Intelligentsia: Mr. Wass's Social Studies Blog

Fighting, it should be chaotic, loud, the opposite of peaceful. But on the hushed frontier, it seems to restore order. With the breath taking scenery, and the silence, it almost seems more serene. They are fighting, and fighting is never a soothing sound, but the silence changes the whole affect. It is as if everything balances out each other, fire and water, violence and peace, silence and disarray, they all make each other better.

Excerpt from The Last of the Mohicans essay, Sydney Harris

Many of you probably heard about the tragic boy that got drifted away in a homemade helium balloon. You may have also heard that this was a hoax. The boy was not in fact floating through the skies of Colorado, but safely home in the attic. They also had their two other kids lie for them. The parents of this boy had crafted this story for attention. “The motive for the fabricated story was to make the Heene family more marketable for future media interest” (Dobuzinskis 1).

What does this say about America? Why do some people go to such lengths for publicity?  This also poses the question of how accurate everyday news is. Does every hoax get caught, or do some go about unnoticed?

Tell what you think to all three questions posed.

And for more information about the balloon boy hoax visit:

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE59M5J720091023

Is life challenging? What are the major obstacles in your life?

Life is short, and can go by in the blink of an eye. So many things to do, So little time. IN the movie “The Bucket List”, Two men, played by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, fulfilled their bucket list; things they wanted to do before they ‘kick the bucket’. What are the top ten things on your ‘bucket list’? What do you want to do before you die? What things do you want to do in order to make your life complete? Are you one of the people that wants to go sky-diving or do you want to go see the seven wonders of the world? Or maybe you just want to realize what it means to ‘Live’.

“We live, we die, and the wheels on the bus go round and round.” – Jack Nicholson as Edward Cole. The Bucket List (2007)

Only when the last tree has died
and the last river has been poisoned
and the last fish has been caught
will we realize that we can’t eat money.

Cree Proverb

Why is the word can’t in our vocabulary? The word can’t is like the curse of words. Back in New York, as I always went to my baseball trainer during the winter, there’s a sign that says, “never say can’t.” My reason why that sign is there is to let the baseball players in the training facility never say the word can’t. My trainer always told me, ” never say you can’t do something unless you’ve tried it” This is true. A lot of people always say I can’t do something but the question they get in return is, have you tried doing it? My father always tells me never but the word cant in front of my dreams, because then my dreams won’t come true. I have found inner talents that I never thought I had. The way I found those inner talents was by trying and not saying the word can’t. This word is not very helpful to most people. Just try doing something and if you can’t do it, then you can say i can’t do that. Never say I can’t do something unless you have tried it.

This question is hard to answer for some students. If any students have gotten into an argument with their parents because of friends, this is the question that they ask you. Your parents would always like to know who your friends are and they want to know if they are respectful and care about their work and stuff like that. It is your job to choose your friends wisely. If you do not chose your friends wisely, they can bring you down along with themselves. Choosing friends may be hard for some people and it may not be hard for others, but who do you consider your friends? Who do you consider people that are not your friends?

How does it feel to be living on campus. How would you feel if you were living on campus? Would you be home sick? Will you miss your parents? How would other people act since thier from different countries and states? How would you be different from these other people? All of these questions are what a boarding student at Rabun Gap or any other boarding school will ask themselves befroe commiting to boarding school. In my opinion, I think I love being away from my parents. Yes I do miss them a lot, but it was thier decision to send me away to boarding school. I also wanted to come to boarding school. It is really fun to be a boarding student at Rabun Gap because you have the different ethnicities that we can all mingle with. It is not like back at my hometown where I have a group of people I only talk to. There will be a lot of fun and games when it comes to the weekend activities, but when that Monday hits, it is all focus time. We have to put that fun and games away until school is over. My question to you is, if you had the chance to become a boarding student, will you board? Why? What are the reason for your decision? are you going to miss home? Do you think you will grow up in a boarding school and become a well talented and intelligent young man or young women?

The shots are fired,

And we all go down.

The pavement cracks,

Without a sound.

I don’t understand,

Why the hate us so much.

Their eyes so cold,

No love in their touch.

The tears are coming fast,

I pray that I’ll last.

But the evil overwhelms me,

I’m screaming now,

Why won’t they let me be?

I’m fading fast,

I know I can’t last.

Can they not see?

What they have done to me?