My Book of the Month

My book of the month is Peak. The book Peak was written by Roland Smith. This book will peak your attention because it is very exciting and suspensful. The main point of my book is that the main character, Peak Marcello, is trying to become the youngest person to climb Mt. Everest. I am reading this book because every event in it has grabbed my attention with a little comedy mixed in, making it the ideal book that I want to read. I would give this book a 9 out of 10 because all of the scenes in the book are very interesting and the author gives this book a little twist instead of the normal book, making it a must-read. This book is also appropraite for all ages because there is no violence and all the events would hook any reader of any age.

flickriver.com

O Henry's Life

Facts About his Life

• O Henry was born in Greensboro, North Carolina on September 11, 1862.
• William Sydney Porter is his real name. O Henry is his pen name.
• O Henry's mother died when he was three, so he was raised by one of his grandmothers and an aunt.
• O Henry loved to read in his free time.
• O Henry worked for the Houston Post starting in 1884 but in 1897, he was convicted of embezzling money, so he was sentenced to prison for five years.
• O Henry made a huge comeback after he was released from prison, writing over 300 short stories while becoming world renown
• O Henry wrote his stories with a lot of detail and realistically while still being creative based on his first hand experiences in New York City
• O Henry used a pen name to make sure his readers didn't know he was in jail
• O Henry died on June 5, 1910 in New York City
• O Henry was also an alcoholic where he died wihtout knowing it

Sources for Information- http://www.lsjunction.com/people/porter.htm and http://www.online-literature.com/o_henry/

emergingwriter.blogspot.com

Masque of the Red Death Essay

Adam Beard

Mrs. Zurkowski

Yellows

27 October, 2010

            In The Masque of the Red Death written by Edgar Allan Poe, the purple room symbolizes many things from the toddler to preteen years. The purple room is the second most eastern room in the castle, right next to the blue room. The color purple symbolizes the fun years as a young child up until preteen years. It also symbolizes the learning years where young children learn and adjust to the world. This color also symbolizes the season of spring as the young children are still getting used to the lives of others and adapting to the normal things done in the world. Also, in the toddler to preteen years, there are no worries and no stress in these people. Everything is all good and calm in these ages too where nothing ruins their happiness. The color purple is located in the second to most eastern room where fun and great times are abundant and lives are full of memorable times.

            The color purple symbolizes an important progression in life where many young children are advancing in their knowledge of the world and the people that affect it. This color shows how young people are gaining steps in their lives and progressing forward and definitely not backwards. These people are gaining intelligence in the childhood years, while having fun with it at the same time. This period of time is very important in the progression of young people’s lives, but instead of it being bothersome towards them, they are enjoying it every minute of the day. In these ages, young children are stepping off on the right foot and adapting to the ways of everyday life. Purple symbolizes the amazing and fun years as a young child where their imaginations run wild. It is pure greatness in the years as a young kid where there are few punishments and very low expectations.

            Purple relates to my life because there are still many things even I am still learning on Earth up to this date. Also, I am still having a lot of fun in my life, while trying to lower my stress to maintain a positive attitude. I am also enjoying probably the best times of my life while still experiencing new things in my life. I may not be as young now then I was back then, but the fun times are still continuing. So the color purple symbolizes learning and fun times in this story where all things are good, like the attitude at Prince Prospero’s party. Everyone at the party was energetic and lively, just like the color purple. Purple symbolizes the start of the growing years for a very young child from a toddler to a ten year old. This color also symbolizes the morning of another day where children are starting their day off right with a happy and passionate attitude. The color purple shows that young peoples’ live can be filled with good and magnificent days where they live out their worry-free lives with love and respect for everyone.

notacontractor.livejournal.com

Edgar Allan Poe Webquest Questions

Webquest Questions

1. Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts and he died on October 7, 1849.
http://poestories.com/biography.php

3. Five theories that caused Poe's death are Epilepsy, Toxic Disorder, Diabetes, Rabies, and Murder.
http://www.poemuseum.org/life-death.php

4. Poe called the state of Virginia home.
http://www.poemuseum.org/life.php

5. The Poe society of Baltimore thinks that Poe called Maryland home, not Virginia.
http://www.eapoe.org/society/psbhist.htm

6.  In 1831,  U.S. Military Academy at West Point expelled Poe.
http://www.poemuseum.org/life.php

7.  Poe married Virginia Clemm on May 16, 1836. She was 13 years old.
http://www.poemuseum.org/life.php

8. I think that it is very strange to marry your cousin first of all, but at the age of 13. That is just not right in my judgement.

