Assessment Journal #2

(TS) On my return to the Boys and Girls Club, I remembered my first experience where I was astonished, therefore, I didn’t expect anything this time. I think this was a wise tactic because if I had had expectations, there would have been even more surprises. (SD) One of first surprises I got was when I walked in and a little girl ran up and gave me a hug as she said, “I missed you!”. (CM) I was simply speechless. (CM) I didn’t expect these kids to forget me, but when I was informed that I was missed I felt jolly. (SD) It was at that moment, and a few after, that I realized these kids think of me as a friend. (CM) When I asked the kids about school they didn’t treat me like an adult who was interviewing them on their daily lives. (CM) Surprisingly, the children treated me like a peer who just wanted to see if they were having a good time. (SD) Not only did these young scholars treat me as one of their colleagues, in times where they needed assistance, they treated me with the respect of a counselor. (CM) After power hour, the time when all the children take out their homework and work on it, began, a young girl asked me for help on her reading homework. (CM) I was surprised she asked me instead of one of the older, more experienced counselors, nevertheless, I agreed to provide support. (CS) So far, each visit has surprised me with the kids’ behavior, and I hope to continue being astonished by how polite and friendly these kids are.

Assessment Journal #1

For my first visit at the Boys and Girls Club, I expected a bunch of little kids acting wild, and I was right but it was also much more complex than that. Since these energetic, rambunctious kids seemed too preoccupied playing to notice me even after Rodney, one of the counselors there, introduced me, I didn’t expect them to pay much attention to me. However, I was incredibly wrong because they took immediate interest in me. They asked me questions they talked about sports; it was like an overflow of attention. One child in particular stood out to me and his name was Seven. Before Rodney had even announced my name and right after I sat down, this kid says hello and asks me how I’m doing. When it was time to go out for Kickball, Seven looks at me with hopeful eyes and asks him if I would come play Kickball, and I was happy to oblige. Because of these few experiences, I realized that not only are these kids hyper, they are also polite, courteous, and friendly. There was another kid named Lyrics who politely asked me if I would make an arts and crafts toy for him. I am not particularly good at arts and crafts, so I felt worried he might not like whatever I made for him. After spending about ten minutes working with yarn and two Popsicle sticks, I had created a toy that I didn’t find all that impressive, but when he received it he was very thankful, and I could tell that he appreciated it. I look forward to continuing my service learning here and can’t wait to see what these children have in store for me.

Metaphor Essay

FINAL DRAFT

Austin
English 8
Mr. Salsich
December 9, 2009

Metaphors:
Finding Metaphors in To Kill a Mockingbird and my Life

(TS) Metaphors can simply be a tool to elegantly compare thoughts, or they can distinguish a person’s true nature or spirit. (CM) The expressions in a metaphor such as “little” or “powerful” can merely describe physical traits of someone. (CM) However, metaphors can translate deeper meaning when they relate to an individual’s soul. (CS) In both To Kill a Mockingbird and my life, there are metaphors that have deep, emotional connections.

(TS) The metaphor “red little rooster” which describes Mr. Ewell, a character in To Kill a Mockingbird, is a mocking expression of Mr. Ewell’s physical traits and personality. (SD) “…A little bantam cock of a man rose and strutted to the stand…We [Scout and Jem] saw that his face was as red as his neck” (Lee, 227) which depicts two odd characteristics of Mr. Ewell. (CM) One of these odd characteristics clearly explains why the “red” is part of Lee’s metaphor. (CM) The “little” part of the metaphor is also illustrated in the passage because Scout clarifies his lack of height. (SD) Unlike the other two words in the metaphor, rooster represents Mr. Ewell’s personality. (CM) Some people consider roosters to be an annoying animal since they crow early in the morning, interrupting dreams and sleep. (CM) Mr. Ewell has similar aspects to a rooster because he likes to be annoying while everyone else prefers working productively, and he also crows his opinion loudly creating pandemonium in the courtroom (compound complex sentence). (CS) Mr. Ewell is an unusual red faced man with an exasperating personality, illustrating perfectly the metaphor “red little rooster”.

(TS) Like Mr. Ewell I have a metaphor that depicts me: a cluttered computer. (SD) When a computer is brand new, its memory space is empty except for a few major programs, and before I was cluttered, I had a single dedication and fast computing power towards school (compound complex sentence). (CM) As a fourth grader, I didn’t have many friends, many hobbies, or many places to be, so I had all the attention in the world to devote to being a straight ‘A’ scholar. (CM) Because of all this time being spent on subjects related to school, I developed a quick mind for solving problems like a computer has fast computing power. (SD) Later though, I became more social which led to more friends and less time being spent on school work, thus, earning the “cluttered” part of the computer metaphor. (CM) Gaining new friends takes up a lot of time or a lot of storage space in a computer because I allocate myself to hanging out and talking to them as well as making sure I get good grades in school. (CM) Then when I started to study guitar, I had to equate that into the balance of my life that already had so much on either side of it. (CS) Cluttered computers must divide their computing power, and my life requires a lot computing power as well, but when I overload with information, I won’t crash.

