A Statement to Understand.

Standing up to Oppression takes Great Individual Courage.

In my opinion, this is a very important statement, and it is so true. To make this really simple and easy to understand, have you ever seen a wimp stand up to anything. In case you think you have, then it's probably not a wimp you saw, but I person you would never think as brave because you didn't know them very well. Everyone has courage in their hearts, maybe not all, but it takes a lot of guts to show that courageous side. Tom Baker started up the Peasant Revolt in 1381, he was tired of oppression and wanted no part of it any more. He was the first to stand up to an official, and his courage brought others out to the light. John Ball agreed with him, and over time so did everybody else. It took courage in order to stand up to such great power, and Tom Baker had it. There are also modern examples of this, for example, standing up to a bully. Not all people can do this, they're afraid for where they'll end up. Many people in today's world have this problem. Some things, like courage, take five seconds. Sometimes though, it takes a lot longer. Either way, in order to stand up to oppression you have to have the guts and you also have to be aware of the outcome. And that, my dear friends, is what truly makes that statement so true and so important.

Feudal System in 100 Words. By Zoe and Allison.

Father Francois, you are my honoured guest. Please allow me to explain the Feudal system to you before you ask any questions of me. I am but a simple farmer. The Feudal system means that the King owns all of England. He loans land to his vassals if they give him military service. If they don’t, then he takes the land back. His vassals can loan their land to their vassals who swear their service to him. Those vassals can loan their land to peasants, who work the land, and are promised protection. But they all still serve the King.

William of Normandy.

One of three men could have the throne in 1066, they all had their claims, but who's was the best? In my opinion, William of Normandy had the best claim when it came to taking over England. Sure he did get there mostly by lying, but he was a strong man and unlike the others, he actually knew what he was doing. William even had gotten the Pope on his side! With William's strong army and friend Alexander the Second he would promise England the strongest future out of the other two. Back in Normandy William also had lots of followers, this could always help tie Normandy and England closer together. Making them trust one another and avoiding any scary wars or un-needed conflicts. Duke William, at one point, said that he was promised the throne years before and there was no one to say he was wrong. For all we know it was the honest truth, he was known for lying but that was just to get to the throne. And, who knows? Maybe that lying would come in handy when he was King! Just by the lies you knew that William was cunning enough to run a country. One of three men could have the throne, and one of three men survived (In William's view.) the holy crusade. And that was the man with the best claim, the one that is now known as Duke William the Conqueror.

By: Allison Michelle Bradford.

Did you make the Right Decision?

I have seen a victim of bullying, not bullying that includes violence, but that doesn't stop if from being bad. I am not going to mention any names, for the sake of their well-being. I'm guessing it's not entirely their fault, for they did not realize that what they said was hurtful. They just let the words escape from their mouths thinking that it would be funny. Not caring that it was only funny to themselves, not the person. These people were making jokes about Japan, stereo-typical jokes. Not only that but also making tons of jokes about stereo-typical Asians. The specific people a part of this tormenting also tended to tease as well. Again, they think they are so funny when really they are the opposite. These people tend to either make mean, cruel and sometimes perverted jokes...and think their funny. It's not that they are bad people, they just don't realize how hurtful their being, they say these things by accident. (Or at least I hope they are.) When they did this, well, I said nothing. I couldn't think of anything to say, for this I am weighed down. Mean things and actions that I can't even go around to stopping. In my defense I don't know how, I don't how they would react. Probably not going to stop no matter how many times I tell them to. I've tried once...No impact. I tried twice...No impact. I gave up and probably shouldn't have, but honestly I have nothing to say to them for they don't listen to me anyways. When I tell them I'll do something they don't believe me, always saying I am sweet and innocent Alli, their not going to listen to a girl. And definitely not be for that matter.

Thus, I say nothing to them.

So far in Humanities I have seen bullying in a book we were reading in the beginning known as Shadow of the Minotaur. In the book Shadow of the Minotaur the main character is harassed by the big bully of the school, with harsh words and physical contact. In the Boy in the Striped Pyjamas there is bullying when one of the soldiers beats up on of the Jews just for spilling wine. No one responded to these actions.

If you see something that shouldn't be done, contact someone or just simply help the person in need. Help yourself make the right decision, the one that will have the most impact for the others safety. Whether it's just emotionally or physically.

Sure this is just Human Nature, but honestly, why can't Human Nature at least try to be controlled?

The following part of this blog will not make much sense if you have not seen this video.

http://youtu.be/_aDbeoPa4bQ

1.What’s familiar about the incident Eve describes?

To me, everything is familiar about what she says. I to, have had people throw their hatred at me for no apparent reason. Not knowing why though, I just ignore them and stay close to my own friends. The people who deserve me.

2.What surprised you?

The fact that people would hate on people that they have known for years for no divine reason. With my problem I had not known them for years, but the people in her story knew each other since a young age. So to define the reason for Eve's time of life of being an outcast is rather unclear. It is hard to understand the subject of Human Nature. People say treat other the way you would want to be treated, in fact, they say this all the time. Then why do people say they listen to it, when really they are only treating their friends this specific way? Why not everyone? I strive to be kind to everyone, even if I particularly don't like that person, I am still kind to them. Hopefully, ensuring that I have no enemies and that they will treat me the same way.

3. How does Eve’s story relate to bullying? Was she bullied? Did she bully? How would you explain her behavior?( perpetrator/bystander/victim?). make sure you justify & back up your answer. Psychologists Michael Thompson and Lawrence Cohen point to the powerful influence of peer groups in guiding our behavior: ‘We all know that groups can go terribly astray in terms of their moral reasoning. Everyone not in the group can be considered an outsider, a legitimate target…It affects every group because we are all prone to that feeling of us versus them and the idea that if you’re not with us you’re against us. Speaking out against a risky, immoral or illegal decision is hard to do because that makes you an outsider yourself’.

