Ferlazzo, Larry. "Eight Things Skilled Teachers Think, Say, and Do." Educational Leadership:Students Who Challenge Us:Eight Things Skilled Teachers Think, Say, and Do. ASCD, Oct. 2012. Web. 31 Jan. 2014. <http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/oct12/vol70/num02/Eight-Things-Skilled-Teachers-Think%2C-Say%2C-and-Do.aspx>.

Ingredients

• 2 jars of Ragu Chunky Tomato, Garlic & Onion- 125 g
• 1box of Barilla spaghetti noodle. 56 g
• 1lb of Cargill ground beef
• 3 tablespoon of minced garlic
• 2 cups of sugar

Procedures:

1. Start by boiling a tall pot of about 4 cups of water.
2. Next, add the pasta to the boiling water. As you add them, break them in half. It would be easier to put them in there in sections, and not all at once when breaking them up.
3. Meanwhile, as the noodle are getting soft inside of the boiling water, start to cook the ground beef in a pan, make sure you have the top. Chop up the beef up with a spatula so it wont burn, after about 5 mins, add the top and tend to the noodles but keep your eye on the beef so it wont burn. Keep chopping it from time to time.
4. Check the noodles, take one out, taste it and determine if it is soft enough for you. 
5. Once the noodles are done, check that the ground beef is all brown, you should not eat any red meat because its not cooked all the way.
6. Drain the beef once its all done.
7. You then mix the beef with the noodles, add the sugar, 2 jars of Ragu, and the garlic. Mix together very well so that each noodle has sauce on it! And ENJOY!

Analysis

This meal is 95% processed and each of its ingredient starts of from a raw plant or vegetable, but eventually goes through a process to get the delicious taste it has. The 5% is from the minced garlic which came from actual garlic cloves from a Farmers Market. If you ate this everyday, you could be in risk of having heart disease and diabetes. This meal gives off a lot of fat and salt from the ground beef and the sauce. Without moderation of this meal, you could get diabetes or high blood sugar. The added sugar makes this meal less nutritious. Sugar in the sauce plus the added sugar is unhealthy. 

Since most of the ingredients was commercially grown, it had a negative impact on the environment. A cow had to be killed, which decreased the CO2 it produced and let out into the air, while making the sauce, chemicals had to be sprayed on the tomatoes, then to smash the tomatoes up into a sauce like structure was most likely done by machines which released gas into the air, Im not too sure about the pasta was made, but I do not think it have a big negative impact on the environment, the making of the sugar used some type of machinery to crush it up into small grains and I don't think the garlic had a negative impact on the environment. The ingredient that may have traveled the farthest to end up in your meal is probably the sugar. Most of the U.S’s sugar comes from the Caribbean. and the tomatoes comes from California. The beef comes from different farms in Canada and the U.S. 

Overall, this meal cost $12.82 if you buy each ingredient from ShopRite. Which is not bad when comparing it to buying spaghetti when going out to a restaurant which will be about $15 dollars or up. You also will know that it is safe and you know how its being cooked and how is cooking it because you are making it at home. It is also better than going out and buying it because you can modify it yourself so that it tastes just how you want it to. 

Personal Reflection

What I learned this unit, that I do no eat as healthily as I should, and I could eat so much better. I buy a lot of the foods that are processed without even thinking about where it came from or what happened to it for it to taste so delicious. I help support these farmers who do this to these animals and spray all of the chemicals on out vegetables and fruits to make them larger. I also learned that some of the animals are being treated harshly and in live in conditions that are not suitable for their life and they are not expected to live long. The foods go through a long process and is genetically engineered to grow faster than they are supposed to naturally. I think that the biggest problem with our food system is that lots of people don't know, or think about how their food first started out as. I think because it taste so good, and it meets their expectations in food, such as a big size. Changes I could make to my food choices is to look at the food labels and remember what I learned this unit. The biggest impact of these changes on me would be, I will become healthier, it will reduce my risks of diabetes and cancers or other health deficiencies that could come later in life from eating these foods. I am willing to make some changes, but I do not think I will commit to making all of them.

Oh, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown!—

The courtier’s, soldier’s, scholar’s, eye, tongue, 

sword,

Th' expectancy and rose of the fair state,

The glass of fashion and the mould of form,

(III.I 163-167) 

Is the first few words Ophelia says in her soliloquy after Hamlet has left the room.  She states that he is not the same as before. His mind has been “o’erthrown” (163) meaning turned around, or taken over by something opposite of what he was before. She then starts to give the reader an idea of how Hamlet was before “The courtier’s, soldier’s, scholar’s, eye, tongue, sword, Th' expectancy and rose of the fair state, The glass of fashion and the mould of form,...” (164-167) She is saying that he was, a great role model, so strong, admirable, a gentleman, with a scholar’s wit. She is confused because he was all of these great and noble things and she does not understand what has happened to him. His whole great and romantic personality has went down the drain.

