Homework for January 13th
1. Please go to this link and read the article Day in Three Worlds. Pick out one aspect of the article and respond to it on my blog.
January 11th
1. Please go to this link and read the article What They Eat. Discuss with neighbor.
2. Read 30 minutes Children of the River
Agenda:January 9th
1. Please read this article and respond on my blog. Please put your name.
Homework for January 11th:
1. Please go to this link called the Photograph (you will need to scroll up a bit). Read the article and then pick out one aspect of the reading to comment on. Please comment on this blog. Be sure to sign your name.
2. Please read about refugees in Maine at this website. Be ready to use the information for a class discussion.
3. Please go to the class wiki and follow the directions when you arrive.
Homework from January 7th:
1. Please go to this link called Hyena. Read the article and then pick out one aspect of the reading to comment on. Please comment on this blog. Be sure to sign your name.
2. Please remember to do your English portfolio folder and share it with me when you are done.
I think that this kid is very mature and has been for a long time because when he was only five he went out and killed a hyena. Everyone else was scared of hyenas so for a little kid to go out in the middle of the night and kill a hyena I think is very brave because it is something that a father should do.
ReplyDeleteJackman
An aspect of the reading that stuck out to me is that he still has bad dreams of things that happened back in his village, but yet he still want to go back and go to school there and propose to his girlfriend. I think that may be his way of getting over his memories.
ReplyDeleteAlexa Betters
I thought he was very brave when he killed the hyenas.
ReplyDeleteCam Greely
One thing that stood out to me in the story Hyena was when Ali was talking about his dad and three year old brother being shot for no reason. I couldn't even imagine how I would feel if that happened to me, and then not seeing my mother for three years. Being in a war torn area of the the world must have been extremely hard and sad. Especially if you were to young to understand what was really going on.
ReplyDelete-Morrigan Turner
It caught me off guard that the minority group would kill people without thinking it through. Killing his brother and father was to the extreme. I would be so scared and sad if I saw in his place where everyone but him was shot.
ReplyDelete- Vincent Amoroso
I think it is horrible that Ali was forced to watch both his father and little brother get shot dead. Also, I feel bad that he was told he was too young to help his mother get help. Not being able to see your mother for three years is horrible, especially when you don't have a father either. Through it all though, Ali grew up extremely brave and I commend him for that.
ReplyDelete-Marty Bushey
When the tribe members were looking for the father the leader kills the three year old son and he acted like it was nothing, I don't understand how a person could do that to an innocent kid.
ReplyDeleteKevin Powers
I find it so amazing that the boy was so brave at such a young age. Everyone looked up at him for killing the Hyena's and that he was the only one not afraid of them. I don't know what I would do if my father and brother were killed, and my mother was sent away for three years. I definitely admire the boy for being so strong.
ReplyDeleteAimee Laplante
Max Carr
ReplyDeleteI thought it was very interesting that the tribe that invaded his village would kill without thinking. When the his little brother told him where the dad was he was ordered to be killed. Then when they found out where the dad was they killed him too. It just goes to show that some people are cold blooded and don't care what the outcome of what they have done.
One thing that really stuck out to me was that those people just came to their home and killed the little boy and the dad. I thought that was terrible that could just kill a three-year old for not doing anything and did the same to the dad. I can't imagine watching them kill people for no reason and especially if the people they are killing are family. I don't really understand the thing about not being afraid of hyenas or being able to kill them, but I was surprised to read about how he killed a hyena before he was five-years old and then he did it again when he was fourteen.
ReplyDelete-Michelle Medici
I'm amazed at how the maturity of a person depends on their upbringing, not even that but just the different things that they have to go through because of their environment. While I was reading how he was only four or five when he killed the hyena, and watched his father, and brother die, it reminded me how Elie watched a father and his son fighting to death over a crumb of bread and he was only fifteen years old, which is so tragic that barely anyone has experience it (from Night by Elie Wiesel). -Jackeline Zárate
ReplyDeleteThe reading was very inspiring in the way that he overcame many hardships that he was faced with. I think that is it very sad that he had to kill hyenas when he wasn't even four years old. He had to always prove himself to others, and try to make his father proud. It was great in the end when he realized that he didn't have to prove himself to everyone anymore. It showed how even after having one bad thing after another happen to him, he made something good out of his life; which is really inspiring.
