the end of the book, Robert got disappointed since The Wave ended. Robert relied on The Wave so much, he wouldn't be able to go on his own in the outside world. I think that Mr. Ross would support Robert to try to keep up his confidence and participation in class.

3) I noticed that the Wave is a good example of fascism. Ben Ross turns out as a dictator in The Wave. If he makes orders, it happens. Everybody in the school of Gordon High had to join. People who weren't part of the Wave, either got forced to by other students, or beaten up. The Wave was a positive thing, people did not expect negative comments about The Wave. People were afraid to write anything against it. Unlike Laurie, who had posted an article about The Wave in the school newspaper. She wrote about how much it was getting out of hand, but people did not admit it. Members of The Wave just went with the flow, they were mostly all afraid to speak up and followed commands by Mr. Ross.

One example in history that fascism has happened was with the Nazi and Adolf Hitler. Hitler decided to get rid of all the Jewish people because they didn't want to join the Nazi. It's like The Wave, how people beat up other students because they did not want to join the Wave.

4) Avoiding Mob Mentality: A Practical Guide by A Middle Student, for Other Middle School Students.
It may seem like mob mentality could not happen, but it could. Try to never get caught up into a crowd. Be different, just be yourself. Don't let anyone make decisions for you, do what you think is right. You wouldn't want to follow others if they tell you to, especially when its bad. Don't try to be like others, because as a result, you'll become something that just isn't you. Always think over of what's happening in life and try not to cross a situation where you would have to join a group that makes up your decisions. Just remember, be yourself.

The Wave by Todd Strasser #5

2007-10-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

1) N/A

2) "Now listen carefully. During the rally the founder and national leader of The Wave will appear on cable television to announce the formation of a National Wave Youth Movement!" This sentence, that was in page 125, chapter 16, stood out to me. I thought that Mr. Ross would of probably made an announcement to go to meet somewhere or something. It made me think of how the ending would be. I didn't believe of what Mr. Ross was going to do, but towards the end he actually did show the founder.

3) On Laurie's locker, it was painted "enemy" in red letters. Do you think that Brian and David did that? Or someone else?

The Wave by Todd Strasser #4

2007-10-07T21:11:00.001-07:00

1) I think that Ben Ross is now starting to realize that he was turning into some kind of dictator. When he made orders, it happened. The other teachers did not like how he had this power and they said that Mr. Ross was brainwashing the students. Ben Ross turned into a leader, like how Robert wanted to be his bodyguard.

2) One sentence that stood out to me was on page 100. "Come on, Laurie, the only reason you're against The Wave is because it means you're not a princess anymore." This sentence stood out to me because it showed how effected the students were because of The Wave. Amy, Laurie's best friend, told her that she has became jealous of the Wave has turned out. She thought that Laurie didn't like it because she wasn't the center of attention anymore.

3) Do you think that this experiment relates to what happpened with the Nazi?

The Wave by Todd Strasser #3

2007-10-03T16:50:00.000-07:00

1) Mr. Ross is starting to lose control of the experiment because students are kinda obsessing about it The Wave. Students were skipping class and from their free periods they would go to Mr. Ross' history class. Other students were starting to rely on the Wave for their life. When the experiment would be over, things could probably go wrong.

2) One sentence that stood out to me was on page 65, in chapter 9. "For one, the size of his daily history class was beginning to expand as students from free periods, study halls and lunch came to be part of The Wave." This sentence stood out to me because it showed how The Wave was really popular and how Mr. Ross' experiment was becoming successful. I was surprised of how big The Wave has become.

3) What do you think will happen to The Grapevine?

Comments

2007-10-01T18:24:00.000-07:00

People who have commented on my OP#3: [so far]
Lexi
Rachel
Mikito
Luis
Fred
Alex

People who have commented on my OP#2:
Alex
Lexi
Fred
Rachel
Mikito[late]
Luis[late]

People who have commented on my OP#1:
Mikito - 2
Fred - 2
Alex - 2
Lexi - 1
Rachel - 2
Luis - 1

The Wave by Todd Strasser #2

2007-10-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

1) The motto "Strength through discipline" goes throughout the school because it's something different that the students have been doing. There's a different feeling and energy that the students created which is new and amazing to them. David tries to get the football team together and tells them about The Wave, and convinces them that they can even win a few games in the year when they apply the motto, "Strength through discipline"

2) "It's the feeling that you're part of something that's more important than yourself" This sentence, that was in chapter 6 on page 42, really stood out to me. I can imagine what the author was describing because I know how it feels and it's a really cool, but strange feeling.

3) What do you think will happen with the football team? Do you think that they will win a game?

The Wave by Todd Strasser #1

2007-09-26T17:57:00.000-07:00

1) a. The book occurs at Gordon High School around the 1960's to 1990's.

b. Some things that I noticed that the book took place in a different time period:

The students smoked cigarettes. This is not very common for high schoolers to smoke at the 9th grade in our time.
In the beginning, when Laurie was looking around her office for the school paper, there were typewriters. Now-a-days people use computers instead of typewriters.
Mr. Ross used a film projector and the film needed to be threaded.

2) One sentence that stood out to me is in chapter 3, page 18. "To me it's like a piece of history. You can't change what happened then." This sentence really stood out to me because it made me think about history. You can't really change what happened then in history, but I don't exactly get what David meant when he said that since they were learning about history in history class.

3) Why do you think that the students were so effected by the movie? Would you have the same reaction?

