Looking for Heroes

One smart political commentator said recently: "the problem with American politics today is that we have too many stars and not enough heroes." He went on to say that stars are all about style and attention-seeking, whereas heroes do the right thing no matter what the cost to themselves. I found it a prescient comment, because so many are worried about things like great hair or cell phones, or how many Facebook friends they have, rarely do people desire the wisdom and courage to stand up against the crowd, especially one made up of people they know and like. We may have a worldwide pandemic on our hands in terms of simply knowing right from wrong and doing something positive about it - hardly just an American problem.

To "cut to the chase," or get to the point, my "younger" literature class has its final blog assignment:

1) write a short paragraph about something you read in class during Q4 that you enjoyed, and why.
2) go to the British literature class page, and then look at the upperclassmen's individual blogs. They have all written various pieces of advice for underclassmen there. Choose one you like, then explain which you have chosen and why you like it the best on your own blog in one paragraph. May you find a hero!
3) Write a brief summary or reminder of your author presentation, with a link to the Prezi if possible
4) Write about a summer movie you are really looking forward to, and why.


My favorite movie reviewer, Nell Minow, recommended these movies (with Taiwan available dates):
a) Jupiter Ascending - July 25 - In the future, a young woman is targeted by the queen of the universe for assassination, but instead she survives and attempts to replace the queen and continue her reign.
b) Chef - 30 May - A "young" working for his dad's restaurant gets fired for being creative, then goes into business for himself, first as owner of a food truck. Things apparently get better from there? Rating: 7.9
c) Fault in Our Stars - (happy, Book?) - 22 Aug - two teenagers share more than a sense of humor, and their journey is more than a romance. One has an oxygen mask, the other a false leg, and they met in a cancer ward. Rating: 8.6
d) The Giver - Aug 29 - "In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the 'real' world."


I'm probably not going to be watching too many more than just the movies above this summer because I have a huge personal reading plan this summer. In fact, I plan to blog about it here in my own separate blog, which I hope to link here later. While I hope all of you enjoy the remaining days of the school year, and spend time with the upperclassmen who might not be around so much after this, try to take a little time to have a learning plan for the summer.