Th' observed of all observers, quite, quite down!

And I, of ladies most deject and wretched,

That sucked the honey of his music vows,

Now see that noble and most sovereign reason

Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh;

(III.I 166-172)

Ophelia is continuing to express her feelings towards Hamlet’s “o’erthrown (163)” mind. “Th' observed of all observers, quite, quite down!

And I, of ladies most deject and wretched,” (166-169) She feels like his new attitude has hit her the hardest because they had a romantic connection with each other. She may feel that he has just let that all go and didn’t think about her at all. “That sucked the honey of his music vows, Now see that noble and most sovereign reason...” (170-171) Shakespeare is also a great man of metaphors and similes and many other figure of speeches. This sentence is a great example of a metaphor. Ophelia is comparing Hamlets new attitude to a music note that has lost its happy tune. She continues this thought by saying “Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh;” (172) The tune now tune is harsh, instead of how it used to be which was sweet. I found it interesting how Shakespeare chose music notes to compare his attitude to. This shows how unpredictable Shakespeare’s plays are, none of his plays are hackneyed and they are all original.

That unmatched form and feature of blown youth

Blasted with ecstasy. Oh, woe is me,

T' have seen what I have seen, see what I see!

(173-175)

She concludes her thoughts by letting the readers know that he is not the same as he was when growing up, it is all ruined by the madness that is inside of him.” That unmatched form and feature of blown youth, Blasted with ecstasy...” She knows that this is not the Hamlet that was raised by the noble family. He has changed greatly and she does not like it. “Oh, woe is me, T' have seen what I have seen, see what I see!...” She is highly affected by his behavior. 

Shakespeare tries to communicate to the audience that she is upset throughout this whole soliloquy because he want to make it as real as possible. Personally, I believe he naturally goes above and beyond in his plays which makes him such a famous and remembered playwright. This soliloquy from Hamlet is a great mixture of Shakespeare’s style. It has emotions 

Artists statement: This project is a simple but complex project. It looks like a simple and pretty peace sign but there is a lot of complexity to it. I wanted to shed some peace and light

What surprised you most about this information?

Not much really surprised me about this information. I did not know that they had to go through different processes. If they did not pass the processes they would have been sent back. So they would start all over or just give up which is sad.

What seemed quite obvious about explaining this data set?

The most obvious was explaining why immigrants decided to come over to America. America offered a lot of opportunity and still does which makes every one want to come here.

Looking at the overall trend and incorporating what you know about the US presently, predict and defend the immigration trend for the next two decades.

I think that the trend for the next two years will increase by a certain number. I think that America still limits to the number of immigrants per year depending on the population because we do not want to become over populated. I do think that our population of immigrants will increase unless we start a war or go into another depression within the next two years.

Describe how you made a decision on how to visually represent the information.

At first we did not know what to do weather a keynote or a timeline. At first we thought a keynote would have too much words on it and alot of slides. But we still decided to a keynote.

What parts of group work were challenging? 

The most challenging part of my group was trying to get everyone to stay focused. I hope that everyone was doing their part to their fullst potential.

What would you do differently if you had this project to do over?

I would try to be more organized and communicate more with my group.

My name is Tyanna Pleasant and today, we will discuss why my sister, Dabreyah Pleasant, chose to like a person of the same sex, what she classifies herself as and why, and why my older brother, Talib Bailey, does not approve of her decision. 

My Grandma’s opinion

 “BESTFRIEND <3.!”

“Hay <3.”

“Wcd.?”

“Nuthn, HW bord listenin to music. hbu?”

“Same, hmewrk listenin to music. I aint see yu all day. Wht happened to us chilln aftr skool.?”

“O, ma badd I had 2 go hme. My ma got mad @ me for smethn dumb.”

“Well, yu need 2 stp makn her madd, u always doin tht.”

I’m in my room lying on my bed, messaging my best friend Jermel on iChat. The conversation goes on and on. Simple texts talk with a friend in my eyes but in my Grandmother’s eyes it is childish teen talk. She does not get the point of it and does not understand it. She looks down on people who talk and or write improperly. She thinks of them as lazy beings because they abbreviate their words or chose not to say them fully. What also grind her gears extremely is when people use extra punctuations, no punctuations at all, and the incorrect punctuations in their sentences.  

“Hello baby.”

“Hay gmom, hw was ur day.?”

“What Yanna, what is hw? And I wish you spell your words correctly you smart you don’t have to talk like that sweetie.”

“Sry gmom.! I mean Sorry Grandma.”

She thinks that if you text or talk like that to your friends and others, then you will not go anywhere in life. Also, that if you talk and write that way daily then it will become a habit, and you will not be able to change that. “Childish teen talk” drives her crazy, she despises the fact that it is made and used by young people. She thinks that people who use slang, or who does not know how to speak properly when they are capable to speak or write correctly are hoodlums, up to no good, and they have no priorities in life.

