The Kite Runner- Chapters 18-20

1) He is starting to show how guilty he feels towards other people. He begins to realize how much like Baba he is. Just like Baba, Amir betrayed a very close friend and did not feel guilt at first. To make up for the guilt Baba paid for Hassan's nose repair. Amir after finding out the kids are starving tries to give them money by leaving it around the house.

2) Kabul is completely different becoming a war torn zone. When Amir returns he says he can hardly recognize the city. Buildings are destroyed, beggars every where, some of them children no older than six years. Amir also sees that many of the children are sitting with their mothers and not with a father, due to all the fathers being busy fighting. The kite shops that were once powering businesses no longer appear anywhere in Kabul. All the trees no longer exist because many were cut down in order for people to have firewood, and to reduce the number of snipers. Baba's orphanage that he had built was destroyed a few years before Amir's return. The city no longer has steady electricity so they are forced to use diesel fuel which gives off a terrible smell.

3) In order to feel atonement for what he had done to Hassan, I think Amir will take in Hassan's son to lessen his feeling of guilt. I think that something dramatic will happen to Amir that will open his eye's to everything he has done to the people who loved him the most.

The Kite Runner- Chapters 8-9

What are your thoughts around Amir now? Has he taken steps towards making things with Hassan right? or has he made them worse? Explain.

Obviously Amir is struggling to with his actions. What was the purpose of the scene with the pomegranates? What is Amir searching for from Hassan?

Characterization: what do we learn further about Amir, Hassan, and Assef in this section?

3rd MP Reflection & 4th MP Preview

1)    I did very well on theme #6. It was one of my better papers that I have written out of all my themes. It was one that I connected with very easily so finding what to write about was easier than the other themes. I got an 89 out of 100 and I can see what I did wrong and made a lot of corrections and worked on things that I struggled with on previous papers. I could have done a little better but the mistakes that were made were things that if I reviewed it a little longer and more times then I would have caught them before it was too late. I enjoyed writing this theme and I have no problem with the grade I got, I would have loved for it to be higher but I got what I deserved.

2)   My group did very well on the project. I am glad with the grade I got and think it was well deserved. We got a 99 out of 100 which is something I will gladly take. The effort that was put in for the project showed up in the end. The topic we did it about was something that I enjoyed a lot and had a lot of fun researching more information. I was able to take all I learned and applied it to my parts of the project and did what I could to make the end result look as best as it could.

3)   I still have high expectations for the 4th marking period. I know that we still have to do work even though just like myself many are committed to college. As much as I would like to not do anything and relax for the rest of the year, I know things will pick up a little bit then slow down. I can't wait to finish up the year and see what happens in the 4th marking period.

IR Blog Post 3

Connections & Questions- "My Finger! My Finger!" as I discovered that I had gashed my finger on the zipper and was dripping blood in a lively manner." (Bryson 249)

I too, had something very similar happen to me just as it did to Bill. I was packing my bags to get ready for my trip and when I was done I tried to close one of the pockets by zipping up the zipper. When I tried it refused to move and wouldn't give at all. I pulled as hard as I could until I was able to get it to jiggle a little. To help pull I put my finger on the zipper to get a better grip. Once I pulled I felt a tight pinch and then my finger start to throb. At first I was in shock that I had no clue what happened and continued to try and close my bag until I saw blood getting all over my bag. Apparently I caught the tip of my finger in the zipper part and yanked and had a good size gash in my finger. I had to go to the hospital and got a couple stitches, leaving with everything being alright.
This quote was perfect because it was something that I could relate to personally. My experience was very similar helped show a connection to the book. There were other quotes that could have been used but this one stood out to me more. Many people go through the same thing as me and Bill did and I felt this captured all of what happens when something like this does occur.

Now that Bill is back living in America does he intend to explore more? travel again?

Will he continue to write stories like this or does he have any others that are fiction and somewhat based off his life or in any type of genre?

