Authors Note

             Many people think they can't accomplish their goals in life because they don't have enough courage and confidence because of where they may come from. There are so many gifted people out there that are not being seen by the world because of their lack of dedication and hard work to achieve what they want.  One of the problems of why people are not staying focused is because they may have so many obstacles keeping them from following their dreams. I feel that it would be so much better if those that had dreams and goals were not judged by others just because of where they're from or what they looked like. In a biography about Jay-Z from Rolling Stone the author explains about the not so nice place of where he came from. Jay-Z grew up in the Marcy housing projects, and his father walked out on his mother as a little boy. He then made his money on the streets by selling crack. After, Jay-Z started doing what he does best and rapped one of his very first verses with rapper Jaz-O and from there it got better and better for Jay-Z. Also another man that can be a mentor for this statement is president Barack Obama. Obama didn't have a relationship with his father as a child because his father was attending Harvard at the time, then when Obama was two his parents got divorced. Obama didn't really have much of an experience with his mother because at the age of ten he was sent to live with his maternal grandparents. Although Barack's childhood wasn't the best he still was able  to accomplish amazing things like Harvard, governor, and the first black president. My research has led to my moral which is, it doesn't matter where you came from if you work hard you can still get to where you want. Most of my research is about famous people, so it is easy to get information about them. With their information in my head I was able to come up with a lesson.

           I feel that many people can relate to this issue including me. I want to grow up to be a professional soccer player and play on a great team but where I'm from creates hurdles blocking my dream. In the soccer world all the great teams and players are in Europe, and as for the United States our league is not considered to be any where near the same level of greatness as European leagues. American players rarely get bought by European teams, but I truly do believe that if I work hard I can be a soccer player. In my illustrations I have chosen that the rabbit comes from unfortunate surroundings. As the story goes on different animals start making fun of the rabbit as well as some who help him. The most important illustration is the dish he makes that everybody loves.

          I hope my picture book can give people hope and something to believe in and work toward. I want to encourage people to help each others dreams . I suggest that for all the people who believe that where they're from limits them and defines who they are should forget that and do what it takes to get to where you want to be. I also suggest that people should support each others dreams. 

Critical Thinking Question: How does this text deal with individuals and groups? Are the people acting alone and in competition with one another, or does the text help us imagine people working together?

“A long walk to water” by Linda Sue Park definitely shows the relationship

between individuals and groups. Throughout the book one of the main characters, Salva goes through times when he is alone because he was left behind by multiple groups. After reading a good chunk of the book it is clear to see that A long walk to water shows how people may work together or abandon each other.

An example in the book that demonstrates how groups of people of which you don’t know too well can be so helpful is on page 9. After walking around by himself for hours he finally sees people he knows, “Salva wandered around until he heard the words ‘Loun-Ariik! The village of Loun-Ariik, here!’ Relief flooded through him. That was his village! He hurried toward the sound of the voice. A dozen or so people stood in a loose group at the side of the road. Salva scanned their faces. There was no one from his family. He recognized a few people a women with a baby, two men, a teenage girl-but no one he knew well. Still, it was comforting to see them.” This scene shows how helpful it can be to be with a group even though you don’t quite know them. If I was in Salva’s situation I would too be very happy to see people that I’ve seen in my neighborhood.  

The author continues to illustrate what it is like to be in a group when the old woman tells Salva she will be leaving him on page 18. “On the fourth day, the old woman told him that she was leaving. ‘you  have seen that the pond is only a puddle now. Winter is coming, and the dry season. And this fighting.’ She nodded her head in the direction of the noise. ‘I will go to a different village near water. You cannot stay with me any longer.’ Salva stared at her as panic rose inside him. Why can’t I go with her? The woman spoke again before he could ask aloud. ‘The soldiers will leave me alone, an old woman on her own. It would be more dangerous for me to travel with you.” This is a great example of the different perspectives on being in a group. Again I agree with Salva’s feelings, being a male myself I would find it frustrating that I could be a target in a war because of my gender.

