Feedback February 4th

In one of my countries, The Netherlands, it is not compulsory to perform two years of military. Whereas in Thailand, at the age of twenty-one, it is compulsory to perform two years of military service. This isn’t fair, because I also have a dream as well as the other people in my country to have a career. It’s also understandable, because Thailand needs more people to defend their country. If I necessarily HAVE to do this, I would, because I believe in my country.

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WWI Poem (rough draft)

I’ve been surviving in this trench for days
Like a rat in an alley.
And like a small child,
I wait impatiently for something.
Some hope.
Some help.

Way back home
is where I think my family waits.
Letters and letters have been sent back
But there haven’t been any replies yet.

When I look up at the sky,
I think of the people who’ve died and suffered.
Yet I can’t help but wonder if
Anyone else watches the sky like I do.

However, when I stare at the barbed wire,
I direct my thoughts to the enemies.
The enemies who’ve been watching us
Like a teacher watched a naughty student.
Their hearts as cold as ice.

I suddenly hear a click,
But show no attention what so ever.
Before I know it, people are sprinting away from me
as if I was a monster.
They start yelling at me with desperate faces.
I show no attention.
Just when I realized what’s happened it’s
Too late

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The King is DEAD!!! = )

Considering that I wasn’t here for the last week, I’ll have to talk about these last few days. When I first heard about the taxes, I almost immediately thought of the taxes that the thirteen colonies had to pay, such as the tea act and stamp act. Like the colonists, I thought the taxes were ridiculous. It was a definite form of injustice. King Coyle was a tyrant, because he was unfair to us and held all power. He also didn’t care much about how much money we had or not. I’m sure that King George the Third was also unfair and careless to the colonists in the thirteen colonies. But, when I think about it, the colonists had it much, much harder than we did. Mainly, because we weren’t in any REAL danger or we didn’t REALLY have to pay with REAL money. I’d bet that if you were against King George the Third during that time, your head might have been chopped off. While we were all going through these ridiculous laws many of us had self-determination to make it through or to revolt against the king. The colonist did so too. For example, the Boston Tea Party was planned and completed. This has been one of the most “interesting” simulations yet.
www.geocities.com

The Forty-Third War

Jake and I think that the Forty Third War was set in El Salvador, for a few reasons. First of all, El Salvador’s history involves civil wars that lasted for twelve years. These wars started when the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) waged guerrilla warfare against the government. The U.S.A. supported the FMLN. In the book, it mentioned the waging of guerrilla warfare. Also, the geographical features in El Salvador are very similar to the geographical features in the book. Some parts of El Salvador are mountainous, which reminded us of the game that Uno and the rest of the soldiers were playing as a training game. They played this game on the mountainside. Also, in the Nations of the World Atlas, it says that 80% of El Salvador’s religion is Roman Catholic. In the book, the main religion was Christian. On the CIA World Factbook, it says that about 19% of the work force in El Salvador is agricultural, and in the Forty-Third War, Uno worked in the banana plantation, which has to do with agriculture.

London, England) Collins (Firm :. Collins Nations of the World Atlas. New York: HarperCollins, 1996.

Feedback: JOIN, or DIE

When I look at this picture, I see a snake. But, when I look closer at the letters, I see eight of the first colonies of America. For example, NY stands for New York, and NJ stands for New Jersey. I think the snake is cut up into different parts, because it signifies that the states might be independent, but its still part of a big country. The issue that this political cartoon is about is the colonization of America. Ben Franklin would say that people that didn’t join the colonies of America that they were most likely to be killed or that they would have a hard time surviving, and die. The words, “JOIN, or DIE,” support what I’m suggesting of the cartoonist’s opinion. I don’t really think that the cartoonist needed anymore to make this cartoon more persuasive. He might want to use something else besides a snake though. Overall, his cartoon immediately captured my eye.

Feedback

One way that we could be sure that this book is trustful, is to actually go to the Library of Congress and look at the actual quotes that Julius Lester has written in his book. But we wouldn’t need to. Isn’t the Library of Congress a trustable source? Why would there be lies in an important library? We can also trust him, because he has used many peoples’ quotes or diary entries and have stuck the ones with the same subject together. He has also added facts about slavery which are true, if we researched it.

I am also sure this book was truthful, because, in 5th grade, I had to research Harriet Tubman. She was a woman born into slavery, and helped slaves escape when she was older. When I researched this woman, I also read about the conditions slaves were in. So, I had another source to assure that this book is truthful. In the book, it says, “The selling of the slaves was inhuman itself, but many slave owners did not even have the decency to tell a slave that he was going to be sold.” (pg. 42 To Be A Slave.) I know this is true, because when I was researching Harriet Tubman, one of her family members was sold without even knowing it.

One reason why I might NOT trust it, is because of this quote, "Even more rare was the occasion when the auction block became a source of joy." (pg. 51 To Be A Slave)How could the auction block possibly cause joy? Would you be happy if your only child was being sold or if you were being separated from your best friends? I certainly would not. Even though I find this quote very questionable, but I understand that it MIGHT lead to joy.

Overall, this book is trustful, and is pretty good.



Lester, Julius. To Be a Slave. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1968.

www.jnpa.com