Argument essay

The story Flight by Sherman Alexie is about a young boy named Zit who is lost in life his dad left him and his mother is dead he doesn't know who he is or what to do. The text deals with Zits thoughts and life. He struggles a lot with self doubt and there is a lot of violence and bad language, but this book can teach kids a lot. This should stay in middle school libraries because it teaches kids life lessons and how to be self motivated.
The article "Darkness to visible" by Gurdon Meghan shows how books like Sherman Alexies Diary of a part time Indian  shouldn't be banned because they are helpful. For example Sherman Alexie says that his book is not as bad as the internet because the internet is so big you could really find or see anything. So Alexie was right his book is a small booklet of paper what could it really have thats so bad. From "Flight" the baddest part of the was when Zit decided to kill all those people in the bank and describing all the people dying getting shot, men, women, children it was sad. Also he let a kid named Justice choice his decisions for him, Justice convinced Zit to kill people and gave him guns, so Zit didn't know better.This could teach kids to go the right way in life and learn and grow.
The book Flight also teaches kids awareness such as racism and why its bad but it shows kids why now days people are not ass racists as in the 50's or earlier. In Flight  Zit goes into one indian boys body and is told to kill a white kid. But he can't do it he has the tomahawk in his hand, to this kids neck but he questions if he should kill him. He thinks about the kids age, he thinks what has this done to me, and he finds his answers stop him from doing the wrong thing. This could teach kids that in life just because you don't like the way someone looks, it doesn't mean they deserve something bad in return for how you feel. This also teaches kids to really think before they act a way about something.
This book is bad because it teaches kids that self doubt is a thing that is real and lots of people have self doubt. But this book also teaches kids how to keep there heads high and do what they want to stay happy but don't do bad things in the process. It shows kids a lot of lessons about life and how this could be good for them they also need to be strong and independent for themselves. The article "Librarians load fight against banned books." Shows that a lot of books now have a lot of self doubt and self abuse because kids now relate to this because they think its the only way they could be happy and free. But they need to learn that its  more than just that kids need to know that life it self is a good thing and they need to appreciate it.
Flight is a book that teaches kids many things in life lessons and new attitudes. It lets kids know what not to do in life based on people around and that you need to be yourself sometimes. People need to learn to lead not follow other so this book shows kids that and shows them to be on there own but not against people.  







                                                                Work cited
Cox Gurdon, Meghan. "Darkness Too Visible." The Wall Street Journal. N.p,4 June 2011. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Rich, Jake. "Can Book Censorship Save Our Children and Their Innocence?" University Wire. 07 Oct. 2014: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.
 Kallweit, Karoline. "Librarians Lead Fight Against Banned Books." Global Information Network. 24 Sep. 2012: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.

Social awraness

Police Brutality

The police

They don’t care they will get in your face

They will do what they can

“to keep us safe”

But it’ s fake

They only care about themselves

The police

Were is the justice in that

Beating people

We don’t need them stay together be us

I wrote this poem talking about the problems with police. Such as, beating people for no reason. Don’t get me wrong some cops are good but some can be really bad. So I want people to know they have to watch their backs. So be careful around cops even though they are the law enforcers.

Interview

Q: What do you feel about this police brutality going on?

A: It is very wrong I work for the police department myself and I didn’t think cops would act like this. I didn’t know things are changing now a day. Officers had more respect for the public.

Q: What is it you do for the NYPD?

A: I take the calls from people and dispatch it to the cops.

Q: How do you think we can stop police brutality?

A: Engage the officers with the community. Train officers to meet & greet the residents of the neighborhood they are patrolling, starting with the very young school aged children. Officers should know the children by first name. On the same note children and adults should address officers patrolling their neighborhood with respect, get to know the officers last name and address them properly when confronted by an officer.

Q: Do you think that the protesting will continue?

A: I strongly believe New Yorkers will continue protesting until a solution is made. New Yorkers are very opinionated individuals and will not let the Police Department get away with excessive and unnecessary force.