This reminds me of the story "A Women Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston when she says, “I like the Negro students (Blacks Ghosts) best because they laughed the loudest and talked to me as if I were a daring talker too.” I interpret this, as the character in this story likes the black students most because they are loud and talk a lot. Which is a stereotype for most African Americans. This is related to my grandmother’s situation because they both make judgments on a person because of the way they present themselves.

Their opinions could be, and are proven to be false. Someone might have been raised that way and may not know another way to behave or how to say a certain word, as they should. You could be the greatest person in the world with a perfect behavior and have the worse grammar and spelling. Their theories both tie back to the quote you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover; it’s the inside that counts. 

11/10/11

Captured

       (To self) The water is much warmer than usual. (To self) It does not smell like my home. Did we move to another location momma? I know you hear me talking to you, where are we? Where did you go? I do not want to play games right now, I just woke up and it’s very early. (To self) Okay, I guess I’ll come look for you. READY OR NOT HERE I COME!! Momma! Where are you I can’t find you anywhere? You are a very good hider; maybe we should play when I am familiar with this place though. (To self) There are no hiding places around here and I can see everything; the water is so clear. (To self) I have no clue where she would be hiding and I do not know my way around this place. I give up, I’m done looking for you momma, and you can come out now. What is that over there? Is that humans? Yay, I love humans I’m going to go play with them, and maybe they can tell me where my momma is hiding. OUCH! What is this, why can’t I get to the humans? Hello humans can you hear me? My name is Jayden Dolphin, I’m 3 years old and I’m looking for my momma. She is hiding from me and I cannot find her. Do you know where she may be hiding; I’m having trouble finding her. Why are you laughing? I am asking you a question. What did you say? I can’t hear you speak louder please? Can you hear me? STOP! What is that bright light! What are those objects all of you have? I want one too they look fun. (To self) I found one of them at the bottom of my Ocean before but I did not know what to do with it. What do they do? What are they called? Can you show me how to work it please? Are they poisoning me? STOP I do not like that, the flash is unpleasant to my eyes. Why are you all laughing? I want to know what is funny may I laugh with you? What is so funny? Please tell me? Can you speak up please? I cannot hear what you are saying. I think there is an invisible wall I cannot get through it, can you try to come over here? Then, we can swim together, you can teach me how to work the flash thing you have in your flipper, and you can tell me what is funny and we can laugh together. Come on, it will be fun. Why won’t you come play with me? Something is preventing me from going over there to you, so you have to come over here. This is not fun; I wanted to play with you all. Now my feelings are hurt, I’m going away you are not nice humans. My momma is going to hear about you, and she is not going to like you guys at all. She is going to tell your mommas and you will get into trouble. MOMMA, where are you! (To self) I do not think I am home anymore, what if I never find my momma? (To self) What if the horrible people Papa used to always talk about have kidnapped me? (To self) There are lots of yummy looking fish around here. I am hungry now. Too bad momma isn’t around right now; she could be enjoying these fishes with me. They are very delicious, and just how I like them. I have been thinking about my day today. Unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion that I am in a tank, that maybe my momma is never coming back, and that the horrible people have caught me.

 I have been…CAPTURED!

In the back of the classroom, silent, not raising my hand, and only talking to someone unless they are talking to me first. I am in 3^rd grade at William Cullen Bryant Elementary School in West Philadelphia. The teacher Ms.Gelfond calls on me, and asks me to answer the question, I give the correct answer. The person next to me asks me a question I just look at them and turn back around. During grades 2^nd to 5^th, I was very shy and quiet, I didn’t have many friends, and I was very intelligent, had awesome grades and I had two best friends who were not in my class. I wanted to fit in, just not with the people who cheat, get into trouble everyday, who does not follow direction correctly and disobey the rules. Then the day came when something that was fun to do but it was not a very good idea.

            Sitting in the back of class reading my book “Judie B Jones: Goes to First Grade” then, 12 o’clock came around and the old fashioned golden bell on top of each door in every classroom rings throughout the whole school. It was time for lunch; I walk down the long narrow hallway, down two flights of stairs, and then into the lunchroom. I sit in between my best friends Niyree and Shaneka. The kids in my class were talking about what they were going to do at recess. Then one child suggested that they play football in the grassy yard behind the school, while the boys were playing, the girls were going to watch them and cheer the players on. This area was perfect for playing around and running, it had about 4 or 5 trees surrounding the perimeter, there were flowers growing in one section of the area. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to go to the back of the school because the lunch aids were not able to watch us behind there. My only two friend Niyree and Shaneka were going to go watch. They tried hard to convince me to go with them, and it worked.