Betty Ann

2007-09-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

Betty Ann by Ina Hughs - Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul

1) The saddest part that stood out to me in the story was when Betty Ann's mother talked to Ina. "Why don't you girls like Betty Ann? She likes you..." That part in the story showed how her mother worried about Betty Ann--she didn't have any friends, and she was always picked on. I also think that Betty Ann's mother didn't understand why the girls just teased her so much. I mean, Betty Ann didn't harm the girls or anything, but since she was new and different than others they started to tease her.

2) I think that Margie went too far when she called Betty Ann's house to talk to Ina. I would of probably told her to stop joking about it after Betty Ann's mother was glad to meet Ina, since she was one of the only people who had came over after school. I would of then tried to start become friends with Betty Ann, after realizing how mean everyone has been to her.

3) "Sticks and stones only break bones. Words can shatter the soul."
The lesson taught in this story is that you should think before you act. Try to make the right choice in life. Be careful of what you say or do, you can't undo it easily by pressing ctrl + z, by using an undo button. You may think little harm will have no impact on others, but they could, or they could not.

Seventh Grade

2007-09-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

1. Today we read another short story called Seventh Grade written by Gary Soto. It's about a boy named Victor and he starts his first day of school. One sentence that stood out to me in the story is when Victor says something he made up in french. "La me vava me con le Grandma" Victor made up some noises that sounded like french. I thought that this was funny and something interesting that people would do when they're nervous and have nothing to say.

2. In the story, one part that connected to me is when Victor was looking for Teresa at lunch. "He raised his eyes slowly and looked around. No Teresa." I can connect of how Victor was feeling when you try to look for someone but you don't see them instantly. It took Victor a while to look for Teresa, and he started to panic because he just couldn't find her. He was probably wondering where she was because he wouldn't want anything bad happening to her. Victor was also probably trying to hide the fact that he was looking for her since he pretended to study, and stared at math problems, even though he wasn't very good at it.

Test

2007-09-13T14:07:00.000-07:00

Today we read a short story called "Test" written by Theodore L. Thomas. The story gave out many details of what happened throughout a short period of time and gave a surprising twist to the ending.

1. One part in the story that really stood out to me was the part after Robert Proctor signed the application. "He started to speak, but the uniformed man spoke first. "Sorry, son. You failed. You're sick. You need treatment." This sentence gave me questions. Was it all a dream? Why did the uniformed men tell him that he failed? Where are the uniformed men from? What kind of treatment does Robert need? This sentence gave the story a surprising twist to the ending, which made want to read the story over and over again to understand it better.

2. In the middle of the story, there was a hypnosis method that Robert Proctor had done which caused him to think that he crashed and killed a little girl in her sleep. I think that it's a bad idea that the government would test young drivers like that to see if they're ready for the road. I think that young drivers might get frightened while driving and cannot concentrate on the road. Young drivers would start to see car accidents in different views, and would even get scared of even driving.

3. "How do any of us know?" The uniformed man answered, when Robert Proctor asked if it was part of the test. I think that the uniformed man was being sarcastic because he probably didn't know what was going on in his head. That sentence made me think about what the uniformed man was talking about, and wanted me to read more to the story, but unfortunately the story ended.

Planet Earth

2007-09-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

Today I watched a movie about Planet Earth which focused about two biomes: Artic Tundra (Great Plains) and the Rainforest (Jungle). It showed many footage of the biomes which not many people really gets to see, and the movie gave me more of an idea of animals and how they survive.
I learned many things about grassland. Did you know that grass covers one-fourth of land on Earth? I never knew that grass was indestructable and basically feeds wildlife. Grass can even grow in bitter conditions in the Artic than just tropical climates.

The Artic Tundra is very cold and snowy in the winter, and it is very green and grassy in the summer. Summer is the time for growth and reproduction. Colors mostly come into the plains during this period, such as sunflowers. At springtime, about 5 million snow geese migrate to the Artic Tundra, and then spend their summer laying their eggs and eating grass. The Artic Wolves also live in the Artic Tundra, who have a hard time searching for food. The wolves hunt for caribou, but they are hard to keep track of since they are always migrating. Caribou travel about 30 miles a day. When the Artic Wolves picks up the trail of the Caribou, the Wolves quickly find their food and the weak and young get singled out.

One neat thing I learned throughout this movie is the tallest kind of grass in the world, which is called Elephant Grass. It's even taller than elephants! Elephants cross hundreds of miles across the Great Plains when they're in danger. For example, if the grassland gets caught on fire, Elephants must quickly escape to get out of danger.
While in the jungle, there are little sunlight because of the extremely tall trees. Trees usually fall down into the jungle, and in less than 4 years new plants grow. Surprisingly, it doesn't rain everyday in the rainforest, although it rains more than it does anywhere else in the world. It rains about more than 2 meters of rain per year on average. A tree would take over a ton of water each year because of all he rain, which is why the trees are so tall.

As you can see I learned many things throughout the movie. There are much more information that I could write about, but there's just too many. This movie got me to think more about animals and how their life isn't that easy. The Planet Earth movie is very educational and interesting.

Favorite Book

2007-09-07T14:20:00.000-07:00

From the author of Holes, comes a sequel about a former Camp Green Lake detainee, Theodore "Armpit" Johnson, called Small Steps by Louis Sachar. Theodore works hard to keep his life back on track by taking "small steps". He takes extra classes to graduate from high school, and has a job, and he is saving up his money trying to keep away from trouble. Louis Sachar writes this entertaining book with interesting plots and surprising twists. It gives out valuable life lessons about friends, breaking the law, racism, and much more. I definitely recommend this book for fans of the book Holes.