(TS) Metaphors are capable of being powerful utensils for depicting people or objects. (CM) However, they can be objective descriptions like in To Kill a Mockingbird where they mostly describe a person’s physical attributes. (CM) In other cases, they can contain an unfathomable meaning that is used to explain the true nature of a person’s inner self. (CS) Metaphors can be formed anywhere because anywhere in life there are physical characteristics or spiritual emotions that can be put into an expression.

Irony Essay

FINAL DRAFT

Austin
English 8
Mr. Salsich
December 3, 2009

Irony:
Some Unexpected Instances

(TS) There is nothing that is always predictable. (CM) At any given point, a situation can alter and have an ironic outcome. (CM) The ironic outcome is absolutely unpredictable and unexpected by participants of the circumstance. (CS) Irony happens everywhere including To Kill a Mockingbird and my personal experiences.

(TS) Several instances in To Kill a Mockingbird have ironic circumstances, making the events in the story all the more interesting. (SD) One unexpected event was Jem didn’t have to sneak into the Radley’s property to get his pants. (CM) When his pants were ripped off by the fence, he thought he would have to return to the Radley place at night and inconspicuously take his pants back. (CM) However, irony intervened when his pants were already neatly folded and sewed on their deck ready to be reacquired by Jem. (SD) Another unforeseen occasion was when Atticus shot a dog with “mad dog” disease. (CM) “Our [Scout and Jem] father didn’t do anything… He was not the sheriff, he did not farm, work in a garage, or do anything that could possibly arouse the admiration of anyone” (Lee, 223) which is an example of how boring Scout and Jem thought their father was. (CM) However, they didn’t expect their father was well known for his superb aim with guns. (SD) One of the most ironic situations that took place was when Scout broke up a group of rambunctious men who were ready to attack Atticus. (CM) At first, this group of men that Atticus referred to as a “mob” were determined to get by Atticus even if it meant running him down (dependent adverb clause). (CM) Nevertheless, when a young, nine year-old girl stepped in, the men were decent human beings again and left Atticus alone. (CS) There are quite a few ironic parts that take place in To Kill a Mockingbird and each generate a unique and interesting outcome.

(TS) Out of the many ironies that have transpired throughout my life, falling in love with music and developing a passion for guitar were the most unexpected events. (SD) When I was about ten years old, I had a schedule which provided me little free time. (CM) Karate was something I did that required a lot of time and dedication. (CM) After starting guitar, I had a great amount of difficulty handling both situations at once since they each necessitated a large quantity of time to handle (dependent adverb clause). (SD) Strangely enough, I never paid much attention to music when I was younger. (CM) I wouldn’t even listen to the radio on the way to school, but instead, I would simply watch trees and cars fly by as I daydreamed about still being asleep in bed. (CM) However, when I did listen to the radio on my way to school, I was exasperated by the artificial noises that were made by modern artists who used things like autotune to synthesize their voices. (SD) Later, after I had already started guitar, my first guitar instructor wasn’t a good one. (CM) Instead of learning an entire song, my instructor would teach me an intro leaving me yearning to learn the whole song rather than advancing to another intro. (CM) When he taught me, it was straight out of a book that wasn’t usually correct, but also the straight-out-of-the-book method doesn’t teach you one of the most powerful aspects of guitar: soul. (CS) The thought of becoming as good a guitar player as I am today never occurred to me when I was ten years old, making me believe that this is a fortunate and ironic outcome in my life.

(TS) Since there is always predictability in something, there is always irony to provide balance. (CM) Without irony to balance predictability, Harper Lee’s novel would be recognized as a dull book. (CM) However, if everything was ironic, I would never be prepared to learn or adapt to new methods of playing guitar. (CS) Irony appears in a copious amount of places in order to bring balance to books like To Kill a Mockingbird or even more importantly, our lives.

Unwanted Essay

Austin
English 8
Mr. Salsich
November 18, 2009

Unwanted:
A Single, Powerful Adjective

(TS) Feeling people don’t want you can cause emotional reactions or severe actions. (CM) The worst part about being unwanted is that no one will listen to your emotions. (CM) However, instead of becoming emotional, sometimes action is taken to become a better person. (CS) There are many scenarios in which people feel unwanted; two scenarios that really stick out to me are the ones in To Kill a Mockingbird and the movie Tenacious D. in the Pick of Destiny.