ReplyDelete~Sarah Micucci
This is sad, i don't like how people drink underage. There's nothing cool about it, all it does is endanger teens and people around the drinkers. This needs to be stopped.
ReplyDeleteKevin Powers
I thought it was interesting how he killed the hyenas when his grandmother told him not to be afraid of them
ReplyDelete- Milos Tisma
Shannon Tully
ReplyDeleteThis is the reason I don't want to drive. There are idiots out there who drink and drive and get into crash daily. There are also just idiots who will text or do there makeup while they drive and that is something you can't control.
Max Carr
ReplyDeleteWhen drinking and driving there are usually going to be consequences weather it be with the police or what has happened in West Paris Death. It doesn't matter how old you are drinking and driving is always going to be abad idea.
Thoughts about the article:
ReplyDeleteThis article was very sad. Its shocking to read that she was only in the car about ten minutes then crashed and past away. The driver, it said, was drunk and texting. The driver also survived and has to live with what happened her whole life. It is also sad that she was a good highschool student at Oxford Hills HS.
-Markie Amadei
I think that this shows how drinking and driving can have bad consequences. I also think that it shows how texting and driving can have bad consequences.
ReplyDelete-Milos Tisma
Drinking and driving are bad enough but when you add texting with it, it makes it way worse. This possibly could have been avoided if the driver hadn't been drinking and texting.
ReplyDeleteCam Greely
I find it amazing that the person driving the car was possibly drinking and texting at the same time while driving at high speeds especially at this time of night. And even more that all of their parents had no idea where they were. It is clear that a chain of poor decisions led to the accident and caused two families the loss of their child.
ReplyDeleteBryan Currie
I think this is a really sad case, because I feel like it could have been someone I know. Rebecca was 16, only 2 years older than me, I have some friends who are 16 and its sad to think someone so young could have their life taken away from them. My older friends have given me rides before, granted they weren't drinking or texting but still if you think about it it could have been me or one of my friends which is scary. It's always scary to think about someone close to your age dying in a car crash because of texting, drinking, and driving. This also makes me think about another case of someone around my age dying that I heard about recently. I didn't know them personally or anything but I had seen their videos before. There's a boy, about 16 or 17 from Texas and his name is Ben Breedlove. He was a entertainment personality on Youtube and he died of a heart condition on Christmas. From what I had seen from his videos he was a really fun loving and happy kid, he was also really funny and brought a lot of joy to the world. Here are two videos he made before he died part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmlTHfVaU9o and part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4LSEXsvRAI&feature=related It's sad so see kids passing away before their time.
ReplyDeleteLaura Mills
This story is incredibly sad, and all too common. Teen drinking and texting while driving laws should be much more strict, I believe. Since I am getting my permit soon, this story really sinks in the message of how careful you have to be when driving and getting into a friend's car. I am so sad for the families of the teens who died that night, and I hope in the future stricter laws come about.
ReplyDelete-Marty Bushey
I just completed driver education and the teacher preached the importance of not being distracted when driving, whether it be from alcohol, make up, a book, or even worse, cell phones. Seeing people talk or text on cell phones make me very angry, and I dont understand how arrogent people can be to put their communication over the safety of others. This sad story is just one of thousands of stories of distracted driving, that could avoided if people decided that driving is more important then texting. How many people have to die before people stop driving distracted?
ReplyDeleteTrenton Lloyd-Rees
This article captures a really unfortunate event. I couldn't imagine being one of the parents and finding out later that night that my daughter had been killed in a car crash. I would probably be really confused because she was last seen sleeping in her room. It makes you think that this could really happen to anybody because Rebecca was just like any other sophomore who was involved within her school and had loving friends and family who cared for her.
