Include:
- the title of article and the author
- six-seven sentence summary of article (please write more if you need to)
- a response or connection--What did you find interesting? Learn new?
- pose a question to the class (ex: Do you agree with the main idea? What did you think of the article? etc)
Dear Readers,
ReplyDeleteFor my scope article, I chose "Is It Ok to Sneak Food Into the Movies?" by Justin O'Neill. This article was kind of interesting, because it is on a topic that I have never read about before! The article talks about and explains if its okay to bring your own food into the movie theater. There is actually a rule in movie theaters that you aren't allowed to bring food into the movie theater, and many will kick you out if you are caught! The food offered at the movies is often unhealthy and way over priced. You can buy the same things at the grocery store for half of the price, but there is a reason why the cost is do high. When you buy a movie ticket, about half of the gain is sent to the production studio to pay the actors and all of the people who worked in and on the movie. The theaters need to make more money, so its okay to jack up the tempting food prices. Right?
If moviegoers were to stop buying the food at the movies, the theater would have to raise the ticket prices even more! Also bringing your own food is unfair to the others who bought the food at the movies. They had to pay more than you, and also its jut plainly rude. It would be like bringing your own cheese and crackers to The '99 Restaurant. I found this article very interesting because I never thought that so much went into the over prices food you bought at the movies. I have always been unaware that you were not allowed to bring your own food, though my family never did. I thought that this was really cool!
Do you think its right to bring your own food into the movie theater?
Thanks for reading,
-Kylie
Dear Ms.Casassa,
ReplyDeleteI read the The Fire Breather article by Tod Olsen. In this article Garret Morgan who was born 12 years after the civil war in Kentucky and only had a sixth grade education because he had to drop out and get a job. In 1895 at the age of 18 he moved to Cleveland, Ohio. He was very curios and took things apart and put them back together to see how it worked. Fire was a huge problem because places were mostly all built out of wood and they would catch on fire very easy and fire fighters would die going in to save people because of all the smoke. So one day he invented the gas mask and since he was African American people didn't wanna do business with him so he hired a white male to sell them and he would test them by filling a place with toxic gas and he would go into that place with the mask on. One day workers hit a natural gas spring and 120 feet under ground and they were passing out and dying so he got called over and he brought a lot of masks and when down with people and he saved 2 out of the 12 people and they also got all the bodies. During WW1 the demanded for gas masks were very high because of the Germans using toxic gas on the western front. Later he saw a girl get hit by a car because the stop light had no warning to slow down so he put the yellow light in the middle. He died in 1963 and he was very proud that he saved so many people with his inventions.
Sincerely,
Brennan
Dear Ms. Casassa,
ReplyDeleteThe scope article that I read was "Is It OK to Sneak Food Into the Movies?" by Justin O'neil. The article talks about why is might be ok to sneak food in the movies or why you absolutely shouldn't. Most people sneak food in the movies because it is a lot cheaper for something than buying a jacked up price of it at the theaters. Also most of the food they offer is unhealthy and bad for you. "About half of what you spend on a ticket goes to the studio that made the movie you're seeing." That is important because that is how these movie stars and advertisements founders of the movie get paid. Theaters make about 20 percent of their total earnings from their ticket sales. 20 percent is not a lot, that is why the price of food and candy is so high. If "moviegoers" stopped buying food when they went to a movie the owners of the theater would have to raise the prices of a ticket, which is already high at about 9 dollars. Some people have gotten kicked out because of sneaking food.
"The fact is that movie theaters are more in the snack business than about the movie business." I thought about that line for a minute and realized how true it is. When I have gone to movie theaters in the past there is always long counter of food and candy. I thought that the ticket was expensive but then I thought, what if you were to buy a popcorn, candy and drink. That can be another 11 or so dollars. I never really thought about how much these movie theaters get by having all this food and candy until reading that sentence. I personally have brought food into a movie before, not anything big, it was just a box of candy and I thought it was ok because I don't want to pay 9 dollars for a ticket and then 3 dollars for a small box of candy.
Do you think it's ok to bring food into a movie, even if it is just a small box of candy?
From,
Drew Mahoney
Dear Ms Casassa, For my article I read Is It Ok to Sneak Food Into the Movies? by Justion O' Neil. In the article it talks about the issue which is should people be able to bring in there own food to a movie theater? In the article it talks about one of the main reasons for why people bring in food. That is that the food is way overpriced. Some places have marked it up by 900%. An example of this is in the article it says " Why pay five dollars for a pack of M&Ms when you can go to the corner store and get it for several dollars cheaper". This just shows how overpriced the food is at movie theaters, and why people sneak in there own candy. And to top it off, the food is really unhealthy. At movies, the popcorn and soft pretzels are greasy, also there is nachos and candy. Some people like bringing in healthier choices to the movies, and the movie theaters are forcing them to buy there junk food. I do understand that the movie companies need a lot of money to keep the business going. So I think that in this case it is a smart idea to have such high prices because it will make people who want snacks and things like that pay large amounts of money, which gives the company a large profit. Also they need these high prices to pay there employees. When you buy a ticket, half of that goes to the studio that made the movie your seeing. This would go towards the production of the movie, hiring the stars to act the movie, and pays for all the advertising so you can see the movies that are playing. If they did not have such high prices at the concession stand, then they won't have enough money to pay the workers and all the other things. This would have to force the company to shut down. You also have to consider the respect part. Bringing in your own food into a movies is very disrespectful, and you have to consider the rules and show some respect. In the article they have an example, which was " It would be like bringing your own chips to Chipotle". I think that this issue has been something that is ongoing, and I myself tend to sneak in food into movies. I don't want to pay ten dollars for candy or whatever snacks they have when I can get it for a lot cheaper and probley a lot more of it. But do you think it's ok? Have any of you done this before, and why? Was it because the movie over prices things, or is it because the food is to unhealthy?