In Eve's story the bullying comes in verbally, sometimes even the kind of verbal you don't hear. Like gossip and laughing behind the victim's back. Eve noticed that sometimes when she spoke some girls in her class would roll their eyes or giggle amongst themselves. So yes, Eve was bullied, but not in the way people know as bullying. The fact is, whatever is hurtful is known as bullying. Her behavior was hard to define, for she was more like all three. She was a bystander, for she hadn't helped the girl who appeared to be rejected more than she was. She also was a victim, for a specific group made fun of her as well. But not only that, she was a perpetrator for, at one point, she as apart of the bullying. She had become a part of this bullying just by laughing at the rejected girl's diary. So in hindsight, she was all three.

4.How did Eve’s need to belong affect the way she responded when another girl was being mocked? Why does her response still trouble her? How do you like to think you would have responded to the incident?

She responded the way she did because she probably longed for even that couples seconds of acceptance and feel of people actual noticing her. He response still troubles her because she can't believe she did such a thing even when she knew how it felt. Thus making her feel like a bully, just like the group of girls. For me, the way I would have responded is not certain, but if I was being made fun of by those popular girls I wouldn't have even followed the most popular girl. I mean, why would I want to in the first place? If I did follow her and saw the diary, diary aren't worth seeing in my opinion. Especially other people's. I mean, hearing about other people's lives is boring. I don't care about other people's secrets for they deserve to keep them for their selves.

5. Eve concludes “Often being accepted by others is more satisfying than being accepted by oneself, even though the satisfaction does not last.’ What does she mean?

Basically here Eve is telling us that feeling accepted is like a treasure. You want that treasure so badly and even feeling it for a second make you feel as if people care about you. That you are not a nobody and that you are certainly not ignored. Sadly though, if you are normally not accepted that acceptance does not last for things are probably going to go back to the way they were before pretty quick. You don't want to be just accepted by yourself, you want to feel loved by others other than yourself. A compliment is wonderful every once in a while, because then you feel as if others feel the same way you do. If you feel beautiful but no one ever tells you you are, you feel awful as if your beauty may not actually be there.

Love and help one another for that is what fuels the giving heart.

Courage of Le Chambon.

We were assigned to read and annotate a story of resistance, my group and I were assigned the story of Le Chambon. This story is of a silent resistance, the one no one can can know about in penalty of punishment, sometimes even in penalty of death. The small village of Le Chambon hid Jews in their homes during the Holocaust, they believed that killing them was wrong and that everyone deserved to live. They were given their own decision whether to help them or not, though their choice was obvious. Even the children were in on the silent resistance. When asked to be apart of a Hitler Youth Group they said these exact words, "Make no distinction between Jews and non-Jews. It is contrary to Gospel teaching."

What did you learn from the story's rescuers?

Throughout the story of Le Chambon, they talk about a lot of decision making. They help me learn that some decisions are easier to grasp than others. For example, the decision on whether to help the Jews or to kill them came easy to them. Help was the only answer. Magda Torcme was the wife of the towns minister. She put her decision making in these very words, "Sometime people ask me, How did you make a decision? There was no decision to make. The issue was: Do you think we are all brothers or not? Do you think it is unjust to turn in the Jews or not? Then let us try to help!" In the end decisions can be easy to make, it really just depends on the situation.

What do they teach us about human behavior?

Le Chambon does teach us some about human behavior, their story proves that it is human nature to have your own opinion. It is also human nature to help those who need it (Though it depends on the person, some don't help others.) and it is also human nature to go against something if we feel it best. Le Chambon went against the slaughtering of the Jews were their silent resistance, silently stowing away Jews in their own homes for protection so that they would not be harmed. Le Chambon also teaches us that behavior can also be affected my religion, by beliefs or just morals. The children of Le Chambon said no when asking to participate in the Hitler Youth Group, not only because they thought it was wrong, but also because their religion taught them not to. Their religion said all were equal. The quote in the first paragraph, last sentence, says it all. Those few words that came out of the children's mouths showed utter courage. Some would not have been able to do that. So overall human behavior can be easily affected.

Le Chambon was brave during harsh times, they helped those who needed it and saved many, many lives. It didn't affect what happened to the others who were inside the atrocious camps, but it did make many other families incredibly happy and incredibly safe. More people should have done what they did around the world and not have a certain limit of Jews to enter the country. That way it probably wouldn't have been as bad as it was.

Make a difference, help others in need.

By: Allison Michelle Bradford.

In Memory of My Mother-By: Sonia Weitz

My Humanities was given three poems, all by the same woman and linked to the same experiences she had in the many different Concentration Camps she had been sent to during who lifeline. She was around when Hitler was, and she was Jewish. Because words can't really explain what she felt there, for there are no words to describe how horrible it is, she communicated some of her experiences in poems. Out of the three poems we were given, one really stuck out for me. That poem was called In Memory of My Mother. As you can tell from the title, it is about her mom, so just looking at it you will be able to tell that she probably talks about something she experienced with her mother.

To me, throughout this poem it was sad, the mood didn't really change. Though I did notice something, the poem felt like words trying to get out, yet the words couldn't really be explained. So the message was hard to get out, she was a young girl, she couldn't explain the happenings and why they really happened. This phrase of the poem really says a lot, it's the first phrase and you can already begin to decipher this as being a emotional poem.

Where is your grave?

Where did you die?

Wy did you go away?

Why did you leave

Your little girl

That rainy autumn day?

That was the first phrase, and it was the part that really popped out for me. Why you ask? Well, even when I just started this poem, and don't laugh at me because I'm a very emotional person, it's just I already felt pain and I kind of felt like crying. But of course I couldn't, because I was in class and everyone would just stare at me and/or laugh. Either way it made me feel like crying. Reading on I realized it was best for me not to cry, because she didn't cry when this had actually occurred to her. At one point she says'

I suffered, but

I didn't cry:

The pain so fierce, so deep...

It pierced my heart and squeezed it dry.

And then, I fell asleep.

See how she didn't cry? I'm not really experiencing it, so I shouldn't cry. But just the way she lets her words flow in the poem really makes it touching. I can easily imagine her mother, that rainy autumn day. The day sound and cloudy, the mother beautiful and comforting. One thing that Sonia Weitz uses to describe her mother is this simple simile she used.

Your eyes as green

As emeralds

Were quiet and so mild.

