Classy Never Trashy

2011-04-14T13:47:00.001-07:00

http://www.eldugan.com/wp-content/themes/touchwood/www.html

My Final reflection on "Is journalism really what I want to go to school for"

2008-05-29T05:50:00.000-07:00

I havn't been writing on here in a minute for the simple reason that I've been thinking very hard on what I want to go to school for and it's really been stressful for me to try and figure it out because I don't want my money to go to waste in college just because I don't know what to do with myself. I've been self evaluating myself in different areas to help narrow down my decision. I've been asing other people what they think, reading comments that other people have left me, sitting at home thinking on my own and I think I've finally come to a conclusion to this whole fiasco. As you've probbably read in my last blog, i had an interest in music as well. I sing in different groups and participate in different musical events. But anyways I've always wanted to just sing or do something pertaining to singing.

BULLING "REFLECTION"

2008-05-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

Bulling to me is verbal harassment, assault physical or none, or other methods to concore others by fear or threat or just hurt them. When i stared my topic on "bullying" i thought it would be easy but i got the opposite it was kind of difficult because "Bullying" can be defined in many different ways, For example Cyber bullying, Verbal, Hazing etc.... Bullying can occur in any place such as schools, place of religion, neighborhoods, workplace, and even your own home.These days bullying has taken it to the max it seems to me if it happens in your own home don't you think. Bullying has many attachments to them like facts and the kind of what kind of people that "Bully". Here are so facts that i found interesting about "Bullying" when i was doing my research, *1 Bullying is the most common form of violence in our society and to me there is not alot being done. *2 Since 1992 there have been 250 violent deaths in society that have involved multiple victims to bullying. In virtually every school shooting, bullying is the main factor, *3 Did you know that over two-thirds of students believe that there schools respond poorly to bullying, and that even going and talking to there parents doesn't even help.

Now i just didnt jut learn about the basic bullying when i was doing my research i also learned about cyber bullying and how that effects your life just as bad as regular bullying but maybe even worse. Cyber bullying is a big thing today cause many kids have computers and also have sighed up for those chat places such as myspace, and facebook. unlike bullying which you can get help for cyber bullying can get out of control and fast, not only that but can also reuion frienships or anykind of relationship. Cyber bullying involves, sexual remarks which is the same as sexual harrassment, threats, and pejorative labels over and over again. Sometimes like i said it can get out of control that victims of cyber bullying may even commit suicide if the message the have gotten is very strong and they have been getting them for a very long time. The best thing to do if being cyber bullied is to save all the threatening emails or message that they have sent you save them to a flash drive print a copy out and take it to the police to handle.

Bullying is a big hasle these days and there are program out there that can help likea guy nam ejim jordon he is delivering an anti-bulying progrm that offers tangible content, which is both nessicare , edicational, and of course fun at the same time. So there are poeple out there that are willing to help and you can also find more on gooogle. But :"bulling" is something that i have delt with and my children will have to deal with but hopefully when i have kids and the are in school that bullying won't be as bad as it is today. Im glad we did this project because if we didn't i dont think i would ever figure out that i was a bully myself.

Business Administration: Reflection

2008-05-21T09:57:00.000-07:00

As I ended my research to find the answer to my essential question, I feel very satisfied with what I was able to get out of this project. But before I get ahead of myself let me take you back to my essential question, What is business administration and is it the choice for me? After four weeks of researching my topic and all the things that can possibly relate to it , I found an answer....... YES business administration is the choice for me. Many are probably wondering what I mean by, it is the "choice" for me. When I say choice, what I mean is this is going to be the focus of the route I continue to follow the rest of my life such as going to college to get a degree in business and entering a career that's many objective focus's on business. Any and every doubt I had about entering the Field of business has been total erased after I had the opportunity to do some in depth research on the topic and got the answers to all my unanswered questions. I now know that I can definitely be happy and secure entering into a business degree program, which I feel I can handle and graduate without hesitation. That program will then lead me into a carer that I will love the rest of my life, where I can work hand and hand with the community and continue to challenge myself mentally. Any job I decide to pursuit that deals with business will be able to support my life style completely, which in reality is very important. So I know business will be a sure way to get all the doors I need open for me because as I now see it a degree in business is only the beginning and what lies ahead is plenty of opportunity!
I definitely think that this senior research project went in my favor, which I was hoping it would because I was already gong to ECC for business administration this up coming fall. So I feel I had a lot of success with this project which as a big relief and almost a weight off my chest. I'm sure that I have learned my lesson on making such sudden choices when it comes to such life changing decisions. And from now on I voe to find out all my facts before I act on anything. But what I am certain about is where my life is going after high school, which all juniors and seniors should be thinking about. Just because your coming to a end with this journey don't mean a new one doesn't begin. Life goes on with or without you and you have to keep your eye on the prize and know what your next step will be. Luckily for me I made it just on time and know I'm back on track......... College here I come! For I have a date with destiny, I will become a business woman.

Final reflection

2008-05-20T09:58:00.000-07:00

Final Reflection:Why do men take advantage of women?
At the beginning of the research I did not know where I was at with this question. So I decided to look more into this question and do more research. Many answers came up to my question but i decided i should move more into my question.

After the first question I begin to switch it around such as why woman let there self's become victimized and why do women take advantage of men just as well as men do. This is when I start finding more information that led me more into my topic. In the beginning I thought men just take advantage but its actually the same. Men still do have more advantage because women let themselves be the victim. Men and women are both manipulative in many cases. Woman and men can be taking advantage not just sexually but mentally. I say that because words are the most powerful to pursue the other. I really didn't answer my question yet because its just not men in articles I found relates to both so now my question is why do both take advantage and what do they do to take advantage.

Men and women are manipulative in situations that causes them to take advantage. In both cases women and men are becoming victimized. The thing I look at is why let somebody get the best of you to cause you to do something you don't want. If you feel uncomfortable speak up before you become victimized. This could be taken any place such as home, work, school and other surroundings. The men always have the upper hand to take advantage in relationships. women often take advantage in encounters will males such as using them for money or cars. Women fall more for words and man fall for what they lower ego want rather its lust or just casual. When both of these things meet advantage is brought up. Either man or woman can be victimized. Men and women have to learn to say no. To me that's the biggest fear because you never know your life could be in jeopardy.

Now I'm down to my last thought about this topic. This project wasn't so easy as I thought. I did finally get down to the bottom of all parts of my question. I found that men take advantage because mostly the partner or women lets them. I agree with that because women can easily say no but it must be something they want out of it to so at the same time women take advantage also. The one thing I learned is that men manipulate more then women and women lure men in to get materialistic things. Pretty much to answer my question from what I learned. Women take advantage just as well as men do so why do men do this is because the women lets them. Also men can be the victim in some cases. The best way to not become victimized is say no to what you feel is uncomfortable. Being easy and giving in is why men take advantage with their upper ego.

Final Reflection-What help can we give a parent who seems at risk to become an abuser?

2008-05-20T06:25:00.000-07:00

Researching the topic of child abuse was a very crazy experience. I've learned so many different things about this topic that I never would have guessed. I really became interested in the topic of child abuse after reading the newspaper everday. Every week, I would see an article about a parent or guardian of a child abuse them. While watching the news or talk shows, there are topics of child abuse or child pedophilles. Seeing this, I noticed that this was becoming a big issue and I wanted to know why parents did these things to their children and I wanted to know what help could we give to someone who may feel that they might become a possible abuser.
I learned about how many children in the U.S that have been abused is a higher number than most people think. For example, I learned that it is 3 times more likely for children to be physically abused by the father and is 15 times more likely to occur when spousal abuse is present in the home. Each year, between 1,000 to 2,000 children that die from child abuse. 80% of these children are under 5 years of age and more than 40% are under 1 year old. when I read these stats, I couldn't believe how frequently this happens and how quiet of a subject this is.
While looking up the answers to my questions, I learned that there are signs that an abusive parent shows that most everyday people overlook. For example, the parent may not trust anyone with the child, seem to show no concern for the childs wellfare, over or under-reacts to the childs need or when questioned and expects or demands for the child to act older than their age. Looking up the signs of abusive parent was actually a hard topic to find. I had to change my question in the search engine to find the list that i found.
Looking for what causes the abuse wasnt that difficult to find. I ccouldnt find exactly the causes of child of abuse but at " A Childs Voice.com" I found several different causes of child abuse. Some of the causes that were listed were frustration, parental inexperience, and difficult behavior. Frustration is the number one cause of child abuse in infants five months and younger. the parents may not be able to handle dealing with the infants crying for example. Parental inexperience goes along with frustration and is found mostly in teenage parents. They are children themselves who are stressed over the dramtic changes in their lives. With difficult behavior, these children are more likely to be abused because their parents tend to be more high tempered.
I also looked to find what exactly parents get out of abuse. Finding a answer to that question was unseccesssful. I went to many sites on the internet and couldnt find an exact answer to that question. All I could find was causes of abuse.
While doing research for this project, I came across a couple of episodes of "The Tyra Show". She did an episode about new moms who felt that they may want to abuse their child. I also seen an episode on child pedophilles. On the episode showing the could be abusive moms, I learned that these moms begin to feel abusive due to post parton depression. They feel overwhelmed and stressed because of having to deal with the new responsibilty of being a mom. Child pedophilles prey on children because they (most of the time) have been abused themselves as a child. They also prey on children because of control issues. They probably dont have control over a lot of situations in their lives. With children, rather if the are taking pictures of them, or sexually abusing them, they have full control over the situation.
In conclusion, I found the answer to the question "What help can we give a parent who is at risk to becoming an abuser?" We could talk to the parent first to see if there is anything we could do to help. For example, maybe babysit for them while they go out or rest. The person could also talk to the child(ren) to see why they may be being disruptive. It could be a problem going on with the child. But if the child is physically or sexually being abused, the person needs to go to the proper authorities.
Doing this assingment really opened my eyes to see how much of a problem in society that child abuse is. This happens more than people think it does. People may read the newspaper or watch the news and see chidren being abused. But no one thinks of the children who are being abused everyday that have not been found out about yet. There are more and more children being abused everyday meaning more and more and more are dying every year. I plan to use this information later on in life while furthering my schooling. I want to be a child psychiatrist to help these children and parents so this epidemic can be stopped.