            At the back of the school, the boys started playing football while the girls watch on the sidelines. The girls were talking to each other in a group of about 5-7 people spread out in different sections of the area we were in. Suddenly, the principal and the officer came out of the back door where we were. I was terrified and filled with fear of being caught. I started getting nervous, and my brain was not functioning properly. I knew my legs were moving as I ran, trying to escape to the gate, but I couldn’t feel them. The officer quickly went to block the gate so he could try to catch anybody trying to get back into the schoolyard. Everyone had gotten back into the schoolyard except for me, my friend Niyree, and two other girls. We had to go to the principal’s office, she called our parents and told us if we didn’t tell who else was there with us then we would have detention for a week and she would take away our recess for the rest of the school year. None of the other girls said who else was there except for me. I was the only one who told on the others, after all I didn’t know about the “snitches get stitches” saying and that I shouldn’t tell on my classmates if I want to fit in. So, I didn’t lose my recess but when it was time for recess the other kids did not want to play with me. They wouldn’t even talk to me unless they were calling me names such as, snitch, teller teller, and other names. Niyree and Shaneka didn’t want to be my friends anymore either. Once I came home from school that day my parents had yelled me at. My mom had the “disappointed” face on. She was really upset to have to get a bad phone call from my principal about me disobeying the rules, my dad had the same face on, but his was meaner than my mom’s. He was the one who put me on punishment for a month; he told me I am lucky I told who was there with me because then I would have had a longer punishment.

            That day, I learned to think twice about my actions and if I chose to do wrong then I must suffer the consequences. This was a time in my life when I realized that I have to make decisions for myself. If I didn’t let Niyree and Shaneka convince me to come with them then I would have never got in trouble with my parents and the principal. I also learned who were my true friends that day, which was nobody at that school because if they were then they would have never convinced me to do the wrong thing.

         I consider my strengths in English to be spelling and comprehending. My weakness is presenting my work, the reason why is, when all eyes are on me I sometimes get the Tinker bellies, butterflies, stage fright there are many names for it. I would still want to work on presenting in front of a big crowd. I really do not like that feeling I get inside when I am presenting. I want it to go away and the only way to get that out of me is by facing my fears and practice presenting in front of many people.

         The experience I had when making this portfolio is, when looking at the work I did in the beginning of the school year, I realized that I could have made certain changes in the way I said things and the words I used. Therefore, it was just amazing how when I looked back at what I did, since I have been learning new words, I changed it to the words the words that I learned this school year.

         The piece I am most proud of is my Me Magazine. The reason why is, it is colorful, beautiful, and full of what I love and me. It describes me and what I am made of and it also shows my creativity; also because it shows how much hard work pays off. Even if you do not read it, you can tell that I still worked hard on it because of the designs, and pictures, and the advertisements.

By Tyanna Pleasant

Two years ago on a lovely, bright, fun filled Saturday (Magic 3) in the summertime, my beautiful family and I decided to pay Sesame Place a visit. Unfortunately, while in the car I was very upset because from the name of the park, I can already tell that I was not gong to have any fun or any type of excitement or thrill there. I really did not want to be there, sitting in the small KIA Spectrum with my aunt, cousin, brother, sister, and my mom. My aunt said that the park is going to be really exiting and I was going to enjoy myself, but the more she talked about it the more I didn’t want to be there. We enjoyed ourselves and shared memories with each other in the car and while we walked around the park until, my eyes got stuck on an attraction that goes by the name of Nets ‘n’ Climbs. It stared back and gave me that you cannot stand a chance against me look so, in my opinion it challenged me to a duel (personification); since were at Sesame Place, I had the thought that nothing there was on my level of challenging. Therefore, I accepted the challenge, of course. The challenge was to climb from the beginning of the net to the end, which sounded like something easy, quick, and fun (magic 3) to do. I was very confident in myself. You should have saw me I showed off, strutted up those tall, long, spiral stairs (Magic 3) to the top where the nets began. When I reached the top of the stairs, I was surprised, so surprised that I could not even speak to describe what was going on inside my head. I was even more surprised (rep 4 effect) that I could barely feel my legs while they shivered in my pants moving fast like a running car’s motor. (simile) I was extremely surprised that I could feel my heart beating inside of my rib cage. The net was three stories high with about 200 feet of suspended net tunnels; it looked life threatening. As soon as I saw the monstrous (adjective) net, I backed down. Nope not me, I was not going to do it, I was not going to climb that net, nope not me, and I defiantly did not want to look at it even longer. So I dashed all the way back down the tall, long, spiral (magic 3) stairs back to the bottom where it all started. Unfortunately, my sister who stood at the bottom of the attraction in her shorts and tank top was burning up from the heat from standing in the sun, was watching me the entire time.  She ran up to me as soon as she saw me at the bottom of the stairs fast like a desperate cheetah running after its dinner (simile) she laughed at me non-stop making it hard for her self to catch her breath and talk. After laughing, she finally asked me ”What happened. (Dialogue)” I said “My dear sister, never judge a book by its cover” She said” Why what happened? You are okay right?” I said, “Yea I’m alright. Just do not judge anything or someone by its appearance until you actually try it or meet that person well enough so you can judge them or its performance. Judge them or it by their personality and not their looks please because looks are deceiving. That’s coming from the experience I just had.” (Dialogue).