IR Blog Post 2

Events & Places- Airport- Bill flies so much that he joined a frequent flyers club and wanted to try and use his miles. When he went to get his card at first he couldn't find it. He looked every where, in every pocket, and in all his bags until he found it in a pair of pants at the bottom of his luggage. When he hands the man behind the counter his card and I.D., the man looks at it for a minute then calls for Bill's attention. Apparently his card was under the B. Bryson and his I.D. said W. Bryson. Even though it was the same name and Bill tried to explain it he would not let him fly. After arguing with many managers, Bill and his family are able to get a couple free flights.

Television- When Bill had first lived in America his television only had 4 channels which everyone knew what was on and watched it at the same time. Now that he is back in America he realizes how obsessed we are with T.V. by seeing how many different channels there are. His television now has over 150 channels which when he first had one was unheard of. There are about 10 or more channels for just one type of topic. People get channels for things they are not even interested in. He felt that this was the reason that so many people get hooked on T.V, you get hundreds of channels of something that if you don't like one thing there is a channel out there you will.
Memory Loss-  When it comes to remembering things Bill said his wife can remember everything up to the last detail. He talks about how his memory is so bad that if he was ever arrested and asked where he was at a certain date and time he would have no way of ever remembering and would have a better shot at just sticking his hands out and accepting his arresting. When talking to his wife about people he met at a place called Big Bear Lake, he can't remember a single one. After spending an entire week with them his memory is shot about ever meeting them.
Symbols- Stupidity- Bill and his family bought a flat in London using a leasehold, which gives them up until the year 2061. For the entire time Bill must maintain it by keeping it clean and making sure everything works. The thing about it is that by the time the lease is up Bill expects to be gone leaving the bank and realtor in a bit of a dilema for what will happen is he passes before 2061. This just shows how easy it is to lease a house and find a way to never have to worry about it again. 
Rules for Living- Bill comes up with sort of a list of rules that if followed would make the world a much better place. He talks about certain things that are needed to be done and certain things that should be avoided. He also talks about different things that will help make your life easier and things that will make things crappier. The last rules are to help whoever is reading understand how things work and how you should use them.
The Town- Bill talks about how his town that he moved to follows how most little small towns run. They have a library, school, and little stores in the town. Bill talks about how the library does its annual town report to check up on how things are going. He also says about how it can be up to 132 pages and is just filled with whatever is happening in the town. It talks about all the incidents that the police were involved in and all the calls the fire company had to take. This is a very big thing for the town and plays a big role in how Bill looks at the town and community.

IR Blog Post 1

People- In this last section of the book Bill does not bring in any main characters, but does touch base on a few mentioned and past instances with people. 
Rental Car Man- Bill talks about how he has been back in the United States for around 2 years and still can not get used to life here. He brings up about one time when he tried to rent a car while at an airport and all the trouble he had to go through to get it. When talking to the car person they ask him if he would like certain kinds of coverages for things he has never heard of in his life. Then when he tries to get the man to explain, Bill doesn not know a thing and just agrees to get everything the man tells him to end the conversation. At the end he tells him where the car will be, while Bill has to search and hopefully pray that he can find the car in time.
Flight Attendant- Bill talks about how airlines still use 1955 ways to fly. He talks about how flight attendants will continually do the demonstration of how the life vest work even though a 5 year old would be able to do it without being explained to. One flight Bill saw that the plane had a life boat for a plane of 150 people. When Bill ask the attendant about them she angrily explains they are there for safety reasons and she has no control over it. This causes her to be angry and not help him out ignoring his complaints.
Coffee Man- He goes to a coffee shop to order a regular cup of coffee but ends up having a wonderful trip. After waiting behind 20 people, when it was Bill's turn he ordered a regular coffee which caused the man behind the counter to look in awe. After fighting for 10 minutes the man hands him a coffee to which he took the coffee and left due to other customers complaining about him taking too long.
Themes & Ideas- Bad Luck- One time Bill dropped his 14-ounce can of tobacco while trying to organize things. At the same time he cut his finger on his zipper and it started to gush blood. This came after he was on a plane and went to tie his shoe. As his body was down the person in front of him put his seat back and trapped Bill in a tight spot causing him to hurt his head and body. Later while on the plane he ordered a drink, but quickly it spilled onto the lady next to him. The flight attendant cleaned it up and then brought Bill another drink. As soon as the drink was put down it some how spilled again onto the same lady causing her to start a scene with Bill and the flight attendant. This leads to Bill getting switched to another seat and having to sit around 4 littles babies all crying. 
Play on Words-  He talks about how so many words used in the English language are used as they sound. When certain words are said you can picture what is being described. Haggis is a food but any person who does not know what it is would think it is some type of disease. This is just like the words globule and scrapie.

