BHS: My Take (Suggestion for Writing 5)

First off, I just want to state that I actually do like my school. It's a part of me, and I wouldn't be the same had I not attended it. The one thing I don't like about it is about 50% of the people that are in the building. But since I don't like most people anyways, that would most likely be the same anywhere I went. Now that I have that out of the way, I can continue with the assignment.

Emerson talks about how schools are built for the general, lazy people. The "teaching comes to be arranged for these many", and the few extremely gifted students are not developed to their full potential. While the years have passed since Emerson wrote this essay and our present day, education has changed greatly. There are more opportunities for the highly intelligent student, but the teaching to a lower level still highly remains.


I have a memory that sticks out vividly in my brain regarding this topic. Back in sixth grade, my English teacher gave my class a worksheet. I began to look at it, and I noticed that it was on a fourth grade thinking level. For me and many of my classmates, that work was of no value, it was simply a waste of time. When I asked my teacher why we were doing work designed for kids two years younger than us, she got angry and told me to be quiet. A few people in the class may need the work to be at that level, but many of us got nothing out of it.

The same thing happens today at my school. Some people have to work hard, and some simply breeze through the work. The ones who breeze through it may like the ease at which they are sliding through school, but they aren't challenging themselves as much as they could be. If they did, there is no telling what all they could accomplish and do. There is so much lost potential in those students that don't apply themselves to their schoolwork. On the bright side, AP classes and college classes give students the option to give themselves a greater challenge that reap greater rewards than regular classes. What's missing, though, is the motivation to take those classes.

Back when Emerson wrote his essay, education was highly exalted and a good student was praised. Today, a good student isn't given near the attention they were. This, in my opinion, probably has a direct relation to the work ethic of students today. The encouragement simply isn't there, so students are lazy. Why work so much harder for a seemingly miniscule reward?

The opportunities for students are much greater than they were in the past, but the mental mindset remains the same. Kids are lazy, and they always will be until they are given a reason to give more effort. While the education at Batesville High School is very good, there is still room for improvement.

Got Milk? Advertisement

Most advertisements are attempting to persuade the reader in one way or another. The "got milk" advertisement is trying to persuade it's readers to drink more milk to help maintain strong bones. To aid in the persuasion to drink more milk, the ad uses ethos, pathos, and logos in a simple yet effective manner.

"Got milk" is a very well known, prestigious ad campaign. This high level of prestige creates a credible, trustworthy feeling that appeals to readers. The ad campaign also uses many different famous spokespersons as well. When the message comes from a well known source via a famous person, the message given ends up seeming extremely credible and highly relevant.

The logos used in the ad are very straightforward. First, then ad states that "your bones grow until about age 35" and "calcium in milk helps". And after age 35, "it helps keep them strong". Calcium helps keep bones strong. Milk is in calcium. Therefore, milk helps keep bones strong at any age. This use of logic and deductive reasoning helps convince the reader that he should drink more milk.

Pathos might be the easiest, yet the most effective part of the ad. An attractive model is the main part of the aid. This attracts the readers eye, causing them to notice and read the ad. The strong emotional appeal can effectively persuade the reader in favor of the ad.

Ethos, logos, and pathos are all used well in the ad. By using these three elements effectively, the ad is able to attract readers and bring home the main purpose of the ad: Drink more milk to have healthy bones.

Summer Assignment 1

I decided to try the "Put it on a Table" experiment. For this, I used an old shirt of mine. My uncle gave it to me after he owned for many years. I have had this shirt since I was about 10 years old, and it still fits to this day. As my friends are reading this, I know they're all thinking, "Haha, because he was fat." Sadly, they're all right. Nevertheless, it is still the best shirt in the world.

I never realized that something as simple as a shirt could spark so many senses. Sure, there's the soft, thin texture of the worn out shirt. But I never knew that it would spark sights, smells, and sounds from the past as well. I looked at a few of my other shirts, but the effect isn't the same. I look at them and its just, "Eh, a shirt." But I look at this one and I can't help but smile and think about how much I love it. No matter how much my mom hates my "ratty old t-shirt", I'm gonna keep and cherish it forever.

