from http://www.thomevans.com/images/gal3/The_Mother_The_Child.jpg

My daughter has been cleaning up her room, picking up clothes, throwing out notebooks, dusting.  Previously this would have been an indication that she wanted something I was likely to deny or that she was possessed by demons. Lately however, it indicates something much worse:  she is getting ready to go to college.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m very proud of her.  I dutifully visited colleges with her, aided in essay writing, filled out financial aid forms. And lo and behold several  institutions of higher learning accepted her.  (God damn it!)  Pretty much ever since, I have been crying.

I guess it is fair to say that my daughter has been leaving me since the day she was born.  All the milestones indicated she would - from her first breath, to feeding herself, to wobbling away from me step by steadier step, to waving confidently as she entered the brick edifice of Jefferson Elementary School.  Still the force with which her imminent departure has battered me has been just shy of crippling.

It was my job as a parent, after all, to prepare her for an independent life.  I encouraged her (sometimes forcefully) to tell her own stories at four years old.  Two years later she crossed the street by herself and by age thirteen she made her own doctor appointments.  However, right about now, I am regretting that I did such a thorough job.  I will miss the interesting person with whom I share my home, my stuff and myself.   I find myself asking questions that range from minutia to massive, like:  Who will help me put on a necklace when my daughter goes to college?  Has the best part of my life already past?

I wistfully remember reading Harry Potter with her all night: taking time to perfect the voices of each character, making her wait as I paused between chapters, sending her to bed before she wanted but long after she was exhausted.  I remember impatiently shifting my weight from hip to hip as we waited for the bookstore to dole out fresh-from-the-box copies of her favorite tome.  I remember giddily giggling as we two curfew breakers waited for the midnight show to begin on opening day of the latest Potter flick.  Now I watch as she, at 18, rereads this beloved series and I am happy that I have passed down to her the joy of reading. 

Still I wonder, as I contemplate a rainy day reading with a cat swirled in my lap but no child snuggled against me, what books will be my companions as I embark on a new stage in my life?  Will I view them as hallmarks of a haloed future or as portents of a post-menopausal demise?

This is a topic that has had my interest for sometime now. What are your thoughts on the idea of using graphic novels in the English classroom? Not just as independent reading but as required texts for the entire class. I see a lot of positive in reading Maus I & II as part of a unit in which Elie Wiesel's Night is also read.

The same can be said of Satrapi's Persepolis, which deals with Satrapi's own experience growing up in Iran during the 1980s where she struggles with the political beliefs of her family versus those of the Iranian government.  

I guess the real question, for me, might be how long before graphic novels/comic books are brought into the same canon? I can see myself teaching Watchmen to my students and not because I've enjoyed it but because of the issues and themes it deals with (what happens when the world doesn't need you?, How far are you willing to go for the sake of world peace?).

So let's hear it. Any and all thoughts, ideas and whatnot are welcome.

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/631

Uploaded on June 10, 2008
by _Asane_

The following is a short excerpt from Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, which details Satrapi's exeperience growing up in Iran during the 1980s.

Uploaded on March 31, 2008
by Pete Boyd

Finally, the following link lists TIME magazine's all time top 100 novels. The list includes Alan Moore's Watchmen sitting alongside Sir William Golding's The Lord of the Flies, Toni Morrison's Beloved, Richard Wright's Native Son, George Orwell's Animal Farm & 1984, and Joseph Heller's Catch-22.

http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html

AND, if you're too lazy to check out the link here some authors who made the cut with one of their literary works... F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, J.R.R. Tolkein, Virginia Wolfe, Harper Lee, J.D. Salinger, Ernest Hemingway, Jack Kerouac and John Steinbeck! It has to mean something!!!

Furthemore,

The Bible as a graphic novel? WHAT?!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/10/us/10manga.html

The article in the link above discusses a manga that details the life of Jesus Christ through animated panels. Sure, animated editions of the Bible have been published already but this article explains that the reason for a manga edition of the Bible is related to the increased sales of graphic novels.

Now I'm not preaching religion but I am saying especially to the naysayers of graphic novels that it's only a matter of time before teachers will be teaching graphic novels. Think of illustrated manuals on how to install a new HDTV or a computer... pictures and words. A graphic novel is pictures and words.

It's only a matter of time. How many of us thought that we would ever be able to buy our favorite TV show on DVD? Before TV show seasons began being released on DVD the only way to catch old episodes was through syndication.

Many of the pages that I read on the book "Joy Luck Club" has been interesting. The book has talk lots about the story of the author's mother to her own. Many times when reading this book I ask myself what do the author whats us readers to know and what feelings we should get after reading. The author has done a very good job on writing different types of things that don't connect to each other after 151 page of reading. Over all the book has been great and I will continue read the rest of it.
 

I am not so enjoying the book Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan because of all the pages that I couldn't found a theme to connect them with. An example of what I mean can be found on page 146. "Three days after watching The Ed Sullivan Show my mother told me what my schedule would be for piano lessons..." I think this is the worse thing that a mother can do to because telling someone in the same family to do something that you think is what they should do is the same as saying when you should live or die. The idea between both of these example are pretty much the same.    

One of the big ideas or themes in this book is telling of story between a mother and a daughter   You can see this on page 150 where it says: "Bravo! Bravo! Well done! but I saw my mothers face, her stricken face." As you can see Tan wants us to think about how much she cares about how her mother feels even know she sometimes may not have like what she have done.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of this book because it can help me better understand what the author wants us readers to know and feel.

My wife, Karinna, and I have three children, two boys (ages 5 and 4) and one baby girl (3 1/2 weeks old).  At the beginning of this past school year, our eldest son was enrolled in a gifted and talented school on the upper-west side called the Anderson School.  Karinna would take the two boys (usually on the subway, but sometimes by car) to school and then sometimes she would stay with our youngest son all day in Manhattan (we live in Astoria, Queens) and sometimes she would make the round trip twice.  Needless to say it was expensive and too much to handle for anyone, but even more so since she was pregnant with our daughter.

The zoned school by our home did not have a G/T program for kindergarten so we didn't want to take him out of Anderson and leave him where he might get bored.  Consequently, we decided to homeschool him at least for the rest of the year.  Immediately we met with resistance from family, friends, even complete strangers, etc.  (might be nice to provide an example of this "resisitance" a quote, an anectode)  Everyone had an opinion and more often than not that opinion was negative.  And it was funny that people would say things like, "well, since you are only doing this temporarily or since he is young it is ok".  It was as though we needed their permission to proceed. 