As the book goes on Salva finds a new group, yet again being with other people helped when a person had aided Salva and the rest of the group on page 24. “Buksa stopped abruptly in front of a very large tree. ‘yes!’ he said. ‘now go call the others!’ By now Salva had caught the feeling excitement. ‘But what shall I tell them?’ ‘The bird. The one I was listening to. He led me right here’. Buksa’s smile was even bigger now. ‘You see that?’ He pointed up at the branches of the tree. ‘Beehive. A fine, large one.’ ‘Honey! This night, we feast!” This portrays the advantages of being in a group. Salva must be delighted that Buksa found food and that he has the help of his group to survive during the war.

When Salva and his group along with his uncle are walking through villages with no money looking for food, being in a group comes to the rescue again shown on page 47. “None of the travelers had money or anything of value to trade, so they had to beg for food. The exception was uncle: The fishermen gave him food without having to be asked. Salva could not tell if this was because Uncle seemed to be the leader of the group or because they were afraid of his gun.” This again suggests that this book shows how it is like to be in a group. Salva must also be joyous that being in a group got him food again. I also have the same question as Salva, why did the villagers give Uncle their food?

  

            You will receive consequences! The book Looking For Alaska by John Green

 is about a boy named Miles who is pulled into the madness of Culver Creek.

 Throughout the book many social issues are seen as well as the results from them.

 Based on evidence Looking For Alaska should not be banned from schools because it

 teaches teens the consequences of peer pressure social issues.

              The book informs us how social issues can kill you. For example on page 139

 it is stated that Alaska’s time on earth is terminated when she dies from drunk

 driving, “Last night, Alaska Young was in a terrible accident, and she was killed.

 Alaska has passed away.” What happened to Alaska demonstrates what may happen

 when you drink irresponsibly. Death was a consequence of drinking and driving.

 Also there is a scene in the book where Alaska says to Miles “Y’all smoke to enjoy it, I

 smoke to die.” This suggests that some social issues can kill you, therefore  death

 being a consequence. This evidence illustrates that Looking For Alaska shows teens

 the terrible ending of social issues.

              Throughout the book it is easy to identify where something is taken too far

 and becomes a social issue. An example of this is when Miles (Pudge) almost dies

 from being “pranked”. When he is duck taped and pushed into a lake. It is written on

 page 25 “they picked me up and hurled me into the water, I twisted and turned as

 best I could so the warm night air hit my nose first, and I breathed. I wasn’t dead and

 wasn’t going to die.” This exemplifies in the book what happens when individuals

 partake in bullying, another social issue. It just so happened that in this case the

 social issue can fall under bullying which is arguably the most common social issue.

 Pranking to this extent and hazing can be considered to be bullying. Another

 example on how social issues are taken too far in this book is Alaska’s constant

 stress throughout the book. There have been multiple occasions where Alaska cries

 to Pudge due to stress on how much she has messed up in her life. There seems to

 be one thing to blame for Alaska’s continuous despair and that’s from her drinking

 and taking drugs. All this evidence reveals that this book does show the negative

 aspects of these social issues.

            It must be said that Looking for Alaska can be of some concern to parents.

 According to the article “Panel rejects parent request to ban ‘Looking for Alaska’ ” a

 parent requested to ban Looking for Alaska due to sexual contact. It would seem

 that when Alaska’s old roommate Myra got expelled from Culver Creek for having

 sex on campus this was part of this parents concern and possibly the reason for

 their request. When Myra got expelled it made it clear to the reader that you

 shouldn’t have sex in school. This book hasn’t glamorized any of the social issues it

 dealt with therefore it shouldn’t be banned. Through out this book there have been

 negative consequential outcomes.

           

Looking for Alaska must remain in schools! The book makes teens aware of

 social issues around us. By keeping this book in schools it not only benefits the

 reader but may also benefit those they share their findings with. The sad outcomes

 shown in Looking for Alaska teaches kids to not engage in social issues. In

 conclusion this book should not be banned because it deals with some real life

 teenage situations and the truth about some very unfortunate consequences.

                                       MEDIA/NEWS IMMERSION  
                            Recently a father spoke about how drugs troubled, and eventually ended his son Kent's life. Kent was a good kid and tried to fight off drugs several times according to his father. In my opinion this is a very sad story, it makes me very upset at whomever sold Kent the drugs. After reading Kent's story it has made me realize a powerful drug addiction can over power even those who don't want drugs.