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Adam
Dear Ms. Casassa,
ReplyDeleteFor homework tonight I read, "Is it Okay to Sneak Food Into the Movies?" by Justin O'Neill. I chose to read this article because when I saw it, the title really attracted me because this is something that I have done before, sneak food and candy into the movies. And I wanted to know the opinion from this guy on the topic. This article was mainly about why it isn't okay for people to bring in their own food to the movies. When you buy a ticket to see your movie, only half of that money goes to the movie theater, and the other half goes to the studio where the movie was produced. So for the movie the to make profit, the movie theater has to intrigue you to buy food. Which the jack up the prices almost 900 percent. O'Neill also wrote that if moviegoers were to stop buying food from the theater, the owners would have to push up prices of tickets up. It's also disrespectful. Say you went to an ice cream bar and brought your own ice cream. That's kinda rude. Anyways, the one solution to not bring food into the movies, is to eat before you go. My family has always brought candy and water to the movies, which I found interesting. Maybe they'd change their minds if the read this article. Do you bring food to the movies?
From,
Seth Burdick
I read "The Amazing Powers of Jen Bricker" by Kristin Lewis. i found this story and the person extraordinary. I had never heard anything like it and I found it very interesting. When Jen was born, she had a genetic defect so her legs never formed. Her biological father didn't want her anymore and wouldn't allow her mother to keep her. She went up for adoption and left her other siblings. Unfortunately she was one of 110,000 disabled children who didn't have a home. It was a miracle that she eventually adopted by two parents who already had 3 boys and wanted a little girl for their own after discovering they couldn't have anymore children themselves. As Jen grew up, she was an amazing child who could do anything without letting the fact that she has no legs get in the way. She did every activity that any other kid did with no problem. She was able to "walk" by lifting herself up and pushing herself forward with her hands. She swam, played volleyball, and even stole balls off the basketball court. At one time, she was introduced to prosthetic legs but didn't like them and refused to have them. Often times she used a wheelchair instead even though she liked to walk on her hands more. She also enjoyed softball, snowboarding, fishing, and riding horses. But the one sport that she was exceptional in was gymnastics. She trained at a nearby gym when she was 7. At the age of 11 she took home gold at the state championship. One person she had admired very much was Dominique Moceanu. They both enjoyed the same thing and they looked alike. She later found out from her mother that they were sisters. Jen's last name before she was adopted was Moceanu, the same as Dominique. For a while she tried to send letters to her and get to see her. Eventually she was able to see her and along the way she met her other sister, Christina. This was a very unbelievable and interesting story iv'e ever heard of and I find Jen to be very hard working she must be very inspiring for others who are also disabled. What do you think about the story? How does it make you feel?
ReplyDeleteDear Ms. Casassa
ReplyDeleteI read the article "The Power of Curses" by Kristin Lewis. Just by reading the title you are thinking it's going to be mythology or a mummy has been released or something like that, but it's not. It's about sports and one in particular, baseball. The Chicago Cubs had finally won the World series since 1908. That's 108 years, that's a big number and it's mostly believed to be from William Sianis, also known as Billy Goat. He tried bring his pet goat to a game, but was declined and was mad. So he cursed the Chicago Cubs saying "The Cubs ain't gonna win no more." But last year when the Chicago Cubs when against the Indians they won. Another big part of the article was that curses were just what people said to make you afraid and do what they wanted you to do. Then there is superstitions that people have. For example many hotels and buildings don't add a 13th floor because it is considered unlucky. Many athletes will do certain things or rituals, for example Serena Williams, pro tennis player wears the same socks to each game during a tournament. It's strange that we have these superstitions and many think it's because it gives us a sense of control over something. I did not know about Williams Sianis and his pet goat were the reason of the Cubs curse. I just thought they were bad. I also had a connection with the cubs and that in our spring season for soccer, Amesbury travel team had not made playoffs in a very long time and last year was the year that a team, my team, made it. Do you believe in Superstitions and curses? Do you have any?