And people really seem to be afraid or offended or somehow put off by the idea of homeschooling. 

Why?

  If the more things change then more they stay the same, when are things really going to change?

    It seems at times that nothing is really changing in the world.  We still have war, poverty, disease, death and the entire spectrum of things that most people believe will be eradicated when we arrive at the ideal future.  Will this ideal of a perfect world ever happen?
For all of the achievements of man, we seem to be stagnating.  Computers are bigger, faster and more powerful but what has that really done to improve the life of an everyday person?  Can a computer feed the homeless?  Can it teach someone to read?  Can it solve all our problems?
 

Picture courtesy of A. Currell from Flickr

Picture courtesy of Casey Marshall from Flickr
 

    In fifty years we have been able to push the boundaries of technology and science yet we still have to vacuum our damn floors the same way.  Yes the machine may be more aerodynamic, more efficient, more powerful but in the end you still have to use it the same way for the same result.

    Sometimes it feels like we are on a ongoing Merry-Go-Round where the same issues and problems arise again and again and again.  What will it take to really break the cycle?

In the following two pictures we have Americans out of work, desperate to find a new job.

Photo Credit: National Archive

Photo Credit: Reuters Pictures

    In both cases we have people caught in a depression, standing on long lines in the hopes of finding a job.  Why didn't we learn the lessons from the past and stop this kind of thing from happening again?  I am sure that no one ever wanted another Great Depression but somehow it has happened again.  We have cell phones, MSNBC, the Internet, computers and a million other technological wonders but somehow even with all our advances we have an economy that has ground itself to a halt.  When will we get real change?

   This idea of the more things stay the same has a further link with the Great Depression when you examine the administrations who tried to fix the economy.  We can easily draw similarities between Roosevelt's New Deal and Obama's current recovery plans.  In both cases improving infrastructure and public works projects were a key area in stimulating growth.  Although many of the factors involving the economic slowdown and factors complicating the recovery are different, the current crisis seems like a place that we have visited before.

    Man has evolved from using a club to kill another man, to using the power of the atom to kill millions of people at a time.  All that has changed is the scope of the damage we can inflict.  When will real change come?  Will technology lead the way or is technology just window dressing at maintaining the status quo?

 I'm sure as teachers we've all used music and lyrics in one way or another in the classroom. And I'm sure as students we always wished that our teachers would use music and lyrics in the classroom. One of my goals is to read screenplays in the classroom with my students.

I think the Terminator 2 screenplay is something of substance and depth. It touches on many themes such as humanity & technology, dealing with personal demons, the consequences of our actions, how one can redeem themselves, and the idea of fate and can it be changed or not. You get the point. 

Back to the topic at hand. I'm a big advocate of using music and song lyrics in the classroom. Song lyrics can serve as bridges that allow students to make deeper connections or to understand a piece of literature better. I have used Jimmy Webb's "Highwayman" when teaching literary elements/terms. Heck, I even used the Nine Inch Nails' song, "Hurt" to emphasize the suffering of Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter.  

Now for the centerpiece, I've taught Macbeth twice  and both times I've used the lyrics from Jag Panzer's record Thane to the Throne to help my students develop an understanding of poor ol' Macbeth. 

Here are some links to the lyrics of some of the songs: 

This is a link to the lyrics of the first song on Thane to the Throne, which is shares its name with the record www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/jagpanzer/thanetothethrone.html#1.

Here's a link to the song "Three Voices of Fate:" www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/jagpanzer/thanetothethrone.html#8

Finally, here's another link to the song, "The Tragedy of Macbeth:" www.darklyrics.com/lyrics/jagpanzer/thanetothethrone.html#17

Photo taken from www.jagpanzer.com/

Is kidnapping or false imprisonment next?

As posted in Newsday today: http://www.watchkalibrun.com/2009/7/1/933047/cup-of-coffee-sets-off-lega...

by Zak Woods on Jul 1, 2009 9:31 AM EDT

The latest episode coming out of Albany is a court challenge due to coffee run, that's right a cup of coffee started a new legal battle. 

Shortly before noon on Tuesday, as Democrats prepared to convene what they expected to be another fruitless one-party session, they saw Frank Padavan, a Queens Republican, walk through the rear of the chamber.

Mr. Padavan would later say he had simply been taking a shortcut to the members' lounge to grab a cup of coffee. But to the 31 Democrats in the chamber, that did not matter. Claiming that Mr. Padavan's brief presence gave them the 32-member quorum required to gavel the Senate into session, Democrats began ramming through dozens of measures, including sales tax extensions and bond authorizations that were set to expire at midnight.

By the time the Democrats adjourned, Mr. Padavan's coffee run had thrust the Capitol into a new round of recriminations and legal debate. Democrats insisted that the bills had been lawfully passed, Republicans denounced the session as fraudulent and inappropriate, and Gov. David A. Paterson suggested that he would not sign the bills into law.

The Senate is so desperate to get something done that a coffee run can start off a court battle. Now both sides are presenting sworn affidavits as it is up to the court to decide if the "session" was legal. 

This latest event demonstrates the absolute gridlock facing Albany right now. A gridlock that will prevent anything substantive from getting done with regards to MMA legislation because the government of New York is facing far more serious issues than MMA legalization. 

During the last eight years, NYC schools appear to have made significant improvements in several key areas, including test scores in reading, math, Regents scores and graduation rates.  How much of this represents real achievement, and how much is just window-dressing?Are our kids really being shortchanged with the emphasis being placed  on test results as the end-product?

As an educator, my biggest complaint is that too much emphasis is being placed upon test-taking strategies,and not enough time can be spent on actual learning of content, providing opportunities for applications of content, etc.

picture courtesy of Jason Fink at amny.com

 Here is one of the most compelling arguments which has been used by the mayor to make his case:

"Last week, as students from the Class of '09 lined up to receive those hard-earned diplomas, we also received some heartening news about our City's graduation rates. According to data released by the State Department of Education, New York City's four-year high school graduation rate has hit an all-time high of nearly 61 percent, while the dropout rate has fallen to a new low of 13.5 percent.

"In real life terms, that means that since 2005, more than 7,800 additional students in New York City have graduated, while 6,200 fewer have dropped out. What's more: students in every racial group have made significant gains over the past four years - but black and Hispanic students have clearly made the biggest. Their progress continues to narrow the racial achievement gap that has existed in our schools for far too long.

