What I like about this class

I wad not surprised that Mr. McCool would assign us students some things like this after we expressed out frustration during the last entry. .I guess everyone needs a break and fresh air. So, this is what I like about English Class. First of all, the sanctuary of the class was pretty good, with fresh air and all. Note that I am not being sarcastic here. It is hard to maintain a good environment, and some teachers haven't been able to manage it. For, they will have dirty rooms with dirt all over the place, causing students to sneeze and sniff A lot of the class rooms are also pretty stuffy, and students often fall asleep under that "warm" atmosphere. This class, however is different and I like it. Another thing that I like about this class will be the tone of our teacher.  Instead of having a plain, robotic voice, our teacher's voice is emotional and playful so it is hard for students to fall asleep the way they did in some other class. And the most ironic thing about this is that those teachers never understood that the student did not meant to do such a thing.

What I don't Like About This Class

I felt rathered ashamed for not doing this assignment when it was due, but doesn't matter cause I am going to go ahead and write it anyway. For, I have so many things to express. There are "several" things in which I disliked about this class, and one of them is having is the unnecessary confusion when turning in homework and assignments. When students were assigned a homework assignment, the most major problem that they should be worrying about is wither or not if their assignment was 1. on time. 2. has the right content. This class, however is different. Student's work actually get sent back and marked incomplete for not sending in with the correct file name, tagged the correct tag( and sometimes it is careless mistakes that no one can avoid), or had the correct title. It just isn't necessary, other teachers have managed to receive homework without these rules. Taking Ms. Lucy- our expository writing teacher for an instance, she had around three or four classes, yet she still managed WITHOUT any of those strict rules. Therefore, showed that it IS manageable if the teacher is organized. No offense, please don't take this personally. Another issue of this class is that the books, stories and literature we interacted are not related to our lives, which makes the class far less interesting than it could have been. Another thing that I disliked about this class is that there are far too many answer-the-question kind of homework and far too less homework projects. I suppose it is understood by the majority that projects much more fun than sheet questions. Mr. Lex, our history teacher gave us a lot of history projects. And the student's participation and learning from the assignments are great. And besides, don't you agree that projects are far more interesting to LOOK at or GRADE than a regular homework assignment? So I suppose it will be a win- win for all of us.

Jackson v. Frietchie

Barbra Frietchie is a powerful old woman who is brave, noble, and very strong-minded. She stood up for what she thinks it is right, even through times that she have to do so alone. Although she is a highly admirable character, I do not agree with her actions when she met the confederate troops. I know, that this sounds strange. How can anyone disagree her actions? The reason is very simple: She could have gotten all of her town killed. What if Stonewall Jackson was in a terrible mood and didn't want to waste his time hearing her speech? He could have killed all of them, and of course, all of the flags would have been torn apart, the way the people the that town would be. She, was putting the life of many at sake. So, I for one think that her actions aren't the BEST way solve her problem.  I still admire her courage, though, for it isn't easy to be the only one waving your flag in front of your enemies, and it gets especially scary when you have to do it alone. Stonewall Jackson, on the other hand is also a powerful man with a heart as hard as stone. For, he had killed millions on the battle field, how can he not be? He is also brave, and very much strong minded, he is pretty noble as well. For, not killing an enemy who was obviously against him. That was noble, thinking of not only himself but majority before him.  He could have felt angry that the old dame embarrassed him, and killed her. He didn't though, which is what makes him admirable.

Frietchie v Jackson

  Barbra Frietchie is a powerful old woman who is brave, noble, and very strong-minded. She stood up for what she thinks it is right, even through times that she have to do so alone. Although she is a highly admirable character, I do not agree with her actions when she met the confederate troops. I know, that this sounds strange. How can anyone disagree her actions? The reason is very simple: She could have gotten all of her town killed. What if Stonewall Jackson was in a terrible mood and didn't want to waste his time hearing her speech? He could have killed all of them, and of course, all of the flags would have been torn apart, the way the people the that town would be. She, was putting the life of many at sake. So, I for one think that her actions aren't the BEST way solve her problem.  I still admire her courage, though, for it isn't easy to be the only one waving your flag in front of your enemies, and it gets especially scary when you have to do it alone. Stonewall Jackson, on the other hand is also a powerful man with a heart as hard as stone. For, he had killed millions on the battle field, how can he not be? He is also brave, and very much strong minded, he is pretty noble as well. For, not killing an enemy who was obviously against him. That was noble, thinking of not only himself but majority before him.  He could have felt angry that the old dame embarrassed him, and killed her. He didn't though, which is what makes him admirable.

