Do the First Australians Deserve an Apology?

For over 40,000 years, the aboriginal people of Australia had lived peacefully. The one day, in the year 1788, English colonists stormed in and claimed the land for their own. As the years went by, the aboriginals were murdered and oppressed. That, in itself, was horrible enough. However, in the year 1869, things quickly became much worse. Half-castes (biracial children with a white father and an aboriginal mother) were forcibly removed from their aboriginal mothers and sent to live in camps, in an attempt to make the aboriginal population 'die out'. For the mistreatment of their people and the stealing of their children, the First Australians deserve an apology.

The Rabbit-Proof Fence: Is Molly Craig a Hero?

Fourteen-year-old Molly Craig pulls her sister and cousin to their feet and leads them out of the half-caste childrens' camp to which they have been forcefully removed. Dictionary.com defines a 'hero' as someone of distinguished courage and ability, admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities. In this context, yes, Molly Craig is indeed a hero. I, however, think otherwise. In my opinion (and I'm sure many will agree), Molly's spontaneous decision to pull Daisy and Gracie from the camp was based entirely on her own needs. Not once did she pause to ask Daisy or Gracie what they wanted to do. She pulled her family away from the safety, shelter and food that was the half-caste camp, and lead them into the wild desert of Australia. I do not disagree entirely with the dictionary definition: heroes should indeed be courageous and admired. However, they should also be compassionate and selfless - two characteristics that Molly fails to exhibit in her decision to run away.

Learning Profiles

I learn best when I'm up and moving instead of just sitting down the entire class, as well as by focusing on the big picture of something instead of looking at it bit by bit. Focusing to the context of something and its emotional relevance to myself also helps me to learn at the highest possible level. Sitting in a part of the classroom where I can access my left ear and eye would be highly beneficial to me, and taking part in activities that encourage me to use the non-dominant parts of my body would also be helpful. I'd like my teacher to know that I'm a kinesthetic learner, and I learn through movement. Hopefully there will be more opportunities in class in the future for us to get up and move.

8th Grade Wordle.

Courage.

       Courage was the characteristic that most prompted Brunelleschi to succeed in the construction of his dome. The first time he spoke about his plan to build the enormous dome without any scaffolding, he was thrown out of the room and labeled as crazy. When he returned later to prove his theory, he faced the disapproval of all the magistrates. But Brunelleschi didn’t back down; he asked the magistrates to attempt to balance an egg on its point. When they failed to do so, he lightly tapped the point of the egg on the table, cracking the shell. The egg stood straight up on the table. He stood up to everyone who had mocked him earlier, and showed them that they just needed to think out of the box - that exhibited true courage.

my favorite short story from this unit.

       I've always loved stories with a bit of suspense. That feeling of 'what's going to happen next?' is what glues me to a book and keeps me from putting it down.  However, despite the abundance of suspense in 'The Sniper', it's not my favorite story from this unit - I've just never been a fan of war stories. 'Lamb to the Slaughter' was suspenseful, dramatic and had an unexpected plot twist at the ending. I think one of the most enjoyable aspects of the story is the change in mood. During the exposition, Mary Maloney is sitting at home and the overall mood is very tranquil. You start to get the feeling that something is wrong when Mr. Maloney gets home, and when Mary kills him the mood of the story changes completely. I thought that this really contributed to the story: making it entertaining to read, and overall my favorite story of the unit.