(TS) Thinking you are unwanted can cause a severe feeling of loneliness, which is a feeling a few unlucky characters in To Kill a Mockingbird experienced and are going to experience (adjective clause). (SD) Dill in particular has to face being unwanted often. (CM) Before he found his mother and father, he was passed from relative to relative because none of them wanted to keep him for long. (CM) Even after Dill found his mother and father, they would just buy whatever toys he wanted so they wouldn’t have to pay attention to him and could say, “…Now you’ve got to go play with it. You’ve got a roomful of things. I got you that book so you could read it” (Lee, page 191). (SD) In the same chapter, Scout experiences her brother being mean to her, making her feel like he doesn’t want her. (CM) Scout and Jem used to be very close, but recently Jem treats Scout like an “allergy”. (CM) He has gone as far as telling her she is not to be seen with him in public even though they used to be together all the time, and now Jem wants hardly anything to do with her. (SD) I think Jem is soon going to start feeling unwanted. (CM) He continues to treat Scout like he is so much older and more mature than her, and Scout doesn’t appreciate when he does that to her. (CM) Not only will Scout not want to be with him, Since Scout and Dill have become a lot closer, Scout could persuade Dill not to be with Jem and then Jem would have no friends that want him. (CS) Feeling unwanted is difficult to deal with because no one wants to be with you or pay attention to you, which will start to make people feel lonely.

(TS) In the movie Tenacious D. in the Pick of Destiny, a young boy that had a desire to be a rock star left his parents’ who didn’t want him in order to become famous and be wanted by millions of people. (SD) In the beginning, he tries to impress his parents with his rock and roll skills so they would want him. (CM) However, his parents, being hardcore Christians who hated anything impure, wanted him even less after his performance. (CM) They were unimpressed by his performance, and he was beaten for not being as perfect and religious as the rest of the family. (SD) After realizing his parents will never want him for who he is, JB, the main character, embarks on a journey to become a famous rocker and have millions of fans. (CM) At first, he befriends no one and has trouble coping with being unwanted. (CM) However, while exploring Hollywood, he meets a street performer who has “amazing guitar chops”, and they eventually befriend each other to gain the fame of legendary rockers. (SD) In order to achieve their goal of becoming famous and wanted, they were willing to resort to drastic measures, which were ideas like stealing an artifact from the National Rock History Museum (adjective clause). (CM) However crazy this idea may be, they were desperate to be wanted. (CM) They developed a plan to steal the artifact, and their plan was successful, and even thought the artifact ended up breaking, they found a way to fill the void of being wanted. (CS) Throughout the entire film, there were so many ways he did the extreme; leaving his parents, traveling around the country, and stealing an artifact in order to simply be wanted.

(TS) The results of rejection can be harsh on one’s soul. (CM) In some cases, the spirit is wounded emotionally causing deep feelings of loneliness. (CM) These perceptions of being neglected can trigger desperate acts screaming for attention. (CS) In the end, no one wants to be unwanted.

Assessment Paragraph

Austin
English 8
Mr. Salsich
November 6, 2009

(TS) I’ve noticed that my essays have become more carefully written, but I know there is always room for improvement. (SD) At the beginning of the year, my work was sloppy. (CM) Every night I was assigned to write a paragraph, I would spend about twenty minutes writing then post it on the blog without proofreading it. (CM) I learned that doing this wasn’t the best strategy if I wanted to earn an ‘A’ on an essay. (SD) Another factor I have improved is the unity of my essays. (CM) My essays used to be lost without a single path to follow because most of my sentences didn’t tie together. (CM) Now my writing is constructed under an umbrella, and the reader understands the point I make throughout my essay, my paragraphs, and my chunks. (SD) Even with these improvements in my writing, my essays still have flaws. (CM) My biggest flaw that remains is when I put too many words into a sentence. (CM) When I have too many words, the reader notices it, and they stumble over my sentence because it doesn’t read well. (CS) From the beginning of the year to now, my writing has improved significantly, and I hope that by the end of the year, all the flaws I still have to work on will no longer exist in my writing.

Fear essay

Austin
8 English
Mr. Salsich
10/28/09

Fear
One of its most powerful forms: death

(TS) Unlike most people, I am unafraid of what I can see and understand, but I am deeply afraid of the unknown. (CM) If an unexpected circumstance may occur, I get anxious and fearful that I may not be prepared for the coming event. (CM) I also become afraid that this event could cause me to do an embarrassing action. (CS) However, the most unnerving unknown for me is death, and I have seen someone come close to this unknown.

