#10

Since finishing my last book, I have read most of a book called No Limits by Michael Phelps with Alan Abrahamson. It is really interesting because he wrote it very shortly after the Beijing olympics this past summer. Throughout the book so far, he recaps some exciting races of his from his perspective. It is really interesting to find out what goes through his mind while he races. Another interesting thing is he talks about some of the practices he has had to endure. After reading about his intense workouts and crazy schedule, it makes me appreciate my practices and schedule a lot more. He had practice on every holiday, even Christmas, and swam every day of the week, including Sunday. And along with that, he was doing doubles, which is swimming before school and again after school. Although I have had to endure doubles, I can't imagine having to practice on Christmas and Sundays. Swimming every day of the week is crazy! I also found it really interesting that he didn't really care about what the media was saying going into the 2008 olympics. He had his own goals, and although he of course wanted the 8 gold medals, he wasn't paying attention to what everyone was saying about it. It's great that while he is doing all this, he is also trying to promote the sport of swimming. In Australia, swimming is as big as football is here in the US. He has looked up to his former competitor, Ian Thorpe, for inspiration. Thorpe is a huge public figure in Australia and has made swimming even bigger there. That is what Michael Phelps is striving for. He wants to make swimming huge here, and from how he has described it, he is working hard to make it that way.

#9

Somehow I was able to finish Breaking Dawn last night, which is now one of my all-time favorite books! Something shocking happened when the Volturi arrived to destroy the Cullens. The witnesses did their part by telling them the truth about Renesmee, and then they even showed Renesmee to the Volturi so she could "show" them that Edward and Bella were her biological parents. While the Volturi consulted, even after seeing Renesmee themselves, the Cullen's odds didn't seem that great. But somehow, they were able to convince the Volturi she was not dangerous and that she is not completely immortal and they left. There was no fight, no deaths. No one in the history of vampires had accomplished such a thing. Everyone of course was thrilled, especially Edward and Bella. Now they can live happily with each other and Renesmee forever. I really liked the happy ending of the book, but I kinda wish the Volturi's hadn't been that easy to convince. It would have made it a little more interesting to have a fight or something. I really hope Stephenie Meyer comes out with more books following Breaking Dawn! I'm dying to know now how Edward and Bella end up, and especially what happens with Renesmee. Overall, though, this was one of the best books I've ever read, and really, the best series of books I've ever read.

#8

Last night I kept reading and Breaking Dawn keeps getting better and better. Alice is sees that the Volturi's will arrive in a month, so everyone gets to work quickly. Right away, they gather Tanya's family, Carlisle brings in old friends from all over the world, and they find nomads they know. They intend on using all these vampires as witnesses as to what Renesmee really is. Only half immortal. Renesmee looks like an immortal child, though, and from a distance she would really look like one. That is why the Volturi are coming. Irina told them about this "immortal child". In the vampire world, the Volturi had long ago banned the creation of immortal children, so they are coming to destroy not only Renesmee, but the entire Cullen family. Alice and Jasper go away for a few days and then Bella finds a note from Alice saying they have left. They all pretty much feel like they're screwed, now that they don't have someone to see the future, which, while I was reading, I thought that too. That was where I left off last night, but it seems to be getting more interesting. It seems almost like a second round of a rising action, leading to a second climax. I can just tell that when the Volturi's do arrive, it will be very interesting and most likely full of action.

#7

Over break I finally picked up Breaking Dawn again. There has been so much happening lately. Bella gave birth to the baby, Renesmee Carlie. As expected, Bella almost died. With perfect timing, Edward bit her, therefore turning her into a vampire!! I was very excited; I wanted this to happen so bad. Renesmee, or Nessie, is very interesting. Right away, Jacob imprinted on her. I hated that he did that, because now he can't stay away from Nessie for long periods of time. Renesmee grows at an extreme rate already. Another thing that makes her different is that she is half human, half vampire. Soon after she was born they all found out she has a special talent: she can touch people's faces and "show" them pictures/stories, which is kind of a mix/reversed of what Edward and possibly Bella can do. It was kind of entertaining when Edward took Bella out for her first hunting trip. She was completely clueless, but almost attacked hunters instead. Other than that, though, so far she seems to have adjusted to life as a vampire really well. I can tell there's going to be some intense action with the Volturi soon, though. While Nessie was out in the field nearby, Bella (with her new, super clear vision) saw Irina, from Tanya's family, look angered by the sight of Renesmee. Bella told everyone that, and soon after, Alice had a vision with Irina and she said that the Volturi were coming there, for them. I really didn't want to put the book down after that, because whenever the Volturi come, its good and intense!

