I Believe in My Mother

I believe in my mother. She has practically raised my sister and I since we were kids. My father had always lived in the United States but she wanted to stay in Mexico. She has always been a father figure just as much as mother. When I was 5 we moved to the United States and my parents divorced. We had nothing to live off of; she relied a lot on the help of good friends. She started off with 2 jobs, mid night shift and during the day. She worked enough to get our own place. Our whole apartment was bald; there was nothing in it but the usual; a fridge, stove, washer and dryer. Gradually we were able to buy furniture and beds. I had never realized how hard my mom worked for us and the thing she was put through to just be able to put a roof over our heads. I think my mom is the strongest person I’ve ever met, she was put through a lot in her life but she kept her head up for her kids. She wouldn’t let her sadness and tiredness be shown to us, she’s always been the type of person to keep a smile on her face. The person my mom is and the things she has gone through has really impacted the person I am becoming. She influences me every day. She tells me to work hard at school so I don’t have to struggle the way she has and work more than a person can handle, which truly does open my eyes to face reality. Even now, now that we can afford the things we desire along with the things we need, she works hard. No matter how much she despises waking up at 5 in the morning to work or no matter how sick she is, she still gets up to be able to make us happy. When she is struggling she doesn’t show it or take it out on people, she keeps it to herself. She doesn’t let her worries get to her, she stays strong not matter how much weight is on her shoulders. When I have problems and I sit there and pout, I think of how much mom handles it. She wouldn’t sit there in pout; she would smile and make herself realize that things will always end up getting better.  I believe in my mother, she is a strong willed woman and she makes me believe that no matter what struggle life throws at you, you have the capability of overcoming it.

--Genaro Cabrera

Melancholy is a Part of Life

When I was 14 years old, I first knew the meaning of “melancholia.” At the same time one of my best friends was diagnosed with “melancholia.” I still remembered the paintings she drew which used the simple lines to compose something I could not understand. Her feelings became extremely sensitive and silent. She couldn’t control herself even during the classes. Probably just in that time, the fear tightly caught my throat. And then, she left to Singapore to accept therapy in the winter. The light reflected by the snow hurt my eyes and made me cry. She wrote me two short messages after she arrived in Singapore. One was that doctors said to her that what she drew was from her fantasies. She also told me she could not stop the impulse to draw, and the paintings seemed to lie everywhere on the walls and on the floors. I thought I could touch her saturnine countenance through the cold computer screen. I could see she rolled herself into a ball like a desolate hedgehog. The seat she once sat in was moved to the back of the classroom. The ashes and the memories covered the trail she left. The spring flowers began to bloom, I was aware of her leaving for several months.

I read a magazine at that time, and one of articles impressed me. The topic of it was the ice is water which dozes off.  And I wrote a comment about it: just like it, the lamentation is the mirth which is hibernating. When the last piece of ice of winter begins to melt, when the first flower of spring come into bloom, everything will be changed.

Life is just like that. Bad things, good things, all exist. People have different emotions: tears or smile, sadness or happiness, lamentation or hilarity, sweet and bitterness, loss and getting. They are all part of life. No one’s life is like the sea without waves. I was depressed by the life, and gained more about depression. I grow up.

Melancholy was once meandering river. It carried so many memories off, those restless nights; it hid so many secrets, the words I have never said; it contains so many emotions, those dropping tears. And now it is quietly lying in my hand, becoming a savage scar in my heart as part of my pride.

Recently, I received a letter from my old friend. She said she was OK now and she was not tortured by melancholia any more. I tried to write a letter to her. Sweetie, just listen to me. Everyone has his/her own scars, but they are all the past. Melancholy is like sickness. Love can heal it. As long as I hold the true power of my heart, we can fix it. The memories of melancholy will finally become the ashes in the wind. Melancholy is a part of life. We experienced, and then we grow up. This, I believe.

--Fang Fei Lin

No Pain, No Gain

I believe there is no gain, without pain. I believe this applies to every situation. If I spend a lot of time to work on, make an effort and succeed at something, the result is success. Although it has not been easy, I have experienced this many times.