From,
Nik
Dear Ms. Casassa,
ReplyDeleteFor my scope article, I read "Failures of Kindness" by George Saunders. The article talked about how people are sometimes unkind and how it can effect your life. Saunders told the story of when he was a young child in 7th grade and there was a new girl. Heather, was new and was different, kids still pick on others if they have diversity which I feel is wrong. She would get picked on, and even though Saunders didn't say anything mean really, after all these years he still has regret about how he wasn't as kind as he could've been. Sometimes you don't really think about how kind you are being, sometimes you later take time to reflect on yourself. However, this shows what our society is turning into. We have progressed into it over time and it needs to come to a stop. I've thought about it before and have a connection to Saunders about how after the day or whenever how I reflect of how I was that day and what I said. Sometimes you can't do anything once it has been said, but that's why people need filters, and i might take time. I think the article went to heart and meant something to me, I hope it can touch others too.
Sincerely,
Molly
Dear Ms. Casassa,
ReplyDeleteI read "The Power of Cures" by Kristin Lewis. In the article, it came to a conclusion that some fans of the Chicago clubs believe that the mascot was the reason to why they won. According to the legend, William "Billy Goat" in 1945 brought his goat to the Cubs game, but was rejected because there was a no goat allowance and he got turned down. He then said "The Cubs ain't gonna win no more!" After he said that the Cubs were at a loss and didn't win many games up until now. "The curse was finally broken". Some still believe in curses and other theories. Such as, most buildings do not have a 13th floor because 13 is considered to be an unlucky number, or how a famous Tennis player wears the same socks each game because she believes that they are lucky, and will help her win. However, in some cases if the Cub teammates believed that their team was cursed, they could preform not as good, and that could've been why they lost. There are many theories. Something that helps me is when I have tests sometimes I use a special pencil, sometimes it works and that is why it is believed to work. But is it really true?
Dear MS.Casassa,
ReplyDeleteI read "The amazing powers of Jen Bricker" by Kristin Lewis. This story is about a girl named Jen she had a birth defect and doesn't have any legs and her parents abandoned her for that reason. A family adopted her when she was an infant because the family had three boys and wanted a girl nut they couldn't have anymore children. When she was a child she was very active and got prosthetic legs but she preferred to do everything on her hands. She was fascinated with Dominique Moceanu a world Olympic gymnast. They both looked alike with big brown eyes, tan skin, and long dark hair and her adoptive parents saw the name of the gymnast and remembered that that was the last name of Jen when they adopted her and at 16 they told her that she was her sister and after four years of tracking her down Jen meet her sister and found out she also had another one. And so far Jen has become an amazing gymnast and is following her sisters footsteps.
Sincerely,
Brennan
Dear Ms Casassa,
ReplyDeleteThis week I read "The Power of Curses" by Kristin Lewis. This article is about what superstitions pose on professional athletes and fans. For example, professional tennis player Serena Williams wears the same socks to each tournament because she says it brings her luck. A sports fan wears the same jersey without washing it so he doesn't jinx the team. So why do we have superstitions? Lewis thinks that one reason could be that they give us a sense of control. "There's a lot in this world that we can't do anything about; it's comforting to think that we can help by knocking on wood, carrying a lucky penny, or staying a way from a black cat." So what she means by this is that people want to have a sense of comfort when their wedding is coming up and they don't want it to rain, or when their favorite football team is in the super bowl and they want them to win so they don't shower for a week. This article made me think about when I do superstitions. For a hockey tournament I wore the same socks and underpants so we would win every time. I'm connected to these superstitions because I have some myself. And they actually do comfort you and make you believe that you can win your hockey game, or score well on a test. I knock on wood when I say i'm going to get hurt during a basketball game so I don't get hurt. I think all of us have at least one superstition. Do you have any superstitions?
From,
Seth Burdick
Dear Ms Casassa, For my second scope Article I decided to read " The Fire Breather" by Tod Olson. Judging by the title you might think it's about this guy with inhuman powers and can breath fire. But it's nowhere near that. In the Article The Fire Breather you learn about a man named Garrett Morgan. In the start they talk about his past and how he was born after slavery, but he still lead a hard life growing up with racism being a thing. As a child he was very smart and curious. So in 1895 when he was 18 he decided to move to Cleveland Ohio to future his curiosity. He took a job sweeping floors at a factory. After that he opened his own tailoring shop and invented straightening tonic. After that he came up with this ingenious device that acted as a safety hood for fire fighters. As workers were working on a tunnel to bring water down, they hit gas and the tunnel blew up. Garrett was called down to bring his safety hoods which without would have had everyone die. But because he had the safety hood's and he got there in time he got the people out and safe to. Without the hood people would have been breathing in toxic fumes and would have killed all the firefighters and volunteers. Later on these developed into masks for the soldiers during the first world war against Germany when they were using gas as a way of combat. Also he invented the stop light that had a working stop yield and go. If he were to never be alive, do you think the the world today would have things such as stop lights and firefighter masks?