R.A.F.T Peru

Role- Me
Audience-Teacher
Format- Op/Ed
Topic- Wild Card (Obstacles/ Challenges)


When the guys had gotten to Peru, things started to get worse. They ran out of money and still had no bike so they were forced to find their own way around. This led to them not having any place to go to avoid the cold or even get something to eat. The way they are able to overcome their coldness is very smart in finding any twigs or materials that will burn to make a fire before they became completely frozen and died. When the fire didn't work they took the next option of trying to walk in the cold wind and continue to find somewhere warmer. With the hunger, they were able to make it until they found someone who gave them bread and cheese. Another obstacle/challenge they have to face it making it to the top of Machu Picchu. It takes a while to get to the top and reach Machu Picchu so anyone who tries to make it faces a very tough challenge. The biggest obstacle Ernesto faces now is finding himself. He is in the middle of becoming the Che we know him as today, while still fighting to stay as Ernesto the boy who began his trip as an adventure with his friend.  

IR Blog Post 3

Connections & Questions- In the book on page 113 Bill talks about how "Americans will spend around 2 billion dollars on movie tickets and food in the theater from a period between Memorial Day and Labor Day." 
I am one of those people who spend a good amount of money on movie tickets because there will be a span of weeks where more and more movies will come out all rated very well. No matter what people say that they won't go to the movies something new comes out and they break their promise. Bill talks about how they would go to the movies 3 or 4 times a week with his family to see new movies that came out. This is similar to when I was down the shore with my family over the summer. Right behind our house was a movie theater and it seemed like every week a new movie would come out. Our family would walk over atleast 3 days of the week to see something. 

"In New England, a friend here recently explained to me, the year divides into three parts. Either winter has just been, or winter is coming, or it's winter."


This reminded me of a time when I went on a cruise and a kid I met from Austrailia asked what our "seasons" were. Since it was just after winter had came, I told him our years are like this winter is either on its way, it just passed, or it is winter. Spring and summer and autumn all transition into each other very well with nothing as bad as snow happening. Most people in the northeast know the year to be in three different parts instead of 4 seasons.

IR Blog Post 2

Symbols- Cupholders- Bill talks about how Americans are obsessed with having cupholders in their cars. People will get many cupholders, even more than are needed for how many people the car seats. He talks about a car that he saw that seated 7 people but had 14 cupholders. That means that each person gets 2 cupholders for themselves when people do not need to have 2 to themselves. 
CD Tray- Cupholders were first thought of when a man called a computer place saying that his "cupholder" broke off of his computer. When they asked how he got a cupholder on his computer he replied "when i push the button, the cupholder comes out and I can put my coffee cup in it.
Customer Appreciation Day- He talks about how in America and especially where he lives the post office every once in a while will have a customer appreciation day, where they will give out doughnuts and other treats to customers. In Britian, things are very busy and they do not show any appreciation to customers taking care of too many things at once.


Themes & Ideas-
Laziness- A researcher at the University of California at Berkeley found that Americans are becoming lazier and lazier every year. People no longer walk the average of 75 miles a year like times before only walking about 1 mile a week. Bill admits that he has noticed that he became lazier once he moved back to the US. He said he chose to live in the town they do because everything is within walking distance of all the places he needs to go to. 
Health- Bill and his wife go to the grocery store to go food shopping. While there Bill's wife stays only in the healthy foods section and complains when Bill tries to get "bad" food. She tells him everything he gets he must eat all of it or else he can never get it again. By the time he is about half way done all his "junk" food he tries to find anything healthy to eat.
Intrusion- Clothing stores have every legal right to spy on you while you are trying on their clothes. This is to ensure that no one sneaks anything into a purse or under clothes to steal thier items. One time when Bill's wife was shopping she had put something into her purse by accident when changing mixing up her's and the store's clothes. When she left the changing rooms a man in a nice suit came up and asked to see what was in her purse. After emptying and finding the items the man let her go saying to not do it again.

