So, when I was done with my last blog I was relieved because I thought that I would never have to blog ever again. Turns out I was wrong. My english teacher wants my class to write a blog about our 1st semester. What we liked about it and what we didn't like about it.
I guess that I have to say that blogging wasn't the worst thing, but it also wasn't the best. It made me write down my thoughts about Columbine, which helped me remember what actually went on in the book. But what I didn't like and still don't like about blogging is the amount of time that it takes up. You have to think so hard about what you're typing so that you don't sound like a complete idiot. You really have to know what you're talking about and sometimes it was too confusing to have any idea of what I was talking about. Also, blogging didn't really help me fully understand the book. I didn't get to talk about the book with my other classmates that read Columbine as well.
There were other things, of course that we did besides our Indepent Reading books. We read the book Night. It's about a boy that survives the Holocaust. For our project for that we had to write Night Journals. I really like the journals. We were given a person from the Holocaust and we had to write journals as them and tell about what when on while they were alive or survived. I really enjoyed these because they showed me what people had to go through then, whether it was hiding out for years or having to be in the camps.
Being in an English class we had to write essays, of course. I don't like essays at all. I usually stress out about them too much and can't think which will make me do bad on them. I feel like in class we aren't getting enough help writing the essays, or it just seems that way to me since I can't concentrate that well in a school environment. I have only liked writing essays once, and that was my freshman year when I wrote about my great-grandma. It was a subject that I knew very well and am very interested in.
We have done projects like videos and powerpoints which I enjoy. We have also had in class discussions on the book that we are reading at the time. In class discussions is probably the thing that I like the most. They really help me understand the book and figure out the actual meaning and what is going on. I feel like we don't do them enough and if we did then class would be more exciting and we wouldn't regret waking up in the morning to just go write an essay and read a book.
So to say how I liked my 1st semester, it was okay. I feel like it could've been better. It wasn't terrible but I didn't love it. Good job Mr. Dunn :)
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
The 5th and Final Blog!
For our last blog of the unit, we were asked to educate you more about this book. We are suppose to talk about the major themes or outcomes that are presest in Columbine. We were also told to put links on this blog that have to do with the book or have to do with the same themes. I am also going to put in quotes from the book that have to go with the themes as well.
One the of major themes that I found in this book was:
You can't run away from the pain of losing someone, even if it has been 5 or even 10 years since you lost them.
I find this very true. If you lose somebody that is dear to you in any way, you will never lose that pain of not being able to see them again or enjoy and share what you had with them when they were alive. You will always miss that person. It is showed very well in a quote said by Linda Mauser. She lost control ten years after Columbine while at the dentist. She told him that her son had died. He asked if it was recent and she responded, "'When your child dies, it's always recent.'" I believe that this quote shows exactly what the theme means. It's been ten years and her childs death still feels recent. The pain didn't even start to go away. You can't just get rid of it, you have to work through that pain.
There was another theme that I was able to get by the end of the book. To get to it though you have to realize that it seemed like Eric and Dylan wanted people to suffer. It seemed as though they wanted for the ones that lost someone that day to not be able to move one from that shooting. To not be happy or be able to succeed in the world ever again. So from this I draw my text theme.
You have to fight to get through things. You can't fall into the roll of what the person that hurt you wanted you to do in the first place.
The person gets exactly what they wanted if you fall into their wants. You have to stay true to yourself and be able to tell yourself that you need to stay strong. You have to fight yourself from giving into the person that hurt you. A quote that I feel shows this is one that Val Schnurr said. She said, "'To be happy and successful is the biggest F-you to them.'" I believe in this 100%. If the people are dead or alive, they will hate the fact that the person that they were trying to hurt was able to get past the hurt of what they had done to them.
The links below are links that have to do with Columbine. The first link is about a boy named Mark Taylor that got shot between 7 and 14 times while he was outside. It shocked the doctors that he survived and was able to recover. The second link is to a video taken the day of the shooting by Fox News. Both tell about the things that went on that day at Columbine High School.
http://www.erichufschmid.net/Columbine-DonnaTaylor.html
http://video.foxnews.com/v/3928749/columbine-10-years-later/
One the of major themes that I found in this book was:
You can't run away from the pain of losing someone, even if it has been 5 or even 10 years since you lost them.