Before I came to the USA, I couldn't speak English very well.  So when I came here, I felt strange and odd. I couldn't understand what people said and it was really hard to adjust to living in the USA. I was afraid to talk with people because I was afraid, what if they cannot understand what I say. I am normally a really outgoing person but when I came here, I couldn't socialize with people because of the language barrier. I was really sad that I couldn’t hang out with friends because I really wanted to meet and communicate with someone. I think that's the reason why I missed my Korean friends and Korea so much. Some of my American peers would tease me for no reason. I don't think being 'Asian' is a reason to tease. Sometimes I really wanted to go back to Korea because of these problems. When I was in Korea, I didn't think that it would be so hard to adjust to living in the USA. I was sad that I was separated from all of my friends and family and yet I was still a little bit excited that I was going to another country by myself and make new friends with Americans. Because of my excitement this teasing hurt me even more.

I told myself I need to get more confidence. I tried to talk to people I didn’t know and to smile when I caught someone's eye even if they ignored me. I also tried to improve my English. I think that was the most significant problem because I lost my confidence from the language barrier. I tried to speak English with my sister and I tried to expand my chances to communicate with other people. When we went shopping I asked questions. I tried to listen to other people's communication because I thought, it helps to know what words other English speakers use in that situation. I also paid attention to their pronunciation. I gained confidence. I asked new people what their names were and tried not to be awkward. They were really kind. So I was really happy that I could hang out and communicate with new friends.  

I have worked really hard to improve my English. It has been a painful journey. But now, I can understand what people are saying and I can speak English better than before. Also, I have many more friends than before. I think the reasons that these results came to me are that I tried really hard to make the friends and improve the English. I can't speak or understand English perfectly yet. So I still need to keep learning and working at it. I believe that if I try harder than before, I will improve more and more. If there was no pain, I wouldn’t have improved. So I believe no gain without pain.

--Hyoeun Kang

Everybody Deserves a Second Chance

I started getting in when I was in the seventh grade. I first got locked up for messing up a house.  It was abandoned house. My friends and I just made it our hang out spot. We did kind of mess it up but we really didn’t mean any harm.  We were just kids trying to have fun. Somebody owned it so we got in trouble.

The first time I ever got locked up I went down to the police station. There they finger printed me, took pictures, and then put me

in a cop car.   They took me to the juvenile justice center, JJC. That is when I went bad all the way. Back then I had a bad anger problem.

I would just snap on people for no reason.  I would just start tripping out for no reason, you know how that is.  When I got out of JJC, they put me on house arrest. Out of all that I did not learn anything. I have been to JJC like ten times from 7^th grade through 10^th grade. It is a lot.   

Then, because I was so bad, they put me in the division of youth services, DYS, custody.  I was shipped away from home to Montgomery City Missouri.   DYS is a place you go to get help to change your life. It is like a jail, but different because we can have fun.  It is a camp out in the middle of nowhere. DYS helps you with your anger problem and how to get along with people.  They teach you different ways to help control your anger and to cope so you do not go to big jail. It really did work.  I was going down the wrong path.  I was going to end up in jail.   You don’t get out of DYS custody until you follow all their steps. You have to show that you are ready to be out in the real world with people. You need to show that you will not break the law again.

To be real I am happy that I got locked up because it really helped me to be a better person.  I feel that when I was locked up they gave me all the help I needed to be successful. I’m so happy that everything happened in my life because if it didn’t I would not be in school, and I would not be at Rockbridge where all these people help me all the time. It is good that my life is like this because this is my second chance.   I love and thank the DYS staff because they helped me and gave me my second chance. I also love and thank everybody at Rockbridge that helped me change my life.  I appreciate the entire work people do at Rockbridge to help me and give me my second chance.  I was given a second chance even though I did not deserve it. That is why I believe in second chances.

--Antwane Sanders

Dreams are Your Other World

I believe in dreams. Everyone has dreams and in that moment people feel real. We can fly to the air and meet another person, usually the people I miss. In our dreams appear hope.  One day, I dreamed I was back at my Korean school. I had my Korean friends but there had some my Americans friends too. I chatted with my friends and used English as if we were using Korean. I hope to speak English well and communicate with others as I did in that dream.

