A Weekend Adventure

I went home this weekend for my friend's engagement party. Home is in Connecticut. Connecticut is where the snow heavily snowed on this weekend.

The engagement party was in New Jersey. My family and I left Jersey after the snow had already begun. Because of the weather and traffic (due to accidents from the snow), it took us three and a half hours to get home - two hours longer than it would normally take us. When we reached our neighborhood, getting to our house was an obstacle course. Where I live is already like a maze; you have to zigzag through roads and go up and down hills. It's definitely not like New York. So, now, with power lines and trees down, finding a way to get to my house was almost impossible. Luckily, we found a way. Thank God for our Ford Explorer that carried us up the one snowy-hill option we had that wasn't blocked off.

When we reached our home, my family and I were in for a rude awakening: the power was out. Because we couldn't open our garage, we walked through the two feet of snow, past the breaking trees, to the front door, I being in a sari and open-toed heels. Using my dying cell phone as a source of light, we searched for candles and matches in the pitch dark. We decided to pack clothes and brave the bad roads again to go to my eldest brother's house ten minutes away (even though we knew it would take much longer to reach there) that was not powerless likes ours. When we finally made it out of our driveway after getting stuck about twenty times, we got stuck on our street, not even a minute from our house. We had no choice but to turn back to our powerless, waterless, heatless home.

It was 10:30 pm, and my parents and brother decided to go to sleep because there was nothing to do. I, on the other hand, had a final paper due the next day for my Sunday class; it was the last class. I had already researched for my paper and written two outlines, but I had not written the paper yet. As you can see, the snow had other plans in mind for me that night. So, while everyone attempted to sleep under multiple comforters in our freezing home, I sat at my dining room table with a scarf and gloves on, wrapped in a blanket, surrounded by literally ten candles, trying to write my Families, Cultures, and Learning paper.

Thank God everything turned out okay. What a night; it was definitely an adventure and a night to remember. And that was just Saturday. Sunday is a whole other story.

An Attempt

The bus was late. John stood at the bus stop, shaking his head and grunting as he grew more impatient. When it finally came, he stomped his way onto the bus. "Try to stay on schedule tomorrow, would ya?" he scoffed at the driver. He made his way to the last bucket seat available, tossed his briefcase on the seat, and sat down right next to it. He laid his head back and closed his eyes.

After a few minutes, the bus still hadn't pulled away. What's taking so long, John thought. He looked out the window and saw an elderly woman approaching the bus, slowly. Like John, the people sitting in front of and next to John began to tap their feet and sigh aloud. "Hurry up," a girl yelled out. "Although you may think we do, we don't have all day!"

Walking with her cane, the woman climbed onto the bus and walked down the aisle, stepping over passengers' feet, searching for a place to sit. As she approached John, John moved his briefcase further down the seat and looked out the window.

"Jerk," she said under her breath.

"Excuse me?"

"Are you hard of hearing? I called you a jerk."

"Maybe you should walk faster next time, Grandma. I was here first," John retaliated.

"Maybe you should watch what you say to me because I will..."

"You'll what?" John asked. "You'll hit me with your cane? No, you can stand. You'll be okay."

So, What's Your Point?

One of my responsibilities as the Grad Assistant for the Writing Center is to meet with First Year Orientation Experience students. Up until this point, I've met with 17 classes; that's approximately 425 freshmen. That's a whole lot of freshmen.

As a part of FOrE, the first-year students make their way around campus, getting to know the services Adelphi offers. The Writing Center happens to be one of the hot spots, if not the hottest (cough cough), the students visit during the semester.

During their visit, it's my job to tell the students about the WC and, my favorite part of our session, talk with them about writing. This is when things get interesting. We talk about it all: the writing process, what they feel to be the "I want to pull my hair out!" and "That was a cinch!" part of writing, and their feelings about writing - their very honest feelings.

By the end of our 50-minute session together, I try to get a few things across to my little freshmen (okay, so most of them are taller than me...and look older than me, but I was born first, so ha!). First, we're all writers. Second, it's important to develop your writing; it's a process and takes practice, so revise, revise, revise! And, third, of course, the Writing Center is here to help. That's my spiel.