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Adam
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDear Ms. Casassa,
ReplyDeleteThis week I read the scope article called "The Power of Curses" by Kristin Levis. It is about how curses and superstitions affect professionals and their sports. Last November the Cubs won the world series. It was a shocking moment because they haven't won in 108 years due to a so called "Curse". Back in 1945 a man named William Sianis tried to bring his goat to a Cubs game. He got told he couldn't bring his goat to the game so he yelled "The Cubs ain't gonna win no more!" Since then the Cubs haven't won until last year. People believe that last year when the Cubs won, the curse was over. For years people have had superstitions to help them in some way. For examples Serena Williams wears the same socks during tournament games because she says it brings her good luck. The author believes that people have superstitions because it gives them a "Sense of Control." It you do or wear something to multiple games of just in life it can give you a good and confident feeling that can make things happen in your favor. I can connect in some ways because if I am talking about things that can be jinxed, like getting sick I knock on wood and do other things like that. Do you have any superstitions?
From,
Drew Mahoney
Dear Ms. Casassa,
ReplyDeleteFor my second scope article I chose to read the debate "Is it Ok to Sneak Food Into the movies?" by Justin O'Neil. This article discussed the two sides to whether or not people should be able to bring their own food to the movies or not. I don't think people should be able to bring their own food because it's rude to the employees and especially other people in the theater. Employees work to make the food and provide it for people, and some people may not like the fact that you are sitting next to them taking away all the food you brought. One reason someone may not want to buy food they sell at the movie theater is because of the price. The price tend to be very high, but it's because they need to make money since they are more in the snack business. Theaters make as little as 20 percent revenue from ticket sales, which is being used to pay for a lot. They need to pay employees, keep the buildings clean, and stay up to date with the latest projection equipment for best quality. The only other way to get money to pay for all those things is the concession stand. The prices are high but to keep good movie theaters people need to pay. By not buying food that also means ticket prices will be higher to make up for it. The choices at the concession stand may not be that great, but if that's the problem you can always eat before you go to the movies instead of eating at the movies which is more hassle. Another good reason to not sneak food in is because for most theaters it's against the rules and it isn't fair. The most interesting thing about the article, to me is that that movie theaters make most of their money off of the snack business. My question is now answered as to why the prices are so high, and I see why that's the only choice. I personally almost never buy food or drinks at the theater or bring my own food to the theater, but I wonder if more people did. Would they be told they can't? Should people buy things at the theater and is it really worth it? The one solution that works for most is to eat before, but there are people who do like the food sold there. Either way money is being made and it isn't against the rules. Do you think bringing your own food into the movie theater is a good idea?
Dear Readers,
ReplyDeleteThis week I read the scope article called "The Amazing Powers of Jen Bricker" by Kristen Lewis. I loved this article. It is about Jen Bricker, who was abandoned at birth because she was born with no legs. Growing up she was a prodigy in sports and especially in gymnastics. She was agile, quick, and very athletic. Her idol was Dominique Moceanu, an American gymnast who brought home a Gold Medal for the U.S. team! When watching the 1996 Olympics, she noticed that they looked weirdly alike. The same big brown eyes, dark hair, tan skin, and muscular Romanian frame. Jen's adoptive parents found out that they were actually sisters! I thought that was really cool too! They became really good friends and even more, they became family. Jen has such a great attitude and there is nothing that she can't do. I found it super interesting that her parents would abandon her, just because she didn't have legs, and also that she idolized her sister! I also learned that you can do anything that you put your mind to. Jen did so much and always used William Shakespeare's quote; "Though she be but little, she is fierce." I really like that quote too, and I think that it is something that I will use often! What do you think about her story?
Thanks for reading!
-Kylie
Dear Ms. Casassa
ReplyDeleteThis week I read "Is It OK to Sneak Food Into the Movies" by Justin O'Neill. In the article he talked about sneaking food in and what it does. For starters sneaking food into movies is rude. Bringing outside food is saying to them that you do not like their food and that it's so bad you have to buy food somewhere else. That is a reason why some theaters will kick you out or even ban you if caught, but the other reason makes sense. They need people to buy their food. Running a movie theater costs a lot of money. They need to play employees, keep it clean, they have to buy the movie to be able to show it and have the best equipment, repair any damages that happen and buy food to sell. They need their ticket prices and food prices to cover all of those expenses. If people stopped buying food completely they would need to raise their ticket cost. which is already high enough. Eventually the theater could shut down and all because you didn't want to buy food at the movies. Now I do see the point of how it's expensive for the ticket and even more expensive for food and drinks, but it needs to be. About half of the ticket money goes directly to the studio who made the movie. So if you pay ten dollars for a ticket the theater makes only five dollars. Five dollars is not enough for them to keep it running and they do not want to raise ticket prices so they have to have the food cover the rest of it. I have brought food outside tons of times and never realized what it does. There was one time me and my brother ran to a store that was nearby to pick up food at a grocery store and then we stuffed all the food in our pockets and pants and smuggled the food into the movies. Now that I have read this story I will think twice before I snuggle food into the movies. Have you every snuck food into a movie? Would you stop?