ReplyDelete-Trenton Johnson
I thought that this was a sad story. It is sad to think that this happens often, and even in our own area. It shows the dangers of not only drunk driving, but also texting while driving.
ReplyDeleteSam Woodward
I think this story was terrible and tragic. After all of the other stories like this you would think the teens get it and they should not drink and drive. Also the driver was texting while driving. Even when your not drunk and your texting while driving many loose control of the car. This person was doing both and is very lucky she is alive. Drinking just isn't worth it when your underage. -Aimee Laplante
ReplyDeleteSarah Speeches
ReplyDeleteMy reaction to this article was very sad. She was very young and did not deserve to die. This article was upsetting because so many teens have died in car crashes and they all had whole lives ahead of them and it was all taken away in one moment. Also what is upsetting about the story is the parents. The parents have lost their child and they thought she was sleeping in the next room.
I think that it is very unfortunate for this family to have to go through this when the whole time they thought their daughter was downstairs in her bedroom. I can't even imagine ever having kids and them passing away before me, it would be a very hard thing to overcome. This kids were violating three laws when this happened, so it was kind of an accident waiting to happen. They were drinking underage, drinking and driving, and lastly the driver was texting and driving. It has been said that when you text and drive your driving has the same effects as when drinking and driving so one has to think that the driver had absolutely no control of the car. The state police also said that it was unclear wether or not the seat belts were on which could possibly lead to a fourth crime. This to me sounds like an accident waiting to happen and unfortunately it happened to a family that seems very nice.
ReplyDelete-Cole Lemelin
I'm not sure really what to post other than that this shouldn't have happened. Underage drinking, and texting while driving, is a real problem in today's world, had they not been drinking/texting, the car crash could've been avoided.
ReplyDeleteMy reaction to this is 50/50. I think that what happened is very tragic, but I think that this is something that all teens, even adults need to see and read. What happened is unfortunate, but things like this happen everyday because of poor judgement. I think that who ever held the party should be strongly charged, not because he caused the crash but because he supplied alcohol, and I think that even though the driver is hurt, I think she should still be punished. This is why texting and driving is illegal in the state of Maine. I feel bad but then again, I don't because she was doing something she should not have done and should get full consequences to punish the act. She killed 2 people.
ReplyDeleteAlexa Betters
Shannon Tully
ReplyDeleteI think the hyena story is scary it seems like I would be afraid of them and it would be miserable to watch you father get shot.
Griffin- This is an absolutely terrible tragedy that could have been easily prevented. The way these two kids lost their lives are terrible. This is just another example of what underage drinking and texting while driving can cause. This senario has happened many times before. I remember a couple years ago some kids died near Cabellas in Scarborough. I remember being 12 at the time and hearing my cousin who was a junior at Scarborough talking about it and how he knew the kid that died and was friends with him. I have been told hundreds of times by my parents, grandparents, teachers, aunts and uncles how dangerous underage drinking is and texting while driving is. My uncle who is a cop in Kennebunkport has told me he has stopped tons of kids drunk and actually is proud he did because he might have saved some kids lives.
ReplyDeleteIt's really sad to hear about something like this. I can't imagine how the parents and family members of the teens who died are feeling. It's sad knowing that they got pulled in by alcohol, and that that's the main cause of their death: drunk driving. It's also sad that texting while driving happened too, because if the driver could've just waited to text until they got where they were going, there's a chance that Logan and Rebecca would still be here, or that the injuries all of the victims sustained would be less severe. The entire incident is very tragic, but hopefully it will awaken other people to be safer when they drive. I hope all of the families get through this, because it must be so awful for them knowing that someone they loved is now gone.
ReplyDelete~Sarah Micucci
Hyena-
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting how the whole village was scared of the hyenas, but one little girl was not all just because she was told not to.