2008-05-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

Final week:

Now at the end of my research I learned that it equals out on both side women take advantage just as well as men. Men and women are both Manipulative when it comes to both fields. At the beginning I thought it was jus men that take over,but as I got more into the research I learned more myself that I cant just base this research on why do men take advantage of women so I had to go into more details about my question and had to answer other questions such as why women take advantage and why they are victimized.

Will i get bored or tired taking communications as a major?

2008-05-14T05:46:00.000-07:00

Moving on to one of my last post, My search to see if journalism is really what i want to go to school for is coming to end soon but i went on a website called World Wide Learn and looked up some things on communications and it showed me some other career oppportunities that you could do that I didn't know about besides journalism of course. But none of them pertained to me at all.

2008-05-08T10:04:00.001-07:00

After speaking with my English teacher I decided slightly alter my question. I really want to know what women can do to prevent themselves from being victimized? I started my search in trying to find out the different ways men victimize women.

I feel like women let there self become victimized because they swallow there pride and let men get there way. Women tend to fall more for the words then what they really want in a man. Men have the upperhand because they lower them in with than upper ego mantality. Most women will fall more for a guy thats spending money and saying what they want to hear and they think they are using them when they are becoming the victim.

Now moving on I found a article that relate to how women view casual sex compared to men: Eden, Dawn. "Casual sex is a con: women just aren't like men." January 14, 2007 .

Another way a women can become a victim is if they are manipulative a recent article relates to this:Feeny, Katherine. "Are modern men more manipulative than women?." January 22, 2008 .

During my school fight week three

2008-05-08T10:04:00.000-07:00

During my search this week i found out a lot of stuff and i was really excited. Bulling is an act of indenturing causing harm to other through verbal harassment, and physical. I also found out that even in some U.S states that it is against the law to bully others that surprised me.a question did you know that bulling can occur any were? yup it happens anywhere or example schools of course, religious communities, your workplace Even in your own home neighborhood.Bullying can be serious and even fatal this behavior is a risk that can spike stress levels and can even cause illnesses in some cases can also even lead to suicide. Many kids are facing bully's these days in school about 160,000 percent of children each day refuse to go to school because they dread the physical and verbal abuse and aggression that there classmate or classmates may be casein them. and while on my search i found out that almost 30percent of teens are involved in school bulling as a bully target or just a plan old bully there self.
What is sad about this is that howw many kids are involved in this and what kid of kids that are. Which are mostly teenage boys they are more likely to bully others and also to be the target of others then ladys. While looking up my topic i have found so many facts and have seen so many videos and have read so many stories about kids who have been bullied and it very sad because its all true and people can't say that they can't see it going on around them cause its a lie cause bullies now a days just do it out in the open they just dont care and i know this because i see kids get bullied everday from when i get on the bus to come to school to when i walk of the bus to go home and thats the truth. And another thing i dont think its ever going to stop because there is to much violence out there that is getting in to these young peoples head but thats my opinion.

Ashley Smith,school bulling,period 9 "bullying wikipedia." wikipedia. 2008. 14 May 2008 .

Business Administration: Final Week

2008-05-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

As I round the corner to the finish line of answering my essential question, I felt as if I didn't get in depth information on, what exactly is business administration. Since it is basically all of my essential question I wanted to go back and look it up, so I would be able to describe what business administration is in detail. So I went to wikipedia for the answer, there I found that business administration, "consists of the performance or management of business operations and thus the making or implementing of major decisions. Administration can be defined as the universal process of organizing people and resources efficiently so as to direct activities toward common goals and objectives."(Administration (business) ). I loved this definition because I can see myself doing this type of work for the rest of my life but then this triggered another question that goes into more detail, what does an administrators job on a daliy bases? "Administrators, broadly speaking, engage in a common set of functions to meet the organization's goals. These "functions" of the administrator were described by Henry Fayol.", I also found this info from the wikipedia article. I feel this last bit of research really helped me truly understand the concept of business administration.

*"Administration (business)." wikipedia. wikipedia.com. 14 May 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_administration

Do i have the voice for journalism??

2008-05-08T09:29:00.000-07:00

I researched on google on this certain question and found some keys to becoming a public speaker. It's a couple of steps that I would like to mention in my blog. Voice volume is one of them and I feel that i have the proper volume because of the fact i've been told that I was loud. Clarity in your voice is another one of the qualities that you must have to be a good public speaker. Variation, resonance, speaking with confidence and conviction are other qualities that you must have to become a successful public speaker.
Increasing your impact I think is very important because alot of people are good speakers but if what your saying isn't impacting anyone than what your saying is useless. gathering your thoughts together is another important thing you should have because you don't want to just "burble" out anything. That's a weakness for me because it takes me a while to gather my thoughts together so that's something i'm definitely have to work on.
Body language and posture is something that i'm very good at and something that I don't need to work on I think. Communication with others with more ease and less effort is a plus and a negative for me because i think i put in too much effort with more ease. I have it kind of backwards.
Altogether I think that if i pursued this public speaking thing enough that I acn pursue it and make it something that I'm really good at.
www.training-classes.com/learn_k/p/u/b/public-speaking/

Business Administration: Week 3

2008-05-06T20:01:00.000-07:00

As I continue on my search to discovering if a degree in business administration is right for me, I realize that my search is almost complete. With every week that passes I find myself being buried in more information that continues to please me. I really am interested in pursuing a degree in business now and I only have a few unanswered questions left. Like I already know what the salaries are like for graduates but what jobs can I look forward to? And even more important would I enjoying working in those positions? So I went to WikiAnswers, there I found that, "Any entry level office type job might be a possibility. Accounting, Human Resources, Customer Service, Sales, Receptionist, or Administrative Assistant." for business graduates (What jobs...?). I like this answer because it means that I have an wide ranger of occupational Fields to choose from. Which really suites me because I like the feeling of freedom I get from having different options available to me, this way I will never feel trapped into something I am not like to do. What's even better is that I like all the jobs listed because I get to work hands on with the community no matter which one I choose. I'm a people person and always wanted a job that included interaction with lots of different people on a daily bases. Also the websites says that with a degree in business, one can "Either go on to higher degrees or work your way up." This means that as I continue with my education and work experience my rank in a company will only rise to better positions and I won't be stuck with the same boring job the rest of my life, but instead be able to continue challenging myself.

All signs point to YES, when it comes down to if a business degree is right for me! I think I have found my calling.

"What jobs can you get with an associate's degree in business administration?." wikiAnswers. 8 May 2008 http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_jobs_can_you_get_with_an_associate's_degree_in_business_administration

What Resources Are Available For An Abused Child? What Can Other People Do To Help?

2008-05-05T18:23:00.000-07:00

I have found that there are many resources available for abused chidren and there are many things that can be done to help them. The child could tall someone that this is going on or maybe a friend or family member could have noticed some signs. Either way someone can talk to the parent(s) about the abuse.The person should call the police or Child Protective Services (CPS) if the abuse is severe or doesnt stop after talking to the parent(s). Also there is a program called Childhelp, Childhelp is a national organization that provides crisis assistance with other counseling and referral services. They have a 24 hour hotline where you can call to repor abuse or you can call if you need to talk to someone. All calls are anonymous.

2008-05-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

Now on to more research....

Now I wanna try to get more into my question. I learned that men do have more advantage, but now I would like to know do you think woman let men take advantage or in some cases do men just lower them in to get what they want. So I took the time to ask some class mates:

First I asked from a female point of view so i asked D Hardy.She agree that some women do because cant nobody make you do something you dont want to do in life.

Next I asked from a male point of view I asked Anthony.He agree that men just lower them in because we know we got the upper hand when it come down to the relationship.

Then I asked Olivia which had a point of view of both parts. Yes i agree because sometime you suspose to let men feel powerful in the relationship. Some women let men brain wash there minds to lead them on and they get what they want.

Finally another male poin of view Corey.I think guys do take avantage,but at the same time all guys arent the same.

Me personally I do agree with there answers. I feel that its the best of both even thoe men do have more power and tend to take more advantage.The women comes in to play because we tend to fall more for words which make us more vunerable to be taken advantage and thats when men get what they want. So I did successfully answer my question.

Would music be a better career for me than Journalism??

2008-04-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

Well i've reasearched some more and have found something really interesting to me in this search that i wasn't knowlegable of before. As you can see my questions all stems to the essential question "is journalism really what i want to go to school for"? Now your probably wondering where the music part comes into play. I looked up music as a career on google and it brought me to the Rutgers website. As I looked more into it, I found it interesting that there were more music occupations and careers than the journalsim category. Some occupations that I found were talent agents, technical writers, tour manager, music attorney, music therapist, and even a musical journalist which i found really funny. I thought maybe i could start to research on that and see what that about.
As i go on about my research, i've found some things on music journalist. The website i went to, a BBC article titled "Music Journalist" gave me lots of information and i got to read about what an actual music journalist does. A music journalist writes breaking news stories about music reviews of concerts and records and gets sent all over the world to interview artist. They can be office based but many work as free landers from their home.

what are the root causes of child abuse?

2008-04-28T17:03:00.001-07:00

To find some answers to this question i searched Wikipedia.com. There I found a section listed as Causes Of Child Abuse. There I found some of the same causes that i have found on other sites. I did find some new causes such as parental choices and other unforeseen circumstances that place families under extraordinary stress such as divorce sickness poverty or disability can cause child maltreatment. Many of these factors may contribute to family stress that can result in child abuse or neglect ("causes of child abuse." . )
Next I looked at http://www.quebecoislibre.org/000610-9.htm because there was an artcle called "the causes of crime". In that article I found child abuse listed in the crimes. One of the causes listed are most crimes come from fatherless families. In 1983, the US Department of Health and Human Services found that 60% of child abuse is done by mothers with sole custody of their children.
After going to that site, I found a wb site that was called "The Child's Voice: A Primer On Child Abuse". There I found several different causes of child abuse. Some of the causes listed are frustration,financial peril,parental inexperience, dificult behavior and uneffective punishment. I learned that frustration is the number 1 cause for abuse in infants under 5 months. In the finacial peril section, it was said that homes stricken with poverty have the highest rate of child abuse because of parents having a greater tendencey to badly interact with their child due to their own frustration. Parental inexperience is often found in teenage parents, who are often unmarried and are still children themselves. They may feel frustrated and stressed over the dramatic change in their life. I also learned that children who have difficult behavior are more likely to get abused because there is a high chance of the parent(s) being high tempered.

