As a junior in high school, this English class was not exactly what I expected it to be, and sometimes that was a very good thing. Other times, not so much. It was much different than any other English class I have ever taken mainly due to the use of technology and blogs, and I hope that this kind of writing will help me down the road.
As a writer, I felt that I grew significantly from two years ago to this year. The reason I say this is because the blogs helped me as a free lance writer. I learned not to think when I am writing, and just write as ideas will pop up often. Before this class, I never really had the opportunity to be a free lancer. It was always structured and narrow-minded. The assignments in writing previously were often repetitive, and therefore my writing was also repetitive. Yes, formal writing is important, but without free lance writing, I saw writing as a waste of time. Now I often write about my thoughts on anything when I have time on my hands.
As a reader, I felt that I could have grown a little more. Coming into this year, I was not a voracious reader, and never will be a voracious reader. But I did start reading more as free lance writing requires it. I read more articles than books mainly because I think they are more interesting. But I think you should emphasize reading more books next year because I felt that the book department was lacking in this class. If you exposed this area more, it would have given me more opportunities to be a better visualizer and critique. With Native Son, The Great Gatsby, and part of The Grapes of Wrath, it introduced me to only those classics and not different styles. I learned a boatload in all three of those books, and more emphasis and exposure to the classics would have taught me so much more, and probably would have expanded my reading abilities and interests.
My favorite assignment this year was the description of the elephant without using the obvious words. That was challenging, yet really fun because it required thinking outside the box, which I am obsessed with. My least favorite assignment was the author report for one reason: It had to be an American author (yes I know it’s American Literature, but still). I have always found international authors to be way more interesting because they expose us to information we are not accustomed to. The report was also tedious because their lives were boring and repetitive. With very few exceptions, all these American writers had tough lives and overcame major obstacles. Numerous lives like that have never interested me. Instead of the author report, make them research a thematic issue, and have your students read an essay, book, and watch a classic movie on the topic. Then they must analyze all three creatively and thoroughly by creating a presentation using sensory details and vivid descriptions to intrigue the other students. Ms. Lahaise could even pick the themes so the students don’t have ridiculous ideas. And people could pair up in presentations, but each student must have their own works read, and watched.
As a student, I believed I am perceived as a great analyzer and thinker. I always believed in thinking outside the box to make classes more interesting and exciting. I learned that I am actually a good English student in this class by believing in my thoughts and using them in my writing persuasively rather than informationally. The class taught me that I cannot hide my thoughts because when thoughts are hidden, nobody can help unreleased thoughts. Even if the class might get annoyed of one person’s thoughts (which they were sometimes in my case), I had to unleash my ideas because I felt that my ideas were always necessary for elaboration.
Next year’s students should be prepared to think, and not memorize. I found that many students want to memorize random English facts and stories, and that will never pass by in Ms. Lahaise’s class. The incoming junior class should be prepared to work hard, as I did in the beginning of the year when emotions were not high for Ms. Lahaise. Although she had a tough year this year, this upcoming year will place the toughness back on her students as they should be prepared to go all out in the brain and soul. Take this class lightly, and take your D or Fail as well because that’s what laziness will bring. I was not lazy this year, even though I could have been, because I felt it would be unfair to earn a high grade while being lazy.
Even though this might have been a tough year professionally for you Ms. Lahaise, thank you for all of your teachings as I plan to use some of them next year and beyond.
Jeremy Schaap’s wonderful biography Cinderella Man traces the peaks and valleys of troubled boxer James J. Braddock. The depression-hit boxer’s story is nothing short of remarkable, yet it might be one of the saddest stories I have ever witnessed in a book, movie, or any other place. This book is all about Braddock’s rise from the bottom in New Jersey to his climb to the top, and eventually got the chance to face Max Baer, aka the Livermore Butcher Boy. Baer allegedly killed, yes killed, two people in the boxing rink, as the forward from the book stated. “His arms weren’t just muscled, they were powerful. His shoulders weren’t just broad, they generated tremendous force.” (P. 47) Those two qualities only explained the beginning of Baer’s fear and physique of this great boxer. Braddock was the underdog in this heavyweight boxing match, and during the 1920s, the heavyweight boxing champion was the most popular person in the world. As the title mentions, Braddock becomes a “Cinderella Man” by upsetting Baer and many others as well to become a beloved heavyweight champion from the underdog position. The journey of Braddock’s story with his coach Joe Gould is what makes Schaap’s vivid book so beautiful and amazing. Gould and Braddock’s work ethics put into every fight presents the character and courage one must have to be in the boxing industry, especially in boxing’s hay days of the early 20th century. And it was all culminated at the end with a whole chapter dedicated to the Baer-Braddock fight itself with Braddock as the shocking victor. But it was Joe Gould’s jubilation that summed up the magnitude of this upset: “Then the bell sounded. Instantly Gould jumped into the ring, grabbed both of Braddock’s legs, and lifted him into the air – a feat of strength made possible only by the euphoria of the moment.” (P. 258) The amazing strength of power and poise in Max Baer simply could not overcome the small town Jewish boy’s charisma and “stout heart” from New Jersey named James Braddock.