While I walked away with my sister, I felt like the Nets ‘n’ Climbs had eyes, and they were staring me down (Personification) like an owl hunting for a mouse in the night. (Simile) I was willing to beat something that I knew nothing about which turned out to be something I did not expected it to be like. That day I also learned to never judge a book by its cover. Just because we are at Sesame Place, which is based on the show Sesame Street, which is a children’s show on PBS kids, does not mean that it is a place where older children cannot go to enjoy themselves, but older kids shouldn’t underestimate the capability of certain attractions and rides there. Unfortunately, that day I was convinced never to try an attraction that looks way too scary, way too challenging, or way to high of the ground (Repetition for effect).

       Chucha took care of a high middle class family who had to hide from a governmental agency called the SIM. She kept her family motivated to get away from this way of living. She spoke to people leaving hints about the future in a way that her family had to unravel the meaning of what she said. “You will fly free like the butterflies Anita.” (Chapter 3) Chucha is telling Anita that she will escape the treatment of the SIM soon. Anita, the little girl in the story, asked Chucha to promise not to tell anyone about the blood in her sister Lucinda’s bed from her menstrual cycle. Chucha kept her promise and covered up the evidence; She washed the sheets and had all of the blood out of them. Likewise, Eurycleia took care of a wealthy and royal family who was waiting for a family member to return home. She stayed loyal to Odysseus while he went out to sea. Eurycleia promised Odysseus that she would not tell anybody in the house that Odysseus was dressed as the old beggar. “Child… What nonsense you let slip through your teeth! You know me- I am stubborn, never give an inch. I’ll keep still as a solid rock or iron...” (Book 19, lines 555-558). Eurycleia and Chucha families look up to them and trust them with all of their secrets, and they know what is best for their family. They are also adept wise and lived along time so they are very knowledgeable. Both Eurycleia and Chucha are also treated with more respect and courtesy than the other servants are and maids in the house.

       Chucha has her way of speaking in riddles or in a puzzling way where in order to understand her, people will have to unravel what she is saying. When she speaks, most of the time Her family had to really listen to what she is saying in order to understand the point she is trying to get out. Most of the things she says are about what will happen in the future. She knows what to do in every situation, and she helps her family whenever someone gets hurt. She knows exactly how to heal them and how to keep them calm and she has helped every one in Anita’s family generation. Chucha is also very superstitious, she sleeps in a coffin and everything she owns is purple, she has to dye everything purple, and there will never be a time or day where she will not wear purple. “’Wow!’ He says glancing around at Chucha’s purple towel hanging from a peg, her purple mosquito net strung between two nails, her purple dresses draped over a chair. ‘Does everything she wear have to be purple?’ I nod ‘Even her panties and stuff have to be dyed…” (Chapter 3, pg. 34-35) She believes that this will keep any bad spirits away from her and her family. I hope that Chucha will be able to keep the SIM away from her family also.

Eurycleia has been apart of Telemachus’s family for a long time. Eurycleia is the only the nurse in the house; she also is one of the women that were loyal to Odysseus. She is very wise and can tell Telemachus everything he wants to know about his father. She helped care for Odysseus since he was a boy, she knows about all of his scars and how he got them. Eurycleia could identify Odysseus just from one of his scars. “That scar as the old nurse cradled his leg and her hands passed down she felt it, knew it… Joy and torment gripped her heart at once, tears rushed to her eyes- voice choked in her throat… ‘Yes, yes you are Odysseus-oh dear boy I couldn’t know you before till I touched the body of my king’” (Book 19, Lines 528-538)

Chucha and Eurycleia are greatly admired by the people they live with, although Chucha has her way of speaking unclearly sometimes, and leaves her family thinking for a longtime about what she has said. They are very kind ladies who took care of the same family for at least 2 generations. They are treated better than any of the other maids or servants in their homes because of this, they are very trustworthy, honest, and loyal to their care takers. They are very similar but they also have many differences. Chucha took care of a high middle class family who was hiding from the government; and Eurycleia took care of a royal family who mourned for a family member to return home.

Before we were Free

By Julia Alvarez

The book “Before we were Free” by Julia Alvarez won the Pura Belpré award for its writing and the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award in 2004. This book also won the ALA Notable children’s books and ALA best book for young adults in 2003. Julia Alvarez published this novel in 2002.

       “Before we were Free” is about a 12-year-old girl named Anita Torre who lives in the Dominican Republic in 1960. Her family moved to The United States to escape the harsh treatment in the Dominican Republic. Her grandparents went first and they found a house in New York and lived there legally. The rest of her family left, therefore, it was just Anita, her mamá, her papá, Lucinda and her family’s maid Chucha (Chucha is like another family member, she has token care of basically all of her family, she even took care of Anita’s mamá). Soon or later things started getting even worse for Anita and her family that was still in the Dominican Republic. Secret Police called the SIM kept 24 hour watch on their house, their family, they were watching their every move. They searched every house looking for a man named Carlos Garcia and his family. The SIM rudely check people’s homes all the time; they walk in and destroy everything in their way, throwing things around. They will not stop until they find what they are looking for so they keep coming back to each house.

