"Respond to a Poem about a Social Issue"

No Christmas for my children,
No husband for my bed,
No money for tomorrow,
No place to lay my head, No tree with mounds of presents,
No ornaments or lights,
No smiles on Christmas morning,
No feast on Christmas night,
No toys to ease the boredom
Of hours before closed doors,
No family celebrations,
No trips to crowded stores,
No fireplace, no Santa,
No games aglow with friends,
No fire but feeble fury
As Christmas slowly ends.
For me I have no pity,
My sorrow stronger proves,
Because for my sweet children
I've nothing but my love.
-By Dimitri Shostakovich. Sequenced by J. Marques.
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This song is about a family faced with poverty. It's telling the story in the perspective of a mother who feels bad that she doesn't have enough money to celebrate Christmas with and for her children.
I think that although sad, there are a lot of people who can relate to this song. Homelessness and poverty are big problems that many people have to deal with. These 2 issues are always affecting many people, especially now due to the current economic crisis.

The way the song is written makes you feel bad for the mother. Although the song is about her feeling bad for her kids, you pity her because you see that the only reason she wants to be able to get these things are for her kids. The song shows you that she loves her children and wants to give them everything she can't. Through the poem, she is talking about how she feels bad that her kids won't get what they want, her kids won't be able to rest their heads, or have food. She is focusing on wanting everything for her kids. The poem shows that this mother could have nothing for herself, but as long as her loved ones are okay she will be fine.

This song is written to be sad but does have a really thoughtful meaning from the mother to her children.

Suicide

Suicide is a topic that myself, and most other teens, hear a lot about. Whether it's in books or movies, its a common topic. Hearing about suicide could be that people are trying to make us aware of what is going on around us. People could be trying to make us realize what a horrible thing suicide is. Or maybe it's just a plot in the movie you're watching. I think that suicide is a horrible thing. The reason I chose to write about suicide, is because it's been in the news a lot lately. I can't help but feel bad when i hear about 10 year olds killing themselves. So I read up on more information about the topic.

Suicide can be looked at as a crime, or a life style choice. Suicide is a leading cause of death among teenagers and people older than 35. Suicide indicates feelings of hopelessness are depression. Media coverage of suicides has been noted as another risk  for suicidal behavior, especially among young people. Some worry that if a person is longing for attention to the point where they would do anything to get it, publicizing suicide, can give this person the idea to commit, for attention purposes.

It's sad to think that there are people who feel they need to kill themselves to take them out of misery. I hate it when the reason for a kid to kill themselves is bullying. The reason this bothers me is because, if someone took action there would have been a way to stop it. Some people don't realize when they're going too far. They don't understand that just one thing you say can lead someone to doing something drastic. 

Suicide isn't always just stemming from the actions of your peers. It could be stemming from family problems, self consciousness, pressure, stress, attention, anything for that matter. Suicide is a serious issue, and  children should be taught about it. Teaching people about the affects of suicide, and the help they can get if they have suicidal thoughts will help save lives. I think it's important to teach people about what is going on around them. Some people may say that a 10 years old is too young to hear about suicide, and it might give them ideas. But if the world has come down to a young kids killing themselves, then a 10 year old should learn about suicide too.

http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?id=S44-4241-0-5537&artno=0000307156&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=Suicide&title=At%20Issue%3A%20Suicide&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/10390079/