Well, guess who had a paper due this Sunday and didn't "revise, revise, revise!"? Guilty. That would be me. I just revised. But, it's not that I didn't want to revise multiple times, I swear. I really did, but I just didn't have the time. That's the case for so many students and will be for most of the freshmen students I've been meeting with; they have other responsibilities, things going on at home, etc.

So, what's my point? As teachers, we have to realize that students don't always have that extra hour to invest in their writing. Although it is their responsibility as students to find the time, we can help them by walking them through the writing process, too, having them submit first and second drafts and having peer workshops in class. Writing is a process, and we have to do our best to help them develop theirs. Then they'll understand the art and craft of writing. (Get it? That's a class freshmen have to take. Bad joke? Okay - won't do it again.)

Heroes, Take Two

            According to Tim Miller, “Heroes are everyday people who every once in a while do extraordinary things.” In other words, heroes are average people who act in remarkable ways. This is shown true through characters like Atticus Finch of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Mr. Freeman of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak.

            Characterizing Atticus Finch based on his actions proves him to be a hero. Atticus is similar to the members of his Maycomb community; like others, he, too, works and has a family. He is your “everyday” person. However, although he is considered average, he is a hero because of his courageous and noble deeds. Despite the fact that he lives in a racist white town, Atticus chooses to serve as Tom Robinson’s lawyer, defending the African American man in court. He decides to take a stand for justice, challenging the inequalities of his community, even if it means he has to stand alone, which proves him to be a hero.

            Similarly, characterizing Mr. Freeman based on his effect on others proves him to be a hero as well. Mr. Freeman is one of the many teachers in Melinda Sordino’s school. Like his colleagues, he teaches and works with students on a daily basis. While he is your “everyday” teacher, he is a hero because of the positive impact he has on his students, specifically Melinda. As a social outcast in school, Melinda battles both an external and internal conflict, struggling with negative emotions towards those around her as well as herself. However, Mr. Freeman continuously invests in Melinda, encouraging and supporting her. He uses art to help Melinda confront and express her deep-rooted feelings; ultimately, he helps her though her healing process. Mr. Freeman reaches out to and reaches Melinda in a way other adults have not and have not been able to, acting as her hero.

            As Tim Miller states, “Heroes are everyday people who every once in a while do extraordinary things.” Through their characterizations, based on their actions and effects on people, both Atticus Finch of To Kill a Mockingbird and Mr. Freeman of Speak prove this to be true. While they are “everyday people,” they are heroes, “[doing] extraordinary things,” as they act courageously for the sake of others and invest in others, ultimately improving the lives of those around them.

Heroes

            According to Tim Miller, “Heroes are everyday people who every once in a while do extraordinary things.” In other words, heroes are average people who act in remarkable ways. This is shown true through characters like Atticus Finch of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird and Mr. Freeman of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak.

            Characterizing Atticus Finch based on his actions proves him to be a hero. Atticus is similar to the members of his Maycomb community; like others, he, too, works and has a family. He is your “everyday” person. However, although he is considered average, he is a hero because of his courageous and noble deeds. Despite the fact that he lives in a racist white town, Atticus chooses to serve as Tom Robinson’s lawyer, defending the African American man in court. He decides to take a stand for justice, challenging the inequalities of his community, even if it means he has to stand alone, which proves him to be a hero.

            Similarly, characterizing Mr. Freeman based on his effect on others proves him to be a hero as well. Mr. Freeman is one of the many teachers in Melinda Sordino’s school. Like his colleagues, he teaches and works with students on a daily basis. While he is your “everyday” teacher, he is a hero because of the effects he has on his students, specifically Melinda. Feeling as if she is a social outcast in school, Melinda bottles her negative emotions inside. However, through art, Mr. Freeman helps Melinda confront and express her feelings; he is able to reach Melinda in a way other adults have not been able to, acting as her hero.

            As Tim Miller states, “Heroes are everyday people who every once in a while do extraordinary things.” Through their characterizations, based on their actions and effects on people, both Atticus Finch of To Kill a Mockingbird and Mr. Freeman of Speak prove this to be true. While they are “everyday people,” they are heroes, “[doing] extraordinary things,” as they act courageously for the sake of others and invest in others, ultimately helping those around them.