Mayor: Don't let NYC school control lapse, by Staten Island Advance Sunday June 28, 2009, 12:14 PM

As with all "new" initiatives, however,there have been challenges.  Here is a brief sampling of some of the issues that have been raised by elected officials, and parent advocacy groups:

"Betsy Gotbaum, the city’s public advocate, echoed many of the points made in a report her office released in September that endorsed mayoral control but called for more checks and balances, particularly from parent groups.

Ms. Gotbaum said the demise of the 32 local school district offices had made it more difficult for parents to get information from school officials, noting that they often relied instead on her office or community elected officials to address school issues.“For mayoral control to be most effective, the local geographic school districts created decades ago should be re-established and reinvigorated,” she said.

City officials have said they are opposed to giving back more authority to district offices, arguing that doing so would diffuse accountability as well as unfairly give parents who are more politically connected special access."

http://www.nytimes.com/20Hoping to sway state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) to their side of the mayoral control argument, the Campaign for Better Schools brought a group of about 40 people to the majority leader’s St. Albans office   armed with what they said were postcards from parents who want to limit Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s control over educational policy.

Smith has outlined plans to renew Bloomberg’s mandate to appoint eight of 13 voting members of the Panel for Educational Policy before mayoral control expires June 30. While Smith has promised revisions to the law to include more avenues for parent participation, the Campaign for Better Schools backs a bill from Assemblyman Carl Heastie (D-Bronx). The legislation, titled the Better Schools Act, has been submitted in both houses and has provisions supporters say render more transparency, accountability and include initiatives for parent and student involvement.

With the State Legislature still at a stalemate, chaos is imminent if  the legislation for control of the city schools is not voted upon before they "break" for the summer.

“One man rule has got to go,” the group chanted.09/01/30/education/30control.html

What do you think?

Straight from the Post Posted: 1:14 pm
June 30, 2009

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06302009/news/regionalnews/bloomberg__school...

NEW YORK -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg says New York City's schools can't close for Muslim holidays.

The City Council is considering a non-binding resolution on Tuesday asking the Education Department to observe Eid al-Fitr (ayd ahl-FIH'-tur) and Eid al-Adha (eed al-AHD'-hah).

New York City has the nation's largest school system and 12 percent of its 1.1 million students are Muslim.

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan. Eid al-Adha celebrates the willingness of Ibrahim - known as Abraham to Christians and Jews - to sacrifice his son. It is the most important Islamic holiday.

The resolution asks the Bloomberg administration to observe the holidays in schools and for the state to require it by amending education law.

The mayor says the city is so diverse that schools can't observe every holiday.

---------------

More in depth article in the Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/nyregion/01muslim.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Also see my post: Starting An Amnesty International chapter in a Bronx High School

I'm interested in the unaffordable housing situation which is on the rise in New York City.   NYC housing  could have developed in a different way if the city planners and builders had studied the history and successes of the Bronx Housing Cooperatives.  I'm frustrated when I hear that there is less and less affordable housing for NYC residents.  I believe that it is a right of all to be able to secure decent housing.   I'm also connected to this topic from my own and a couple of friends' personal backgrounds.   First, my family lived in the Amalgamated Housing in the 1940s and 1950s, sponsored by the Amalgamated Garment Workers Union, I have a friend who grew up inthe Shalom Aleichem Housing, built by Socialists and Communists and another friend whose father grew up in the Coops Housing, built by Communists.   There's also one more Bronx housing cooperative called the Farband built by Labor Zionists.  The majority of the residents in all 4 of these housing communities were Jewish, some were  immigrants.   All of the 4 cooperative housing projects were owned by the residents.  Many of the members of the Coops Housing had emigrated from Russia, had lived through the Russian Revolution, were involved in various social causes and were members of the Communist Party.  Another outstanding feature of the Coops was it's dedication to fighting against the intense racism of the times and it's committment to racial integration in their own housing cooperative.   African Americans and whites lived and socialized together in a time when this was not and still is not the norm for most communities.  The movie that's been shown on PBS about these 4 Bronx Cooperative Housing Projects is titled "A Place in Utopia."  I highly recommend it and my friend is featured in the movie. If you're interested in finding out more about these housing cooperatives, this time period in history and/or the movie, check out this article:  http://jwablog.jwa.org/at-home-in-utopia    The photograph below is of the Coops which is no longer a cooperative since the 1940s and today is a rental building.

United Workers Cooperatives, Allerton, Bronx, New York City by jag9889Taken on January 23, 2009, uploaded January 25, 2009Taken in Allerton, New York, NY, United States (map) This photo isn't part of Creative Commons so I'm using the Fair Use guidlines because I'm using it to illustrate the history of cooperative housing in the Bronx.

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/jag9889/3226078661/

Not having access to decent  housing is a crime, just as hunger is, and torture,  imprisoning innocent people,  child slavery, and so on.   I believe that young people can feel strongly about many of these issues.  Since, Amnesty International is an established organization that deals with issues of humanity and teenagers are at an age when they are drawn to righting society's wrongs, this organization could be the perfect fit to motivate out students to get involved, do some good for the local or global community and would be a reason to improve their communication skills.  

The following picture is the Amnesty International icon:

Amnesty International Office - DC

 www.flickr.com/photos/javacolleen/2458431194/

Uploaded on May 1, 2008
by javacolleen

 Please view and post at the new group called Amnesty International and comment on other justice issues or start another discussion at that site.

Thanks for any feedback.  I've wanted to start a chapter of Amnesty International (AI) and this is the beginning.  Would you like to start a chapter, too?  Let me know.

Also see my post: Starting An Amnesty International chapter in a Bronx High School

The period started like any other except when "Mary" arrived. She appeared withdrawn and sad. Normally she was bubbly and happy, so this alarmed me. When I asked her what was wrong she said, "My mother threw all of my pants away." Then she started to cry. I called for the CIT (Crisis Intervention Teacher) but she was on her lunch break. I called the SPARK Counselor but she was in a meeting. I couldn't just let this student sit there crying.

I asked her to explain what happened. Mary told us her mother was upset because Mary hadn't done the laundry so she took all of Mary's clothes and put them in the garbage. When Mary woke up to get ready for school she found she only had one pair of jeans left to wear.

I asked Mary if she would be happy if I made her a pair of pants. Mary's face brightened. "Do you know how to sew?"  "Sure I do," I said. (But I hadn't sewn since high school and that was many years ago, plus I didn't even own a sewing machine.)

