Evernote Use Review

            Unlike the majority of my classmates, I never used Evernote in class. For most of the year I never even tried making an account as we were instructed to do. The main reason I never utilized this app was because I feel that I can hand write much faster than I can type on an iPad. I also think that it is much easier and simpler to have notes and information written down on paper inside a binder or notebook, rather than have to log in to some iPad application and worry about saving them when finished. Although I never experienced any problems with Evernote because I did not use it, I’m sure it was aggravating for some of my classmates when we had a substitute teacher and student’s notes and work could not be accessed on the iPads. Although I never actually used Evernote, there was one point in the year where I decided I might want to use it for a project where we would have a lot of time to work on it in class. So I created my Evernote account and tried starting my project. Embarrassingly enough, I could not figure out how to use the application. I cannot remember exactly what the cause of my confusion was, but I do know that I eventually gave up and never used my Evernote account again.

            I am probably not the best student to ask for feedback on using the Evernote application, because of the fact that I never actually used it. However, I did think it would be useful for one project we had and tried using it. But I couldn’t figure out how to use the application and because of this never tried using it again. Therefore I think that the steps taken to open a new document or set of notes, whatever they may be, should be greatly simplified. Either simplifying Evernote or perhaps having an extensive walkthrough or help menu on Evernote would be very useful. But this is just my opinion; most of the kids in my class seemed to find it very useful and easy to use. However, I believe that one factor in the high percentage of students using Evernote in my class was the fact that it was an honors class. In order for high school students, especially students not in honors classes, to see Evernote as being more useful and practical than the handwritten notes they are more used to, Evernote is going to have to be very easy to access, understand, and use.

iPad Use Review

Having a set of iPads in the classroom was fairly useful for my classmates and I. The iPads made transferring work between school and home much easier. Not having to schedule computer lab time for essays and projects made our class much more productive. The fact that students did not need to have access to a computer to email work home saved a lot of time for our class. Another useful function of the iPads was their ability to connect to the Smartboard. Instead of having to email a project that needed to be presented to themselves or the teacher and reopen it, students could simply open their project on the iPad and connect it to the Smartboard. Being able to avoid the use of computers all together seemed to make our class work much quicker and more productive. The iPad was also useful in smaller ways. When a word, author, or subject needed to be looked up or researched, students could quickly and easily find the information on the internet. And when the class had to read a poem or writing piece together, the document could be easily accessed on the iPad, rather than passing out copies which is impractical and slow going.

            Our class did experience some difficulties with the iPads. The most frequent problem we experienced were the difficulties with the internet and the Wifi. Our school has a fairly poor Wifi connection and it frequently caused the class problems when we could not access the internet. Another problem that would likely be experienced in many schools is our school’s internet firewall. Many useful websites, such as our teacher’s class blog, were often blocked for no apparent reason. These problems usually took quite some time to fix, and interrupted the productive work flow of our class. Also, if our teacher was ever absent, our class would be stuck with a substitute. When this happened, we would not be able to use the iPads, and many students’ entire collection of notes and work was stored on them.

            I think that it would certainly be worth experimenting with giving more classes a set of iPads. However, they would be much more useful in some classes than others. It would be for teachers to determine which classes could best use them. Having iPads to use in class would likely make many classrooms run more efficiently. But I do not think it would be worth it to assign every student an iPad. Many students would not find them all that useful for school work, and might already own their own iPad or laptop. Also, it would be a big problem if such small and expensive devices were lost, damaged, or stolen.

Gothic Story

Night of Fire
The costume store Halloween Central had been bustling with activity for the majority of the day, but in the last few minutes before closing time, the lone cashier Frederick Mason had some time to consider his own plans for the upcoming holiday, Halloween, as well as reflect on the terrible tragedy that had occurred just yesterday. A devastating fire had sprung up in the middle of downtown, damaging several buildings, but mainly staying confined to the large apartment complex from which it had originated. Firefighters had said that the cause of the fire was still unknown. Dozens of residents in the complex had lost their lives, and many more were injured before the fire was extinguished. A highlight of the breaking news story was the account of how one of the most severely injured burn victims, having been transported to the hospital while unconscious from his wounds, had woken from his stupor and had started incessantly asking for a mirror. Because of the severity of the damage to his features, the man had been unidentified. As soon as he witnessed the extent of the damage to his face and the rest of his body, he began screaming madly and fled the hospital, although the doctors said that the pain of his wounds should have prevented him from doing any such thing. He had been missing since then. Frederick shook his head at the thought of such horrible events taking place so near to what should be a festive and enjoyable time for the city.
As Frederick began closing up his small business, he heard the bell that signified the front door opening ring, and a smell of foul smoke filled the air. Detesting the nasty habit of smoking, Frederick frowned, but then forced on a smile and turned to greet what would no doubt be the last customer of the night. His smile wavered at what he saw before him. An immensely tall man filled the doorway, dressed completely in black. Wearing black combat boots, baggy black jeans, a zipped up black leather jacket, even black leather gloves, the man made an imposing figure. The strangest part, however, was the brown paper bag the man was wearing over his head, with two small eyeholes cut into the front. The man was showing not a single inch of skin. As he made his way back behind the counter, Frederick greeted “Dressing up a bit early, are we? Halloween isn’t until tomorrow, friend. I was just about to close up but I suppose I can serve you right quick. What might you be looking for?” As he spoke, Frederick wrinkled his nose at the overpowering stench of smoke that emanated from the figure… it truly was wretched smelling, hardly even like that from a cigarette.
An unusually deep, raspy voice emitted from behind the bag, sounding extremely strained, as if the man were in agonizing pain. “A mask. One that will cover the entire face. Please.”
Frederick replied, “Well, I’m sure you can see I have plenty of those. Most of the best ones are right here behind me. Why don’t you take your pick and then I can help see you on your way.”
The man’s head tilted upward as he surveyed the numerous masks hung up behind the counter. He pointed upward and said, “I’d like that one right there. Please.”
Frederick turned around to see which mask the stranger might be requesting. He heard a rustle of leather, and suddenly a heavily muscled, powerful arm was wrapped around his neck from behind. His ability to breathe was immediately terminated, and he quickly learned that his attempts at struggling were quite in vain. As he continued to make an effort to unfasten the stranglehold, he heard the stranger frantically murmuring “I didn’t deserve this. I look like a monster now. I sound like a monster now. Might as well act like one. Yes, a monster on the loose. A monster for Halloween. A monster.”
As the man muttered those last two words, his grip tightened even more, and the life of Frederick Mason was quickly over. The burned man, as he had come to think of himself, for his true name and indeed his very identity had been forgotten after the traumatic event of the fire, the torturous beginning of a now unending pain, and the first viewing of his now terrifying visage, lumbered around behind the counter. The now limp, dead Frederick Mason was lying motionless on the ground, an expression of complete terror frozen on his face. The burned man smiled at the sight, despite the pain it caused him to move his skinless face and cracked lips in such a fashion. He then turned, and pulled down the mask that he actually had been pointing to, from among those of zombies, ghosts, and witches that lined the wall. It was mostly white, with red lips, red dots and lines about the forehead, and two red diamond shapes decorating around the eyeholes. It would serve the task of hiding his face… his hideous face, he thought with a wince.

