Social Awareness

Day 1:


Article title: Cat Bin Dumper Mary Bale, Fined For Animal Cruelty After Video Surfaces in England


       Lola the Cat received justice after she was dumped in a trash bin by Mary Bale. Mary Bale is a forty five year old bank worker from Coventry. She was fined $395 for harming a four year old tabby. Before Lola was dumped in the trash, Mary picked her up and began to scruff her neck. Lola was eventually found by her owner and was not hurt. Mary Bale received death threats on facebook. She has apologized, but says she did it as a joke. She also said that she thought Lola would wriggle out of the bin.


       Animal cruelty does not only happen in England, but it is something that occurs everyday worldwide. I don't understand why someone would treat animals like if they were nothing. Animals and humans have a lot of things in common. It's true that animals can't speak, but does that make them any different than us? Why would Mary Bale dump an innocent cat in a trash can? Didn't she ever hear of treat others the way you would want to be treated? I can't believe that she is only one of the hundreds of people who abuse animals. It's true that we live in a crazy world.

     Day 2:


Article Title: 3 families Homeless After Fire


       Three families become homeless after their lost their house in a fire. The fire razed through all three house at around 8:30pm. Mohd Fauzi was visiting his relatives when his brother Abd Ghani screamed for help. "I braved myself to rush inside my mother's house and managed to carry her out safely," he quotes. The Rescue Department came at about 8:39pm. The cause of the fire would be investigated.


       I am so shocked that you can be come homeless in a blink of an eye. After researching homelessness, I found out that there are anywhere from 700,000 to 6 million homeless people around the world. Approximately 44% are male, 13% are women, and 36% are families with children. Yes, children are also homeless. It makes me feel so bad that I take everything I have for granted. 

     Day 3:


Article title: Two Deaths Too Many


       Carl Joesph Walker-Hoover an eleven year old, killed himself after being bullied for several months at his Springfield charter school. Phoebe Prince was also bullied at school that brought her to the point where she committed suicide. Carl was a smart and enthusiastic athlete. Some students at his school said that he acted like a girl. He would often tell his mother that he hated the school. On the last day of his life, the school told him and a girl, who he had recently had an argument with, that they had to eat lunch together to learn to get along. That night, his mother found him hanging from the third floor railing.


       I hate the fact that bullying still exists today. Why can't people realize that words and actions affect people more than it seems? Will bullying ever end? Why do bullies think that they are better than anyone else? Is it just because they are bigger or stronger? I just wish that bullies would open their eyes and realize the dangers that they are causing and the consequences that will occur if things get worse.

Day 4:


Article Title: Gangs Grow, but Hard Lines Stirs Doubts


       It began as a party, but ended with a shoot-out. 2 gangs began an argument, then it ended with a death.Treasure Feamster, a 13 year old girl, died when the shots ranged. There is a high crime rate and an increasing number of gang members today. Lawmakers in Raleigh want to create a gang law similar to the law made in Los Angeles. The law  prohibits  public gatherings of two or more people suspected to be gang members. What police commissioner Edward F. Davis is focused on right now is getting the gang members who are actually shooting.


       Gangs are one of the things people fear today. You never know when you can come across them and the number of gang members are growing everyday. Parents sometimes don't even know if their child is in a gang. Although it is becoming very common, a lot of people know a little about what's really happening. I want these bad things to go away. I want to live my life knowing that nothing can go wrong. I know things like gangs will not go away easily, but if we take a step at a time, maybe we will make a difference.

Day 5:


Article Title: First Lady Laura Bush Lends Support To Bullied Gay Teens


Laura Bush is one of the many people who support gay marriage. After she left the white house, she began to continue to protest gay teens from bullies. She quoted," We've read cases of children on the Internet where kids are committing suicide. As adults, we have to be the ones who do something about it." Laura Bush also referred back to the recent suicide of Tyler Clementi. Laura Bush isn' t the only one who supports gay people. Hillary Clinton and President Obama, have videotaped messages of hope directed at gay teens.


I support gay marriage. I feel that anybody has the right to make their own choices, if same-sex people want to get married, who are we to stop them. Bullies should stop bullying gay teens, because they aren't better than anyone else. Everybody is equal. And like Joel Burgs said, "It will get better."

Media/News Immersion Reflection

       I have learned and realized many things during this experience. There are lots of social issues out there in the world that I'm not even aware of. Reading about the issues that I wrote about above, has made me become more aware about problems we face today. I realized that many people don't take action/ fight for what they believe in. I feel, after this experience, that we should not be so layed back. Many of us think that things will change on its own, but it isn't. We should change the world, even if it's in a small way.

Entry #8

This is a poem I wrote inspired by the poem Mother to Son, by Langston Hughes.

Long Way Up the Mountains

Fear not my child

For we are not to deep

The journey's just begun

But it will soon be steep

Fear not my child

The rocky mountains don't mean to scare

But the wind and rocks

I know, I know they aren't fair

Fear not my child

Try to climb the mountain with ease

Don't look down and don't go back

Just remember, you're the only one you need to please

An Appreciation for Bridge To Terabithia

"We need a place," she said, "just for us. It would be so secret that we would never tell anyone in the whole world about it." Jess came swinging back and dragged his feet to a stop. She lowered her voice almost to a whisper. "It might be a whole secret country," she continued, "and you and I would be the rulers of it."

