barney frank

Barney was a morally courages person because he discussed gay rights to the government. He also pointed out that 'President Bush embraced anti-gay marriage not to gain votes, but to avoid losing them.' He stood up for those who could not get through to the government and described what life was as a gay man. He showed to the government that even though you are gay, you are just as equal to everyone else. Some people still believe that it is wrong to like someone of the same sex as you, and that's ok because we have the right to believe and do as we like. He has been an important person to our government because he let people in on how it was as a gay man and that was important. Not only to show to others that they could do it themselves, but to show that there might be people who wont like them, but it does not matter as long as you love yourself for who you are and not to judge yourself looking through someone else's eyes. We all need reminders at times so we don't judge a book by it's cover, a phrase that is used often. Many people look at someone gay and decide they aren't the same as themselves. Barney frank showed that it was in fact not true that all gay are the same.

letter to david from romak

i knew this day would come and asked a dear friend of mine to hand you this letter. just know that i am sorry you had to see what they did to me. i didn't tell you what they were talking about for a reason. if you knew, they would torcher you just to find out about the plans. although i am in fact dead now, i still care deeply about you. take good care of mama and the girls. father and i are now gone and i will watch over you as your are the man in the family. you are stronger and more intelligent than you think you are. promise me that you will do your best to survive. remember, look at the soldiers straight in the eyes and speak clearly as well as loudly. show that you can work and you will do great. i miss you more than you can imagine my baby brother. you will stay in my heart forever. it killed me to write this letter when i was still alive. i have hid some jewelry that you could trade in for food. if you go into the my room, underneath some boards, there will be a bag. the board will be hard to get off because i knew Germans will search our house for anything valuable.

a letter home

Dear romak,
Please let mother know that I am well and alive. I have been sent to a concentration camp and I will find a way to get back to you. It has been hard at the concentration camps and we have very little to eat. I promise you I will survive and come back home. I wish not to worry mother and hope she is doing well. I miss you all terribly and I am sorry this had to happen. I promise you to stay healthy and strong. I will do the work as best as I can in hopes of not getting killed. Please tell mother not to worry and that I will come back. I have made a friend and his name is Aaron. He has talked about escaping and has promised to take me with him. Take excellent care of mother and the girls. I hope to see you soon.

sorystarter #3

the sounds of heavy foot steps echos in the empty hallways as the cool crisp wind blows around the Mint High School football field. Maddie shivered, pulling her jacket closer to her petite body. it was now 10:30 and the game ended at 7:00. her mother was now 3:30 min. late and it was getting chilly out in the winter night. Maddie looked at her watch for the 15Th time that night. she would have called her mom but her phone had died and did not have a charger with her. she could not believe that she was the last one at school and wished she could just go home and snuggle in her big fluffy bed with her Pomeranian puppy. which she got a month ago. hot chocolate, a warm bed, a fire place... Maddie found her self dozing off.the next thing she knew, her mom was gently shaking her shoulder saying, "Maddie, honey, its time to go home."

20 years from now : laurie sanders:

20 years ago, i was part of a group called the wave. we did many things, but it did not work out. i always knew it wouldn't but no one would listen. it was as if they were brainwashed. although it started and ended many years ago, it feels like it was just yesterday. i keep telling myself, it did not change any one's future but i keep wondering what happened to everyone after we graduated. i know i started a terrific life teaching, but what about Amy or David. or even Robert. i wonder what he's been doing lately. he changed so much after the wave and during. i don't think the wave did so much that changed us positively but Robert did change a lot. he got a lot more confidence. i never thought that something like the wave could change a single person. well my students are in from their break so maybe next time i will tell you more.

20 years from now : by ellie:

20 years ago, i was in 7th grade at high tech middle. i was naive in some ways but was mostly smart. now I am a Harvard law graduate and is a lawyer in LA. I have a great house and a loving family living in it. I have 2 children of my own and have adopted another from Tokyo, japan where my my mom's family is living. My husband is a great man to our society. He is a fire fighter. He has helped so many people and saved life's of many many people. People are so grateful for him and his ability to help someone in need. He has gone great lengths to help the people in our society and his family. For instance, my children were at home with a nanny while my husband and I was out. He got paged in the middle of dinner leaving for his job. As I closed the door to the taxi that night, I noticed my house surrounded by fire trucks. “what's going on?!” I cried pushing my way to the front of the crowd that had been created. There were flames flying around as the fire men frantically tried to put it out. Suddenly my husband and another fire man appeared out of the flamed house holding my children and their nanny over their shoulders. With no warning I burst into tears. If something happened to my children, I would never be able to live another day. Lucky they were not severely hurt. It turns out that my children stole some matches from our top cabinet and locked themselves in the bathroom, lighting candles. Missing, mike, my youngest, lite our toilet cover. i am so happy they are safe and is making sure nothing like this happens again.

Do you think that students are misunderstood by parents and teachers? Why or why not?

Do you think that students are misunderstood by parents and teachers? Why or why not?

I think that there are some times that students are misunderstood and ignored but it is not from all the teachers or all parents.
Also some parents/ teachers often think they are wiser just because they have been around the world longer and they often use that as an excuse. Not everyone could be right all the time.

Bamboo

“Why are you being so loud?” my sister asked me holding her head. “she was just scared. She didn't know that we just got a cat from Aunt Tracy.” my mom said to my annoying sister, Marina. “Oh we got a kitty?!” I asked in a excited whisper remembering Marina had a huge headache and a fever. I raced over to where a midnight black blob was cowering in the far right corner. I cried, “Kitty, kitty come here! I wanna hold you. Momma, he won't come. What should I do?” She replied with a simple “Wait for him to come to you.” As I waited, I went upstairs and watched anpan-man (bread man), my favorite show at that time. Our new cat waltzed up the stair case and came towards my feet. I wasn't used to having a animal rub up against my legs, so when our cat, whom we later named Bamboo, rubbed on my legs, I yelped in shock. “Oh. It was you.” I sighed in relief to no one in particular. I held him for the first time. It felt great. My cat and I became best friends as we both grew up. He was the one I went to for comfort. I knew that Bamboo wasn't human and that he was in fact an animal, but it didn't matter to me because he would love me no matter what. Like when ever I was sad, he would always come and meow at the door until I opened it. I always told Bamboo my secrets and played dress up with him. It was almost as if he was part of our family. I never let my friends hold Bamboo because I always thought they held him wrong. He was like my baby brother. Even as we grew up he was still my baby brother because I didn't want him to grow up and die.

It was devastating at the vets office last year when they told my family he had a tumor in his stomach so big they couldn't see inside the rest of his stomach, his teeth were rotten, he had a growth on his back and his tail bone was worn out so he could not make it up the stairs. I didn't even get It was very upsetting when the vet told us we needed to put him out of his misery and pain by putting him to sleep. I was in a camp at the time and when I came late, my friends helped me get through the fact that my cat would not be with me anymore. That was a memory I could never forget as he passed away on July 7^th 2008. It has been a huge challenge getting over the fact that my best friend as a little girl, is now gone. I had always thought Bamboo would stay in my life forever and would always be my best friend. It has been a year and a couple months and I still cannot cover up the hole in my heart where my cat belonged. I know Bamboo would have wanted us to get a another cat, but I cannot bring my self to replace him. He was the bestest friend anyone could ever have.