#6

Breaking Dawn has been very interesting, but lately it has been getting kind of boring and repetitive. I'm currently still in the section where it is from Jacob's perspective. Bella isn't really improving much, but Edward told Jacob that Carlisle predicts she will give birth to this vampire baby in a few days. The main reason it is boring right now is that not much more is happening to Bella, and there's kind of a cycle of Jacob patroling, then talking with Seth and Leah, then going in the Cullen's house to see Bella and get updates, then he sleeps. It's this constant pattern with not much change each time it repeats itself. I'm still wondering if Bella will ever become a vampire. I'm starting to think she will never be changed into one. Another thing I've thought about is if Jacob will keep his mini "pack" or if he will go back to La Push and lose his Alpha role he has now and just follow what Sam says.

#5

Since last week's post, I have finished Eclipse and am about a third of the way through Breaking Dawn. Breaking Dawn has been full of surprises. You find out right away that Jacob is missing, but you don't really figure out why, which is surprising and mysterious. But, shortly after that, at Edward and Bella's wedding, he shows up. His apperance was a surprise, but of course, turned into trouble. While dancing with Bella at the reception, she tells him that she is waiting to be changed to a vampire because she wants to have a 'real honeymoon' and that was part of the deal she had with Edward. Jacob got really upset in this, and the other werewolves there had to take him away. While on the honeymoon, Edward and Bella try having sex, which was actually really funny because Edward ended up biting pillows and breaking the headboard. Anyways, something absolutely shocking happened that no one saw coming. Bella got pregnant. I was completely shocked when I read that! This isn't a normal pregnancy though, since the father is a vampire. The baby appears to be more vampire than human, so it is killing Bella. The werewolves, even though they fought with the Cullens in Eclipse are now going to fight them to kill Bella because they believe that this baby is going to be a threat to them. I was kind of mad at them for wanting to do that, but I was very happy when Jacob stood up to Sam and for once took the Alpha role, leaving Sam and creating his own "pack" with Seth, and later, Leah. I was happy when Jacob finally came up with an idea that I had been thinking of: that the baby is more vampire than human and it is probably thirsty for blood. What came next was absolutely repulsive. My stomach was actually churning while I read it. They had Bella drink extra blood from a cup. And she even liked it, and found humor in it, by saying things like how she will be prepared for becoming a vampire. Breaking Dawn so far has been crazy. So many things have happened, and all of them were huge. I'm beginning to wonder if Bella will ever become a vampire.

Homework

Research Question:
Are standardized tests unfair for minority and disadvantaged students?

Rothstein, Richard. "Leaving "No Child Left Behind" Behind." SIRS. 2008. American Prospect. 7 Dec 2008 .

In his article, Richard Rothstein analyzes the negative effects of the No Child Left Behind law. One thing he mentions is that one reason disadvantaged kids have a poor performance is that they don’t have adequate schools to attend, and also that those same kids will come to school scared or hungry, which doesn’t help their performance at school. Also, children who do not pass the tests given to them receive more attention and instruction than children who do pass. Therefore, schools with many children like that focus more on good instruction than preparing for tests. Another problem with NCLB is that they expect high standards and if they keep increasing these standards, the already large number of schools failing would increase. The article also states that schools get punished for not making “adequate yearly progress” towards getting students to be proficient at these challenging standards, even if the students are disadvantaged or disabled.



Zehr, Mary Ann. “Hurdles Remain High for English-Learners." SIRS. 2008. Education Week. 7 Dec 2008 .

In this article, Mary Ann Zehr tells the story of Ong Vue, who came to the U.S. as a refugee from Thailand. She only spoke Thai and Hmong. Although she had made huge progress throughout high school, she had to take the state of California’s math exam twice before she passed, and also had to take the English exam multiple times. Also, since she wasn’t passing the state tests, it was taking a toll on the school’s hope to reach the national adequate yearly progress. An issue that is brought up in this article is that some schools aren’t preparing students for these sorts of tests. Instead, in the days leading up to one of these tests, some teachers go on teaching the regular curriculum and only briefly mention the test and say things such as “get a good night sleep” and “eat breakfast.” While these tips are helpful, it is suggested that teachers should be preparing students more for the tests.

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