People believe dreams can tell the future. In Korea, when you dream of a pig or gold, then people think they will have money something. When you dream of falling on your teeth, then people think somebody who is close to you die or will have bad things. On the other hand, people sometimes think dreams tell the opposite situation. For example, when you dream of a fire at your house or you see something burning to fire, then people think good things are coming to you or you will have money. Similarly, when you dream of your death or people who know dying, then people think that everything will be fine. I don’t know if this is relevant only to Korea or not.

I decided the title of this writing that is ‘Dreams are your other world’. I think dreams are my other world because usually I have dreams that are different from my life. I imagine almost every day about what I do in the future, after I come back to Korea, my friends, family, my school life, clothes and cosmetics. I continue imagine these thing, then they are appear to me in my dream that night. It is like going back to Korea. I meet my friends. I imagine what I want buy for clothes, fashionable clothes and what I need to cosmetics for my skin. And I imagine about my school life. Usually I imagine these things and then I feel them. Thus, I can experience new things in my dreams. I believe in dreams.

--Yoo Jeong

Achieve To Succeed

          I believe achieving your highest goal will make you succeed in life. There could be many different goals you may want to achieve but there’s always that one goal in your life time that you’re going to want to achieve. All you have to do is believe in yourself and it will happen. My goal was to read at the grade level I am in. My goal was achieved.

            I remember a time when I wanted to achieve a couple goals of mine and there was one goal I did achieve which was reading at a 10^th grade level. One time in 1^st grade I had to get held back because my reading wasn’t exactly where it was supposed to be. For a little while I felt dumb and realizing that only a few kids in 1^st grade get held back for reading well I guess I was the lucky one. I never thought that you could get held back in first grade but it was possible and back then I wasn’t too worried about being held back but then as I started getting older I had to deal with telling people my age and they would be like how are you older than me and I would just tell them that I started school late.

            The only thing that sucked about being held back was seeing the same teachers and people asking me about my age. I was and still am older than a lot of the kids in my classes. I think me being held back was good because in the long run I’m reading at the level that I’m supposed to be reading at. My reading teachers in the past and present helped me also they helped me grow as a reader and become a growing reader also.

            My Reading has progressed over time because of the reading classes I‘ve been in and the lovey teachers that have helped me believe in myself. A lot of my progress has come from my work ethnic because I’m always doing my writing task and reading done. I used to think reading was dumb and not useful in our everyday lives, but then when I started reading books that caught my attention I started thinking and saying if I can read at a good pace and think about what I read then I wouldn’t have to be in reading classes anymore and I could get into a good college. I worked hard, and that’s why I believe that achieving your highest goal will make you succeed in life.

            Believing in yourself will make your goal happen. A couple days ago I had an IEP meeting and my reading teacher Mrs. Weaver was there she told my case manager how good of a reader I am and how it has improved. I scored high on my reading test and it said that I read at a 10^th grade level. Mrs. Weaver also said I go back and read when I don’t understand something. Throughout the years my reading improved and me believing in myself paid off. That’s why I believe Achieving your highest goal will make you succeed in life.

           

--Jasman Sydnor

The "This I Believe" Final Project

Click here for the  This I Believe Workbook

YOUR TASK: Write a This I Believe essay that meets all of the writing guidelines. (Guidelines are included in this workbook.)

Submit a high quality draft of your essay no later than May 9^th, 2012.

Both, your final essay and an audio recording of your essay are due no later than May 15^th, 2012.

This I Believe

Of all of life’s big questions, “What do you believe?” is one of the most important. And for many, the answer may be one of the hardest to actually put into words. By asking individuals to write and share their personal philosophies, This I Believe hopes to encourage people to express the core principles that guide their daily lives, and to develop acceptance of—and even respect for—beliefs different from one’s own.