Holding the mask in his hand he looked again down at the corpse and whispered, “You should know the pain that I felt, dead man. Everyone should. Everyone. You should know what it’s like to be kissed by fire.” The burned man withdrew a Zippo lighter from his jacket pocket, and flicked the flame to life. He stared at it in fascination for a moment, and then lowered it down to touch it to his victim. A small spot of dead Frederick’s work jacket began to blacken, and a small flame sprung up from where the lighter was being held, but the burned man was not satisfied. Enraged, he flung the paper bag from his head to better view his task. Remembering the condition of his countenance, he whimpered and quickly donned the mask. Grimacing, he again held the lighter to his victim, and again the jacket only very slowly began to blacken and harbor the fire. “Burn, damn you”, he snarled. “Burn like I did. Burn burn burn burn…”
Incredibly enough, it seemed as if the small flame obeyed his command. In the blink of an eye the whole of the corpse was wreathed in flame. The suddenly roaring fire reflected off the smooth white surface of the burned man’s new mask as the laughed maniacally at the sight before him. “Now you can feel what I felt, dead man! Now you know what it’s like to burn!” Still laughing, the deranged man fled the store, and the fire he had started spread outward from poor Frederick. As he ran, filled with thoughts of flame and fire, and how he would show people what he had felt during the holiday tomorrow night, where his mask would aid him in approaching his victims, the reflection of the swirling flames never left the smooth white and red surface of the mask, even after he left the fire of the shop long behind him.
Despite the report of yesterday’s murder and arson, and the fiery tragedy that had taken place just two days ago, Halloween night started off wonderfully. A full moon had risen high in the sky, to the delight of the younger celebrators. Families took out their children, all dressed up in their cute costumes, everyone having a grand old time. The sounds of children squealing in delight at the abundance of candy and the constant “Trick-or-treat! Trick-or-treat!” filled the air. Many residents of the neighborhood were quite enthusiastic about the holiday, and made quite frightening decorations in their yards, going to great lengths to scare the young trick-or-treaters as they ventured across for their candy. High pitched screams occasionally filled the air, always accompanied by gales of laughter from the parents. That laughter would often die out, however, as the screaming began to occur more and more frequently. Some of the screams were the expected surprised exclamation of a child, but others that the adults noticed sounded more of true terror, and frighteningly enough, even pain. Even more oddly, there was widely noticed a pervading aroma of smoke that filled the neighborhood, a truly rank stench that was not reminiscent at all of that from the more recognizable bonfire smoke. More and more of the stench and screams echoed down the streets, and intermittently insane laughter and cries of “Burn, burn!” were heard. Parents began to frantically shepherd their children home as numerous fire trucks and police cars began to zoom past and wail their sirens.
Families began to arrive back at their respective abodes, and quickly gathered around televisions to see what could possibly be happening. The news report was quite terrifying. Many, many murders and arsons had been reported over the last two hours, but the killer had remained strangely elusive. Men, women, children, entire families… the murderer seemed to have no morals. The oddest part of the report was that all of the victims were found to have died strictly from extreme burn wounds. Many houses had inexplicably gone up in flames, often too fast for the inhabitants to escape. Police began to question witnesses, and all gave similar descriptions of the culprit. He was a huge figure, dressed all in black, and he left fire and death in his wake. He was ceaselessly laughing maniacally and screaming madness, and the mask he wore seemed to reflect the very fires of Hell. The houses that caught fire always were engulfed incredibly fast, and the flames often spread to neighboring homes before firefighters even arrived on the scene. Police were mysteriously unable to track down the madman; he seemed to be everywhere at once. Eventually, everyone in the neighborhood could look out a window and see either a burning home, or a helpless victim wreathed in flame fleeing down the street.
Finally, the hero of the night Officer George Gilder put an end to the fiery man’s rampage. He followed a trail of burning bodies to the sight of the huge killer holding a mere Zippo lighter to the side of a home, and saw the house go up in flames seconds after. As the large man slowly looked over at George, and the flames on his mask fairly lit up the night with their intensity, the experienced police officer whipped the double barrel shotgun from inside his car and quickly put an end to the murderer. Seconds after the shot was fired, the roaring infernos that covered numerous houses and screaming victims all over the suburb quickly guttered out. To the dwellers of that small town, the once beloved holiday of Halloween was remembered for decades after as the Night of Fire.

