Weekly post 9/23/13

This week seemed to go by very slow during the week, but now that it is over, I am thinking how fast it went by. The whole week I was very excited for a biking race that I was doing on Sunday so that got me through the week, knowing that I had that to look forward to. This week we played a pretty terrible game and we won only 6-0. Also we got our report cards this week and we also got our IDs. That means that it adds just a little more hastle in the morning and getting into school. Over all the week wasn't terrible because it wasn't too much work. 

Joseph McCarthy

Joseph McCarthy

Joseph McCarthy lived from November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957. He was an American politician who served as aRepublican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visible public face of a period during the cold war where people were afraid of other people being communists. He was known to make claims about people of them being communists or soviet Russian spies infiltrating the U.S. He has his own term called “McCarthyism” which refers to his ways of claiming people of being communists. In 1942, he was drafted into World War II and his education allowed him to be a high officer and he became a lieutenant after completing basic training. He won U.S. senator over La Follette.   From 1950 onward, McCarthy continued to exploit the fear of Communismand to press his accusations that the government was failing to deal with Communism within its ranks. These accusations received wide publicity, increased his approval rating, and gained him a powerful national following. 

McCarthy’s downfall finally began in October of 1953, when he started to investigate “communist infiltration into the military.” This was the final straw for then president Dwight D. Eisenhower, who realized that McCarthy’s movement needed to be stopped. The Army fired back at the accusations, sending information about McCarthy and advisors abusing congressional privileges to known critics of McCarthy. Reporters, Drew Pearson included, and other critics soon hopped on board, publishing unflattering articles about Joseph McCarthy and his methods of seeking out the supposed communists in America. Through the televised investigations into the United States Army and the reporters’ attack, the nation grew to realize that McCarthy was “evil and unmatched in malice.” He lost his position as chairmanship on the Government Committee on Operations of the Senate.

 This is a picture of a man Owen Lattimore getting questioned. This was one of the biggest accusations that Joseph McCarthy made.

https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~lillsie/McCarthyism/Victims.html

Scene IV of A Raisin in the Sun

Scene IV of A Raisin in the Sun

(The Youngers pull up into a neighborhood that wasexponentially grander than the one that they had just come from. Each house had its own individual yard that were all freshly mowed and tented to with great care. There were children playing hopscotch and double-dutch in the street and around the colorful houses. But as they were driving passed the drive way, they could see all the children and adult’s heads pop up to stare at the moving van that was passing by them. There was an uncomfortable feeling about the whole situation that worried them.)

MAMA Now no matter what these people say or do to us when we arrive, you try to be nice to them, and show them that we aren’t as bad of people as they might think we are.

WALTER (Walter turns around to give Mama a stare that implies that what she said is completely useless.) There ain’t nothing we can do to these white folks to make them think that we are one of them.

(Mama stays quite and does not reply with a remark; instead she grew a worrisome face upon her as she starred out the window at the rows of houses starring as they pass by. They pull up to a typical white house with lots of window, and a nice lawn for planting.)

MAMA This is going to be a great place for me to start my new outside garden!

TRAVIS (Overwhelmed with excitement rushes out of the car straight to the house.) I am going to go find what room I’m going to have!

RUTH Don’t you go messing anything up in there before we even step foot in there! (Ruth yells demandingly at Travis. The yell draws attention to the neighbors across the street from them who are standing by their door, staring with disgust.)

BENEATHA I love that we were very defiant and that we decided to move out of the apartment because God knows how long we could have stayed there, but I am very concerned about the consequences. You remember what Mrs. Linden said about them folks who got bombed out of their house. We can’t have that happening to us. And from the looks of these folks on our way up here, they don’t seem to take a liking to us very much.

WALTER I agree with the African, (Beneatha looks at him with displeasure.) I don’t think that moving here was a fine idea now that we are here.

MAMA (Mama thinks for minute, still concerned.) Well I understand, but we can’t let other people decide what happiness is for us. We are a family just like all of them that want to be happy and live in a nice house, why should it make a difference. We are going to tough this one out, and I am sure after they get accustomed to us being here, they will behave.

