-Poetry-

 

The Past

 

Running on the playground

the world is all for me.

I climb to the top of the jungle gym

and I can see for miles.

The other kids aren't half as fast

as I am in my mind,

and when I take a break

it's a popsicle for me.

We wore ourselves out

and took afternoon naps.

We dance, we sing-

the definition of carefree.

 

Optimism

 

Life is a busy city street

it's raining,

your car broke down,

and the homeless guy keeps asking for money.

There's no service on your cell phone

and there's water in your shoes.

You find a bus stop to cry under-

and then the sun comes out,

and a friend happens by to give you a ride.

 

The Grandma

 

She pushes the cart with a befuddled expression,

her aged hands grip the handle with a nervous intensity.

She picks up two sweaters,

holds one in the air, then the other.

Her own outfit is gaudy and bright

and I fear for the child who will wear what she chooses.

I watch as her pulled-back hair tugs on her powdered face.

She wrinkles her brow as she tries to make a decision.

She turns to ask me a question- but I am gone.

 

 

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wiki 5 20/20 - I am glad to see some folks get brave and review the "boss" - :-) He DID have a very practiced presentation.  Excellent point about the bird story... and I agree, if you memorize one, why not that too!

Week of November 2

 

Mr. Schlesselman’s chapel presentation had some good and some bad qualities. I’ll mention the good ones first. 1) He used a variety of hand gestures. He kept the audience’s attention by not overusing the same gesture.  2) He spoke clearly and audibly.  He didn’t stumble over his words. 3) He had obviously practiced this presentation and knew when to pause and which words were coming next. 4) He used several example stories to help make his point. 5) He used his notes in a way that was not distracting. He used them only for reference and didn’t just read us his entire presentation. Now for the bad things… 1) I don’t think he connected with his audience very well. It might have been difficult today because there were grandparents as well as high school kids, but he brought up “the 911 terrorist attack”, which I just think is an overused reference.  He made reference to drug and internet addiction. Who in that room has either of these problems? 2) He read to us. True, he did look up and gesture, but he remembered all the other stories he told, why not the one about the birds? Overall though, I think it was a pretty good chapel. He made his point and I think left an impression on his audience.

 

wiki 4 - 20/20 - excellent choice! Thanks for the link, I had a look at it since Truman was President when I was born but I'd never seen him speak that I could recall. Good post.

Week of October 26

Harry Truman's Inagural Speech (http://www.hulu.com/watch/52750/inaugural-speeches-harry-s-truman-inaugural-address)

As I was watching this speech, I noticed that Truman hardly looked up from his podium for a long time. He rarely made eye contact with the audience. Maybe it was just the times, but he barely moved behind the podium. He didn't really have any hand gestures. On the other hand, his words seemed sincere and his voice was clear and easy to understand. He spoke slowly enough to give his words meaning. He never stumbled over his words, which added to the quality of the speech. He was definitely dressed for the occasion and his posture was very good. He stood up straight and barely moved around at all. He appeared very confident and like he was very sure of what he was speaking about. The language he used could easily be understood by everyone listening. His speech was very organized and he appeared to really believe in what he was saying. He used his notes a lot but would sometimes look up to finish the sentence he was on. He wanted the audience to believe him and I think that he was successful. He  had an all-business attitude that he kept throughout the speech. His closing sentences stated his goals for his coming term in office which definitely left the audience with something to think about.

 

 

wiki 3 - 0/20 - No posting this week.

 

wiki 2 - 20/20 - good observations... I agree with you.

Week of October 12

Mr. Kuhlmann's message at chapel reminded me of what you said about how memorized speeches are just plain better... I see what you mean now! He seemed very confident and he found ways to include the audience and keep us interested. He used visual aids in a way that was not awkward at all but actually accentuated his message. He kept his eyes up around the room and was not hidden behind the podium. He used gestures in a way that made it seem like he meant what he was saying. His PowerPoint during the message was mainly used as an outline to keep him on the right track, but I think it was mostly so that the audience could follow along. You could tell he had practiced and put a lot of time and effort into making sure his presentation was well thought out. He paused at the right times for an added effect, when he wanted his words to sink in to us. His sentences flowed together very well, and he used examples from his life to connect to the message he was trying to convey to us. All in all, I thought his message was very well delivered.

 

 

wiki 1 20/20 - great response work! Great choice of speech; I like to see people find their own!

Public Speaking- Week of October 5

Daniel Day-Lewis’ acceptance speech at the SAG awards (http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=speech&hl=en&client=firefox-a&emb=0&aq=f#q=speech&hl=en&client=firefox-a&emb=0&aq=f&start=90) (start the video at 2:06) was not bad. He spoke somewhat slowly, but that might have been because he was in shock. He appeared confident and yet humble at the same time. His posture was not the best; he was slouching on the podium the whole time! Most of the time he was looking down but he did occasionally look up to meet the audience’s eyes. He was somewhat emotional, but that was understandable. He kept the speech short and to the point, and he kept the audience’s attention. At the beginning, he put his hand in his pocket briefly and then scratched his nose, but other than that he was not too fidgety. He used a conversational style to give his speech, and he seemed well-prepared, if surprised. He seemed very sincere as he dedicated his award to Heath Ledger, and the audience responded very positively. He was obviously very enthusiastic about the topic- he’d just won an award. He repeatedly expressed his thankfulness. I think this was a good example of an acceptance speech. He was not over the top at all and I think he connected with the audience in mentioning Heath Ledger’s acting abilities.