I can imagine these eyes looking at me, them being quiet and mild makes me imagine her as comforting to Sonia right now, giving her the impression that everything will be all right even though things are indeed not going to be all right. But they didn't know that at the time now did they? Another part that really describes her mom is these few lines,

I still can hear

The words you spoke:

"You tell the world, my child."

The fact she can remember the last words her mother ever said to her is really something special.

Now the last sentence of the poem is really something,

On No!... it can't be told."

To me this is saying that the story can't go on, because there aren't any words to describe the feelings she felts, the atrocious things that happened. They might as well not even be mentioned.

I find it hard to connect to this poem in an experience I've actually been through, because I've never actually been through something so devastating. The only way I can connect with this is by imagining myself in Sonia's shoes, you see, this is impossible. Considering I wasn't actually there, I can never feel her exact pain, but I can imagine it. My tears dried up as I fall into a agonized sleep, the nightmare of the screams and shouts. Imagining words whispering help in my ear. The gloomy day of which my mother was taken away from me. But there is one thing I can't imagine in this poem, and that is the special item.

You pressed something

into my palm...

And then... then you were gone.

No matter how hard I try I can't imagine what her mother had given to her on her leaving, but I'm guessing it was something special, something meaningful to her mother. That begs the question, does Sonia remember what this item was? Does she still have it? I can't even begin to think of it, for I do not know her mother and her values. But I can always imagine.

In Memory of My Mother.

Where is your grave?

Where did you die?

Why did you go away?

Why did you leave

You litte girl

That rainy autumn day?

I still can hear

The words you spoke:

"You tell the world, my child."

You eyes as green

As emeralds

Were quiet and so mild.

You held my hand

You face was white

And silent like a stone,

You pressed something

Into my palm...

And then...then you were gone.

I suffered, but

I didn't cry:

The pain so fierce, so deep...

It pierced my heart

And squeezed it dry.

And then, I fell asleep.

Asleep in agony

And dreams...

A nightmare that was true...

I heard the shots,

The screams that came

From us, from me and you.

I promised I would

Tell the world...

But where to find the words

To speak of

Innocence and love,

And tell how much it hurts...

About those faces

Weak and pale,

Those dizzy eyes around,

And countless lips

That whispered "help"

But never made a sound...

To tell about

The loss...the grief,

The dread of death and cold,

Of wickedness

And misery...

O, No!...it can't be told.

Choosing this poem had been easy for me, for it was very emotional and to me it meant the most. Her words so fluent on the page, expressing her feelings. With this poem she finally did what her mother had asked. "You tell the world, my child." With this poem she did just that, she communicated to the world the many feelings and emotions of this point in history. The feelings and emotions that pierce the heart.

Germany 1918-1933, Hitler's Manipulative Rise to Power.

Hitler's rise to power was quick and quite surprising to some. This specific rise to power stretched out from 1918 to 1933 and not only effected but influenced Germany in many ways. But Hitler could not have done any of this without luck, he had some boosts that helped him weave his way to ruling Germany. When Hitler first begun to try and achieve his authority, chances of him getting anywhere looked slim. But then things happened that helped him jump in front of his competitors. Hitler's first idea was to go against the Treaty of Versailles, a large part of Germany hated this treaty and wanted it gone. He promised that if he were to get power he would not honor the Treaty of Versailles. Lots of people wanted this, so naturally, lots of people wanted to vote for him. Because of the Treaty of Versailles the people of Germany began to agree with Hitler. Though just the treaty wasn't going to help. Next Hitler took advantage of the Hyperinflation and Economic crisis in Germany that occurred in 1923. With his promise for a better life and economy, more citizens supported the party of the Nazi's. Also in 1923 Hitler was arrested for trying to overthrow the government. This gave him time to publish a book known as 'Mein Kampf', meaning 'My Struggle'. The book gave Adolf Hitler publicity as it was published and read by millions, plus it earned Adolf a lot of money. Enter 1929 when The Depression hits places around the world. Hitler takes this as another opportunity and swears that he will give Germany work and bread. With the need for work and food by many families, this gives him many votes. With Hitler's fame in 1933 he is demanded and becomes Chancellor, earns 33% of the vote and becomes loved my a large portion of Germany. Later the event of the Reichstag Fire let him blow down his opponents and gather people from around Germany to turn against the Communists and the Republic Democratic Party. He uses the fire to his advantage by telling the public that it was the the other party's fault, they were the ones who had caused the building to burn. Finally a dramatic thing happened, the President of Germany died. This was probably one of the most dramatic events that led to Hitler's uprise. Once the President was dead Hitler claimed his spot in Germany. Now Hitler was the ruler, just as he had dreamed he would soon become. Horrible things were yet to happen, but he never shared those plans with anyone. His rise to power in 1918 to 1933 was not expected, some say it was just luck that any of those events happened. I agree, without these events he would have never been known as any kind of leader.

He would have been just another nut.

By: Allison Michelle Bradford.

Restrictive Laws in Nazi Germany.

During the Nazi's power they created The Nuremberg Race Laws, some unfair and others, well, more fair than others. For example, now a Jew was not pointed out due to their religious beliefs. You did not have to study Judaism in order to be a Jew. If you had three or four Jewish grandparents, you were now 'officially a Jew'. Even if you had legally changed your religion from Judaism to Christianity you were still hated by the Nazi's. The Nazi party were against Jews, no one is quite sure why, but they were. At this point of history you wouldn't want to be living in Germany.

At one point in time, by law Hitler could do something known as Aryanizing. This was the process of kicking out Jewish managers and workers from their work. Any business owned by a Jew would be taken over by someone else not of the Jewish race.

Another thing happened that stopped Jews from really working and/or recieving costumers was some new 'small restrictions'. Jewish doctors were not aloud to work on non-Jews, not only that but if you were Jew and a lawyer, you weren't aloud to actually continue with law.

Jews had to be pointed out easilier than others. Being promised a better future Jews had to get a red 'J' stamped on their identification cards. Not to mention if a Jew didn't have a specific 'Jewish name', they were given a new middle name. A boy's new middle name would be Israel and a girl's would be Sara.