I find this very true. If you lose somebody that is dear to you in any way, you will never lose that pain of not being able to see them again or enjoy and share what you had with them when they were alive. You will always miss that person. It is showed very well in a quote said by Linda Mauser. She lost control ten years after Columbine while at the dentist. She told him that her son had died. He asked if it was recent and she responded, "'When your child dies, it's always recent.'" I believe that this quote shows exactly what the theme means. It's been ten years and her childs death still feels recent. The pain didn't even start to go away. You can't just get rid of it, you have to work through that pain.
There was another theme that I was able to get by the end of the book. To get to it though you have to realize that it seemed like Eric and Dylan wanted people to suffer. It seemed as though they wanted for the ones that lost someone that day to not be able to move one from that shooting. To not be happy or be able to succeed in the world ever again. So from this I draw my text theme.
You have to fight to get through things. You can't fall into the roll of what the person that hurt you wanted you to do in the first place.
The person gets exactly what they wanted if you fall into their wants. You have to stay true to yourself and be able to tell yourself that you need to stay strong. You have to fight yourself from giving into the person that hurt you. A quote that I feel shows this is one that Val Schnurr said. She said, "'To be happy and successful is the biggest F-you to them.'" I believe in this 100%. If the people are dead or alive, they will hate the fact that the person that they were trying to hurt was able to get past the hurt of what they had done to them.
The links below are links that have to do with Columbine. The first link is about a boy named Mark Taylor that got shot between 7 and 14 times while he was outside. It shocked the doctors that he survived and was able to recover. The second link is to a video taken the day of the shooting by Fox News. Both tell about the things that went on that day at Columbine High School.
http://www.erichufschmid.net/Columbine-DonnaTaylor.html
http://video.foxnews.com/v/3928749/columbine-10-years-later/
Monday, November 14, 2011
Blog #4!!!!!! Responses to responses
So, the week 4 blog is here, and there is a lot to do. Our teacher, Mr. Dunn, wants us to go to 4 of our classmates' blogs and and respond to their response of the question that they answered that was asked by another student. Very confusing, I know, but we have to do what we have to do. Hopefully this will go well.
I looked on Samantha's blog and found her response to Macayla's blog.
Macayla asked:
Have you ever done something just for the popularity?
Samantha answered:
I my self have not done something just because I thought it would make me more popular/give me more popularity. Sadly, many people in todays generation do however. I think that they need to realize being yourself will make you a lot more friends than you trying to be someone else or by acting different.
My response:
Like Samantha, I have never done anything just to become popular. I always try to be myself around everyone that I am around. I have realized that I would rather have friends that understand me and that I can talk to about anything rather than friends that I can't stand and don't get the type of person that I am.
Next, I looked on Ben's blog. He answered a question asked by Emily.
Emily asked:
"When they talked about how kids used their parents to get to go to McDonald's, do you ever remember doing that to your own parents?"
Ben answered:
Yes i do. I would always ask to go to McDonalds because of the Playplace. And then inevitably i would say "im hungry" and we would get food. And thats how McDonald's makes their money.
My Response:
When I was little I would always tell my dad that I was hungry right when we would pass McDonald's. Then I would ask if we could go, and we usually went.
The third time I went on Jay's blog and found that she answered a question asked by Jason.
Jason asked:
Do you enjoy high school?
Jay answered:
I do enjoy high school for the most part. I believe this is one of the better high schools, because we are allowed to have some say in what we want to learn about and that makes it a much more enjoyable experience. Friends also help make the high school years that much better because the friends you make here help shape who you become and how the time her goes. But on the other side sometimes stress can get to you and it can come from anywhere such as over zealous parent, school work, peers, teachers, and even the sometimes overwelming idea of the future.