Poe Essay

Edgar Allen Poe is infamous as an author and poet for his dark, sinister writing style. Poe’s own personal life was full of death and despair, and that often showed in his literary works. During his own time period, his writing was renowned for its extremely graphic and frightening imagery and themes. It is even believed that the author was somewhat obsessed with the idea of death. The vast majority of his writing pieces were ridden with dark, gloomy themes. Five of his darker works have been selected to demonstrate his fondness for writing about death and demise. In each, the setting, mood, or entire plot of the story is centered around death or murder. Many of his most well known writings are some of the darkest ones. Poe was sometimes described as an expert and enthusiast on gothic literature, which was popular during his time. Some major components of gothic literature are the ideas of evil, death, and the darker side of human character and reality. Five of Poe’s short stories have been selected to help demonstrate his love and even obsession for writing about death.
Some of Poe’s best stories were written from the perspective of a murderer, some of which were deranged, obsessive characters. Poe was extremely skilled at bringing to life the character of the psychotic, obsessive killer. It almost seems as if the same mad, murderous man was used in multiple short stories. Perhaps Poe used this recurring character as a way of venting and describing his own thoughts and desires through his writing. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is written from the perspective of a man who is totally obsessed with the urge to kill the old man he is living with. It is made clear early on in the story that the main character is quite insane, and possessed by the urge to kill. In the moments before the murder, Poe eloquently describes the main character’s perspective on the idea of death. “All in vain; because Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim. And it was the mournful silence of the unperceived shadow that caused him to feel – although he neither saw nor heard – to feel the presence of my head within the room” (Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart). Such an artful description of the idea of death must reflect some of Poe’s own thoughts on the topic. The story goes on to illustrate the murder itself, and the killer’s gruesome strategy of concealing the evidence. “The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence. First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the legs” (Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart). The scene progresses to a grisly description of the blood and gore. The entire plot of this story is centered on the murder and the part that Death plays in the events that take place. This reflects Poe’s own obsession on the idea, being one of his most famous writings.
A similar character is used in “The Black Cat”. This man is also obsessed with murder, and in his story kills not only once, but three times. The entire plot is based on the man’s growing and waning obsession with murder, and the times that he finally succumbs to it. The black cat itself is used as a symbol in the story. Black cats are often associated with evil, bad luck, and witchcraft, all very sinister ideas. Two of these creatures appear in the story. Each slowly drives the main character to madness and over time fills him with the desire to kill. “My original soul seemed, at once, to take its flight from my body; and a more than fiendish malevolence, gin-nurtured, thrilled every fibre of my frame. I took from my waistcoat-pocket a pen-knife, opened it, grasped the poor beast by the throat, and deliberately cut one of its eyes from the socket” (Poe, The Black Cat)! Again, Poe elaborately describes the thoughts that go through the mind of the obsessive killer. This murderous character appears in a few of other Poe’s stories as well. Poe seems to have somewhat of a fondness for this character, for he is used often; and always, this character leaves death in his wake.
Another well known story of Poe’s is “The Pit and the Pendulum”. This is written from the perspective of a helpless victim of Death’s nefarious designs. Recurring themes in this story are darkness, hopelessness, and fear, all associated with death. It takes place in the depths of Toledo, a stronghold used by Spain to carry out religious persecutions, which resulted in the gruesome, torturous deaths of numerous victims. The mind of the victim is occupied by little else but the fear of death throughout the story, and the slim hopes he has of escaping its clutches. “Was I left to perish of starvation in this subterranean world of darkness; or what fate, perhaps even more fearful, awaited me? That the result would be death, and a death of more than customary bitterness, I knew too well the character of my judges to doubt. The mode and the hour were all that occupied or distracted me” (Poe, The Pit and the Pendulum). This short excerpt illustrates the narrator’s terror, the darkness of the setting, and the fact that death is imminent for this poor man. Throughout the rest of the story, Poe uses excellent imagery to set the mood for the story, constantly describing the pervading darkness and the prospect of death that it entails. There is not much blood and gore in this story, but it is repeatedly made clear that a gruesome death awaits this doomed victim.
An excellent example of Poe’s fascination with death is his story “The Masque of Red Death”. The word Death is even used in the title. It takes place in a secluded castle somewhere in Europe, during a time in which a plague had wiped out a large fraction of the population on the continent. Death is already present in the story, right in the beginning during the description of the setting. After that, the mood somewhat brightens, as Poe describes how the fortress has protected all those within from the death that is ravaging the continent. Later on, however, during a lighthearted party the Prince and leader of the stronghold had hosted, it seems as if death itself appears in their midst. As the extremely loud, menacing sound of an ominous clock that often strikes fear into the refugees rings the hour, it seems as if Death itself brings the plague into their midst. “And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all” (Poe, The Masque of Red Death). In the conclusion of this story, Poe seems to demonstrate that it is impossible to escape death, despite how the refugees deluded themselves in their oasis. Poe lent a detailed, ghastly description of the apparition that appeared to claim the lives of the residents of the castle. The fact that it was Death who personally came forth and claimed countless victims in this story betrays Poe’s fascination with the idea.
The Fall of the House of Usher is another of Poe’s darker stories, with a gloomy mood set through depressing imagery and a mysterious, dismal setting. The narrator often has thoughts on the haunted, creepy feel the house itself gives off. The fact that the narrator himself remains unnamed throughout adds an increased aura of mystery. Another factor that adds to that aura is the fact that the major character Madeline is afflicted by a strange, wasting illness that was mostly mystifying to doctors. As her disease gains a stronger hold on her, the house itself begins to show more signs of decay. Eventually, Madeline appears to succumb to the disease, and is buried within the house. Later on, her twin who also resides in the family abode, Roderick, begins to become mentally unstable. Madeline then seems to return from the grave, and departs her tomb while the narrator and Roderick look on. Roderick dies of fright, and so ends the Usher family line… and the house then succumbs to rot and decay and crumbles to the ground. Again, a story is ended with most of its participants being lost to the always present specter of death in Poe’s stories.
Poe was indeed obsessed with death. The numerous, obsessive, complex thoughts and ideas about it that he enters into his stories had to have been first had by the author himself. With death being his favorite topic, it was easy for Poe to write so many sinister stories that completely revolved around the idea.








Works Cited
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Black Cat." Poestories.com. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. http://poestories.com/read/blackcat.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Pit and the Pendulum." Poestories.com. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. http://poestories.com/read/pit.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Masque of the Red Death." Poestories.com. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. http://poestories.com/read/masque.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Fall of the House of Usher." Poestories.com. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. http://poestories.com/read/houseofusher.
Poe, Edgar Allan. "The Tell-Tale Heart." Poestories.com Web. 16 Mar. 2012. http://poestories.com/read/telltaleheart.

Faust Legend

Faust Legend

            GrimmTech Co. was a prestigious, multi-billion dollar company, owned by the inventive genius and family man, George Grimm. He and his beloved and capable wife Martha built the company from a single successful invention into a huge business, with several popular and successful technological innovations put on the market. The two were equally creative and intelligent, and efficiently ran their business for many years. They had two sons, Richard and Henry Grimm. For decades, as the husband and wife continued to expand and improve their business, they taught the eldest son Henry all the tricks of the trade, as he was to inherit the family owned company one day. Because of their wealth and the size of their business, George and his family came to be well known by the public. The idea of a husband and wife running such a great company hand in hand was well liked by the citizens of the city where the company’s headquarters and owners were located, New York City.

George and Martha resided in a large but modest penthouse in downtown New York. Their two sons were both old enough to be living on their own, and had luxurious apartments in different parts of the city. George and Martha loved both of their sons, and often wholeheartedly expressed that love. However, the two brothers were never exactly on the best of terms. Henry never had any ill will towards his brother, but the fact that he was to be the one to inherit the massive business and not Richard was always a wedge between them. Richard was constantly suffused with feelings of jealousy and resentment, hating his brother for the fact that he would rise to power, fame, and wealth, the things that Richard most valued in his life.

            After having run his business successfully for the majority of his life, the famous George Grimm began to become less given to working and more prone to resting and relaxing, as old men are wont to do. Henry took over many of the day to day activities required to run the company, while his mother began to spend more time taking care of his father in his old age. Richard began to become out of touch with his family, angry that his brother was truly beginning to take over the business, and perceiving that his father was doing nothing but constantly praise Henry for the fine job he was doing in his training for the inheritance.  Eventually it got to the point where Richard stopped even calling to check on his family, instead simply living off the money his parents occasionally sent him, spending his days at bars and his nights at clubs. If he would have ever decided to call though, he would have learned that his father’s condition was rapidly deteriorating. When Martha eventually did call her youngest son, to inform him that his loving father was bed ridden and in very poor health and that his end might be coming soon, Richard’s reply was, “Good for Henry”.

            After another night out clubbing, in a drunken stupor and a foul mood, Richard was walking back to his apartment. His mood was partly derived from the poor weather; it was pouring rain, and lightning lit up the skies intermittently. He was also brooding, as he often did, about his brother and father. He knew George was in poor health, and knew his brother would soon inherit all the money and power of the GrimmTech Co. The fact that the cause of this was the approaching death of his father hardly moved him; Richard had always felt unloved and unappreciated by all the rest of his family. Having always had everything handed to him in life, and never having to work or be responsible, Richard was a man of rather poor values and morals. The only thing that really occupied his time and thoughts besides his irresponsible lifestyle was his great desire to be rich, rich like his father, and well known and remembered. Thinking of this, and muttering angry words to himself, Henry trudged on through the wind and rain, back towards his home.