Do the right thing

I suppose I have to make this clear at the beginning of my entry, so there will be no confusions and misleads. First of all, I forgot to bring my journal entry notebook home, and the journal wasn't posted on the prompt page. Which is the raeson that I am looking up another classmates's blog, inorder to identify the question, and so it might sound similar to the class mate's blog. Please note that I am not copying. So, that will be my confession. Now, back to the entry. There are a couple of heros we have discussed, and they are Harriet Tubman, Barbra Frietchie and Stonewall Jackson. All very famous known for their courge of doing the right thing. There is Harriet Tubman, risking her own life and freedom just to save a bunch of black slaves that she don't know. There is also Barbra Frietchie who dared to wave her country's flag in front of her enemy. There is also Stonewall Jackson, who had fought millions and had also killed billions choosing to spare, or respect to be more excact the old enemy's surporter, because of her courge. These people are all doing what we called the right thing. The heros that I had written about last time are Harriet Tubman and Brad Cohen, since they both have to fight against extreme conditions, but they stood up to meet their challenges instead of shying away from it. Which was a brave and noble act to do. As in for me, I wouldn't excactly call myself a hero since I had not done something brave or noble. But I try to do the right thing whenever I can.

Standing up for Your Beliefs

Heros are people, who are admired or idealized for courage, outstanding acheivents or noble qualities. There are a lot of heros in history, all having to stand up for their beliefs. Which, can be hard. Harriet Tubman, for example had to leave her comfomity and freedom behind, back to the land of slavery that she had once tried so hard to escape just to save African slaves. Reason? Because she believed that all men should be able to have freedom, be the master of their own life. Even a black slave.( I am not discriminatnig anyone or anything, just saying out of the point of view of people at that time. Nothing personel.) And she stood up for her believes. That was a terribly brave act to do, which is why people named her a hero. Another example would be an award winning teacher named Brad Cohen who had a disease that caused him to make weird noises and sound that he do not want to make, and the worse thing about this is that he can not control it. Well, Brad wants to be a teacher but 24 schools rejected him. Yet, he stood up to his belief of being a great teacher and not to be defeated by his disease, he continued on until a school finally accepted him. He later won an award for his great teaching. As in for me, I am not religious or anything so I don't really have anything to stand up for. But if I really have to state one, I would say to have democrecy in countries. Give people the right to vote, be educated...etc. So we can have a more succesful goverment and comminity.

Cinderella Story

Though a lot of you may have thought that your life and the people around you are too boring to actually have such a dramatic life, I do and please note that I am not making this up. She was a popular high schooler when we first met, with cherish laughs and confident smiles. Her eyes are clear blue, and her hair were typical honey blond. She fitted right into the image of a popular american beauty. That was two years ago, before she had cancer and had to go through radiotherapy. Which had costed her oh so dearly, she lost her hair, and of course her perfect image. Going through radiotherapy is hard, you don't only expereince physical and mental pain, your confidence and personality may be also lost. As you look into the mirror and discovered your hair comming looser and looser everyday, and you beauty gone. She, ofcourse like all people had to go through that. " I often cried under my blankets when nobody was looking," she once told me. " That sure was a terrible time." Even when the procedure was painful, she gone through it and her cancer was finally cured. I still had the image of her, skinny and fragile with a blue New york Yankees( She doesn't have a favorable sports team, however. She just wore it because her mom gave it to her.) hat, her eyes shinnig with determination as she existed the hospital printed in my head. She later graduated from the university of Brown and was now a succesful engineer. Neither the story of Cinderella or the story of fighting cancer can relate to my own life. But I did heard many stories about them though.

Hero Biography

Write a brief biographical sketch of someone you think is a hero. Include where and when the person was born, where the person lives (or lived), and what he or she does (or did). Explain why this person is a hero to you.
There were many whom I thought as a hero, but when it came to writing an entry, my top choise would be Harriet Tubman, who also happened to be the person I am going to write about today. Harriet Tubman was born in 1822 on the estern shore of Maryland. Her habitate later was never current, but she had lived in New York, California, Ortario, and of course Maryland- the place in which she was born. Harriet Tubman did something that was very so shockinh and severe that took a lot of courge- She helped slaves escape to the promise land( Canada). And how did she do that?She did that by constructing the underground railroad. The undergound railroad, the very definition for Harriet Tubman's bravery had stood forevery in a African American's heart and it always will in the future. If you happen to not know what an undergound railroad is, it is a passageway( just many paths, not nessicarly a passageway) that helped slaves to freedom. Which obviously, is Canada. I think the reason that Harriet Tubman is a hero, is because her having a brave and loving heart. Having a brave and loving heart isn't easy. You have to risk what you positioned, and sacrificed for the greater good. And most people just can't focus on anything outside of their lives, and that set them down to the level of normals. Which is the reason that when a hero came among us, they shine brightly. They shine brightly in the dark. 