Now there was something called the Law for the Protection of the Heredatiry Health of the German People. This is basically a law saying that in order to marry you not only had to be approved due to the new Nuremberg laws, you also had to be fit and healthy. You couldn't have any kind of illness. I'm guessing this is because Hitler wanted perfect people in Germany and didn't want any people with anything 'wrong' with them. Hitler always dreamed of the 'perfect person' so he made this law to stop no 'non-perfect Germans' to be created. In my opinion this is a little bit far on his part, but then again, he went a little bit far on everything.

Hitler was a...interesting person. He had his own view things much like we do, though his were extreme. Hopefully no one this extreme will rise up back into existence.

Note to the world, don't repeat your mistakes.

Just for a warning, Hitler is one of them.

By: Allison Michelle Bradford.

Hitler Begins to Take Control. First step, Shunning all other Parties and Taking Away the 'Less Important'.

Hitler was an influential person, though not in the way that portrays good. Hitler portrays a lucky man, who is charismatic, and cunning with a mysterious dark side not everyone tends to notice. During his rise to power he went against all other parties and took away Civil Rights from the people of Germany, in fear that they might plot against the Nazi party. Through out this period of time, the ones he targeted the most were the Communists and the Social Democratic Party. If something went wrong, he would blame them. This would enable him to 'punish' them as he pleased. In fact, the first people to be taken to one of his camps was, in fact, around four thousand people who were either Communists or Radicals. (A Radical is a person with political ideas, in Hitler's case it was really anyone with political ideas against the Nazi. Or at least the people he thought were against the Nazi.)

Now here's something you might not know, Civil Rights. When Civil Rights were taken away from the people of Germany, nothing could be kept secret. Civil Rights are things that are given to people that are morally correct, these things include letting people have their own view on things. To make things a little bit clearer, I will make a list of some examples of Civil Rights that are given to us as people. (There are more rights than this, but I just put down some quick examples.)

Civil Rights.

1. Freedom of Speech.

2. Right to Privacy.

3. Freedom.

4. Right to Bear Arms.

5. Abolition of Slavery.

6. The Right to be Safe when it comes to your own Home, Person, Papers and Cause.

These are just some examples.

Source(s): #1

During Hitler's rise, none of these rights were kept. For one, no one was safe and it didn't matter who you were. Unless you were the 'Perfect German' you were kicked out. Or, at least that's what people were told.

Next we come to the question why some would agree to Hitler's actions of destroying Civil Rights and taking away the freedom from the people of Germany. I don't know exactly why people would agree to this, for I was not there at the time, I don't know just how desperate people were there at that point. Germany was in a rut, and anything was bound to happen if Hitler was now in charge. Because of this, I'm just going to take a lucky guess based on some things we learned in Humanities.

I think some might agree to this because they have no one else to follow, and they aren't really paying attention. Germany, as you may know, was in the slumps and felt ashamed. People were desperate and here comes this guy saying he'll doing anything to help the country earn it's dignity back. People follow ever so slowly, getting the hang of things. What else are you supposed to do? People agree with this mystery man, including with the taking away of two very important things, because he promised to make the country better. If this is one of his many steps to a greater country you probably are just going to think, hey, may not be nice now but think about a better tomorrow! If he promises it, he's going to supply it one step at a time. (At least that's what he said. Not everyone keeps promises.) That's why I think some people might agree to his actions, they probably are just thinking it's all part of the process.

Other people might just think that it's positive because now they believe there might not be any 'traitors' left in the country anymore. They might think, who cares if they listen in on my every move. Now I feel safer knowing there's no one here to stop the country's claim for dignity! These are the kind of people who are probably major patriots, not wanting anyone to stop what has just begun. There may be many reasons for the agreement of Hitler's actions, but those are just two examples.

Hitler drew everyone into his plans, always dreaming about his better version of Germany and a better tomorrow. No one knew that one man could start a World War II, and even if one man could, at the time nobody suspected Hitler. Most thought he was crazy in the beginning! But really, anything can happen. The world is full of so many possibilities and surprises, though not always the good kind, they give the earth something to think about. Hitler was one of these surprises, portraying an influential kind of bad.

Let's just hope reality doesn't repeat itself this time.

By: Allison Michelle Bradford.

Treaty of Versailles Voted Unfair.

In my current Humanities class, we have been learning about the Holocaust and some of the many wars before it, plus some of the things that might have helped influence it. Today in class we learned a lot about World War 1, an interesting fact we learnt is that World War 1 used to be called The Great War because at the time they didn't know that another great war lay ahead of them. That war, would soon be called World War 2.

After the first world war, important people known as the Allied Powers came to form a treaty with Germany, this treaty was named the Treaty of Versailles. (Versailles is a palace that was built for Louis the 14th, it is located SouthWest of Paris. I'm not quite sure why they named it that way, but I guess my Humanities teacher is going to tell us.) This treaty would officially state 'peace' and would make sure that Germany took the blame. The blame for what, you ask? Indeed, Germany would take complete blame for The Great War. (World War 1.)

Now here's what I think, I believe that this treaty was unfair to Germany, it's Government and it's people. Germany had to take full blame for the war, meaning that they also had to pay for all the damage done in the war. The reason why I believe this to be unfair is because Germany wasn't the only country that took part in this war, other country's helped provoke the violence for a long time. President Woodrow Wilson spoke out, saying that the war would have been for nothing if it were to stop in 1914, basically saying more war was better for everyone. See what I mean? Germany wasn't the only ones taking part in this war, there were other's influencing it. For them to pay 33 billion dollars for all the damage was just unreasonable, Germany was definitely not the only people who caused any damage. I believe that everyone who had taken part in the war should have helped pay, and restore what once was. Maybe then Germany wouldn't have been enraged enough to take revenge, causing World War 2. They thought it was unjust, just as I do now.

I'm just happy everything is patched up now.

By: Allison Michelle Bradford.

A 'Good' Life Has Meaning.

When it comes to agreeing with this statement, I'm am stuck at 50-50, half-half. Right now my life is good, but it is yet to develope a true meaning. Mother Teresa's meaning in life was to spread kindness and blessing around the world in the name of God. Her life was good, and yes, it did have meaning. In my honest opinion, life doesn't have to have a meaning to be good. All that really matters is that you have a reason to wake up in the morning, a reason to keep you going through out the day. Life is good, it doesn't matter if it has developed a meaning or not.