At the end of the story, Anita has to move out of her house because the SIM was after her family. They moved into the Mancini’s house for a few months, they had to be really carful and sneaky there. At the Mancini’s house, they had to hide in their bedroom closet, which was the safest place for Anita and her mother. Meanwhile her papi and her tio tony were fighting for their freedom. A month and a few weeks later, Anita and her mother moved to New York with her grandparents, where they were safe. Everybody in Anita’s family who moved from the Dominican Republic was there. While there, Mr. Washington who moved to Washington, came to visit them in New York and delivered the news that Anita’s father and uncle was dead. Since El Jefe were killed, his son was killing everybody in his way, He tied up everybody who was involved with trying to set people free to a tree and shot them until they were dead. Then he left the Dominican Republic. Now Anita is safe living in New York with her family members that escaped to the United States.

       My favorite character in the story is Chucha. This is her Anita’s clairvoyant nanny from Haiti. She is my favorite character because she is very wise; she is very different from the other characters in the story. She is a very spiritual lady. She wore purple all the time to protect her from the evil spirits; she also sleeps in a coffin, which I found very interesting. She is a fortuneteller, most of the fortunes she tell that are about the future, she use little riddles.

       My favorite character in the story is Chucha. The reason is, the whole family looked up to her, Chucha she took care of as they grew up. I have lots of younger children that look up to me. I used to help at a recreation center and help the staff watch the children and help the children with their needs. Chucha helped the family raise each other and they looked up to her because she was old and wise. They came to her for just about everything from advice to physical changes in their lives. I believe that readers should take from the book that there were harsh times in this world for some people and there still is some harsh moments. Some people didn’t have to go through what Anita had to go through at 12 years old and maybe people even younger than that and they should appreciate the fact that they are free and they don’t have to hide from the government. People should also appreciate that they live in their own houses and not a neighbors closet with a limited amount of things to do.

I could not relate to any of the characters in the story, but I can feel how they were feeling. The person that I really felt the most was Anita. The story was in her perspective and I knew every thought during the whole story. I have felt the way Anita felt when Oscar, her love, moved to the United States. Her heart dropped when she found out and she did not even get a chance to say goodbye to him. I had an experience like that when a person that I like moved to Georgia, it was unexpected and I did not know so I did not get a chance to say goodbye.

I did like the book. It was very interesting and had me wanting to read increasingly. I did not want to stop reading it, which is how interesting it was to me. Reading about something that other people experienced that I know I could not live like that, especially at her age is just amazing. I also would want to know how they handled being in that situation and what they thought about it. Some strengths of this book are, They keep the reader engaged, it explains almost every aspect of her life in the Dominican Republic in 1960, it has sympathy, and it has lots of dialogue so you can get a clue as to what the other characters’ personalities are. I if could change something in this book, it would be the way they explain the background of the story which, they do not. If they did explain the background then they should make it more obvious because I had no clue as to why were they fighting for their freedom, and the restrictions they had because they were not free and who were the SIM because I had no clue what they were either.

       I would recommend this book to other people. This book was very interesting, especially for someone who likes to hear or read about racist or unjust events that happened in the 20^th century. “Before we were Free” was told in a young girl’s point of view, so that is what makes it even more interesting. Some people may what to know how it was to live there as a child. So yes, I would most defiantly recommend this book to other people.

​Throughout our year as ninth graders in Ms.Dunn English class, we have wrote Journals. Our Journals are about many different things and our opinions on them. We could either do a free write and just write what comes to mind or how we were feeling, or we could answer the journal prompt that was written on the board for us to answer. Our Journals would also relate to a story that we are reading as a class. Below are my top four Journals that I really enjoyed writing.

 How important is it to fit in?

Fitting in is somewhat important to me; the reason why is because if you do not fit in, then you may be the person that get picked on or always by yourself. You might be excluded out of the fun activities everyone else is doing and become desolate. It really depends on the type of crowd you are trying to fit in. If the crowd is insolent, barren, and choose to be doing the wrong things such as vandalism, smoking, selling or doing drugs, drinking under age, or something you know your parents would rebuke then most likely you would not want to be apart of a group of people like that. If it is a conscientious and shrewd crowd such as study group, a girl/boy scout club, music group, or something positive, then you may want to be apart of that crowd they could help you in your future. I have done some things with a crowd that I later felt horrible. When I was in school and my friends were talking about jumping this girl, they did not like because she has a smart mouth and she is conceited. I knew who the girl was, and where she lived at which was right down the street from me. I showed them where the girl lived, and they egged her house. I felt horrible about it because I knew they did not like her but I still showed the group of girls where she lived. I could have prevented it from happening, but I unfortunately did not.