My Resonponse:
I enjoy high school very much. Like Jay said, the friends that you make in high school help shape the person that you are gonig to be. High school helps you find who you really are. In high school you learn to branch out and find people that are like you. You also find out what you want to go after you graduate. So many doors are open in these four years. That is probably what I enjoy most about high school, the fact that I find out what I really want to do as a career. The bad part about high school though is having tons of homework. And most of it I personally feel we will not need after we graduate.
I looked on Brad's blog last and found a response to a question asked by Malik.
Malik asked:
Have you ever done something that could drastically change your life and lives of many others?
Brad answered:
I have done something, that could have drastically changed my life, and my families. It may sound stupid, but one thing that I do a lot, is ride my bike without my helmet. This may not sound like a big deal, but if for some reason I was riding, and were to fall, and hit my head, I could be in serious trouble. I could possibly even have brain damage, if the fall was serious enough. If this were to Happening to me it would definitely effect me and my family. I guess in a way, I'm being kind of selfish.
My Response:
I do not believe that I have done anything to drastically change my life or the lives of others. I try to think of what I do before I do it that way I can try to make the best decision possible.
I looked on Samantha's blog and found her response to Macayla's blog.
Macayla asked:
Have you ever done something just for the popularity?
Samantha answered:
I my self have not done something just because I thought it would make me more popular/give me more popularity. Sadly, many people in todays generation do however. I think that they need to realize being yourself will make you a lot more friends than you trying to be someone else or by acting different.
My response:
Like Samantha, I have never done anything just to become popular. I always try to be myself around everyone that I am around. I have realized that I would rather have friends that understand me and that I can talk to about anything rather than friends that I can't stand and don't get the type of person that I am.
Next, I looked on Ben's blog. He answered a question asked by Emily.
Emily asked:
"When they talked about how kids used their parents to get to go to McDonald's, do you ever remember doing that to your own parents?"
Ben answered:
Yes i do. I would always ask to go to McDonalds because of the Playplace. And then inevitably i would say "im hungry" and we would get food. And thats how McDonald's makes their money.
My Response:
When I was little I would always tell my dad that I was hungry right when we would pass McDonald's. Then I would ask if we could go, and we usually went.
The third time I went on Jay's blog and found that she answered a question asked by Jason.
Jason asked:
Do you enjoy high school?
Jay answered:
I do enjoy high school for the most part. I believe this is one of the better high schools, because we are allowed to have some say in what we want to learn about and that makes it a much more enjoyable experience. Friends also help make the high school years that much better because the friends you make here help shape who you become and how the time her goes. But on the other side sometimes stress can get to you and it can come from anywhere such as over zealous parent, school work, peers, teachers, and even the sometimes overwelming idea of the future.
My Resonponse:
I enjoy high school very much. Like Jay said, the friends that you make in high school help shape the person that you are gonig to be. High school helps you find who you really are. In high school you learn to branch out and find people that are like you. You also find out what you want to go after you graduate. So many doors are open in these four years. That is probably what I enjoy most about high school, the fact that I find out what I really want to do as a career. The bad part about high school though is having tons of homework. And most of it I personally feel we will not need after we graduate.
I looked on Brad's blog last and found a response to a question asked by Malik.
Malik asked:
Have you ever done something that could drastically change your life and lives of many others?
Brad answered:
I have done something, that could have drastically changed my life, and my families. It may sound stupid, but one thing that I do a lot, is ride my bike without my helmet. This may not sound like a big deal, but if for some reason I was riding, and were to fall, and hit my head, I could be in serious trouble. I could possibly even have brain damage, if the fall was serious enough. If this were to Happening to me it would definitely effect me and my family. I guess in a way, I'm being kind of selfish.
My Response:
I do not believe that I have done anything to drastically change my life or the lives of others. I try to think of what I do before I do it that way I can try to make the best decision possible.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Interesting Quotes o_0
In this blog, my class was asked to find 3 interesting quotes from the book that we are reading. They could be quotes that had to do with major elements of the book, the main conflict, the major themes, characters, or they could just be quotes that popped out to us.
