Click on the link above to read an article from the February 18, 2008, edition of Newsweek. What are your thoughts?
Lit Terms 2
5 years ago
Thursday, August 14, 2008
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What I'm Reading
- The Pact by Jodi Piccoult
- The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
- Five Chimneys by Olga Lengyal
- Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
- The First Born Advantage by Kevin Leman
- Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani
- Twilight by Kristen Heintzmann
- Water Witches by Chris Bohjalian
- Clay's Quilt by Silas House
- A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
- Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
- The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory
- Multiple Choice (author not important-- it's a "thoughtless read"
- Vienna Prelude by Bodie Thoene
- Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
- It Only Takes a Moment by Mary Jane Clark
- The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
- Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson
- The Shack by William P. Young
- Lament for a Son by Nicholas Wolterstorff
- The Appeal by John Grisham
- The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
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Week of 9/106 years ago
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Week of 9/106 years ago
English II Honors
I want to use this blog as a multi-purpose blog for my English II Honors class. I will be posting the weekly schedule on here, as well as any assignments. My favorite part is probably to showcase wonderful writing and projects! I also will probably post some school/class news at times. Finally, and the most important part to those thirty-five over-achievers, is that I will be putting a few postings per unit and the students are required to post a comment (a THOUGHTFUL comment) every unit. These comments should take the form of an online discussion, where you read all of the comments before yours and then make a contribution. Each unit will have a blogging grade attached to it. I am looking forward to the semester both in the classroom as well as online! :)
About Me
- A. Davis
- I am so lucky to have an amazing job at the best high school in the whole world, teaching the most wonderful students (MOST days)! This is where you can hear my musings, reflections on literature, and showcase assignments.
20 comments:
I think Phil Budaham's comment about focusing on the living, rather than the dead veterans, is a very poor excuse for why there are not any decent memorials of the "Great War". And although it is a geat idea to have a special ceremony when the last of the living veterans passes, what about the ones that died in battle? However, I do agree that not having any modern methods of witness would make it difficult to gather enough information to create a memorial.
Emily Hill
I definitely agree with Emily. Just because there is only one WWI veteran still living doesn't mean we can't get as much information from him as possible. He would be the best source; He was there! This would especially be good if our War in Iraq today is based off of some of the same issues as the first world war. I don't think we as Americans always stop to think about how important and honorable veterans and soldiers are. They give up so very much to fight for us, and then go so unrecognized. It's a shame.
Payton Tipton
I believe that we should have had a memorial a long time ago. It is unjust that the only living veteran from that war is virtually forgotten and i consider it repulsive thing that they invited him to a WWII raising of the flags.. Why is it that they aren't remembered and celebrated for what they did? That is a very good question and i believe that we should do something about it. While there is still someone from that time to witness it and feel a sense of pride that his country remembers.
Nataliya Migovich
I have also always wondered why there is no memorial about this war. Even though we don't have videos or tapes, that doesnt mean that we dont have information about it. Since there is only one veteran left, if we dont get some information from someone who was there, then were going to miss out forever. On the other hand, i do think that we owe a lot of respect for those men who got the guts for fight for our country before anyone else and they should be greatly appreciated.
Bethany McIntosh
I believe that there should be a monument for World War 1. There are for every other war.I think we need to be educated on what these veterans experienced to defend their country. I also think the special ceremony for the last living U.S. veteran is great, but it's like they don't even remember the others who died. They fought just as hard.
Amber Ballew
Amber, I don't believe that they ment it to be like that.. I think that they meant that if they were going to do a ceremony for the last living veteran then it would be to celebrate all of them as a whole and not just him personally. Thats my opinion on it. And i totally agree with payton when she says that we need to get the most information from him that we can. If not, we'll lose that valuable source forever!
Nataliya Migovich
I also agree with Emily and Payton. Someone should take the chance and try to make a memorial, while they still have a chance to get information from a living source that actually witnessed and experienced this war. Also, I think they should stop focusing so much on the people who are still alive, and make a memorial to show the respect of those who died.
Hayley Brewster
Personally I believe that there should be a memorial or momument for the soldiers of World War I. Lack of information and the short period the U.S. fought in the war doesn't mean there shouldn't be a memorial or monument. U.S. soldiers still fought in the war, and unfortunately some died and were wounded. At the very least there could be some kind of statue to remember the ones who fought courageously.
-Alexa Bancroft
I think the reason this war seems forgotten to most Americans is because we didn't enter the war until it was almost over. It seems to be eclipsed by World War II because we only fought on one main front in World War I, and the only territory gained during most fighting was only a few miles. What most people don't realize though is that if there was no World War I, the whole conflict known as World War II would have never happened. It also seems to be eclipsed by Vietnam also. More Americans were killed in World War I than in Vietnam. It's good that we have these memorials, but if we are going to have them for World War II and Vietnam, we should have one for the soldiers in World War I who fought and died for our country.
