Home run Hank Arron

In the book Home Run Hank Arron the main character has to go through a series of issues. For example, in the time period that the story was taken place, the main character, Hank Arron, has to deal with a lot of issues such as discrimination. In the book Hank can't go in many of the stores, hotels or restaurants as his team mates because of his skin color. Also Hank Arron doesn't get treated with the same respect as his fellow team mates because he is African American.
Another issue in the book other than the public discriminating against Hank Arron is the other team do not like Hank because of his race.
In this book the people that have the power is the people of the Caucasian ethnicity. And many of the people with the power oppress African Americans such as Hank Arron. They don't respect him when they play him and the pitch throw pitches trying to hurt Hank Arron.
Overall, i am amazed how Hank Arron struggled through that rough time period and became one of the best baseball players that ever lived

Song that had a significant meaning

“Imagine” by John Lennon

♫♫ Imagine all the people

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion too

Imagine all the people living in peace

You may say I’m a dreamer

But I’m not the only one

I hope someday you’ll join us

And the world will be as one

Imagine all the people

No greed or hunger

A brotherhood of man

And the world will be as one ♪♫

“Imagine” by John Lennon is about world peace and ending world hunger. I think this song is about how John Lennon wanted to help stop wars and end world hunger by having people work together as one. This song is significant because it addressed big issues such as war, world hunger, and world peace.  John Lennon advocated these issues to the end of his life. I also think this song is also significant because as a very influential celebrity he brought world-wide attention to the movement to end war, poverty and hunger.

Letter to Ms. Berner

Dear Ms. Berner

          Banning books has been a very controversial issue in the United States for many years. Some teachers and parents have tried to get books banned, but books should not be banned from the 6^th grade library in MS.51. Books should not be banned because young adults have the right to know and learn about issues in the world that are present in these books address  Books allow for Teens to learn to deal with issues that are found in young adult literature by opening discussions around these issues with their peers and adults. Overall, books should not be taken away from the 6^th grade library because although one book might not relate to one teen, that same book could help another teen that is going through a struggle and provide them with guidance.

          Books should not be banned from the 6^th grade library because they teach young adults about issues that are going on in the world. In the town of Katy Creek, Texas, a reporter named Debra Wrigley of channel 13 ABC news  reported that a father named Alton Verm wanted to ban the book Fahrenheit 451 from his daughter’s school curriculum. Ironically, Fahrenheit 451 is about how people took away books, and Alton Verm wanted to ban it. He wanted to ban the novel because the bible was burned in the book to stop people from reading it. Although the book Fahrenheit 451 is fictional it still has a lesson that can be applied to real life that books are the key to knowledge. Alton Verm wanted to censor the book even though much of the school’s population liked the book or found that it was their favorite novel to read. This should not be able to happen because one person’s opinion about a book should not have an effect on another individual’s reading preference, especially if the person who is dictating your reading life isn’t your parent.

Another example of banning in high school was explained in the video called “Banned in Stockon.” In the video some of the teachers and parents were trying to ban Sherman Alexie’s novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, while others were fighting the ban. The video explained that while the teachers were trying to ban the book a student spoke and said that the book was based on a true story and should not be banned because it taught people that “if the main character could do it and he had a lot more problems than me, then I can do anything I put my mind to.” This shows how the lessons that are portrayed in books can be used as guidance to deal with the issues that might be occurring in a teenagers’ life. This also explains how people deserve to know about the issues presented in books and the lessons that come with them.

          Another example of how books provide guidance for young adults is in the article, “Banned Books Week 2010: An Anti- Censorship Manifesto,” by Ellen Hopkins. In the text Hopkins says, “I have received tens of thousands of messages thanking me for turning them around.” This proves how Hopkins’s young adult literature has changed the lives of teens in a positive way. Another example how books provide guidance is because they can help people through issues. For example, in the text by Ellen Hopkins said, “Books show outcomes to choices. And offer understanding.” This idea supports how books can help young adults cope with issues and provide them with answers.

          Many people may think that books have become to dark or as Megan Cox Gurdon said in her article “Darkness to Visible”, “Rifed with explicit abuse, violence and depravity.” Also, in the Guardian, Maureen Johnson wrote, “Young Adult literature is inappropriate and denotes a slipping of moral standards.” However, many teens are going through issues and problems and are looking for ways to deal with them or sort them out. As Sherman Alexie said in his article, “Books written in Blood,” “I write to give them weapons in the form of words and ideas that will help them fight their monsters.” As Sherman Alexie expressed, although young adult literature might be dark for one person, for another teen that book could be their guidance. This explains that some teens and adults might think that young adult literature is dark and inappropriate, but that some literature can help someone through hard times.