10. The Tell-Tale Heart was written in 1850 and The Black Cat was written in 1845.
http://poestories.com/stories.php

11. The Raven was published in 1845.
http://poestories.com/poetry.php

14. I signed the guestbook at poestories.com

Personal Experiences with Poe's Stories and Poems

All of the stories I read that were written from Poe have all fascinated me and his way of writing made me want to read more. His writing also interested me a lot and it is also cool to see how he implements his writing style in all of his stories and poems.

http://www.listal.com/viewimage/376280

Welcome Back Blog

Our class is now moving into Shakespeare and Edgar Allan Poe where we will be looking at their works and what they have done. I think that reading some of their works will be very interesting and unique, which is good. But I think reading short stories from famous authors helps us understand what these people tried to do in their work to give it a twist on words and phrases. So reading these stories will be somewhat difficult but also very interesting at the same time. William Shakesspeare's works will be the most interesting to look at. He is famous for all of the unique twists in his works and I think it will be cool to see it in his writing. I am also looking forward to seeing the life of Edgar Allan Poe and seeing what he did in his life. I knoiw his life was full of mischeif and I wanted to see how it turned out. I do not know much about Shakespeare's A Mid Summer Night's Dream, but it sounds like a unique book to read.

I do not have a picture of or relating to myself at school, so I just used a general picture of myself.



Final Research Paper

Adam B

Mrs. Zurkowski

Yellows

6 October, 2010

The Ongoing Problems for Foster Children

            The problems for foster children are becoming more prevalent in this country, especially with the federal government and the states practically ignoring them. Many foster children have been forced to live by themselves because the government has not given each foster family enough money to care for them. These foster children end up living on the streets or they beg other families to stay in their homes. The need for foster homes in the United States has skyrocketed over the past decade and this number is still rising. Some foster children suffer from depression and other sicknesses where they are sent to a nearby hospital. Instead of leaving foster children on the streets, more programs need to be established to assist them in every way possible. That way, they can get their lives back on track and live in a loving atmosphere where they are respected and cared for by a permanent, new family.

            The two main reasons foster children leave their families are abuse and neglect from one or both of the parents. Some of these parents even end up in jail because of their actions, and due to violence they show toward  their children (“Foster care 1”). Parents could also be placed in the hospital from their abuse of certain kinds of drugs, and their foster child ends up being placed in a substitute foster home (“Foster care 1”). As a result, the child usually has to live by his or herself until a new foster home can be found (“Foster care 1”). "Substance abuse by one or both parents is a factor in more than 75% of all foster care placements." (Foster Care 1) Without love and care from parents, many children end up feeling lonely and unwanted and try to harm themselves physically.

            Parents become eligible to be a foster parent by showing the ability to love, respect, and be kind to any foster child they are given. A foster parent can be old or young, or have a job or be retired. It does not matter because anyone can apply to become one (“Foster care 3”). Parents do not have to be married and they do not even have to be a stay-at-home parent, either (“Foster care 3”). But when the parent does become eligible, he or she receives some training on how to care for a foster child, and then given money that is used just to care for the foster child, not their own children if they have any (“Foster care 3”). "Those best qualified to be foster parents are patient and empathetic, attentive, and determined to succeed." (“Foster care 3”) Then, the parents can see a social worker if they have any other problems or questions they need answered.

            With the government reducing the amount of money normally given to each foster family, the foster child usually has to live independently, without any help. Most states offer independent living where they learn various skills needed for life, including banking and how to apply for jobs (Vestal 2). If independent living is not available, many foster children become homeless, where it is extremely hard to get their lives back on track (Vestal 2). Less and less foster families can keep their foster child because they are not given enough money from the government to support them, making more children homeless (Vestal 2). "While the number of children in foster care has decreased over the past decade, the number of teens who 'age out' of the program without permanent homes has increased 41% since 1998." (Vestal 2) The rate of homeless foster children has gone up dramatically, and the government has yet to respond.