Adam Spivey
Adam, I am so interested in your comments. I think you are completely correct in saying that World War I was eclipsed by World War II and I think it relates to what someone mentioned in class about the abstraction question. In World War II, almost everyone felt that we were fighting evil incarnate. Not only were we fighting the evil represented by Hitler (and Mussolini), we were also fighting to avenge the unprovoked attack on our own soil at Pearl Harbor. Very interesting point.
In my opinion, i think it would be hard to gather information concerning WW1 because there is only ONE living verteran left. The question is why didn't they think about this 90 years ago when it was fresh on there minds? Now with only one witness left who experienced it all, it would be hard to get so much information concerning WW1 from him. I think it should have been done many years ago so we could have honoured and remembered all the dead and surviving veterans.This would have shown a great deal of respect to them and they could have died with pride for their country.
Meryn Evans
I agree with Emily. We need a memorial, although it is questionable if we could obtain enough information for it. If the museum in Kansas City has enough information, then i am sure we could manage. America needs to appreciate the time we have left with the 107 year old, Frank Woodruff Buckles. Moreover, there has to be a WWI flag somewhere for the flag raising. They can not have a flag raising tour with a national flag that isn't even from the same war, it defeats the purpose.
Brooke Muller
I think that what Adam said was very insightful. I also agree with most of what everyone else said. But here's a little food for thought: the article also said that the last living veteran was reluctant to talk. Maybe another reason we don't have a memorial is because the very people that fought the war don't want to remember it. And there's one thing I've never really understood. At the risk of sounding insensitive (though I don't mean to be) why "honor the dead?" I mean, they can't see us. They aren't benefiting in any way by what we do to commemorate them. I get the whole "remember them" thing, but why do they call it "honoring the dead?"
Madison Vaught
I think you all make excellent points but Madison, I want to talk about yours for a minute. I think you are correct that the dead don't know they are being honored, and I think that is part of the point of this article. Why have we waited until they were all gone? Why bring people flowers once they are dead? Why speak kinds words at funerals instead of to the living? We should have found a way to honor them while they were alive and would know that we owe them a great debt of honor for their service instead of letting them die feeling that they were forgotten. The flip side of that is a major impetus behind Holocaust education. The survivors are dying at an alarming rate and they are desperately seeking to ensure that their stories are not forgotten. In that situation, they are commemorated by keeping their stories alive. The only way to ensure that it is never repeated is to educate. There is a part of all of us that aches to live on and one way we can do that is if we are remembered, either through a memorial or through the lives of those we touched.
yeah im gonna have to agree with everyone else about how there is only one World War One Veteran left and that this war has been forgotten. It was one of the most violent wars of all time and we don't respect the people that fought in it enough what so ever. If there is only one veteran left my opinion is that they should throw a party held in his honor at the white house or something because that is rediculous and childish and i agree with payton on how we dont stop to think about how important our veterans our and how they give up every single thing they have and after the war if they survive their lives still will never be the same
How do I even begin to top all these comments and thoughts? This article really made me sad and I definitely think we should remember the people who've died in WWI for our country. I like what you said, Ms. Davis, about how the Holocaust survivors are desperately seeking to make sure their stories are heard and remembered. I think it would've been different if the WWI veterans were also desperately seeking to tell their stories. If that were the case, we would probably have WWI memorials.
Brooke Miller
I also agree with Payton and Emily. That one WWI veteran has answers to all of our questions about that war, but instead we're focusing on the living. He has additional information that we're overlooking and not using. I don't think veterans are given as much credit as they should be given. They risk they're lives for us and I feel they're not honored enough.
Ayesha Rock
I agree with what Madison said about the last living veteran was reluctant to talk. I believe that once the soldiers get home they want to try to forget the war and move on with their lives. A good example of this is in All Quiet on the Western Front. When Paul comes home he doesn't feel comfortable talking about the war with his family or anybody else. Also, I think it would be a good idea to have a monument for these veterans.
Ben Kimball
Really guys, great comments! Kudos!
What I think is saddening is the lack of effort that was made to recall what happened during WWI while valuable information still could have been salvaged; which is not to say that to do so now is impossible, but the fact that we would not be able to gather as much knowledge on the proceeding events as we could have had we been a little earlier still stands. To think that an occurrence so vast and largely impacting was to be scorned so easily for the sake of maintaining a proper public front is surprising—and that emotion is enforced further by the attempt’s seeming success.
Priscilla Han
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