Break Essay

 Is it fair that the lives students are revolving on a single test for millions of Chinese students? No.  The article “Chinas Cram Schools” by Brook Larmer, informs the reader that students are based on a test score. Students study in every second of the day that they can, for this awful test called the gaokao, designed to promise a future of fields and factories, if you fail.

The test gaokao is an extremely high stakes test on the Chinese language, English language, mathematics, and either social studies and literature or science. Students spend their full 10^th and 11^th grades learning these subjects, and the whole 12^th grade studying every second they can get. In the text it states, “Xu filled every moment with study, testing himself between classes, on the toilet, in the cafeteria. After lights went out at 11:30, he sometimes used a battery powered lamp to keep going.” This shows that no matter where you are or what you are doing, it doesn’t matter. You are studying. No time for iPads, iPhones, MacBooks, videogames. This is what life looks like.

Gaokao puts the most amounts of stress and pressure on the students as possible. In the text it shows, “Its critics say it stifles creativity and puts excessive pressure on students. Teenage suicide rates tend to rise as the gaokao nears.” This shows that with the pressure the test and teachers have attended, it is worth it to some students to loose their lives. The teachers put so much pressure on the students not just because they care about them (I actually doubt they do), but also because the students scores is what keeps their own job alive. Half of your class fails, you’ll end up in the field with them.

Many schools are poor and don’t have well trained teachers. Wealthy families usually opted out and went to a fancy expensive private school, or they got a personal tutor. But one school called Maotanchang “fixed” that. The way this high school works, is that it completely eliminates distractions of modern life. In the text it explains, “Cellphones and laptops are forbidden. The dorms, where about half the students live, have no electrical outlets. Dating is banned. In town, where the rest of the students live, mostly with their mothers in tiny partitioned rooms, the local government has shut down all forms of entertainment…. ‘there is nothing to do but study.’ Yang says.” This shows how serious schools like Maotanchang is with the gaokao.

To conclude, students in China are test scores, which is completely upsetting and unfair. Lives are ruined, and even ended for some, because of these tests. This article teaches the reader that China’s way of life right now is out of control, and we are lucky to have what we have today. 

Poetry Comparison Essay

Nora Wiley- Schwartz                                                                                               711

            Not all relationships are simple to define. In the poems “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden and “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, both authors look back at his past relationship with his father. The relationships between parents and children are complicated and so the poems reflect some of the many ways that people end up feeling about their parents.

            The first poem, “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden, it shows a man looking back in regret at his relationship between him and his father. It explains how his father woke up every morning early (even on Sundays) to warm the house for his whole family. It says how he works hard not just for his family but everyday of the week. “… with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekdays…” (Stanza One) and no one ever thanks him. The speaker says how his father would do well for him and so many others, but got nothing in return. The speaker explains, “speaking indifferently to him, who has driven out the cold, and polished my good shoes as well, what did I know, what did I know, of loves austere and lonely offices?” (Stanza Three) This shows the speaker remembering that he did nothing for his father, and he didn’t know what love really meant. This relationship is upsetting because he wishes he could undo what he couldn’t. It shows his father giving, and him never returning.

            The second poem, “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, it uses imagery to paint a picture of a man looking back with joy at his relationship between him and his father. This father works hard too, but when he comes home he celebrates a day of hard work with whiskey and a small dance with his son. “We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf; my mothers countenance could not unfrown itself.” (Stanza Two) this shows that the boy and father are forming a bond that the mother cannot understand. “You beat time on my head with a hand caked hard by dirt, then waltzed me off to bed, still clinging to your shirt” (Stanza Four). This explains how relationships can be happy, and fun to remember. It shows a father and son bonding before the kid’s bedtime.

            To conclude, although these poems both show a relationship between a father and son the feelings expressed in each poem is very different. One tells the story with regret, the other with joy. I think this shows the reader that all childhood memories are looked at from all sorts of different ways, and every story is different.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Essay

Nora Wiley- Schwartz                       711                                         2/28

In the story “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll, a young girl named Alice falls down a rabbit hole and finds herself in a land full of curious things and mysteries. In a typical story, the main character usually has full control over his/her travels, but while Alice takes her journey through Wonderland, we see that the one with the control is not Alice, it’s Wonderland itself.

