What is a hero? ... Who is yours?

Image: Shepard Fairey

<http://supertouchart.com/category/shepard-fairey/>

The My Hero Project is a not-for-profit website dedicated to celebrating the best of humanity "by sharing stories, art, and short films that illuminate heroes from all walks of life."  From artists and activists, to business leaders and even animals, the My Hero Project reminds us that everyday heroes are all around us.  This week on the My Hero Project website, Congressman John Lewis reflects on his lifelong hero, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  Lewis writes: 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is my hero. I became a different person, a different human being, as a result of this man and my association with him. When I was child growing up in rural Alabama, it was my responsibility to care for the chickens on my father's farm. I used to talk to those chickens, preach to them, even baptize them. If you were to look around my office in the U.S. House of Representatives today, you would see that I keep stuffed roosters and brass roosters and ceramic chickens everywhere to remind me of my beginnings. Because if it hadn't been for Martin Luther King, Jr., I believe that I would still be down there in rural Alabama preaching to those chickens.

I was very young--just fifteen years old, in the 10th grade--when I first heard Dr. King's voice on the radio. His words spoke to my heart, to my very soul. In my religious tradition, people say that someone is "called" to the ministry. That means a voice, a spiritual voice, speaks to that person's soul and says, "You must do something. If you don't do it, no one will. You have to take a stand. You have to speak up. You have to speak out."

That feeling of being called is the only way I can express what I felt that day when I first heard Dr. King on the radio. I felt that he was speaking directly to me--as if he was right in the room, looking me in the eye and using my name. He said that there were people in trouble, that the society was in trouble, and I heard his message of love and nonviolence as a very personal call.

I was open to this message of change. You see, growing up in rural Alabama, I was what Martin Luther King Jr., used to call "maladjusted to the problems and conditions" of that day. I had tasted the bitter fruits of segregation and racial discrimination, and I didn’t like it. It took Martin Luther King Jr., to make me understand that being maladjusted was a good thing, a necessary thing. As a small child, when my family visited the little town of Troy, Alabama, ten miles away from our home, I saw the signs that said, "White Men," "Colored Men," "White Women," "Colored Women," "White Waiting," "Colored Waiting." I would go downtown to the little theaters from time to time, and all of us little black children had to go upstairs to the balcony, and all of the white children went downstairs on the first floor. I would come home confused and upset and ask my mother, ask my father, my grandparents, my great-grandparents, "Why segregation? Why racial discrimination?" And they would say, "That's the way it is. Don't get in trouble. Don't get in the way.” 

But when I heard Martin Luther King, Jr.'s voice on the radio that day, I heard a very different message. He was saying, "John Lewis, you need to find a way to get in the way." In the Old Testament, there's a story that says the way a prophet stirs things up is just like they way a mother eagle stirs up the nest to give the little birds the courage to get out and test their wings. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s words on the radio that day agitated me to move, to get out there and stretch my wings. I was being called to get into trouble--good trouble, necessary trouble--and I've been getting in trouble ever since.

This week, using Martin Luther King Day as an inspiration, I'd like you to think about a personal hero you admire who is not honored with a holiday.  This person may be famous or obscure, but try your best to choose someone other than a parent or guardian - think outside the box!  If you don't have a hero, or can't think of one, use the My Hero Project website to do some research on individuals who inspire you.  Then, complete the following assignment for your blog commentary:

Imagine that you have been chosen to create a holiday for your personal hero and answer the following questions:  

• What is your definition of a hero?
• How does the hero you chose to honor fit your definition?
• Other details to include in your commentary:
• Title of holiday
• Date of holiday
• Songs or music for the holiday
• Specific foods for the holiday
• Holiday colors or decorations
• Other rituals? 

Visit the My Hero Project directory of heroes: http://myhero.com/go/directory/

**Quality commentaries are 2-3 paragraphs long.  They have been proofread for spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation errors.

Writing Buffet: Which Prompts Will You Choose?

(Image Source: http://www.oi-you.com/author/denise/)

 
Students, for this week's blog prompt choose three of the writing prompts from the list below  and write a one paragraph response for each.  Completed commentaries this week will be three paragraphs long.  Please skip a space between paragraphs.

(ideas courtesy of Plinky)

***

1. You get one hour in a time machine. Where to?

2. If you had to listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

3. Is it always better to know the truth, even when it hurts?

4. Describe what your laugh sounds like.

5. How do you define the word “friend?”

6. Do you believe everything happens for a reason? Why or why not?

7. What’s one piece of technology you can’t live without and why?

8. You only get three crayons to draw your picture. Which do you choose and why?

9. If you could be a character from any book you’ve read, who would you be and why?

10. If you could choose any other name for yourself, what would it be and why?

**As always, make sure to spell check and proofread your work before clicking submit!  

It's 2011: What will you do and be?

The Summer Day

Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

For the past six years, I have rung in the New Year with friends in Vermont.  It's become something of a winter tradition.  We leave the day after Christmas, abandoning the leftovers, and taking only a few choice presents to the mountains where the only options are to play cards, eat, and ski.  I love this time spent outdoors with friends.  It gives me much needed time to recharge my batteries, reflect on the past year, and begin to dream about and set goals for the year to come.  This New Year, I've been overflowing with hopes and dreams, both for myself and for all of you.  Many of my goals have to do with continuing all of the hard work we started in the fall.  I hope to continue to have the lively discussions that have made me excited to come to school and also read our blog.  I also hope to help each and every one of you find books that you are excited to read and share.  And lastly, I'm looking forward to making room for more writing in class to discover the stories within us that are waiting to be told.  