Thunder and Lightning

Some people are scared of thunder
Some are scared of lightning
From what I've seen regarding weather
These are about as scary as a feather
But if between these two I had to choose
I know the danger lightning brings
To those with possessions to lose
it stings, losing those things
And brings about the blues

Hate

What happens to hate in the heart?
Does is sit still and burn itself out
Like a fire smoldering in the night?
Or continue endlessly
Like the sun
and then burn so bright?
Does it grow inside the heart like a disease taking over the body?
Or shrivel and die
Like an old, outdated hobby

Maybe it just patiently waits and stays steady
Like a hungry child, waiting on their mother to fill their bowl.

Or does it eventually comsume a person whole?

Character Analysis

Sophocles' classical "Antigone" tells the story of Antigone and her battle of her religious values against Creon, the ruler of Thebes, and the civil law there. Antigone decides that religious values are more important than the civil laws of Thebes. Creon, being the firm ruler he is, enforces the law despite it conflicting with religious laws. This leads to a chain of terrible things happening to the Creon. He is the arrogant, demanding ruler of Thebes whose stubbornness eventually leads to his doom.

The cruelty and stubbornness in Creon's personality blend together to create an air of arrogance around him. When Creon spoke to the guard after finding out Polynices' body had been buried, he stated that the guard "annoyed [him]" just by asking a question and that they would all be "hanged alive" unless they found who committed the crime. Being annoyed from a simple question shows arrogance because Creon shows that he feels he is too good to be bothered by questions from someone as lowly as a guard. Threatening to hang all the guards because they can't solve a small crime is a very cruel thing to do as well. When speaking to Antigone, Creon declared that "no woman will rule while [he] lived", and he sarcastically asked Haemon if  "the city will tell [him] how rule it". His stubbornness is shown in the way that he refuses to let Antigone simply ignore the very controversial law without being punished. Again, his arrogance and stubbornness is shown because he refuses to let anyone tell him what to do or give him advice.

Creon's punishing of Antigone and his refusal to take advice make him a stock character as well as the main antagonist, but he is also a dynamic character. When Haemon confronted him, he ask if he "should rule this land for myself or for others", and he also told Antigone that she "[would] not escape the worst fate". Creon reveals that he is a typical, self-exalted leader that thinks very highly of himself. He also pitted himself directly against Antigone, making him the antagonist. After talking to Tiresias, Creon exclaims that he will "go and release" Antigone to keep any evils from falling on him. In the beginning, he refused to budge on his position against Antigone. At the end, he has a change of heart because he learns that horrible things will happen if she is not released.

The conflict in "Antigone" is man vs man, but in a way it can also be considered a man vs himself conflict as well. Antigone feels "no pain” at Creon's punishment, and Creon wants "nothing more" than "killing [Antigone]". Antigone is the criminal and Creon is the enforcer. Obviously, these two are going head to head with one another. However, Creon also battles himself and his "mistakes from thoughtless thoughts". His actions got the people he loved the most killed, destroying his life. He ends up having to battle himself and the consequences of his decision to kill Antigone.

This great leader of Thebes was too proud. His cruelty and arrogance towards Antigone and others around him brought about his own demise. He changed at the end in hopes of fixing all the wrong that had come down on him, but by then, it was far too late for Creon to do anything about what had befallen him.

Convenient Murder

The article http://www.abortionfacts.com/life_or_choice/prolife_information.asp made some very strong points regarding the pro-life point of view of abortion. It begins by stating that pro-life supporters are "diverse in economic status, race, religion, and education." and that all humans have "the inherent right to live." There are also many morale arguments presented in the article as well, such as an "unborn child is human" and "life begins at conception". (abortionfacts.com)

The article shows the major points of the argument presented by pro-life supporters, and I agree with nearly all of it. Is it our place to murder an innocent, unborn child? I think not. Some may argue that it is their decision on whether or not they take the life of their baby. In these modern times, it is their decision. But how could one take the life of their child and not feel remorse for it? It is a very selfish act in my opinion.

I am not a mother, and I will never be a mother. However, I can't imagine the thought process that leads a woman to kill her child for the sake of convenience. Sure, I can picture it if the mother will die. That's more understandable. But for the sake of convenience? That's downright heartless. And wrong. Would one not wonder what that child would have grown up to be? What about the impact that they would have had on the world? Instead of possibly changing the world, they simply become a statistic. They become one of the many lives ended before it could even begin.

"I am Pro-Life and Here's What I Think." abortionfacts.com. Heritage House '76, 2006. Web. 23 Feb 2011. 

(Hanging indent wouldnt work)