That is why I am 50-50, half-half, because life is good if it has meaning. Yet it can also be good if it doesn't have any yet. I hope that I soon experience a true meaning in my life, for meanings in life are the things that help you make a difference.

But for now, life is good.

By: Allison Michelle Bradford.

This I Believe. Pennies from Heaven.

Pennies from Heaven.

In this emotional story, the belief being discussed is faith, and love. The man in this story has an incredible amount of love for his wife, who sadly, died from cancer. He also has an incredible faith in the thought that his wife is still living on, still looking down on him from above. It is a faith that is driving him to collect something that you may see rather ordinary, but for him, it's a special treasure to hold onto.

Pennies.

During this story the man talks about his wife's love for luck. Every time she would find a penny, she would put it in her shoe. He talked about how for him, though, he wouldn't bother to bend over and pick a penny up. Around a month after his wife's passing, he ends up standing in the post office and spots a penny on the ground. For the first time he goes and picks it up. When he returned home he would put it in a jar. After a while he had to get a bigger jar and now had collected over 300 pennies. Some people say that Angels drop pennies to remind you that your loved one is with you, and he has faith in that thought. His wife has been leaving him pennies, sometimes all he has to do is ask for one and it will appear. When ever he finds a penny it's in the same place he found the last one. These pennies are truly, from Heaven.

So when you see a penny, why not pick it up? It's someone trying to tell you that their looking out for you.

Honestly, I found this story very interesting mainly because of the whole idea of it. You wouldn't think that pennies just fell from the sky, would you? Well, by the way this man describes it they do literally seem to come out of nowhere. This story really got me thinking, maybe all those pennies she had put in her shoe for good luck were being given to him as her last wish to the world. But instead of just being the amount of pennies that she put in her shoe, she's just going to keep sending her pennies to tell him how much she loves him. And she's doing that by how many pennies she's giving him. Over 300, and still counting, that's a lot of love. I also found this interesting because he wasn't the only one receiving these mysterious pennies, it was also his son, his sister-in-law AND his best friend. I'm thinking that all of these people must of been dear to her. I think faith and love is very important, because they sort of blend together. You have to have faith in the ones you love, you have to be able to trust them with the understanding of you and who you are as a person. I think this is important in all relationships, whether it is just a friendship, a family thing, or in this man's case, the union of marriage. All of these need faith and love for fuel, they need faith and love to last for long times spent together.

That's one of the real reasons why I chose this story, I strongly believe in those two things. This story was really heartwarming and it says a lot. No matter how alone you feel someone is always watching you. It could even be your great great great great grandfather, someone who didn't even knew you existed when they died, but now looking down on their new generation with loving eyes. When I look up at the stars blanketed across the velvet black sky of night, I see eyes, like shining jewels looking down on the world. And trying to figure out what's changed since the time they were alive. I am even looking into the eyes of people I never knew, or never really understood.

I don't see many stars where I am now, I rarely look outside and even if I do, I live in a city that has lots of pollution. But during the Summer when I return home and ride out into the country, I get to look up and see those stars. And when I do, that's really when I feel safe. That's why I really can relate to this story, I always have a comforting feeling that my mom's best friend is looking down on my family. I know my mom thinks she is, she tells us when ever her name comes up. I carry her name for my middle name and now I've begun to recognize it more. I wear it proudly and write it down when ever I finish something I feel I've done a good job on. I think she would like that, and that's just my little way of telling her that my mom misses her, her husband misses her, her friends still miss her and I do to.

Allison Michelle Bradford.

DomiKnow Profile N.

I learn best if the person teaching is speaking clearly and moving. I'm a Kinesthetic learner, meaning I like to move. This, I know, is true. I do love to move and really I have trouble sitting still. I get uncomfortable if I have to stay in the same position for a long time. I also tend to get carried away and begin doodling when I'm supposed to be listening. I'm a very creative person, though I'm not very good at drawing I enjoy it all the same. The thing I enjoy most those is writing, and sometimes I'm jotting down ideas for either a current or new story. Sometimes I'm even writing down words I think sound nice together.

I need to try things several times before I truly get them. Ok, I admit it, it takes me a while to catch onto things. But not every first time is a charmer, in fact for me, the first time is probably where I make the funniest mistakes. I tend to zone out when people are talking and go into my dream world inside my imagination. Climb a rainbow and sing a ballad. That's just a warning, I have some trouble paying attention. I'm a chatterbox and I find it really hard to stay quiet for long periods of time. My record is probably 5 minutes, other than that I get restless and my tongue starts throbbing.

The strategies that will help me in my learning are, one, to be able to interact more. Some days I feel like that I want to be called on more, other days I just hope the teacher won't see me. I'm full of many different mood swings. Haha. Sometime I'm louder than I should be, but I just can't help myself! I sometime just don't use my inside voice. Another stratagie is to play music while I'm working, for me it helps me think. Sadly for others it is just an excuse to become silly. It's just a thing, I proccess more when there's music. I'm different like that.

I would like my teachers to know that one, I can be a little nuts. But hopefully you've already figured that out about me by now. I just can't help but get a little crazy sometimes, I'm wierd like that. Two, I have a problem. That problem is writing short sentences, I tend to make things long. AND if your Mr. Peters or Ms. Larsen you know that VERY well. Wait, in fact, all my teachers should have got that by now. Whether it's turning in a test or just a do now. My mind wonders a lot so I feel like I have to write everything down, including some of those useless things I'm just thinking about. Wierd right? Antoher things is that I LOVE music, I am a very musical person, it's my passion. I don't think I could live without it or the arts. I'm just very creative like that.

Well, I guess that's all.

Allison Michelle Bradford.

The Lotus Eaters.

Odysseus stops to rest on an island. First he sends one group of men to explore the island. The first group never returns so Odysseus goes to look, bringing more men. They find them brainwashed by fruit, surrounded by girls. Soon Odysseus gets his men away from the Lotus Eaters.

A Classic Greek Myth.

In the pictures above Daedalus is above, and Icarus is underneath.