                              In a Maryland high school Michael, an autistic child, was the victim of an un clear bullying situation. Michael became "friends" with a few girls and they took advantage of him. They put a knife to his throat, kicked him in the groin, dragged him by his hair, tried to get him to have sex with the family dog, and made him walk on a half frozen pond which resulted in him falling. I truly believe that what these girls did is cruel, and it happens more than you think. After reading this article it has made me realize that this situation is a pattern.

                               Very recently Michael Brown was killed by the police after shoplifting. Many say that it was an act of racism. A similar situation happened a few years ago when Trayvon Martin was killed by a guard and many believed that racism was part of it. Personally I believe that racism was a huge part in both cases. I find it so hard to believe that someone can be so tempted to shoot someone because they look suspicious. Also you don't really hear about a white person in this situation. Reading this news has made me realize that even an officer of the law can be racist.

                                Child abuse is definitely an issue in current events. There are different types of child abuse, it doesn't necessarily mean someone beating them up. After reading about Denver resident Lorinda Bailey I now know the other horrible things you can do to a child without touching them. I think that it is terrible to keep an un toilet trained kid in a home full of cat feces and flies.

                                 A little more than a year ago Mark Carson was shot and killed in Greenwich Village for being gay. It is quite clear that many people have problems with treating homosexuality equal to straight people. I feel that this might be unfair to those who are gay, based on this incident it is okay to be straight but not gay. Also this incident will most likely make the gay community afraid. What I learned from this tragedy was that we still have along way to go in treating everyone fairly no matter what their sexual
preference may be.

                                           CHILD ABUSE SKIT
Child:MOMMY! can I have this doll?
Mom: Maybe another time
Child: PLEASE! <starts crying>
Mom: Don't do this <child crying on the floor>
Mom:Come on we're leaving now
Mom:(in the car now) I told you not to do that <chokes the child a bit>
Mom:(now home) STOP CRYING! <pulls her hair and smacks her>

                               OBSERVING MY SURROUNDINGS
                       In my own experience I have an acquaintance that went to a middle school here in Brooklyn and had a very rough year. His parents pulled him out after sixth grade. He then attended another middle school for seventh grade. He said he was being bullied at that school as well. His parents were very concerned and didn't feel that he was being treated fairly. It is hard to say what was happening to him but never the less he was very effected by the other students and his feeling had to be considered, so he is now homeschooled.

                      Today his parents are not happy with his current situation and there isn't a clear solution. I feel a good attempt could be some sort of counseling to get to the root of his issues. I don't know if this school really looked into the claims that were made against the other children. Most of the time they just want the problem to go away.

                     BIBLIOGRAPHY
medicineabuseproject.org, slate.com, cnn.com, queerty.com

                          Did you know that since 1976 more than 1,300 people have been executed in the U.S.? To Kill Or Not To Kill? by Patricia Smith is about the decline in the United States of capital punishment in recent years. It's surprising how un professional these executions are performed. Based on the outcome of recent botched executions evidence has shown that the drugs used to kill criminals have not been tested.

                          Two incidences where inmates were given the lethal drug suffered and did not die till 30 minutes later. The author writes "last April Clayton Lockett was strapped to a gurney in the death chamber of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary and had been given an infection when he started kicking, twitching, and then writhing and moaning in agony". This clearly demonstrates that Lockett was used as a lab rat. Also in July Arizona state took over two hours to kill Joseph R. Wood a reporter counted 640 gasps before he finally died. This part of the article makes my wonder why political leaders haven't imposed a nationwide moratorium on the death penalty. The inconsistencies of these tragic events show that different drugs are used each time.

                          There are several reasons for these mishaps. The article states "because most doctors see participation in executions as a violation of their oath do no harm many lethal injections are carried out by people with little or no medical training". This illustrates that there is a lack of people with medical knowledge developing the death cocktail. The exact sources of where prisons get their drugs are vague, "it's forced prisons systems to try untested drug combinations". European drug manufactures refuse to sell drugs to prisons for the purpose of execution. Although these criminals are sentenced to death row we need to take a stronger look at how capital punishment is carried out.