So I promised Mary I would make her a pair of pants. I also promised Mary that these would be the most unusual pants she had ever seen. I asked her if she liked lime green, orange and bright yellow, flowers and plaid. She laughed and said yes to all of it. I told her that if I made the pants she would have to wear them. She agreed.

When the school day was over I was on a mission. I had to get the most unusual material and then find a sewing machine, and then make a pair of pants for Mary. Ha, I laughed at myself. How on earth was I going to make a pair of pants for this student by tomorrow?

I called my mother and asked if I could borrow her sewing machine. She of course said yes.  I drove out to Walmart and found the most unusual bright green patterned material available. I purchased the material, some thread and the simpliest pattern I could find.

I went to my mother's house and got her sewing machine out of the basement.Then I asked my mother, who by the way is an excellent seamstress, to make the pants. She reminded me that I promised my student that I would make the pants and therefore I would have to make the pants myself.

"Losers make promises they often break. Winners make commitments they always keep." Denis Waitley

She laughed as I struggled to thread the bobbin. She laughed even harder when I laid out the material. She nearly doubled over while I attempted to cut out my badly placed pattern.

Five and a half hours later the pants were finished.

The next day Mary couldn't wait to come to my class. Her face was glowing and her smile went from ear to ear. There were no pants laid out on my desk so she rushed over to me and said, "You didn't make them did you, Miss? I knew you wouldn't."

"Sure I did," I told her, and I pulled out a white Macy's box complete with white tissue paper. She opened the box and said, "You didn't make these. You bought them." Her friend "Carla" snatched the pants from Mary's hand and looked at the stitching inside and said, "Oh, s%*t, she really made them. Sorry Miss."

 Mary's smile brightened and she kept repeating, "I can't believe she made me some pants. No one ever made me anything."

Then I told Mary it was time for her to hold up to her end of the deal. I told her she had to wear the pants.

Mary left the room and returned still smiling and wearing the pants.

This was one of the most wonderful days as a teacher and it involved no teaching whatsoever. A teenager's smile was restored and I found out I still know how to sew, however badly, all thanks to a pair of magic pants.

Photo Source: All photos were taken by me (Crystal Gaskin) the day I brought the pants to school. The student in the second photo "Mary" agreed to having her photo taken provided that I not show her face in the picture.

Every day when my homeroom class and I say the Pledge of Allegiance, along with the voice over our school loudspeaker, the words "under God" stick in my throat.  I look at my class of students who celebrate Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Muslim, Sikh, and are Jehovah's Witnesses, atheists and agnostics.  With such a diverse community, it doesn't feel right to say "under God" when not all in my class revere God.  I don't like that we are endangering our students' religious liberty. 

My question to you:  How do you feel about these observations and in what ways could a blog be superior to a discussion group?  

As, a librarian, I do have the ability to attract students outside their classes and work with teachers and their classes.

Anyone ever start a chapter in their school? 

 At the Amnesty International site there are so many issues to get involved in.  The first one that I will focus on is the Iranian election and assuring that the Iranians are protected for speaking out and peacefully demonstrating in order to express their views.  This is happening now so it's a good issue to begin with.  See below for a quote from the Amnesty International website and an action that can be taken at this time:

"Amnesty International calls on the Iranian authorities to allow peaceful demonstrations, to exercise restraint in the policing of any further demonstrations, to stop using the Basij militia to police protests, and to ensure that firearms are not used except as a last resort and where strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.

Take action now!"   

http://www.amnesty.org/en/iran-election-unrest

Uploaded on June 16, 2009 by "SIR: Poseyal Knight of the DESPOSYNI

I am now at home catching up on what I have been learning. I cant get too deep into what is been taught now because I am writing my dissertation concept paper. So everthing is is locked out of my mind. Yes I must admit that I cant walk and chew gum at the same time. So what I do is take note go home and learn. I will spend 6 hours a night on my computer. Anyway, I turned on my computer and all the graphics were missing. I could not even respond to a post. So I turned on another computer and I am able to.

The thing about computer application software is its intutiveness, if you know to use photoshop, you should be able to use  frontpage , or NYCWP applications.

 To stand in an apartment that is totally blackened by a fire is chilling. 

I still shudder when I think of that moment. 

I still shudder that my daughter, Marissa, left our apartment ten minutes earlier.

I still shudder when I think about what could have been.

Two years ago, a Glade candle burst out of its glass jar and ignited a kitchen tablecloth in my neighbor's first floor apartment.

                                                 The apartment was incinerated in minutes. 

                                                                     Their flat screen TV melted against the wall. 

                                                                                      All items were burned beyond recognition.

Most importantly, the young lady of the house managed to scoop her two adolescent children from both ends of the house and escaped her burning apartment with minor smoke enhalation.

God bless our NYC Fire Department who were on the scene in minutes.

I had just completed teaching my seventh period class when the phone call came through from the fire captain on the scene.  He told me that a small fire had occurred but that it was contained.  My next door neighbor, the father of one of my students, knew to tell the fire department to call me at school.  I am such a jaded New Yorker that I initially thought the phone call was from a prankster.  So funny how one can deny reality! 

The captain wanted to know if there was anyone in my apartment.

At that time, I wasn't sure whether Marissa had left for school.

The firefighters went through every nook and crannie looking for her.

They told me that no one was there.

Marissa later told me she had 58 missed calls from her anxious mother on her cell phone.

The NYC subway still doesn't get cell phone reception.

My para-professional took over my eighth period class as I raced out of school to my home one mile away. 

Five fire trucks were outside my house.  What an image.  Red, yellow and white lights swirling around.  Ladders up against the house.

Now for my second floor apartment, the smoke, water, glass, and firemen's feet caused damage to my property that was devastating. 

Mostly everything I owned was ruined. 

Many of my family photographs were saved because they were packed in plastic containers. 

You realize very quickly what is important to own and treasure vs. what is important  to just have. 

My two children and I lived with my Mom, in Woodside, Queens for seven months while my apartment was being renovated. 

After the dust settled, literally, it was amusing to see what did survive...

like my wedding album.  It was a great wedding, and I am glad I have a record of all whom I love who attended. 

Too bad the marriage didn't last. 

Ah, well!

                                                                         This experience puts into perspective how much stuff we don't need. 