The FIFA World Cup is in approximately 2 weeks, and South Africa will be scrutinized by the entire world for one month. The largest sporting event in the world will be heading to an African nation for the first time ever, which is another reason why South Africa will be watched carefully starting June 11. The success, or failure, of the tournament is unpredictable to everyone at this point due to security reasons. I mention the following statements above to emphasize how much one tournament can change a nation forever, and South Africa is largely responsible for many nations’ history from this point forward. Africa will either be extolled or lambasted based on this one tournament, and it will be exciting to see many startling events unravel in front of the world’s very eyes.
It is simply incredible how one tournament can create so much excitement and heartbreak in a matter of weeks or days. No other event around the world draws people to a television or radio like this one does. Countries live and die over 90 minutes of football (aka soccer, for those who do not pay attention very closely) played by their beloved nation. The main question to the whole world is this: How will your life be changed by the events that happen in South Africa, good or bad? To many around the world, it will change forever in a social and athletic manner. To Americans, it will not change our lives too much unless we come out of South Africa with the Golden Ball (the winner’s trophy). And who is once again largely responsible for this? That’s right, Bafana Bafana (aka the boys the boys to South Africa) and the committee of South Africa. An African nation has never been praised or scrutinized like South Africa will be from June 11-July 11. Nobody knows how this World Cup will pan out, but I do know that this event will draw hundreds of millions and will be watched and loved by almost everyone globally. It is the world’s game being exposed to everyone by the best in the world for one month, where everyone agrees on one thing, FOOTBALL.
So for all of you average joes out there, sit back and enjoy the one thing we all will agree on for one month in South Africa. The only thing that we all agree on from June 11-July 11 will be the FIFA World Cup, and I guarantee you that you will love this event. It is too good for anybody to miss because it unites countries in a way that no other aspect of life can. Love, hate, capitalism, socialism, pandemics and everything else might as well be pushed aside starting June 11. We all agree on one thing on June 11 and that is the beautiful game known as football globally.
http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1400
The movie Five People You Meet in Heaven taught me some very valuable lessons about life, and one that I think is overused in life. If there is a story that can teach anyone a little something about life, this is the one. The following five lessons were expressed in a way that is different than normally expressed:
The first lesson in the movie was told to Eddie in Heaven by the Blue Man: THERE ARE NO RANDOM ACTS. This point is one that should not be taken for granted, as it often is. Every act performed in life is done for a reason. If it wasn’t done for a reason, the act would not have happened. Unfortunately, some acts are tragic, like the death of the blue man due to Eddie’s lack of control in the street, but the death of the Blue Man was meant to happen this way. It’s just the way life works sometimes.
The Captain, while at war in the Philippines during WW II, revealed the second vital life lesson: SACRIFICE IS SOMETIMES NECESSARY TO SUCCEED. I could not agree more with this lesson, because this lesson is always an option. Sacrifice might be man’s greatest asset in life. The fact that we can sacrifice for the greater good is a beautiful concept. The idea of sacrifice is always gratifying because we know that our sacrifice will result in somebody else’s joy. I just love that feeling knowing that when I sacrifice something, I did it for the common good.
Ruby, the woman on the pier sign, teaches Eddie the third lesson in Heaven: FORGIVENESS AND HATRED. This lesson I actually disagree with. I do not believe that forgiveness and hatred are related to each other. The first lesson about random acts explains why I do not believe in forgiveness. Things happen for a reason and forgiveness will never redeem a hatred for somebody or something. Hatred is a part of life and forgiveness will never fix that.
