First Draft to Author's Note

  Child abuse is a really terrible thing that happens to children all around tthe world. It's horrible because kids have side effects to child abuse, which is basically what I'm dedicating to the book. It's just like medicine child abuse has it's side effects.

 I got inspired by writing the book because previously i saw a movie dealing with two types of child abuse physical and sexual abuse, and that made me want to start researching this topic. And during this process it made me realize what bad things kids actually have to go through. I also learned the affects of child abuse for physical abuse is if the child has unexplained weird shaped marks  on their body, they have fear of adults , and has antisocial behavior. For Emotional abuse Apathy, Depression, Lack of concentration and eating disorders. For Neglect unsuitable clothing for weather, dirty or unbathed, and extreme hunger.

 I made this story so you can actually see the signs of child abuse which basically is my moral

Research Topic # 2 Teenage Pregnancy

       The second topic i wanted to dicuss is Teenage Pregnancy. I think that , that's a major issue going on to the country.It's a really difficult thing to deal with especially when you have school , and other plans. The part that is most difficult is telling your parents that you got pregnant. Some teens always try to deny it or ignore with can damage how the baby physically and mentally come out.
  
       Teen pregnancy rates in the United States declined steadily from 1991 to 2005 from 60 out of 1000 teenagers in 1991 to 40.5 out of 1000 in 2005. However, the teen pregnancy rate increased for two years in a row in 2006 and 2007,to more than 42 out of 1000. Approximately one-third of young women in the United States become pregnant during their teens. More than 80% of teen pregnancies are unintended and unintentional. The highest teen birth rate occurs in Hispanic women 83 out of 1000 in 2006.Its really bad thatthe percentage of it, is going up and up each year.

     On mtv the have a show called " 16 and Pregnant " It shows 6 girls who are 16 and who are pregnant. It shows all the tough decisions they have to make. One girl ended up not being able what she wanted to because of her pregnancy, they have to deal with all their peers looking at them , saying and thinking mean and rude coments. It sounds easy, but after watching what happened to these girls I realize it's not easy. Some of them were really poor, and couldn't even afford these babies. Here's a trailer  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLiXS02Mj7U . They can't have fun in their highschool years, because they have a baby to deal with.

    The Grandparent(s) end up having to take care of the baby during the day because the want their child to have an education. Some Grandparents have to give up what they have just to take care of the baby. And it'a stressful because the mother and the grandparents have to stop hanging out with their friends, stop going to work because they have to take care of one baby.

Did you know ?

•  85 percent of teenage pregnancy are unplanned,
• 15 percent of teenage pregnancies are planned
• The reason for lack of prenatal care is  delayed by pregnancy testing
• Because the body of a teen is still growing ,she will need more nutritional support to meet both her needs and that of her baby
• It's advised that if you have a teenage pregnanacy that you get counseling
• Lack of the proper amount of nutrition can lead to problems like anemia (low iron), low weight gain, etc.
• A problem is that teen mothers uses drugs, alchohol, and smoking cigarettes which can really damage the baby
• Premature birth create a problem, like brain damage,physical disabilities and more
•  Many of the teen mothers who take active roles in their care do go on to have healthy babies  
• Sometimes teenage pregnancies bring families together

Research Topic # 1

            My first Research topic is about child abuse. I started deeply thinking about child abuse when I saw a movie dealing with this serious topic.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2edpgb2EKo&feature=related.
The movie is called Bastard out of Carolina . It struck me because there are other girls and boys who have to deal with it. And it's really horrible.
         
      In an article i read it said child abuse isn't just physical violence.http://helpguide.org/mental/child_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_neglect.htm.
People always think that is just physical, but it's there are many types of child abuse. For ex. when parents   "Forget" to feed their child ( Neglect ) that's is a sign of child abuse. When parents say to their child your worthless, you were a mistake that's child abuse, that's emotional child abuse. People always think that abused children always grow up to be abusers. But that isn't true when children grow up they would most definetley avoid being a child abuser. They don't want their child having to grow up like they had to. People also think that child abusers are bad people, that's not true. Because some people have a problem and they're are really good people, but they have a mental problem.
  