On page 138, the quote that I found interesting was "Dave Sanders's daughters were angry." This was the first line of chapter 26. The first thought that came into my head was "What exactly happened to him?" That's what his daughters wanted to find out. How did he die? Why didn't anyone try to help him? Well people did try to help him, but they were forced to leave him behind. He was shot 2 times. A teacher and some students were in the hallway that saw it happen. They got him up and took him to Science Room 3, where he would eventually pass. One of the students took care of him as best as he could until SWAT teams rushed in. They told everyone that they had to follow them and get out of the school. When Dave Sanders was mentioned to them, SWAT told the students and teachers to leave him and someone would come back to him later. It wasn't suppose to be long for someone to get to him, but with everything that was going on, SWAT had to take precaution to get to him. By the time that a medic got to Sanders, he had already bled out. That's why his daughters were angry. If someone would have gotten to their father sooner, they feel like he would've had a better chance of living.
On page 148, is where I found my second quote, which is, "The choice would cause tremendous confusion." You might be a little confused by this quote since you have no idea of what the choice is. Well I will tell you. Eric and Dylan had decided to start wearing black trench coats. There was a mafia, the Trench Coat Mafia (TCM), that as you have probably put together, wore trench coats. When students saw the shooters wearing these trench coats, they figured that the TCM must have had something to do with the shooting. There is the confusion. Eric and Dylan were never part of the mafia. When students told police who they thought it was, they starting rounding up the members and "tagged" them as suspects. They would later find out that the TCM had nothing to do with it.
On page 170, is where I found my last quote. It reads, "He's telling us why he did it." This is what Dr. Fuselier thought when he first started reading one of Eric's journals. Since the minute that he had gotten to the school during the shooting, he had been thinking what would drag teenagers to do this. Well, now he had all of the answers.
For the last part of this blog, we were asked to go to one of our classmates' blogs and answer one of their level 3 questions from their week 2 blog.
I have decided to answer a question asked by my friend Morgan, who is reading Fast Food Nation.
This is her question:
What is your opinion of fast food and how does it impact your life?
In my opinion, fast food is some sort of creature that pulls you in from ads that you see on t.v. and can destroy your life. In commercials, fast food restaurants, like McDonald's, looks healthy. But in reality it is full of grease and fat that can make you really sick in the long run. Yes, it does taste good, but it is very harmful to one's life. Fast food doesn't really impact me much because I don't eat it unless I am desperate for food and it's the only thing that I can get.
On page 138, the quote that I found interesting was "Dave Sanders's daughters were angry." This was the first line of chapter 26. The first thought that came into my head was "What exactly happened to him?" That's what his daughters wanted to find out. How did he die? Why didn't anyone try to help him? Well people did try to help him, but they were forced to leave him behind. He was shot 2 times. A teacher and some students were in the hallway that saw it happen. They got him up and took him to Science Room 3, where he would eventually pass. One of the students took care of him as best as he could until SWAT teams rushed in. They told everyone that they had to follow them and get out of the school. When Dave Sanders was mentioned to them, SWAT told the students and teachers to leave him and someone would come back to him later. It wasn't suppose to be long for someone to get to him, but with everything that was going on, SWAT had to take precaution to get to him. By the time that a medic got to Sanders, he had already bled out. That's why his daughters were angry. If someone would have gotten to their father sooner, they feel like he would've had a better chance of living.
On page 148, is where I found my second quote, which is, "The choice would cause tremendous confusion." You might be a little confused by this quote since you have no idea of what the choice is. Well I will tell you. Eric and Dylan had decided to start wearing black trench coats. There was a mafia, the Trench Coat Mafia (TCM), that as you have probably put together, wore trench coats. When students saw the shooters wearing these trench coats, they figured that the TCM must have had something to do with the shooting. There is the confusion. Eric and Dylan were never part of the mafia. When students told police who they thought it was, they starting rounding up the members and "tagged" them as suspects. They would later find out that the TCM had nothing to do with it.
On page 170, is where I found my last quote. It reads, "He's telling us why he did it." This is what Dr. Fuselier thought when he first started reading one of Eric's journals. Since the minute that he had gotten to the school during the shooting, he had been thinking what would drag teenagers to do this. Well, now he had all of the answers.