Marguerite, Eddie’s love, is the fourth person he meets in Heaven and she teaches Eddie the following lesson: LOVE NEVER DIES, IT JUST CHANGES OVER TIME. This is a great lesson for everyone in life. As John Lennon once said, “all you need is love” clearly applies to this lesson. And Lennon is right because love is all you need. If love ever died, our world would collapse in a nanosecond. Love is always changing over time, and will thankfully never be lost, as Marguerite explained to Eddie flawlessly.
The fifth, and final, lesson was taught to Eddie by a little girl named Tala: EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING HAS A PURPOSE. This is definitely the most inspiring lesson, in my opinion. It is similar to the Blue Man’s lesson, but it involves purpose, not luck. The reason I love this one is because it explains the importance of little things. Everybody knows about the big things and the big people. What we do not think about often is the little things, and when we do think about the little things, many ideas in life clear up and people start to understand the greatness of life. It is the little things that make this world great.
These five lessons, four of which I agree with, clarified my love of life. I have always felt that life lessons are never expressed enough, and when they are expressed, it is the wrong lessons that are expressed. This movie got the life lessons, for the most part, spot on as Heaven is a great way to express these lessons. This movie and story will always have a place in my soul because of the importance life lessons bring to this world.
Do you know how stupid our world is? It’s incredibly stupid. Just look at our government and economy. A world full of smart people doesn’t let the economy get this bad nor lets the government screw them over. The fact of the matter is that we are stupid and we aren’t getting any smarter any time soon, unfortunately. People do things that a person of a previous generation would never even think about, or maybe even has heard of. A world full of stupid people actually care about what’s happening in a pointless celebrity’s life that has no effect on the world. (aka people caring about Tiger Woods affairs, Paris Hilton, etc.) In a world full of stupidity, we can’t do anything to change it and life will sadly go on in a pathetic fashion.
The reason I bring this up in my article is because I have witnessed more stupidity over the past few weeks than ever before. People will buy and listen to music that has no sophistication whatsoever, like pop music today with no body and soul. People will pay $16.50 to waste their time at an unfunny movie that got terrible reviews, but they still bothered to see it. And people will pay to watch a pole dancer, but they wouldn’t pay their life savings to see Yo Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman play a Double Concerto by Johannes Brahms, for example. It is absolutely embarrassing that I even have to mention this stupidity, but that is what our world has become nowadays. When the general population risks their lives on things like sports bets and music paparazzi, for instance, you know that the world has drastically changed in a very negative way. Our world has undermined the importance of history in respect to many subjects, like music, movies, literature, and many other aspects. Nobody ever acknowledges the importance of George Gershwin, or the importance of Citizen Kane, or the importance of To Kill a Mockingbird. The reason for this is because we do not teach these things to the young kids; instead we give them an iphone for them to text their best friend who is only 3 years old. We do not appreciate the real roots of pop culture and artistic values today. If we taught these roots and origins to our kids at a young age, they would appreciate why music is so popular and big today. Without Gershwin, modern music doesn’t exist. Without Citizen Kane, special effects doesn’t exist. Without To Kill a Mockingbird, inspiration through racial differences doesn’t exist. We have failed to teach this to our kids, and when we do the kids are ignoring these facts. We must stress these little things to the next generation so we can avoid ever having a stupider generation than the one that exists currently.
http://hubpages.com/hub/Stupid-things-people-do-on-a-dare
The incredible and harsh events in All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque simply cannot be put into words. The narrator of this book is Paul Baumer, who solemnly yet beautifully retells the grotesque life of a soldier during World War I. This treacherous war in Europe simply destroyed the soldiers. As the author mentioned in a couple sentences preceding the book, “…It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war.” These teenage men cannot be put through the horrors of a war, especially for four years, as Paul Baumer told the stories of his fellow soldiers like Kemmerich, schoolmaster Kantorek, and Katczinsky. For example, the following words only begin to describe the experiences of the soldiers, in this case it is Kemmerich explaining: “I cannot bear to look at his hands, they are like wax. Under the nails is the dirt of the trenches, it shows through blue-black like poison.” (p. 15) This is the start of their harsh time during the war and the last sentence sums it all up in “a single sentence: All quiet on the Western Front.” This sentence describes that the war is over and the armistice has been signed in November 1918. The four worst years of their lives ruined the rest of their lives due to the horrors that the men had after fighting. Paul Baumer told the the story to the best of his ability yet he was being destroyed himself by the war. The courage of these soldiers will never be understood, but this book describes this courage as good as any account ever could.