My steps on my journey (Ashley Smith)

2008-04-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

There were many places i copuld of looked to find more information in my topic but to start of i went to a sight that gives you alot of info and also gives you other places were you can go to look up pthings for your topic. I started at google.com and from there clicked on many links that lead me to places that showed me and taught me things that i didnt know about. When i got to google i typed in high school bulling andf it pulled up many topics and many different web sites. From there i clicked on a link which took me to cnn.com which has alot of good facts such as bulling tops the list of childrens school troubles and that many students say talking to there parents about what goes on at school or what happened at school does little to ease the stress or pain that person is causing them that it may even cause moore drama cause the parents tend to go to the school and talk to teachers about ot thinking its helping there child but is actually digs the hole dipper for them.And this can lead to stress, low selfesteem and deppression which can cause many problems such as fatal school shootings cause tests show that many kids who have been bulleid or beating up in school a=many times just bottle it up until they burst which cause them to snap and try harming others or even getting even with the people that have put them though hell there hole life in school.bulling can even be taking further if you think about it many who are bullied in school can also be bulled or taunted out of school on-line they are an easy target out of school to. Facts say from netsmartz.org that cyber bulling is a big thing these days and that if not monitured or either takin care of that it can get very out of control. And that it can also reuion friendships cause of the things people may drag you in to. Now cyber bulling is a bog thing and can cause drama what would you do if were being bullied or taunted on-line?

My journalistic self-examination

2008-04-28T05:50:00.000-07:00

Going about my search about "Is journalism really what I want to go to school for"??, i've found some really interesting and helpful things. One of them being self examination. One source stated that you had to examine yourself and know your strengths and weaknesses to be able to know if you would be capable of handling that task. (Yes it's me!) I had to look at myself and think of am i capable of this important job, could i handle the classes, would i start getting lazy as the semester goes on, does this major/career suit me??
admissionssuccess.endlex.com/types/journalism.htm
As i researched i sat and thought about..... Do i even know the definition of journalism?? Well i looked up the defintion and it read, Journalism is learning how to disseminate information fairly, clearly, and concisely, with adgerence to associated press style rules.
www.studentsreview.com/docs/,major_jo.shtml
That definition helped me alot in answering one of my questions and I hope to get to my final question as I do more research.

Business Administration: Week 2

2008-04-26T17:49:00.000-07:00

As I continue my search into week 2 I start where I left off. Last week I searched for the basics of, business administration, this week I planed on going more in depth into the topic and find out some statics. So I start off by asking, What can a degree in business offer me after graduating? This is an essential question in figuring out whether a degree in business is right for me. I want to know what job opportunities can a business degree get me and what are the salaries like for business graduates. So I went to yahoo.com for the answers, there I found an article explaining the top ten professions for the class of 2004-2005 (College Majors That Boost Your Paycheck). Number five on the list was accounting, with a starting annual income of $42,366 in a public job and $43,003 in a private job, that was perfect for me. This static was one step closer to choosing a business degree because I got expected to ECC, majoring in business administration and minoring in accounting. So being able to graduate and find a well paying job is important to me, I know money isn't everything but being a single mother changes that aspect of life I once had. So I need to get a education that will not only help me financially but my daughter as well.

This lead me to wonder what are the job demands for gradutes? To answer that question I went to a website, jobweb.com, there it stated that " The growing demand for new graduates is a result of an increased demand for employers’ products and services" and "Employers expect the good job market to continue—or perhaps get better" (Class of 2008 Steps Into Good Job Market). What was even better than knowing that by the time I graduate in four years the job maket would expand for graduates but that the number 1 degree demand was, accounting and number 5 was, business administration!!!

I 'm starting to feel that I made the right decision in choosing to go to college for business but I'm only into week two of my research and there still are many uncertainties. But I realized that I am on the right track towards, figuring out and planing my future.

Hargreaves, Steve. "College Majors the boost Your Paycheck." cnnmoney August 17, 2005 may 1,2008 .
(2008). Jobweb. Retrieved May 6, 2008, from Class of 2008 Steps Into Good Job Market Web site: http://www.jobweb.com/Jobs/market.aspx?id=1219

ON MY JOURNEY BY ASHLEY SMITH

2008-04-25T10:12:00.000-07:00

While looking up my topic i dicovered alot of interesting ad also alot of distrurbing things. When looking on google i actually found alot of topics so i started clickeng on some one pulled up this web site highschoolbulling.com which was a positve web site and to me was a good start to my research it was about this guy named jim jordon who is actually dilivering a highschool antibulling program that offers tangible caontent, which both measurable , educational and of course fun. And with this program he hopes that it will decrease the bulling in schools and bring something else to there mind like thinking about school work or even there education. after looking at this web site i went ojn to another one to see the negative sides to also see the affects. And learned something that i never new i was on cnn.con and by there facts bulling in schools and teasing tops the list of childrens school troubles which is sad and that many students say that talking to there parents doesnt do anything to ease the stress. Another fact is that teasing and taunting at schools is the number one cause in the recent fatal school shootings that just have occured pretty sad huh. There are other facts today that bulling doesnt just stay at school it also lingers outside the schools in such places as the internet which is called ''cyber bullying''this is a big thing and it can get out of control.it has been proved that taunting and bulling appear to have played a role in recent fatal school shootings to. there are other things that were intersting but im not going to go on but what if you were being bullied what would your reaction be positive or negative?

MY TOPIC What do we do about hazing, and bulling in our hifghschools?

2008-04-22T11:13:00.000-07:00

I became interested because now a days all you see when you turn on the tv, or open the newspaper or even listen to the news is violence everywhere even in our schools.Highschool fights or even bulling are usually caused by stupid stuff such as rumors, little comments that usually end up not true in the end. Then you end up with concequences such as getting suspended, getting kicked out of school, or even going to jail.And all this ends up on your reacord at the end.One of my biggest questions is why do people take the time out of there life to bullie others or even fight people.Why try and cause someone else pain when at the end your the one getting hurt.To me it seems highschool fights are increseing instead of decreaseing like they should be, and also what are school members or boards of education doing to prevent bulliying or fights in there school these days, and what action can be takin to lower the bullying and fighting rates and raise grades and selfesteem.

Ashley Smith

what are the warning signs of a possible abusive parent?

2008-04-20T18:01:00.000-07:00

as i start to lookk for some answers to my first foundation question, my first place to go is to`is to Ask.com. i put in my question and i had to narrow it down a lot to get get some sites that looked as if it could help me to answer my question. i couldnt find anyhting that matched my exact question bout i went to Lifetips.com and i saw a list called "Signs Of A Parent Who Is Abusive". this was the closest i could find to my qestion. this is whats in the list: Here are some possible signs of a parent/guardian who is being abusive toward their child/children.

The parent/guardian can be:

- Seems to trust no one
- Reluctant to explain child´s injuries or condition
- When they do offer an explanation, it will be inappropriately to the seriousness of the child´s condition
- Overreacts (hostile when questioned)
- Under-reacts (no concern or awareness of the child´s needs)
- Overly critical of the child
- Seldom touches or looks at the child
- Expects or demands behavior beyond the child´s years or abilities
- Ignores the child´s crying.

Im guessing that i could use some of these examples for my research because im pretty sure that some are done before the abuse starts. for example ignoring a child while it is crying could maybe make a parent so mad that maybe the paarent hits the child.
the next site i visit is http://www.aafp.org/afp/990315ap/1577.html. there i learned more statistics of abuse. for example i learned that child abuse is 15 timeslikely to happen in a household where spousal abuse takes place and is 3 times more likely to be abuse my their father. i learned that each year there are 1,000 to 2,000 children die fron abuse. 80% are under 5 and 40% are under the age of 1. Homicide is the 4th leading cause of death in children between the ages of 1-4 and the 3rd from 5-15. reading these stats had me alarmed because i didnt know child abuse happened so frequently

WHY DO MALES TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FEMALES:WEEK 1

2008-04-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

NOW INTO MY RESEARCH......

Now I am beginning to look into my research question. The first step I took was asking females do they agree with this. Many did agree so now I really think my question could be proven. There are many studies that show males take advantage.That when i reasearched the question on the computer and these are some of the answers I found.From this website:"Why do men try to take advantage of a woman and how could a woman allow it to happen?." # 2 months ago .
WHY DO MEN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FEMALES:

men like to take advantage of a woman to show that they are "on top of their game". most likely they were not brought up to respect woman. and woman allow it because they like the attention. most likely they were not brought up to respect themselves.

Because they know what to say and how to say and woman sometimes get to a point where they just want to be loved and so they think it is love when the man is just wanting some satisfaction and then the woman gets hurt.

I chose these two answers because I can strongly agree most ot these incidents come from low self esteem. We tend to fall more for the words then the person and thats the same for falling for lust instead of love. This when men take advantage virbally and physically. This is why I like this topic because this problem do need to be brought up. So far I have got good feed backs from this topic. Now its time to explore some more......

Business Administrtion: Week 1!

2008-04-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

As I began my quest to find the answer to my essential question I started with the basics. What is business administration? So I hopped on the Internet to surf the web, which lead me to Yahoo! Education for the definition.There it explains that business administration is "a college or university course of studies that offers instruction in general business principles and practices" ("Business Administration").This lead me to want more information on the aspects of a business administration degree. Like what courses must I take and how many credits would I need to graduate? To find this answer I wanted to check out a local college here in Buffalo to see what requirements are necessary and what are some basic courses. I chose to look up DeVry College, there they named a hand full of course one can major in to obtain the degree from accounting to human resource management ("About Business Administration"). Knowing I could chose a concentration course out of more than a dozen different areas really excited me because I now would be able to enjoy the studies more by being able to pick a major I am interested in.