What is a hero?

The definition of heroism was a person or thing with courage, determination, and willingness of scarification. A hero is obviously someone who contained those qualities. Though heros are rare, they are starting to pile up through the many centuries. Yet there are a couple of them in which I thought was particularly outstanding. Harriet Tubman is an excellent example of heros and heroism. Leaving what she had fought for all her life behind, and back to the land of slavery that she had extreme dislike for just to liberate the slaves. Was she scared? Of course she was. Yet, there she was inciting others to continue when she was dejected. Risking her own life, just to escort the slaves to the land unspoiled by slavery- Canada. Or the promise land. Another heroic character will be Johnny Cade from the all time classic- The Outsiders. Go ahead and laugh all you want, but I am not being lazy and I did thought seriously and considered my options of heros. Johnny Cade was a really heroic character who had died tragically at the end of the story at the age of sixteen. And you have to admit that wasn't the best age to die. He had sacrificed his own life for a bunch of kids whom he do not know. That was pretty heroic, which makes him a hero in which many readers admired. It also made him one of the most popular heros people tends to choose when they are picking a hero out of that novel to write a term paper( And I have first hand information for that). Though there are many other heros, they all have some common characteristics. It is the fact that they all had courage, determination, and willingness of scarification. So it doesn't matter of where you are from, or what your culture background was as long as you have a true heart I suppose.

Leaving Everything Behind

Think about another period in history when people were forced to leave behind everything they knew and loved. How would their experience compare with the experiences of Harriet Tubman and her eleven fugitives? Use your Quickwrite (October 5) as a resource.
When the Roman empire was  experiencing it's most brilliant and gallant stage, It seemed as if every single human who had lived in Rome was benefited with the incredible wealth, strong military, and most of all the the sparks of glories of the prime leading empire. Yet, not everyone was content about this . In order to consolidate the Rome's incredible power, the Romans needed wealth, brilliant minds, and workmanship. The first two needs were easy to satisfy by the Romans themselves, yet the last one is not. Where can they get so many people to work under a hot sun, or through frosty winters according to their own will? The Roman emperors scratched their chins and figured out this, " Ah! If I can't get Romans to work according to their own will, I can get slaves. They don't have rights. No wages.". So as the Romans took over more and more lands, they captured more and more slaves, these slaves were brought back to Rome to do the hardest, or most unwilling jobs the Romans do not want to do themselves. These slaves were experiencing experiences similar to Harriet Tubman. Having to leave everything they knew and loved behind. Only they are brought away by force, while Harriet Tubman and her eleven fugitives actually do have a choice. Though they may not think they do. Another difference between them would be the fact that Harriet Tubman and her eleven fugitives are outlaws, which meant walking on the feilds of fearsome for every single minute. Facing the possibility of being captured, and hanged in the most horrible way everyday. On the other hand, once the slaves are with the Roman army, they're lives are pretty much safe. They will still be in harsh condition, but the Romans won't kill them unlessl they felt like they have( want) to. 

The promise land

How was Harriet Tubman like Moses in the Bible? What was her promise land? If you don't know about Moses, do an internet research to find out about him.
Both Harriet Tubman and Moses was the liberator of an enslaved culture who lacked a leader. Which may be the reason that both of them became the leader of their original culture. Both Harriet Tubman and Moses were already free yet both came back to the land that was most dangerous for them, risking everything they have just to accomplish what they think is right. Or their goals, I suppose. They are both responsible people who had a string sense of right and wrong, and allowed their conscious to lead them for always. I suppose the biggest factor that the two people share is their compassion and love for their kind. They simply can not stand watching others suffer, while they the people who could have done something about it sit back and do nothing. Moses's promise land was at Jerusalem and Harriet Tubman's promise land was at Canada. Even when the places seemed very far apart, they are actually not, since both places held what the people ad been looking for- freedom.
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Why risk your life?

Why might someone like Harriet Tubman, who was already free, risk her life to lead other people to freedom?
There can be lots of reasons for a free woman like Harriet Tubman to risk her life and freedom inorder to lead others to freedom. There can be a lot of explanations. But what occured to me as the main center reason for Harriet Tubman to outbeat her fears and help others, had something to do with her personality. And what character traits is that? Well, I would say a strong sense of right and wrong, sympathy and courage is what had lead her bacl to the land of slavery. Where she had to face the possibility of being captured for every single day. Why? you may ask. Well, that is an excellent question. I suppose it is because of her own sympathy and old compasion towards her old homeland and friends. So as she enjoyed her freedom, she will always thought of her poor brothers and sisters back at her homeland being tourtured to death, yet still have never yet tasted the wonderful taste of freedom. While she, having full knowledge of how wrong slavery stood in the fresh air of freedom, looking at her fellow family and friends suffocate in the water of isolation. Bound by the manacles of slavery. How can she bare through that? There must have been something that she can do. And the solution she came up with for saving black slaves were constructing the undergound railroad. Which helps the slaves to freedom. In conclusion, Harriet Tubman helped the slaves because of her sympathy, guilt, her sense of right and wrong, but mostly her love and compassion to all African Americans. That is what drove her forward, she is risking everything she had for others, and all attanding one purpose: To gain freedom. They will do everything they can to fight their harsh condition, for the sake of freedom.