IR Blog Post 1

People- Bill and his wife- In the book Bill talks about a time him and his wife went to the grocery store because when she went alone she would get only healthy foods. He talks about how when they were there his wife made him stay in the healthy foods section and how American supermarkets are 3% healthy foods and 97% junk food. 
Walt- He is Bill's carpentry man who works on their house. Bill describes him as a man who looks 112 years old. He lives near Bill so he does a lot of work for the Bryson's. Bill describes a time when Walt was late coming to Bill's house and when he got there he said he was late due to traffic in Norwich was too fierce. The way he says Norwich confuses Bill because the accent he says it with does not match where he said he was from.
Bill's Friend- Bill talks about how drugs in America are looked at with much paranoia. He tells about his friend who work for a large manufacturing company that handled different drugs. One night his friend went to the tavern right across from the building, when he was approached by a woman he didn't know. She asked if he could get her marijuana, with her knowing that he was apart of the company. Saying nothing to her but "Here take this" and handing her a card, he was fired for abetting and encouraging the use of an illegal substance. He didn't give her any, or encourage it, and he never said he did it himself, but because he gave the woman, who was the companies spy, their business card he was fired.
Bill's Father- Bill mentions his father for the first time in the book. He talks about memories he has with him when he was younger. Bill admits to feeling like he grew into him from the way he looks to the way he acts. He talks about how he enjoys making slogans and license plates and how his father would always like everything he came up with.

Events & Places- Vermont- This is where Walt lives the carpenter for the Bryson's. Since they live in New Hampshire it is very easy for Walt to get there to help out a lot more.
Connecticut River- This seperates Walt and the Bryson's. It is the river Walt crosses in order to get to the town that they live in.
New Hampshire- He talks about how New Hampshire is about 85% woods and how when he goes on walks he can get lost very easily because of how dense the forest are. He talks about two stories that are talked about but never solved in his area. A plane crashed in the woods and the plane, people, and any luggage were never found. Also there was a story about a couple that went for a walk and went a little bit off the trail and ended up never being seen again. 

IR Blog Post 2

Connection: In the story Bill goes to the barbershop to get a haircut and this is what was said. "So what would you like me to do with this?" "Just a simple tidy-up," I say looking up at him. "See any styles up there you like?" says the barber.
This part of the story I thought I had a close connection to because just like Bill everytime I go to the barbershop for a haircut it suddenly becomes the hardest thing in the world to do. It seems like barbershop people only know how to do the styles they have pictures of and anything outside of it is too advanced. Also like Bill when I ask for a certain style it breaks down into how about this way or what about this way, and what I thought was only going to be a few minutes now turns into a 20 minute fiasco.


Another connection to the story can be found when Bill tries to set up his computer and has trouble finding things. He calls the helpline and finds out they really are no help at all. "Sir, can you tell me the serial number?" ask the man on the helpline. "Where would I find that?" I respond. "It's on the bottom of the CPU functional dysequilibrium unit." After an akward silence the man ask "Is your model the Z-40LX Mulitmedia HPii or the ZX46/2Y Chromium B-BOP?"

I had something very similar to this happen to me one day. My parents had gone away for the weekend and we had gotten a new computer. Me thinking I was the smartest guy tried to set it up but quickly found out I was no brainiac. When I tried pluging in something it wouldn't work and since my parents were away the only thing I could do was try to call the helpline number that came with the computer. When I called I thought things were going to be easy they would tell me what to do and then I would be on my way, boy was I wrong. The guy on the other line asked me a bunch of questions using terms I never even knew existed, telling me plug the hydruxulator into the hoplator, which can be found next to the titainium carborator. For almost an hour I had the guy try to explain what he said over and over again until I eventually realized nothing was being gained from this and just hung up. I decided that from then on I would never call one of those helplines ever again.