Even with the basic principles of my topic I still feel a bit unsure of what things truly make up business administration, so I know I have my work cut out for me! I feel like with every question I answer another one question arises. So now I am left to wonder, will this be a never ending process? What I am sure of is with every questioned answered I am one step closer to knowing if a degree in business administration is right for me.

what help can we give a parent who seems at rist to become an abuser?

2008-04-17T09:54:00.000-07:00

I became interested in the topic of child abuse after deciding that i wanted to become a child psychiatrist. I want to help children who go through tough things.i only personally know one person who has been abused, and that pushed the topic interest in my head. I have actually became more interested after reading the newspaer and watching the news and seeing the way parents abuse their children. this has actually become an epidemic now in society because there are more and more children getting abused everyday.
i only know a couple of tings about child abuse. i read that every 13 mins there is a child getting abused in the U.S. that is terrible rate because no one especially a child deserves to get abused. i want to know why parents actually abuse their children. i want to iunderstand what drives a parent to do terrible things to their children. i also want to know what kind of help a parent can get if they feel they might become abusive. what does a parent get out of abusing a child?

What Is Business Administration and Is It The Choice For Me?

2008-04-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

I first became interested in business administration, when my older brother Josh decided to change his college major of Architecture to study Business Administration. The idea of my brother changing majors, picked at my brain for months. Why would he trade his passion for a suit? After Josh's sudden change of heart, I wanted to know if I would enjoy Business Administration as much as he does, so I decided to it would be my major in college!

I don't know much about Business administration, which might be a problem because that's what I going to college for. All I know is that there's a lot of math involved and I'm OK with that because I'm good with numbers. I also know that when I graduate I will mostly get to wear a suit in my future job, which is awesome! But other than that I am completely ignorant of the topic. I hope to obtain as much information from this project to be able to make an educated decision on my future.

So my question is.....
What is business administration and is it the choice for me?

2008-04-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

WHY DO MALES TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FEMALES????

Many women nowadays are getting raped emotionally and physically abused and formost disrespected.Why is this? To me it is mostly men that play the important role. Men have the advantage and power over us in many things. Its sad though how nowadays men our taking advange of young woman. Then the thought come to my mind is WHY DO MEN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF FEMALES??

I chose this topic because as a female growing up into a young women I see how young men are really nowadays. From the stories in the newspaper or hearing about it teaches you alot. Young men nowadays hav no manners and is so disrespectful to females.Most men think they get the best of us,but its sad to say that they do have a advantage over us and thats when they take advantage.WHY WHY WHY????Thats what I say I mean what if it was the other way around.Thats what I want to get to the bottom of.

Kaysha Laureano, Ashely Smith & R'eon Eckles

2008-04-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

*shmueli, sandra. ""flash mob" craze spreads." cnn.com 08 aug 2003 15 apr 2008 .

*"Global Warming." Wikipedia. 15 Apr 2008 .

Is journalism really what i want to go to school for??

2008-04-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

Journalism has always been something that i've wanted to do ever since I was in the 7th grade. I would love to be a journalist for the simple fact it's something that interest me in many ways and I can relate to it. But I have many questions on the subject that I'm trying to have answered. I'm trying to research and decide which type of journalisn i would like to take, if journalism is really what i would like to do, or is music really my top passion. I seem to sometimes have a battle in my mind on the two topics because their both two career choices that i have pictured myself doing and now that i'm a senior i feel that there's no better time than now to have my questions answered. The reason i chose the topic "Is Journalism Really What I Want To Go To School For"..?, is because I'm geting ready to go into the real world and I need to start narrowing my career choices down and clearing the path for a long-lasting career that will take me through many years. Sometimes I feel journalism is for me and at other times I feel that it's a dream, but nothing that I could pursue years and years on. Music on the other hand, i've been doing it for so long that i feel it's a part of me that will never leave. But i would also like to do something different because my music may not make it in the industry and I would like to have something stable.

I hope I did this right Mr. Malley lol

ANIMAL CRUELTY

2008-04-13T10:42:00.000-07:00

How i became interested
*Watching animal planet
*love animals
*think it really could fit my style in life

What i already know
*that dog fights are happening everyday
*animal cruelty is a big topic in some towns

My questions
*Where is the best place to be an animal cop?
*is being an animal cop right for me
*What kind of people will i be dealing with?
*Ho is being an animal cop different from being a reagular cop?

PRE READ:WHAT PLAN CANBE TAKEN OR TALKED ABOUT TO STOP TEENS FROM UNPROTECTIVE SEX AND STD'S???????

2008-04-11T10:09:00.000-07:00

Danielle...you've got to revise this. Tell a story. What makes you interested in this topic? You are choosing this topic over anything else in the entire world? What is the story? Explain! The Plane!

HEARING FROM MY FRIEND TO TELL ME SHE HAS AN STD.THE THOUGHT WOULD JUST DISGUST ME.MANY AFRICAN AMERICAN FEMALES AT LEAST 1 OUT OF4 HAS A STD.MORE THEN EVER PEOPLE ARE COMING IN CONTACTMORE THEN EVER OVER THE YEARS. THEN COME ALL THE WHAT IF'S AND WHY.THE MAIN THING IS UNPROTECTIVE SEX. I THINK TO MYSELF WHAT COULD BE DONE OR WHAT PLAN CAN BE TAKEN TO GET THROUGH THEIR MINDS.STD'S IS ANOTHER MAIN THING THATS KILLING OUR SOCIETY AND WILL INCREASE OVER THE YEARS.

Young Adult Literature - Classy Never Trashy I

2008-03-19T19:42:00.000-07:00

2008-02-26T19:33:00.000-08:00

SAVED RACE

THE GENRE OF THE BOOK IS YOUNG ADULT WHICH ALSO REPRESENTS ARE GROUP.AS YOU CAN SEE WE ARE YOUNG ADULT GIRLS WHO MAY FACE SOME OF THE CONFLICTS REAR IN SOME OF THE BOOKS.YOUNG ADULT BOOKS MOSTLY SHOW A YOUNG TEEN MATURING IN LIFE.THIS BOOK IS AN GOOD EXAMPLE OF THIS GENRE.

THIS GENRE I AM VERY FAMILIAR WITH.TO BE HONEST THIS HAPPENS TO BE MY FAVORITE GENRE.I CHOSE THIS BOOK IT SHOWS LIFE AS A TYPICAL TEENAGER MAKING IT THREW HER HIGH SCHOOL YEARS.I WOULDNT SAY THAT THIS STORY BREAKS THE MOLD AT ALL.

2008-02-26T19:19:00.000-08:00

SAVED RACE(GENERAL OVER ALL OF THE BOOK)

THE MAIN CHARACTER IN THE STORY SEEM REAL BECAUSE SHE FACE THE REGULAR STUFF THAT A TEEN WOULD FACE BEING A SENIOR IN HIGHSCHOOL.lOVE COULD GET THE BEST OF YOU AND PEOLE COULD TRY TO BRING YOU DOWN.

THE CONFUSION SHE HAS I COULD RELATE TO.ITS EASY TO BE STIL STUCK ON AN OLD RELATIONSHIP AND FORGET ABOUT THE ONES WHO ACTUALLY CARES BECAUSE YOU WANT THE BEST FOR YOU.YOU JUST CANT LET IT AFFECT YOUR LIFE.IN HIGH SCHOOL YOU HAVE TO PUT YOUR WORK FIRST.

NO MATTER WHERE YOU GO IN LIFE THERE WILL ALWAYS BE THE PEOPLE THAT TRY TO BRING YOU DOWN.YOU PUT THEM PEOPLE TO THE SIDE AND ALWAYS KEEP YOUR HEAD UP NO MATTER WHAT PASSES YOU BY.THATS WHY I THINK THE CHARACTER SYMBOLIZES A REGULAR TEEN IN LIFE.

******DO YOU AGREE THAT LOVE CAN GET THE BEST OF YOU******

2008-02-26T19:05:00.000-08:00

SAVE THE RACE(CHAPTER2)

THE MAIN CONFLICT IN THE STORY IS THE GURL IN COLLEGE THAT EVERY BODY BELEIEVES HAS A PERFECT LIFE. TO BE HONEST SHE REALLY DOESNT SHE TURN IN HER PAST LOVEE RELATIONSHIP AND THE TENSION FALLS ON HER RACE.DOES SHE FALLS FOR THE RIGHT ONE AND DONT LET THE RACE GET IN HER WAY.

THREW THE STORY SHE NEVER LOOSE FEELINS FOR HER PAST LOVE YET SHE FALLS FOR SOMEBODY ELSE.THESE CONFLICTS OUR NORMAL TEENS IN HIGHSCHOOL.BEING A SENIOR MOST LIKELY YOU WOULD.SHE DOSNT LET THAT STOP HER OF WHO SHE WANT TO BE.SHE STILL STRIVE AND KEEP UP HER GOOD GRADES.

RACE CAN BE THE ISSUE IN MANY CASES IN HIGH SCHOOL WHITE PEOPLE WOULDNPICK ON HER BECAUSE OF HER COLOR AND BECAUSE SHE WAS TRYING TO BE SOMETHING.SHE STILL KEEP HER HEAD UP.

******DO YOU THINK MANY TEENS COULD FACE THIS DURING THERE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS?*******

"So B. It", By Sarah Weeks (pages 37-70)

2008-02-26T14:11:00.000-08:00

Do you empathize with the characters? Are their voices genuine, are they believable?

As I read more into my novel I find myself empathizing more with the main character Heidi, who is telling the story. She has no knowlegde of her past, only what she can remember as she has gotten older. Heidi does not know her birthday, who is her father or her mothers real name. All of these unanswer questions haunt Heidi's everyday life and she finds herself needing to know the truth as the years past. Her mother is the only person how may know the these simple yet life changing answer's but due to her mental disability, Heidi's mother does not even know her real name. In her mind her name is "so be it". The search for the possible truth has become Heidi's obsession and I don't blame her. If I were in Heidi's place I think the anxiety of all the "what-if's" would have destroyed me. Everyone has a history, and with a simple story we fill in the blanks as to what we didn't know about ourself and all our chapters are complete from begining to present time. Like knowing about all the times we kicked in our mothers womb or the way our fathers had to run and get our mothers ice cream and dill pickles to sooth their morning sickness. But worst of all not knowing your last name, your idenity, Heidi is in a rough time in her life when all she wants to know is the simple details that will satisfy her hunger for the past. Her past has become her quest, I feel her voice is genuine and true.