Sincerely,
Nik
Dear Ms. Casassa,
ReplyDeleteFor this weeks scope article I read "The amazing powers of Jen Bricker." I liked the article a lot, it felt inspiring to read. The article talked about Jen Bricker, an abandoned child who has no legs. After Gerald and Sharon adopted Jen in Salem Illinois the family consulted with doctors to see what Jen's life would be like. Jen became brave and fearless. She learned to "walk" with her hands and began to excel in gymnastics. When Jen was young her idol was Dominique Moceanu an olympic gymnast. After watching her on tv Jen noticed that that Dominique and her looked really alike. They were both of Romanian descent, they both had big black eyes, tan skin, and long dark hair. Soon after Sharon remembered the name of Jen's biological family. The name was accidentally included in her hospital record, the name was Moceanu. Gerald and Sharon decided to tell Jen about Dominique when she was 16. After trying to reach each other and confirm they are sisters they met up and became family. Soon after Jen found out about another sister she has named Christina Moceanu. While reading this article it makes me think that anything is possible if you set your mind to it. One thing that I found interesting it that Jen believes that she has no super powers, she defines herself as a normal person which I like because that to me shows how determined and strong mentally and physically she is. Would you call her disabled or special after knowing about her story?
From,
Drew Mahoney
Dear Ms. Casassa,
ReplyDeleteRecently, I read " Is It Ok to Sneak Food Into the Movies?" by Justin O'Neil. I found this article interesting because people often come across this question when going to the movies. Almost every theater is against people bringing in their own food instead of buying it at the movies, because this is one way theaters get money is from people buying food from them. I believe that you should be able to bring your own food because what if the food that they are offering you can not have? Or if your are allergic to what the theaters sell? If anything Theaters could create a charge if people bring in food of their own, not kick them out of ban them, because in the end it s going to hurt them and they will have less costumers. However, some say that bringing in food is rude and disrespectful, that it is being rude that you bring in your own food and not buy the theaters food, but I'd rather watch a good movie eating what I want instead of being kicked out for eating what I want during a movie or being told I can't watch the movie anymore. Also it talks about how employees are payed to clean up after the movie theaters and how it would effect them, but would it really? They're still cleaning up food from people after the movies.. And not everybody will bring their own food, but some will so I don't see how it could create a huge effect. What do you think? Should people be able to sneak food into theaters? They still paid for it themselves and it;s not like they stole it.
From,
Molly Amundsen
Dear Readers,
ReplyDeleteThis week I read "The Power of Curses" by Kristen Lewis. I found this essay to be very interesting, and true. In the essay she talks about curses and how they affect not only our lives, but the ones before us. She says that curses are "malarkey" which is no more than leftover beliefs from the past that scientists have proven wrong today. In ancient history, it was known that if you wanted something to happen or something that you really needed, you would have to go to the gods and ask for it. The most common way to ask was to sacrifice animals or even humans! It reminds me of the story we read in class called "The Lottery by Shirley Jackson, where they would pummel a random person with stones as a sacrification for good crops all year! People only believed in those rituals because after, something would happen. For example, if you had a drought, you would sacrifice your cat so that everyone could drink water and come out of the drought, and it seemed to work! One reason that people today hang onto superstitions is because it gives us control, or something to blame your problems on. It boosts your confidence to wear the same socks every game, or to watch out for black cats, and skip stair thirteen! I think that it is really interesting how she described superstitions, I had never thought of it that way before! I thought that she put it into a cool perspective when she said that having the superstition gives us a sense of control, and I can see where she's coming from! Do you believe in superstitions?
Thanks for reading!
-Kylie
Dear Ms Casassa, This week I read " The Power of Curses" by Kristin Lewis. In the article Kristin brings up the topic of curses and why some believe in them and how they are relevant in our past. Reading this made me think about how this was like the Monkey's Paw, and how that put the curse on the family and they didn't believe it really until things started happening. An example she uses as a curse is how the cubs won last years World Series. That have not won that in 108 years. This was believed to be a curse set by William " Billy Goat". He wanted to bring his pet goat to a game and they didn't let him. So he said " The cubs ain't winning no more". This was the start of the so to thought be curse. This all changed last year when they won The thing is though a lot of people think curses are just another way to scare someone. And that if there was such a curse that there was a way to deal with them and that is having a sacrifice. People would do ritual sacrifices to help if they are in a say drought. Someone might sacrifice a goat or some sort of animal and then next thing you know it starts raining. People do these sorts of things because they think the curse is real, and sometimes it does work. As well as how people have lucky things like maybe a lucky bracelet or shirt or some sort of item. And the reason we do this was believed to be control. In the article she talks about control, and being able to something to help ourselves like knock on wood, and other things of sorts. The thing is though, do you believe in curses?
ReplyDeleteDear Ms. Casassa.
