Last Blog of the Year

In my opinion blogs were quite fun to do. They were a new experience, and they also helped me learn brand new topics or ideas that related to what we were doing in class. I also enjoyed being able to speak my opinion on a large variety of topics that we covered pretty extensively this year. In regards to my favorite blog, I would have to say that the "Having My Say" blog was pretty enjoyable, especially when I could voice my opinion on something that I feel quite strongly about. I think that the blog I enjoyed the least was choosing one of Emily Dickinson's poems and trying to interpret it, because she has some difficult poems to decode sometimes. Overall I believe that I put a solid effort in writing my blogs, because I felt that I could voice my opinion. They sometimes got annoying, especially when I forgot about them midweek and had to quickly produce a quality blog to get my Edline grade to not say "0" for that week's blog. However, blogs were not that difficult and did not take up a large amount of my time. Also, they did put in a solid wedge of points to hold up the grade if there was something in the class that was bringing you down.

My Favorite Stories (and/or Books)
(All Quiet on the Western Front)
The Pit and the Pendulum
The Yellow Wallpaper
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

Mrs. Wolff

In my opinion next year will be a tough year for her, as it is her first year teaching English at Lutheran. However, as advice, I think it would be a good idea if she followed a lot of [Ms. Williams's] teaching styles. If she does that, then I think that she would be fine. The whole style really works out for the better, especially the way that the tests are. The essay tests are all give your own answer tests, which makes them harder, especially for left-brained people. They do encourage creativity and more factual information backed with examples, and I like that about them. It helps me think outside the box. As far as stories go, I would keep many of the in-class discussions we do, and especially the graffiti board that we do. I think it is quite helpful. Most of the books that we have read were pretty good, so I think that she should teach them, as well. She should especially keep All Quiet on the Western Front, as I believe that it is one of the best books we read. The only book that I would want to toss is The Scarlet Letter, as far as actually reading it separately. I think that the kids should talk about it, but it should be in-class based only, so to help more people understand it. Other than that, I think that she will do well if she follows Ms. Williams's teaching style

Gatsby Event Music of the '20s

Always--Irving Berlin. This song talks about the ceaseless love that is the bond between two special people. Gatsby and Daisy are that American dream couple who are completely obsessed with each other, and Gatsby never gives up hope about having Daisy as his wife.
What'll I Do--Irving Berlin. This song talks about the man not knowing what to do if his love is too far away from him. Gatsby went to war and lost Daisy. He did not know what he could do, but he kept hoping, and he did not allow time to pass; instead, he held on to the past.
I Wanna Be Loved By You--Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby and Herbert Stothart. This describes a man who only wants this particular women. That is how Gatsby's life was: he only wanted Daisy, and he would not give her up, even when he found out that she was married.
Stardust--Hoagy Carmichael, lyrics added by Mitchell Parish. This song talks about a dream of past love that is renewed by kissing, but is still a dream that cannot be made true now. This relates to Gatsby in that he had this dream about always wanting Daisy as his wife, and even when he kisses her now, he cannot have her, because she is now married, and she has changed.

Mark Twain Quotes

"If Christ were here there is one thing he would not be--a Christian."
I think that this quote is saying what Mark Twain really feels about Christians. I read multiple other ones about Christianity, and all of them point to the Christians not being what they say they are. He describes them as being hypocrites and evildoers compared to what they should be doing. In my opinion, I think that he is trying to say that how many Christians are acting is not like how Jesus would have acted. The Christian stereotype is so different than how Jesus was that he is saying that people probably would not recognize Jesus as a Christian. There are so many denominations, and Jesus only wanted one. Many have very controversial beliefs, like not baptizing until a certain time or ordaining homosexual ministers. There is so much anger between the various denominations that I think Twain feels Jesus would be disgusted to be called a Christian. Then, there were the Crusades, and the Holy Roman Catholic Church issues. There are issues about allowing abortion or not. Most Christians do not even read the Bible or go to church, and then criticize others about not doing it. Oh, and some "Christians" do not even believe that Jesus died to save our sins. That is what Christianity is all about, and so that is really screwed up. It is definitely true--Jesus would probably not be a Christian by today's standards because of how the faith has really veered off the course that Jesus had for it. 

What's Good

I really like a book called Speaker for the Dead. It is the sequel to Ender's Game and is probably one of the best written science fiction books ever written. Orson Scott Card did an amazing job on it. It is so good because it combines science fiction, much of which is possible today, with psychology of many different groups. There is always one person who feels that it is her responsibility for everything, that if only she had done this, something wouldn't be how it turned out. There is also the rest of her family who really increases the damage that she has done. There is just one big problematic family on a foreign world having to deal with a peculiar pig-like group of aliens who are "seemingly" hostile. It also involves mob psychology, as well as numerous other speeches or statements said by Ender, who is the symbolic peacemaker, ironically, as he blew up a species' home planet. Now, he is considered the one who is the key role model in everyone's life. The plot, characters, and overall atmosphere of the story is great. The fact that it gets me thinking about possible astrophysics questions and certain possible science fiction elements is also a great experience. I would recommend this book if anyone has read Ender's Game and liked it.

Stories for the Quest of Civil Rights

http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4794

This article attempts to show how far we actually have come in the civil rights movement today. It suggests at the beginning that whites and blacks alike actually wanted a change, and they worked for that change. But, even with all that has been done, there is still segregation and discrimination today. Even though there are laws against it, it seems that many African-Americans still don't have decent housing, even those who can afford it, because the real estate agent "forgets" to show a good house. That is racism. Even schools are still segregated, because they usually go to school where they live, and blacks and whites still usually live separate. Even so, it seems like the public schools in the black neighborhoods tend to be on the poorer side, and so many receive less than adequate education. That is racism and segregation, as well. Even with the laws, it won't really make a difference until we have more blacks going for their beliefs. Just as Baldwin stated in "My Dungeon Shook", the difference will only be made when the blacks actually start to show their longing and actually go for it. At the end of the article, it talks about many more blacks voting for their cause and many who are actually representing the US in the government. Even our President is African-American, and that is a huge step right there. That should help them account to something to improve. However, in my opinion, there are many African-Americans who actually discriminate against other African-Americans, and that does make it worse.

Harlem

Harlem was a place that was full of innovation. Some of that innovation was in the black rights activism, especially in the Crossroads of the Black World in Speaker's Corner. Many activists made their thoughts count here in Harlem, with speeches, demonstrations, and parades or marches. An example would be Marcus Garvey, a right's activist who came from Africa, and who admired Booker T. Washington very much. He was a member of the NAACP, and his Universal Negro Improvement Association gave the very best street parades and speeches in Harlem. Garvey stood on the intersection of West 135th Street and Lenox Avenue preaching his speeches for Black rights activism. Because of the atmosphere in Harlem, activism flourished, and it was very easy to gain large numbers for speeches or parades for that Black activism.