Looking for a hero

It seems all societies, no matter how ancient, have sought heroes. Define a hero. Which hero--the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf or the Medieval Sir Gawain--did you find most heroic by your definition? Why? (The deadline to post a response to this blog question is midnight Saturday, February 23, 2013.)

What I am trying to keep from happening to you...

I read this article this morning and it says so many of the things I am trying to keep from happening to you.  I hope that you will take a moment to read this article and understand its concepts and purpose.  It is why I do what I do in class daily. 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/02/09/a-warning-to-college-profs-from-a-high-school-teacher/

In the Career Zone

This week you have had the opportunity to truly focus upon a career choice of yours. Based upon what you have learned through the research, are you heading in the right direction? What makes this career best for you or why are you now rethinking this career move? (The deadline to post a response to this question is midnight, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013)

"The b@$%*#d son of a b@$%*#d"

Mr. Wingfield is not a character in the play; he has not one speaking line, yet he posseses so much power and control over the lives of his wife and children.  Select either Tom, Amanda, or Laura and explain how this character's life is haunted by Mr. Wingfield.  Give specific lines to prove your statement.  CATCH:  You may not comment on the same character as the person before you and you can not say the same thing anyone else has offered.  (The deadline to post a response to this blog is Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013.)

Family Dynamics...

In any story, complexity makes for interesting characters.  Good drama rarely pits a “good guy” against a “bad guy.”  The best drama often occurs when both people in a conflict are right and wrong.  Do you sympathize with Amanda, even though she causes her children to suffer?  Do you think Tom and Laura are both wrong and right?  Explain. (The deadline to post a response to this question is midnight, Sunday, February 3, 2013).

My Purpose

Several of you have said that you can't think of what to write for this essay prompt.  I agree it can be a very challenging task if you refuse to be candid about yourself.  You have to forget about impressing.  You have to speak from the heart, and until you do, you are just going to drift aimlessly.  Perhaps the opening of my essay might help you see that you have to open yourself.  You know that I do not frequently share private emotions with you, but I am going to here.  It is only the opening because I don't want you to think your essay has to emulate mine.  It is your purpose...this is mine...

                I can remember it as if it were yesterday.  My mother stood in front of the wall display her eight children’s baby portraits.  She was introducing Sister Clare Francis to each of us.  She said, “This is Mary Ellen; she is my worker bee--very industrious yet so very classically beautiful.  This is Paulette; she is my peacemaker.  That lovely smile and gorgeous eyes can melt the coldest heart.  These are my twins—Nancy and Donna.  They are as talented as they are beautiful.  Nancy can sew and paint and draw and never had any lessons.  Donna can sing and play the piano.”  Her eyes went to my picture and I waited to hear those words that would tell just how my mother, the person’s whose opinion is paramount to an eight year old, saw me.  “And this is Kay.  She is our smart one.”  I was crushed.  Being smart was not what I wanted to hear.  I wanted to be beautiful and talented just like my older sisters.   After all, they were all smart, too.  They made great grades in school.  I was nothing then.  Nothing else could be said about me.  I just made good grades.  I had no purpose in life.  It took me many years of struggling with this thought to realize that my mother was in fact speaking the truth.   Many years later as I looked at my older sisters and the struggles they have endured, I knew I was blessed to be the smart one. 

                I watched my sister Mary Ellen be abused by her husband for over 20 years.  Her heart was no longer strong and she frowned and hated rather than walked like the classic beauty she was.  I watched my sister Paulette lose her lovely smile and bright eyes to years of being oppressed by marrying a man who had a heart so frozen in prejudice and hate  and the desire for wealth that even she could not melt it.  I watched Nancy and Donna struggle as young married women with children before they had found themselves.  I was the smart one because I learned my purpose was to be the one never to settle, never to give up believing in the good, never to sell myself short, and never to allow myself to be a victim of self-doubt.  In the process of doing these things, I learned my greatest purpose was to hold everyone else together as each of my sisters and my brother encountered weaknesses and troubles in life.  I am the anchor—the anchor that keeps the boat of my family afloat in the face of tempests.

Feeling overwhelmed...

I hope Grant Davis sees this!