ReplyDeleteThis week I read "The Amazing powers of Jen Bricker" by Kristin Lewis. This article was very inspiring and up-lifting. Jen Bricker, an aerialist and acrobat, was born with no legs. She was born in 1987 in Salem, Illinois. As a child, her parents left her and she came into the world alone without parents or a name. Sharon and Gerald Bricker adopted Jen from a foster home many miles away from their home. Jen learned how to walk on her hands at a young age. She places her hands on the ground and pulls herself forward. Later on in life, she was given two prosthetic legs, but denied them and prefers to walk on her hands instead. Jen grew up thinking she could do anything she put her mind to. She even bounced on a trampoline with her brother. As a child, Jen always looked up to the Olympic gymnast Dominique Moceanu. She always thought they had a resemblance. Turns out, Dominique was her biological sister! The main point of this article was that Everything is possible. Jen has no legs, but she still went to college, she goes scuba diving, surfs, and kayaks. She can do anything if she puts her mind to it. This article really sets a good example to all disabled people and non-disabled people. I found it interesting how her parents left her as a child. How awful someone could be to give up on their child just because they have a disability. I can't even imagine how ignorant and selfish those parent are. This article also made the think about the marathon bombings, how people lost their legs and limbs and how they battle through it. This article was very good and will make me try harder at things I think I can't do.
From,
Seth
Dear Ms. Casassa,
ReplyDeleteThis week I read "Failures of Kindness" by George Saunders. This article really made me think about my actions and how much they can affect people. When George was younger he knew a girl who was a little different from everyone. She wasnt as outgoing as others and was more shy. She often got made fun of for it and George, feeling like he had to do something, would defend her. But only sometimes and he realizes now that wasnt the thing to do. He should have done more. He Should have been more kind and when one person is kind, it rubs off o everyone. He went deeper than just this and explained what failures of kindness really mean. He makes the point that the people who you remember the most were probably the people who were the kindest. And the smallest effort to help someone makes the biggest difference in that person. A goals in his life, and my mine, so to try and be kinder. We prioritize unimportant things and sometimes don't think about others even though all we tell ourselves is to be kinder. Our goals is to be less selfish and more selfless but why is that such a hard thing to do? Why are we like this and how did this happen? I don't know myself but I know its a problem. The best thing to do is to try to be kind and try to care about something other than ourselves.
Dear Ms. Casassa,
ReplyDeleteThis week I read "The Firebreather" by Tod Olson. By the title you would think it was about a dragon or some animal or human breathing fire, but once you see the front image you think maybe war, at least that's what I thought. As you read the story you learn it's about a young curious boy who did not want to waste his gift that he had. Garrett Morgan was the young boy. He was born in 1877, 12 years after the Civil War ended, but racism still existed and being African American did not help his case. Morgan had a hard enough life dealing with racism and had it even harder being poor. Morgan quit school in sixth grade to help out his family. Morgan had a gift, and he knew it and he also knew he would not be able to use his gift in the south and that is why when he was eighteen years old he moved to Cleveland, Ohio. A place where there was more opportunity and chances for him. He took a job as sweeper in a factory and in his spare time he learned how to fix the sewing machines in the factory and doing that caused him to invent a way from machines breaking down. It was a $150 invention. Morgan later became a very successful businessman with his very own tailoring shop of thirty-two employees. He went on to invent a hair tonic which would eventually make more money than his shop. With money pouring in he had some spare time and he used it wisely. Morgan was developing a gas mask. Fires were a big deal especially in a jam packed wooden factories that could easily light up in flames. This invention would potentially protect firefighters to go into the fire and not be harmed by any of the harmful gasses. Not many people were interested in business with a black man, but that didn't stop him. He would hire white salesman man and had demonstrations of his mask. Two years later he got his chance, there was a gas leak that had exploded in a tunnel with at least 30 people trapped. Morgan grabbed as many suits as he had and rushed to the tunnel. When he got there and ready to head down only three men were willing to head down with Morgan, one of them being his brother. Right before the four left the Mayor shook Morgan's hand and said goodbye as this was thought to be the last time seeing him. Minutes went by and by fifteenth minutes everyone thought he had failed, but they were wrong, they were all alive along with two bodies, one still being alive. Morgan made his trip again before more people started suiting up and joining him. In the end two men were saved and all thanks two Garret Morgan. During World War 1, a version of Morgan's suit was used to protect the soldiers from poisonous gas. Morgan's last invention was inspired by a girl who suffered terrible injuries from a car accident. He invented the first three-position traffic light and sold it for $40,000. I thought the whole article was interesting and thought it was very inspiring that if a black man can do all of this with only a dime in his pocket, what could I do with all the resources I have? It was very encouraging that he believed in his inventions so much, especially his safe suit, that he would use it without hesitation to save people he does not know when he could possibly die. Would you have trusted Morgan's suit and volunteered to go with him to save those people in the tunnel?