(TS) One of the most fearsome factors of my life is the unknown, and the scariest unknown to me: death. (SD) Death has no clarity, and it can occur at any point. (CM) The fact that at any given moment death can simply happen terrifies me. (CM) Imagine, while walking the path of life, I randomly arrive at death’s crossroad with no warning or notice that this is the end, because death never has a scheduled date. (SD) I hope that when I die, I will go peacefully, but I’m afraid that I won’t. (CM) Instead of growing old and dying without pain, I could die violently without time to talk to loved ones. (CM) That’s horrifying to me because If I died like that, my last thoughts may be filled with rage, revenge, or remorse that my death would be a gruesome scene for those around me. (SD) My ultimate fear dealing with death involves the aftermath. (CM) I can’t stand the thought that after I die I have no idea what is going to happen next. (CM) Even worse for me, imagining that once my life ends, it will be just complete darkness for the rest of eternity. (CS) The mysterious and uninformed arrival of death frightens me because death may not be bad or could instead be the worst event that occurs in the universe.

(TS) Not only do I have fear of death happening to me, people dying in my family frightens me; a fear that has almost become a reality. (SD) When I was nine, my brother was very sick. (CM) For a typical person, this does not cause problems, but for my brother, getting sick was fatal. (CM) My brother has severe asthma, and somehow his sickness made it a more potential way to die. (SD) Andrew, my brother, was six at the time, and he didn’t quite understand what was going on; neither did I. (CM) He didn’t know that he was close to shaking hands with death, but only recognized that his lungs were not functioning properly. (CM) I was even more uninformed than my brother because I could only tell that he was sick. (SD) However, on the night when his sickness reached its apex, I was assigned the task to inform my parents if he woke up and was gasping for air. (CM) Unfortunately, he did wake in the middle of the night gasping for air, and I immediately informed my parents. (CM) Looking back, if he had failed to wake me, my parents hadn’t rushed him to the hospital, and he had died, I would have been devastated. (CS) The Death of others is more traumatizing than my own death because the thought of losing loved ones overcomes me with an intense sadness of their absence.

(TS) The end, the darkness, the final chapter, and death are all terms to describe my greatest fear. (CM) This part of life is unexplainable. (CM) Once a person dies, they cannot come back and describe the experience because they have shutdown into an eternal slumber. (CS) The only time I will have an answer for death is at the end of my life, but until then, I fear death for its ambiguity.

Stick essay

FINAL DRAFT

Austin
English 8
Mr. Salsich
10/21/09

Stick Relations:
How there is a Stick in my Life

(TS) Life is like a tree; a tree sprouts branches which will one day fall from the tree and generate pabulum for a new tree to grow. (CM) When most adults get married, they will one day have children, which represents a tree growing branches. (CM) Once children are ready to form their own path, grow their own tree, they disengage from their parents' support, so they can learn to support themselves and in time, support the branches that grow off their tree. (CS) If I were choosing something that relates to my life and To Kill a Mockingbird, a seemingly simple stick would contain many connections to both subjects.

(TS) A simple, lifeless branch has similar features to the knothole in To Kill a Mockingbird, and the branch reveals there are at least two different decisions we can make in life. (SD) When the tree was flourishing, so did its former branch just like Scout flourished with items she had collected before the knothole was occupied by cement. (CM) The nutrients from a tree provide necessary ingredients for a branch to grow, and an empty knothole allows space for objects to be stored for a young girl like Scout. (CM) However, when the space in the knothole is no longer empty, there is no longer space for commodities to be stored, which is similar to a branch, for when the tree runs out of nutrients, the branch no longer has the ingredients to grow, so instead, it dies. (SD) Once the stick dies, it represents an end to a story. (CM) For Scout, the tale that ended was the one of mysterious items being placed in a somewhat inconspicuous place. (CM) The mystery may continue, but she has reached a dead end and thus, must begin a new chapter for this puzzle. (SD) This particular deceased branch starts straight but then forms a fork-in-the-road which symbolizes that there is always more than one path available for exploration. (CM) In Scout’s life, her branch split in different directions when she had to decide between telling her father what her and her brother had been up to, telling her father it was none of his business, or telling him that he shouldn’t be suspicious of them (anaphora). (CM) Scout made a decision to stay loyal to the bond between her and her brother, and she would not tell Atticus what they had been up to. (CS) At one point everyone blossoms, but when we run out of nutrients, we have to decide if we want to simply detach ourselves from the tree and give up or if we want to make the decision to work harder in order to continue to prosper.