**What would bother you more knowing who your father was but he did not want to be a part of your life or not knowing your father at all?

2008-02-26T10:52:00.000-08:00

the characters in GossipGirl seem very real and believeable. They all are very typical teenagers where most happen to be very rich and are able to do whatever they please. Almost all of them act very snobby except those who are not part of the very rich and famous.Everyone that is there is there because they have fashion designors as moms or famous lawyers as dads. Jenny and her big brother Dan go to a very rich and prestigous private school but they are there on a scholorship. The other characters such as Blair, Serena, Nate, and Chuck are the ones whose parents pay for their education. But all of them have problems that any other teenager might have. The problems that these characters have are problems that any teenager could relate to. Jenny, who doesnt have much money wants to fit in with the in- crowd; Nate was caught buying drugs and now has to go to rehab; Serena and Blair have a unofficial best friend competition going on.One of the characters who remind me of someone i know is Serena. Serena reminds me of my big sister jennifer. Both of them have a pressence that is as if nothing is wrong in their world; everthing is perfect. Both of them have a unofficial battle with their best friends because they want their friend to have a downfall because they seem so perfect.
***Would you be jealous of your best friend if she appeared to be "too perfect"?***

2008-02-26T10:13:00.000-08:00

In GossipGirl, I was pulled toward Jenny and Blair. They both are in some few ways similar but mostly different. I was pulled toward Jenny alot more because she was trying really hard to be something she really was not. Jenny really to fit in with Blair and her girls but they never really paid her too much attention. Blair and her friends would treat Jenny really wrong making her do stupid pranks as if to "initiate" her into the group. Jenny really would try hard to do these stupid things so she could fit in with the popular girls. As i was reading this book, i would begin to feel sorry for Jenny. She would really really try hard to get into Blair's clique. Jenny would try to sit and talk to the girls and they would ignore her. The girls would even go as far as walk away from her when she tried to eat lunch with them.
As far as Blair, I was drawn to her for something different. Blair really was trying to a certain college. She really messed up her inyterview for the college so when she was offered another, she really went all out. Blair went shopping and even got a brand new hair cut. But she didnt expect to fall in love with her interviewer. he was a older guy who happened to be one of her dads friends. I was drawn to Blair because the was she was acting was a facination to me. I dont know anyone who acts the way she does and it was weird to me. Blair acts over-dramatic and really thought that the guy really wanted to be with her.
I think I was drawn to Jenny because I felt sympathetic to how she was being treated. She was treated so bad and she still wanted to be friends with the girls who did her wrong. There were times in the story where I wished I could really help her or give her advice about those girls and how she should be treated. with Blair I also wanted to give her advice on how to have a good interview. She shouldnt have tried to get into a relationship with her the person who has such a impact on her future.
***How far would you go to fit in with the most popular, most evul girls of the school?***

"SO B. It", by Sarah Weeks (pages1-36)

2008-02-16T15:31:00.000-08:00

First Impression of book:

My first impressions of the novel was that I would have an immediate connection with the main character, Heidi. Heidi is a young girl how's age is unknow still but what is revealed right into the reading is that her mother is mentally challenged. This factor of the book caught my attention and hasn't let go. As I read into the novel more I am intersted to know what a regular day is like for Heidi and her mother. And what kind of obstacles have they faced to get where they are and what are they still left to face in the reading. I think my interst comes from the fact that my son who past away would have been mentally challenge if he survived. He had no oxygen to the brain for over ten mintues and the doctors said there was a big chance he would be in a vegetable sate or mentally disable for the rest of his life. All I cared about was having my son..normal or with a disability. I never got the chance to know what it would be like to live with a person who was mentaaly challenged and I think this book will give me some insight of what I might have faced. And even some closure.

What would you do if faced with the reality of raising a mentally disable child or putting the child in a home where professionals could give him the cared he/she needs?

*I say a mother's love can cure all.

TURNING THE PAGE BY ASHLEY SMITH

2008-02-14T10:20:00.000-08:00

My book os the rules of survival and every time i read it i never want to put it down. The book it very interesting to me just the way the writer layed it out you can really tell that the writer put alot of stime and thought in to this book.The rules of survivl is a book about three young kids trying to make it threw thee hard life they have living with there motherwhoo in this case abuses them, does drugs , is in and out of the house at all times, etc.. The book is very touching as i mentioned in my other blogsIn the book there is a peortson telling the story and it is the older brother to me i can kind of tell the how he is felling just by the way he is telling it i know that sounds weird. But the way he is telling the story you can tell he is in pain not just for him but for his sisters to.Matt the kid tellling the story in the begining of the story was so desprate that before he even knew Murdoch he visualized him as his father and ho whe thought he would come in and change his mother and change all three of there lives. Which in this case is somewhat true cause once you read on more Murdoch is this great guy that matt wanted him to be, he puts up with the stuff there mom did but ends up leaving, But doesnt forget them him and there aunt and da are palnning something to help them to get them all away from there mom because matt can leave anytime he wants and never look back but he wont cause of his sisters so he neds a different way to deal with this and he just might get.What would you do if you were in a relationship and knew that the parent as treating there kids like this?

First Impressions

2008-02-10T10:22:00.000-08:00

My book is called because im worth it: a gossip girl novel, by Cecily von Ziegesar. I picked this book because i like the book as well as the T.V. series. I read a couple of chapters and so far I like it. It's about 6 rich teenagers who live in the upper Manhattan area who go to the same private school. There's Blair, who will do anything as long as it benefits her and very spoiled and has all the best clothes only because her mom is a fashion designer; than Serena who was kicked out of boarding school but everyone still seems to love her anyway, she's also Blair's best friend; threre's Nate, Blairs boyfriend who lets anybody control him; Chuck, Nates best friend, who is very coniving and sneaky, he will do anything to get to the top; than there's Dan and Jenny, who are brother and sister. They are not rich and only go to the private school because they have a scholarship. Dan is really into poetry but likes Serena, while Jenny is very naive and will do anything Blair says to get into the "in" crowd. But the main subject of the story is a person who has a internet blog who writes about their lives. Nobody knows who it is because the person goes by GossipGirl hence the series name. GossipGirl knows everything that happends with all of them no matter how big or small and it all gets posted to her blog. So far it is very interesting and it keeps me on my toes because i never know whats going to happen next.

"Sold", by P. McCormick (finished)

2008-02-09T12:32:00.000-08:00

Did you feel that the book fulfilled your expectations? Were you disappointed?

Throughout the novel, I enjoyed the reading and was satsified will the details and how realistic the book seemed. My only disappointment was at the end of the novel because it leaves the reader will many unanswered questions and which did not fulfill my expectations. The whole reading was about a young girl's struggle to get freedom from her slavery and return to her beloved family but, the novel ends with no sloid evidence of weather the main character fails or does in fact return. I feel the matter in which the novel ended made the reading pointless because the reader is left with so many doubts about the characters. I know I grew a bond with the many character, as I do with all the charcters I read about and not knowing what happens to her life weather good or bad bothers me.

I feel all novels should end in closure, may it be with death or happiness, a new life or sorrow. The biggest impact a book has on a reader is the end, so a writter should put their all into leaving an amazing impression with the reader, so they would continue to read thier works. I can't be sure if I will ever read another piece of litature witten by Patricia McCormick. I feel if I would have liked "Sold", it would have been a greater chance that I would continue to read her novels...now I have doubts. If you were in my place, like the novel but not the ending, would you give the author a 2nd chance by reading another one of their novels or stop reading their books completely?

"Sold", by P. McCormick

2008-02-09T11:52:00.000-08:00

How do characters change or evolve throughout the course of the story? What events trigger such changes?

The main character of this novel will change in stages into the strong women she becomes at the end because of the experiences she will face throughout the reading. At the begining of the novel the reader will encounter a young girl, who is nothing more than the definition of innocence, shy and resectful. Never steps out of line and stays in her "place", regardless if she approves of the the situation because to her family come before anything...... even herself. She is satsified even when she has not eaten in a few days, just knowing her baby brother has eaten and willing to work to fix the roof that will not hold up any longer, even when she has no clothing. But soon that person will be broken down into a weak priceless slave when her step-father sells her to a hore house. That experience will change the person she was forever and make her into a unwilling slut and victim of countless rapes. The only thing that does not change in her is her love for her family and because of that, she will grow the will and power to find a way out of slavery by becoming as horrible as the people who is keeping her locked away. Strong and fearless she will make an escape from the abuse and return to her sister and baby brother, no matter what it takes or how many men she has to sleep with to pay off her debt! If faced in the same situation what would you do?

UNDERSTANDING BY,ASHLEY SMITH 1-189

2008-02-08T10:05:00.000-08:00

In The Rules of Survival i am starting to understand alot more. The characters in the book arell different in there own ways which makes the story so good. The Rules of Survival is a painful story but it also teaches you what other people are going threw in there life. When i started to read the book it caught my attantion and now reading on it still has a hold on it. This book should be read by all kids in high school i really don't know the reason why but i really think that it would teach them alot. Usally in these kind of books its only about one person going threwabuse in there life and have nobody there to help them or even ayone there who understands biut in Rules of Survival there are three victims and they all are there to help eachother threw the pain that there mother is causeing them.This book really mad me made because if you trhink about it ther are kids out there being abusesd by there parents and nobody is doing anything about it. And that kids with good life's don't appreciate what they have like the better life but the ones who dont have nothing appreciate life the most.I just wish that people like nikki the mother in the book would stop talking there anger out on there kids they were brought in to this world for you to love and charrish not beat down and make feel like crap because you want to feel bettr about there self.
wht do you think about kid's being abused?

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS ON THE BOOK.....