The huge skyscrapers of New York towered above him, seeming like dark, reaching fingers stretching to catch the constant lightning. Distracted, Richard took a wrong turn down a particularly dark and filthy alley. The haze of alcohol kept him from noticing the wrong turn, and he traveled down it for a ways before realizing his new surroundings. Dark heaps of garbage were piled along the walls, and no street lights were lighting up the small alleyway. He could hear rats scurrying about all around him. Very numerous rats. More, perhaps, than a typical New York alley should contain. Disgusted, Richard turned to walk back the way he came. A particularly bright and potent flash of lightning lit the sky, some of its light reaching down into the alley. A dark figure stood before him, startlingly all and broad, wearing a long black pea coat. From under the coat peeked out two large, black leather boots, around which many huge, black, and vicious looking rats were scurrying. Richard could tell that the man was wearing a black hood, and the faint streetlight coming from behind him hid the rest of his features. There was no doubt that he was looking at Richard though. He could feel the dark man’s gaze, the power of it stopping him in his tracks. Recovering from the shock of seeing the man, Richard muttered “Move aside, sir. I truly must be getting home soon. It is late, and the weather is simply terrible.”

The energy coming from the man’s stare intensified, and Richard heard the words, in a deep, baritone voice, “Yes, I think you are worthy. You shall do quite nicely, in fact. You really want that inheritance, don’t you, child? Power, money, fame, all you ever wanted, yes?”

Richard stood there in shock for a moment, then replied, “How do you know so easily who I am and my deepest desires, man? What strange powers do you possess? And how dare you call me child? It should be obvious that I am a grown man, same as you.”

The stranger chuckled, the sound truly disturbing to hear. “Not quite, my friend, not quite. Let’s not get into that, though. Neither of us wishes to stand here any longer than we have to, I’m sure. Now listen close, for I’ve no need to wait for you to voice your reply to this offer. I will know your answer at the same moment that you do. I want your soul, child. You have been living your life in a manner that has made it something I would enjoy possessing in my domain. In exchange for it in its entirety, I think you just might find yourself with one less sibling very soon, and with all you ever desired at your disposal for the rest of your existence… in this world. In the next, you will be mine. Understand? Yes, I know you do. Well, think on it. Important business calls my attention, you see. Hopefully, we will meet again.”

            All of a sudden, the once huge, imposing man collapsed, seeming as if his very bones had gone limp. Richard hesitantly stalked closer to see what had happened, to witness the spectacle of even more huge, red eyed, squeaking rodents clambering out of the pea coat, hood, and boots, enough rats to carpet the ground around the now inert pile of clothes. Standing there in shock for a few brief moments, Richard sprinted out of the alley, squashing several of the creatures and getting nipped a fair number of times, and ran the rest of the way home. The next morning, he gave careful thought to the conversation in the alley, and came to wish to believe it had truly happened. It must be some distorted drunken memory of the night before. It seemed too ridiculous to believe, but if it had happened, Richard decided he would have accepted the offer there on the spot.

 Just then, the phone rang. Picking it up, Richard heard the hysterical voice of his mother, in tears, deliver some truly spectacular news. His father George had died in bed the night before, succumbing to his old age. Richard felt nothing at the news, other than anger at the thought of Henry taking over. His mother then went on to describe the shocking death of his brother. Somehow, he had plummeted from the 34^th floor of GrimmTech Co.’s headquarter building, falling all the way down to his death in an alleyway. When an ambulance and paramedics arrived on the scene, they were astonished at how much of the already badly damaged corpse a large pack of alley rats had devoured. Horrified and distraught, Martha left the company, living in solitude and constantly grieving and mourning over such a terrible loss. Richard did nothing to comfort her, and attended neither of the funerals. Instead, he spent his days basking in the glory of constantly being swarmed by the press, his name making headlines, at such a sudden change in the ownership of GrimmTech Co. He quickly began dipping into the still large profits of the business he now owned, moving into a large, luxurious, extravagant penthouse. For some weeks he lived happily, loving the wealth and fame that came with his new position.

            However, his inexperience at being in such an important position began to show through. The company soon stopped coming out with any successful new products, having lost the creative genius of Richard’s father and brother. Profits greatly decreased, but Richard’s ridiculous spending did not. He bought expensive cars, numerous vacation homes, threw frequent parties, and bought himself the finest of suits. Year after year, Richard watched his company run itself into the ground, its size decreasing every week. Soon enough, none of their products were selling at all, and they were forced to shut down most of their plants and retail stores. Eventually, the business was completely destroyed. Richard spent the next few days living in his penthouse, fuming at the perceived ineptitude of his workers that had destroyed his company. To ease the stress, he decided to hit the bar until late into the night.

            Desiring to be home as soon as possible so that he could collapse on his bad and fall asleep, Richard decided to take a shortcut through an alley that led to the street his home was on. This night was even stormier than that very special night, all those years ago. Richard began to feel soft, squishy texture under his shoes, and soon noticed he was walking through a veritable sea of large, black, red eyed rodents. Strangely, they hadn’t been making any sound, and so he had not noticed them. All of the rodents in the alley then stood on their hind legs, and turned their hellish gazes on him.  From each of their mouths emitted a horrifying voice, each one sounding as tormented and raspy as those of the damned.

“Time to pay up, foolish mortal” they said in unison. “You are no longer of any use to me and mine.”

The headlines the next morning in the New York Times was the story of the once famous and influential Richard Grimm being reported missing. A more gruesome story further on in the paper was concerning a mysterious pile of bones found in some back alley of the city.

Huck Finn Trial Verdict Essay

            The trial of Mark Twain was exceptional. The fact that he was being tried for racism made both the prosecution’s and the defense’s jobs’ rather difficult, as no one could be completely sure of Mark Twain’s beliefs besides himself. Both sides of the trial had an abundance of evidence and testimonies from witnesses supporting their side of the debate. All of the lawyers asked excellent questions, and spoke fluently and eloquently. The closing statements of both sides were very well written and convincing, and it was difficult to reach a decision on the verdict. The final discussion with my fellow jury members eventually opened my eyes to various parts of the trial, and helped me decide on my final vote of guilty or not guilty. My final conclusion was that Twain was indeed guilty of being a racist.

            The prosecution made a good decision in emphasizing on Twain’s use of diction and word choice throughout his book to display his racism. The evidence they submitted about how Twain designed Huck’s speech around that of a young black boy that Twain came to know fairly well was particularly convincing for me. The prosecution expressed how although Huck’s speech was already quite similar to that of blacks during the book’s setting, Twain still made Jim’s speech distinctly less civilized than Huck’s, even though Jim was a grown man. His intent in doing this was to make absolutely clear how uneducated, uncivilized and unintelligent Jim truly was. Twain also made clear throughout the book how ignorant and naïve Jim’s character was through his thoughts and actions, and how easily the white Huck was able to fool him. Although it was not presented by the prosecution, one thing that came to mind was when towards the end of the book, Huck and Tom could have easily helped their “friend” Jim escape his bond of slavery at many points, but instead chose to make his rescue a source of entertainment and dragged on his confinement for much longer than it needed to last, without taking into mind how much Jim wanted to be free.

            Another thing the prosecution often brought up to strengthen their case was Twain’s constant use of the N word in his story. They argued that even though the defense said Twain’s intent was to use the word satirically, it still offended blacks all around the country and many whites as well. The prosecution pointed out that Twain must have been perfectly aware that this would happen when he wrote his book. One thing that I took note of was a few of the defense’s weaker cases and pieces of evidence, especially their suggestion that if Twain made Huck a murderer, does that make Twain a murderer? The fact that they even bothered to mention something that was so obviously different from a belief in racism showed me the weakness of their case.