          In conclusion, books should not be banned from the 6^th grade library because they provide teens with guidance and educate them about issues that are occurring in the world. It is wrong to hinder teens from reading these books because teens should be able to have access to knowledge that might help them. All in all, books should not be banned because they provide guidance for teens and educate teens about issues in the world.

Fat Kid Rules the World

In the book Fat kids Rules the World the main character troy really wants to fit in and be normal. But he thinks everyone doesn't like him and treats him different because of his weight. Troy is 300 pound teenager and he hates himself so much that at the beginning of the book he tried to kill himself. And he would have done it if it weren't for his his friend Curt who saved him. Curt is homeless punk rock star who is very popular and a legend at school.And Curt too has a lot  of issues going on in his life.

In the Book the main character Troy Billings would do any thing to fit in and be popular like Curt.
For example, he joined  a band and told Curt that he could play the drums even though he knew he could not. So he lied to Curt just so he could fit in. Why i think he would lie just to fit in is because everyone treats him as an outsider, even his dad and his brother. Troy's dad was an army marine who is obsessed with fitness. And because Troy is overweight he is always trying to make Troy go to gyms and programs forcing Troy to try to be someone he is not, Also Troy's brother is and all star athlete who also is obsessed with fitness. Troy's brother is always cracking jokes and making fun of Troy's weight and treats Troy as a "Loser".

All in all, I think Troy tries really hard to fit in. I think this because he doesn't fit in at home because he family treats him as and outsider. He doesn't fit in at school because everyone treat him different and weird because of his weight. So Troy had to resort to lying to one of his friends just to try and fit in.

R.I.P Sammy

Dear Sammy,
We might not have been the closet friends but we were pretty close. You were the nicest person in the world. You never got mad at anyone and would always let people ride on your scooter. It is so weird that you are gone because the other day you came over to me and asked me for my metro card because you had no money and I lent you money. Also yesterday we were talking at the turf and after school before i went to Kaplan. I remember all those days in jazz band after school and the day we barged into Az's house with Adam and played Fifa. Or the times when you and Az's would steal my celtic's hat and run away with it. Also i remember the times with you when we played a big game of manhunt after the science fair. I love you and you will be greatly missed.
To Sammy a.k.a (Sammy Germinoes)

Long Way Gone

The book Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah is about how his life changed because of the civil war in Sierra Lone. The civil war was between the rebels and the army who were fighting for control of the government. In the book, the main character, Ishmael, life is turned upside down. He was split up from his family, saw long time friends get killed and had to join the army to survive. The lesson about life that Ishmael Beah is trying to teach through his story is war can change someone of even the friendliest person. A boy could be fun, loving and friendly before a war, but come out the war a changed man.

One way Ishmael is shown as fun, loving and friendly before the war is how all he wanted to do was spend time with friends, have friendly competitions and go to school. For example, in the text it says “After I returned from school with my friends I went to Khalilou’s house to wash my crapes (pants) and count for Junior and Talloi, who were having a push-up competition. When I finished I sat and listened to Rapper’s Delight by Sugarhill Gang on my cassette tape.”(9) This example explains how Ishmael was a regular boy who liked to hang out with friends, go to school, and listen to music. This paragraph shows that Ishmael had a normal life before the war.

One example of how the war changed Ishmael is how killing other people didn’t affect him. Ishmael now kills people without remorse. For example, in the text it says, “We walked for long hours and stopped only to eat sardines and corned beef with gari, sniff cocaine, brown brown (a type of drug) and take some white capsules. These combinations of drugs gave us a lot of energy and made us fierce. The idea a killing didn’t cross my mind at all….. I had no problem killing rebels.”(122) This quote explains that Ishmael has changed very much. He changed from a fun outgoing boy who loved to listening to music to killings rebels without remorse.  This paragraph shows the lesson that war can really change someone.

 The last reason how the war has changed Ishmael is because he not only kills without remorse but also his way of thinking has changed. For example, in the text it says “My army squad was my family, my gun was my provider and my protector, and my rule was to kill or be killed….. We had been fighting for over two years and killing had become my daily activity. I felt no pity for anyone. My childhood gone without my knowing, and seemed as if my heart had frozen.”(129) That quote explains that Ishmael’s way of thinking has changed. It went from thinking about school and friends, to worrying and thinking about having to kill to stay alive. This paragraph shows how the war has changed the way Ishmael thinks.