A time when someone exceeded my expectations is when my sister Dabreyah told me she was going to get some clothes for my birthday. I only expected her to be cheap and only buy me a shirt. Therefore, when my birthday came, and I looked at her gift box it had a whole outfit plus a small stuffed animal. I really did not think she would or had the ability to do this; she is a big grouch most of the time. She exceeded my expectations by buying me more than what I expected. I felt delighted, loved, and I felt like out of everything she did for me, this was one of the best things.

         I have exceeded someone else’s expectations. A time when I exceeded someone else’s expectations is when I was in 8^th grade, last year; I had to do a history project on Somalia. My teacher, Mr. Thomas, expected my call to just make a neat and organized poster board. I really needed this 100 % on this project because I had a high C in his class. Therefore, what I did was add a little extra to my project. I did the neat and organized poster board with a dance to a Somalia song from Somalia. I worked hard trying to perfect every move to the dance. I did so great with this project, that he gave me the 100% I wanted with extra 10% extra credit, that is when I knew I exceeded his expectations.

Name: Eirene

Symbol:

·      Olive branch

·      Peace sign

·      Birds

·      Clouds

·      Flowers

Relative of:

·      Zeus (daughter)

·      Themis (daughter)

·      Eunomia (sister)

·      Dike (sister)

Enemy of:

·      Polemos (god of war)

Where she is from:

·      Greek myths

·      Roman myths

·      Latin myths

Other names:

·      Eirhnh (Greek)

·      Pax (Latin)

Described as:

·      Heavenly qualities of calm, quiet, and still.

·      She is usually thought of as a young maiden wit an infant child name plutos, the god of wealth, and an olive-branch in one hand with a torch in the other.

·      Burning a pile of arms, or carrying corn-ears in her hand or upon her head.

EPITHETS:

·      Shy Eirene

·      Quiet Eirene

·      Blooming Peace

Myth:

I think this myth exist because the ancient Greek people had to have a meaning for wanting peace, justice, and order. I think that they were thinking about what is it; what is the importance of it, and why do people want it. Once they thought of the meaning of Peace, they probably wanted other myths to link up to peace, so they also thought of justice and order. On the other hand, they maybe just wanted three goddesses to link up to each other to define a good way of living. Eirene is also the hora of Spring.

I believe that they made the the Hora of Spring because, when I think of Spring, I think of justice, graceful, peaceful, and things blooming. In the statue of Eirene holding plutos (wealth) and a olive branch in one hand, and a torch in the other hand, that is what I think of. Plutos reminds me of the blooming because he is a baby and he is growing every day. The torch reminds me of justice because usually you hold up a torch when you have gained justice of when you have achieved something great. The olive branch reminds me of peace and grace because the olive tree is a symbol of peace, and peace makes me think of grace so I believe that they are connected.

Eirene and her symbol

Bibliography:

http://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/HoraEirene.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eirene_(Greek_goddess)

http://www.loggia.com/myth/eirene.html

http://www.maicar.com/GML/Eirene1.html

What are people’s expectations of you? What are your own? Some of the expectations put on me by others are to be mature, responsible, peaceful, hardworking, to know how to do almost any and everything, and to always be blithe. These are not expectations I put on myself though. I live by the expectations I have for myself and not the expectations other people have of me. The expectations I have for myself are to not let little things ruin my day, to set an example for everyone, act my age not my shoe size, and to stay positive.

Why write?

The main reasons why I think we write is, because it is a way of communicating, showing your knowledge, and it is an eloquent way of expressing yourself to yourself or others. Writing is a very useful skill in my eyes.

         You can communicate through writing, by writing letters, notes, and it could even help you speak to people who can’t hear. Communicating through writting is a great method of learning and teaching so it could also help expand your knowledge.

         Writing is a way of showing your knowledge. I believe this because you have to write what you learn in school and many other places. Writing also shows that you know how to read and that you know how to speak the language you are writing in. Writing is also a way you could record your knowledge. You cannot always remember everything you say or learn. Therefore, when it comes down to your knowledge writing is a big aspect.

 Writing is an eloquent way you can express yourself to yourself. I believe this because when you write in a journal or diary, you are writing what you think about something or how you are feeling. This is a great way to relieve stress. Writing to yourself could also keep you out of drama by writing down things that you may not like about somebody or something.

Being a freshman at SLA for me is very exciting, fun, and I had to learn how to adjust to it. In the beginning of the school year, I knew I was going to make many friends, but I thought they were only going to be freshman. I met many 10^th, 11^th, and 12^th, graders. Well not many 11^th and 12^th graders but its all right I will meet more as the days go by. I really loved how SLA have colored streams for all of the freshmen obviously I was out in red stream (which is the BEST stream ever with the BEST teachers ever) my connection with red stream is closer than ever. I look at everyone as one of my sisters or brothers. I also met 9^th graders outside of red stream through my friend that came from my old school Hamilton. I have no classes at all with them so I really did not like the beginning of the school year too much. However, if they were in the same stream as me then I would not be able to meet more people out of red stream. Now that I have gotten used to this school, the people in it, and the environment in and around the school I am extremely happy that I chose this school and I made really close friends in red stream and around our school that have my back and who will never let me down. I also know that I worked hard this marking period and my report card will show and it will be AWESOME!