(TS) Once part of a tree, a stick prospered in health and grew in many directions and angles, which relates to my own life, for I grow and make choices that lead me down many paths. (SD) But for me to grow I need supplements similar to a stick which needs nutrients to burgeon. (CM) Unlike a stick, I mature from my education, my family’s love, and my peers’ motivation (anaphora). (CM) Without this nourishment, my branch would not extend very far. (SD) When a stick is a branch, eventually, it will diverge, but one of the diversions will stop growing as the other one continues to. (CM) For me, when I learn of two or more different vocations I am captivated by, I will educate myself in each of them. (CM) I will have to make a choice of which one will I want to pursue further as a career just like the stick stopped growing one branch and continued growing the other one. (SD) However, after a branch has grown off a tree for a while, the tree no longer has any nutrition to provide for the branch. (CM) At one point, my education will be finished, and then I will detach from the tree. (CM) But this isn’t the end, for once I have disengaged from the tree, the stick that is lying on the ground will decompose, providing nourishment for a new tree that I will grow in the stick’s place (participle). (CS) A stick is part of the circle of life because it comes from a tree, dies, and makes a new tree, and my life is similar to stick, for I am born, I grow up, I have kids of my own, and when I die, my kids will continue to grow their own, new tree of life.

(TS) Humanity is a circle of life in the same way as a tree. (CM) Our parents have us, they teach us everything they know, we mature into adults, and start our own family with kids that we give all our knowledge to. (CM) A tree grows branches which eventually detach, for the broken off branches will provide the necessary ingredients to make a new tree. (CS) There are so many ways I can relate to a stick, but in a stick’s simplicity, it has a complexity that closely follows the same path living beings travel.

Stick essay outline

Thesis Statement: A stick relates to my life and To Kill a Mockingbird.

Paragraph #1
SD #1 Scout’s collection of objects from the knothole kept growing like when the stick was a branch it grew as well.
Cm Scout collected objects and the stick collected nutrients from the tree when it was a branch
Cm the knothole was filled in so there was no more collecting and the branch fell off the tree
SD #2 The stick is dead and the knothole is filled in representing a dead end
Cm Scout and Jem hit a dead end to solving who put all the objects in the knothole when Mr. Radley filled it in with cement.
Cm The stick was brought to an end when it broke off the tree
SD #3 The branch forms a Y shape which represents different directions you can take
Cm Scout could have told Atticus the truth of what Jem was up to
Cm She instead remained loyal to her brother and didn’t keep her word that she would tell

Paragraph #2
SD #1 I obtain the nutrients from my life like a stick attained nutrients from a tree
Cm My nutrients consist of the love from my parents and education
Cm I grow from this nutrients like a branch grows on a tree
SD #2 A branch will eventually start to grow in two different directions for a while and then will mostly focus on one direction.
Cm This represents a time in my life where I learn about to different and major subjects
Cm After a while, I will have to make a decision and stop growing one segment of my branch to focus on the other one. When the nutrients runs out, the branch falls off and decomposes
SD #3 When the nutrients runs out, the branch falls off and decomposes
Cm When I finish my formal education, I detach from the tree.
Cm My branch will decompose and create new nutrients for a new tree to grow

Privacy Essay

SECOND DRAFT FOR GRADING

Austin
English 8
Mr. Salsich
October 14, 2009

Privacy
A Matter that should go with Respect

(TS) A person who lacks the ability to esteem someone’s privacy is a person who deserves all their confidential secrets to be publicly exhibited. (CM) It is insulting when someone doesn’t have the deference to know not to pester you for information exclusive to you. (CM) Therefore, if they don’t allow others their privacy, why should they have their own? (CS) In both my life and in To Kill a Mockingbird, privacy is crucial to honor since it conveys trust in others and demonstrates how well you function independently.

(TS) Respecting a person’s privacy exposes how considerate you are, which is a problem for Scout since she has trouble respecting Boo Radley’s privacy. (SD) Curiosity isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but Scout and her brother continue to intrude on the Radley’s property, making their curiosity an invasion of privacy. (CM) Until recently, Scout and Jem would stay away from the Radley place. However, their young, inquisitive minds got the best of them, and now they sometimes investigate what goes on outside this mysterious abode. (CM) Their act of investigation is intrusive to Mr. Radley’s privacy, showing that these kids do not have a lot of self-control. (SD) Letting someone have their privacy is important because it shows you aren’t self-centered enough to believe everything is your business. (CM) Just because Scout is neighbors with the Radleys doesn’t mean she needs to know everything that goes on there. (CM) Instead, she should know that sometimes letting something be undisturbed is the best course of action. (SD) Not only is letting people have their privacy humble of you, people appreciate it because when they are being separate, they usually want to be left alone. (CM) If Boo Radley wanted to come outside he would, but since he doesn’t , he stays inside. (CM) Scout and Jem should acknowledge that fact instead of going as far as giving him a letter to lure him outside, so they can satisfy their inquisitiveness. (CS) Scout should learn that curiosity can shatter privacy but veneration can conserve freedom (antithesis).