In conclusion, war can really change someone as evidence has shown in the book Long Way Gone. The main character, Ishmael, has gone from a fun, outgoing boy who loves to listen to music and hang out with friends, to a boy who kills without remorse and whose rule is to kill or be killed. War can drastically alter one’s life as shown in the book Long Way Gone.

Faithful Elephants by Yukio Tsuchiya

Have you ever experienced the affects of war? Probably not, but war doesn't only affect the soldiers fighting in the war, it can affect other people. The Short story “Faithful Elephants” was about animals in Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan that had to be put to death because the threat of bomb hitting the cages and letting the animals loose. This caused many concerns because if the animals were loose they would run wild through the city. Because of this threat the animals in the zoo were put down, even the Faithful Elephants. In the story a theme that constantly appeared in the story was, the affects of war doesn't only affect the soldiers.

 The theme that war doesn't only affect the soldiers is evident in the text “Faithful Elephants.”For example, the war in Japan didn't only affect the soldiers it affect the animals in the Zoo. In the text it says “What if bombs hit the Zoo? And the cages were broken and dangerous  animals escaped to run wild. Therefore by command of the Army all of the lions, tiger, leopards, and bears and big snakes were poisoned to death.”  Another example of how the war affected the animals, was when the trainers had to kill John the Elephant. “By and by, it came for the three elephants to be killed. They began with John – they mixed the poisoned potatoes with the good ones when it time to feed him. –When this didn’t work the keepers reluctantly decided to starve him to death. Poor John died seventeen days later.” This shows how the war affected the animals in the Ueno Zoo.

  Another way how the theme is present in the text is the war affected the trainers. For example, since because of the war the animals had to be killed the trainers had to watch them die. In the text it says, “Seeing his beloved Elephants this way, the trainer felt as if his heart would break.” Another example of how the war affected trainers was even though years had passed the war that killed the three faithful elephants still touched the Zoo keeper. “With tears in his eyes the zoo keeper finished his story. ‘These three elephants John, Tonky and Wanly – are now resting peacefully under this monument’.” This shows how the war took a toll on the trainers even many years after the elephants had died.

 All in all, the short story “Faithful Elephants” by Yukio Tsuchiya demonstrates how the destructiveness of war can affect other people not just the soldiers. The author Yukio Tsuchiya inspires us to think like Aristotle. “It is not important to win a war. It is more important to organize peace.” And if there was more peace in the world like Aristotle suggested and the wars were stopped as the zoo keeper suggested, the world would be a better place

Long Walk to Water

The book "A Long Walk to Water" is two stories of survival about boy an a girl from Sudan. The male main character, Salva’s, story is about him fleeing from from his home because of the war going on in Sudan between the government and the rebels. While Salva was fleeing he had no family or friends to help him on his journey at first because he left abruptly. During his process of fleeing and as Salva had gotten older he helped young boys who were like him, people who had to flee from their homes, survive. The female main character, Nya’s, story is about her taking care of her family. A theme that appeared frequently in the book was some you have to take more responsibilities in order to help others.

The theme of this book relates to the main character Salva because even though Salva was only seventeen at the time and still crying and searching for his lost family he took responsibility and helped the other boys in need. For example, on page 81 it said, "Crowds of other boys followed him, Salva had become the leader of a group of about fifteen hundred boys. He organized the group, giving everyone a job: scavenger for food; collect firewood;stand guard while the group slept. Whatever food or water they found was shared equally." This shows how Salva stepped up and took more responsibility to help the other lost boys.

The theme of the book "A Long Walk to Water" relates to the main character Nya because even thought she was young she had to take care of her family. For example, in the book it said Nya had to walk many miles with her sister on her back. She had to walk to the village with the medicine that could heal her sister from the dirty water her sister, Akeer, drank. Another example how Nya helped the family and took responsibility is every day Nya walks eight hours to the lake and eight hours back to her home with a fifteen pound jug of water. This paragraph shows how Nya took more responsibility and walked sixteen hours a day to collect water for her family and took care of her sister when she was sick.

All in all, both main characters, Salva and Nya both stepped up and took an obligation to help others. Salva helped lost boys survive and Nya helped her family survive. This shows how people sometimes have to step up and help people even if they are not ready, because when Nya helped her family she was only eleven and when Salva helped the lost boys he was only sixteen.