   When people abuse their child, they get insecure about themselves. They don't trust people. Growing up with out trust is bad, because when in adult hood their relationship might turn out bad because they had no trust as a child. And they won't be able to trust anyone.
 
    Another way is sexual abuse, the character in Bastard out of Carolina dealt with it. Her stepfather sexual abused her ( but you have to read the book for detail). Some sexual abuse dosen't have to be touching, but exposing a child to sexual  situations. It actually scars them for life. It's something they shouldn't feel or see.
 
   The article also mention signs of Emotional Abuse if the child get's scared of doing the wrong thing, or isn't attached to parent(s) as well as they should be.

   Signs of Physical Abuse is if the child has weird cuts on body or wearing innapropriate clothing to cover marks like wearing a sweater on 100 degree days or very flichy and afraid of someone touching him or her.
  
     Sign's of Neglectual Abuse is the child's clothes are filthy if their hygiene like unwashed hair or has body odor. Or has  Untreated illnesses and physical injuries. And is frequently late or absent from school.

   Sign's of Sexual Abuse is having trouble walking or sitting, displays their knowledge of sex. Makes efforts to avoid people, has problem changing clothes in front of parents.Or runaway's from home.

 There is also this song called Runaway Love by Ludacris ft. Mary J. Blidge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISvMS6s41vY . It deals with all types of child abuse.


   My personal opinion is that I hate the fact that boy's and girls have to deal with this. It's horrible that parents think physically discplining kids will teach them to behave , they just grow up in fear of everything and that truly sucks.

Writing Assignment for Social Awareness #2 ( A poem or a song)

Change
You
    have
         the
            power
                   to
                    change
                             the
                               world
                                     change
                                             your
                                                   actions
                                                           change
                                                                    the
                                                                        enviornment
                                                                                         change
                                                                                                  the
                                                                                                     mean
                                                                                                           in
                                                                                                            you
                                                                                                        and
                                                                                             replace
                                                                                          it
                                                                                 with  
                                              

                                  LOVE                                                                                  

Social Awareness Entry #1

     In America Gays and Lesbians are fighting for their rights but I looked up Gays and Lesbians rights in Jamaica. People are being arrested if they're Gay. Up to 10 years in prison if exposed. Men they can't do ANYTHING. People are starting organizations about that. They even started something about it in 1974 called the " Gay Freedom Movement ".  They made a Gay Freedom Constitution. Here's the link http://www.outhistory.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Gay_Freedom_Movement_of_Jamaica,_West_Indies:_January_13,_1980
Especially in Jamaica all the violence happening now it makes it worse for them. People are willing to kill men.
   The thing that more ticked me off was that Lesbians are free to be Lesbians, they do get critisized but they don't have to do 10 years in prison like men have to and it's really cruel.

Readind Response to " Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes

Mother to Son

by Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes

Well, son, I’ll tell you:

Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

It’s had tacks in it,

And splinters,

And boards torn up,

And places with no carpet on the floor—

Bare.

But all the time

I’se been a-climbin’ on,

And reachin’ landin’s,

And turnin’ corners,

And sometimes goin’ in the dark

Where there ain’t been no light.

So boy, don’t you turn back.

Don’t you set down on the steps

’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.

Don’t you fall now—

For I’se still goin’, honey,

I’se still climbin’,

And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

     In class while reading the poem I had a lot of thoughts toward it. After reading the entire poem one time all I thought was this dosen't sound like a mother talking to a son. I thought this sounds like a father or grandfather talking to a son. For some reason I dont understang why the title is Mother to Son. The tone dosen't sound like a Mother. And that was the main thought I had after reading the poem.

     The second thought that came to my head was that the tone of the poem sounded country. It's because there is a lot of words that supposed to have " NG" at the end. I liked it. In a way when I heard the title and I heard Langston Hughes I thought it would be country. I don't remeber why I thought it was country tone. I think maybe because it was written in 1922.

      My third thought was that when she said ;

Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

It’s had tacks in it,

And splinters,

And boards torn up,

And places with no carpet on the floor—

Bare.