(TS) Personally, I have grown to relish the few moments of privacy my parents have left me, and I discovered how valuable it is to be private and to give others their own personal freedom. (SD) It’s really unfortunate for me that my parents give me so little time to be independent. (CM) Sometimes I just want to be left alone from my parents so I can dwell on my thoughts I gathered throughout the day. (CM) Even worse, occasionally I prepare a big surprise for my parents, but since they continue to pester me and investigate what I’m preparing for them, they foresee the ambush, a plan which was meant to bewilder them (appositive closer). (SD) Not only does disregard for someone’s privacy spoil surprises, it abates trust. (CM) If you can’t rely on your friend’s word and invade their privacy, the lack of trust becomes evident. (CM) Without trust in a friendship, two people begin talking to each other less and eventually, dwindle apart. (SD) However, I’m glad that doesn’t happen in my relationships because my occasional moments of privacy are significant to me. (CM) It lets me reflect on my life and the decisions I’ve made as well as the decisions I’m going to make without being subjected to another colleagues opinion. (CM) My privacy also gives me time to figure out some personal issues I have to deal with on my own, so I can grow from the experience I gain from them. (CS) Without privacy, I would never have an opportunity to think of an original opinion because I would constantly be making decisions based on my colleague’s ideas instead of my own.

(TS) If someone wants to be left alone, valuing solitude is beneficial to yourself and them. (CM) When they realize you are giving them time alone, appreciation will follow and trust will ensue. (CM) Also, with time alone, there is an opportunity to contemplate their journey and future exploration of life, therefore, helping them mature into a young adult. (CS) Without providing respect for someone’s privacy, trust crumbles and there is never time to explore thoughts and discover uninfluenced opinions.

TKAM education essay

FINAL DRAFT

Austin Rosenberg
English 8
Mr. Salsich
October 7, 2009

Education
Enlightening the Unknown

(TS) Education is the most powerful tool used to answer inquiries and explain ideas. (CM) For instance, when seeing a new concept of Math, you will not simply understand how to apply it, but your professor will have to teach how to utilize the method. (CM) As young scholars, there are many questions we ponder, and without education, we will forever ponder the same questions having never been given the opportunity to find the answer. (CS) Humanity needs an education, for it answers our questions and enlightens us beyond what we already know.

(TS) Scout, a young, headstrong tomboy (S-V split), declares to her father Atticus that she no longer wants to continue working on her education at school, and that’s when her father has a discussion with Scout on his opinion of education. (SD) Atticus tells Scout that she has to go to school because he doesn’t want her to be a humiliation to the community like the Ewells are. (CM) The Ewells are a family who lack the proper education to earn a vocation and instead, have to resort to breaking the law to acquire their food. (CM) Since they have to capture their food illegally, they live like animals, and on top of that, their dad is a man who wastes money on liquor. (SD) However, if Atticus keeps Scout in school, he knows education will cause his daughter to turn out as a polar-opposite of the Ewells. (CM) Her education will teach her to be a civilized young woman, who can speak with proper grammar as opposed to the Ewells hillbilly trash talk. (CM) As well as developing good grammar, Scout will develop proper manners enabling her to mature into an adult. (SD) Atticus also doesn’t have a choice of whether or not his daughter goes to school because it’s a requirement in the community that he believes is necessary. (CM) If Atticus didn’t send his child to school, he would actually be thrown in jail for breaking the law. (CM) However, it isn’t just a necessity because it’s a law, but because education is a rite of passage that helps a young scholar to mature into a serious student and later, into a hardworking employee. (CS) Atticus knows that without education, his family would become another disgrace to society like the Ewells, so he is determined to keep his children in school for when they grow up, they work hard and earn an honest living.

(TS) To me, education is a challenging pursuit of knowledge to help better a person and to help steer a scholar onto the path they want to take. Whether it be as magnificent as changing the world, or as noble as helping less fortunate people acquire that which they do not have. (SD) However, before the opportunity to choose what you will make of your life arrives, there is a voyage across a long road of difficult work. (CM) This journey consists of putting in the long hours studying until your brain feels like it’s about to explode with information. (CM) The process of education will keep you awake hours after you expected to go to bed, and you will grow weary from the effort you have taken to strive for the best education you can obtain. (SD) Fortunately, this effort does not go unrewarded. (CM) You will feel the self-satisfaction that you journeyed through a tough process, having accomplished a task that most people couldn’t finish (participle closer). (CM) With education, the world is open for exploration, and you can be whatever you desire because education has taught you how to handle circumstances an uneducated person would find impossible tasks. (SD) Not only will education teach you how to handle situations you deal with in a job, it will let go of the beautiful image you have painted of the world and show just how cruel life is to most people, but sometimes, you can help. (CM) Some people out there are sick and twisted, but you have learned to stay away from places where they lurk, avoiding becoming entwined with their awful acts. (CM) However, in other places, the environment may be a repairable one, providing opportunities to help the people stuck in predicaments. (CS) Just like Atticus, I think education is a necessity to life because without it, I am enclosed in an abyss that contains all I could offer to the world, but without the knowledge to do so, I am stuck working on trivial matters that will not release my full potential.