             Many people believe that kicking foster children out of the foster care system at age eighteen is the right way to go. Foster children should live the life of every U.S. citizen at age eighteen and older, independently without help from family and friends (Vestal 1). First of all, many foster children have either a physical or mental illness and need tending to. Also, foster children are much different from the average child so they need a lot more help to solve all of their issues that the average child does not have. Foster children have experienced many violent things in their lives and they deserve a loving environment to live in to make the world a far less scary place (“Foster Care 5”).

            Others believe that the government should not waste their money on the issue of foster children because it is one little problem in this country that is smaller than a lot of other problems occurring. (Vestal 1). This issue may seem small in this country, but it packs a lot of meaning with it. Donating a small amount of money to the foster care system will help foster children all over this nation find a loving and caring family and change many lives. The more time a foster child stays with another family, the more they will escape abuse and neglect (“Foster care 2”).

            Foster children have experienced violent times in their lives and have felt sad emotions such as loneliness and depression. Most of them end up sleeping on the streets because of the government’s decrease of pay towards most foster homes. Foster parents need to use great care with each foster child to make them feel comfortable in their environment. Foster children need to be respected and loved at all times to make them feel comfortable away from their own homes and families. These two objections are incorrect because foster children mean a lot to this country and deserve help at a time when they persevered through the tough times. Foster children need that help in life that will guide then on their way to a positive and meaningful future. More people need to step in and take in every foster child so there will be none left to suffer.

Works Cited

"Foster Care." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On News      Services, 6 July 2009. Web. 4 Oct. 2010. <http://www.2facts.com/article/i0300620>.

"Foster care." World of Health. Gale, 2007. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 4 Oct. 2010.

Vestal, Christine. "States Trying to Extend Foster-Care Benefits." stateline.org. Aug. 24 2007: n.p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 04 Oct 2010.n.p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 04 Oct 2010.

offinchildren.org

Article #3 Notes

Adam B

Mrs. Zurkowski

Yellows

24 September, 2010

Gathering Information- Notes

"Foster Care." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File           News Services, 6 July 2009. Web. 24 Sept. 2010. <http://www.2facts.com/article/i0300620>.

·         It is a huge decision for children to make when their parents abuse and neglect them. Should they go into foster care or continue with their dreadful lives?

·         When the foster parents take care of the foster children, they are given money to help support that child without having to use their own money on them.

·         Many officers think that foster homes are not permanent enough since they are going back and forth from home to home in little amounts of time.

·         “Residential-treatment centers are the most expensive type of foster care, due to the high cost of the various kinds of therapy offered there, along with room and board, medical and dental care, and recreational programs” (2).

·         Now foster care agencies have to think of a solution to each foster child’s own situation because of the passing of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act in 1980.

·         Adoption is a possibility for every foster child, but the main thing to do is to actually help these children return back to their original families.

·         “While abuse can occur in foster care as well as in biological families, critics of family-preservation programs say that it is more common that children who have been returned to their natural parents are further abused or killed by them” (3).

·         Many people have said that putting your kids in foster care is way more expensive than just providing social services for your family to help with their problems.

·         Many foster care agencies say that is important for the foster child’s biological parents and their current foster parents to confront with each other and talk about their issues.

·         With an increase in foster children, there is also a huge increase in government spendings to help fix the problem, which people say is a big help for foster children.

·         Also, many children have a lot of problems that are difficult to handle, so adoptions are low for this very reason since people will not want to deal with these problems in foster children.

·         Many foster children are on the bad side of life with addictive and drug abusing parents. This will make their lives painful and dreadful from the start.

globalfamilyalliance.org



Artcle #2 Notes

Adam B

Mrs. Zurkowski

Yellows

23 September, 2010

Foster Children

Gathering Information- Notes

“Foster Care.” World of Health. Gale, 2007. Gale Student Resources in Context. Web. 15 Sept. 2010.

·         “Foster care is an arrangement by which children live temporarily with people other than their own families who, for various reasons, are unable to care for them” (1).

·         Places where foster children can stay includes non-relative homes, shelters, and any places where people will let them stay there.

·         The main factor that make children decide to go into foster care is parental trouble or abuse and neglect from others

·         Even though foster children are alone, many of them have found some way to care for themselves and be dependent until they are adopted.

·         Once children lose their parents or relatives, they are usually dumped into a random family until adulthood.

·         It is also very common for families to arrange a family for a specific foster child so they at least go to a place where they know the family.

·         On the increase since the 1980s though are more foster children being put in a tentative home with a family because of drug abuse from addicted parents.