Daedalus and Icarus was the only greek movie I got to watch, but even so, I bet if I were to watch the rest it would have been my favorite. I really enjoyed the short movie because it was a twist of love, jealousy, envy and revenge. Though jealousy and envy have similar meanings, both are different. Jealousy is like, for example, your jealous of a coworker because they got a promotion you feel was rightfully meant to be yours. You had worked so hard, but they ended up getting it in the end. Envy, is like, for example, a longing to get something that you friend got or achieved, like, a gold medal. You long to possess that gold medal and call it you own. The story was a wonderful story of wondering, longing and re-thinking about the past.

For me, I really enjoyed the story AND the characters. Sure the story was sad, but in the end you could really understand the characters. My favorite character was probably Icarus, because the poor boy was just trying to please his dad all along. He was very clumsy, sure, but he just wanted his dad to understand that he DOES listen, even though his dad usually thinks that he doesn't. I also enjoyed the dad to though. (Daedalus) Daedalus was very clever, he was, in fact, the one who designed the maze that kept the minotaur. But, I have to admit, the dad scared me sometimes, he went mad several times in the story. He kept talking to vulchers, they talked back to, actually, but only he could hear them. Because, of course, he had "gone mad" in those specific times in the story. The story did have a sad ending, he had lost one that was dearest to him, Icarus, his son. He spent most of the rest of his crafting small clay boys with wings, to represent his son. He had a constant longing for his son, his son had flown to high in his fake wings, but only because he was just lost in the moment. I really do understand the feelings the characters had in this magnificent story.

Themes in "these" stories? Well, I only had time to watch one, so I don't really know much about the others. But I think I might can already guess the theme that each story has in common. No, I'm not going to tell you their all greek myths, because, well, that IS kind of obvious. (You know, the CD cover does says Greek Myths.) What I am going to tell you is that

1. Each story probably had a conflict, mainly involving things people believed weren't possible and 2. I don't know why, but I'm probably going to say that each story had a some kind of monster or "beast" in it. The story above that I just described? It had a minotaur in it. Usually, from what I've already realized, is that each greek myth has a monster in it, from the minotaur to Medusa, each story has an odd creature in it . Thus, I wouldn't be surprised if each story had a theme about monsters or beasts. (You know, ugly things, then again, do all beasts have to be ugly?)

Daedalus and Icarus was a very exciting, yet very sad story, though it was my favorite. Even if I didn't watch the rest it probably would have been. Though Medusa does sound pretty cool! I mean come on, she used to be wonderfully beautiful but then somebody got mad at her and made he ugly with snakes for hair! PLUS who ever looks at her turns to stone! I've always tried to imagine her in her beautiful form, it would be interesting to see, I have to look it up.

Okay, I just looked it up... DON'T! :)

My Wonderful Bio Poem.

Allison

Who is outgoing, random, sweet, creative, imaginative and Happy-Go-Lucky. Who believes in the un-real and enjoys rainbows with many colors.

Who is sister of Madyson, Dylan and Austin.

Who loves romance, my friends and my family.

Who feels happy about her life, ready to face challenges and wonderful when smiled at.

Who needs a way to express herself, a shoulder to lean or cry on when needed most, and a way to vent out her feelings when wanted.

Who fears the dark, spiders and clowns.

Who would like to see someone propose to another, her friends happy with themselves and people enjoy one another.

Who shares smiles, happiness and kindness.

Who is a different person, full of imagination and loves to stand out in the crowd.

Who is resident of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Bradford.

Greek Myth Movie Comercial.

You may not want to wait to watch this movie, cause it will take a while for the world to get the right graphics and transportation to Mars in order for this movie to be viewed. You may not want to watch the movie also, if you don't like seeing a mean grouchy old guy eat his children thinking their to powerful. So yeah, If you don't like violence don't watch this movie. Or possibly this comercial. It's just a picture but some of them are... Odd? That's why I'm surprised even I'm putting this on my blog! I hate violence, I don't believe in it!

http://youtu.be/C04SaIX2t60

The End is Coming! (Not the World silly, School!)

The end is coming indeed! The end of SCHOOL, not the end of the world, whoever tells you the world is going to end is a nut job. We are soon moving on to 7th grade! In fact, there's only 2 more weeks left of school! Honestly, unlike most people, I LOVE school. For most children that is usually a not very common trait. I wouldn't like school if I didn't think of it in a different point of view. Here's my point of view; If there was NO SCHOOL, then you probably wouldn't know any of your friends, you may meet them at one point in you life, but you may only see them once. With out school there would be no connection really between you and others, it would always be the weekend. (Weekends can get very boring.) And school actually gives you something to do! With out school and it's homework I would be nearly bored over the weekends! Plus, no school basically equals no social life, so it would be hard to be entertained by friends every day! (Unless you happen to have a neighbor around your age.) For the second to last blog post we have been assigned to write, (School gave it to us.) we have to reflect on our pieces of work and what we really enjoyed, and didn't really enjoy throughout the year. It's been a wild ride and I am very happy to share it with you!


What pieces of Work and Learning are you most proud of? Explain.

Well, the work I would have to say that I was most proud of is the.... Wow. This question has really stumped me. I'm proud of a lot of my work. My teachers of really taught me a lot. I've really learned a lot for that matter. But I would have to say my proudest piece of work was the Imaginative Narrative. My teacher didn't really agree though, I can tell by looking at the grade I got out of it. 42.5 out of 50. But I was just so proud of it! I believed I really felt what I was writing, we all have different opinions, so I decided to read over my story and see what my teachers opinion has been. Yeah, he was right, I could have done a lot better.But it was just that we didn't have as much time to write it as I would have liked. But, I was mainly proud of it because I believe I really dug deep into my imagination. Thinking of a totally different way to explain Mars and the "things" living on it. My Imaginative Narrative was mainly supposed to be an Action/Romance. (After my favorite genre of book) I would have loved to write more, but sadly, there was a word limit. Well, maybe there wasn't, but it was so long ago I completely forgot about it.
The learning I was most proud of, well, I'm not quire sure what that question is supposed to mean. But I think it's trying to tell me to explain what I enjoyed learning the most. Well, I enjoyed be challenged to really think and dig deep about my feelings for a book. I didn't always enjoy the book, in fact, I really only enjoyed one of the books that we read. It was called Charlotte Doyle something or other. It was my favorite book that we read this year. My least favorite probably had to be The Giver. But that was just my opinion. I think the main reason why I had enjoy Charlotte Doyle a lot more was because I could really relate to the character. She was just a girl trying to find her place, kind of like in the beginning of the year I was struggling to find my place. The only difference was she was on a ship, and I was at school. (Ha Ha....)