Reading Response

Upon reading the article “NYPD investigates alleged police brutality in Sunset Park” in the Brooklyn Eagle I was astounded by the excessive force used by police officers in the neighborhood I was born and raised in. I had no idea residents in my neighborhood were facing these issues with the 72^nd Precinct.  I don’t feel safe walking in the streets of Sunset Park, I may be the next victim of stop & frisk. My age and ethnicity will make me a target of profile in the officer’s mind.

The astounding and sad thing about the police brutality in Sunset Park is the majority of officers carrying out the brutality are also minorities as referenced in the YouTube video. Quoting U.S. Rep Nydia Velazquez and Councilmember Carlos Menchaca Facebook statement “We are a community of immigrants that has historically felt isolated from the police,” This statement emphasizes the reason why the 72^nd Precinct officers are mostly Hispanic, in order for the officers to communicate in Spanish with the immigrant residents who speak little or no English. It is an abuse of force and an abuse of power for these same officers hired to improve relations within the community, instead they make the poor choice to sever the relationship between the NYPD and the Sunset Park community.

In another statement made “It is clear that the actions on behalf of the police have affected the community in a profound way.” I agree with the statement, instead of Sunset Park residents reporting crimes they are going to stop requesting the Police Departments assistance and cease to cooperate with officers in fear of the way they have been treated.

In conclusion, a resolution has to be made with the NYPD and citizens. Officers need to be retrained in areas of community involvement. Also in the way they approach citizens and form relationships within the community. The NYPD has to own up to its saying CPR, which is courtesy, professionalism and respect.  

 

Non fiction

            The article Sayreville High School Arrests Divide a Town That Lived for Football By KATE ZERNIKE and N ATE SCHWEBER is about kids that got arrested for hazing another student on the football team with them. 7 of these students were arrested and the schools football season was canceled, this was the schools choice so they could show their students positive characteristics. In this article the author is trying to show how bullying could affect a lot of things not just the feelings of someone it could also get people in a lot of trouble.

                  Many people see this in different ways, people thing its kids just playing but other people think it’s really bad for kids and dangerous. They think this could mentally damage kids like there self of steam and emotions. For example the kid that was getting bullied was said to be getting treated badly and kids were making fun of him that he called the cops because he felt he was in danger. Three of the 7 kids were charges with sexually penetrating the kid so sometimes this “ hazing” could go to far. The other kids were charged with various crimes and hazing charges. People were surprised about this because parents say it was never this alarming or bad, it was just kids being kids until recently. This shows how out of control such a little thing could get.

                  This could also be harming to a kids self of steam because they feel alone when there is a group of kids hazing them and threating them bad. They feel like they are weak and can’t do anything about it. But this articles shows that speaking up isn’t always the worst thing to do it saved this kid because he was getting treated so bad but now he knows he is safe and the schools is cracking down on this issue. It is making awareness everywhere and could help other kids.

                  This article is very good because it teaches kids and parents a lot about things that are happening and what they could do.

Flight By Sherman Alexie

Every day you wake up in a new body and you don’t know who you are or what your doing you just go through life lost. In Sherman Alexie’s Flight that is exactly what the main character Zit goes through. Flight is about a troubled kid named Zit who kills a bunch of people in a bank. And when he gets shot and “dies” he experiences the lives of other people and he can’t control what they do but he watches through their body. He sees all the good and bad people could do to each other in many different situations, this all makes him question his decisions in life and what he did in that bank. Zit goes through a lot in the book and learns how his actions affect others.

One way he sees his actions effect others are through violence, like the violent things he does. Such as the killings in the bank and hitting foster parents, going through peoples bodies make him question what he was doing. For example, when he was in a Native American boys body he was put in a situation to kill a kid or not but he never knew what he would do. He questioned him self he said this boy can be about my age he maybe 18 or 17 or 16 or 15. When this went through his head he thought back to what he did at the bank killing all those people but why? Why kill people that didn’t do anything to you for any reason, that’s what he thought. He knew he messed up and he couldn’t make it right but he went through it any way.