                                                                                                                   George Carlin had it right.

http://www.writers-free-reference.com/funny/story085.htm

Let's start with Babe Ruth   www.cobrabrigade.com/images/Babe_Ruth_jpg.jpg

Note the perfect symmetry of the crossed shins.  True, one foot is tilted slightly more than the other, however in the opinion of this reviewer, that in no way detracts from the overall effect.  The vertical line of the bat mergers brilliantly with the contours of the right leg and the hands are in perfect diametrical opposition.  This is just a fabulous looking swing.  It's a "home run" in the eyes of this beholder.  Most Famous Cover: Bats and Balls Illustrated

The original Italian Stallion is still number one in the hearts of most Cleveland Indian fans  z.lee28.tripod.com/sbnsforgottenintime/id10.html 

Rocky had class.  Rocky had style.  Rocky didn't even have to swing and the ball jumped off his bat and out of the park.  Crowds went wild.  Just look at the slight tilt forward of the body - the original crouching tiger (when later he was traded to  Detroit, creating the that unique brand of lakeside vitriol that exists to this day.)  Rocky could knock the ball out of the park with just a look.  Most Famous Cover: Italian Dishes and Sports Stars

 Let's compare Rogers Hornsby   www.nndb.com/people/046/000085788/

Note the left spike angle and relate it to the right spike angle.  I believe you will discover perfect conformity from the push foot to the land foot, something rarely achieved in any sport.  Also the ratio of chin below right shoulder exemplifies Robertson's Rule of .322 to 16, an observation confirmed by Friedrich.  Babe Ruth was only known to have achieved this twice - once in 1924 and again in '27, Ty Cobb never.  Most Famous Cover: Home Plate Journal

Turning to Shoeless Joe Jackson  www.blackbetsy.com/imagefarm/shoeles2.jpg

I think the shadow is significant.  It reveals the excellent balance of the right foot as it leaves the dirt, pointing slightly back toward a point 17 feet 8 inches in front of the hitter where the shadow of the left foot would, if continued, form an isosceles triangle of the first order.  Only Jackson was able to achieve this balance and only during 1911 when he hit .411.  Most Famous Cover: Bat Weekly

Let's not forget the awesome, pre-drug-addicted Darryl Strawberry    paxarcana.wordpress.com/2008/03/04/essay-on-the-occassion-of-darryl-strawberrys-32nd-chance/

Note the knock-kneed coil, the slight hip-twist / shoulder-turn and the satisfied expression as though he's about to score in the 10th inning.  He was famous, of course, for that 33 degree shoulder slope and here you can see why.  Of course, his statuesque 6 foot 7 frame made him perfect for the runway.  Most Famous Cover: Journal of the American Medical Association

 Let's take a look at the swing of swings, Ted Williams' .400 masterpiece

coffeyvillewhirlwind.files.wordpress.com/2006/11/ted-williams.JPG

I don't care how much you adored Joe DiMaggio, there was none so sweepingly graceful, none so mournfully mellow, none so nonchalantly nuanced, none so dauntingly delectable, none so ....  The great Bostonite's famous cross-legged, side-of-the-foot follow-through influenced tens of thousands of runway swingers and still has impact to this day and beyond.  Even tomorrow.  Most Famous Cover: Vogue

 Of course, no runway would be complete without the great Kirby Puckett  www.fansedge.com/Images/Product/33-52/33-52855-F.jpg

Kirby displayed the best in swinging style during his hall-of-fame career.  His smiling face and short squat body proved that you don't have to be long, lanky and sour to make it to the top.  Notice the aggressive push-off from the right foot and the lunging shoulder swoop that was his trademark.  Right elbow in, left elbow out made for a unique figure on the field and the cover pages of all the sports magazines.  Most Famous Cover: Big and Tall Catalogue

 Size doesn't matter: Wee Willie Keeler    www.baseballlibrary.com/excerpts/excerpt.php

The ball was afraid to even approach Wee Willie's bat, so potent was it.  Notice the shift of 68% of the body weight onto the back (left) foot, a balance that took years to perfect and only through the intervention of Dr. Calvin Dalyrimple, Ph.D. of University of Detroit, who theorized that with a body type like Keeler's, a left-handed swing, trousers that reached just below the knee and a hat angle of 90 degrees to the eyebrows, 68% would be the optimal body weight shift so long as the pitch was between 87 and 89 mph and there was a runner on second.  The result: a .400 hitter and sure-fire hall of famer.  Most Famous Cover: Wee Man Illustrated

 No list would be complete without Tiger   www.masters.com/en_US/news/photos/2008-04-13/200804131208128720127.html

 No, he's not posing.  This is the real, swinging Tiger.  That smile on his face might be about the beautiful swat he'd just taken from out of the sand or it might have more to do with his recent honeymoon or the previous year's multi-million dollar paydays.  The beauty of the swing is in the symmetry of the shoulders, the straight, strong forearms and the phenomenal grip.  A sight to behold.  Most Famous Cover: Swedish Delights

 Next we have the inimitable Glenn Miller  cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Miller

He swung like no one had swung before.  Note the delicate right touch on the slide, the left index finger as it caresses the mouthpiece, and the most prominent pucker in all of brass horn playing.  As Gene Krupa once quipped, "Nobody puckered better" and as rumor had it, he should have known.

As all parents know, kids swing best.   www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06535b.jpg

Here we have some swinging swingers who one day could be in the running.

A swirling shape represents a failed attempt to reach infinity.

 

     Okay, color pages aside, I just want to apologize for this super late post. I've got things going on and well, you know. Okay, so this week we got a treat! Color pages! Yay! Let's get on with this post!
     Okay, so to start this chapter off, Tobi, Madara, whatever you want to call him, intercepts Team Taka on their way to Konoha. As seen in the pictures below, Sasuke informs the dude in the swirly mask that Taka isn't part of Akatsuki anymore. If this were in the anime, I imagine an evil chuckle right about...

 

 

     Heh heh. And now, time to screw with them. I think its safe to say that even Prince Emo himself is starting to feel something right now.
      Meanwhile, Back in Konoha...

 

Ah, let the fighting begin. Again.

      And that, my friends, is how you bring up old loves from the past...

 

...Efectively making old fangirls shut up. Not to mention the look Naruto gives her. What is that? Sorrow? Pity? Slight annoyance that she's crying again? Idk, but I kind of hope its the last one.

 

Ooh, I like this chick. Sure she's loud and pushy, but she tells it like it is. Plus, she's kind of like a cooler version of Sakura. Don't agree? Tell me why in the comments.

