Arguement:

Assertion: Students should be able to grade their teachers.

Evidence; CD

• While we need constructive criticism as students, our teachers need to hear our thoughts too. A better connection is always a necessity in our learning enviroment.
• C1: Not every student will move at the same pace, while some teachers acknowledge this- others do not. This is a system that will allow their students to show them what they need to work on.
• C2: New teachers are exactly that, new. Sometimes they need to know what skills they can improve in order to become better and experienced.

Evidence; CD

•  As stated in the article, "But Baldwin points out that teachers themselves are in the business of rating students. "Turnabout," he says, "is fair play."", teachers grade their students based on assignments and participation. We, as students must trust their judgments to determine our future.
• C1: It seems only fair that students are allowed to do the same, if only this process would affect our teachers in the same way it affects their students.
• C2: Most teachers are trustworthy and aim to give all students a fair grade, but there are some who stray from the path in favoritism.

Author Willa Cather embedded literary devices, such as metaphors, similes, and personification, within her writing.

"As I looked about me I felt that the grass was the country, as the water is the sea. The red of the grass made all the great prairie the colour of wine-stains, or of certain seaweeds when they are first washed up. And there was so much motion in it; the whole country seemed, somehow, to be running."

"The grave, with its tall red grass that was never mowed, was like a little island."

"Winter comes down savagely over a little town on the prairie. The wind that sweeps in from the open country strips away all the leafy screens that hide one yard from another in summer, and the houses seem to draw closer together. The roofs, that looked so far away across the green treetops, now stare you in the face, and they are so much uglier than when their angles were softened by vines and shrubs.


Chunk #1: Comment the effect of the setting on the characters within the novel.
The setting of this story surrounds the character in a simple beauty, allowing them to grasp and understand the land as if land were a person in front of them. This place carries values and characteristics of a human, in the land creating a small island for the burial site, perhaps out of respect for it's fallen friend. The land is inspiration in the way it's energy seemed to move Jim, stating that the land was almost "running." Both Antonia and Jim had suffered a loss and found peace in this quiet place where they could gain a friendship greater than most.

Chunk #2: discuss the effect a setting on you, including imagery (lots of adjectives) and a simile or a metaphor as you describe the land.
The majestic beauty of Washington State, it's cool and laid back personality washes over me the moment I step out onto the sidewalk at the airport. Seattle's bustling life on the Puget Sound beckons to me, even now after years since my last visit. I miss the clear, damp with the breath of the last rain still hanging on the breeze. Through Pikes Market, the sounds of the various fishermen, young and old, rough with their 5 o'clock shadow of the late night of work, shouting and throwing their catch back and forth to their awaiting customers. This becomes a lifestyle. Across the water, further west in the state the Olympic Mountains rise into the looming clouds, giants among this evergreen land. Their cloaks of emerald trees cling and shape to them like barnacles on the bottom of a ship, grasping to life.

Wounded Warrior Project

   The Wounded Warrior Project was put in place for the extraordinary people who have served and been affected to such a degree that their lives will never be the same; this organization allows our Heroes to tell their stories to the Nation.

   The Organization was created by veterans and friends that heard the stories of some of the first wounded warriors, feeling compassion for these warriors they formed what we know as the Wounded Warrior Project. I think it is very important to hear what our troops have to tell us, everyone deserves a chance to speak and these warriors have had life-crippling experiences.

   Sometimes having to blend back into society proves harder than expected for these warriors because of PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I have experienced PTSD first hand as my cousin served in Iraq for his full term, when he returned home he wasn’t himself. He couldn’t sleep at night on a bed; he slept on the floor with his back against a wall because he didn’t even feel safe in his own home. My cousin took his own life 2 years ago when he was attending college in Atlanta, Georgia. 

   Our soldiers and their families need us now more than ever to gain their lives back and support those they love. When I think about my cousin and his mom and dad, I can’t help but think that if someone would have just helped him open up about his experiences, if someone had just talked to him and told him that everything would be okay, maybe things would have been different.

   There are thousands of Americans that have served and are still fighting for us when we, as a nation, were in need. So many of our neighbors, school teachers, parents and even grandparents have served our nation and I firmly believe that as a nation we should aid those who are in need; whether we help our soldiers cope with their injuries or just help them with making everyday life easier, it is our duty as Americans to serve those who have given so much for us.

War is...

War is inevitable, serving a vital purpose.
War is intricate, obscuring everything.
War is incessant, unconcerned with who it may affect.
War is infinite, ending only when we do.
War is irrevocable, crucial to protect our rights.
War is impervious, we cannot wage war with war itself.
War is irreconcilable, 'compromise' was tossed from its vocabulary.
War is impairing, destroying coalitions and claiming lives alike.
War is illustrious, manifested in every culture of every sort of people.
War is invidious, clashing with peace in a timeless battle.

Book Review

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
   Let me start of by saying that Sarah Dessen has always been one of my favorite authors, I have read most of her books and loved them all-- With the exception of this one. Maybe it is because I'm used to her usual plot line of a teenage or young adult girl having a struggle with herself and to make the right choices, usually ending with a happy ending and to me this book was a bit of a downer. I still liked the book, but not nearly as much as some of her other books. Dreamland was a little too dark for me. However, if you happen to like teen drama, this is a great book for you. Overall, I'd give it a 6 out of 10.

Remembering 9/11

For most people, 9/11 is a very sensitive topic due to personal losses, insecurities that came from the event or maybe even just out of anger at those who would commit such a catastrophic mass of destruction-- for what? To make a point?

I know that in my family it was a disaster that hit a little too close for comfort in my family. On my father's side, the great majority of our family lives in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and even New York City, just blocks from Ground Zero. However, I was lucky that no one in my family was injured in the attacks, unlike so many others who lost their fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers-- aunts and uncles, grandparents... My family was very lucky.

On September 11, 2001, I was in the first grade and I remember my mom picked my brothers and I up early from school, like so many other parents were doing. It was a shock to our entire nation, no one felt safe. Planes had gone down in rural areas and well populated areas alike and after such a horrific event that NO ONE expected, who knew what was to be expected next? My mother told me that there were people backed up at the gas stations, predicting oil would be cut off from the Middle East and prices skyrocketing. Airport security was almost ridiculous for years after, and why wouldn't it be? It's a shame we couldn't even feel safe in our own country.

Today, almost 10 years after the first tower came crashing down toward earth, American's still have the same question. After the shock and grief of our country's loss had passed, we are still angry. As a nation, we are still fighting this and trying to understand why. Why all those lives had to be lost, why some group in the middle east decided they had it in their power to take hundreds and hundreds of lives in one day. Sometimes we blame ourselves, trying to understand what we did wrong, but no matter how much we think or how hard we try to understand-- We can only rebuild and try to compensate for what we have lost, but we will never be the same.

9/11 will always be talked about, it will always be remembered for those who lost their lives trying to escape or just trying to save another life. These people, these two structures, this statement that divided the world in two will never be forgotten.