(TS) How awful would it be asking the same question over and over again without every receiving an answer? (CM) I would find that incredibly irritating, which is why I am appreciative of education. (CM) We take for granted how education provides so much illumination of knowledge to us and gives us an understanding of the world for a bright future. (CS) Instruction is unbelievably significant to obtaining knowledge, and from that knowledge, you can define who you are because education allows the ability to choose what you want to become.

Cal's "Comp'ny" Essay

SECOND DRAFT

Austin Rosenberg

English 8

Mr. Salsich

October 6, 2009

Company

Respecting company, whether or not you like it

(TS) Having company over is one of the most significant events that affects your reputation. (CM) Not only will how you treat your company affect the impression you make on them, but will extend into a larger community. (CM) If you treat your company well, it will give a positive impression on them as well as the people they talk to. However, if you leave an inadequate impression, your guests won’t want to come over again nor will any other people that have been informed of the poor hospitality demonstrated. (CS) The impression made on your company is essential, so if you have a situation where you don’t like the company you are hosting, like Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird, every effort towards politeness and respect should be attempted.

(TS) Calpurnia is a character in To Kill a Mockingbird who strongly believes you should treat the people in your house as welcomed guests. (SD) Welcomed guests are people in your home you should engage in a polite manner, which Calpurnia told Scout she failed to do when Walter visited. (CM) Calpurnia noticed that Scout got angry at everything Walter did at the dinner table, and she contradicted what he said frequently in an impolite way. (CM) Not only would she contradict what Walter was saying, Scout would yell at him since he was acting in a way that she thought was inappropriate behavior. (SD) This situation also presents a need for more respectful behavior toward her company. (CM) Scout would yell at Walter to not put so much syrup on his food because the food they were eating had enough flavor without so much syrup on it. (CM) If Scout had been respectful in this situation, she would have accepted the fact that that is how her company liked to eat food rather than yelling at Walter to stop using so much syrup. (CS) Being a respectful and polite host is good because it gives you a fine reputation, and if you ever want to have your guests as company again, they will gladly accept the invitation.

(TS) I can recognize how Scout has trouble being a good host because I also have difficulty acting like a good host when my company is exasperating me. (SD) My cousins are the ones I least look forward to having as company, but I try not to express my frustration with them. (CM) My parents are very strict with my siblings and I when it comes to proper etiquette, but my cousins like to wear chains and swastika designs at the dinner table as well as speak like unsophisticated gutter mouths. (CM) However, as irritating as they can be, I like to take a polite approach and do not point out their rudeness. (SD) While my parents and adult relatives converse, I am responsible for hosting my cousins, which is an irksome task. (CM) When they play with toys or take out controllers to play video games, they leave their mess to move on to another organized area they can jumble around leaving me to clean up and reorganize the muddle of objects. (CM) Their poor behavior is another problem for me. Since I am their host, I get in trouble for their cursing or roughhousing, which causes chaos when they start to break pictures or ornaments around the house. (CS) Like Scout, I have my own difficulties when it comes to being respectful to company, but I still try hard to make them feel welcome so I don’t hurt any of their feelings.

(TS) Presenting hospitality to your guests is an easy, stylish way to promote your reputation with the visitors you host and everyone the visitors talk to. (CM) When all of your previous visitor’s friends hear of how well you treat your company, they will want to come over your house to experience the welcome gestures you display. (CM) Who knows? Out of all the people you meet from being a kind host, you may make some new friends. (CS) Scout is a good example of how not to treat your company because even if the feelings are less than friendly between you and your company, your guests should still be treated with civility, or as you would want to be treated if you were in their shoes.

