Moral Courage

We are doing a project on moral courage. Moral courage is standing up for what you believe in, especially when you do it for the good of others, the greater good. We had to choose a person we thought was morally courageous and have 5-7 facts about that person. I chose Harriet Tubman. Here are my facts:

• Harriet Tubman was a slave who escaped her plantation in Maryland.
• She smuggled hundreds of slaves into the free states via the underground railroad, which was a network of safe houses or people who would let you stay at their house even if the people staying were runaway slaves.
  
• I think she is morally courageous because she risked her life many times to smuggle hundreds of slaves to freedom.
• She smuggled slaves for 10 years.
• She was a wanted criminal and by 1856, there was a $40,000 reward for Harriet Tubman's capture.
• She was born a slave and one of her most dangerous trips was to take her parents to freedom.
• In all of her trips to go bring slaves to freedom she never got caught.
  

The Wave-Character

I am writing a set of directions for how I solve a problem and one for how Laurie Saunders from the Wave solves a problem

Me

1. I go home and think about whether I was in the wrong or if the other person is.
2. If I'm in the wrong I go and apologize to the person.
3. If they're wrong, I'll confront the person ALONE.
4. If they don't listen, I'll confront them with one or two witnesses.
5. If they still don't I get a parent or teacher and confront the person with them.
6. Problem Solved!!!

Laurie Saunders

1. Talk to your best friend about the problem.
2. If she doesn't listen, try your boyfriend.
3. If he doesn't listen, try talking to your paper staff and write an article in the school paper.
4. When your boyfriend comes to, talk to him about possible solutions of the problem.
5. Confront your teacher and talk to him about a solution.
   
6. Let him solve it and try not to worry.
   
7. Problem Solved!!!
   

The Wave-Theme

I set up a playlist/link list of different songs that I feel represent some common feelings in the book. If you wait a few extra moments and if you have YouTube there is a music video/ picture collage towards the middle of the page. Hope you enjoy them!

• Help- The Beatles
• Revolution- The Beatles
• My Way- Frank Sinatra
• I Will Survive-Gloria Gaynor

1. I chose Help! by the Beatles because I feel like it represents Laurie's feelings when she felt like she was the only one who knew the truth about the Wave.
2. I chose Revolution by the Beatles because it says"You say you've got a real solution, well you know, we'd all love to see your plan." Those specific lyrics represent David and Laurie's skepticism about Mr. Ross's solution.
   
3. I chose My Way by Frank Sinatra because Mr. Ross planned to stop the Wave 'his way', and David and Laurie wanted Mr. Ross to do it 'their way'.
   
4. I chose I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor because I thought it reflected Laurie's feelings when she discovered the Wave was bad. She needed the support that she couldn't have because Amy didn't understand her problem with the Wave. But she survived.
   

Essential Wave Question

Why do people have a natural instinct to look for a leader?



I think people have a natural instinct to look for a leader because they need one. They want structure. They want rules. They like knowing they are safe and protected. If we don't have a leader there is chaos. Ben Ross started the Wave so he was the leader. He, being the leader also stopped the Wave. Hitler started World War 2, but he didn't stop it. He let it escalate as millions of people were killed. He made other countries stop it with violence. He was a hateful and conceited man. He thought he was doing what was right. On the other hand, Ben Ross just let power get to his head and the whole thing got out of hand.
People look for a leader to lead them in what's right. They like knowing that someone important is supporting it. They have to be convinced they're doing the right thing. In some cases, like the Holocaust, the people involved were being brainwashed into thinking they were doing the right thing. I think it is terrible when everyone is looking for a leader and the one they find convinces them to do the wrong thing, like Hitler. In conclusion people look for a leader because they feel they need one.

Writers Workshop

I wrote this piece in class and I really hope you enjoy it! I had tons of fun writing it.