(Before either Ruth, Walter or Beneatha could get another word in, Mama turns and walks toward the house with confidence to prove that she meant what she said. The inside of the house was much larger than what the Youngers were used to.

BENEATHA Now THIS is what I call living’. (She declares while Travis is still running around the house looking for a room.)

 

(Two days pass of unpacking and getting all the furniture together. Walter stumbles in the door with a look of anger.)

WALTER I don’t know when or where it is going to happen, but from judging the looks on these folk’s faces, they are up to no good. I am not too sure that moving here was the best idea.

RUTH I actually agree with Walter, Mama. This really isn’t looking too good for our side. I know that we are proving something, but I don’t want to risk our family’s lives and safety for it.

MAMA Now the Lord works in miraculous ways, and I know that he will find safety for us, now everyone come here so we can all bow our heads and say a prayer and thank the Lord for granting us with this great house.

(The Youngers all gather in a circle and hold hands while mama starts on her prayer. After the third word, the Youngers hear a knock on the door. Nobody moves for a second, until Walter realized somebody has the react. He opens the door to a white family holding a plate of cake.)

WALTER Hello? (Questionable)

FATHER Well, how are you doing? We are the Herberfamily. I am John Herber, this is my wife Jane, and our son Wilson is at a friend’s house right now, but would be very pleased to meet you fine people. We just came with a nice welcoming gift of Chocolate Cake.

WALTER (Walter takes the cake with pleasure.) Well thank you guys very much! We are the Younger Family. I am Walter, my wife Ruth, my mama Lena, my son Travis and my sister Beneatha. Truthfully, this is quite a sight for sore eyes to see people be friendly to us in this neighborhood. We were worried that everyone in these parts would want us out from the minute we stepped in here. Would you like to come in and have some coffee?

FATHER (John and Jane gave each other the slightest glances and then turned back suddenly.) We actually have to leave for a show in 10 minutes, but we will sure come stop by and talk some time. Get to know the new neighbors! We just came with a nice welcoming gift of Chocolate Cake.

WALTER That would be greatly appreciated, knowing that you might be our only friends in this neighborhood.(The family gives a smirk.)

MOTHER Well we best get going, but you enjoy that cake.

(Walter closes the door to face his family who are all gleeful to know that somebody in the community recognized that they are the same.)

WALTER Well how about that! We were fussing this whole time about how moving in here might be a mistake, and we haven’t been here for more than 2 days and we already have a nice family friend!

MAMA Well to celebrate this wonderful surprise; let’s dig into that delicious looking cake!

(The family gathers around the kitchen counter as Walter cuts pieces for everyone as everyone’s faces change when they find that the cake is full of mud.)

 

100 words of week 9/16/13

This week, like I said before, was a good week because we won our game at the end of the week. I am not doing as well as I did last year with grades but I know for a fact that I will pull them up. We havn't had a French teacher for the whole year and when Ms. Hillaris comes back, we will be very behind and I don't know if I will be able to take ap french next year because of it. But other than that, this week was very productive. 

Week of 9/9/13

This week wasn't a terrible week. My week usually depends on if we win our game at the end of the week or not. This week we won 50-6 and that is a great way to finish off the week. Homework wise, AP world is really the only class that I have a ton of homework in and I usually do it on the weekends and I really should not get in that habit because that will be a pretty hard class. I have a good feeling about this year because I have a great lineup of classes with a great lineup of teachers. 

Indenting Lesson

Lesson: Indenting

THE FACTS: to start (a line of text) or position (a block of text, table, etc.) further from the margin than the main part of the text.

WHY IT'S CONFUSING: One aspect that that’s confusing is when (or where) to indent for a new paragraph in writing. As always understood, you indent when there is a change in the thought. However, it seems too subjective of a thing. Sometimes it seems too subjective that something else is being talked about.

HOW TO REMEMBER: Remember that the purpose of paragraphs is to break up the text into manageable chunks for the reader, to add visual interest to the page, and to allow people to skim for the information they want. It will indicate to your reader which pieces of information go together and help them understand your thinking.

Add an “I” where an indentation is needed and review orally in class:

1. “Cindy walked into the class feeling great,” said the reader.

“But what did she do?” asked the fourth grader.