IR Blog Post 3

Symbols: Technology- While the author was in Britain for 20 years the technology in America got way more advanced. He mentions that in Britain they have very few television shows and one that really stuck out to him because it was the only one on at the time he was able to watch TV was Open University. This was a show were a professor would give a lecture and students would watch and then later would be tested on what was told. He noticed when he came back to America there were many shows just like this that he had never known about.
His Past- He says that the thing he missed most was baseball, the sport of America's pastime. Bill talks about how it is a key thing in his life and that no matter where he lives that it will never leave his life.
He talks about lessons that he learned when he was younger that have helped him develop into who he was today.
Drugs- Drugs are brought up a good amount of times especially on how addicted Americans are to drugs and how they will spend so much money not only fighting against them but at the same time buying them. He says how British people don't look to over-the-counter drugs to help change their lives and when something is wrong they help themselves differently instead of wasting their money. Drugs are seen in magazines, commercials, and newspaper ads everywhere you look in America, but in Britian only a very few ads are seen.

Themes & Ideas: Enjoyment of the little things- In the book he mentions a lot of different little things that help make his life a lot better. He talks about how people get so stressed out about things and can't take enjoyment of the little things life has to offer. If you enjoy as many little things as you can eventually something big will come along.
Intelligence- People are not very intelligent. Companies have to put directions on products because people can not use their brains long enough to understand how to do things. He does not call out any specific group of people but as a whole America tends to not grasp things as quickly as other countries.
Food- No matter where you go there are always restaurants that try to make a name of a food sound fancier than it is so that you will want to buy. Even though this only causes confusion and Bill talks about a time he and his wife went out to eat and he asked for a steak but the waiter said they only have a fancy type of steak and that calling it steak is an insult.

IR Blog Post 1

People:  Bill Bryson- main character, traveled to Europe and this story is his life after he returned back 20 years later.
Simon Kelner- Friend of Bill, journalist, asked Bill to write for his magazine which lead to the book being written.
 The only other people mentioned so far are the town people and his family. He doesn't talk much about his family so far so we are not sure much about them at this point.


Places: London- Bill moved to England and lived there for 20 years until he decided to move back to the US. It was there he met his wife and got married. They had 4 kids the grew up in Europe for about 8 years until they moved to the United States.
Hanover, New Hampshire- Place he moves back to after living in London for 20 years. He had lived there before he moved and felt that it was the best place for him and his family to come back to to settle down.
Post Office- He mentions post offices multiple times throughout the story and the differences between American and English post offices. The post office he visits in America is very friendly, helpful people, and the workers have only one mindset, whatever postal matters need to be dealt with are handled nothing else. He compares it to an English post office where it is pretty chaotic and the workers take interest in matters outside of postal concerns.

TMD Preview

Glenn Beck Video Post

• I have only heard little things about Che that I can not say I was shocked or angry about was said by Glenn Beck and the other man. Once I find out more about Che from other sources that are not biased to his ideas.

• Since I do not have much knowledge about Che and what he did, I don't have a one sided reaction. I will listen to both sides of the argument before I pick which side I want to believe more. Aside from Glenn Beck and his guest's attitude points they were saying could have been true but a lot was extreme. 

• Glenn Beck loves to yell and has a biased opinion on the topic. If there is something he loves to talk about he will and at a very loud tone to draw in people. If he was quiet when talking, no one would want to listen to him. 

• From the clip Glenn Beck appears to believe that Che was a terrible man. He and the guest feel that wearing a shirt with his picture on it is like going around wearing a Hitler t-shirt. He also compares the two by saying that Che killed more people in 3 years than Hitler during the Holcaust. Like I had said before he talks very loud and with inflection in his voice. If someone is monotone when talking people lose interest very quickly, so he uses his voice loudly. 