            Something important that came up in the jury’s deliberation was the credibility of the defense’s witnesses. It was pointed out that Huck Finn was a young boy, who often used his skill at lying to get through his adventure in his book. Another point made towards Twain’s racism was the fact that although Huck made it clear he never followed what society influenced him to do, he still used the N word many times throughout his story. The defense’s second witness, the Duke, made his very living off of lying and deceiving people. It was true that his word could not be trusted. And the last witness, Mark Twain, would of course have said whatever necessary to be proven not guilty, and had the advantage of no one knowing what he truly believed but himself. The strong arguments made by the prosecution, supported by reliable evidence and witnesses, was what mainly swayed my final vote.

Huck Finn Post 3

A very notable and important part of Huck’s story is his brief stay with the Grangefords. This is the first time in several chapters that Huck is finally able to settle in and live a fairly normal life. Huck becomes close to many of the Grangeford family, and grows to be good friends with a boy his own age named Buck. The Grangefords have a fairly amusing yet sorrowful family history. They have an ongoing feud with an equally large and wealthy family that lives nearby, the Sheperdsons. According to Buck, their quarrel has been going on for over thirty years. Much killing has occurred between the two families. When Huck asks why their hatred for each other is so intense and long lasting, Buck gives him a ridiculous answer. “What was the trouble about, Buck? – land?” “I reckon maybe – I don’t know.” “Well, who done the shooting? Was it a Grangeford or a Sheperdson?” “Laws, how do I know? It was so long ago.” “Don’t anybody know?” “Oh, yes, pa knows, I reckon, and some of the other old people; but they don’t know now what the row was about in the first place” (Twain 110). The two families have been fighting and killing each other for over thirty years, and neither of them can remember why. Even young Buck attempts to shoot a Sheperdson that he and Huck encounter on the road without even attempting a parley. This seemed to be a fairly humorous aspect of Huck’s stay with the Grangefords.

            The Grangefords have a sadder side to their story as well. While living with them, Huck inspects many of the paintings and poems made by a recently deceased daughter named Emmeline. She often wrote sad yet inadvertently humorous ‘tributes’ about people who died on the land surrounding the Grangefords property. She was much loved by the whole family. Towards the end of Huck’s stay, the feud between the two families reaches a crescendo. When a man from the Sheperdson family, Harney Sheperdson, and Sophia Grangeford run off from their families to get married, it draws the two clans into a large gunfight during the pursuit. Many men from both families are killed, tragically including Huck’s good friend Buck. “…then I covered up their faces, and got away as quick as I could. I cried a little when I was covering up Buck’s face, for he was mighty good to me” (Twain 117). Huck’s newly acquired home and family whom he had grown to love and care for was lost to him in one night. In tears, Huck reunites with Jim and the two continue their journey down the river on their repaired raft.

            The Grangefords and Sheperdsons bear a strong resemblance of two other well known feuding families from a story. In both, the two families were brought to the climax of their feud by one member of each family’s love for each other. Their story closely resembles that of Romeo and Juliet. In both tales, the feuding families are powerful, large and wealthy. The two lovers are also helped in their escape by forces outside their families in both stories. In the case of the Grangefords, it is Huck himself who brings Sophia the note that alerts her as to when she needs to meet up with Harney and make their escape. In Romeo and Juliet, the magical faerie creatures of the forest aid Romeo and Juliet in being together. In the endings of both stories, many members of both families are killed. And, amusingly enough, neither the Grangefords and Sheperdsons nor the Montagues and Capulets are quite sure why their respective families are locked in a mortal struggle.

Huck Finn Post 2

                The relationship between Huck and Jim is partly one of father and son, and also one of brother to brother. They are companions in fleeing their old lives, and have been together for many adventures and trials. Jim occasionally plays the role of father to Huck, because he does seem to have a unique sort of wisdom and knowledge. Whenever Huck gets a bad idea into his head and follows through with it, Jim is always the one to tell him the smart thing to do. Huck often looks to him for guidance. However, this goes both ways. Although Jim does have many things that he can teach Huck because he is older and more knowledgeable about many things, Huck has received an education. There are times when Huck seems to abandon the role of son and teach Jim a few things about the world. For instance, although is playing the role of father to Huck, it still falls to Huck to explain to Jim the simple concept of people speaking languages other than English. “Why, Huck, doan’ de French people talk de same way we does?” “No, Jim; you couldn’t understand a word they said – not a single word.” “Well, now, I be ding – busted! How do dat comes” (Twain 83)? This is where the brotherly aspect of their relationship comes in, as they both seem to have things that they can teach each other.

                Huck and Jims’ bond of friendship is tested in the sixteenth chapter of their story when Huck gives some hard though about how wrong he thinks it is for Jim to flee his master, and plan to free more slaves. Huck got it into his head to turn Jim in, and departed their canoe near a town, saying he was going to check if the town was Cairo. Jim offered him some friendly departing words. “Pooty soon I’ll be a-shout’n’ en I’ll say, it’s all on accounts o’ Huck; I’s a free man, en I couldn’t ever been free if it hadn’t been for Huck; Huck done it. Jim won’t ever forgit you, Huck; you’s de bes’ fren’ Jim’s ever had; en you’s de only fren’ ole Jim’s got now” (Twain 92). After hearing these words of gratitude, Huck gets a sick feeling of guilt and changes his mind, quickly saving Jim soon after from two white men searching for escaped slaves. This part in the book seemed to show that both Huck and Jim could always trust each other, and that their bond of friendship was now too strong to break. The friends face many more trials throughout the story, and stick by each other whenever possible.

Huck Finn Post 1

            Thus far in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck has proven himself to be a rebellious, trusting, and fairly humble boy. Here in the beginning of his story, Huck seems to be somewhat simple minded, because of his poor upbringing by his drunkard of a father and little exposure to how people who live a more settled life behave. Although he instinctually resents the efforts of the Widow Douglas to civilize him and give him an education, he is still appreciative of her taking him in and giving him a home. Huck does seem to have a good sense of right and wrong, but his role model unfortunately is his friend Tom Sawyer, a liar and want-to-be thief. This fact occasionally gets Huck into trouble. Huck has shown himself to be somewhat too trusting, even gullible, because he often believes every word that comes out of the mouth of a notorious liar, Tom Sawyer; even things that seem preposterous or make no sense. “He said there was hundreds of soldiers there, and elephants and treasure, and so on, but we had enemies which he called magicians, and they had turned the whole thing into an infant Sunday school. I said, all right; then the thing for us to do was go for the magicians” (Twain 22).

            One thing that plays a big part in Huck’s life is his strong belief in anything superstitious. He allows these beliefs to effect his behavior, and they often can cause him great alarm. “I got up and turned around in my tracks three times and crossed my breast every time; and then I tied up a little lock of my hair with a thread to keep witches away. But I hadn’t no confidence. You do that when you’ve lost a horseshoe that you’ve found, instead of nailing it up over the door, but I hadn’t ever heard anybody say it was any way to keep off bad luck when you’ve killed a spider” (Twain 13). Huck could also be described as somewhat selfish during this period of the story. He always seems to keep his own self interest and enjoyment foremost in his endeavors. Because he has experience at living on his own, Huck is more independent than most boys would be at his age and is quite capable of taking care of himself. This seems to give him some measure of confidence in his thinking, occasionally leading him to believe that he usually has the right of things.