2008-01-31T10:05:00.000-08:00

SAVED RACE(CHAPTER ONE)

MY IMPRESSION ON THIS BOOK SO FAR IS THAT IT COULD RELATE TO TEENS AT THIS AGE.MANY STUDENTS IN HIGH SCHOOL FACE THIS PROBLEM OF STAYING FOCUS AND MAINTAING HONOR GRADES.I PICK THIS BOOK BECAUSE IT RELATE TO OUR GENRE AND THE COVER CAUGHT MY EYE.

lIKE ANY BOOK THE FIRST PAGES SEEM BORING,BUT AS I BEGAIN TO READ MORE IN THE BOOK IT BECAME INTERESTING.tHE GURK IM THE STORY IS TORN IN BETWEEN LOVA AND HAVE TO DEAL RACIAL TENSION.lOVING EVERYBODY IS HARD.IN LIFE YOU REALLY FIND OUT WHO YOUR TRUE FRIENDS.THATS WHY I LIKE THID BOOK BECAUSE SHES A HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR JUST LIKE ME TRYING TO GRADUATE..THE GURL TO ME HAS A STRONG CHARACTER AND THE ATTITUDE YHAT SHE WONT LET OTHEERS PUT HER DOWN.BEING IN HIGH SCHOOL YOU SHOULD HAVE THAT ATTIDE BECAUSE THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOMEBODY TRYING TO BRING YOU DOWN.THE QUESTION THAT STAYS ON MY MIND READING FUTHER IN THE BOOK WILL SHE END UP.....ON THE RIGHT SIDE?

THE RULES OF SURVIVAL By, Nancy Werlin ( 1-98 )

2008-01-18T09:49:00.000-08:00

The rules of survival is an Edgar award winner book.

My impression in the book i am reading is about three kids struggling in life because of there mother.It shows me that i am having a good life and that it could be worse.Rules of survival is a book that is teaching me many things such as how to act in a situation like they are in, or just think about why they are going thought what they are going through why god picked them but not even that why god could even make people so evil that they think its ok to hurt children.It gives you another look in life and another look at yours. The rules of survival is a book everybody should read and not just cause your board but to learn how others live there lives what children go through everyday.This book gives you a time to think about somebody other than yourself.

The rules of survival is a very interesting book that i am enjoying myself and so far would recamend to others because it makes me look at the world different already because of the way they are being treated. So i think that it would also change the way other kids look at the world to maybe the will appreciate life more then they do know.http://www.nassaulibrary.org/YABookLog/Cover%20of%20RULES%20OF%20SURVIVAL.jpg

Patricia McCormick, "Sold", pages 1-33

2008-01-17T09:52:00.000-08:00

What is your first impression of the book you have chosen?

My impression of the novel that I am reading is a look into the life of a girl of different customs. As I read more into the novel I find out about rituals and hobbies of the main characters, that I find to be from another world or planet. Like, spying on the boy that you have been chosen to marry. This makes me more interested and intrigued about learning more about where this girl comes from and why she does these strange things on a daily bases. In our society, things are opposite from of Lakshmi's. I would never approve of my parents choosing who I will marry and yet Lakshmi seems to be pleased and excited about being a wife to the boy she knows nothing about.

Having a first hand look into another culture is amazing! Reading the vivid details of the writer, lets me imagine a world I never experienced before. Every new challenge the main character faces, leaves me wanting to understand why and makes me want to finish the novel. I don't have an impression of the book, the book has left an impression on me!

Our Genre!

2008-01-15T09:17:00.000-08:00

Our group chose to study the genre of young-adult fiction. The reason is because we feel the topics of young- adult fiction can relate to our everyday lives, as teenagers. We think that people read this genre because it is appealing and interesting. Every reader can respond to the genre and enjoy the book because they've had those same experiences of growing up. Young-adult fiction also provides humanity with a understanding of changing from a child to an adult and the lessons you learn in the process.

Assessment - Indy Reading Project - December

2008-01-10T19:02:00.000-08:00

Danielle - 5/5 Responses

Danielle, I'm a bit confused about the point of view response. Remember, point of view is the vantage point from which a story is told. Does each character tell the story in different chapters? Or is there a detached narrator? A narrator becomes biased if he or she (or it, lol) has something to gain by lying to the reader (maybe lying is too strong a word).

The character response was strong, but the rest are a bit too short. Let's pick it up a bit.

Alex - 5/5 Respones

Alex, pretty good responses overall. I'm glad you enjoyed the book. I did too. It's funny, that's the first of four books I've read this year that were somehow tied to Alaska. The last one just had a character named Alaska, so I don't know if that counts. Anyway. (We're going to work on proofreading skills, lol.)

Ashlea - 4/5 Responses

Make sure to fully focus on your response topic. In the last response you say the character changes, start explaining it, and then just retell the plot. Keep coming back to it.

Re'on - 3.125/5 Responses

I like that last response (aside from the glaring spelling errors). You raise a point, provide evidence and comment ("that shows maturity and growth"). Hopefully you'll be able to keep up with the responses now that you're rocking that new laptop.

Ashley - 3/5 Responses

Ashley, bit of progress this semester and a lot of improvement, but if you want that grade to keep improving you've got to do ALL of your work. Nice job on that header.

Kaysha - 5/5 Responses

Kaysha, way to raise the bar. As I've said before, your responses are developed and insightful. Keep it up.

2008-01-08T11:31:00.000-08:00

WHAT IS THE GENRE.......

The genre of the story is young adult horror. It could be just considered horror,but the characters in the story are young adults.I found this book to be interesting because I usually don't read horror.Another reason is because since I already seen the movie I wanted to know if the book was the same. Both have their likes and differences.The story catches you because it some what breaks the mold leaving you with some type of suspense on whats going to happen next. I do recommend this genre because it has suspense and is interesting.

2007-12-21T10:14:00.000-08:00

This is the cover of the book that i been reading and writing about i am threw with the book now and putting my last blog in for it. I really enjoyed this book it really touch me in a place that i thought it could not because i am not really a book reader but i would not mind reading this book over. Really bonded with the main character Martha she really made the hole book, and also her loving family that supported her with every thing that she went threw that summer, and school year even some her teachers was there for her, I don't think that she would have mad it in the world with out the support that they was giving her, but over all i really loved this book and hope many more people enjoy it like i did.

Jason and Kyra by Dana Davidson2

2007-12-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

Yes, the experiences that the characters go through causes them to grow. for example the two characters don't really know much about each other but the get past their differences. One thinks of the other as a concieted jock who thinks he knows everything. The other thinks that one is just a weird nerd. They both let go of their wrong perseptions and become friends. That shows maturity and growth. They were both able to let go of the harsh things they thiught of each other.
Also the fact that they begin to become a couple and eventually becomes each others first love shows growth. Falling in love with another is a big step that takes mature people to do.

2007-12-21T10:02:00.000-08:00

The point of view...

Each person has there own opinion on how the story is told thats there personal point of view.At the end each of there point is over powered by the consiquence.The main point of view is be careful what you do because you never know when it could get the best of you.

To me the story is baised because none of the characters never know whats going happen next, but it all falls in a sequence.The point of view seem to be note worthy because it was a lesson learned. The teens in the story charactics is what helped them get threw the story.

2007-12-20T10:01:00.000-08:00

Martha has been doing good dealing with the death of the person that she was so deeply in love with every one has been so supportive and been by her side threw it all trying to make sure she gets threw it and not by her self, her sister loves her so much and would do any thing for her in a heart beat because it hurt ed her seeing her sister unhappy so she did everything in her power to make sure her older sister was OK and happy.Martha was just disappointed knowing that she had to move her life on with out him because they planed there future together and plan to be with each other for ever, but you have to think about it everything does not last forever she just did not no that it would have to end so soon and the way that it did hurt ed her the most.She is a very smart young girl and is going to make it far in life but them being to gather just made it so much better and the would have been so successful in life now she is thinking like what is she going to do now with out him, and how will she make it in the world with out the person her that heart belonged to.

GO ASK ALICE

2007-12-20T09:58:00.000-08:00

Go Ask Alice was an excelint book to read i would recemend it to everybody be cause the writer put aloty of emotion and truth into it, i also recemend it because it also has to deal with what alot of tens are going on with today and what they might be going trew and what they might be thinking. go sk alice is a book that catches your attention as soon as you start reading it thats why i also think i liked it so much. my opinion on this book was that it was a teen that was trying to get attention from her parents from her parents and the world and thought that she could run away from the pain she gets from them by doing drugs. reading this book can also show teens what not to do cause it can ruin your life i mean she was a 17 year old girl doing drugs and having sex im her same age and nnot even thinking about doing those things and i dont think i would be thinking about doing hose things if i was treated diffferent matbe its because i have respect for myself and no what i want to do with my life. but as far as her doing drugs and having sex at a young age the book is very interesting and really recamend it to anybody just pick it up on ay and rad it youu might learn something ne i did .

, ASHLEY SMITH

Jason and Kyra by Dana Davidson

2007-12-19T10:31:00.000-08:00

But he doesn't let that affect him with getting his school work done.
As far as Kyra, she isn't one of the popular girls in school. Alot of people call her a nerd because she is very smart. She is very close to her family. She is very into science and has entered a contest that would give her a full scholarship to any college she chooses.
Both Jason and Kyra reminds the reader of people they know because they are described as everyday, regular teenagers. You can think of any of your friends and be able to relate Jason or Kyra to them. for example one of my frinds is really into sports but really doesn't have a good relationship with his parents. I also have another female ffriend who is really smart and doesn't dress like everybody else in school. Readding this book you are able to relate the characters to any of your friends.

Does the characters experiences cause them to grow??

2007-12-19T10:14:00.000-08:00

Payton the main character, has had alot of experiences since the time. First off she's had trouble figuring out who she wants as a boyfriend in college. Because of the fact that they both go to her college and they don't get along and they play on the same football team, she's been having some major difficulties. They also went to a party, the three of them together and she had some jealousy issues because they were both dancing with other women. So she goes and finds someone to dance with and tries to show off in front of them and make herself known to the both of them. She also has a roomate that lives with her who she wasn't so sure that she wanted to live with because she was a different race from her and she was scared that people were going to be talking about her because the majority of the people in the school was white and she was african american.