RAFT Introduction

Role- Me
Audience- Classmates
Format- 2 (Tweet)
Topic- What do you expect to study this M.P?


I expct 2 study about a young man & his friends jurney across South America I will get to c how he turned into the man he is known as today.

180' South Reflection

 "It's like the quest for the holy grail. Who gives a [darn] what the grail is, its the quest that counts...its the transformation that is within you that is important."   


1) This quote is in my opinion what his whole trip was about. He originally had one goal in mind and that was to get to Patagonia before the ice melted. This was Jeff and his crew's holy grail. Along the way they run into problems that cause them to have to pick choices they weren't expecting. After they get to Patagonia and try to climb the mountain but are not able to, the holy grail changes to how can they help Yvon and Doug before they have to return home. On the trip everyone involved was transformed by the time they were ready to go back.


2) I am starting my second semester of my senior year and according to my parents my holy grail is college. I have always had second thoughts about what I plan to do for the next for years and by the end of this year I think I will have a new holy grail. Going from high school to college is a big step in anyone's life who gets the opportunity to go. Personally I want to explore the world and see what lies beyond this chunk of land called America. I don't have a set holy grail for now but I know that in a few months I will have the transformation of a lifetime. 

Theme #4 Reflection

1) I did alright on this theme as compared to the other themes we have had. I thought I did better than my grade but because I did not follow all of the directions my grade is deserved. I was able to show a strong connection of colors to racial beliefs. I was able to improve my transitions from paragraph to paragraph.

2) I am starting to get better and better on my transitions. I was able to make each paragraph flow into each other. I used quotes that I found in the novel that showed very strong connections to what was looked upon on the theme. The only problem that I had was not following TICAP instructions.

3) I can improve on using TICAP. I need to gain a better knowledge for how to use TICAP. I can also spend a lot more time and get more people to edit my paper.

MP #2 Reflection- Looking Back and Moving Forward

1)  The 2nd marking period was probably the one with the most work of my senior year. It was kind of what I expected and handled it as I could. I don't think I did the best job with keeping up with the invisible man work as far as the Bloom's notes but the rest I was able to keep up with. On both my symposiums I was able to contribute as much as I could with my second chance at the task. All the projects, papers, and blog post I did and on time which helped my understanding of the book. Invisible Man is very confusing to read, but with all the work and discussions we went over all help make the book easier to read.

2)  I did well on my themes, symposiums, and IRP's. I did a lot better than the first marking period by keeping up with the papers and homework. I could have done and will try to improve on doing all my homework and making sure it is all correct and complete. I will also spend a lot more time on papers making sure I hit every category that is required. For the the third and fourth marking periods I will make sure if there is anything I am confused about I will get help from Mr. Gabriele or any student before having to turn it in late.

3)  With lacrosse starting I am going to need to balance my school work and sports. I will need to make sure I don't slack behind in any classes and keep all my grades up. I hope to have a great second half of the year and make sure nothing like last year happens to me again.

IM Section VI

1) The most important thing of this section I feel is Brother Clifton's funeral. The narrator talks at the funeral which ends up starting a rally. The slogan of the rally, in which signs were held saying Brother Tod Clifton, Our Hope Shot Down. This is important because he was shot and killed by police for doing nothing but bumping into an officer. The speech the narrator gave caused much more problems then helped people grieve. He tells the people that soon Tod Clifton will be just bones in the ground. The only way they can get out of the dark box is by teaching the cops that they can't just kill people who get them angry, especially if they are another race.

2) I think the most intense part of the book is when Ras and the narrator get into it. Ras sends people to follow the narrator. He realizes that Ras is trying to attack the Brotherhood and thinks going after the narrator is the best choice. As the narrator is walking past the movie house the men that were following him grab him and start punching him. Luckily the doorman from the movie house was able to stop it before it got out of hand, but him getting followed and attacked I feel was the most intense of the section.

3) I think the most confusing thing in this section was Rinehart and how everyone he kept running into thought he was Rinehart. The lady, the people following him, and the cop all called him Rinehart but he had no clue what they were talking about. The narrator's name may be Rinehart and because he got lobotomized it may be who he is but he may not remember.