It seems that this is happening a lot lately. Under aged drinkers unintentionally hurt or kill people because of reckless behavior. It gets me kind of mad at the people who organize these parties as well as the people who go to them. I do feel pity for them, but they took the risks and gambled their safety and lost. There isn't much to stupid decisions, if you make them than you suffer the consequences.
ReplyDeleteBen Welsch
Hyena
ReplyDeleteI thought that it was appalling at how little the soldiers considered the importance of life, killing people for no reason. But there must be reason, what is it? Hate, anger, resentment, enjoyment? My question is why.
One thing that really stuck out to me was the last line of the article, "It is going to be rough going ahead. You just hope you don't live to be 100 and have to remember this every day," he said. This stuck out to me because I think about how my family would feel if I was in this kind of situation. It must be really awful to go through what those parents have to go through. Reading these kinds of articles makes you realize that it could happen to you if you do these kinds of things. I know that people drink in high school and this could happen to any of them and that would be awful. I think everyone should read more stories like this one to show them what can happen.
ReplyDelete-Michelle Medic
I think that this is a very tragic event. I think especially since this was in the state of Maine, so very close to us we should take this sad event as a learning experience. We can't help that their are underage drinkers, but I think that parents should have a good relationship with their parents. I think that even though you can't stop it, you should let your children know that if they make dumb decisions you will still go and pick them up so they choose not to drink and drive. These kids who died, they barely got out/are still in highschool. They die before they even have a chance to live their lives. It is sad to see things like this continously happening, but we need to make sure that people are aware of all the dangers of drunk driving.
ReplyDeleteKaylie Thompson
What stood out is that everyone thought she was a good kid but she really was going to party and underage drink. That is what stood out to me. -Brad
ReplyDeleteWhat stood out to me in the article was the fact that the parents didn't know who the other children were in the car with Rebecca . If i go somewhere I always make sure my mom knows regardless of where it is.. because i want her to know I'm safe. I also don't sneak out of the house. My mother knows all of my friend's so, i'm confused as to why her parents didn't know who her friends were.
ReplyDeleteStephanie
This story is really sad and depressing because of so many young people that have been getting killed in car accidents mainly because of drinking and texting behind the wheel. I also believe that it's all of their faults that this happened, it could have been easily prevented.
ReplyDeleteLydia Holmes
If I were the driver of the car I would feel so guilty, I wouldn't even be able to live with myself. Even though she was critically injured, two of her friends were killed, and she was responsible. If I knew that I killed two of my friends for being irresponsible, I wouldn't be able to enjoy anything in life again because I would feel like I should be the one dead instead of them.
ReplyDelete-Holly Black
I think that this article was really sad and shows just how deadly underage drinking can be. If kids used good judgement they wouldn't drink and even if they could then they shouldn't drink in winter because of ice and black ice on the road where they will slip and probably crash, just like what happened.
ReplyDeleteJackman
"She hadn't been in the car for more than 10 minutes". I found it so scary how in 10 minutes her decision led to her death. It doesn't seem fair, because it could have taken less than five seconds to prevent her from sneaking out, but no one was there to prevent her. I hope the parents don't feel guilty, and that their pain dulls over time.
ReplyDelete-Jackeline Zárate
What stood out to me in the article was that such a young cheerful girl would have died from getting into a car at night to go to a party with a drunk driver in the front seat.
ReplyDeleteAJ G.
If I was the driver of the car I would be devastated. To know that she caused the fatality of two people who I was friends with is awful. If I was in her place I think I would have rather died than have to live with causing the death of two people. Often times the people who survive the accidents have a harder time then those who don't survive. The people who live must then deal with the guilt for the rest of their lives, all of the what if's and the if only. Just because they are the ones who survive doesn't mean that they are then able to live their life as they once did.
ReplyDelete-Kiley
I thought that this incident was very tragic and I feel really bad for the parents who had to deal with this. Knowing that she was only a 16 year old girl and a sophomore at Oxford high school must be very depressing for them. I also thought that the driver in the car must have felt completely at fault and felt terrible about the tragic incident. If she didn't text while driving she may not have gotten in the crash and Rebecca Mason would be alive and safe.