Sincerely,
Nik
Dear Ms Casassa, For my scope article this week I read The Amazing Powers of Jen Bricker by Kristin Lewis. I was amazed when I read the first page of the story. At the start it is really sad because her dad didn't want to raise a child that had a defect. When she was born, she was born without legs because of a genetic defect. She lived in foster care until two people, Gerald and Sharon came and took her in. They already had three kids, three boys and they wanted a girl but couldn’t so they decided to adopt Jen. At first sight they were taken, and they truly gave her a chance. At the time they were deciding to deal with her issue of having no legs. They went to see many doctors, but some had no idea and some told them to carry her in a bucket. Gerald and Sharon didn’t want to do that so they tried thinking of other ideas. But as it turns out she was a natural athlete. She learned how to walk with her hands, and was great at sports. She would go swimming, jump on the trampoline with her brothers, and do things people usually do. She was amazing at doing softball, she was a child prodigy if you think about it. But the thing that shined most about her was her gymnastics. At the age of 11, she took home a gold trophy at her state championships, beating all the other gymnasts. She earned a lot of attention, she had news people come and interview here, she was flown into New York City to star on popular talk shows. As a kid she was fascinated with Dominique Moceanu. She was a gymnast in the 1996 Olympics. That year she brought home the gold. Jen looked up to her as a role model, inspired to be her when she grew up. But there was something special about Dominique, when Sharon saw her name on the olympics it hit her. Jen and Dominique were sisters. When she told Jen about it she couldn’t believe it. It was like a dream come true. So jen decided to track her down and write a letter to her. Dominiquie was retired and when she read the letter she was weeping. They now to this day keep in contact and talk to each other. What do you think of her story? Are you inspired? Do you think in the end when she found out they were sisters shock you?
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ReplyDeleteDear Ms. Casassa,
ReplyDeleteThis week I read "The Fire breather" by Tod Olson. You may think that this article was about a dragon or a fire monster, but I was shocked to find out it was an man who had the talent to make and sew clothing. Garrett Morgan was born in 1877. He was African American and had a hard life because of his race. When he was eighteen e moved to Ohio to fulfill his dream and to use his talent to get a job. He took a job as a sweeper for a factory and in his spare time learned how to fix sewing machines. He then invented a machine that could potentially save machines from breaking. After a couple more inventions he invented his best one yet. The gas mask. He invented this to save firefighters lives from harmful gases that leak during fires. He went into gas leak that had exploded into a tunnel and uses his masks with a couple other guys and saved people lives and didn't die trying lime many would when there were no masks. His last invention was the three light traffic light. He was inspired buy a little girl who suffered many injuries in a car accident. This article was very interesting. It made you think about how important the kind of people like Garret Morgan are. If he hadn't have inspired himself to make these masks and suit firefighters may not be able to go into fires with gas leaks and those people would die. If you were black and the Civil War just got over, would you even try to invent something? Would you think people would just ignore you?
From,
Seth Burdick
Dear Ms. Casassa,
ReplyDeleteFor this weeks scope article I read "The Fire-breather" by Tod Olson. I really liked this article and I think it is really cool how Garrett grew up and created these inventions that have changed our world. Garret Morgan was born soon after the civil war ended. He grew up in Kentucky and quit school after the sixth grade to help support his family. When Garrett was 18 he moved to Cleveland, Ohio with a determined mind. He started working at a job sweeping floors at a clothing factory. He figured out how to fix the sewing machines at the factory and got a big promotion. While working and creating his own tailoring shop, Garrett noticed that there were many city fires and the firefighters were dying because of the toxic fumes. Garrett came up with the idea to create a gas mask that will make firefighters able to breathe when they go into fires. In 1912 Garrett came up with the "safety hood," it has two tubes that go down to the floor where the clean air is. It also has two sponges to filter out any toxic air that gets in. Garrett finally gets a chance to test out his product when a fire hits in Cleveland. In the end his "safety hood" worked and was a success and saved millions of people. Later on in Cleveland, Garrett came up with another idea after witnessing a terrible car crash. Garrett came up with the idea to have a three positioning traffic signal.
I found it interesting that Garrett grew up in a place where there were segregated schools, slavery had recently ended but still didn't give up and made these products that are used everyday and it helps saves peoples lives.
Do you think what you are able of doing in life will affect you because of where you live?
From,
Drew Mahoney
Dear Mrs. Casassa,
ReplyDeleteThis week I read "The Amazing Powers of Jen Bricker" by Kristin Lewis. I enjoyed reading this article a lot, afterwards I felt inspired by Bricker and it make me feel as if I can do anything, if I put my heart and time into it. However this article showed me to never give up, Bricker was born with a defect and didn't have legs and her parents gave her up for this reason. I feel like that is awful, you should love your child no matter what she/he looks like or if they are different. Being different is great because if we were all the same, life would be boring, but we are different for that reason. But, Bricker did not give up, and she later got adopted and her family loved her very much. Bricker later on learned how to walk using her hands and learned how to swim and use the trampoline. I feel inspired how one can be brave and courageous to be different and be amazing. If you were Jen Brickers parents would you give her up? If you were Jen would you have the patients and time to accept your flaws and look for what you can do to get over the issue?
