GIRL IN TRANSLATION #2

     "Girl in Translation" by Jean Kwok is a great book, because it touches on so many topics. One inspirational topic was Kim rising form her class. Kimberly lived in an apartment without heat, filled with roaches. She slept on stuffing her mother found in the garbage of a toy factory. She wore homemade clothes. Despite all of her tribulations, Kimberly rose from her position and became a doctor, savingher mother and later her son.

        Kimberly was a superb math student in elementary school even though she barely spoke English. She gained entry into an expensive and ritzy private school. At school, Kim wasn't a poor factory worker's daughter- she was a top student people admired. Although Kim worked in front of an oven because of the lack of heat, she excelled in her schoolwork, and got into Yale.
       
        Kimberly is inspirational because she didn't settle with her current position. Many people think where they are in life is okay, and don't try to reach for higher heights. They feel that they way they live is simply okay, and don't shoot for the top. Often times, my dad encourages me to be the best, because he doesn't want me to settle for second or third. Although it may hurt me, its a good philosophy, aim for the TOP. I remember reading something that said that you should aim for the stars, because even if you miss, you're already in space. Kimberly's story, although fictional is a lesson to all, to aim for the highest heights despite our pasts, despite our issues, because that's the only way we can overcome.

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok
    
          Kimberly Chang came from Hong Kong to the United States with her mother. Her aunt was already in the U.S., married with two sons. Kimberly and her mother lived in an apartment filled with rats and roaches and had no heat. Her mother worked in a factory where Kimberly also worked after school illegally. Despite her limited English, Kim gained a full scholarship to a prestigous private school. She later went to Yale and Harvard and became a doctor.
           I think Kim came of age when she realized that her mother was dependent on her to get them out of their situation. Mrs. Chang barely spoke English, so she couldn't try to get another job. She was stuck in the factory, stuck in the apartment, and stuck in the "well" she called it. If Kimberly succeeded, they wouldn't have to live off of an illegal salary. Kimberly made this discovery when she realized that her aunt was doing nothing tohelp them get out of the apartment. Jean Kwok demonstrated the mental blow it must've been for Kimberly when her aunt was angry that she got into Harrison Prep: "You're going to Harrison Prep? The two of you did this behind my back?". Her jealousy and anger became even more apparent when Kim got accepted to Yale: "You cannot go to Yeah-loo (the Cantonese prononciation of Yale)! I do not allow it!"
             If Kimberly lost sight of her goal, to escape her status, she may not have been able to change the way she and her mother lived. Kim showed her independence by finding a decent home for her mother, and by standing up to her selfish aunt. Kimberly was now a woman, because she was capable of taking matters into her own hands. She showed her maturity by taking a bad situation and turning it into a good one. This is something we all need to learn, whether or not we're in Yale, or poor- we're all capable of changing our situations. Kimberly didn't accept poverty, she fought against it, and she was victorious.

Spring Break HW

#1
I really enjoyed Jamila's blog post about Much Ado About Nothing. I liked how she described what she liked in the details. Usually we overlook little things like lighting and music it was interesting how she noticed this (then again, she and I talked about it while we were watching it). I also enjoyed how Jamila said that Much Ado About Nothing made her feel differently about Shakespeare's plays. I felt the same way; the play felt like a modern movie and less like something old and dull. I liked Joyce's bog comparing Gale and Peeta in the Hunger Games. I liked it because I read the series, and put myself in Katniss' shoes, wondering who I would choose. I like how she pointed out Gale's flaws, which supported why she thought Peeta would be a better person to choose (in case you don't know, Katniss was a girl who grew up with Gale, and became friends with Peeta. Both were in love with her.)

#2
The student copied and pasted the information they got instead of quoting it and stating the title.

Memories may surface with the dark shades and bright bursts of color according to "A Brief Understanding of the Starry Night Paintings'.

Plagiarizing can be avoided my citing information, NOT BEING LAZY, and paraphrasing.

#3

          The article "New York Teacher Ratings Renew Evaluation Debate" by Beth Fertig stated that many NYC public teachers felt that they were unfairly evaluated. Teachers are graded based upon the amount of progress their students have.  I agree that this system is unfair because students may maintain high grades. The grading system is often inaccurate.
          Many students maintain high grades, and have little progress in a class as a result. A teacher who has many students in this situation could be reflected as a poor teacher because their students stayed within the same range. One teacher, Nicole Weingard, was put in the lowest 20% of teachers while the majority of her class passed state exams. There was little progress in her students' grades, because it was an honors class with high performing students. Weingard was angry with her rating when she said: "I was very upset about the rating, I don't think it reflects any way, shape and form how I am as a teacher. I've been teaching for eight years. I can probably count on one hand how many of my students didn't perform well."
        The teacher evaluation system is often inaccurate. Margins of error are often as large as 50%. A citiwide poll found that only 20% of parents trusted the results of the teacher ratings. New York City knows that these are often widely off the margin.
         As stated, I feel that the teacher evaluation system is unfair. Its unfair because it is mainly based on student progress, and because it is often inaccurate.
        