           

On page 8, the story tells how Alice doesn’t know the outcome of the path she’s taking. “… And found in it a very small cake, on which the words ‘EAT ME’ were beautifully marked in currents. ‘Well I’ll eat it’, said Alice, ‘and if it makes me grow larger, ill be able to reach the key, and if it makes me grow smaller, I’ll creep under the door; so either way ill be able to get in.’” This shows how little control Alice has in Wonderland. Either way, she will grow taller or shorter, she doesn’t know.

Because of Alice’s curiosity and full imagination, Wonderland has an advantage on her. Wonderland pulls her through passageways with a force by bribing her with mysterious things. On page 38, Alice is lead into the Queen of Hearts’s garden because of her determination and curiosity. “Just as she said this, she noticed that one of the trees had a door leading right into it. ‘That’s very curious!’ she thought. ‘But everything is curious today. I think I may as well go in at once.’ And in she went.” This piece of text offers a piece of Alice’s thoughts. Alice is giving in to the journey that Wonderland wants her to take. Because of her determination, Alice is easily lured into the next adventure.

           

Some characters show up to lead her places too, like the Caterpillar. The Caterpillar is famous for saying “who are YOU?” but did you know he lead Alice to what he wanted her to do? On page 25, the Caterpillar says, “ ‘one side will make you grow shorter, the other side will make you grow taller.’ ‘The one side of what? The other side of what?’ thought Alice. ‘Of the mushroom’ said the Caterpillar. And just like that, he was gone.” This explains how the Caterpillar was hinting to her about the future and leading her to the next place.

            To conclude, Wonderland has a great deal of control over Alice, despite her determination and curiosity. Because of her curiosity and huge imagination, Wonderland is able to pull her through her journeys by introducing her to characters. Wonderland takes advantage of Alice’s curiosity and leads her through her journey.

My Competitive Sports Argument Essay

Nora Wiley- Schwartz                                                                                               711

            More people are stopping their children from playing competitive sports every day because kids can get hurt. But there are ways to prevent that, and competitive sports prepare you for the life you have ahead of you and keep you healthy. Without competitive sports, your kid could be one of those kids that sits inside all day, not being very active, and not knowing what the world outside of their house is like. Do you really want that? This is why kids should play competitive sports.

            Playing competitive sports prepares your kids for the life they have ahead of them. This is very important. In ‘Competitive Sports: Helping Kids Play It Cool’, the text says, “sports prepare the body to rise to a challenge with focus, strength, stamina, and heightened awareness.” This tells us some important qualities that help you become a stronger person. Another quote from ‘Competitive Sports: Helping Kids Play It Cool’ says: “playing sports can impart many wonderful life lessons--valuing teamwork, overcoming challenges, controlling emotions, and taking pride in accomplishments.” This tells us how competitive sports help kids learn basic good qualities for life. For example, one of these qualities is controlling your emotions. Most kids learn to not have a fit on the field in the middle of the game because the game must go on. Kids will start doing this in their regular life as well. This is a great example of just how valuable it is to play competitive sports. If everyone experienced this, we would all be much more prepared for the life ahead of us.

            Playing competitive sports helps you stay healthy. Without competitive sports many more kids would be overweight in America. Kobe Bryant, an NBA champion says, “You need to get out there and compete because it’s going to decrease your chance of having diabetes 30-40 years from now.” This is meaningful because nobody wants to get diabetes when they’re older, I sure don’t. ScienceDaily, a local news paper states that “Students in grades seven and eight were asked to fill in a survey, and boys were 15 times more likely and girls were 30 times more likely to describe their health as fair/poor when not playing on a sports team.” This evidence shows how playing sports impacts kids a lot when it comes to staying fit. Sports have always kept my brother and me healthy as we are growing up.

            Even though competitive sports help you in the long run, many think that sports are much too dangerous.  The NY Daily News says “Each year in the U.S. an average of a dozen high school and college football players die during practices and games, according to a new study that finds heart conditions, heat and other non-traumatic causes of death are twice as common as injury-related ones.” Many parents are resigning their kids from sports because of the hard hits, the collisions, the falls that all add up. But there are many ways to prevent those life threatening conditions. For example, more padding and gear such as appropriate helmets can be applied. Many kids don’t tell their coaches when they are not OK.  They answer with a simple “I’m fine”, and think they are showing how brave they are. But what really shows that they are brave is saying when they are really hurt, and cannot play. In Crave Competition: Its Good For You, it states, “some say competition is toxic. They are not wrong. Life is toxic.” This is very true. We need to use sports as a training ground in order to know how to deal with the challenges that are coming ahead of us.