IR MP #2 Blog Assignment Relfection

1) I really liked this type of independent reading project. It didn't have me only stuck reading a book, I got to look up new stories in types of readings I probably wouldn't read much about had it not been an assignment. The old style of picking a book, reading it, and then a big project due at the end is too boring and doesn't let you explore what is new going on in this world. It was great and I would definitely would suggest future classes use this method rather than the old one.

2) I got to learn a lot especially from reading other people's blogs. I get to see what other people are interested in and also the views of people on certain topics. Since there were different categories for each blog post, I wasn't only reading something about sports. Had this not been a project, I don't think that I would explore as much into other topics as I did with this.

3) I would not change a thing except maybe add more areas that the kids can find articles for. It was a great idea to have us pick 1 from three different types mixing it up so I suggest keeping that the same. As for anything else there isn't anything that I would change.

4) As far as blog post, no. As far as reading more articles and other people's blogs, yes. I enjoy reading what other people write and getting to see different views on ideas. It was fun blogging but I do not think I want to keep doing it on my own. Had it not been something we had to do for school, I really don't think I would have started blogs.

IR Blog Post 4- careersandcollege.com

http://www.careersandcolleges.com/tp2/cnc/articles/view.do?cat=training-articles-and-advice&article=how-balance-academics-and-athletics


How To Balance Academics and Athletics


1)  Many athletes get out of school with only one thing in mind, getting ready for practice while knowing they have a big essay due the next day. Lots of these stars end up messing up or screwing around during practice because they have other things stuck on their mind. What ends up happening is that by the time the practice is over the kids are so tired they just want to go home and sleep but are forced to stay up to finish any work that is due the next night. Kids will stay up as late as they need to finish the work and end up only getting a few hours of sleep.

2) Studies have shown that performance decreases due to lack of sleep. Many student athletes get caught up in this lack of sleep because after being exhausted from a practice or game have to go home and finish a 4 page paper due the next day. They should do the work before but a lot have important things to focus on aside from school work that could help set up their future, knocking sleeping out of the list of important things. Those kids have shown lower grades, test scores, and showing up to class late. They are either sleeping during class or have their minds wandering, either way it is not healthy physically and mentally.

3) In some cases playing a sport has helped an athlete do better in school, while they are able to gain more energy to stay up later. This energy allows the student to be able to do their work and not stay up rediculous hours of the night. Also being an athlete helps kids have an incentive to want to do better in school knowing that what dictates them from playing is not only how they do on the field but also off. Many times there will be around 20-30 minutes until you have a practice or game and most of the time people don't know what to do. The best thing is to either do some work to knock time off later or even take a power nap which has helped shown better results in the past.


1) Can playing sports actually help you do better in school?

2) Should athletes be given a little help with teachers knowing they have a long practice or game?


http://studentactivism.net/2010/09/29/cutting-sports-to-balance-the-books/

This article is about how a school is dropping 4 athletic programs in order to help reduce the amount of time being spent on a field or in a gym rather then in a library. It will be able to get more money to help students have better programs and study areas to allow those late night assignments to be done with ease. Even though it is not fair to those students who's sport is being dropped, the record has shown they are the sports in the school with the lowest gpa's. By cutting programs or even players it allows them to focus on academics over athletics helping set their future up to look better.

IR Blog Post 4- news.yahoo.com

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110107/ap_on_sc/us_sci_dead_wildlife_fact_check


Mass Birds/Fish deaths occur Regularly


1) This year's New Years Eve was unlike any other that we have experienced. A large amount of animals all mysteriously died on the exact day in different locations. Over 2 million fish were found dead in the Chesapeake Bay, 150 tons of red tilapia in Vietnam, and over 40,000 crabs were dead in Britian. Many people believe this "aflockalypse" is either environmental or biblical. Biologists that were asked about the topic stated that mass deaths of animals occur a lot and are typically just brushed over when brought up. No one knows exactly what caused the deaths but people all over are desperately trying to find the facts.