Even after rereading Bridge to Terabithia, these lines still warm my heart. It shows the imagination and the child that still exists within Leslie and Jess have. Kids today lack the imagination that Leslie and Jess have. They would rather be inside playing some sort of video game and/or watching television, but Leslie and Jess would rather be in Terabithia, using their imagination and being a kid. This is what I appreciate about Bridge to Terabithia.

I discovered the book when I was eight, almost the same age as Leslie and Jess, who are ten. It wasn't the cover that caught my eye though, it was the big letters on the back. "A SECRET WORLD OF THEIR OWN," was what it read. The next thing I remember doing was signing the book out on my log and being sucked into it. While reading, I remember imagining that I was with Leslie and Jess. Whenever they would fight giants, ogres, or any other creature who wanted to destroy the peace in Terabithia, I was with them fighting. When I was younger, using my imagination was something I used almost always. Pretending to be the princess of my own secret world was something I remember doing very often. It wasn't much of a surprise to find myself being a character in Bridge to Terabithia.  


Rereading the book at the age of 13, changed the way I thought about parts of the book. While reading it for the first, I did not look for symbols, think about themes, or use any other techniques that made you think about what the text was really saying, but I have learned since then that you should always think deeply about a book. While rereading I constantly reminded myself to ask questions and to read between the lines. On its surface, the book is about two children, who together create Terabithia. After learning that everything is made up of multiple layers, I began to dig deeper and found something almost as valuable as gold! Terabithia wasn't just the world made up by two best friends, it was the only place where Leslie and Jess could escape the "real world." Both Leslie and Jess, had problems and pressure putting them down. Leslie was the new girl in a school, and was the odd one out just because she was herself, and expressed herself differently. She did not wear "girly" clothes and she hanged out with the guys. The other girls in the school acted like if this was a crime and the result was that Leslie became an outcast. Jess had a similar, but different situation. His father expected him to be this "tough guy," but Jess couldn't fulfill that expectation. He had a passion for art, and didn't dare to tell anyone. His dad had made him believe drawing was not a manly thing to do.


Although much hasn't changed since I was little, I tend not to use my imagination as much. Many people have noticed that while getting older, they lost their power of imagination. They stopped imagining, because they were told to grow up or that they should start being more realistic. After rereading Bridge to Terabithia, I learned that imagining is okay, even if you're 13 like me. You actually strengthen your creativity and it contributes to your success in life. Young or old, Jess and Leslie prove that you are never to old to imagine.


Don't be afraid to enter the magical kingdom of Terabithia. Be free, enjoy the magic, and remember that your imagination sets the limits.

Entry #7

To deepen my understanding of Bridge to Terabithia, I first had to learn more about the author, Katerine Paterson. How is she like? What was her inspiration for writing Bridge to Terabithia? These were questions I had in mind while researching. I came across the link:  http://www.terabithia.com/about.html , where my first question was answered. Katerine Paterson is dedicated, intelligent, and strong. She overcame problems she faced in the beginning of her writing life and the problems she had while growing up. I learned that Katerine's first language was Chinese. She knew little about the United states and spoke little English. I wonder if she finds it hard to believe that she became a writer. Overall, she loves what she does and considers herself a fortunate person.

My second question was answered here: http://www.terabithia.com/questions.html . It turns out her inspiration was based on a real life experience. Her son David's bestfriend, Lisa Hill, was stuck and killed by lightning. She tried to make sense out of the tradegy by writing Bridge to Terabithia. I learned that her inspiration is almost always based on her experiences. After reading a small part in the article in the website http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/bridge_to_terebithia.pdf , I predict that she based Leslie on herself. Both of them faced similar problems and they both have similar characteristics. 

After researching, I find myself appreciating the book more. Now that I know more of the author and the book, it'll be easier to understand why Katerine Paterson mentioned certain things in Bridge to Terabithia.

Entry #6

Original note: Bridge to Terabithia and Charlotte's Web have a lot of things in common.


I didn't notice it a first, but after reading a couple of pages of Bridge to Terabitha, I realized that Jess was almost exactly like Wilbur, and Leslie was almost like Charlotte. It all started when Leslie began to join the boys at recess, and every day she would win them at running. Jess believed that running wasn't fun anymore, and it was all Leslie's fault. Jess from then on he disliked her. Not only beacuse she took the fun out of running, but because he knew that he would never be the best runner of the forth and fifth graders. When Wilbur first met Charlotte, Charlotte did not give a good impression as well. Wilbur thought that Charlotte was fierce, brutal, scheming, and bloodthirsty. Both Jess and Wilbur were to discover that they were wrong about Leslie and Charlotte.


Jess and Wilbur also share similar characteristics. Not only are the both judgemental, but the are also shy and fearful. Wilbur feared that he would be killed at Christmastime. Jess feared almost everything. He was afraid to tell his dad about his passion for art, he was afraid to express himself and let go, and finally he was afraid to reach out to people. In order to confront their fears they needed help from the girls. Charlotte prevented Wilbur from being killed by writing on her web and making "miracles". Leslie helped Jess overcome his fears by teaching him how to find himself and by teaching him not to care about what other people think/say. Both Charlotte and Leslie are clever and imaginative.


Sadly, both books ended with death. Charlotte died the day after she layed her eggs, and Leslie died because she drowned. Unlike Jess, Wilbur was able to say goodbye to his bestfriend.


Not only do the books share similar themes, but they also share similar characters. Charlotte's Web and Bridge to Terabithia prove that books that may look different, actually have things in common.