Could a Transcendentalist Society Exist Today?

            It is true that the idea of a transcendentalist society in today’s world seems like a brilliant idea. Many, many people would be open to the idea of living somewhere that places such value on the individual and everyone being treated equally. A place such as Walden Island seems like the perfect escape from the often stressful and complicated lifestyle that the rest of the world has to offer. However, such a place as Walden Island likely could never exist in today’s world. Being a society that encourages and allows people to follow any career of their choice, very few people would choose to occupy many less well paying jobs that are necessary for a country to survive. This is especially true for a country that has strong isolationist policies. Being a small island country, Walden Island would likely not be able to support itself if every citizen chose to be a doctor, teacher or philosopher. Walden Island also seems as if it puts a bit too much value into the opinion of every individual. The policy of nearly every citizen of the island being able to vote on every matter that is put up for debate would result in everything taking an unreasonable amount of time to resolve. Another big flaw in the idea of Walden Island is the strict consequences that exist for things that are merely frowned upon in most societies. Bullying and harshly putting down another’s ideas is against the law, and repeated offences can get one banished from the island. Walden Island could never exist in today’s world.

            Initially, the idea seems wonderful. Walden Island is a place that is specifically designed so that everyone who lives there can be happy, and not have to worry about being judged or having their freedom restricted. Everyone is welcome to have complete control of their future, and no one needs to participate in the upkeep of the community any more than they want to. Each citizen has some say as to what laws and taxes are put into effect or repealed. The educational system encourages students to adopt transcendentalist beliefs, and prepares them for whatever career path that they choose. Any and all religions are tolerated. Indeed, it is illegal to harshly put down the ideas or beliefs of another. This may sound like a paradise to live in, but truly much of its design is totally impractical, and it could likely never flourish in modern day.

            In a nation where people have complete control of what occupation they wish to hold in their future, in order to encourage the transcendentalist idea that everyone should always follow their dreams, there would be few people applying for boring or simple jobs that are essential for a country to run smoothly. If every citizen was free to follow their dream of being a doctor or lawyer, there would not be anyone available to collect peoples’ trash or mow their lawn for them. It truly would be a marvelous thing if everyone in a place such as Walden Island was free to be whatever they wanted to be, but such a place could never exist in an independent nation.

            A big focus of transcendentalism is the value of every individual’s opinion and beliefs.  A transcendentalist society such as Walden Island would have to give every citizen a say in what laws they will be forced to follow. Although this might sound nice, it would unfortunately take ludicrous amounts of time to resolve any matter, no matter how important or trivial. Giving so much power to the people would also likely lead to taxes being so low that the government would barely have enough funds to run the country. With so much power being in the hands of the people, Walden Island’s government would be slow to respond to crises, and be ineffectual in dealing with most matters.

            Because Walden Island is a strongly transcendentalist society, it is obliged to make sure that every individual is respected and allowed to believe whatever they choose to believe without being influenced by their peers. This leads to actions such as bullying, the mocking of one’s beliefs, or harshly putting down one’s ideas being declared illegal. If people were moving to Walden Island from other countries, they would likely be banished from the island before they ever got used to such seemingly trivial things being against the law. Trying too hard to enforce transcendentalism on everyone on the island is completely impractical.

            Despite how simple and blissful a place like Walden Island might sound, sadly such a thing simply could not be made to exist in modern day. The need to make sure every resident can become exactly what they want to be and want for nothing is completely unfeasible. A paradise such as Walden Island could never be created in today’s world.

Dead Poets Society Conformity Post

It is and always has been human nature to seek acceptance from one’s peers and to fear loneliness. The desire to fit in usually overwhelms people’s desire to always be independent and be themselves. This is especially true among teenagers. In a school environment, a student’s worst fear is to be taken as strange or weird, and be shunned by his fellow students. In order to feel socially acceptable, students constantly feel the need to conform and try to behave, think, and look similar to those around them. Dead Poets Society is about a group of students living in this environment at a very esteemed boarding school called Welton Academy. With the teachers and professors of Welton Academy encouraging this behavior, as well as most of the student’s parents, the majority of the students at Welton found little opportunity to stay true to themselves and follow what they believed in. Everyone around them, their parents, their teachers, and unknowingly their friends, constantly influenced them to conform. The method of education that Welton utilized went completely against that idea that every child has a right to express them self however they want, and should choose their own future.

            At the beginning of Dead Poets Society, a new professor is being introduced to the students and staff, Mr. Keating. Mr. Keating is the new poetry teacher for the group of students who make up the movie’s main characters. Mr. Keating uses an extremely unorthodox method of teaching, one that most if not all of his fellow teachers and professors disapprove of. Because of his strange teaching strategy and refusal to conform to the ways of his peers, Mr. Keating quickly earned the dislike of the dean of the school. Indeed, he was blamed for some horrible events that transpired towards the end of the story. Mr. Keating’s lessons about how everyone should choose their own future and not let anyone tell them who they should be gave many of his students the courage to speak out against the school and their parents. Some of them were inspired to be themselves and follow their passions despite severe consequences that occurred later on in the story. Every student who stuck out and attempted to be a non-conformist for a while quickly faced severe punishment from either the school or their parents. One student went against the wishes of his extremely controlling father and followed his passion for acting without his father’s consent. His father became infuriated, so furious that he pulled his son out of Welton and enrolled him in military school. The student soon committed suicide rather than live with a father who wouldn’t let his son do what actually made him happy. Because of the overpowering tradition of conformity and discipline that was enforced at Welton, the school was essentially a place where all the professors, who were practically clones, could mold the students into exactly who their parents wanted them to be. When Mr. Keating arrived and attempted to change some of the student’s way of thinking, the academy quickly rejected his ideas and promised punishment or expulsion for any who would not continue to conform.

Modern Day Transcendentalism Post

A good example of a modern day transcendentalist would be the lead singer of the band Slipknot, Corey Taylor. The nature and genre of this band somewhat defies categorization, because their music is fairly unique, but heavy metal is one thing that many people describe them as. The band was composed of nine members, until the recent death of their bass player, and they often referred to themselves as the nine. Corey and the rest of his band are extremely non conformist, and go to great lengths to display their uniqueness. For every album, they each wear a new grotesquely designed mask that they always wear at performances and on their music videos. Much of their music is about them expressing their hatred for what they believe to be an extremely corrupt society that we currently live in. They are anti government, anti religion, and basically anti anything that they don’t agree with. Although for the most part the whole band agrees with these beliefs, it is Corey that comes up with most of the songs and themes and writes most of their lyrics. 

http://www.songonlyrics.com/slipknot-biography

Slipknot is a pretty popular band, and their fans have taken to calling themselves maggots, after the release of a song Named Pulse of the Maggots. The song is essentially about how he and his band are going to support each other and their fans, and stay the way they are and deny anyone’s attempt to change them. One song that is an even better example of Corey’s transcendentalist beliefs is My Plague. It is about Corey’s utter contempt for anyone who tries to be someone they’re not just to change what people will think of them. The song expresses Corey’s belief that people should be themselves, and how anyone who doesn’t do so he considers to be his “plague”. The song The Heretic Anthem describes how Corey believes in standing your ground and not following or taking orders from anyone. Corey Taylor is an extremely unique human being, and he and his band are at least as independent and strange as Lady Gaga.