I thought that it means sometime in her life really scarred her. And she can't forget it. Not phisically scarred but mentally scarred. Like a desttruction that messed up her life, like a dead parent or she being kidnapped.Or maybe somebody hurt her life pemanently. Also I think she means that there were hardly any happiness in her life because not one part did it mention that she was happy. Maybe her son wasn't supposed to happen but it did. I also thought that if there was a timeline of Mother's life the tacks would be the place where all the horrible stuff happened to her.

My last thought was when she said ;

So boy, don’t you turn back.

Don’t you set down on the steps

’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.

Don’t you fall now—

For I’se still goin’, honey,

I’se still climbin’

She's basically saying that she dosen't want her son's life to be as messed up and horrible as she says it was. She wants his stairs to be clean fresh and new. And to have a carpet which is happy. She also regret's everything that happened in her life and she dosen't want her son to experience what difficulty she had to experience. She wants him to be a good boy. And she probably treating her son better than how she was treated as a child.

Final Draft to my Appreciation of Freak the Mighty

When I first heard of Freak the Mighty, All I thought was " What the hell". I heard many funny titles, but this one sounded ridiculous. When my 5th grade teacher told us we're reading Freak the Mighty as a read-aloud . I was upset because previously we read a bad book and this one sounded horrible. And at that time I  decided I wasn't going to pay attention and I won't care.
      
     After my teacher finished reading aloud this book. I thought why not read it on your own, because I like the ending of the book. So i read it, and i thought this is a really good book. But one part that  I really appreciated in the book, really stood out. What I love about Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick is how Max has to deal with this one problem throughout the book which is his size. And how tall he is.
 
     If you haven't realized yet I read the book again in 8th grade. As I grow older and I experience more things in my life. I can really connect  to Max. People give Mac many nicknames throughout the book. For ex. Giant, Beast, and the Giant retard. I can connect to that because my sister has nicknames for me because I'm taller than her. For ex. She calls me an overgrown 8th grader, Fatty the Giant, and the Fat Tall LOSER. After reading the book  I jusy do what Max does and ignore it. And make my life keep going. I appreciate how I learn stuff from Max.

     As I write this appreciation I'm just basically thinking, Max and I have a lot in common. What we share is diffrent. For ex. As Max get's older he's starting to look more like his father who was a killer. And people always tell me as I get older I'm starting to look like my mother.Which actually does get annoying. Though It's not really a problem for Max, it is because if Max looks exactly like him they might think that's killer kane. He might kill us. And him being tall and big dosen't help. The worst part is in the beginning of the book even Grim ( Max's Grandpa) dosen't even treat Max with respect because he thinks Max will turn out like his father.

       This last paragraph soo Totally dosen't have to deal with a problem Max has.It's actually the opposite of my topic. Since Max is big and tall he can actually help people. He basicall helps Freak ALL throughout the book. By him basically being Freaks arms and legs. Max is strong when he wants to be or when somethig URGENT happens. Like in the end when Max's father was choking Loretta. Maax became the strongest man in the world. Max dosn't realize that he's strong he only realizes when something like that happens.


          Did you really think being tall and big was an easy thing. Or being 3 feet tall in middle school was easier. Freak the Might from diffrent prospectives that its NOT easy. The book puts you in a totally diffrent world. Where small people are big, and big people are small. Read the book don't judge a book by it's cover, just like everyone judged Max by his cover, inside he's a really good book.

  When I first heard of Freak the Mighty, All I thought was " What the hell ". I heard many funny titles, but this one sounded ridiculous. When my 5th grade teacher told us we're reading Freak the Mighty as a read-aloud . I was upset and I decided I wasn't going to pay attention and I won't care.     
     After my teacher finished reading aloud this book. I thought why not read it on your own. So i read it, and i thought this is a really good book. But one part I really appreciated in the book, really stood out. What I love about Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick is how Max has to deal with this one problem throughout the book which is his size. And how tall he is.
 