 

     *GASP!* Sai did something nice!? Well, if you see it as him trying to distract the cloud nin so that they can shut up and make Sakura stop crying, I guess it can be considered nice. Wow, that sounded a lot meaner than I meant it to sound....
ANYWAY! The two cloud nin inform them that their team leader is already scoping information out from the village, but they just wanted to get more because they refuse to sit around and do nothing while their Master is who-knows-where doing who-knows-what and fretting over if he's dead or alive. This seems to strike a nerve in Naruto and some old memories while he remembers saying something alond the same lines when he heard of Jiraiya's death.

 

     Let's finish this post off on a good note, shall we? The sand siblings finally get some screen time! Or, whatever you call it when its in a manga not an anime. Anyway, not only has Kankuro changed his face paint AGAIN, but all three got a wardrobe change! Yay! And... you know what? I'm not gonna go there... Anyway, see you next time! Ja ne! ^\\

Who are we if we are not our media?

 

Questions of personal identity are always fraught with problems without even bringing national identity into the discussion.

If we think critically about the coverage of Iran's recent election, I feel that we would find that social media (twitter, facebook,etc.) became the story and altered our sense of the situation in Iran. Check out the a social media timeline of events:  http://mashable.com/2009/06/21/iran-election-timeline/ 

From the media coverage it would appear that nationally all of Iran was up in arms over the current election.  A disparity become evident when you consider that despite the enormous natural resources of Iran,  the Iranian economy is in the toilet.  The faces and voices that have appeared on the US news have been fasly represented as the majority of the population.  In acuallity, all of the English speaking, electronic device owners represent a distinct minority of the population.  Much of Iran exists in a greater level of poverty and the opinion and voices of those people were not represented on news broadcasts since they lacked technological link to the American news media.

In America, due to the images broadcast by the news media, popular sentemant over the protests made people call for this to be used as an opportunity to spin the EU in action.  For reasons unknown to mainstream America, they balked. This was due to Europe's ability to see through the transparent, one sided, representation from news media.  What is scary is that outside involvement brought due to the new coverage could have worked though. With an insular country such as Iran a few media savvy groups could theoretically bring down a government with their images and web presence. If we were not fighting two wars currently, it is not out of our character to use such images a pretext  for an invasion. 

How then do we teach our children to see through the hype as the Europeans did? Our identity as consumers seems to be the meeting point of our personal identities and our nation identity. As this is largely controlled by the media, how are we to address this in our classrooms?

I am of the opinion that I as a teacher should be a merciless skeptic of any and all messages, modelling methods of dissecting any communication for possible hidden meaning. This may be seen by some as unduly influencing my students but I offer no quarter to my own pet belief: global warming, socialism and such.

What do you think?
 
Check out the link to this lesson about Listerine: Miracle Liquid or Product in Search of a Purpose?

  "magritte 3" by aldoaldoz

Until recently, classrooms had remained virtually unchanged for nearly a hundred years - desks were arranged in neat rows facing a chalkboard at the front of the room, students took notes on paper, and read from printed textbooks. Things started to change with the advent of whiteboards and projection equipment and, even more recently, individual computers. The trend is continuing, and the next casualty of the technological revolution appears to be the printed textbook.

---- Wendy J. Woudstra--Publishing Central

As 21st century students, we are surrounded with new technology everyday. However, our schools are usually the aspect of our lives which are less affected. They tend to not be able to afford the kind of technology that we would like or already enjoy at home. However, the idea of turning our textbooks, a tool we interact with everyday, into another technology would greatly affect us. The idea of implanting eReaders, of turning paper textbooks into digital files that can be read in popular devices such as iPods and PSP, into schools is making high schools and universities reconsider their teaching systems. Many schools that have already adopted eReaders say that it integrates all the students, since with every generation students become more and more technology savvy. With all textbooks in one easy to carry device,students find that the benefit of less weight is a bonus. There are also many interacting activities, which call for individuals try out experiments, as would be needed for Physics and Chemistry. Such experiments allow for students to learn specific aspects of science by trial and error in the textbook. However, the strain our eyes will have to endure will increase incredibly. The implantation of eReaders into schools will  be the final part so that young students will be completely surrounded with technology at all times. We might just forget what it is like to interact with others when doing a real laboratory because we will become accustomed to artificial companionship.
 

  Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz was recently asked about what he thought about steroid use in baseball. His answer was simple, a one-year suspension from the game. I cannot help but agree with Ortiz on this one, but i also think a little something extra should be added into the equation. If a player is caught using performance enhancing drugs, he should be banned from getting into the hall of fame. A player cannot be recognized as one of the greatest of all time, if he was using drugs in order to boost his performance. Hell, if every player used steroids, they all would be putting up monster numbers. You cannot compliment someone for cheating. It just is not right.

    Another current major-leaguer, Jamie Moyer was asked if he thought that recently outed steroid user Alex Rodriguez should be inducted into the Hall. His answer was simple, "How could he be?" Using drugs as an aid in competition is wrong, and how can you compare steroid using meatheads to such greats as Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth? You simply can't. Baseball has become a joke, and the game I used to like to watch has become a huge scandel of he said she said and cheaters. it is wrong and it has ruined major league baseball for me.

"I would suggest everybody get tested, not random, everybody," he said. "You go team by team. You test everybody three, four times a year and that's about it."

And if a player tests positive for steroids?

"Ban 'em for the whole year," the slugger said.

This is a photo of my friend's book collection at the time of his moving into his apartment in Buffalo. His collection appears larger than mine...grrr.

Uploaded on August 10, 2008
by washablemarkers

I was supposed to go to the Bahams the past week with my mother and my sister. It was my dad's idea for my mom not to take me. He thought it would be bad for me to miss school so close to the regents and just didn't let me go. He wanted me to study and even though I didn't go, I really didn't do much studying. I can't believe I didn't go. When my mom got back with ma sis, they told me the water was crystal clear everywhere; even where it was 20-30 feet deep. That's da kind of $#!T I live for. I wanna know other people's opinions. Would you let your son/daughter go on vacation of make them stay in school?

 My Friends mean the world to me. Without them, I would be nothing. If I didn't have my friends I would have nothing to live for. Its because of them I am still here. I love them all for different reasons, some more then others but that's my issues. I would do anything for them. If they need something I get it done for them. And I know that they would do the same things for me. I most likely wont be connected to everyone in the next few years, but I know ill have some of them. Unfortunately, over some conflicts in the 8th grade, I don't have many friends from my previous school but I have 2 or 3. So coming to EWSIS has changed a lot, No one knew me, so I was able to start over and I met so many great people.