- Molly
Dear Readers,
ReplyDeleteThis week I read a really interesting article called "The Fire-Breather" by Tod Olson. It is about Garret Morgan, who was lived from 1877-1963. With only a 6th grade education, he invented many devices that save many lives today. One of his largest inventions was a breathing device that helped to filter out smoke, heat, and poison fumes. His invention was not popular at first, because of the changing America with race and cultures. He wasn't able to make anyone famous buy his invention just because he was African-American. He then used a tactic that would sell his inventions, and that was to use Caucasian salespeople. His invention first came into play when a natural gas explosion occured in an underground tunnel underneath Lake Erie. No one could get into the workers without passing out, or dying from the fumes. The fire department then called Morgan to the rescue, and his invention worked! Garret's invention was used as idea to make a better version later used in World War II to help keep the army safe from the Germans poisonous gasses. The thing that I found most interesting was the he invented the yellow light on the traffic signals. Back in the day, the lights would have green and red, which left no time for people to begin to brake. His idea came from a girl who had gotten badly injured in an accident like that, so he came up with a warning light for people to get ready to stop and go. I found it super cool that he made so many amazing things, even in the situations he was, like racial division, and world wars. One thing that I think Morgan could always rely on was his imagination. He was said to always have a curious mind, and ambitious personality that helped him get where he wanted to go. I learned that you have to trust your gut and sometimes go out of your comfort zone to try something now. Who knows, you might benefit from it. What do you think would be a good invention for Americans?
Thanks for reading!
-Kylie
Dear Ms. Casassa,
ReplyDeleteThis week I read Failures of “Kindness” by George Saunders. In this short article he describes a part of his life in seventh grade. There was this new girl very shy and nervous. A common thing she did was take a strand of hair and chew on it to calm her down, but people couldn’t leave her alone and always make fun of her and saying stuff like how does it taste or are you enjoying it? It was very clear to everyone that she didn’t like it and that it made her upset, but nobody was thinking hard enough. Saunders would sometimes see her in her front yard by herself doing nothing and looking like she was afraid to leave. Then one day she did leave her yard, and her house, she had moved out of the blue. He goes on saying he regrets not being as kind as he could have been to her and that moments in his life where a human being, right in front of him was suffering and he did very little to help. He finally concludes with that in life we are born with built-in confusions. One is that we are central to the universe and that is our personal story and most interesting story. Two is that we are separate from the universe. There is us and then there is them. Saunders says we don’t really believe in this which causes us to put our needs over other people’s needs. This really thinks have I ever done things for people, especially if they didn’t ask. I also really think if I am as kind as much as I could be. At the end of the days I do usually think if I was a kind as I could be and after reading this article, it makes me want to do something about it and take action. Do you think you are as kind as you can be? Will you try harder to be kinder?
From,
Nik
Dear Ms.Casassa,
ReplyDeleteI read the power of curses by Kristin Lewis. This short story is about the "Billy Goat" curse. The "Billy Goat" curse first appeared in 1945 when William "Billy Goat" Sainis tried to bring his goat to a cubs game. HIs goat wasn't allowed in and he got offended and he said "The Cubs ain't gonna win no more!". Some fans believe this and some don't believe in it but last November The Cubs won the world series victory that they haven't won in 108 years. If the team thought that there was an actual curse they may have lost because there confidence was low. People used to use curses as an excuses to something because they couldn't explain it so they thought they had to make the gods happy so they would sacrifice a person or an animal.
Sincerely,
Brennan
Dear Ms. Casassa
ReplyDeleteThis week I read The Fire Breather by Tod Olson. Hearing the title made me think of dragons or something fantasy related. But once you see the front picture you can tell that the story is about something much different. The story is about a boy named Garrett Morgan born in 1877. Growing up in this time there was a lot of racial tension and eventually after he was done helping his family out he moved to Cleveland, Ohio so he could continue in a career in a place with more opportunity. He used his gif and became an inventor. But to get there he first started working in a factory as a sweeper but became more interesting other things and started fixing some of the machines in that same factory. He then comes up with an idea to make machines that don't break. This became an $150 invention which later motivated him to do more with his talent. The next project he put into action was running a tailoring shop that was very successful. His next invention was hair tonic, a hair styling product. His most known invention was the gas mask. This idea came to mind because of how unsafe factories were and he knew that they often caught on fire. Gas masks would be used to protect the firefighters from the toxic gases. No one paid attention to him or his idea because of his race but also because they didn't believe in him. He proved them wrong by continuing with his idea and working with people who were white so it could have more potential. Soon after, he got his chance to use his invention after a gas leak in a tunnel that caused an explosion. Many were trapped and he knew he needed to help. He took the few masks he had made took the risk of going in. Most refused to go except for one firefighter, Garrett, and his brother did go. Most thought they failed, but they didn't after returning with two bodies. Later during World War 1 his invention was used but modifyed to protect soldiers. His last invention was made after a girl was in a terrible car accident. He made the first three position traffic light and later sold it for $40,000. I thought this article was very interesting and I learned many things. I enjoyed his story and I was astonished by what one man did. Many of his inventions were small at first but those inventions have led to even better ones that we use today to keep millions of peoples lives safe.
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