·         “Since the beginning of the twentieth century, changing circumstances and an increase in the need for foster children have made it necessary for foster care programs to become better organized and regulated” (2).

·         Many foster children placed in a foster home either have a physical or mental illness or they have a problem with social interaction.

·         As a result of all these foster children having a specific illness, many foster parents find it very hard to take care of these kids so they end up going to another foster home.

·         To become an eligible foster parent, a parent has to be screened and have skills for loving his/her foster child and be willing to accept a foster child into their own lives.

http://georgiasentinel.com/

Artcle #1 Notes

Adam B

Mrs. Zurkowski

Yellows

22 September, 2010

Foster Children

Gathering Information- Notes

Vestal, Christine. “States Trying to Extend Foster- Care Benefits.” stateline.org. Aug. 24, 2010:   n.p. SIRS Researcher. Web. 17 Sep. 2010.

Notes

·         Foster children are usually on their own when they turn 18 because government spendings to foster parents end when their foster child turns 18

·         Two states have ignored the current bill to actually help get foster children’s lives back on track when they turn 18. The two states are Vermont and Illinois

·         Many states have tried to help these older foster children, but without the government’s help, the decisions are limited.

·         Many people have said that the least the foster families could do is to continue to help and support their foster children until they have reunited with their families.

·         After 18, many foster children end up on the curb, just waiting for someone to go out of their way to help them continues their lives into adulthood

·         “While the total number of children in foster care has decreased over the past decade, the number of teens who ‘age out’ of the program without finding permanent homes has increased 41 percent since 1998” (Vestal pg.2).

·         States are finding new ways to support these kids, even without the money, by providing some kind of help to the children who leave foster care

·         Also in many states, the foster children who are in their teens and have not yet been adopted can be in a program where they learn skills needed for life including how to handle your bank accounts.

·         “In addition, states are trying to find mentors—or ‘lifelong family connections’—for youths who have not found permanent families” (Vestal pg.2).

·         These families give foster children a place to get help from, to spend time with, and sometimes, to get financial needs fixed out.

·         Many people have spoken out and said that providing these foster children with services so they can grow into adulthood is better than having them end up in jail or federal courts.

http://pactagency.wordpress.com/

My Three Research Questions

The topic I am doing for my research paper is Foster children

1. What are the main physical and mental problems that are found in teenage foster children?

2. How will child services help foster children get thier lives back on track?

3. How can a family become eligible to become a foster family and adopt foster children?

Social Issue Paragraph

Adam B

Mrs. Zurkowski

Yellows

9/14/10

Home, and Other Big, Fat Lies by Jill Wolfson

Foster Children

Search Terms: Health Issues for Foster Children, Foster Homes, Child Welfare Agencies, Health Services, Physical and Mental Problems in Foster Children, Money Used on Foster Children, Separation of Family

Foster Children

            One major topic discussed in Home, and Other Big, Fat Lies is Foster Children. This topic had to do with the main character of the book, who was a foster child. According to the Urban Institute, “800,000 children in the United States spend time in foster care as a result of abuse and neglect.”(http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=311211) “Many foster children have a lot of mental and physical issues along with a lot of health problems” (http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=311211) “Child welfare agencies are responsible for meeting the health and mental health needs of all children they take into custody.” (http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=311211) Many services are available for foster children, including the Medicaid program, but many states have not extended the program to support all of the needs of every foster child. Without these needs met, many foster children end up going to another foster home to try and begin a new life. Foster Children are an important part to this country and they need to be respected like a normal citizen of The United States.

Image From: angelscrossingtx.com

Novel Pen Pal Assignment

703 Churchville Road


Bel Air, Maryland 21014

September 3, 2010

Dear Whitney,

My name is Adam B, and I liked reading about how you stood up to the loggers and saved the whole forest from being destroyed in the book Home, and Other Big, Fat Lies by Jill Wolfson. I am a student at the John Carroll School. I live in Churchville, Maryland, which is across the country from where you stayed in California. I had a great summer. One thing I did was that I went to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware and spent a week with my family and cousins. I also went to many baseball stadiums to support my favorite teams. In August, I went to the Air and Space Museum located right outside of Washington, D.C. Also on many days, I went to the pool to try and cool off from this summer’s blazing heat. So my summer was very fun and I enjoyed it.