For the last part of this blog, we were asked to go to one of our classmates' blogs and answer one of their level 3 questions from their week 2 blog.
I have decided to answer a question asked by my friend Morgan, who is reading Fast Food Nation.
This is her question:
What is your opinion of fast food and how does it impact your life?
In my opinion, fast food is some sort of creature that pulls you in from ads that you see on t.v. and can destroy your life. In commercials, fast food restaurants, like McDonald's, looks healthy. But in reality it is full of grease and fat that can make you really sick in the long run. Yes, it does taste good, but it is very harmful to one's life. Fast food doesn't really impact me much because I don't eat it unless I am desperate for food and it's the only thing that I can get.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Not As Planned
Last night I finished reading the first part of the book, Columbine. So far in the book, I have read the main parts of what happened to students and teachers inside of the school, and what has happened to the students, teachers, and families outside of the school.
The two boys kept journals of what they thought about and their plans for a mass murder. Dylan would usually just keep a notebook, but Eric wanted everyone to know what they had planned and why they did what they had decided to do. He took videos of himself and Dylan talking about it and letting out their anger. He drew pictures of where they would be going in the school to make sure they could get as many people as possible. In Eric's day planner the heading for April 20, 1999, had read "make TODAY count." They didn't want to mess up anything. That day had to go perfect for them.
Eric and Dylan had a plan that would for sure maximize their body count. They did have Act 1. Act 1 was when the two bombs inside of the cafeteria were suppose to go off. They were set for 11:17 a.m. The time that lunch "A" was starting and there was just going to be a big crowd. That was when most of the people in the school were suppose to be taken down, but when that didn't happen, they carried onto Act 2.
Act 2 was simple: they were going to go into the school and shoot anyone in their path. Eric had a shotgun and Hi-Point 9mm carbine rifle. Dylan had a Intratec TEC-DC9 handgun and a shotgun as well. The barrels of both shotguns had been sawed off for concealment. They also had pipe bombs and carbon dioxide bombs. So they went to the different sides of the school that they had planned. Eric was more willing to shoot the students and adults that he saw. Dylan, on the other hand, did not get into it as much.
Some teachers told their students to get under desks to hide. Other teachers like Dave Sanders got as many people out of the cafeteria as possible when he heard about the first shootings. There were even teachers that thought that the whole thing was just some stupid senior prank. Those teachers made their students stay where they were and kept on going with class.
The people in the hallways and outside were the easiest to get, which made them the first targets. Afterwards, Eric and Dylan went into the classrooms, the cafeteria, and the library to search for more people. Groups of students and teachers started coming out of the school and were being sent to buildings for their family and friends to find them. During this time, cops were surrounding the building not knowing what to do. There were also SWAT team members going into the school to search for the suspects and for remaining survivors.
Four hours after the attack had started, the SWAT team had found Eric and Dylan lying dead in the library. They had committed suicide. Some parents had realized that their kids were never going to come home. Others rejoiced with tears of happiness when they were able to find their children. One dad was a retired negotiator for the FBI. His son went o Columbine, that's how he got on the case. Had had to worry about what as going on in the school instead of what type of condition his son was in. Some parents, like Brad and Misty Bernall, wouldn't accept that their daughter, Cassie, was gone. They still had hope that she was just hiding in the school.
The friends of Eric and Dylan were taken into questioning. The Harris and the Klebold families were told to hide away in case anybody were to take their anger out of the boys' families. There was still a long way to go until detectives would know the whole reason for why Eric and Dylan had planned a mass murder.
For this blog in particular, my class was asked to come up with different level questions for what we are reading.