2 voice poem

MY HEART ACHES

Because my boyfriend just broke up with me

Because I just got out of surgery

I DON’T WANT ANYONE TO LOOK AT ME

Because I’m crying my eyes out

Because the scars make me look ugly

THE WORLD SEEMS DIFFERENT

Because He is not here

Because He is not here

EVERYONE WILL PITTY ME

Because he doesn’t love me

Because of how lucky I was to have survived

I TRY TO REALIZE HOW LUCKY I AM

That I can have fun now, I will not let anyone holding me down

That I am here now, I will have no more regrets

BUT I STILL WANT TO FALL ASLEEP AND NOT WAKE UP

Because my boyfriend just broke up with me

Because my dad died in the car crash, but I survived

The Girl Who Fell From The Sky

Getting to the end of the THE GIRL WHO FELL FROM THE SKY, Some Of my original questions were being answered. Reading the book I'm still loving the way the author writes. She answers your questions in interesting ways. The book is likens puzzle. I cant wait to finish the book. It deals with a lit of different topics, such as; Suicide, death, depression, and even love. As you go on everything starts to connect. You start to learn more about Rachel's dad, and the effect he had on her mom's life, and what lead her mom to suicide.
I think that Brick's change after he saw Rachel's family die is very practical. He changed his appearence and the way he acts. He visited Rachel in the hospital, and even started a bonding relationship with her father.
For Rachel's dad you lear that he drinks a lot. He really did care about his family though. As you learn more about the relationship between Rachel's mom, mor, and her dad, you realize why her mom commited suicide.
Although the book is not taking place in this time period, I think that the Author had a good strategy in connecting problems from back then, to problems now. Although Rachel's mom killing herself with her kids is a tragic plot, it is very possible, and has happened before. The author connects racial discrimination , with suicide.
I think the book has a really good plot, and I can't wait to finish it.

"Observe your surroundings"

(school, home, neighborhood, media). Write a list about all the scenes or situations you come across on a daily basis that you think are unfair and/or not right in some way. Pick one of the ideas from your list and write a longer entry about it - 2-3 paragraphs. Describe the problem, what's wrong with it, cause and effect, and possible solutions."
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Everyday, I see people ignoring each other and everything around them. It bothers me. Why, I don't know. I am not sure if people do this purposefully, or they are just oblivious to the world around them. Either way there is no real excuse for it. There is something wrong with the idea that when people look up, they're not paying attention to the world, but to something else. I am not saying that I don't do this myself, but doesn't anyone get annoyed when the person in there headphones playing Angry Birds on their iphone bumps into you. Doesn't it make you wonder how many things that person is missing around them, when they're in their own little world. I am pretty sure that about everyone in the world can zone out into their world, and not realize anything that's going on, or appreciates the world around them, but I still think that it's a bad habit that we all have.

When people don't pay attention to things around them they are not able to appreciate the world itself. If people were to look up, or wake up and step out of their own world, they would see that other people have worries to. They're not the only ones with issues or problems that need to be solved. They would realize the good and the bad things out there. If people payed attention to the world around them life would be easier. I think that people are so preoccupied with their own self, that they are not concerned about the world around them.

The 2 Blog posts I've read.

Zack's post was about The Lovely Bones. He talked about how powerful that book was. Since I've read it I completely agree. It's very powerful.... It is also sort of creepy. You could tell that Zack read the book and wrote a thoughtful reflection about it.

Sumaiya Wrote a really good blog. I like her outline. She put a lot of effort in her writing. I like how she started off her blog with a quote. She elaborated on the book, so that someone who never read the book understood her thoughts on it.
Both of their blogs were really good.

The Girl Who Fell From The Sky2

The last blog I wrote about The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Heidi W. Durrow, I wrote about the style of the author's writing. Since I was only a few chapters in, I didn't realize the layout of the book. The author writes the chapters in a different characters
Perspective. My favorite sections are still about "bird boy", now known as Brick. They're the most interesting chapters.

Slowly the chapters are connecting. Everything gets more detailed, her past life is playing out, and giving you more questions about her future. She is getting used to her new town and new life. She has a boyfriend and other friends. Watching her develop is actually pretty cool. But I'm wondering what really happened when her mom jumped off the building. I would like to know what role her dad played in this suicide. And lastly I would like to know how Brick was affected by seeing them die. I really like the book:)
I would definitely recommend this book to someone.

The blogs I read.

Sumaiya and Zack both put a lot of effort into their blog pieces. Their blogs helped me learn new writing techniques. They helped me think about what I should write next time and how I should write it. They both did a really good job, and put a lot of thought into what they wrote. I enjoyed reading their pieces because besides help with writing techniques, they help me get ideas about new books to read.

The girl That fell from the sky.

The Girl Who Fell From The Sky, is a book about a girl that is living with her grandmother after her mother dies. Her grandmother lives in an African American dominated neighborhood. Rachel has a African American dad and a white mom. She is faced with daily problems such as being a mixed race, and being the new girl. They are slowly telling you about her old life, and you are learning more about her past as the book goes on.

My favorite part of the book so far was when she told the readers about how her mother died. The way the author wrote it was really cool. She was narrating the boys life, and almost giving you an inside look on his life and his reaction when he saw the dead family. I think her writing technique was unique and creative. I would like to try this technique in one of my next writing pieces.