                         After reading this article I am more convinced then ever that capital punishment should be obliterated and that criminals live out their life sentences in jail. I
feel that it is too final of a punishment in a judicial system where many mistakes can be made. Until our drugs can be tested and the final outcome of the executions can be ensured it should be ruled un constitutional. 

                   Teens can be effected in a negative way by reading Looking For Alaska! After reading "Looking For Alaska" by John Green it is clear to see that it's a dark book and a bad influence for teens. The book features the likes of sex, drugs, the over usage of alcohol, and hazing. Based on that evidence Looking For Alaska should be banned from school bookshelves.

                 Sex is something that comes up a lot in this book. In the beginning of the book
"Pudge" the main character learns why Alaska doesn't have a roommate anymore. It turns out her roommate Myra got caught having sex with her boyfriend on campus and then got expelled from Culver Creek. Also Pudge's girlfriend engages in oral sex, "she looked up at me, but didn't move, her face nanometers away from my penis". Having sex as a teen, like they do in Looking For Alaska has many negative outcomes. As shown in the book you can get in trouble for having sex. Also sex could end up with someone having a child. This book could encourage teens to have sex.

               Everyone introduced in the book you can say is an alcoholic. Threw out the book they always go out into the woods and drink till they vomit. Another example on how drinking is a big factor in this book is when Alaska dies from drunk driving, "Last night, Alaska Young was in a terrible accident and she was killed. Alaska has passed away". In this book they drink like crazy with no self-control. Drinking like this definitely has its consequences. Alaska got killed because of drunk driving. The amount of drinking in this book should not be used as a model for teens in middle and high school.

             At first Pudge didn't smoke, but then he went to Culver Creek and he smoked all the time with everyone else. For ever single day written in the book there is a "smoke brake". It was a time for everyone to let go and relax, to not feel the pressure of school while being far from their parents. At one point in the book Alaska says "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die". Unfortunately though the way they smoked in this book makes it seem cool. When you get sick or your friend dies because of smoking then will it seem  cool? These actions shown in the book shouldn't  be in schools.

            Reading this book has made me realize that some teenagers have this issue. The last thing they need is any encouragement from a popular book like this. Looking For Alaska could also make teens that don't have sex yet, drink, or smoke think that it's ok to do that kind of stuff. This book proves that it is important that teens don't do the things shown in Looking For Alaska. It should be said that you can't find Looking For Alaska on a school bookshelf.

                         In the book "Keeper" by Mal Peet, The character archetypes are evident. The author makes it so that the reader can identify the following archetypes "the mentor, reluctant hero, herald, and the shapeshifter".

                          "The mentor"  would have to be the keeper. The keeper is a wise man who trains El Gato to be the best goalie in the world. The mentor is the "character who aids or trains the hero, usually wise". This definitely fits the keeper, he is a smart man who doesn't really joke around and knows what he's doing. The keeper doesn't waist El Gato's time when training.

                            Another archetype that is clear in the book is the "reluctant hero" that is portrayed by El Gato. When El Gato is first introduced to the keeper, El Gato immediately thinks "No" to being a goalie. Then the keeper starts taking shots on El Gato. Soon El Gato's abilities are discovered. The definition of reluctant hero is "at first refused the adventure and denies his own ability". El Gato at first refuses the challenge of working on being a goal keeper and denies his amazing keeper abilities.

                              The keeper would hold the archetype of the "herald". He is the one who puts El Gato on the journey of becoming the best goalie in the world and teaches him to move past the obstacles that stand in El Gato's way. The Herald is the one who "announces the challenge which begins the hero on his story journey; the person or piece of information which starts the adventure"

                               The last archetype that I found was the "shapeshifter" which belongs to again the keeper. The keeper can be moody and makes El Gato  struggle to understand him. The archetype means "changes role of personality, and is hard to understand; alliances are uncertain and the sincerity of his claims are questionable; brings suspense to story".

                              In this story their are not that many characters but the characters
that their are the archetypes are obvious .