NHD Reflection

Title: John Bartram & His Garden Helped Us Understand Our Environment Today
Project Type: Paper

From NHD i learned how to stay on task and cite sources more thoroughly. Annotations helped me do better research. I learned that you shouldnt work with your friends because it may result in a broken friendship or a bad grade. I also learned that working individually is not bad because you dont have to depend on anybody.

Biography on James Baldwin

James Arthur Baldwin was born in Harlem, New York, August 2, 1924 and grew up in a household headed by a loving mother and an abusive stepfather. At an early age, Baldwin began reading very selective book catalogs of various local libraries. By the age of 14, he had become a well-known, young minister at the Fireside Pentecostal Church in Harlem and wrote articles for his church and high school magazines. After graduating from high school, he worked as a journalist writing book reviews and essays for the The New Leader, The Nation, Commentary, and Partisan Review.

Throughout the years, James Baldwin had received many achievements. In 1948, he won a grant from the Rosenwald Fellowship, which motivated him to move to France that same year. In 1953, James Baldwin published his first novel, Go Tell It On The Mountain, which was based on his experiences as a teenage minister in Harlem. His second novel, Giovanni’s Room, spoke about a love triangle between two men and a woman living in Paris. In 1957, he returned to the United States and became a firebrand in the struggle for desegregating Southern schools. He joined forces with Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers and others who worked toward the civil rights movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s. During the JFK Administration, Baldwin organized a historic meeting between Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and various African American notables, including Lorraine Hansberry and Dr. Kenneth Clark, designed to inform the Attorney General of the Black scene in America. In 1970, he bought a house in the south of France, which became his main residence. In 1983, Baldwin began teaching Afro-American Studies at Five Colleges of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He taught and lectured at many universities and colleges up until he was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus in 1987, from which he died on November 30, of that year.

Overall, James Baldwin was a very strong and confident young African American. He made changes in many lives and in the African American society. He had a very strong spirit and carried it along with him all the way to his grave. He is definitely a great person to look up to and he has many great achievements.

My Reasonable Grade Choice

Dear Mr. Romero,

I really enjoyed these last two semesters with you as my teacher, aside from all our arguments and disagreements. I understand that I am missing maybe 1 or 2 assignments and I am not going to get the same grade I got last semester. I feel as though a B or B- would be a fair grade because it’s hardly ever that I need someone to take pity for me. Also, its not like I am a bad student all around, because I do all my work in all my classes and I am passing all my other classes. I don’t want a bad English grade to mess up my report card. I think that it would be fair enough if you gave me a B but I will explain it more in depth in this letter.

Firstly, I should receive a B because I’ve been off track but I do still try my best its just that I get overwhelmed. I did try to accomplish the Huck Finn packet but I was so worried about NHD and my science experiment. I’m not saying that your assignment wasn’t important to me, but I just forgot. Secondly, its not like I am a bad student all around because I do participate in class, and not just yours, all of them. Also, I have done work in your class and I don’t want an assignment to mess up my whole report card. I really am going to try my best to do all my assignments. I wish I had you next semester to show you how sincere I am being.

In conclusion I believe I should get a B because I am going to learn from my mistakes and be more responsible. Also, I am not going to let any other assignments get in the way of my work. I am passing all of my other classes and I am not a bad student all around. So hopefully, this letter has maybe changed your mind and made you think about the grade you want to give me.

Should Huck Finn Be Taught at CHS ?

Huckleberry Finn is a very good story but at the same time a very debatable topic. Some people may say “Oh Huckleberry Finn is such a bad book, why are you reading this?” When I think about it, I totally disagree with them. Okay, they may cus a couple of times and say some out of pocket things but hey, it’s just a book! Huckleberry Finn is a good book and it should be taught a CHS high school. The reason I feel this way is for several reasons.

First of all, Huckleberry Finn should be taught because it is very educational. My reason, because it teaches you about how orphans were taught and treated in the past. Orphans were taught by their adopted parents. However their adopted parents were brought up, was how the orphans were brought up. Huckleberry Finn just so happened to be one of the lucky ones. Although his adopted parent, Ms. Watson was not the nicest person, she was very well-mannered and intollereable. She kept Huckleberry Finn on track. To read more about this, visit chapter 8 in the book.

The second reason why I believe it should be taught is because it teaches you about how things have changed throughout time. Back then, people owned slaves. They treated them pretty poorly so it kind of makes you think about how good we have it. Now a days people have maids and butlers. Also, they have a choice as to whether they want to work for someone else, and they get a pretty reasonable salary, unlike slaves. In chp. 4 of the book, Ms. Watson referred to Jim the slave as “Big Nigga Jim.” HOW RUDE!

My final reason as to why Huckleberry Finn should be taught is because it shows us students how thankful we should be to have a school to go to and learn. Jim had to teach himself how to read and write, but it still was incorrect. At least we have a school to go to and learn how to speak proper English. In chp. 8 in the book, Jim was having a conversation with Huck Finn and says: “Well dey’s reasons. But you wouldn’t tell me ef I ‘uz to tell you, would you Huck?” Wow, what does that mean?

In conclusion, Huck Finn should be taught in schools because it is a good book. And you shouldn’t judge a book by what you hear about. People can learn in many different ways and I feel that students at CHS can learn from Huck Finn.

Con Speech On The Death Penalty

Hello, my name is Ashante Richards and I will be representing the cons side. As me being a con and against the death penalty, of course I’m going to have to have a few reasons as to why I feel the death penalty should be banned and that it is a violation of our 8th amendment rights. Me first reason as for why I believe the death penalty should be banned is because it is barbaric and violates the “cruel and unjust” clause in the Bill of Rights also known as the 8th amendment. A prime example of how the death penalty is cruel and unjust is because it is a jolt of between 500 and 2,000 volts, which lasts about 30 seconds, and is released into the body. The prisoner’s hands often grip the chair and there may be a violent movement of the limbs, which can result in dislocation and/or fractures. The tissues swell. Steam and smoke rises and there is a smell of burning. The convict’s eyeballs melt on the cheeks. The murderer often defecates, urinates, and vomits blood and drool. The body turns bright red as its temperature rises, and the criminal’s flesh swells. The skin stretches to the point of breaking. Sometimes the offender catches fire. Finally there’s a loud sound, like bacon frying, and the sickly smell of flesh fills the chamber. The second reason as to why I believe the death penalty should be banned is because life in prison is a worse punishment and a more effective deterrent. For example, the death penalty lasts for 30 seconds as for life in prison is a lifetime full of torture. I mean who wants to spend their life locked up behind bars eating little commissary lunches? Why do you think people try to commit suicide in prison? Because its torture. And the final reason as to why I believe the death penalty should be banned because revenge is not a form of justice. For example, The Birmingham news had an article written by Wilton H. Bunch, which spoke about why courts should seek justice and not revenge. > A murder is a crime against the state; in the legal sense, it is not a crime against a family. The trial is labeled, "The State of Alabama vs. John Smith," not, "The Family of Susie Jones, vs. John Smith." The family is not involved in the administration of justice. Justice is a function of the state. Also, > Jesus taught his followers should be involved with prisons, but in the role of caring for and easing the pain of those who were incarcerated. I find no place where he urged his disciples to give way to their feelings of hatred, anger and the desire for revenge. On the contrary, he commanded them to be meek, he desired them to be peacemakers, and he urged mercy. He quotes "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." So these are my three reasons why the death penalty should be banned due to its numerous violations.

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