I almost resisted from doing this response on this subject, but the importance and magnitude of this event must be stated. On Saturday, 97 highly ranked Polish officials were killed in a plane crash in Russia that was going to commemorate the 1940 Katyn Forest Massacre. The president, his wife, and many others were among the highly ranked officials aboard the plane.
The timing of this crash could not have come at a worse time due to the rebuilding stages that Poland was in. This government was making big steps towards peace in Poland, and now that peace will be put to the test. Although the country is only emotionally affected for the time being, the country’s other issues might be affected as well. I hope that I am wrong though because it would be a moving story to see Poland continue to prosper like it had been before the mournful crash.
The whole world came to a sudden pause when the news broke because we lost many great leaders. A leader that is lost will always be mourned globally regardless if we know little, or nothing, about the victims themselves. In a time of tumultuous chaos and government control, this is something that everyone should mourn about. I sadly write this article in honor of the Polish people and government as they deserve no less than a moment of silence and respect from nations around the world. Thank you and I hope that you mourn about this tragedy with sincerity.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9F1QNK80.htm
The Joke that Has Everyone Laughing: Facebook and Twitter
http://lahaiseslair.com/bradleym/2010/02/02/the-joke-that-has-everyone-laughing-facebook-and-twitter/
Only Sports Can Inspire a Nation:
http://lahaiseslair.com/bradleym/2010/02/14/only-sports-can-truly-inspire-an-entire-nation/
As the greatest event in sports is about to start on Thursday, it is only right for me to write about the NCAA tournament. This event is the one event that, as a die hard sports fan, I know will be exciting every year. You can’t say that about any professional or other college sports. March Madness (aka the NCAA tournament) brings out the best of schools who usually do not get to show off their talent on a national stage. When’s the last time you say Lehigh University on a prime time game? (They play Kansas in the 1st round, the #1 overall seed in the tournament) It is every college basketball kid’s dream to play in this amazing tournament that never lacks excitement and good stories. In the flawed sports world of today, March Madness is an exception as it is about as perfect as an event could ever be.
As I am filling out my bracket, I always think about what makes this tournament exciting. And just about every year, it is the art known as the upset. The upset is always in play in the first two rounds, and because of the upset, the NCAA tournament will never be boring. It’s incredible unpredictability makes this event perfect for any sports fan out there. For example, in 2006 George Mason was an 11 seed (out of 16 seeds per bracket) and made it to the Final Four. Their improbable run caught the eyes of the nation and everyone was cheering for them to win the whole tournament. I cannot remember another instance where the underdog truly inspired every viewer. But the main point is that the upset is the best thing sports brings. Without the upset, sports would simply be boring. What makes sports exciting is its unpredictability, and March Madness has the most unpredictability in sports. That’s why I think the NFL and NBA are boring. They are so predictable and monotonous. We fill out brackets to see how close we could get to picking each game correct. The twists and turns that this tournament brings is unmatched by any other sports event.
Every true sports fan watches this tournament with amazing passion and no expectations. It is even exciting for the many who even don’t follow college basketball at all. I know many people who don’t watch college basketball until the tournament starts, and for these three weeks in March, it becomes their favorite sport for the time being. I don’t know any true sports fan who thinks March Madness is boring. The ones who do are either pathetic sports fans or don’t have a pulse. I mean if you can’t get excited for this, you might as well live in a coma. And for all those sports fan who are curious about my picks, my bracket this year has a Final Four including Kansas beating Pittsburgh and West Virginia beating Duke. And I believe Kansas will defeat West Virginia and celebrate in Indianapolis. I hope all of you tune in to the greatest sporting event on the planet!!!!
http://www.examiner.com/x-11760-Kansas-City-TV-Examiner~y2010m3d15-Is-the-NCAA-tournaments-March-Madness-the-best-televised-sporting-event-ever–You-bet-it-is