I know I talk about my friends a lot but I don't think I ever will stop. I want people to know how I feel and if telling them about my friends is the way then so be it. But I want to show people that even when things are bad, if you have good friends then there are no problems. When I'm sad I turn to them for help and they help me as much as they can. They way I meet most of my buddies is I stand out from the rest of the crowd.

Standing out has always been a common thing for me. I don't like to fit in with other people, I'm my own person and I don't need to be told what to say, wear or do. The only people I care about what they think of me are my closest friends. When I say stand out, I mean I try to look as abnormal as possible. Mainly not matching and wearing abstract clothes. I have never really fit in with too many people. In all of my schools so far I have had my own little group or friends and that was basically it. Just them, if someone says I look stupid for wearing something then they can keep that opinions in their own minds, it wont bother me at all. Ive dyed my hair all different colors, I've worn weird jewelry, worn weird stuff but my friends don't care. And if they did care, I would think about what they said, hen do what I think is right for me from there. Appearance is nothing to me, its who you are on the inside. That's it for me.

I'm not a normal person. Being normal has never been in my mind. I wear dark clothes with birth colors, I never match, I wear a lot of jewelry. I wear spikes and other random this I come across. I wear a pink studded belt and a white sweater. None of my friends care what I look like, they just care who I am on the inside. I have a few close friends and these are them.

I have a large social circle. But I have a few close friends. Whenever I can, I spend as much time with them as possible. Usually we spend our after school hours in the Queens Botanical Gardens. We are always together, at lunch in classes we have together. Its great for us.

One of them is Ashlie. She has been there for me whenever I need help with anything. If there is a problem with someone or someone is talking about us. We help each other with everything.

Another one is Jordan. He has my back with everything. Him, Ashlie and myself always take the train home together, there we talk about problems, or fun things or whatnot.

Then there's Izzy. She is like my little sister I never had or wanted. She is fun to hang out with, she is a bit insane and has her little mean streak but shes caring and she accepts everyone for who they are.

Mathew's turn. He is over 6 feet tall and over 200 pounds but he is one of the nicest people you will ever meet, hes the genital giant. He feels no pain and can hold a lot of weight, so he is our punching bag and stunt double. When i get pumped on sugar, i fun around like a mad man and do stupid things, and he is there laughing at me and joining in. I run up his back then jump off, vault over him and any other weird stuff you can think of.

And then, there was Cha. He is our buddy, somewhat violent but its fine. Hes cool, he has cool hair and hes very active. He fits in with us very well. Now our newbie, Vincent. He seems like a duplicate of me. He is also insane and has the same taste in music as I do. I hang out with them almost everyday after school.

Then there are others who mean a lot to me but i don't see them as often.

Arsie. He is a kid who looks like hes into classical music and drinks cups of tea but hes a full blown metal head. Unrealistic but true. Dickson and Andi. They are my brothers. When ever we need something done, we help each other do it. If it comes to relationship problems were there for  each other. These 8 people are like my other family. They are the people I care the most about .Then there are others but these are the not in this school.

Motivation is a big topic for me. I have been motivated a lot. I get most of it from the sport of football.Like the time my team was winning by 7 points and the other team was driving to score but time was running out. I motivated my friend who was the starting linebacker to keep going and to not stop until the final whistle. He actually got a touchdown saving tackle as time expired or maybe another time when I was in my first season playing football and we were playing the Brooklyn Tomahawks. It was a QB scramble ans I got my first tackle. I was motivated by my coach to go out and play even though it was my first time. Another motivational time was when our coach told us that he believed we could score 50 points on the Bronx Colts and we did. The consequence would be 200 yard crab walks.

Motivation is interesting to me because I want to know what makes people drive to do better or be better. What gives them that burst on confidence?

The image that comes to my head when I think about motivation is when the Giants won the super bowl last season. Micheal Strahan told them that if they believed in the themselves the score would be 17 - 14 and the score came out to be that why as they pulled off the biggest upset beating the previously unbeaten Patriots.

Well I went my very first Kendo tournament.  I lost every match and I felt bad about it.  I know this only means I have to get better. I wondered if anyone has similar stories that they could share with me.

My book is called Night. It is a very good book. It tells the story of Elie Wisel during the holocaust. He has to struggle for his life and it is a very good book about struggle. This is an amazing book about a mans journey, and I am really enjoying it.

I am glad that I am reading Night by Elie Wiesel because it tells the story of a young boy my age that has to go through something in his life that I could never imagine myself going through. His whole family has been sent to the concintration camp, and he has to see many of his fellow jewish people die a horrible death. He has to go through things that I could never imagine myself going through, and although he is very young, he seems very wise, and extremely intelligent. He sees everyone dying around him, and we slowly see his emotions and thought change. In the beginning, he was focused on protecting his father, and being with his father, but once he knew that he had to be strong to save his own life. So he slowly grows away from his father, and his images of a god slowly seem to faid away as well.

This book reminds me of the song Human Nature by Michael Jackson. This is because it talks about human nature and how we can use it as an exuse for what we do. However, during the time period of the holocaust, there was definatly alot of time where human nature played a big role. This is because people were fighting for their lives, and this is when true human nature begins to kick in. People change, and they do whatever they can to escape death.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of this book because I want to know what happenes to Elie. Does he surrive? Well he definatly survives because he wrote the book. But how did he get saved? How did his suffering during the holocaust affect him afterwards? I also look forward to finding more information on him and the holocaust after reading this book.

Though no other deaths in the last 6 years warranted a moment of silence at my school, Michael Jackson's death apparently did.  I was annoyed.  I grew up with Jackson's music, hulla hooped to "ABC, 123" and still own Thriller on LP.  Still I wondered about silently eulogizing a man who struggled with his race (yet wrote a song called "Don't Matter if Your Black or White"), admittedly shared a bed with non-related children, dangled his child over a balcony, etc

How do you feel about that?

Links of interest:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-rutten27-2009jun27,...

http://www.examiner.com/x-14552-Providence-Social-Media-Examiner~y2009m6...

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/28/sunday/main5119578.shtml?tag=c...

How about a moment of silence for the great Mike Smith?