Safety Patrol, the Monster, and a Burrito

The younger students with their unzipped jackets and their whining, were driving her crazy. Emily hated safety patrol. She had to stand out in the frosty morning wind every morning. Then at one-o-clock, she had to walk the kindergartners home. They always whined that they were cold, and when she suggested that they put on their jackets, they said that it made their necks itchy. It was a job that was supposed to be for two people but she had to do it herself. The only good thing was she got to skip 4^th period, which happened to be her least favorite subject, Spanish. She decided that one day she would tell the kindergartners that a monster was chasing them so they would stop lolly-gagging and dawdling and get home quickly so she could hang out at Starbucks in her extra time. The monster story worked perfectly for about a week, until one tragic Wednesday. That Wednesday, while Emily was at Starbucks, her mom came in. When Emily's mom found out what Emily did, she found the school's telephone number, called the principal, and arranged a meeting. At the meeting, Emily's mom told the principal what Emily did, and Principal Redding took Emily off safety patrol. Emily was so happy to be off safety patrol! The only thing was that she had to take Spanish now. She decided that when she learned Spanish, she would run away from home and move to Mexico, because she was already going to be grounded for life at home. She would speak Spanish, ride donkeys and live off of burritos and tacos! Ole`!

The Wave

We are reading a book in class, called the Wave. It's about a teacher who tries an in class experiment that goes horribly wrong. We will also be answering a question on our blogs. Today the question is...

Do you think students can be misunderstood by parents and teachers? Why or why not?

I think that students can be misunderstood by parents and teachers. I think that because the world has changed so much since our parents were kids, it's easy for kids to be misunderstood by their parent. There is also a good chance that kids can be misunderstood by parents because of the way we communicate. We are so used to texting and Instant Messaging our friends that sometimes when we communicate face-to-face with someone it can be confusing.

Memory Box Project

In This project we wrote a memoir and created a memory box out of exactly 50 Popsicle sticks.
Here is my memoir.

Nana's Locket
When I was a baby, Nana would make me gourmet baby food like mushed up stew, so when my mom came home from work and was really tired, she would try to feed me store bought baby food I would wrinkle my nose at it and wouldn't eat it. My nana was the person who took care of me when I was little. She would let me watch whatever I wanted on TV except when her show, a soap opera was on. I never got the meaning of that show. I loved Nana so much that one day when my grandpa came to pick me up, I told him I didn't want to go and I pitched a big fit. I wanted to stay there at Nana's house. When I got older Nana always gave me ice cream cones. She also used to let me drink diet root beer and occasionally let me have a sip of her coffee if I wanted to try it. When I fell over a stool at Nana's house and broke my arm, Nana didn't know what was wrong. She called my mom and she went to the hospital with us. She felt so guilty when she found out my arm was broken. My mom felt really bad that my Nana felt guilty. When I got older and I had to go to school, I still visited Nana occasionally. We would always give Nana presents on holidays and she would do the same for us.

This was not the Thanksgiving I had in mind. It all happened the day I got off school for Thanksgiving break, I was just getting excited for the holidays. I was watching TV and my mom turned it off and gave me the news. Nana was in the hospital. I was immediately worried. I started crying. My mom told me that the doctors thought it was cancer. My mom said,”If you want to visit her I'll look up the visiting hours and we'll go by the flower shop and get a bouquet.” I immediately said yes. My grandma met us at the hospital and we went in to my Nana's room. She was laying on the bed watching TV. She said she loved the flowers and was so happy to see me. It hurt me so much to see her in pain. I got in the car and through my tears said to my mom,” She's not going to get better is she?” My mom said she didn't know. A few weeks later Nana went home from the hospital and had nurses coming to her house. About a month after that, which was right about the time I got off school for Christmas break, I got really bad news, Nana had died. I cried and cried for two or three days, all day every day. I had never felt this way before. I hadn't really grasped the fact that she was actually gone. When I went to her funeral, I heard all the memories and just cried and cried. I never thought I could ever feel this kind of pain.
My mom and dad gave Nana a gold locket for Mother's Day. She loved it! She cut out a picture of me and put it in her locket. She always wore that locket. We always gave Nana Mother's Day and birthday presents, but I don't think she enjoyed any of them more than that locket. When she died her daughter, Jackie gave it to me. She really cherished that locket, so now that I have it, I love and care about it. That locket is more than just a necklace. It is a gift that holds the key to all my memories and recollections of Nana. When I think about those memories, it helps me remember how much Nana loved and cared about me. This locket is my greatest treasure. I would be devastated if something happened to it. In conclusion, this is my most valuable object and memory. Now I've shown you my greatest treasure, what's yours?