     If you haven't realized yet I read the book again in 8th grade. As I grow older and I experience more things in my life. I can really connect  to Max. People give Mac many nicknames throughout the book. For ex. Giant, Beast, and the Giant retard. I can connect to that because my sister has nicknames for me because I'm taller than her. For ex. She calls me an overgrown 8th grader, Fatty the Giant, and the Fat Tall LOSER. After reading the book  I jusy do what Max does and ignore it. And make my life keep going. I appreciate how I learn stuff from Max.
      As I write this appreciation I'm just basically thinking, Max and I have a lot in common. What we share is diffrent. For ex. As Max get's olderhe's starting to look more like his father who was a killer. And people always tell me as I get older I'm starting to look like my mother. Though It's not really a problem for Max, it is because if Max looks exactly like him they might think that's killer kane. He might kill us. And hime being tall and big dosen't help.  
         This last paragraph soo Totally dosen't have to deal with a problem Max has. Since Mmax is big and tall he can actually help people. He basicall helps Freak ALL throughout the book. By him basically being Freaks arms and legs. Max is strong when he wants to be or when somethig URGENT happens. Like in the end when Max's father was choking Loretta. Maax became the strongest man in the world.

          Did you really think being tall and big was an easy thing. Or being 3 feet tall in middle school was easier. Freak the Might from diffrent prospectives that its NOT easy. The book puts you in a totally diffrent world. Where small people are big, and big people are small.

Research to Expand Our Universe of Freak the Mighty

       .For my research of Freak the Mighty I re-watched the movie. Basically to compare and contrast the book to the movie. To basically see if the movie is like the book. And if it has the details the book has. And to see how people actually treat max and Freak.Here's the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-kadY3vHrI&feature=related

As I watched the movie, i realized they had 95% of the book in the movie. But it wasn't in the order that the book had it in. They put in details in the wrong place.But it did make sense. The writter of the script put the details in the wrong order, but it actually made sense how he or she wrote it. I like that the writter ddin't put details in random places. Since I watched the movie right after i finished the book I know what details are there.

 I also wanted to know what the movie writter put in extra. I like digging for the stuff that is extra. I think that when a writter leaves something out, they always try to use something extra. That sometimes don't even go with what the main plot is about.

 I thought that 50% of the movie had unnecessary extras. For ex. I think they mentioned the whole ideal of King Authur too much. In the book Rodman Philbrick mentioned King Authur about a few times through out the book. But in every scene of the movie bla bla bla King Authur. Which was really annoying that I wanted to skip those parts. The other 50% that i kinda thought was necessary was when Freak and Max were getting Loretta Lee's purse, was when they showed that Freak saw Blade and his gang steal it.   And also when Freak and Max were actually getting the purse that Blade and his gangcame back to get it. Which Rodman Philbrick never mentioned.

Entry #6 Elaborating on a Note

      The book I'm reading is called "Freak the Mighty" by Rodman Philbrick. And the post-it note, that I will elaborate on is when i wrote" I like how I try to figure out the chapter title before I read the chapter".
     I notice I do that, because I like how the chapter title always mentionedin the chapter title. And while reading the chapter you can realize why it's called that. You can make a lot of realizations in the book. For ex. was when Freak and Max found Lorettas purse in the storm drain. And then Freak called Loretta the        "Damsel of Distress. Then the title of the next chapter was called the " Damsel of Distress". Which for some weird reason i found that funny
 
I also liked how the chapter title actually related to the chapter. Because in some books have a chapter title dealing nothing with the chapter which is really annoying.
and it shows how the author dosen't want to be creative. An example of when Rodman Philbrick has an creative title is " Chip of the Old Block" which is personally my favorite expression. I think the reason why it was called that was because since Max's father didn't know how Max looks and how big he is. It's like an surprising expression.

Reading Response to Charlottes Web

     A big theme is showing why E.B White titled " Charlottes Web", Charlottes Web. At first I thought , " Why do they call this book Charlottes Web"? But while reading the chapter " The Miracle" when Charlotte made her first web, i deeply thought about it . It clicked to me why the title of the book is Charlottes Web. I think it's because I never read Charlottes Web or saw the movie with Dakota Fanning.

    In the beginning of the book, one of my first thoughts was that the title of the book should mention Fern's or Wilbur's name. But after I read the book and re-read it again I realized that it dosen't have to have their names in it. I realized what the title really means. And I personally think that it's strong. And it means "Charlottes Web" saved Wilbur from being slaughtered. Or turned into to juicy ham and fried crispy bacon.