Classroom Comfort

Most classes we take are filled with students who are trying their hardest, not to learn but to stay awake. That is why a teacher who keeps you entertained while helping you learn is usually a favorite among the students. For me, that teacher was my eighth grade Spanish teacher, Ms. Rogers. I liked her because she was different than any other teacher I had ever had before. She treated us like we were adults instead of the children we were. In many ways she was like Ms. Ferenczi from the story “Gryphon.” Both teachers used different methods of teaching to hold our attention. For example, Ms. Rogers used a sarcastic tone with students who didn’t seem to be focused, causing the rest of the class to laugh. Then, everybody would be back on task and learning. Ms Ferenczi made the classroom more welcoming by drawing a tree on the board so they would feel more comfortable. Both of these teachers were popular with their students because of the efforts they made in the classroom.     

Blind Vision

It is easy to say that the story “Cathedral” is about a blind man that befriends someone that didn’t like him when they met. However, if you look closely it is about a blind man who teaches a visually unimpaired man how to see for the first time. Bub is a troubled man who is in the midst of a struggling marriage. He spends his nights getting high and drinking by himself. His relationship with his wife is almost inexistent. In fact, she has a better relationship with a blind man named Robert, who she used to work for. When Robert came to visit Bub and his wife it caused Bub to make some changes in his life. The major turning point for Bub was when he and Robert were talking about cathedrals and Bub was reminded that Robert had never actually seen a cathedral. Robert then asked Bub to draw one with him with his eyes closed. When Bub did this it helped him realize that there was more to be concerned with in life that fulfilling his own wants. This was the moment when a blind man taught someone how to see.    

Burning Barns and Sharecropping

Sharecropping is an agricultural process in which a landowner allows someone, a tenant, to use their land if they share a portion of the crops that were grown on the landowners property. In some cases the tenants are more like slaves. They will live on the land that they are using and the landowner provides them with clothing, shelter and supplies. In William Faulkner’s “Barn Burning”, Abner Snopes and his family find themselves at one of these farms because Abner caused them to essentially be kicked out of their old town. At this new farm they are living, Sarty, Abner’s son, was asked to clean one of the landowners rugs. This made Abner very upset because he felt like the only reason the landowner had the rug was because his tenants made it possible for him to afford it. Since Abner felt this way, he intentionally damaged the rug to the point where it could not be fixed. When the rug was returned to the landowner he was outraged that Abner would act out in that way. He punished Abner with twenty bushels of corn and that was eventually reduced to ten bushels. However, Abner should have gladly taken the twenty bushel penalty because he was lucky to not be kicked out of another town for his actions.

Martha in Cross' Mind

Martha helps Cross get through the war in many ways. Two of the most prominent ways she does this is by reminding him of beauty every time he thinks of her, and she helps him by giving him something to look forward to when the war ends. When Cross thinks about Martha, he is almost always reminded of how beautiful she is. This helps Cross by letting him escape from the brutality and ugliness of war. He also frequently thinks about getting home to see Martha. This is good for Lieutenant Cross because it can help him focus on getting out of the war as safe and as soon as possible. However, Martha can also have negative effects on Cross. Sometimes he daydreams about her and loses track of what he is doing, which can be extremely dangerous during a war. Cross eventually burns his letters from Martha because he believes that thinking about her can be too much of a liability to him and his squads safety.     

Letter from Mom

Daughter,

I know after all these years you must still be wondering why I pushed you so hard to be a prodigy while you were a child. It isn’t because I was never proud of you or because I was ashamed of who you were. I only wanted you to be the best version of yourself that you could possibly be. I thought that the best way for you to do this was to pick something to do and work hard at becoming the best at it. I realize now that it might have been more successful if you chose what you wanted to do instead of me choosing it for you but I did not understand that then.  It thought that the more I pushed you the more you would want to work at becoming great at whatever you were doing. I also wanted to let you know how proud of you I was the night of your piano performance, even if it did not seem like I was. I hope you have forgiven me for pushing you so hard to do things that you didn’t want to do and I hope you will be happy with whatever you do for the rest of your life.

Love,

Mom       

Dear Mom... I Quit

Mom,

I wanted to let you know that I quit my job as a cashier at A&P today. As I was looking at Stokesie, I thought about how he was twenty two years old with two kids and working at a grocery store. It was really turning into a career for him.  I started to worry that my life was beginning to be on the same track as his and at that point I started to think about quitting. Later, a few girls came in wearing bathing suits and Mr. Lengel decided that he wouldn’t allow that in his grocery store. When he confronted the girls about it he was rude and offensive. He also made the girls feel very embarrassed about it. At that moment I decided that I didn’t want to work at A&P anymore. I hope you will understand and support my decision.

Love,

Sammy

Teen Advice

Make good grades in school; don’t give in to peer pressure; don’t worry about trying to fit in with the “popular” crowd but always make time for friends; never be late to anywhere you are going; join some kind of group when you get into high school; figure out what you want to do in life and always pursue that dream; work hard at everything you do; make good decisions in everything you do; choose carefully who you trust; always listen to your parents because even if it doesn’t seem like it, they always know what is best for you; never pay attention to what other people think and say about you because none of it matters; if you are religious, live how your god would want you to live and never stray away from he teaches; decide your morals and follow them for as long as you live.