ReplyDeleteThe pain and grief from loosing a child is not comprehensible. Kristina Lowe must be going through a hard time with being injured and the guilt from being the driver of the car and being responsible for the deaths of two people. I could not imagine what it would be like to go through something like this, either as the parents who lost a child, or having the weight of two lives on my shoulders.
ReplyDelete-Morrigan Turner
I thought it was amazing how this little girl wasn't afraid of the hyena because her grandmother told her not to be so she wasn't. Even her father was scared of the hyena so he woke up his daughter and she went out and killed the hyena because it took the goat. She showed great bravery and trust as well, she trusted her grandmother to not be afraid of a hyena so she wasn't because she believed her. She didn't question her because they had a bond of trust and they believe whatever they say to each other.
ReplyDeleteIf I was the father I would feel like a terrible person because I didn't teach my kid good enough that they would still sneak out with kids who she knew would be drunk and partying. I think that she was intimidated to drink too, because she had older people in the car.
ReplyDelete- Vincent Amoroso
I noticed in the Hyena that a Hyena symbolizes strength possibly. He was the only one that could kill one and he is now the only one in his family who wants to carry his story. That shows strength that you can hold on to such a harsh memory and have the strength to hold onto it.
ReplyDeleteLaura Mills
The fact that his older brother was able to take care of the other two for so long, he didn't let them lose hope, and even taught them. Plus all three brothers together were strong, if I was in their spot I most likely would have stayed in my home village and either been killed by the military or starved because I didn't know where to go and would have been so sad that I probably just lost my parents.
ReplyDeleteJackman
Hyena
ReplyDeleteThis was a very sad story and I think the most interesting part was when the people came to her home in the summer of 1992. It is very devastating to think that could happen to a family and I cannot even imagine it happening to my family. I would never be able to overcome what Ali did and I just find it truly amazing.
Cole Lemelin
The Photograph
ReplyDeleteIt was really eye opening to me that they just ran from their parents. I don't think I would be able to run from my parents, I completely believe that even though there was high danger I would have gone back in search for my parents. Lastly, it was really cool how they got to connect with their parents and they dreamt of going back to the village and meeting up again.
-Cole Lemelin
Certain elements of The Photograph reminded me of Hyena. Especially when Kenyi was talking about how people told him he was tall like his father. This story was a great example of coming full circle because of all those years of not getting to say goodbye, and not having any pictures, he finally gets a picture of his parents and gets to talk to them again. Going through all of those different places when you are only five, must have been hard. Especially adapting to the different people and cultures. But even through all of the struggles, Kenyi and his brothers were very lucky (like he said) for not having any diseases and not being in any real harm.
ReplyDelete-Morrigan Turner
I thought this was a great story about a little boy who had all the happiness he needed with his family and fun and peaceful holidays like Christmas. Until the Arab militia attacked burning down everything in sight even people. This must have been a tragic change in life from a peaceful life to a life of escaping and finding a safe home.
ReplyDeleteIt is surprising to know that there are students our age who have gone through as much as immigrating to America and witnessing their village being attacked and bombed. I am glad to hear that this student has over time reconnected with his parents and to learn that they survived the attack.
ReplyDelete-Trenton Johnson
HYENAS
ReplyDeleteHolly Black
I think that the boy was very brave when he had to watch everyone in his family get shot. His brother and his father ended up dying, but he still managed to see the best in life when he had fun in Kenya with his friends and his girlfriend. It would be very traumatizing to go through all of that, and I bet he is very grateful to be alive and safe. I wonder how he got to America and what it was like for him when he got here. Did he enjoy the new country? Or did he miss his friends back home?
Photographs
ReplyDeleteI think it's very touching that the boy received a photograph of his parents and found out they were alive because he had lived for so long thinking they were dead. He had never gotten to say goodbye to them, so it is good that he got to talk to his father on the phone. He was a very brave boy.
-Holly Black