What were your greatest challenges? Explain.

My greatest challenges were probably the Tic Tac Toes. You see, the Tic Tac Toe was a project where you were put in a group and you had to choose three projects (In a row) that you wanted to prepare about the certain topic you were assigned. it was probably challenging because everyone in your group has different ideas, plus the main problem was you depending on your buddies to actually HELP. That was hard, you never know if they were really working on anything or not. And if they weren't, it would be really annoying to do their work for them. The Tic Tac Toes were always full of drama, even if there were only just 2. You had to get them done in a certain amount of time, then present them to the class. If someone in your group didn't practice what they had to say, well, you wee DOOMED. If someone in your group was absent AND you didn't know their lines, it was pretty hard to improvise. Especially if you didn't know what idea they were getting at. You also had to trust you partners to follow instructions and do all the steps for their project (You could assign each other each 1 on of the three projects.) , if they didn't, once again you DOOMED. That probably the hardest thing, in fact, that was always the hardest part for group projects. It also hard if you took a vacation and your not quite sure what you partners doing. (That happened to me once, I went on vacation, he ended up doing a very good job while I was gone though with the power point. He was a very reliable partner.)
Remember, no reliable partner = DOOMED!

Reflecting on your growth this year, what did you learn about yourself as a learner?

I really found a lot about myself this year. For one, through out the year I realized I worked better if my humanities teacher was playing music in the background as I work. It's as if music is my fuel to help me think. In fact, I'm listening to music right now as I write this. It really helps me understand my thought better. If people talk while I'm working, even if their just whispering to each other, I completely loose my train of thought. I like doing homework in a room with music on, alone. If not I can literally see the train in my head falling apart. Sometimes I even creep myself out... I also found out that I learn better if the teacher is a great speaker, for example, my humanities teacher. (Not mentioning names on the internet, I'll say first names, but not last.) Billy, (Humanities teacher.) always intrigues me into what ever he's saying. I bet even if he was giving a long list of his interests, I would be entertained by his words. I think all the teachers in the school should really learn from him. (Then again, I don't know all the teachers in the school. I bet most of them are doing just fine.) Still, you have to admit, you would get bored of a list of interests after a while. But he's probably be able to keep me hooked for a long time.
Another thing we learned a lot and reflected a lot about this year is out learning profiles. I ended up being profile LL. It not completely accurate though, because it says I need quite to let ideas flow, but I actually need music. But it does help with other things like which side of the class I should sit on. My dominant ear (Slightly better ear.) is my right ear, so I should sit on the left side of the class. I'm still not quite sure if that's true or not though, If I'm ease dropping I use my right ear. But when I'm talking on the phone, I put the phone to my left ear. So honestly, It's really hard to find the real answers to that sort of thing. My dominant side of the brain is my right side. Meaning I'm Gestalt. Which means I basically have a large imagination. That would really explain one of my odd habits, please don't be creeped out when I tell you the odd habit, wait actually please do, I love creeping people out! I enjoy slapping imaginary people, it's weird I know, but it's just I slap people who come up from behind me sometimes, but they aren't really there. It's actually pretty funny... Moving on ward! Creepy right?

Behavior.

Perfect- Model Student.

OK, I don't mean to see like I'm giving myself a greater title than I should. But over all I believe I'm very well behaved in class, sometimes though, I have to admit, people have to get me out of a trance. Sometimes I start looking into space, either that or I'm just sucked into a very good book. I believe I listen to the teacher very well, I hear the instructions and know what to do. That's definitely how I get my blogs done! I work well with others, I don't really care which partner I get. It's kind of odd actually, I actually enjoy teacher choosing our partners for us. Mainly because then I'm with the same person every time, which kind of gets annoying. I don't really care if I'm with my best friend or not, all what I really care about is if they get their work done. I'm good friends not only with people my age, but I believe I'm very well connected with the teacher. Which I have to admit, is a very good thing, you want to be on a teacher good side, if you not, well, I'm actually not quite sure. I don't think I've ever been on a teachers bad side, except for one of my violin teachers. (In my old school.) She wasn't happy because I was left handed, apparently she had some kind of problem with that. I try to make sure my work is turned in on time, except there is ONE problem. Your learn about it more when I talk about my organization, it has a lot to do with how forgetful I am. That's why I think I'm a model student, it mainly has things to do with the teacher. (Just to give you a heads up.)

Participation

Actively Participates in Class.

I believe this represent my very well! I enjoy sharing my ideas in with the class, I enjoy them seeing a different view point on things. If I didn't share anything I don't know what I would do. I raise my hand when I think I have the answer, but if I don't know the answer, well, I don't raise my hand. (Very funny.) When there's a problem that needs solving I try to search in my memory compartments and find the answer closest to the real one. Who knows, I might actually have the exact answer. I think I really love is writing things on the board, especially when I'm called up in Math class to share how I found my answer to the class. I don't care if I'm wrong, or if I'm right, I'll always get a nice try, and then, with the class, be able to find out where I went wrong. Honestly, that, in my point of view, is a very good way to learn. Even if it's just requesting a song for Billy (Remember, Humanities teachers.) to play on his computer when were working during class. I really do participate in class, in groups and projects to. I put friends work first, If I'm not done with my work, and my friends are, I review their work before I even begin to finish mine. I don't won't to let them down, if their done they deserve it, if I didn't finish my work in on time, then I don't. That's just the way I roll.

Organization

Satisfactory.

Yeah, I'm going to be honest on this one. My organization is between Satisfactory and Need Serious Help. I was fine at the beginning, but then now, I am more forgetful! I forget things like binder and planner. Plus sometimes I forget to bring my homework home. The main problems I have are when it comes to Math and Science. I'm most forgetful for those classes. You can ask my Math/Science teacher. Ms.R. (I'm not quite sure what her first name is, well, I have an idea but I just don't know how to spell it. You know how embarrassing it is to be with a teacher for a year and not really know their first name. Sorry Ms. R.) I'm going to work on the in 7th Grade.