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23395584/

www.gigwise.com/news/41170/The-Dave-Clark-Five

Well you see, here in good ol nebraska we have decided to read whale talk.  I dont know what it's about, so could you guys fill me in on the whole shabang

This is a question that most people wonder about and most never get to answer. Usually, people are able to predict this if they are held at gunpoint or if they have a disease and a professional was able to tell them when they will die because of the disease. Death is an interesting topic because it is something that is irreversible and what most people are curious about. When people think about death, they wonder if they get to go to hell or heaven, at what age they will die, and obviously how. For myself, I always hope that I will die old enough to have had children, seen them grow into adulthood, educated them, and lived to see my grandchildren. I always wonder what the outcome of my death would be and how it might affect others. But, if you think about it, your own death doesn't affect you because right after it, you are gone. Nothing more will be left for you and you won't be able to miss anyone, unless of course, there is an after life.

Posted by Xeni Jardin,

this picture shows that economy is forcing landowner to do whatever

Another thing that stand out to me is when Nettie, Celie's sister came over to visit her, and the kids were running all over her, like Celie was the floor. Nettie said to Celie, "Why you let them kids take over? You have to put your foot down and show them who is boss."  Celie responds, "I don't know how to do that, I just know how to stay alive." That is sad. She had been abused her whole life to the point that she doesn't know how to take control over anything.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of the book because I still would like to analyze the feelings of Celie. I can see her feelings and talk about them.

I have yet to understand some of these people who call themselves Christians. People that go to regular churches, sit there, listen to the Word, and go home reflecting on what they've heard, are so quick to judge people. One topic that comes to mind in particular is homosexuality. I know, as a Christian, that homosexuality is a sin in God's eyes, but where do people get off talking about them as if they are not human?! This highly upsets me because some of these "Christians" are so damn hypocritical. They have a LOT of nerve walking around cursing, yelling, and screaming, verbally abusing the homosexuals, then going back to church to clap and praise God for all he has done and stuff like that. To sit here and read the Bible that basically says that people shouldn't be wicked to one another, and then to physically, emotionally, and mentally hurt someone is absolutely ridiculous. I can't stand sitting around and watching these "Christians" ridicule someone for what they believe and obviously feel strong about. It urks me and makes me want to say something in the protection of the homosexual. As I have talked about in my other post, "FAGGOT?!?!?!" I can't stand watching not only guys but ANYONE in particular judge people for kissing someone of the same sex.

In conclusion, all these "Christians" need to realize that once a sin is done it is done. There is no high and low level of sinning, a sin is a sin no matter how you look at it. With these people sitting here judging and making a complete ass of themselves, they need to realize that they are just as wrong for not following what the Bible says. If there were levels of sinning, all those hypocrites would have been sinning more because in the 10 Commandments, one of them says, "Love you neighbor as yourself." By being rude and giving a person the cold shoulderfor what they are is most definitely NOT showing how to be a good Christian...

Just saying ~:P

Dakota Fanning is going to be in New Moon so Awesome!!!!! I'm so excited. 5  more months

Teens nowadays are starting to become sexually active at such a young age.  Some, believe it or not, at the age of 11! It angers me though to know that such young kids that should be playing with toys and stuff are starting to do adult things.  I don't know why they are doing it; is it like a game to them? Does it make them cooler to say "Oh i had sex."?  Before a kid talking about sex was never heard of.  They were never told about the consequences about it or were educated about it.  Why are our teens taking risks while their being educated? Is it because that we are being talked about sex that teens have decided to start doing it?  Should we have been told about it? Yes we should be talked about it, but we shouldnt do it until we are at a certain age or until we are married.  I feel i can blame parents for this.  They are not really on top of their children like they should be.   Sometimes they are giving them too much freedom and their children are taking advantage of it.  they should also give their children the confidence to go up to them with any questions they have and not tell them that sex is wrong because its not, just doing it at a young age is.  i also blame the internet because teens can have access to porn sites or chat rooms[cyber sex ,curiosity can lead to having sex] I asked some of my friends who have been active, "Why do you do it?".  And they have been giving me lame answers like oh because it feels good or because i Love him , or her.   At a really young age i doubt we  know what love is, We're still  kids. And even if we did know what love is, we dont have to have sex to love someone.  Some though are pressured into having sex.  we should be strong enough and smart enough to say NO. I know that some are thinking about it and doubting whether they should.  If you're doubting DONT DO IT!!!!!!! THATS YOUR CONSCIENCE TELLING YOU NOT TO DO IT!!!!! Some may think that what im saying is stupid, and thats fine with me.  I cant control your actions.  But those who i have made them do some thinking im glad! If this is how our youth is TODAY, what would become of our next generation?

This is also an essay I wrote before the Global History Regent to practice. This essay disscuss little part of the two major turning point in world history.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The shape of our society is often related to the government, both has powers to change the other. The society would be able to control the government, in cases such as having a religious leader to be in charge of the government. In other situation such as the government passing laws to limit the religious belief of the people would cause the people to migrate. Examples could be find through out history.

In the Meiji Period of the Japanese history, Emperor Meiji has made reforms that affect the later history of Japan. Under Emperor Meiji’s rule, he was determine to modernize the county, and allow the western influence to mix in. As a result, many Japanese was sent oversea to different western nations and learn about the western culture to spread in Japan. Such decisions was made during the imperial time for Japan to survive, to not be imperialize by the western nations. Japan would have to become one of them.

The French Revolution brought major changes to France, a special period of the French Revolution was the Reign of Terror. Big changes occur in the type of government, it was no longer monarchy after the king was dead. Robespierre lead a group and took over the government in hope of strengthen the newly born country. With Robespierre in charge, people was arrested without warrant, and kill without trial. Robespierre’s reason for doing so was his suspicion of people’s loyalty to the country.

The purposes of both of these reforms above were to improve the condition of their countries, however, it results in two different outcomes. Under Emperor Meiji’s reforms, Japan was able to escape the fate of being imperialize by adopting the western ideas. The majority of Japanese was influence by the reforms, their daily life contains more of an western style than the traditions. Meanwhile, French suffer from fear everyday under the lead of Robespierre, they have no privacy. There wasn’t much freedom even among their own people, French make every move carefully in fear of being accuse of crimes with no evidence.

There are reforms made in many parts of the past history. The goal for the reforms were all the same, it is for the hope of changes that the reforms would bring. Usually one would hope for an improvement after the reform, but sometime things doesn’t goes as wished, such as France under Robespierre. However, most revolutions did reach their goal such as Japan under Emperor Meiji’s rule.