2) Since 1970, things like this have been seen from disease, poison, or unknown causes, cases have always been around. In the last eight months, there has been a recorded 95 mass animal deaths that have occured in America. These include 900 turkey vultures that died in the Florida Keys, 4,300 ducks that were killed by parasites in Minnesota, 1,500 salamanders that died from a virus in Idaho, and 2,000 bats that died from rabies in Texas. Depending on how severe and even what kind of animal, many cases are not reported as many show no concern for the matter.

3) Many blame the weather, others blame the sky for becoming deadly and unleashing something that cause the sudden death of over 1,000 birds. No one is sure but more and more test in the area are being taken to find out what happened and also prevent something else like this from occuring again. As many scientists have seen, many of the deaths are from animals that have a large population, but lots bring up the point that there is an even bigger mass death going on and its all the humans fault.


1) Will the scientists and people ever know what really caused the deaths?

2) Is there some possible connection to what occured on New Year's Eve?


http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/7783602-government-is-seeking-for-the-truth-behind-the-mysterios-mass-bird-death-in-arkansas

The article is about how the government is trying hard to figure out what caused the sudden death of thousands of animals around the world. A lot of local citizens feel that it might be due to weapons testing from the military and that they may be in harm's way. The problem with what happened is that they happened around the world not only in the United States, so the government can't spend as much time trying to solve the mystery, especially with the House being changed and both parties are taking different views on the situation. All that can be done now is to wait for the truth and hopefully nothing of this scale happens any time soon.

IR Blog Post 4- rivals.yahoo.com

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/blog/dr_saturday/post/Stanford-rejoice-Andrew-Luck-turns-down-more-mo?urn=ncaaf-304360

Andrew Luck turns down more money than you'll ever see to stay in school

1) Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck turned down a large amount of money to attend school for his senior year. Luck was predicted to be the first pick of the 2011NFL draft, with a contract of $60 million dollars waiting for him just to say yes. Even though he is predicted to be the top pick of the 2012 draft, when he will eligible, the amount of money is will be losing is greatly. By next year about $40 million of the $60 million offered will disappear. NFL quarterbacks are some of the highest paid players in the league and even though next year he probably will not go low in the draft, the chances of him getting injured during his senior year are higher.

2) In the past, many players have done really well their junior year and are eligible for the draft and large sums of money. Many turn these offers down to return for one more year to finish up schooling at Stanford. The team last year did not do as well as expected and him taking the NFL deal would be best for him. This would not only give him a better chance to do better in the NFL, but will help him make more money in the future. Now with the NFL putting in a rookie salary cap, he will not make anywhere near what he could be making had he chose the NFL over Senior Year. Luck could come his way and Stanford might be able to win a national championship, but those chances are far from happening with the team only able to make it to the Orange Bowl.

3) Choices like this have very big impact on players that many fans do not see. Now not only are the expectations for him to be dominate high, but the performance of the team and the pressure the next year senior quarterback will face may get to him. Last year, Sam Bradford played his senior year after getting offered to play in the NFL in 2010. At the beginning of the season he injured his shoulder and his team got knocked out of the chance to win the national championship. He was lucky to be able to recover and ended up being the number one pick for the St.Louis Rams in the 2010 draft. Hopefully Luck is lucky and does very well his senior year.


1) Do you think that Luck turning down the chance to play in the NFL will hurt him for next year?

2) How do you think Luck is going to respond to the pressure from the fan's expectations for him?


http://usc.ocregister.com/2011/01/06/stanford-qb-andrew-luck-will-return-for-junior-season/58350/


The article is about how Luck feels getting his degree is more important than the big bucks. He is finishing up studying architectural design and is hoping that after the NFL he can use his degree to find a good job. Many players don't think about that when given the choice and immediately think about the huge amount of money that is being offered. Since I have never been in a position where I had to decide between getting $60 million a year to play a sport I love or finish getting my degree. Luck made his decision and now all people can do is wait and see what happens at the start of the college football season.