In this week's blog commentary, I'd like you to write about your hopes and dreams for the New Year.  

• What are your hopes and dreams for this New Year? (Be specific).
• If you could sum up your hopes and dreams in one word, which word would you choose and why?
• What gets in your way of realizing your hopes and dreams?
• Is there anything this year you hope to accomplish?

As Mary Oliver writes: "What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

A to Z Story: Creative "Winter" Write

 

            Lithograph, Eric Carle 

 

For this week's blog commentary, I'd like you to complete a creative write using (you guessed it) the alphabet.  Write a winter themed story (sounds easy enough, right?); the catch: each sentence must start with each letter of the alphabet in order (hence the title: A to Z Story). 

Before you begin your story, think about what you will write about.  The theme is "winter," so think about the kinds of things (people, food, activities) you associate with this time of year.  You could even try writing about a favorite winter-themed memory.  Snow days, cookies, overeating, frigid walks to the subway, mall exhaustion, vacationing with family: what stories do you have to tell about winter?

This is a tricky assignment.  To help keep your sentences following in alphabetical order, try writing with dialogue and beginning sentences with dependent clauses.  Read the beginning of my example story below for ideas.

**Remember to compose your story in a word document and proofread for CUPS (as well as alphabetical order) before posting!

P.S. If you're having trouble composing a full length story, try writing a poem.  The same rule applies for a wintry poem: each line should follow in alphabetical order.

Happy winter writing!

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Armed with flour, a bag of sugar, and more butter than I cared to consider, I began to examine the index cards each written out in Nan’s careful, spindly handwriting.  Beside each recipe, Nan had jotted down a few words for the inexperienced baker: Forgotten Cookies, “they’re worth the trouble.”   

Christmas, from as far back as I can remember, has not only been about family, but about...cookies. Deliciously sugary, buttery, morsels of sweetness.  Everyone in my family had a favorite: Sandtarts, Molasses, Chocolate Drops, Ginger, and of course, forgotten cookies: the cloud-like meringue castles that concealed chocolate chips.  From Thanksgiving on, Nan and my Grandmother would head to the kitchen, churning out tub after tub of old family favorites.  

(To be continued...)
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Cyberbullying: How much do your parents know about your life online?

 Students,

Last week in the New York Times, an article by Jan Hoffman, “As Bullies Go Digital, Parents Play Catch-Up,”  discusses the challenges parents face in keeping their children safe from bullies online.

Hoffman writes:

It is difficult enough to support one’s child through a siege of schoolyard bullying. But the lawlessness of the Internet, its potential for casual, breathtaking cruelty, and its capacity to cloak a bully’s identity all present slippery new challenges to this transitional generation of analog parents.

Desperate to protect their children, parents are floundering even as they scramble to catch up with the technological sophistication of the next generation.

…online bullying can be more psychologically savage than schoolyard bullying. The Internet erases inhibitions, with adolescents often going further with slights online than in person.

“It’s not the swear words,” [cybercrimes specialist, Inspector Brian] Brunault said. “They all swear. It’s how they gang up on one individual at a time. ‘Go cut yourself.’ Or ‘you are sooo ugly’ — but with 10 u’s, 10 g’s, 10 l’s, like they’re all screaming it at someone.”

…“I’m not seeing signs that parents are getting more savvy with technology,” said Russell A. Sabella, former president of the American School Counselor Association. “They’re not taking the time and effort to educate themselves, and as a result, they’ve made it another responsibility for schools. But schools didn’t give the kids their cellphones.”

For this week's blog prompt respond to the following questions in 2-3 paragraphs.

• How aware are your parents or guardians of what you do online or via your cellphone? 
• Do they monitor the sites you visit, the things you post to Facebook or the texts you send? 
• Do you think they should? Where would you draw the line between appropriate monitoring and invasion of your privacy? Why? 
• Have you experienced an incident online in which your parents intervened, or in which you wish they had? 

**Remember to compose your comment in a Word document and proofread and spell check your work before submitting!**

This week's blog prompt is courtesy of the New York Times Learning Network.

Fairy Tales are Everywhere!

Snow White, Disney’s first animated feature, was released in 1937. Disney’s 50th film, Tangled, a new take on Rapunzel, was just recently released.  Take a look back at more than 60 years of classic Disney films.  Can you spot any Grimm's fairy tales?  (Remember: Disney tried to tone down much of the violence in the Grimm's tales in an effort to make these stories appeal more to young, modern day viewers.)

Which one of the following movies is your favorite?  Which movie is your least favorite?  Why?

Please reply to this prompt in one paragraph.  Include a clever intro, details, and more details and the reasons behind your choices.

Start a discussion!  This week, after you post your response, try replying to other students' comments by using the format: "@student'sname" in your reply.

Students,

After more than five weeks of blogging under our belts, the time has come to assess and evaluate your efforts before the first trimester grades.  For this week's blog prompt, review each blog entry to re-read your comments and answer the questions below.  The purpose of this exercise is to evaluate your writing and assess your strengths and weaknesses so that you can continue to grow and develop as writers.

Please answer all questions honestly and thoroughly and refer to the Blog Commenting Rubric when evaluating your grade.  I will review the second part of your blog assessment with you in class.  The second part of the assessment will include selecting an example of your best blogging efforts to revise, edit, print, and include in your writing portfolio.

 

Steps to Blogging Success

Blog Commentary Rubric

			A	Interesting – Something special. Makes the reader think & wonder Everything listed below.
		B	Good information. Well written. Detailed content. Everything listed below.
	C	Correct usage & punctuation.  On topic & on time. Well organized. Everything listed below.
D	Correct spelling & capitalization.