This I Believe Essay-Writing Guidelines

We invite you to contribute to this project by writing and submitting your own statement of personal belief. We understand how challenging this is—it requires such intimacy that no one else can do it for you. To guide you through this process, we offer these suggestions:

Tell a story: Be specific. Take your belief out of the ether and ground it in the events of your life. Consider moments when belief was formed or tested or changed. Think of your own experience, work, and family, and tell of the things you know that no one else does. Your story need not be heart-warming or gut-wrenching—it can even be funny—but it should be real. Make sure your story ties to the essence of your daily life philosophy and the shaping of your beliefs.

Be brief: Your statement should be between 350 and 500 words. That’s about three minutes when read aloud at your natural pace.

Name your belief: If you can’t name it in a sentence or two, your essay might not be about belief. Also, rather than writing a list, consider focusing on one core belief, because three minutes is a very short time.

Be positive: Please avoid preaching or editorializing. Tell us what you do believe, not what you don’t believe. Avoid speaking in the editorial “we.” Make your essay about you; speak in the first person.

Be personal: Write in words and phrases that are comfortable for you to speak. We recommend you read your essay aloud to yourself several times, and each time edit it and simplify it until you find the words, tone, and story that truly echo your belief and the way you speak.

Ecclesiastes (Produced and Directed by, Hyoeun and Feng Fei)

The process of completing this project is meaningful for me. At first, I chose to work with Hyoeun and my choice was right. I have learned how to corporate with other people, how to arrange time effectively and how to consider the deep meaning of each poem.  

For making our project impressive to other people, Hyoeun and I faced other difficulties. First, we overviewed all the poems and found two poems that we loved most, “Ecclesiastes3:1-8” and “This is just to say.” We had some problems of figuring the purposes of the poems. We talked about it for about an hour. Then we wrote it down and compared the points. For making these two poems vivid, we chose to make two little movies. We discussed how to make the scenes of the movies and how to make it fluent and attractive. We discussed the tones of the movies and the technology to make them.

This was really an effective way to teach us how to complete a project together. The process brought me much precious experience. I am so proud and glad that we can do this project together. We are fortunate to get this chance to show our talents and abilities.

--Fang Fei Lin

This is Just to Say (Produced and Directed by, Hyoeun and Feng Fei)

Dream Big (Produced and Directed by Dacia Ayers, Raysean Huggins, and Auriel Buckley)

Dreams (Produced and Directed by Jasman Sydnor)

Art by RBHS students
Poetry by Langston Hughes

Despair (Produced and Directed by Thomas)

      I found I had lots of creativity and I can do anything I set my mind to. I learned how to create film for a movie and how to edit the movie. I originally had a 23 minute video but took out a lot of parts that were not needed. Now I have a 4 minute video on YouTube. I think this was a fantastic experience that helped me learn so much. Mr. Rubin and I were having trouble trying to put the poem in along with the song but we figured out we had to save the whole project and then start a new project, import the old project, and then import the poem along with it. It was kind of frustrating when we couldn’t get the poem, but then I was overjoyed when we figured it out. This assignment was my most favorite assignment I have ever had throughout my entire school life. I think my video is awesome.

       --Thomas Alexander

Dreams (Produced and Directed by Antwane Sanders)

Barnes and Noble and the University of Missouri

We had a wonderful field trip today. We spent the morning browsing books at Barnes & Noble. We set summer reading goals and all got new books. We spent the afternoon on MU's campus working on goal setting (including audacious dreams) and, of course, reading our new books. We finished up the day at Shakespeare's pizza. Below are some snaps and quotes from our fantastic day.

 "It was a fantastic field trip, amazing". Thomas

"{Now I} have another goal to read this book. I found a book that looks really exciting." Hyoeun

"{I got to} choose a book which I liked best in the store. This was a meaningful and interesting field trip because it gave us the passion to read. It was like an adventure to literature." Fang Fei 

"Mrs. Weaver, I feel like you trust us by letting us go do all this fun stuff. MU was amazing and a great place to read." Kelsey

"To be honest, I wasn't going to read any book over the summer, but now I have something I like to read. We should have field trips more often." Jasman

 Here is a link to today's goal setting booklet.

Thank you so much to our wonderful chaperones: Mr. Rippstein, Ms. Sullivan and Ms. Toalson!