Journal response to one Freedom Writer OR writes your own FWD Entry. What would yours say?

My favorite diary in the freshman year fall 1994 is on page 11-12 diary #4. This is my favorite because I could relate to it in a way. I would also want to see a fight just for the fun of it. Once I was hit during a fight of insolent children, and I did not do anything but stumble and almost fall. It was unexpected, but it was by accident the person was jumping up and down and was not really paying attention to the people around him. For the rest of the day, I was a little shocked because I never was  hit like that; also, because I can be a little over dramatic in situations like that. So, I could relate to this journal in a way.

Blog #3

Types of tests/ what happens to people with the HIV/AIDS?

     The most common HIV tests use blood to detect HIV infection. Some blood tests take a few days for results, but rapid HIV tests can give results in about 20 minutes. All HIV blood tests that come out positive have to be double-checked using that same blood sample. The results to the second test can take a few days to a few weeks to get back to the person. Another type of test that is used for HIV tests are Oral Fluid Tests, which use oral fluid (not saliva) that is collected from the mouth using a special collection device. This is an EIA antibody test similar to the standard blood EIA test. A follow-up confirmatory Western Blot uses the same oral fluid sample. One other HIV test is the urine test. The sensitivity and accuracy of these tests are kind of less used than the blood and oral fluid tests. This is also an EIA antibody test similar to blood EIA tests and requires a follow-up confirmatory Western Blot using the same urine sample.

     As the disease progresses, symptoms may appear or get worse. Some people who have HIV do not begin experiencing symptoms for up to 10 years. When symptoms do appear, they can include:

• Swollen lymph nodes (lymph glands)
• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath
• Unplanned weight loss

After being infected with HIV, your body works hard to attack the virus. With your body fighting, the virus can't make as many copies of itself. Even though you still have HIV, you'll begin to look well and feel well again. However, during this time, the virus is still attacking your lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are the centers of your body's immune system. The virus may also attack your brain tissue and slowly cause damage there. Over 10 to 15 years, HIV kills so many CD4 cells that your body can no longer fight off infections. When your CD4 cell count is 200 or less per mL, you have AIDS (a normal count is 600 to 1000). Once you have AIDS, you can easily catch many serious infections.

http://www.hivtest.org/faq.aspx#tests

http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/sexinfections/hiv/451.html

Prevention/How to be infected

Ways in which you can get infected with HIV/AIDS are by having unprotected sex with someone with AIDS, which is the most common way, blood transfusions, being born with it, dirty and unsanitary needles for example, a needle you found on the ground, and if one person with AIDS have a cut, and their blood touches your cut.

         Since you do not know if a person has HIV/AIDS by just looking at them, its best to play it safe. Ways in which you can prevent HIV/AIDS are by having protected sex. You can greatly reduce your risk by using a latex or polyurethane condoms. Drugs could increase your risk of getting HIV. When using drugs, never have sex while your high because its easy to forget about safe sex, If you must use drugs never inject them, and if you must inject them, then never share the equipment you used such as the needles, syringes, cotton, and rinse water.

If you are pregnant you should get tested for HIV, just to be sure because if you do have HIV, then your infant could also get it during your pregnancy, breastfeeding, or during delivery. If you are helping someone and they are bleeding, try not to get their blood into any cuts or open sores you have, your mouth, or your eyes. If possible, you should wear gloves and protective eye wear because you will never know if they are infected or not.

I wonder what are the types of tests they run on HIV/AIDS patients. Are there many needles involved in the tests, is it just big machines you have to go into or lay on? In addition, what does HIV/AIDS do to people when they are infected with it?

Below are pictures of HIV cells.

http://library.thinkquest.org/5422/aidsprevent.html

http://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/understanding-aids-hiv-prevention

Mi projecto

Say you went on a class trip to Guatemala and you get to the hotel they are meeting you at before everybody else. Your school is going to meet you there at a certain time and you are impatient and can't wait till they get there. So you want to ask the lady at the front desk of the hotel what time is it. Unfortunantly, she speaks Spanish and she doesn't know how to speak English. So, today you have came to the perfect place to learn how to ask for the time and how to respond to it when someone asks you.

Below is a possible conversation between you and the lady at the front desk.

Say you went on a trip to Puerto Rico and you meet some one you may want to get to know even better. A question they may ask you is ¿Cuándo es tu Cumpleaños? You have no idea how to respond to this question at the time. So it really is a great thing you checked out my blog because today you will not leave this page without knowing how to answer this question.