Teachers Can Change Lives

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”
William Ward

                  Teachers are given the opportunity to change a child’s life every day. In my life, some teachers have positivity impacted me, and some have negatively impacted me. The teachers that you have decide if your year is great, or miserable. Teachers are given so much power, and it is amazing how they use it to change students lives. When I came to Fenn in fourth grade I was extremely nervous. I didn’t know anyone, and I was extremely nervous. Luckily for me I had an advisor that would constantly go out of his way to make sure I was ok. All Fenn fourth graders look to Mr. Smith as a role model, but not everyone had him as a teacher of two different classes. Many of Mr. Smith’s actions positively effected me, but one specifically stands out to me. It was a late afternoon english class on a Friday. At the time nobody wanted to be in the class, so the students where not very focused. Mr. Smith decided to take it into his own hands to make the students focus. Rather than yelling he hit the desk of the  student not paying attention with a baseball bat. Us being a group of fourth graders we found this action to be both funny and scary at the same time. Everybody in the class cracked up for about a minute, but after this action Mr. Smith had the attention of the entire class. This moment survived as one of my only memories from fourth grade. Some may see hitting a desk with a baseball bat as a horrible method of teaching, but I see it a incredibly smart. The teacher was able to get a group of fifteen fourth graders to pay attention in a last period english class. This showed me that anything is possible if you find a creative enough solution. 

Obsession

“When passion meets inspiration, an obsession is born.”

Anonymous  

            Becoming obsessed with a task can take over your life. In the story, Through The Tunnel, the main character, Jerry becomes obsessed with swimming through an underwater tunnel. He trained almost every day to be able to hold his breath for up to two minutes. Jerry planned on swimming under the tunnel on the last day of his trip. The night before the swim the thought of swimming under the tunnel consumed his thoughts. “All night the boy dreamed of the water­filled cave in the rock, and as soon as breakfast was over he went to the bay.” When the day finally arrived Jerry was as ready as he would ever be to take the dive. Everything was going well until he was about half way through the tunnel. “He struggled on in the darkness between lapses into unconsciousness. An immense, swelling pain filled his head, and then darkness cracked with an explosion of green light.” He made it to the end of the tunnel, but was barley able to hold on to life.

“He could see nothing but a red-veined, clotted dark. His eyes must have burst, he thought; they were full of blood. He tore off his goggles and a gout of blood went into the sea. His nose was bleeding, and the blood had filled the goggles.”

After being on deaths door Jerry meets his mom for breakfast.“Have a nice morning?” she asked, laying her hand on his warm brown shoulder. “Oh, yes, thank you,” he said.” These lines of dialogue were the only ones shared between Jerry and his mom after the experience. This shows that Jerry did not do this for others, he did it solely for himself. Looking back on the experience Jerry put himself through hell just so he could do what older kids were doing. He allowed the thought of going through the tunnel consume him. Jerry allowed his obsession to almost lead to his death

I’m sick of school

Sick as a dog

I’m done with school

I’m a balloon ready to burst

Spring of our senior year

I was told it would be fun

I was told there was less work

Yet hear I am 

Sitting in my room

writing like a poet 

I know I’m pissed right now

Like a baby who’s candy has been stolen 

But I know I’ll miss it

The bright spring days 

And the bright white snow 

Six great years at this school

All coming to a close

Money & Work

Too many people spend money they earned..to buy things they don't want..to impress people that they don't like.

--Will Rogers

            Sometimes less can be more. In the chapter of Walden, titled Money & Work, Henry David Thoreau writes about his experiences with money. Thoreau believes that jobs, money, and furniture are all unnecessary. Thoreau believes that people can live their best lives by working as little as possible, and by spending the least amount of money on furniture. I can see this way of live working well for some people, but horribly for others. The first part of the chapter explains the daily life of a farmer. Thoreau writes about people working their hardest only to revive little to no money in return. The next part of the chapter talks about how throne does not believe in spending money on furniture. He the sums it all up with “In short, I am convinced, both by faith and experience, that to maintain one's self on this earth is not a hardship but a pastime, if we will live simply and wisely; as the pursuits of the simpler nations are still the sports of the more artificial. It is not necessary that a man should earn his living by the sweat of his brow, unless he sweats easier than I do. One young man of my acquaintance, who has inherited some acres, told me that he thought he should live as I did, if he had the means.” Some of what was said in these chapters seemed like gibberish to me due to the different time period that this was written in, but I was able to pick up most of what was said. I agree with what Thoreau had to say about expensive furniture not being necessary, but I do not think people need to live like this. I believe that when it comes to furniture people should be able to choose how much they spend. I do not care If someone wants to spend their own money on an expensive chair. I believe spending a lot of money on furniture is stupid, but I also believe that people can choose how to spend their money. 