2. (Beginning of paragraph)  

The start of the agricultural revolution was a serious change on humans because…

3. “Why is Mrs. Sherry not here?” asked the fourth grader.

“Because she went home sick,” responded the substitute. 

Try these on your own, then ask the teacher or a friend to review:

1. … and that is just one reason.

The second reason may be because…

2. “How long is the procedure going to take?” asked the patient.

3. “You know, I really like when we move houses,” said Jim to his brother.

“I hate it. I feel like a nomad,” replied Joey.

Finally, try these for homework.

1. “How was your day?” interrogated the worried mom. 

2.  …I don’t know how they did it but it worked.

The next example is taking place from 1200 BCE…

3. “How long until the doctor said you will be back?”

“At least 3 days,” he said sadly.

Citation: http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhenIndentParagraph/knwn/post.htm

Final neighborhood explanation

Neighborhood Explanation
The world is full of wonderful places just wanting to be explored. These said places can be magical but also at the same time, very terrifying because new things frighten human beings. This is the best way I could describe entering a section of the south loop called Dearborn Park. As I was making my way to my location, there were very intimidating actions that were going on around me. We were walking down a street called “State Street” and it seemed like this was the place where all the people in the city loved to be at because there were massive amounts of people walking and driving down this populated park of Chicago. Two or three streets down, there was an even more crowded area called Michigan Avenue. This was a very confusing place to be because I saw a lot of people walking down with their families taking pictures of museums, water attractions, and a large metallic shiny object that sort of took the shape of a bean. I was confused as to why people who pass by these attractions daily, or if not that, have the capability to come and visit them as they please. They were taking pictures as if they weren’t coming back. It was very touristy.

​The actual neighborhood though seemed like a tight community with cute little white bricked houses that all had a uniform shape and color. Truthfully, it looked sort of bland if it weren’t for the park that appears when you enter the community.This place must have had some sort of pet store, or dog groomer somewhere surrounding it because it seemed like everybody in this neighborhood had a dog. When I first stepped foot inside the place, I could see many owners walking their dogs, playing with their dogs, training their dogs, and more. The park that you first see when you enter is a grass park with a bricked center stand where people could go and sit down on benches or play chess if they desired. The park didn’t seem as crowded as I would have expected something like that would be but it was still a nice relaxing place to go and sit, if all the infestation of dogs wouldn’t bother you.

​Now the houses were interesting in the sense that they all looked pretty much the same. Most, or at least this part, of the neighborhood was just a long brick structure that twists and turns with houses that divide the structure to make separate houses. I was puzzled as to why someone would want their house to look exactly like the house that was to the right and left of them. I believe that the point of having your own house is that you can do whatever you want with it and you can turn it into something that is comfortable and somewhere that you want to live in for years on end. I think that the reason why these houses are so compact is because they are in the middle of all these busy people that rush to and from home on a busy street filled with slow people taking pictures of memorabilia, so they don’t have too much room to spread out and take a lot of room because they have a lot of people to accommodate.

​“Excuse me sir, but what are these loud machines doing?” I asked a nice looking man.

“We are doing work for the pipes,” said the construction worker without paying much attention to me. The part of the city must be a very hard place to live in because everywhere I went around this place there were intimidating things between mass amounts of people and loud noises of people working underground. The last thing that I noticed was that this part of the city was very close to a massive body of water called LakeMichigan. I don’t know why Chicago likes to name things after Michigan but it seems to be common. If I lived that close to a body of water that big, I would be quite worried of things like floods, and marine life and what not. But they seem to have controlled those elements quite well so I don’t know if there is much to worry about.

​Overall, the place doesn’t seem like a bad place to live in if you are a city person. I, for one, am not used to all the people and sounds, and ways of life that these city people, for some odd reason, like the live in. It was an intimidating trip, but I seemed to like discovering a new place and new ways of life.

 

100 words about my week

This week was actually quite a stressfull week with the theme of stress and football. There is a lot to do in a short 7 day week but the time is so limited that when it is up, you are barely done with everything. I am still not too pleased about my schedule, but I am trying to make it work. And all week I was worried about football and the game, games I am going to miss, classes I will miss because of it, and it is just unnecessary stress. Hopefully next week will be a week of easier homework and stress overall.