Oprah's Mean

Alright, so Oprah and I are in a fight. (She's not really aware of this, but still, it's fierce on my end). See, here's what happened: She's reading Night with her book club this month, which is one of the many many reasons I mentioned the book to you guys. And, she's having this essay contest for teens, and the winner gets to go meet her and get some sort of scholarship. So, I hear about this, and I go "AWESOME" and I get all hyped because I'm thinking I'll just have you guys enter the contest (those of you who wanted to) and then you'd probably win (because you're great writers) and then you'd get to meet Oprah (and probably I would too) and then you'd win a scholarship. And it'd be great...right? NO! And my fantastic plan gets ruined all because the stupid contest is limited to high school students. Whatever.

So, anyway, here's what I'd like for us to do. I've adapted the question that she asked in her essay contest, so that we can sort of do it here. All you have to do is answer it, and it can be as long or short as you'd like, as long as it's thoughtful. You know the deal; you can say whatever you'd like, as long as you support it with reasons. And then, later, I'll declare a winner. Whoever writes the most eloquent, well thought out, convincing answer, will get a gold star (seriously I bought some and I need to use them).

Here's your question:

Is it important today that we study things like The Diary of Anne Frank and Elie Wiesel's Night? Why or why not? What relevance do these works have for students today?

(Take that Oprah.)

The Passenger Crisis

Ok, so here's another tricky question for you. This was actually used once in job interviews by a certain company. Let's see what good people we are. Read the following scenario and respond - HONESTLY.

You are driving (pretend you have your license) along in your car on a wild, stormy night, when you pass by a bus stop, and you see three people waiting for the bus:

1. An old lady who looks as if she is about to die.
2. An old friend who once saved your life.
3. The perfect boy/girl you have been dreaming about.

Which one would you choose to offer a ride to, knowing that there could only be one passenger in your car? Why?

A Moral Dilemma

In preparation for writing our big argumentative research papers (which will happen in early March), we'll spend some time during the next few weeks debating some controversial issues.

To start, we're going to just do a little activity to gauge our moral compasses, since many of the issues we tackle will involve moral responses. A person's morals are what guide them when they make decisions about what is right and what is wrong, and it would be very easy if we lived in a world where everything was clear cut, black and white, right or wrong, yes or no, good or bad. But, as we all know, there are shades of gray, and there can be a little bit of good in something bad, and a little bit of bad in something good. It's not always as easy as we want it to be.

There's a famous situation that a famous psychologist used to figure out how far along children had progressed in their moral development. In other words, they way in which you respond to this situation will tell me how sophisticated your sense of "right" and "wrong" is. It's called "The Heinz Dilemma," because the main character's name is Heinz.

Here's the basic situation:

The Heinz Dilemma

There was once a man named Heinz. He had a wife who was extremely sick, with a terrible disease that was going to kill her. Her Doctor explained that there was an anecdote, and that the anecdote was the only thing that could possibly save her. The only problem was that the anecdote was very expensive, and Heinz and his wife did not have the money. Heinz went to the Pharmacist and explained the situation, hoping that he would be able to perhaps work a deal with the man to get the anecdote now to save his wife, with the promise of paying later when he had the money. The Pharmacist however, could not help Heinz. He said that his hands were tied, that there was no way he could give Heinz the anecdote without being paid for it. Later that night, Heinz broke into the pharmacy to steal the anecdote. His wife was saved. The police found Heinz's fingerprints, and Heinz admitted to what he had done.

Ok, with that little scenario in mind, your job this week is to answer the following question. The thing is, you HAVE to give reasons for whatever you say.

QUESTION: Should Heinz be arrested for what he did?

Note:
I've noticed in the last few weeks that you guys have started commenting more than once a week, and you've been writing back and forth to each other. This is perfect, because this is what I intended all along. It was my master plan. As usual, most of you beat me to it and started doing it before I had to make you. Of course, your assignment is still just the one post, and you'll get credit after that one. But, please feel free to engage in a dialogue with your classmates, and comment back and forth. Let's just keep it civil, especially since we are about to be entering discussions of some very touchy topics. There is a right and a wrong way to disagree with someone. The right way looks like this, "I've thought carefully about what you've said, but I disagree with you because..." The wrong way looks something like this, "You stupid idiot! How could you say that!" Remember, everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, and even if it isn't the same as yours, you still have to respect where they stand. That's a big part of growing up (Trust me. I have to bite my tongue almost daily.). You can disagree; just be kind. Name calling and disrespect are childish things that people do when they can't come up with an intelligent response, and they will not be tolerated. Just keep that in mind.

Out With The Old

Here's a favorite quote of mine from T.S. Eliot:

"For last year's words belong to last year's language, and next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning. "

Isn't that nice?

New Years is probably my number one favorite holiday. I don't know that it's always been that way, because I feel pretty sure that when I was younger I was more interested in holidays that involved some gift-giving. But now, the older I get, the more I appreciate the fresh start that January 1 always makes me feel like I have. It's enough sometimes, especially at the end of a difficult year like 2005 was for me, to be able to say, "Ok, that's over now."

I always like to remember where I was when the new year dawned. This year, I was standing in a crowded room full of people that I had mostly just met, wearing a red paper crown and a purple Hawaiian lei around my neck, and my hair and clothes smelled like smoke from the fireworks we had been shooting outside. We all had a glass of champagne, and as the countdown to 2006 began we raised them high. At midnight we toasted and I took just one sip and then immediately threw it out because 1) I try to keep up my role-model habits at all times and 2) I really don't like the taste at all. Afterwards, we went outside, where we shot more fireworks that I'm pretty sure were not approved by the neighborhood. My friend Kris and I got some sparklers and stuck them into the ground, trying at first to spell out 2-0-0-6 and then shortening it to just 0-6. And then I sat down on the steps and proclaimed that this year would be my year, although I'm not sure what I meant by that. Kris then started saying "Kristi in 2006," and I laughed, because she made it sound like I was going to run for President. I looked at Kris, whose wedding I'm going to be in this July, and I laughed at her crown (which was like mine but only purple, and it was falling off of her head) and I was glad just for having her around. And then somewhere inside I was also thankful for my family and all of my other friends, and for the lessons that I learned in 2005, even the ones that I learned the hard way, and even the ones that hurt, and maybe those most of all.

And that was it, and then it was 2006.

For this post, I want you to describe in detail where you were when it became 2006. Include smells and sounds and sights, because this is more practice with imagery. If you're up for a challenge personally, you could describe this moment in poetic form. That could be cool - it's up to you. There's no wrong way to do it, except to not do it at all.