In the book, I thought you were fearless and daring in just about every event in the book. It was like you knew how to handle every situation, no matter how important it was. You were able to stand up for yourself, especially at the end when you forcefully told the loggers to not tear down the forest. You were also very brave, even when you were moved to your twelfth foster home. You always maintained a positive attitude in every event and that is why you handled every situation with ease.

I thought Jill Wolfson’s writing style was pretty easy to comprehend because there were a lot of easy words. Also, none of words were difficult to understand for me. The author makes you out to be a little beast who can never do anything good in the world. But deep down, I know you actually care about others and have emotions. But overall, I thought the author’s writing style was very plain and bland , with very simple words.

I really want to know how you developed such a love for nature because all of a sudden in the book you always wanted to go in the forest. I didn’t know if you just wanted to relax there or you thought that it could be your new home. Also, what struck your mind when you said you were going to sit on the mother tree until the loggers left the forest? The loggers could have knocked the tree down and you could have gotten seriously injured.

Reading about your adventure really made me think about the issue of foster children. In your journey, it was like the foster children were just dumped into an area without respect. All foster children should be treated as a citizen of this country and should be respected. This book makes me think about how foster children can survive and how important they are to this world.

I know that you are pretty young so I know one day that you will receive this letter. For the future keep up your bravery and continue to keep a positive attitude. When you get upset, calm yourself first and then speak. Also, keep standing up for what is right. If you continue this, you will permanently be in a home in no time. I hope when you receive this, you will be in a place you call home.

Best Wishes,                                   

Adam B

  http://www.google.com/

                                                                                                                             

Summer Reading Assignment

Adam B



Home, and Other Big, Fat Lies

By Jill Wolfson



Social Issues: Foster children, foster homes; ecology



The Book



1. The main character in this book is Whitney, also known as Termite. Termite is very daring and fearless, so she is always willing to try anything new. She is also very energetic and hyper, as she is always looking for something to do.

2. At the beginning, Whitney is taken to a foster home by her social worker to Forest Glen, California and this is Whitney’s twelfth foster home, so she learns how to adjust to her foster family’s way of life. In the middle, Whitney begins to learn about the wildlife around her with different trees and animals and she makes friends with other foster kids in her school. At the end, Whitney stands up for the Big Momma, the biggest tree in the forest, and prevents it from getting knocked down by the logging company.

3. I think the author is trying to say that you need to respect the life of every living thing, even if it is a tree or a disgusting animal. We have to work together to protect and preserve the lives of all of God’s creation, no matter what.

The Issues

1. One way Whitney is affected is that she learns that just because she is a foster child does not mean she needs to be treated differently from everyone else. Another way Whitney is affected is that she learns to talk less than she usually does because the area she lives in is very quiet. The last way Whitney is affected is that she now stands up for what is right instead of letting the issue slip away. She tries extremely hard for the right thing to happen.

2. One event in the book is when the logging company finally comes back to Forest Glen and it gives the people of the town more money when before, they relied on foster children for the town’s money. This made the foster children important because they thought they were going to leave the town because the families did not need the money now and that they would go to other foster homes. Also, the logging company was going to knock down the forests with all of the nature, which made ecology important too. The author makes this big issue personal by letting the main character say how she feels about this and to think of different solutions no one else would think about. Another event is when Whitney, along with all of the foster children, gathered around Big Momma to prevent the logging company from knocking it down because all of the other trees come from Big Momma. This event said that foster children did not want to leave their foster homes and to keep the forest, with its unique trees, animals, and insects. The author made this issue immediate and personal by letting each foster kid speak out and stand up for what is right in the forest and in his or her foster family.

http://images.google.com/

My Unique Profile

My name is Adam B and I came from St. Joan of Arc in Aberdeen where I was there for 9 years from kindergarten through eighth grade. I play baseball in the spring and I play basketball in the winter. I also like to play tennis in my free time and play touch football with my friends. I also like going to the beach which I went to this past summer with my family. I have one brother and one sister who currently goes to John Carroll. I also have a golden retriever named Taffy. I also enjoy watching baseball games and going to baseball stadiums to watch my favorite teams too. My goals for this school year is to keep up my good grades that I had throughout middle school and to make some new friends since I am around more new people. My favorite baseball team is the Orioles and my favorite football team is the Ravens. Another thing I enjoy is going on the computer and playing online games. In school, I would like to join the newspaper club to help create the school newspaper. This is my profile and this is what I do.

inventorspot.com