Welcome to Semester 3!

HELLO!  Wlecome back to my blog in semester 3.  In this semester i will be finishing A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespear, and starting a new book!  I will be reading Into The Wild by .... which is based off a true story!  I have changed so much from September.  The time has passed so quickly!  I hope you will still be following when I finish the school year. I will be trying fit all my changes during the year into one of my last blogs for the year.  I know that I will be adding how confident I am now compared to September.  I never thought i would adjust this fast.  I hope you like this semester's blog posts!

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The Game of Your Life

Catching Fire
By: Suzanne Collins

Experience the thrills and adventure of Katniss while she fights for her life.

The romances of Katniss will entangle you in a plot so enticing that the only way to stop is to finish.

Katniss's every move leads to the collapse of a huge conspiracy within the oppressive  government.

Green

Jonathan Kolson

Mrs. Zurkowski

Honors English

10/28/10

The Green Room of Edgar Allan Poe’s Story “Masque of the Red Death”

            The Green room in “Masque of the Red Death”, by Edgar Allan Poe, has many different interpretations.  The first of the three is a stage of life, adolescence in this case.  The second is time of day relative to life span.  The last is related to the seasons of your life.

            Green is the third room of the seven in Poe’s story, being the third room means that it would be the third title given to you.  First title is baby, second is child, and third is teen.  Teens seem to try and rebel and fight against the other colors. Green is outstanding against the earlier blue and purple and the later orange.  It seems fitting for green to be associated with teens.

            The time of day for green is morning along with blue and purple.  Green is the latest in the morning when everything is becoming green again.  It is not hot yet but it is not cold either.  It is the best time for things to grow.  Relating this to age, teens grow maturely and physically during this time.  Green seems to be the most vibrant time of the day, and teens are extremely vibrant too.

            Green, in the form of seasons, is summer.  It fits with summer because summer is a fun time and teens just want to have fun.  Summer is also very green.  Summer is full of green leaves and grass.  If spring is the time of new life, then summer is the time of learning and growing.

Some Notes of O. Henry

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• O. Henry was an amazing short story writer who included a plot twist in many of his stories.
• William Sydney Porter was O. Henry's real name, O. Henry was just a pen name.
• He was born in Greensboro, South Carolina.
• He moved to Houston, Texas when he was fifteen.
• He moved to Austin, Texas in 1882.
• During 1897, William was accused of embezzling money.
• He moved to New York City, New York, in 1902, after completing three years of his five year sentence.
• O. Henry published over 600 short stories.
• He married Sara Lindsay Coleman in 1907.
• O. Henry died of cirrhosis of the liver during June 5, 1910.

Sources:
http://www.online-literature.com/o_henry/

Edgar Allan Poe

1. Edgar Allan Poe was born January 19, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts.  He died October 7, 1849.
2. Poe's father left the family, and, shortly after, his mother died.
3. The cause of Poe's death is unsure, here are five theories: Cholera, congestion of the brain, heart disease, epilepsy, and syphilis.
4. According to the Poe museum, Poe's home state was Virginia.
5. The Baltimore Poe Society says that Poe's home is in Baltimore.
6. Poe was expelled from the United States Military Academy in West Point, South Carolina.
7. Poe married his 13 year old cousin, Virginia Clemm.
8. I think that Poe's marriage was not right, it may have been back then but it is against my morals.
9. "Murders in the Rue Morgue" was the first of the Poe scary stories.
12. I envision Poe as a twisted old man.

Welcome Back!

Welcome back readers!  I have many more stories to blog about this season.  There are so many short stories for me to choose, but I have a select few to write about.  Edgar Allen Poe is my first topic.  His foreboding themes always spark intrest in readers.  I also will blog about the famous writer, Shakespear.  More specifically, I will talk about Shakespears love comedy, "A Mid Summers' Night Dream".

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Extra curricular activities help children

Jonathan Kolson

Mrs. Zurkowski

Honors English 1

October 3, 2010

Essay

            High School activities prevent crime rate.  Every high school has extracurricular activities that parents have their kids get involved with.  Parents sometimes use it to prevent their kid from becoming a criminal.  Many researchers have said it is true.

            Extracurricular sports reduce delinquency in guys.  Guys are less likely to get into drug and alcohol abuse because their sport team is relying on him.  Girls have different experiences so that the sports cause them to be less likely to commit crime or be delinquent.  Different things have different effects on teens.

            Guys have been proven to be less likely to commit crime if they are in other non-school activities.  Sports do not have a relatively positive influence.  The opposite is true for girls.  They have positive influence from sports, and less from church and other activities.  “Other activities, such as church and after-school community activities, decreased the risk of delinquency in boys, but not for girls” (Northeastern).

            Non-school activities are very important for decreasing the rate of delinquency.  “Involvement in church and non-school activities, for both young men and women, significantly protected them from serious delinquent behavior, which includes fighting, carrying a weapon or violence” (Northeastern).  Church does not reduce delinquency but it helps prevent crime.

            Teens also use all their extra time on the activities so that they cannot be bored and want to do something bad.  If the teen spends too much time in the extracurricular it may be a bad thing.  The teen will be around bad influences more than their good influences, like their parents.  Then the teen will develop feelings like-minded to their peers.  Their thoughts may be that delinquency is fine.  Then the teen will think that and might drink or do stupid things.

            “If the teenager feels they are making a difference to the group or team they are part of, their personal self-esteem will be higher. Elevated self-esteem will make it less likely that a teenager will get involved in substance abuse or other illegal activities” (Angel). The teen will feel like they can do something to the world in a positive way.  They will not want to do crime because they want to help the world. 

            Adults will bond with the teens and will give them good advice.   They will not feel isolated being with their friends if their parents are always working.  “It is also advisable for parents to be supportive of any after school activities that the teenager chooses to be involved with so that the positive energy that comes from the after school activity can carry over into the teenager’s home life” (Angel).

            The teens will have something to look forward to.  If it is every month the teen will be more excited and energized waiting the last few days.  If it is every week then the teen will be waiting for that day every day.  They will always be looking forward to that and will be practicing for the activity.  They will have a reason to stay out of trouble.

            Every teen is different and every teen should be treated differently.  Every teen should be respected.  If they are respected they will feel better about themselves.  The teen should have your trust until they show you specifically that you should not.  Many teens are doubted before they are given a chance to lose it.  They are always pushed out before they get in.

Works Cited

Angel, Grace.  Why after school activities reduce crime rates for teens.     http://www.helium.com. Accessed 22 September 2010.

Northeastern University. "Can Involvement In Extra-Curricular Activities Help Prevent Juvenile                            Delinquency?." ScienceDaily 23 March 2008. 23 September 2010                                                   <http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/03/080321174211.htm>.

Aguilar, Azalea. “Teens, Crime, and Brain Development”.