Movie Produced and Directed by Paul Burns and Yorgo K

Langston Hughes Poems: A Video

Six Significant Landscapes (Produced and Directed by Wesley Chapman)

Surprise Field Trip

We just found about some money earmarked for our literacy class that we have to use THIS week.  And, so provided I can get all the logistics in place we’re going on a field trip on Wednesday, April 15th, 2012. We’ll be off campus from 9:30-1:00pm. I will get you excused from either your second or third block class, whichever you miss.  At 9:30am the bus will pull out of the circle drive to take us to Barnes and Nobel. We’ll spend the morning browsing books and you can each select a book to keep and read (our treat). After we’ve all purchased our books, we’ll head over to MU (weather permitting) to read on the quad and then walk down to lunch at Shakespeare’s. I don’t think I can get lunch covered, so please  bring $5 or so for lunch.

You must bring back this  Permission Slip

Poetry Productions Premiere is coming...April 25th

Scripts are being written, poems are being analyzed, video cameras are being checked out, footage is being edited...

Yorgo and Paul plan their film on modern interpretations of Langston Hughes poems

Hyoeun and Fang Fei edit video for their project on William Carlos Williams

Amber and Yoo Jeong analyze a Nuerda poem

Dacia adds in sound clips for their music video interpertation of Langston Hughes' dream poems

Thomas works on special effects for his video "Song of Despair"

Wes checks his sound clips.

An early screening of Hyoeun and Fang Fei's film draws a crowd in the media center.

We spent the afternoon reading our new lit set books at the park. It was lovely.

Also, this photo makes me laugh--out loud.

Video Support for Poetry Productions

RBHS has four video cameras that you can check out for one period for use at school only - they cannot be taken out of the building.
You can  bring your camera to the media specialists and they can download the video on a thumb drive with software (Pinnacle) and set you up in our prep room to edit.
If you use your phone for video make sure you have a data cord to link to the computer for download.
We have Windows video live loaded in the Green lab and a few copies in the Media Center. Windows Live is a free download from Microsoft if you want to work from home.
Photostory 3 (free download from Microsoft) is also a good option for this type of project.
Mr. Murphy and Ms. Struchtemeyer are glad to assist you too.

Poetry Productions

Link to: Good Poems to Know

Poetic Productions

This is a MAJOR project/assessment in Literacy Seminar. It combines all of the skills we’ve worked on this school year including literary analysis, writing, close reading and creative expression. Your task (working individually or in a group) is to create an original, creative video of a collection of classic poems. Your video can be an artistic video, a play/dramatization or a music video. It must include a cohesive message (a thesis/claim, a key theme, and an explanation of the connection between your pieces).  Finished projects will also include vocabulary and analysis sections, as well as a final process paper.  This project requires a lot of advance planning. We are dedicating several days of class time to work on this project.  Videos and writing are due on April 25^th, 2012.

STEPS TO COMPLETE:

1.       Read all of the poems in the packet.

2.       Star your four or five favorites.

3.       Go back and re-read your favorites.

4.       Decide if you want to work by yourself or in a group. If you want to work in a group, this is a good time to form groups.

5.       Note any words you don’t know. Look them up. Write down their definitions in the vocabulary section of this project.

6.       Going through all of your group’s favorites, select the poems that are going to be included in your performance.  Remember you need at least two minutes of poetry for each member of your group.

7.       Decide what message your project is going to convey. Your message is the heart of your project. Your message must contain at least one key theme, one key claim, and a description of the way each of your pieces is connected. Your message should be repeated/incorporated  throughout your performance (e.g. a chorus).  A polished and typed version of your message must be included in the project write up.

8.       Working together write up a 3-5 sentence analysis of each poem in your project.  Your analysis should include the poet’s message/purpose, key themes, and the poet’s use of voice/style. These analyses will also be included in your final write up.  You may divide up this work amongst your group members. Remember each person is responsible for at least two minutes of performance.