 

     After reading Scene 3, I came to the conclusion that Juliet has a very distant relationship with her parents. Juliet's father said that his daughter would be given two years to marry Paris yet after Tybalt's death, he gave her three days. Most parents would probably try to let their children mature before forcing them into marriage, whether or not the suitor was an earl. I understand how angry Juliet might have been in this situation. She trusted that her father would let her wait, and suddenly she was betrothed.
      Instead Juliet's point, Capulet said that she was "baggage" (a worthless woman). He continued to insult her and described her as a curse to his wife. He commented on her pale skin, and said how she was worthless for denying marriage to a "worthy" man. Had Juliet and her parents been close, Capulet may have apologized, and given her more time.
       I understand why Capulet may have felt this way. He probably wanted his only heir secure with a husband. He knew that she was hurt,but probably wanted the best for her despite her feelings at the moment. Maybe things would've been better if Juliet gave up Romeo, and trusted her parents in marriage to Paris- as the Nurse recommended.

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

        Sarah's Key was probably the most heartbreaking book I've ever read. I was near tears in this book, where it jumped from a Jewish girl in France during the Holocaust to a modern American living in France. Sarah's family was arrested along with many other Jews in Paris by the French police. She locked her four year old brother in a cupboard to keep him safe, assuming she and her family were coming home soon. Sarah and her family were separated in a village on their way to Auschwitz, a concentration camp. Sarah got away from the village with a friend, and the help of a kind police officer. They got to the home of an old couple who realized Sarah's friend, Rachel was sick. They called a doctor, who reported the Jew to Germans. She was taken away, but Sarah remained hidden. She got back to her family's apartment to find her brother Michel's dead body in the cupboard. Years later, Sarah killed herself.
         Tatiana de Rosnay did an excellent job of demonstrating the emotions in this book. I felt pain when Michel's body was found, and hope that he'd miraculously been saved, or survived. I worried when Rachel showed signs of illness. This took the job of a good author. It isn't easy to show the anguish, love, and pain a character feels, but Tatiana de Rosnay did it.
        Sarah's Key also made me THINK. I was confused as to why RELIGION was a reason for innocent children to have their lives ruined. Sarah was the only survivor in the family. The fact that Michel died as a result of one evil man's deed added to my hate of Hitler. I related to Sarah even more because I have a brother who I'm very close to. Sarah must've carried the guilt of her action until the day she purposely drove into a tree.

Romeo & Juliet- Nurse

          My favorite character in Romeo and Juliet is the Nurse. Although she (I'm assuming) was paid to take care of Juliet, she loved her with the fierceness of a birth mother. She wanted the best for her. This was shown when she encouraged Juliet to wed Paris. She expressed that she'd be secure as the wife of a wealthy, powerful man who sought her out. She probably knew Juliet might've been reluctant in marrying Paris, being that he was older than her yet, the Nurse sought for the best for Juliet, even if her own emotions at the time didn't agree.
          Even Lady Capulet realized how important and influential the Nurse was to Juliet. When she spoke to her daughter of Paris' proposal,  "This is the matter- Nurse, give leave awhile. We must talk in secret. - Nurse come back again." (1.2 Lines 8 and 9). Lady Capulet intended to shut the Nurse out of the discussion, but after seeing that the Nurse was necesarry because of her connection to Juliet, she called her back.
         The Nurse's relationship with Juliet was similar to Aibileen's relationship with Mae Mobley in "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. Aibileen was employed as a maid and nanny, but she still loved her. Mae Mobley said that Aibileen was her actual mother at one point. The Nurse was close to Juliet, even though they weren't related. They loved and care for one another, and the Nurse wanted Juliet to be happy and taken care of.

Dear Billybob,

       Reading Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is quite interesting. I've learned a lot about the culture of the characters and the society they lived in. At the time, two feuding, wealthy families, the Montagues and the Capulets, lived in Verona, Italy. At the time, Romeo Montague was suffering from heartbreak because the woman he was in love with wanted to remain chaste, and didn't want to have any relationships.
        The characters are very dramatic. Romeo locked himself in a dark room all day because the person he loved didn't love him. I understand that he might have been hurt, even devastated, but his behavior was extremely odd he spoke to Benvolio, his cousin of how he felt like "a lead feather". This shows that he was in agony, because he used these two contradicting terms to describe how he was feeling.
         The people of this time and place seem very violent. A servant of the Capulet family spoke of how he wanted to rape and kill Capulet maidens. They have an odd sense of loyalty to their households. I guess at the time, one's family was most important; but murder in the name of your household is foolish in my opinion. Instead of showing how strong the Capulets are, they seem weak. I see weakness in them because rather than tolerating those they dislike (which can take a LOT of strength) they want to let go of their anger. Sampson, a Capulet servant, seemed to demonstrate his lack of control in the beginning of Scene 1. He seemed like the type to kill many people in a fit of rage, rather than controlling his negative emotions.
         The language of the book is a bit confusing, but I understand the focus of each character's line. The Old-English, when explained, makes a lot of sense.