The Gym Lobby 

“It is good people who make good places.”
― Anna Sewell

          Place can effect different people in all sorts of ways. Over the course of my time ay Fenn I have made many great memories in the gym lobby. When I wake up every morning I immediately look forward to getting to school and sitting down on the blue couches of the gym lobby. Every morning I can count on the fact that ay least three of my friends will be there. The gym lobby is a place that I can go every morning and relax. Waking up in the morning has always been a struggle for me. Because I live in Concord I get go sleep later than most kids, but in my opinion seven thirty is to early to wake up. I am always mad when I get out of bed, especially on Monday’s.  When I arrive at school on Monday mornings there is no where I would rather be than in my bed. This all changes when I walk into the gym lobby. I am usually fairly late to school so the lobby is packed. Sitting down in the worn down couches provides me with comfort that allows me to settle into the day. Having a place that allows me to settle down has helped me in many ways  throughout my life. A place can change your mood in a matter of seconds. The gym lobby turn anger filled mornings into exiting days. A place can be whatever you want it to be.

walking Through Nature

If you truly love nature you will find beauty in everything.

Laura Wilder 

           Monday afternoon on a long weekend with nothing to do. I decided that I could take a walk through my backyard woods to pass some time. As I walked out the door I looked to my left to see a dirty, blue lacrosse stick sitting in the mud. I had no idea why it was there, but I picked it up and started playing. I found a white ball sitting next to the stick dug into the wet mud. I picked up the ball and threw it into my yard as hard as I could. It soared through the air like a bird in the sky. After five seconds of soaring it landed in a little pond about sixty yards in front of me. There was a splash of dark water in the air and that ball was never seen again.  I continued my walk annoyed about the ball being gone. I began walking towards the water to see if I could find the ball. As I took a third step my foot sank into cold, wet, brown mud. Since I was barefoot I looked down and there was mud all throughout my feet. I turned around and went back in. 

walking Through Nature

If you truly love nature you will find beauty in everything.

Laura Wilder 

           Monday afternoon on a long weekend with nothing to do. I decided that I could take a walk through my backyard woods to pass some time. As I walked out the door I looked to my left to see a dirty, blue lacrosse stick sitting in the mud. I had no idea why it was there, but I picked it up and started playing. I found a white ball sitting next to the stick dug into the wet mud. I picked up the ball and threw it into my yard as hard as I could. It soared through the air like a bird in the sky. After five seconds of soaring it landed in a little pond about sixty yards in front of me. There was a splash of dark water in the air and that ball was never seen again.  I continued my walk annoyed about the ball being gone. I began walking towards the water to see if I could find the ball. As I took a third step my foot sank into cold, wet, brown mud. Since I was barefoot I looked down and there was mud all throughout my feet. I turned around and went back in. 

Agreeing With Walden

”Trendy is the last stage before a tack”

Karl Lagerfield 

           People should not be judged by the cloths they wear or the house they live. In the essay, Economy, by Henry David Thoreau the idea of people’s clothing and shelter not having an effect on who they are as a person. Thoreau states that if a person has found something to do should not have to dress a certain way. “A man who has at length found something to do will not need to get a new suit to do it in; for him the old will do” I agree with everything Thoreau had to say in this essay. I believe that a person does not need to have a nice house or expensive cloths to be successful. Anyone who works hard should be able to find success no matter what. 