9.       Now, comes the fun part. Begin to plan your video. Decide how you want to present your project.  You can create an artistic video with visual art (you can use PowerPoint for this. Ask for help if you want to add music clips.)  You can create a music video with rap, rock, country, or classical riffs. You can include instrumentals or not.  You could also incorporate the poems into a play or dramatization. Your final project must be a creative work which shows off your interpretations of the poems. Do not just read the poems!  All work absolutely must be original! Ask for help. Our media specialists can help with tech support. We have a couple cameras you can use if you need. We’ll problem solve together.  We have some video editing software at school. All content must be school appropriate.

10.   Shoot your video. Edit as needed.

11.   When your video is complete, test it. Make sure the sound works, the scenes advance, that you know how to start the film.  You should turn your film in on a flash drive. You can check a flash drive out from the media center.

12.   Finally, write up a process paper explaining what you learned, how your group worked together, what your discussion was, and your reaction to the final product. Process papers should be a about a page in length and typed.

13.   Although your message and interpretations may be the same, all students turn in their own written work.  Process papers should be written by individuals, not groups. Vocabulary terms may or may not be different from group member to group member.

14.   Movies will be shown and graded on April 25^th, 2012.   

Rubric:

Vocabulary:  Students have identified unfamiliar vocabulary terms and clearly defined them. All students should find at least 5 unfamiliar words.	/5pts
All poems have thoughtful analysis that includes a discussion of the poet’s message/purpose, key themes, and the poet’s use of voice/style.	/10pts
Message contains at least one key theme, one key claim, and a description of the way each of your pieces is connected.  Your message is repeated throughout your performance like a chorus.	/5 pts
The final video is a creative, artistic , interpretation of the poems.   The final video is clearly edited (or very well-rehearsed) and thoughtful.	/20 pts
Process paper explains what you learned, how your group worked together, what your discussion was, and your reaction to the final product. Process papers  is a page in length and typed.	/10 pts
	Total:                      /50

Poetic Productions:

Your video should be turned in on a flash drive. The final video is a creative, artistic , interpretation of the poems.   The final video is clearly edited (or very well-rehearsed) and thoughtful.   The video must be 2 minutes per group member (i.e. a four member team would create an eight minute video)

Additionally on April 25^th, 2012 you must also turn in the following four sections typed. Each student turns in their own written work.

Written Sections:

1.       Vocabulary:

At least five terms/definitions

2.       Analyses:

Title of poem, a discussion of the poet’s message/purpose, key themes, and the poet’s use of voice/style

3.       Message

One key theme, one key claim, and a description of the way each of your pieces is connected

4.       Process Paper

Explains what you learned, how your group worked together, what your discussion was, and your reaction to the final product. Process papers  is a page in length and typed.

Read: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

                                                        Commentary by, T.J. Smith

The author's purpose for the book is to show that people with autism can think for themelf. Everyone in the world has goals to do something with their life and Christopher’s goal was to solve the murder mystery and that’s what he did. Christopher finds the dog next door dead and he is trying to find out who killed it.    Human relations is big in the book. Overcoming fear is big too.
I agree with the author that people with autism can accomplish anything if they put their mind to it. Everyone has their own talent.

Read: The Color of Water

Commentary by, Fang Fei Lin

Through the description of his confusion when he was growing, James McBride shows his unique consideration of love. This is a novel about a black man’s tribute to his white mother. He tried to find a connection between him and racism and love.  Love is the only way to communicate with people of different races. As long as you have a heart to love everyone, you will not fear anything.
The theme of love is through the whole novel, including the love between husband and wife, mother and daughter, and the love of god.

The consideration of race happens from the beginning of the novel. In school, only James and his siblings are black. They are good students, but the teachers always discriminate and disparage them. They were mocked by white students and teachers, some of them like Helen feel depressed because of the injustice. (p85- 105) James sometimes feels ashamed to have a white mother. James is always confused why a white woman has 12 black children. But when James asks about it, Ruth simply said, “I’m light-skinned.” People lived near James’ always make fun of Ruth. Once upon a time, when he sees Ruth is robbed by some black people, James first feel a kind of deep fear. He realized his mother is always in danger.