TKAM Pride Theme

FINAL DRAFT

Austin Rosenberg
English 8
Mr. Salsich
September 23, 2009

To be Proud:
It is Good or Bad and Develops Your Character

Throughout my life, pride has persisted in challenging me with its negative and positive features, and these challenges are presented to me in inconspicuous ways. They are challenges where I have to decide whether or not using pride would benefit myself and anyone else involved in the situation. Pride is stimulating in both its negative and positive characteristics, but when people act on pride, other people find it hard to notice.
An intriguing theme in the second chapter of To Kill a Mockingbird is pride. It’s an interesting theme because the reader has to pay attention to know it’s there. This theme only transpires a couple of times in the chapter, and the times it does occur it’s not conspicuous. I think that is interesting because it is also hard to pick up on when someone is being proud in real life. When someone won’t accept an offer, most people won’t consider it to be because of pride. At first they might believe that they’re simply being polite by not accepting a gracious offer. However, just like the kid Walter Cunningham in the book, people won’t accept offers they know they won’t be able to repay because they are too proud. In this case, I consider pride to be a good thing because it’s a sign of integrity. However, in other cases pride can be a sign of selfishness. When someone won’t accept an offer they need to help their family and they are able to repay it, that is a sign of arrogant and selfish pride. There is a time to have pride and a time to not have it, and being able to discern between those two builds good character in a person.
Pride has its positive and negative aspects, and both features have manifested in my own life. Unfortunately for me, I act out on pride’s negative sides often. I try not to but I sometimes act like a know-it-all, and I am not willing to accept correct answers even when I know I’m wrong. I would also be embarrassed to drive an old junkyard car to school because I am too proud to let my friends see me in such a degrading car. Although embarrassment is one of the negative characteristics of pride, selfishness is an even worse one. It’s the worse kind of pride since it usually comes about when someone else is involved in your dilemma. One time my mother wanted to come to a lecture I was attending, but I said no; I was selfish and didn’t want to be embarrassed by anything she might do even though she would enjoy the lecture. Even though my negative displays of pride are often, I do have rare positive displays of pride, and my positive portions of pride are typically associated with honor. These are the times when I act honorable because I have decided that I cannot afford to repay whatever deal is being made with me. Even though my life is filled with negative pride, I will always strive to act towards what I think is the positive side of pride.
When pride challenges me, I have to notice that it is and act on it in a way I think is best. The best way to act on it can be affected by the type of situation I am in and whether or not anyone else is involved. In certain cases, pride can show how well your character has developed because by demonstrating your pride, you have shown how honorable you can be. Pride occurs unnoticeably often in our lives, and it is fascinating to see how a circumstance containing pride will conclude.

To Kill a Mockingbird theme Ch. 1

Austin Rosenberg
English 8
Mr. Salsich
September 22, 2009

Change

The Endlessly Occurring Part of Life

No human being can go through life without experiencing a change. No matter what you do to try to avoid it, change will happen to you. The only thing we can do is prepare for it and make the most of it because we all change for a reason. Change is an important part of anything, and when it happens to us, we should try to change for what we think is better.

In the first chapter of To Kill a Mockingbird I noticed that the narrator described herself as having a life of simplicity up until she met Dill, which creates a theme of change. This is an important point she makes because it means her life is about to vary. In most books, the word “until” usually means a dramatic change is about to occur. The change can be for better or for worse, but no matter what, it will lead away from the life of simplicity the protagonist was living. The change is also the part of the book that makes the story interesting. Without the change, the story seems dull and will not attract many readers. However, with the situation of an alteration in her life about to occur, readers will want to find out what it is and how the protagonist will deal with it. Imagine living in such a small innocent town where nothing in particular seems to stick out. Now to make an important theme appear and draw the reader’s attention, the author needs to juggle things up a bit and make the story more complicated. What the author does is set up a foreshadow that leaves the reader anticipating something vital that will happen because they know the story will vary. Change is a very significant theme because it affects the value of the story, the reader’s interest in the story, and the quality of a story.

The theme “change” plays a very big role in To Kill a Mockingbird, and it also plays a big role in my own life. Some of the roles it plays in my life are also the same or similar to the ones it plays in the book. In the book, the author provides a change to entertain the readers, and in my own life, changes happen to me which make my life more fascinating. Without the changes in my life, I would go on living the same dull life that no one would want to be a part of. Another way change affects me is it shows how much I can endure when life throws its worst at me. In order to overpower what life does to me, I have to alter my ways to cope with it, so I can push on through the bad and get to the good. If I cannot do that and learn new ways, eventually I will drown when life comes crashing down on me. A further change that I will need to deal with is an emotional change. This is the kind of change where I will have to move on from a depressing circumstance that has overcome me. I don’t want to be stuck in the past, giving my life away to grief because I could not defeat an emotional sorrow. Change affects just about everything, and in my life, I try to change for the better.

Because change is undeniably going to happen to you at one point, making the most of it is the best way you can handle it. If you aren’t prepared to make the most of change when it happens to you, it will lead to an unfortunate turn for the worst. However, always being prepared for change will make you a flexible person able to deal with all kinds of problems. Change is one of the most significant things that will happen to you, and if you can deal with the alteration of your life you are presented with, it will benefit you in ways you will most definitely appreciate.