I've just finished responding to my first batch of weekly e-mails, and I must say I'm quite impressed! The overall quality of the responses has been excellent. I'm going to post a few of my favorites below so you'll have a better idea of what I'm looking for.
Before I begin with the models, I've only received e-mails from 27 students so far. When I left in June, over 35 kids were enrolled in AP Lang. Be a good friend, and make sure your friends have started sending me e-mails.
And now, on with the show!
Model #1:
When you read this one, you'll probably notice some errors in conventions. Ideally, you're proofreading your work before you send it; however, the overall depth of thought in this outweigh the grammatical errors (that said - I'm being rushed out of my coffee shop office, so I'm going to publish this post without proofreading. Shame on me). This response is thorough, well organized, easy to follow, and also reveals a great deal about the author. It's personal, which makes it interesting.
Over the course of this week I have followed
several stories that from the beginning sparked my interest which then
caused me to learn about each of them by searching, studying and the
discussing.
- According to the article "Ohio horror house in kidnap, rape case is demolished", the Castro case is finally solved. It all started with three girls ages 14, 16, and 20 who all accepted rides from this man. They went missing shortly after between 2002 - 2004, and weren't seen for several years. After years of being sexually and physically tortured Ariel Castro left a door unlocked which lead to a chance for escape. Castro pleaded and tried to persuade in court that he was not a violent monster as portrayed by everybody, but just a sick man with an addiction. But according to the article "Prosecutor: Kidnapped Ohio women kept diaries" Castro had a total of 937 actions of horrific actions including rape, murder and kidnapping and he was found guilty and sentenced a life in prison. He barely made it out of being executed if it weren't for Castro signing over his house to be destroyed.
- Just Yesterday four Amber Alerts were released yesterday and received by almost all newer cellphones in the Oregon and Washington area. Hannah and Ethan Anderson ages 16 and 8 went missing on August 3rd and are believed to have been abducted by James L. DiMaggio. Their mother was also found dead in DiMaggio's burned out home in southern California and also found the remains of what seemed to be from an 8 year old boy. DNA tests are going to taken to determine whether the remains belong to 8-year- old Ethan.
- Christopher W. Dillingham was arrested for killing his dog by attaching a bomb to it's neck and then set the bomb off. A officer actually woke up from the explosion whom lives near Dillingham. He was then sentenced to jail for a 500,000 bail.
- Sources:
I used two sources over the course of this week.
- Katu News on television and on the computer
- Las Angeles Times : Nation Now
Discussions with my mother over the stories I learned about over this week led to a lot debate over the world.
- Castro Case: My mother and I pondered over this tragic case and
discussed overall how sick the man must be. My mother thinks he deserves
to be put to death for what he did, and I do too. But then something
started to arise in my head and made me look
at the bigger picture. The three major victims (the three girls) all
deserve the satisfaction of justice. And due to the sentence in prison
for Castro - They shall receive just that. But if Castro were put to
death, he wouldn't have anytime to look at his actions
and realize that he is a disgusting man, while if he just remained
imprisoned for the rest of his life he gets to sit and ponder over each
and everyone of his mistakes and mentally rot because of it.
- Amber Alerts: My mother and I cant imagine the pain and suffarage
of what Hannah Anderson and her family have and are going through right
now. It persuades myself to think of this world as a completely dark
place with no love and no sanity. But I have
to rely on the truth, that there is love and there is hope and light
for the ones who do love. We just have to stay strong and hold true to
what we believe in.
-Dillingham case- This case just discuts my mother and I. We both
feel that only an insane person would do something like that; Which is
true. He does not deserve a 500,000 bale, I believe he deserves a life
sentence. One who does not love but only knows
of how to hurt things shall be given back to them what they give to
others. Sickness and cruelty. But once again I have to say
that forgiveness should be a part of this world. But does he deserve it?
No, he does not, it is between him and God. That is both
I and my Mother's conclusion.
Together as a whole this week I learned that despite all of the
evil and darkness that surrounds us in the world, I shall not let it
degrade me. I shall remain strong to what I believe in and hold true to
my faith. I will keep looking towards the light
which will eventually carry me home. And although I may want to ignore
what goes on around me, it was a great eye opener and illustrated why we
should be a light to others.
Model #2:
This model has a different organizational strategy than the first one. I don't care what type of organization you employ, but be sure your responses are well organized.
The
news story that has most caught my eye during the first half of the
summer was
the situation with Mr. Snowden (now this e-mail is probably going to be
inspected by the NSA). I think it's great that somebody is willing to
completely give up their career and ruin their life in order to tell the
American people what they ought to know. Last
I heard, Snowden was in stuck in Russia while trying to gain asylum in
one of the Latin American countries that accepted him.
Another story that I have been keeping up on is the Zimmerman trial. I
feel very passionately
that George Zimmerman did the right thing. After all, he was the
neighborhood watch and it was his duty to make sure somebody suspicious
isn't up to no good. It turns out that Trayvon actually had traces of
marijuana in his system. I also believe that he completely
acted in righteous and lawful self defense when he killed Trayvon. I
understand that people believe that Mr. Zimmerman acted on racism when
he chose to investigate Trayvon, but there really is no way to prove
such a claim.
I read other minor news stories as I browse through the BBC app on my
phone (where
I usually read news articles). For instance, a couple days ago I read
that scientists have successfully grown and eaten a lab grown burger
patty. It sounds pretty gross, but it could completely change the food
industry.
I don't always discuss the news with people, but when I do it's usually
to tell my
family about the interesting facts and snippets that I read. I have had a
couple conversations with my dad about certain news articles, including
the Snowden situation and the Zimmerman trial. He has mostly all of
the same opinions and views as me though,
so it would be a good idea for me to find somebody with different views
so I can have a more informative conversation and maybe even a debate on
certain issues.
Model #3:
This isn't the entire response from a student, but it might be my favorite paragraph from my first 27 e-mails. Notice how the author explores both sides of an issue that seems, on the surface, the be non-controversial.
In other news, scientists have discovered how to grow crops in the
desert. Who knew the secret was as simple as adding seawater and solar
power? Cucumbers and similar plants have been growing in one of the
harshest environments on Earth; the Sahara desert.
The seawater and extreme heat make a perfect match for creating lush
plant life that is far from what you'd expect in the dry Sahara. I found
this article on CNN.com, it is titled "Seawater and Solar Power Grow
Crops in the Desert". After discussing this with
my family, we have concluded that although this discovery has obvious
pros, such as bringing hydrating plant life into a place previously
cursed with dehydration, it also may come with some cons. Seawater is
not naturally found near deserts, and messing with
such an ecosystem seems a little risky. I'm afraid with what may come of
this. Will humans turn all of the major deserts into forests? If so,
where will those unique desert animals go? I think it's best we don't
push the boundaries of Mother Nature.
Model #4:
I know I praised many of you for exploring a variety of issues (and I mean it: there's power in reading broadly), but this sentence really struck me. It's a deliberate approach that I haven't seen before:
For
this first week, I wanted to focus on the US economy, specifically the
debate regarding our (US government) spending and its effects.
By no means were these the only excellent responses, but these should help guide those of you who are unsure about what to do.