Modern Day Transcendentalism Post

A good example of a modern day transcendentalist would be the lead singer of the band Slipknot, Corey Taylor. The nature and genre of this band somewhat defies categorization, because their music is fairly unique, but heavy metal is one thing that many people describe them as. The band was composed of nine members, until the recent death of their bass player, and they often referred to themselves as the nine. Corey and the rest of his band are extremely non conformist, and go to great lengths to display their uniqueness. For every album, they each wear a new grotesquely designed mask that they always wear at performances and on their music videos. Much of their music is about them expressing their hatred for what they believe to be an extremely corrupt society that we currently live in. They are anti government, anti religion, and basically anti anything that they don’t agree with. Although for the most part the whole band agrees with these beliefs, it is Corey that comes up with most of the songs and themes and writes most of their lyrics. 

Slipknot is a pretty popular band, and their fans have taken to calling themselves maggots, after the release of a song Named Pulse of the Maggots. The song is essentially about how he and his band are going to support each other and their fans, and stay the way they are and deny anyone’s attempt to change them. One song that is an even better example of Corey’s transcendentalist beliefs is My Plague. It is about Corey’s utter contempt for anyone who tries to be someone they’re not just to change what people will think of them. The song expresses Corey’s belief that people should be themselves, and how anyone who doesn’t do so he considers to be his “plague”. The song The Heretic Anthem describes how Corey believes in standing your ground and not following or taking orders from anyone. Corey Taylor is an extremely unique human being, and he and his band are at least as independent and strange as Lady Gaga.

Walden Essay Final Copy

            In this modern age, everyday life has complicated itself beyond the bounds of anything the writer and philosopher Henry Thoreau could have ever imagined. An advocate for the beauty of nature and simplicity, Thoreau spent over two years of his life living alone in the wild forest, writing down his thoughts and ideas about the beauty around him as they came to mind. Today, it is extremely difficult for people to simplify their lives to the extent that Thoreau did. Few would be willing to take his same extreme measures and isolate themselves in the wilderness for years on end. With all the modern technology, life is more complicated than ever before. People find it necessary to process ridiculous amounts of information on a minute to minute basis, and are usually in nearly constant communication with other members of society. It is exceedingly difficult for people to just detach themselves from the complex, intense reality that they live in and appreciate the simpler things that life has to offer. Many of the things that Thoreau was incessantly expressing his love for through his writing and journal are the things that people casually take for granted today. Appreciation of nature and how its peacefulness and simple harmony affect our lives is usually far from the minds of the people living in today’s world.

http://www.flickzzz.com/2009/02/beauty-of-nature-18.html

            Looking at the state of the world today, we can confirm that Thoreau did indeed seem to have some insight as to what the future would be like. His visions of cities and farmland taking over the forests turned out to be quite accurate. The former sprawling forests of our continent have indeed been greatly reduced. The majority of the population lives either in densely populated cites or in vast suburban areas. The closest thing that many people experience involving nature on a daily basis is a few trees and squirrels one might spot while walking down the block. Most people’s thought process mainly revolves around their social life, or making enough money in their chosen career to stay afloat, nothing close to what Thoreau most valued in his life. While Henry sought isolation and simplicity, most people today greatly fear being alone and uninvolved with the wider world.  

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/NIGHTLIGHTS.html

                                                                                           

Because of how much people use their technology to always keep them updated on what’s happening in their world, it is hard for people to set aside a few moments every now and then to just sit down, relax, and think.  With things like facebook and cell phones constantly being used for people to always stay in touch, some people can very rarely find themselves a few moments of complete solitude for some quiet contemplation. Very few people today can say that they have experienced life’s, and nature’s, simpler beauties the way that Henry did.

http://louisa-catherall-art.blogspot.com/2009/11/city-stress.html

            Many people living here in the modern day could benefit much from reading the work of Henry Thoreau. Though many people of his time thought him to be a complete fool, it is clear to us today that the man certainly did learn some important, if somewhat odd, lessons and values during his time spent alone in the woods. He gained a deeper insight into the simpler beauties of life and nature, and people would do well to appreciate and perhaps try to learn from his philosophies. 

Walden Rough Draft Post

                In this modern age, it is much more difficult for people to simplify their lives. I’m sure that few would be willing to take the same extreme measures that Thoreau did and isolate themselves in the wilderness for years on end. With all the modern technology, everyday life is more complicated than ever before, with ridiculous amounts of information having to be processed on a minute to minute basis, and people being in nearly constant communication. It is very hard for people to escape the complex, intense reality that they currently live in and appreciate the simpler things that life has to offer. Most of the things that Thoreau was constantly expressing his love for are things that people casually take for granted today. Appreciation of nature and how its peacefulness and simplicity affect our lives is not something that most people of the 2000’s often think about.

            Thoreau’s vision of the future turned out to be somewhat true. There are indeed many, many more cities in North America than there were in Thoreau’s time, and the former sprawling forests of our country have been greatly reduced. Most of the population lives either in densely populated cities or sprawling suburban areas. The closest thing that many experience involving nature on a daily basis is a few trees and squirrels while walking down the block. Most people’s thoughts and attentions are mainly focused on their social life and their chosen career, nothing close to what Thoreau valued in his life. While Henry sought isolation and simplicity, most people today greatly fear being alone and uninvolved with the wider world.

Because of how much people use their technology to keep them informed of what’s happening in their world, it is very difficult for most people to detach themselves from what is constantly happening with other individuals around them and just take a few moments to themselves to relax. With things like facebook and cell phones constantly being used for people to constantly keep in touch, it is not very often that people can find themselves a few moments of solitude for quiet contemplation. Not very many people today ever come close to Henry’s experience with the simpler joys of life, involving nature and solitude.

            Many people today could benefit much from reading the work of Henry Thoreau. Although many people of his time thought him a fool, it is obvious today that the man truly did learn much from his time spent alone in the woods. He gained an appreciation for nature and the simple things in life that many people today would do well to try themselves.

Student Declaration of Independence

As students of the Grosse Pointe public school districts, we the students have certain rights. These rights have been repeatedly infringed upon, and we have deemed it necessary to form an alliance together to stand up against the oppressors once and for all to declare our independence. This document will ensure that the students and teachers alike can work in harmony to produce a healthy and fun atmosphere for learning.  Whether the matter is health conditions or pertaining to the respect of the administrators, all of the items listed below have been deemed as basic rights that every student in the Grosse Pointe districts should hold

Teachers should respect students. This goes the same for students respecting teachers of course, but as long as the students are paying due amount of reverence towards the teacher, he or she should receive the same. Stupid questions do not exist. Teachers should not be able to disregard a question ever, even if has already been asked. Students can’t be expected to be listening 100% of the time.  On a related note, students should be allowed to have extra help as needed. Teachers should be willing to give up there lunch hour to assist students, or, at the very least, direct them to another student for help. Another basic right is the right to choose your schedule. Choosing classes is a key right, as this allows students more freedom in choices and helps decide what career path to go down. Having the best technology possible is a clear basic right for students. The school district should be doing everything in their power to provide students with technology that allows them to learn better and faster. A commonly overlooked, but essential, right is the right to have good, clean water. The water fountains at South are completely disgusting and are probably violating some sort of health code. They taste like metal and blood and should be fixed immediately.  As well as all of these other examples, the most important one by far is the right to feel safe in the school environment. Whether it be from internal or external forces, no student should have to go to school feeling like they are in danger there. The administration should always be doing everything in their power not only to keep the students safe, but to also make them feel safe. 