 

 

Week of August 17

 

1. Now the really fun question: Should Grannies go about giving little kids sticks and sending them out to "battle" other kids?

 

Enemy Territory

I'm pretty sure the grandma in this story didn't actually intend for her grandson to go hit those other kids with the broom stick. She just wanted him to think that's what she wanted him to do. She knew he was afraid of the kids, so she brought him inside and told him a story to calm him down and maybe help his confidence. I bet she could see the Valentine kids go inside from her window. Grandmas generally aren't dumb- they've pretty much got it figured out. It's like when you're little and your grandma lets you wear her heels or whatever- it's so the kid feels more like a grownup for a little bit.

 

 

2.

A&P

In this story, Sammy the grocery checker quit his job in an attempt to stand up for the girls who came into the store in their swimsuits. This was written a few decades ago when people actually attempted to be modest in public. The store manager actually gave the girls a warning. What bothered me was that he was totally checking the girls out and yet still thought he was standing up for them when his boss confronted them. I mean, didn't he totally prove the manager's point that the girls weren't dressed appropriately and were distracting people? ++Good point! (mrs. s.) Plus the girls didn't really seem to notice his alleged heroics. So now he's basically jobless for no good reason.

 

Week of August 24

 

1. Is it right or wrong for Mike to do what he does to (for?) his grandma?

What Mike did for his grandma was actually very considerate in a twisted sort of way. Yeah, he lied to her, but she didn't know the difference and it gave her peace of mind, which she really needed. Mike recognized the significance of what he did and he didn't take it lightly. I think it sort of scared him. He didn't tell his mom what happened because she wouldn't have understood and she might not have approved. He saw his grandma as a person for the first time and so he treated her like a person. If I was the grandma, I think I would appreciate it.

 

2. The story Charles kind of reminded me of when I was Laurie's age... when I started kindergarten I had just moved here from Florida and I wasn't liking it too much. I sort of did the same thing he did, but not quite. I just made up stories to the kids at school. Laurie was having a negative reaction to suddenly not being the only child and also at the same time having to go to school where he's definitely not the only child. He just wanted some attention and he thought this was the only way his mom would listen to him for a while and be interested. I bet this situation has happened in real life and I bet real kindergarten teachers see this sort of behavior every year.

Good job on Wiki 2! I appreciated your frank opinions! I was a kindergarten "fabricator" too... I told my classmates my parents were circus performers.... and that we traveled every summer! When my mom heard about it she flipped!

How's project #4 coming?

 

Week of August 31

 

1.  This story is unique in that there are no human characters. The protagonist is a house. Discuss what things Bradbury did with it to express his point about the future.

I really liked this story! I would have never thought of a story with no human characters. I think Bradbury used this futuristic house to talk about how some technology cuts out the need for humans, which could be a scary thought. In the 50s when this was written people were kind of obsessed with the space race... was that what Bradbury was thinking of? About how people should just chill and not be so obsessed with technology because it could ultimately go really wrong. The house in the story was completely self-sufficient for several years after the humans were all gone. Why? Because the people think they need the technology and the technology doesn't need them at all.

 

2. The banned books list cracked me up. I have no idea who would try to ban any book. If you don't want to see the book, don't check it out from the library! People are crazy. Some of the more obscene books on there make sense that people might not want children to see them... but I was surprised how many classic American novels were on the list! Most of them are just historically accurate. They weren't trying to be offensive, or if they were it was just being honest to the times. Truthfully I don't really understand why this list was brought up in class. Did I miss something? Anyway, I enjoyed reading the list, it gave me a pretty good laugh!

 

Week of September 7 (8?)

 

1. The DP story sort of confused me, but it also made me feel for the boy. He must feel so alone. He's never seen another person with the same skin color as his! It bothered me the way the one nun kept trying to distract him from asking questions by bringing up the bird in the tree. It's only natural for him to be curious, why won't they give him answers? It was a little weird for me when he just started hanging on that army guy... and I still don't really understand how he ended up back at the orphanage. Is that where the army guys brought him? Did he fall asleep? The title fit really well, cause that kid was definitely a displaced person.

 

2. My short story for Sept 23 is coming along... I'm probably halfway done. I let Botz read what I had so far and he asked if it was about me.... which is sort of what I was going for. It's very realistic and it's kind of based on my life but it really could be anybody. I don't want to say what it's about, but Botz thought it was a good idea! It's first-person and the narrator doesn't have a name, at least not yet, I'm not sure if he ever will. I actually got the idea from my sister when she asked what I was writing about and I said "I have no idea...".

 

Week of September 14

 

1. I actually liked being in the hot seat today... and I actually sort of liked The New Kid story. It bothered me that the real world is really how Heyert portrayed it to be. I think Marty made the wrong choice to beat up the new kid, but it makes sense why he did it...he didn't want to be at the bottom anymore. He wanted the other boys to see him as bigger, stronger, better, cooler. I bet he thought it was working, too. I see why he did it but I wish he hadn't done it. I don't understand why people get so worked up.

 

2. From Mother with Love was just intended to be a sob story. It bothered me that the dad tried to keep such a huge secret from his wife, even if he did it with good intentions. I was glad to find out that the mom did know the whole time, she deserved to know. Minta will probably cry at Christmas when she and her father open their gifts from her mother. I didn't cry while reading this because it just seemed like that's what the author wanted you to do. I don't see the point of that.

 

wiki 5- nice work. Very insightful to notice an author "pulling your emotional strings" (or at least attempting to!! :-)