Level 2 Questions
1. Why would have SWAT teams taken 4 hours to find Eric and Dylan in the library?
2. How did Eric get Dylan to join in on the shooting?
3. How did the parents react to the shooting once they heard about what was going on?
4. How did the retired FBI negotiator have to deal with not knowing how his son was?
5. What made Eric and Dylan think of a plan such as mass murder?
Level 3 Questions
1. How would you deal with the pain of losing a family member?
2. What would you have done if you were one of the teachers at Columbine High School during the shooting?
The two boys kept journals of what they thought about and their plans for a mass murder. Dylan would usually just keep a notebook, but Eric wanted everyone to know what they had planned and why they did what they had decided to do. He took videos of himself and Dylan talking about it and letting out their anger. He drew pictures of where they would be going in the school to make sure they could get as many people as possible. In Eric's day planner the heading for April 20, 1999, had read "make TODAY count." They didn't want to mess up anything. That day had to go perfect for them.
Eric and Dylan had a plan that would for sure maximize their body count. They did have Act 1. Act 1 was when the two bombs inside of the cafeteria were suppose to go off. They were set for 11:17 a.m. The time that lunch "A" was starting and there was just going to be a big crowd. That was when most of the people in the school were suppose to be taken down, but when that didn't happen, they carried onto Act 2.
Act 2 was simple: they were going to go into the school and shoot anyone in their path. Eric had a shotgun and Hi-Point 9mm carbine rifle. Dylan had a Intratec TEC-DC9 handgun and a shotgun as well. The barrels of both shotguns had been sawed off for concealment. They also had pipe bombs and carbon dioxide bombs. So they went to the different sides of the school that they had planned. Eric was more willing to shoot the students and adults that he saw. Dylan, on the other hand, did not get into it as much.
Some teachers told their students to get under desks to hide. Other teachers like Dave Sanders got as many people out of the cafeteria as possible when he heard about the first shootings. There were even teachers that thought that the whole thing was just some stupid senior prank. Those teachers made their students stay where they were and kept on going with class.
The people in the hallways and outside were the easiest to get, which made them the first targets. Afterwards, Eric and Dylan went into the classrooms, the cafeteria, and the library to search for more people. Groups of students and teachers started coming out of the school and were being sent to buildings for their family and friends to find them. During this time, cops were surrounding the building not knowing what to do. There were also SWAT team members going into the school to search for the suspects and for remaining survivors.
Four hours after the attack had started, the SWAT team had found Eric and Dylan lying dead in the library. They had committed suicide. Some parents had realized that their kids were never going to come home. Others rejoiced with tears of happiness when they were able to find their children. One dad was a retired negotiator for the FBI. His son went o Columbine, that's how he got on the case. Had had to worry about what as going on in the school instead of what type of condition his son was in. Some parents, like Brad and Misty Bernall, wouldn't accept that their daughter, Cassie, was gone. They still had hope that she was just hiding in the school.
The friends of Eric and Dylan were taken into questioning. The Harris and the Klebold families were told to hide away in case anybody were to take their anger out of the boys' families. There was still a long way to go until detectives would know the whole reason for why Eric and Dylan had planned a mass murder.
For this blog in particular, my class was asked to come up with different level questions for what we are reading.
Level 2 Questions
1. Why would have SWAT teams taken 4 hours to find Eric and Dylan in the library?
2. How did Eric get Dylan to join in on the shooting?
3. How did the parents react to the shooting once they heard about what was going on?
4. How did the retired FBI negotiator have to deal with not knowing how his son was?
5. What made Eric and Dylan think of a plan such as mass murder?
Level 3 Questions
1. How would you deal with the pain of losing a family member?
2. What would you have done if you were one of the teachers at Columbine High School during the shooting?
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Starting Out
The book that I decided to read was Columbine, by Dave Cullen.
So far in this book, Dave Cullen has written about the events that are about to happen, like prom, and he keys into the shooting the Tuesday afterwards. He explains what Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold are like, and where they stand in the social circle. He writes that Eric is the more popular one of the two. He has the girls, the looks, and surprisingly, the brain. Dylan is shy with girls, doesn't have as good as looks, but also has the brain. Because, of their popularity, no one expected them to do what they did, and it was a shocker to the world.
The main point of this book is to tell the story of went on that day of April 20, 1999, before it takes place, and afterwards. That story is going to be briefed up on this blog.
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