So after a while she stopped caring what other peope thought and he started praying everyday to God and asking him to kee[p her and help her not to focus so much on what people had to think or say about her and that she would stop focusing so much on her ex-boyfriends and start focusind on her school work before she started failing and missing classes. Her roomate on the other hand was having problems in gymnastics and so Payton would pray with her and I think that her motivation to strive and do good in her classes and praying is helping her do better and to help other people

"Smack", Melvin Burgess

2007-12-19T07:57:00.000-08:00

What did you like about the book or dislike?

I really enjoyed the book I had chosen because now I can relate and understand what a user faces on a daily bases. It opened my eyes and mind to another world of life on drugs. I live on the lower west side and knew a tons of drugs users, some are even the parents of my friends or my old friends from elementary school. It bothers me to see that they have decided that weed or crack is the way to solve all their problems and now because of Melvin Burgess' book, I in a way comprehend why. A user was a person who was crying out for help and received it from the wrong person. It so happened that the answer to their cry was none other than a drug. Since no adult, friend or family member would be willing to help deal with the issue at hand the right way a person that is going through emotional stress and drama will be quick to aspect a drug instead. And weather it was weed, alcohol or heroin, that person is now trapped and it's a long road to recovery when now your issue is has multiplied and help is limited.

I wouldn't have even thought for a second that getting off drugs was as hard as the book showed me. I thought it was a users excuse, their way of getting someone off their back but I was wrong. I was also wrong about pressuring a person into quiting because all a user knows is that a drug will take it all away. I enjoyed this book because now I feel I may be able to help a user, with the do's and don't's this book has showed me. And that I may be able to make a difference now because of "Smack"!

Smack, Melvin Burgess

2007-12-18T10:03:00.000-08:00

Did certain parts of the book make you feel uncomfortable? Why? Did this lead you to a new understanding or awareness of some aspects of your life you might have not thought about before?

I have to admit there were lots of parts in this novel that made me feel so uncomfortable and I could have grind down my teeth how shocked and in a way terrified I was in the situation the character's put themselves in. Maybe it's because I am a mother but when I was reading about Gems and Tar starting to shout up, in a way my heart dropped because the whole time I'm reading; I'm hoping they turn their lives around. I kept thinking ........ oh if I were their mother or all they needed was love. I feel for what they been through but also in a way I feel that two wrongs don't make a right. Everyone goes through situations that they feel they can never get through but, they do and life goes on with out having to turn to drugs as a way out.Knowing a teenager my age is shouting up heroin and making themselves think that they are in control, was a totally uncomfortable feeling, maybe because I was unable to help them. I'm the type of person that just can't sit back and watch something like that happen.
So reading all the different things they were doing to ruin their lives just made me cringe with discomfort.
Especially, when I read what Gems and her friends turned into to get money for drugs, prostitutes. All I could think was WHY? Teenage prostitutes and they still think that they are in control of the drug but in reality it was the other way around. It made me think....... wow this really happens everyday and to them it's life and that hurt. Even though I knew what was going to happen in the book but, I wanted to be proved wrong. I grown to understand and accept that everyone has to make their own choices in life and grow from them. That still doesn't mean that I approve or feel comfortable with it.

"Smack", Melvin Burgess

2007-12-14T16:13:00.000-08:00

What was unique about the setting of the book and how did it enhance or take from the story?

I really enjoyed the setting of my story that I have read; it enhance my reading by far and was what really drew me into the book in the first place. I feel that the setting in the mid-1980's was perfect for the book and gave a factual element to the story because during that time period, use of heroin by teenagers was very popular even more so with runaways, like the main characters of the book. The eighties was a time of breaking free from your parents restriction and on to having fun.... which their(wild teens of the 80's) definition for fun was drugs, drinking and parties. The author used this facts of the eighties and really appealed that to the character's lifestyles. With this certain setting I was able to understand how easy it was for teenagers to get drugs and ways of getting the money to buy the drugs back then. Now a days if a police officer sees teenagers around the streets during school hours, they would pick them up, no questions asked. If the setting would have been in present time it wouldn't have been believable and ruined the story.

The story took place in Bristol and the author explains the place in such vivid detail that it feels that I have been there before after Reading the book. Burgess (author) tells the surroundings of the city and shops in such a way that I could picture myself walking in the streets with the characters. Burgess explains the things thing that are happening in the
story also in great detail so that the reader can go along with the story without getting
mixed up. For example, I never heard of the term squatting before and after reading the paragraph I knew that the term meant an a abandon building was going to be a home for the homeless. The details of the setting of the abandon buildings , enhanced my understanding of what the characters had to live in on a daily bases and made me more interested. Without the unique setting of the story,I feel the impact and powerful theme the author was trying to display would not have what it turned out to be.

2007-12-14T10:30:00.000-08:00

Martha is the character name and threw out the book she was very sad because of her boyfriend's death,and what mad me feel for her is the fact that she took it will she sheaded her tears but that was it she was so strong about the whole situation.But what made me really identify with Martha is that the person that she loved and shared everything with the one she would have spent the rest of her life with just died out her life i would have been so hurt if anything happened to my boyfriend i don't think i would have took it so easy like she did.

2007-12-14T10:18:00.000-08:00

The story is faced with many consequences not knowing whats going to happen next. This bring about conflict. The conflict in the story is the main impact. The conflict is they live they lives every day,but the guy that knows what they did last summer hunts they every move and any thing could happen. The characters are trying to end the conflict but time is running out. To be honest they have no idea of who has the fate to be the last person standing.My favorite character Julie has the strong charactics to make it through. She was the first person to receive the letter and you never know the last person to be standing. At the same time she afraid but every time she escapes.

At the turning point the plot begins to pull me in. This is because of the intensity of the story of how the guy is after them day by day.The story has horror and suspense which makes you more interested in the story.

The Allure of the West

2007-12-13T16:56:00.001-08:00

Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer, pgs 144-207 (end)

Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller, pgs 1-97

So, I finished Into the Wild and started rereading a book that I'm studying with my AP Literature class. As I read the first act of the play I was struck by the similarity between Chris McCandless and many of the characters from Death of a Salesman. The main character of this story, Willy Loman frets over a missed opportunity to accompany his older brother to Alaska to make money. Instead he is 60 and stuck in a dead end sales job. Interestingly enough, Willy's father abandoned him as a child to also seek fortune in Alaska. In a weird twist, Willy is disappointed in his son Biff because he is constantly seeking work outside of the norm of the day. He's worked on cattle farms and other jobs that Willy does not respect. Biff explains that he likes these jobs because he's not stuck inside at a desk and can be out in the open air.

In American culture the west has always been symbolic of the open frontier, a vast unexplored wilderness where a man could make his living outside of the realm of laws and societal constraints. It's interesting that these two books, written 50 years apart, have such similar themes.

Does anyone else know of any characters who seek a life outside of society? Anyone have a friend or family member who constantly wants to go out on the open road? What do you think drives a person to feel like this?

__________________________________________________

Dear Blogger: This is not a spam post. I am mailing to publish this on all of my student's blogs in order to provide a sample and to engage in discussions. Please call off the spambots.

2007-12-11T10:22:00.000-08:00

Jason and Kira by Dana Davidson
this story is about to people who are from 2 different circle of friends. they really don't care for each other much until they have to work on a class project together.
One thing I like about this book is the author describes the way cliques really are in high school. I also like how the characters really seem to be like everyday high school students.

JUST BECAUSE

2007-12-11T10:21:00.000-08:00

IHAVENT FINISED GO ASKED ALICE BUT I WOULD RECAMEND THIS BOKK TO VERY ONE TO ME IT IS VERY INTERESTING AND I THINK THAT ANYBODY WHO READS IT WOULD LIKE IT BECAUSE I DO AND I BAELY LIKE STUFF SO IF YOU EVERY SEE GO ASK ALICE IN THE STORE OR IN THE LIBARAY PICK IT UP READ A FEW PAGES BEILEVE ME YOU WILL EITHER WANT TO RENT IT OR BUY IT.

GO ASK ALICE

2007-12-11T10:16:00.000-08:00

THE BOOK I AM READING IS ABOUT A 15 YREAR OLD GIRL
THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN BROUGHT IN TO THE WORLD OF DRUGS AND SEX. SHE IS STRUGGLING THREW DRUGS BECAUSE WHEN SHE SEEMS TO STOP THEY TEND TO COME BACK INTO HER LIFE. SHE RAN AWAY BECAUSE ON TOP OF THE STRESS OF DRUGS HER PARENTS ARE ALWAYS PUTTING HER DOWN WHEN SHE DOES SOMETHING TO HER SELF THEY NEVER CAN SAY ANYTHING POSITIVE ABOUT HER. RUNNING AWAY CANGED ALOT PUT THEN IN AWAY IT DIDNT SHE GOT CAUGHT UP IN DRUGS AGAIN AND EVEN GOT RAPPED WHICH MADE HER REALLY THINK WHAT SHE IS DOING WITH HER LIFE.TO ME SHE IS A TEENAGE GIRL TRYING TO GET ATTENTION AND DOESNT KNOW HOW TO GET IT ANY OTHER WAY AND THINKS DOING DRUGS AND HAVING SEX WILL MAKE IT BETTER.CAUSE WHEN SHE IS HIGH SHE ALWAYS SAYS SHE IS BEAUTIFUL. BUT WHEN SHES NOT SHE KIND OF PUTS HER SELF DOWN. WHICH I THINK IS WRONG.

ALICE AT THE AG OF 15 HAS DONE HEROIN , SPEED, WEED, AND ANY OTHER DRUG THATS OUT THERE SHE EVEN STARTED HAVEN SEX AND TO TOP IT OFF UNPRETECTED SEX. AND AT THIS AGE SHE HAS RUN AWAY FROM HOME WITH HER FREIND WHEN SHE SHOULD BE WITH HER FAMILY AND IN SCHOOL. IF I COULD ASK HER A QUESTION IT WOULD BE WHY WOULD YOU PUT YOUR SELF TREW THIS MUCH PAIN AND NOT JUST YOUR SELF BUT YOUR FAMILY. WHY WOULD YOU RISK BEEING A NOBODY BECAUSE OF DRUGS? IF I COULD ASK THE AUTHOR A QUESTION IT WOULD BE WHY DID YOU LEAVE THIS BOOK ANOMOUS ARE YOU HIDING SOMETHING IS THAT WHY YOU DID?