When James asks if he is black or white, Ruth says, “You are a human being.” I’ve never seen such intelligent person like Ruth when facing the problem of racism that she thinks people will not be judged by racism, but by their qualities and personalities. Ruth was also disturbed by racism when she was young. She was pushed aside by the other students in the school because she is Jewish. She liked to dance but nobody gave her a chance, so she understands the feelings of discrimination. Every person wants to be respected no matter what they look like. She teaches her children the most significant lesson-----equality.

The whole story is moving and inspiring. It shows a kind of attitude to life that everyone should keep on and never give up. It shows a kind of philosophy of living when you hesitate about which way to go you should just follow your heart. It shows deliberation of the injustice and equality. Everyone can find their own in this story. Everyone can get a  gift from this book.

Amazing Grace

Read the following excerpt from Jonathon Kozol's Amazing Grace. Click here.

From Amazon:

The children in this book defy the stereotypes of urban youth too frequently presented by the media. Tender, generous and often religiously devout, they speak with eloquence and honesty about the poverty and racial isolation that have wounded but not hardened them. The book does not romanticize or soften the effects of violence and sickness. One fourth of the child-bearing women in the neighborhoods where these children live test positive for HIV. Pediatric AIDs, life-consuming fires and gang rivalries take a high toll. Several children die during the year in which this narrative takes place.
A gently written work, Amazing Grace asks questions that are at once political and theological. What is the value of a child's life? What exactly do we plan to do with those whom we appear to have defined as economically and humanly superfluous? How cold -- how cruel, how tough -- do we dare be?

Analysis Questions:

1.    What was Jonathon Kozol’s PURPOSE in writing this book?

2.    What does this quote mean? "Sometimes, in front of a wonderful place like FAO Schwarz, you wonder if poor kids like these have fantasies of breaking in and stealing toys or games, electric trains- whatever children play with nowadays. If they ever did it. if they just went in one night and cleaned the whole place out, you have to ask if they could ever steal back half as much as has been stolen from them."

3.    On page 2 in the first paragraph Kozol writes: In cold of winter, as in summer's heat, a feeling of asphyxia seems to contain the neighborhood.  Using context clues from that paragraph what do you think the word asphyxia means?

4.    What argument is Kozol making in this passage: The trouble is that jobs like these depend upon the concentration of the poor within 'the service area.' It's like-one portion of the population generates the crime to keep the other part employed. So it's an investment in perpetuation of the ghetto, a guarantee of endless misery that services like these may partially alleviate but also need in order to be justified.

5.    On page 4 towards the middle of the page, Kozol writes: His distrust of the mayor is visceral, intense. "I don't like him. I don't like his ways. I don't like the way he speaks about poor people. I don't like his eyes. I watch his eyes. There's too much coldness there." Using context clues what do you think the word visceral means?

6.    What are the living conditions of the community living in Washington Heights?

7.    In the concluding paragraph of this excerpt Kozol writes: As long as I have visited in inner-city schools like P.S. 65, I have always found the sight of children coming out at three o'clock, their mothers and grandmothers waiting to collect them, tremendously exciting and upsetting at the same time.

Why is seeing the children both exciting and upsetting?

When I was 7 years old I came back after school and I said to my mom “mommy, snow outside right now” but it was spring. So my mom looked outside. I thought the cherry blossoms looked like snow.

When I was 13years old, I walked to my mom’s office. Perhaps then it would have been April. Suddenly I saw the sky, clouds and there were cherry trees in bloom. The scent of flower was very soft. The wind blew the petals of the cherry blossoms flying in the air like snow.

--Yoo  Jeong Hong

 

Looking at their hand and realizing that they grew

They grew into the person that they are today

The lines in their hand made them who they are

When I look at their hand,

I see the pain and the hard times they had

I see the strength in who they wanted to become

I see where their soul lies

I see what they wanted to do or become in life

I see the years behind that hand

Where they had times of happiness and sadness

I see what they have become

I see what they have taught me or what they’re going to teach me

I see a better future for me

I see their past

I see love

I see hate

I see the healed hearts

How do I feel?

I feel pain

I feel the blood running through their body

I feel the thump of their heart beat

I feel the wrinkles in their hand that show that they are strong

When I really look in their hands I see the route that made them, THEM.

--Dacia Ayers