For the Sake Of Freedom

The logical definition in which you will find in a dictionary for the word freedom is- the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is a lot more than that though. It is the right to control your life, and yourself. Without freedom, a person would be like a puppet, hanging silent and motionless with strings attached all over them. That, obviously is not a great feeling to have. Everyone wants freedom, yet not many have the courage to admit that. Still, looking back in history, you can still see some brave, and noble acts people had endured for the sake of freedom. One of the examples would be Harriet Tubman and the bunch of African Americans who had ran off with her. For the sake of freedom, they had left their conformity behind. Going off to a place of unknown and being in danger at all times. Facing their difficulties, and fears with an intrepid heart and their hopes of a bright future with freedom. What had people endured because their freedom was taken away? WIthout freedom, people lost the right to think and act as they may. And just as I had stated in the beginning, they lost control of both their lives and themselves. Just like a puppet, without a soul or a heart. Without their right to actually live their own life, and make decisions themselves. Everyone has a right to be whoever they wanted to be, and that is what everyone deserved. And people will fight to the end for that, for the sake of freedom. 

What happens?

As most people would have guessed, the tea was poisoned. N After a short period of their little tea sessions, Billy's eyes were suddenly opened to the negative elements of things instead of the positive. " What a terrible tragedy that our world has became," he  said with heavy envy.  " How am I suppose to live in a terrible world like this?" " Oh, is it dear?" The Landlady would replied, her gentle blue eyes widening yet she was laughing in the inside. " Through all my life there had never been a single moment that our world was not so pathetic. You see, when I was young I was beautiful. All the young man," she paused with a gentle sigh, " were all over me.  I had to admit that I was a little arrogant at that time to not answer any of those proposes. But when I really made my mind to marry, I was thirty five. Thirty  Five wasn't an old age was it? Yet they all disgraced me as if I was nothing but garbage. Which is why I live alone, my dear. Until a couple nice gentleman with a true heart came to me," she would pause and crept a tiny smile. " to stay." " That was not what I wished for," Billy said as fear gripped his heart as he finally realized what the landlady was plotting all this time. " You simply can not escape me, dear."the Landlady smiled widely, revealing her even white teeth. " Even if you escaped me physically, your heart can not," she stopped and starred at Billy's startled face. " You are here, to stay." For a moment, Billy considered what life would be like with the landlady. Drinking tea, baking fresh biscuits, no more lame business trips to lame country sides, no more pressure, just...well peace. Even if he escaped, he would have to face the ugly world again. With so many flaws and errors that he can not correct. He would have to go report to the office, hear the long lecture from his boss and even get fired. Than what would be of him? Wondering in the streets with nothing but a stuffed suitcase? Would he have to hitch hike back to London? Suddenly, Billy just couldn't bare it anymore. The world is simply to ugly for him to live in. " I don't have a choice, right? " he asked after taking a very deep breath. " No, I must say, dear." The landlady said, her ever lasting smile never wavering. " Very well than, I suppose I'll stay."Wonderful, dear!" the landlady said calmly, "but now you would have to leave the guest room to our, ah, nice little permanent room." Without waiting for his response, she took Billy's hand and lead the way upstairs. She didn't even pause at the guest room where Billy's suitcase was. " But my suitcase..." Billy started, but the landlady silented him with a hard stare. " There will be no need, my dear." she added sweetly. After the staircases that seemed like forever, they finally arrived at the room. The landlady the door and Billy noticed six beds tucked neatly. And two men had already conquered two of them. The landlady lead Billy to the bed next to them and tucked him into bed. She done it rather forceful though and fear gripped Billy's heart once again and he felt like he would suffocate. His mind ran through the images of the Landlady and her house. And all the time they have spent together. Finally his mind settled on the image of a stuffed dog and parrot.  He struggled, but finding himself can not move. He opened his mouth into a silent scream. " Good night Mr. Temple, Mr. ah..your name is way too difficult...um Christopher," the landlady turned to Billy who had lose the ability to open his eyes. " and good night Billy."