Coming of Age Novel Response

          I finished reading "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian" and the theme of friendship is still strong, Arnold always stuck by his lifelong friend Rowdy. Even after Rowdy hurt him and and yelled at him, he always believed that he was still friends with Rowdy. He knew that Rowdy was and would always will be his protector. The theme of fitting in seemed to fade away once Arnold joins the basketball team, he worries less about how people feel about him, and more about the games, Rowdy, and his family. His family is poor so he has some difficulty going to and coming from school, paying for lunch, and buying clothes. 

Coming of Age Reading Response

          Some of the themes in "The Absolutely True Diary of A Part-Time Indian" are friendship and fitting in. Arnold transfers from the school on his reservation called Wellpint, to a school off the reservation called Reardan. This is show of bravery because after he transfers, everyone on his reservation (including his best friend Rowdy) hate him because they think of him as a traitor for leaving the reservation. Arnold was an outcast in Reardan for a while and on his reservation.

          Friendship is a theme in "The Absolution True Diary of A Part-Time Indian" because Arnold and Rowdy were best friends for their whole lives until Arnold goes to Reardan, then Rowdy gets mad at him for going there and doesn't speak to him for a long time. After the second basketball game between Arnold and Rowdy's schools, Rowdy decides to pay Arnold a visit and play some basketball with him. They become friends again and play basketball throughout the whole night and didn't want to stop playing at all.

          Fitting in is a theme because when Arnold first goes to Reardan, he knew absolutely no one and people kept making fun of him for being Indian. He eventually starts to make friends after he punched Roger in the face (weird way to make friends), he also gets a girlfriend who is bulimic. His tribe on the reservation hates him with a passion for leaving them.

          Arnold eventually got what he wanted in his life. He also made a lot of friends in his time at Reardan.

Marijuana Is Legal in Connecticut

          Marijuana has been legalized in Connecticut for medical reasons only. The senate voted 21 to 13 in favor of the bills passing after 10 hours of debating. Pharmacists with special licenses will be dispensing it to people with cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy. Connecticut and 16 other states (including the District of Columbia) have Marijuana legalized. I agree with this decision in the fact that it for medical purposes only. This is meant only to help people with certain diseases, not to have it abused by people who just want to get high.

          Since Marijuana is being used for medical reasons, there should be any problems for the most part. Some people are probably gonna try to fake prescriptions to get the marijuana, but they will probably will get caught by the pharmacist. You don't have to worry about the customers overdosing because it is nearly impossible, the amount of marijuana it takes to overdose is enormous. You can give the customer all they need for the rest of their lives and it still might not be enough to overdose.

          I think it is great that an infamous drug can be used to treat people with serious diseases. I would like to know how marijuana helps improve the condition of the people with the diseases. Maybe other states will follow Connecticut's example and legalize marijuana themselves. The whole United States of America should legalize marijuana for its medical purposes because it doesn't have much harm in itself. If all of the United States legalized marijuana, then more people with the diseases could be treated and be health again.

          Hopefully people in Connecticut will start a chain of marijuana legalization and people can be treat for the diseases they have. I wonder what other diseases marijuana could be used to treat.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/us/connecticut-passes-marijuana-bill.html?_r=1&hpw

Don't Plagiarize, It's Not Right

• What did the student do wrong? What could he/she have done to include the source correctly?

          The student could have cite there source to give the author credit or he could have paraphrased it into his own words.

• Write a sentence using the original source correctly; use a quotation or paraphrase.

          The night sky in this painting has swirling clouds, very bright stars, and a lite up moon.

• What are at least 3 ways to avoid plagiarizing?

1. Cite your source

2. Paraphrase

3. Quote the author

Student Blog Response

          I like Gabe C's post on the article Pythons Attack the Everglades. He stated everything he learned in the article. He goes back and adds the details that were necessary to show where in the article he got the information from. He paraphrased all the information he put into the blog post and he cited his sources when he didn't paraphrase. 

          Another blog post I liked was from Wolfe E. I liked his post on the poem Starry Starry Night by Don McLean and Harlem by Langston Hughes. He talks about how studying poetry is hard and it requires a lot of work to decipher. I like how he voices his opinion about dreams and how somethings are more important than dreams.

          I could improve my blog posts from these by organizing more and making it easier to tell what each section of the post is about. I also want to show my thoughts better and give my opinion on things confidently. I think I could learn a lot from other people's blogs and I should learn from examples.

Much Ado About Nothing Review

          We went to go see the play Much Ado About Nothing earlier this week. I loved this play, it had a combination of humor and seriousness. It took place in the 1920's where soldiers were returning from World War I. The props used always fit with the scene and sometimes added some feeling to the scene. The lighting on the big circle was used well because it turned red sometimes so it looked like it was night time, it was partially covered to look like a moon, also, it had light shown on it to look like it was a bedchamber window. The music was used well because the characters were aware of the band playing the music. The costumes were always changing with the scenes, they always fit along with what was going in the scene at the time. This play did everything right when it comes to preforming a play. 

My Favorite and Most Disliked Characters In Romeo and Juliet

          My favorite character in Romeo and Juliet is Mercutio. He is my favorite character because he has really deep thoughts and is really good at trying to make people feel better when they are sad. He is a really good motivational speaker. Mercutio sometimes gets lost in his words and that shows that he always has something to say. He is very thoughtful and descriptive with his speeches. He is not afraid to express his opinion and his desires when he feels they need to be expressed. 


          My least favorite person in Romeo and Juliet is Tybalt. I like him the least because he is really judgmental, he wanted Romeo and Benvolio thrown out of the party that Capulet threw. He thought that they were there solely to make trouble and be a nuisance. He seems like he really only cares about how much he hates the Montagues.