I CHOSE THESE QUESTIONS BECAUSE THEY SEEMED THE MOST RESONABLE FOR MY BOOK. I KNE WTHAT IF THIS WAS A REAL LETTER TO THE AUTHOR THAT MAYBE MY QUESTIONS MIGHT GET ANSWERED AND THEN I COULD UNDERSTAND ALICE AND WHY SHE MADE THE CHOICES SHE DID. MAY NOT MAKE SENSE TO YOU BUT IT DOES TO ME AND THATS ALL THAT MATTERS. AND THERE WERE NOT ANY OTHER QUESTIONS I THINK THAT COULD OF SATISFIED ME.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

ASHLEY SMITH GO ASK ALICE

1.GO ASK ALICE IS A TEEN GIRLS DIARY AND HOW HERE LIFE WAS. SHE STARTED DRUGS AT A YOUNG AGE BUT THERES A TWIST TO THAT SHE STARTED HAVING SEX. AND I THINK SHES DOING THIS TO MAKE HER SELF FEEL BETTER BECAUSE HER PARENTS TREAT HER LIKE CRAP THEY ARE ALWAYS LOOKING DOWN ON HER WHEN SHE DOES SOMETHING SO MAYBE SHE IS TRYING TO GET THERE ATTENTION HER OWN WHY.

2.ONE THING I LIKE ABOUT THE BOOK SO FAR IS EVERYTHING IT IS VERY INTERESTING AND IT SHOWS YOU HOW SOME PEOPLE LIVE THERE LIFE TODAY AND THATS SAD THAT THEY HAVE TO DO DRUGS AND HAVE SEX JUST TO GET ATTENTION OR MAKE THERE SELF FEEL BETTER THERE SHOULD BE ANOTHER OPTION.

2007-12-07T10:03:00.000-08:00

This book is about a pack a friends.....

whose try to keep a secret about what happen last summer.They made a pack that they would never say nothing. Little do they know somebody knows about the secret. Now they receive strang letters and try to get to the bottom of who knows.

I like this book because......

it gives off a suspense of whats going to happen. Another thing is I like how the characters draw you into the book to make you more interesting. Also because the movie was good.

Title:I know what you did last summer
Author:Lois Duncan

2007-12-07T10:01:00.000-08:00

The characters in the story seem real because they are a group of young adults who like having fun like us. They took a turn after what happen last summer. After running over a man and then threw is body in the lake they made a pack to never say anything about it. Now college about to start and they are faced with what could be there last. Somebody knows what went on and now hunts them down. They begain turning on each other since it easy for one person to break the pack . The character I like the most is Julie because she trys to stay strong even though she knows somebody is watching her every moves. Now the turning point is when he begain going after them trying to kill them. The man looks like a fisherman wearing a long black cape and hat .He also walks around with a hook killing people.All of them dont know what the next turn is. At the end all of the puzzles of what is going on is coming together.Now Julie is the last one faced with fate. She ends up being the only one that survived.

This can relate to any pack of friends that does something thats an accident. What happen that summer was a mistake gone wrong they just happen to be drunk and wasnt watching where they were going. This can happen to any young adults involving in alcohol while drving .You might not ever know who knows. The pack made can hunt you forever. Also while this going on your friends can easly turn on you and be the ones behind it the whole time.Thats why its good to be careful what you do because you never know what can happen in the long run.

2007-12-06T10:11:00.000-08:00

The realistic characterization in this story is how the author was saying how she felt after the accident with her boyfriend. The author was making sure that you felt what the character was feeling as if you were there and you were going threw it. I would like to meet one of the characters just to talk with her and let her no that she is not alone and its always someone else out there for you and i no that it might be hard to let go but it would e the best thing to do instead of waiting around making your self feel bad, and making your life harder. She is in high school so every day its something new to her because her sister has her own boyfriend and she is sad to see them together but his was trying his hardest to be nice and gentle with her knowing anything he say might offend her and set off a trigger and all her feelings about Stevens death comes back to her. Martha's family was very supportive of the whole situation her mom took a whole week off of work and sent her little sister to camp and Dottie to her boyfriends so that she can be alone with her and to let her no that she was her mother and she would always be there for her, she could not say much but just told her to get it all out and everything is going to be all right . Martha just got sick of crying and and came to the point that she new he was gone and never coming back that she could not cry no more it was just hurting her seeing her self cry so she cry ed and cry ed until she was all dried out.I did not hate Martha i actually like her because i feel were she coming from and i feel for her and Stevens family.

Upstream, Melissa Lion

2007-12-06T10:08:00.000-08:00

In the book that I have read, the main character is a young lady who is about eighteen years old, her name is Martha. Marty as she is called, is a high school senior that feels she has been out casted by all her peers because of an event that took place over the summer. Her boyfriend died and she was the only person who was with him and knows what truly happened. The death has isolated her from opening up to others, in a way she feels vulnerable. She now keeps more to herself and lost contact with many close friends. The only thing shared between her and her old friend are only questionable "Hi's and bye's".

Helping Marty cope with the death and pain is her family. Her family consist of her mother and two sister's. All who love her every much and only want to see Marty get through this tragedy. But for Marty letting go came be the hardest thing she will ever face.

I feel that this character seems very real and believable because I can relate to Martha and the things she has been through. First of all I am the same age as her, a senior in high school and can understand the pressure of trying to fit in after an event like that occurs. I to have lost a loved one during my second year of high school. It was devastating and I did not want to even to talk to some of my best friends let alone peers and teacher about what happened. I just wanted to try to get over it, not have to relive the moment every time someone asked what happened.

Also like the main character, Martha, I too had a lot of support from my family to get over the tragedy. My mom, dad, brothers and sisters all cried with me until we had no tears left to cry. My family helped me when I needed it most and are still very careful of what others and they say to I won't get upset. Their love for me and my feelings made them defensive, in the most helpful way.

Marty too cried on her mothers shoulder for weeks, until she had no more tears to cry but the pain never left. Her mother took off from work just to hold her daughter and wait until she was ready, when ever that may have been. Martha's mom did not want to pressure her in any way , that would just stop her from letting go the death. Her sister was also defensive when anyone questioned Marty about what happened and would answer for her with witty remark. All because they loved her.

So in many ways I feel me and Marty are every similar because of our experiences and the times in our lives that these events have occurred.

Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer Pages: 1-144

2007-12-05T20:53:00.000-08:00

So, the book I'm reading is about this early twenty something kid who
is pretty alienated. It's a nonfiction book, and since I haven't
summed it up yet in a previous response, it's about a kid who is
searching for meaning in life and seeks this meaning by exploring.
At the beginning of the book we find out that he ends up dying in the
middle of Alaska to exposure.

Even though I think I'm supposed to, I'm having a really hard time
identifying with the main character, Chris McCandless. I look at
the cover and there's this picture of Emile Hirsch portraying
McCandless. He's a good looking kid, and he's kind of sitting in this
"top of the world" type dominant pose. The author seems to really
identify with the character, and spends a couple of chapters relating
his own similar experiences. And McCandless is seemingly the rugged,
individualistic antihero that Americans celebrate.

But, I can't get into him, and I think it's because I'm a parent
now. I see the way this kid abandoned his parents, went off into the
middle of nowhere, took chances, didn't write home, and espoused his
theories on the way life works to whomever would listen, and I'm
like, "dude...call your mom, dad and sister. They're worried sick."
The kid is kind of portrayed as this spiritual, deep Thoreau quoting
prophetic figure, but he just strikes me as naive and self centered.
I don't know what I'd do if I was his parent. I would be devastated
if my son took off after graduating college and just disappeared.
It's really rather sad.

(By the way, if you're wondering, this response is to the 7th bullet
under character. The total length of this response is 279 words. I
summed up the book to start because I figured you'd need that
information, but then I really tried to stick to talking about
whether or not I identified with the main character and why.)

"Upstream"

2007-12-04T14:37:00.000-08:00

So far it is about this young girl who lost her boyfriend and she does not want to go back to school with all that happen because she nows every one will be lookin at her different and she did not want to go threw that and the fact that someone she loved with all her heart is gone and she is in her own state of mind right now thinkin about how she is going to move on in life with out him, so right now thats basicly were i am right now.

2007-12-03T10:08:00.000-08:00

It's about a girl who...

is a high school senior in Alaska. Her name is Martha and for some reason she is depressed and feels like outcast because of an event that took place over the summer.

One thing I like about this book is...

that I enjoy reading about teenage drama. A couple pages into the book I realized that the main character, Martha, has experience something so terrible that it has changed her life completely. This drew me into the book and I found my self reading every chance I got.

Title: "Upstream"
Author: Melissa

Your 1st Post!

2007-12-03T05:17:00.001-08:00

Today in class we will be posting to our blogs. To keep things simple, this
first post will be a kind of introductory thing. Here's what I'd like each
of you to write (make sure it is under your own display name):

1. In 2-3 sentences, give us a taste of the book. What is the title? Who
is the author? What is the "gist"? (It's about a girl who...)
2. In a separate paragraph of 2-3 sentences, finish this sentence: One
thing I like (or don't like) about the book so far is...

Welcome

2007-11-29T19:47:00.000-08:00

Hello folks. I just wanted to give you a hearty welcome to the
blogosphere (the world of weblogs, according to my widget dictionary).

I'm going to send you more meaty information in the next few days
(right now I'm testing out the "mail to blogger" option I told some
of you about today).

But for now, I want to talk to you about grammar and conventions.
These are blogs for my English class, and I expect you to follow the
rules of standard English as best as you can. Some of our previous
rm305 blog discussions were replete with mistake after mistake. You
may IM your friends and write on Myspace one way, but on these blogs
we are going to assume a more academic diction.

Thanks for the help. If you have any questions, let me know.