Thoreau starts the essay with a section titled cloths. The main thing I took away from these paragraphs was that expensive cloths are unnecessary. I agree with the fact that there is no gain from buying more expensive clothes than others. I think that the culture in today’s day has made kids think that expensive clothes are cool. “Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.” Thai quote made me stop reading and really think. My parents often laugh at what they used to look like when they were my age. After reading this I wonder if I will end up doing the same. The second part of this essay is titled shelter. This section was more confusing to me mostly because of it length, but I think I understand enough to talk about it. I think Thoreau was trying to convey a similar message to clothes. This message being, what is the point of a big house.  “Birds do not sing in caves, nor do doves cherish their innocence in dovecots.” Thoreau questions how necessary it is to have a big house. I agree that having a house with room you do not use is unnecessary, but if every room is used I think it is fine.

What Thoreau states in Clothes, I believe is very relevant in today’s day. There is a popular trend going around where people buy clothes from very expensive brands just to show off. I have done fine with normal clothes my entire life, and I do not plan to ever be tricked into buying these expensive clothes. In Shelter, Thoreau explores the idea of people having bigger and fancier houses for no reason. He compares this to birds not laying their eggs in caves. I agree with what he has to say here. I sometimes find the house I live in to be to big. In my opinion, the perfect house is a house which all rooms are used on a daily basis. Most of what Thoreau wrote in Economy I have thought about before. That is why I agree with almost all that Thoreau explores in these essays. 

In the essay, Economy, the concept of not being judged by your clothes is explored. I agreed with most of what Thoreau said in these passages, but reading this made me wonder what Thoreau would say about more expensive schools.

Lifes Necessities

"Necessity is the mother of invention."

Proverb

            In the section of Walden titled Necessities, Henry David Thoreau wirtes about what he believes to life’s necessities. In the chapter he states that in life you only need food and shelter. I agree with this statement, but living with only food and shelter is a recipe for a terrible life. Choosing to live with only Waldens necessities will be a life filled to the brim with nothing.  Picture being stranded in the woods with nothing but shelter and enough food to last a life time. You will live, but what would you do. In my opinion some kind of family and community is necessary to live. Nothing bad can come out of putting yourself in an environment filled with support. A sense of family is also very important to me. I am lucky enough to have been born into a stable family. Without the help and support of my family I would not be where I am right now. I agree partially with what Walden had to say bout necessities. Food and shelter may be necessary to live, but family and community are necessary to thrive.

A journey into brevity 

Don't let yesterday take up to much of today.

Will Rodgers

Spring:

The snow is melting 

Hockey season is ending

This is very sad

Flowers are blooming

Sun is beginning to shine

Spring is terrific 

Water in the ground

From the icy melted snow 

Spring is coming soon

Massachusetts spring 

Is the same as summer

But a lot colder

These spring poems came to me quiet easily. I tried using somewhat of a twist in all of them, especially the last one. I also tried creating images of the snow on the water in the third poem. I find it hard to creat vivid images with such a small amount of words.

Summer:

It’s finally done

All the painful days at school

It’s finally done

Stress is in the past

The summer is here at last

Three months of nothing

The blinding sun shines

Brighter than a lit candle 

Don’t stare for to long  

Staying up till two

No need to get up early

Waking up at one

Once again I tried using somewhat of a twist in all of these haikus. With the first poem I thought it would be interesting to use the same words for the first and last line. In the third poem I tried to create an image of the sun by comparing it to a candle.

Fall:

Leafs changing color

Summer is sadly ending

Back to school again

The first month of school

Is exiting every year 

Fall is fun at first 

Fall sports are awful 

None of the fall sports are fun 

I hate cross country 

The best part of fall 

Is when it is finally 

Over. Why is Fall 

In these poems I tried focusing less on images and more on creative endings. It seemed generic to me to try and create an image of a leaf changing color.

Winter:

Winter is the best

Hockey is finally back

Christmas is fun too

Family is back

Piles of gifts, lots of food 

Christmas is here 

When Christmas is done 

Winter becomes very sad

Except for hockey

Snow falls from the sky

Phone call is saying no school

Snow days filled with rest

I decided to write the first three poems about my feelings towards Christmas. I tried using image in the first two to describe Christmas. The third poem i tried to make about the joy that snow days bring.