Another way he saw how his actions effecting people were through racism because he is a mixed Indian and Irish kid but he was always making stereotypes about white people and Indians. He would say how white people mad his life bad like the foster family that was white he went to, he said they didn’t pay attention to him and treated him like second class to the white families real kids. But when he was in the Indian boys body he saw a bunch of Indians kill a bunch of white people, he say them take the white peoples clothing and leave them on the floor naked with nothing at all not even shoes. This made him contradict what he used to think about white people and how they’re so bad, it made him feel bad and wonder why people would do something so bad like that.

Zit sees how his actions can really change people and how his thinking in life isn’t always right. He also shows him self how life can be weird and he needs to learn and grow. 

synthesis page

Character emotion reading response

     The story The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobosky is about a teenage boy named Charlie, he has had a hard time in life his best friend killed himself before he started high school. He also is afraid of started high school he also struggles with other problems like helping his sister hide her pregnancy. Although Charlie seems depressed he really is sympathetic, even though he has his rough times.  

   In the beginning Charlie seems depressed, due to the fact his best friend dies right when the book starts. He also seems depressed because he seems to be depressed and cry a lot. One example was when he was talking to the guidance counselor and he just broke down when he heard his friend’s name, Charlie had a hard time dealing with his friends death he was on and off with crying for days. Also he seems depressed because the whole book his written from his prospective and it is in a letter form to someone we don’t know, also they can’t answer back to him either. This mad him seems isolated and depressed as a person.

    But on the other hand Charlie is sympathetic he was willing to go pick up his older sister when she was sick at her dance. Then he also hid her secret that she was pregnant and he helped and support her. For example, he was at the doctor with her checking if she was really pregnant. He was reading an article but he couldn’t really read it because he was worried about his sister and how they would handle this, he was also worried if she was ok. But to make things worse he also had to comfort her because her boyfriend broke up with her because he didn’t think the kid was really his.   

         In conclusion Charlie is an emotional character that goes though a lot and can help and feel for others.      

Summer reading response

      Are 13 people really the reason she killed herself or is there more to it? In the story Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Hannah Baker is a teenage girl who kills herself but before she died she made thirteen tapes, theses thirteen tapes are the reasons or should I say people that caused her to kill herself. Throughout the book the reader gets the message from the author that you should treat people better. They get this message because throughout the story we follow a character named Clay who happens to be on the tapes and is one of the thirteen reasons why Hannah killed herself. The reader cause to hear the tapes and feel Hannah's pain, the reader gets to know what she went through.
     The first way this book teaches you a lesson is by splitting each chapter into a side of a tape, which is a different person every time. These people show a different impact on her life and the scars they left her or the happiness they brought to her. For example, the first tape starts off with Hannah's first boyfriend Justin, he was her first kiss and her special man Justin mad her more happy then sad but he started a rumor that ruined the moment of her first kiss, this is one reason why she killed her self and I know you say cause a rumor but no its cause it ruined a special moment for her. It ruined her first kiss the thing she wanted to remember one of the best moments ruined because other people acted a way and started a rumor. Well Justin told his friend and started it this ruined everything for her and thats why he was on the tape.
    The second way the book shows you is through Clay because Clay is the character the reader follows through the book and he ends up  sympathizing with Hannah and you read all of Clays feelings. Jay Asher describes his feelings so strongly that you can sympathize with Clay and Hannah, you feel both of there pain. One example was during Clays tape it wasn't bad it was just that Hannah was mad he never had the guts to talk to her only that one night at the party and that was another sad moment because they only kissed and she wanted more because she had heard so much about him being a good guy. But he wanted to talk but he was scared through this but he wanted more like she did but he was scared of what could happen."They're centered around our night, Clay. And you know what I mean by our night." They really did care about each other but things happen sometimes and it changed he still cared and she still did but the circumstances changed things were different now, because she killed herself and he wasn't ready yet.
   In conclusion this story shows how the author brings the story together and makes everything connect. It connected in the outside world because some people can relate to suicide and the fact they want to kill themselves because something like other people and it shows how you should act to people.