Effort

I always go above an beyond what is required.

Don't worry, I have lots of examples for how I can relate to that sentence. One great example is actually, probably this blog! I love to write, especially blogs. I put all my work into them! I put best effort into everything! I enjoy thinking outside the box and writing long paragraphs. I believe that long paragraph helps explain my point better. More examples, more proof. I also believe I put all my work into things called Lit Circles. Maybe not in the beginning of the year. But now I really have learned to do more thinking when I comes to reading a book. I can ask myself a question that is not only mind boggling, but has more than 2 possible answers. I want to really reach to find better ideas, if I write something, I want to find all the right words and details to improve my writing. That's certainly what I've been doing with this blog post, I try to make everything very thorough. If I don't, then my own work confuses me! That is NOT a good thing! If you don't get your own work, well, who is? That's why you really have to reach to make is as detailed as possible. Detailed right?

Based on your reflections, what are two personal learning goals for Grade 7 next year?

For one thing, In 7th grade I plan to get more organized. I'm going to really try to stick with ONE planner throughout the year. This year I have been through 5. Honestly, I am crazy forgetful, but not for all my classes though. Some of them I remember all my materials, some, not so much. If I'm more organized that is a GREAT THING! Cause that means I can be like, an A+ student, remembering all my work to bring home and actually finishing it! In fact, I've forgotten something. Before I started writing this, I wanted to do my Math homework. I looked in my bag and.... NO BINDER! Man, I have to work on that!

The second thing in 7th grade that I plan to do is be even more creative than I already am. That may be a little bit more challenging, but I am willing to find fresh new ways to solve problems. I don't just want to use the same methods I have used this year. For example, if I'm in another country for a project, I should find out if they have Skype or not, plus find out if the hotel does. (Knowing hotels that's probably a no though.) But just in case we really have to communicate. Skype would be a great way to communicate, especially if it's jut the fact that I'm sick. I want to reach even farther outside the box. Especially if we have another Imaginative Narrative in 7th grade. (I hope we do!)

Is there any information about yourself you would like the teachers to know?

One thing is that, I have to be honest, I can get a little crazy. I like being independent and I don't really care what others thing of me. Out of the things on my to do list, popularity isn't even on there. I'd rather have one best friends, than a bunch of people who think I'm some sort of queen who just follow me around. That, I have to say, would be quite annoying. If you don't really know who I am I am the girl in 6th grade who has long blond hair and wears long colorful socks. That probably is the best explanation possible for me. It will also help if you can't tell me and my sister apart. People call me chatterbox, plus I can get a bit random at times. Ask my friends, they agree. We'd be talking and I will say Pickle, for no apparent reason. Bright colors are my absolute favorite thing to wear, love standing out in the crowd for that matter. I have no real enemies, I don't like being mean to anyone. I never tell anyone I don't like them to their face, I'm nice to all, not matter how boring or unreliable they can be. Warning, I can be a little loud.

Now time for an evil laugh;

MAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

What was your favorite activity lesson in Humanities this year? What did you enjoy about it?

Definitely the Imaginative Narrative. Why do you ask? Mainly because I love being creative and making up stories, what I love especially is being give topics to choose from. I would have like better topics this year, ones that you can really bust a brain on, if you know what I mean. The idea of making up you own story WOWs me! Being creative is what students need to vent all of their feelings. I would have loved it more if we had more time to spend on it though. That would have let us vent even more feelings. The one thing I didn't like about it was the word limit though. It took me forever to decide what words to delete, and with less words meant less detail, which you know I don't enjoy.

What activity do you wish we could have spent more time on?

OK, this is probably going to be a repeat, but I just love it SO MUCH! IMAGINATIVE NARRATIVE! We had to spend more time on that! I feel like we didn't get enough time to really think and let our creativity shine! I hope that there is another Imaginative Narrative in 7th grade I loved it so much! But I hope the we get to spend more time on it than we did in 6th grade! The last Tic Tac Toe we could have at least gotten one more day to figure stuff out, but that was probably just my group, well, maybe some others. I know the whole point of that was probably to see how fast we could work and how well we could work together, but I just felt like that we rushed it. That's all I really have to say about that topic...

Finally, cast your minds back to the first few days of middle school (When you arrived in Grade 6.) what "Words of Wisdom" or "Advice" could you pass on to the future class of 2018?

I would probably have to say stay focused, organized and get on you teachers good sides. The teacher part is probably the best thing to work on. You really would like you teachers in the future to be extremely excited about having you in their classes next year. If their not, well, actually I don't know, mainly because I don't think I've been on a teachers bad side before. Except my violin teacher who... WAIT I've already said that in the beginning of this post! Never mind, but you have to admit, It really is a good reason not to now the bad side of a teacher. When I comes to organization though, Ms. R wasn't very happy with me. But that just what I have to work on. To remember you combination for that matter, you should really write it down on a piece of paper and keep it somewhere safe around you house. So, if you do forget you combination, you can always go back and check for it. That's like, the only thing I'm good at remembering, combinations! I had three lockers, Band, Main and P.E. It may seem hard at first, I know it was for me, but in the end I knew all of them off by heart! If you asked me to recite them I will! But I won't, because that would be dumb to give away that info. (Unless it's someone you can trust and your having trouble opening you locker.) By they way, middle school isn't nearly as hard as the teachers explain to you. It's actually quite easy once you get the hang of it. Soon you'll be going with the flow. It may seem challenging at first, new teachers, new classes, lockers, but then it's easy in the end. For one thing, I know I'm prepared for 7th grade!

I really hope this whole reflection about the end of 6th grade and stuff, has really helped all the teachers reading it really understand be a bit more. Plus, if any 5th graders have read this, really take note of the tips I have for them. There always a bright side to things, no matter how challenging or nerve racking they may seem. For me, the glass is always half full, and the rainbow is the slide your riding during 6th grade. In fact, every school year of my life as been riding down a rainbow. They may be some obstacles along the way, like, an unhappy leprechaun, but you always get past them. No matter how much gold was stolen from the leprechaun. You always get past him.