            To conclude, we should all play competitive sports because without it, we may not be mentally and physically prepared for our own lives. We need to step up to the plate (sometimes literally) and get out onto that field. You’re not “protecting” your kid by keeping them in. Let’s start today.

Works Cited

"Average 12 High School and College Football Players Die Each Year, Study Says." NY Daily News. Reuters, 6 Apr. 2013. Web. Jan. 2015. <http://www.nydailynews.com/>.

"Competitive Sports: Helping Kids Play It Cool." KidsHealth. Ed. Michelle New. The Nemours Foundation, Mar. 2011. Web. Jan. 2015. <http://kidshealth.org/>.

De Sena, Joseph. "Crave Competition, It's Good for You: Column." USA Today. USA Today, 12 Oct. 2013. Web. Jan. 2015. <http://usat.ly/1awXiFC>.

Shelburne, Ramona. "Kobe Bryant Says Healthy Competition Key in Youth Sports." ESPN Los Angeles. ESPN Internet Ventures, 14 Jan. 2014. Web. Jan. 2015. <http://ESPBLosAngeles.com>.

"Young Teens Who Play Sports Feel Healthier and Happier about Life." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 14 Oct. 2010. Web. Jan. 2015. <http://www.sciencedaily.com/>.

Building Bridges Essay!

Nora Wiley- Schwartz                       711                                                                 12/9

                                                           

           

             Building Bridges Essay

It’s common for guardians to have trouble letting go of their children. In the short story “Building Bridges” by Andrea Pinkney, a grandmother is afraid of being left alone. Mama Lil’, the grandmother, doesn’t want Bebe, her granddaughter, to go to a bridge renovation project, away from her Mama Lil’. Through Bebe’s continued fight to be an engineer, we see that the protagonist represents that everyone has to follow their dreams.

            You can tell that since Mama Lil’ doesn’t want Bebe to go to the bridge renovation project, she tries to tune out from Bebe’s well-reasoned argument and and tune into a cigarette. Whenever the topic comes up, the cigarette comes out. “ ‘Mama Lil’,’ I began, ‘look at me.’ She leaned back to inhale the cigarette.” (pg. 28) the cigarette is a symbol because it distracts Mama Lil’ from hearing Bebe’s well-reasoned argument on why she should work Brooklyn Bridge. “The last of Mama Lil’s smoke lingered in the air between us.” This sentence explains to me that Mama Lil’ is trying to hide the truth behind the smoke; she’s too afraid to let Bebe go.

            In the climax, one of the things Mama Lil’ says to Bebe is that engineering is a “white mans work”. Mama Lil’ thinks that the bridge renovation project is for muscular white men. In the text she explains: “‘it’s a white mans work. You aint got no place messin with it. We should stick with our own kind, Bebe­­- colored women trying to cross the white mans line is asking for trouble.’” (pg. 21) this shows that Mama Lil’ is scared to let Bebe go away from their safe neighborhood, and out into the big world. Mama Lil’ also explains “’ white folk can pay their bills sittin around doodling. We just don’t got it like that. ‘” Mama Lil’ nervous Bebe is pushing the colored woman line- and is going to get into trouble.

            In the beginning of the short story, Mama Lil’ makes ham- Bebe’s all-time favorite. I think Mama Lil’ tried to make Bebe in a good mood by making the ham before she told Bebe that she wasn’t going to let her do the bridge renovation project. “we had just finished up Sunday breakfast. Ham- my all-time favorite.” (pg. 17) Mama Lil’ is desperate to have Bebe stay with her. Another time the ham comes up is right before she tells Bebe she can go. “ when I got into the kitchen, my plate was set. Mama Lil’ scurried between the stove and the table, setting down napkins, pouring orange juice, flipping the ham as it rustled in the skillet. She didn’t even see me in the kitchen.” This shows Mama Lil’ was hurrying to make things perfect when she told Bebe she could go. She wanted to make things perfect when she told Bebe she could go. She wanted to make it just like Bebe imagined- a perfect ending.

            To conclude, Mama Lil’ needs to let Bebe go follow her dreams, even though she is scared to be left alone. She is worried Bebe will go follow her dreams and never return. In the text Mama Lil’ states, “ ‘your dreams are the kind that’ll take you away from here, Bebe- away from your Mama Lil’. You got big hopes, child, but they gonna leave me alone, by myself.’” (pg. 29) Mama Lil’ is afraid to let Bebe go out into the big world, just like lots of parents/ guardians out there. When the time comes, the parents want their child to have the perfect job, even if it means stopping them from what they want to do.