I.                    Instead of thirty six minute lunches, South has to provide an hour and fifteen minutes.  This is students’ only free time of the day, and thirty-six minutes is barely sufficient to eat.  Lunch should be a time to relax, and rushing to finish eating is not exactly relaxing.  It is the only break in the long seven hour school day.  This time should be spent doing whatever students’ wish, whether it’s walking to Farms Market and getting some fresh air, or just relaxing in the commons and socializing with friends.  Whatever kids chose, lunch should be a complete mental break.  A full seventy-five minute period would allow students to return to class rejuvenated and ready to focus, which would increase productivity.  Grosse Pointe South students demand a longer lunch period. 

II.                  Grosse Pointe South must supply laptops to each student for use in school and at home.  In almost every class, note taking is used by teaches.   This is a very effective method of teaching, yet can be time consuming.  Note taking would be a great deal faster if students had access to laptops, and could type their notes on a Word document.  Laptops that students could carry from class to class would also allow internet research to be done in class.   This would undoubtedly increase the efficiency of students in class. Also, because most assignments that require computers are completed at home, the access to them in class could reduce the amount of homework.   And for those students who don’t always have a computer available to them at their house, because of financial issues or having to share with siblings, the ability to take a laptop home would be greatly beneficial.  Students at Grosse Pointe South need to have laptops both in and outside the classroom to increase overall productivity. 

III.               There needs to be one full hour designated for nap taking.  In classes, countless students are always falling asleep because of exhaustion.  Research shows that teenagers need 9-11 hours of sleep to be fully rested, but that number is rarely reached because of many factors.  A demanding schedule, caused by loads of homework, sports, and other activities, leads to many students getting less than the adequate amount of sleep.  Since school contributes to the large quantity of homework that keeps students up late at night, it is only fair they provide an hour to let kids catch up.  An extra hour of sleep every day would lead to increased productivity, mood, and energy of the students at Grosse Pointe South.  This would make for an improved learning environment. 

IV.               Thanksgiving is one of the most popular holidays, and for the most part is loved by all. Many families put a lot of time and preparation into its celebration. Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays of the year to have long periods of family time, and some wish that this did not have to last for only one day. Considering this, it is our suggestion that an entire week of school be given off for its celebration.

V.                  Being as far north as it is, our home state of Michigan can often have very extreme winter weather conditions. The snow can often pile high enough to make even walking on the sidewalk a hassle, and temperatures can easily drop to the point that frostbite is something to worry about. Our district’s reason for having so few snow days is that Grosse Pointe is a walking district, but the majority of South’s students either get a ride from their parents or drive themselves to school. Even the kids that walk often have to deal with extremely low temperatures and very deep snow. Therefore, it is our belief that South should have more days off because of extreme winter weather conditions.

VI.               One of the things that South’s students look forward to the most is holidays. They are an excellent time to relax and take a nice break from school. Because of this, one of the most disappointing things is when there is a holiday but students still have to go to school. Sadly, there are a few holidays out of the year that South does not give even one day off school for. We have the opinion that this should be changed, and that for every holiday, no matter how obscure, at least one day of school should be given off for its celebration.

VII.             The purpose of a school is to provide a child with the best education possible.  Each individual varies from his or her peers.   The option of block scheduling can allow for a more personalized schedule focused on each student’s individual needs.  It allows students to select classes and times that will better stimulate their learning process.  Block scheduling allows for breaks between classes for instance you might have math on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, this allows for breaks which helps students alleviate stress and keeps grades high.  This would also to give students assignments spanning over the break, which can help the student’s time management skills.  Those who have had block scheduling have remarked that the change in scheduling keeps your days from being boring so you tend to be more alert in class. Block scheduling allows for students to be more alert and have classes and schedules that fit their needs thus improving the Childs educations, which is after all, the main goal of the school system.

VIII.          Good grades and an attentive attitude is important to ones high school career.  To maintain grades and stay alert it is important that students come to school with their best mindset, which is why it is important to have breaks on holidays.  Students should have a half-day on Halloween and the day after off.  This will allow students to have a short break to alleviate stress and to enjoy the holiday.   Halloween is a national holiday that should be recognized by the Grosse Pointe Public School System with a day and a half off for the students and staff.  Many students in all three stages of school are out late on the night of October 31, Halloween, and would not be attentive at school the next day.  Giving students a short Halloween break will keep them on track and attentive during school.

IX.                High School is a very important segment of ones school career. It is also one of the more stressful and demanding.  For this reason High School students should not have homework on weekends.  The abolishing of weekend homework will allow for students to rejuvenate over the break and to recharge for the coming school week.  Without homework encumbering the student’s weekend, students will have more time to study for test or review materials covered in class.  This will raise students grades exponentially, students will be more relaxed, attentive, and better prepared for class which will result in higher test scores and grades; which will drastically improve students resumes come time to apply for collegiate study. Abolishing weekend homework will help Grosse Pointe students drastically. 

X.                  School should be adjusted to 4 days a week; the weekend spanning Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.  2 days for weekends simply does not suffice for the amount of homework and rest students need.  The week of a typical high school student is extremely stressful and exhausting. The weekend is needed to recover.  Teachers tend to assign more homework on the weekends, though, knowing students will have more time.  This leads to the whole weekend being spent completing schoolwork.  Weekends are needed to relax and rejuvinate, and doing homework all weekend is neither of those things.  The weekends are also a sacred time to be spent with family or friends, seeing as though during the week, students are simply too busy.  Three days for a weekend would allow time for schoolwork, as well as friends, family, and rest. 

We, the students of Grosse Pointe South High School, hereby declare our independence from the Grosse Pointe Public School System. We only asked that we receive the treatment that we by our rights deserved, the treatment that we were neglected when a part of the Grosse Pointe Public School System. If we don’t receive our independence, there will be severe consequences. We may be peaceful and civil; we may boycott classes or organize a sit out on the lawn. Protest what we believe to be a corrupt establishment.  Hold strong to what we want and receive it in a peaceful manner. Or, we may be violent, vandalize the school. Rip doors off their hinges and graffiti the hallways. Break the windows of every educational institution, and yell blood curdling battle cries of freedom that even the bravest soul could not bear to hear. Though we are only students, we will crash board meetings. We will disrupt the very foundation that this educational system is based upon and wreak havoc among the board members, never faltering in doing so until our demands are met. Planting fear in every adult’s heart, because independence is a basic right; all students are naturally born with freedom in their blood. The students’ actions to take control of their independence are unpredictable yet organized, extreme yet understandable. It is best that the students receive independence and no other actions are put in place to stop the progression. By this time, there are no measures that can be taken to reconcile both the students and educational program. In no way can the ties between the two be bonded back together, and form a united assembly once again. Independence has spread to the very heart of the matter and no act can be taken to stop it. Independence will rise, and the Grosse Pointe School System should be prepared to fall.