Final Post

Hello Guys,

Well, I'm sad to say that now that our class has come to an end, this will be my last post. I will be returning your last essays to you this week, as well as a progress report to your parents.

It has been a huge honor being your teacher, and I have enjoyed reading and discussing books with you over the year. I look forward to our summer class, we have some great reads ahead of us! Enjoy your break until that class begins. During the break try to read A Thousand Splendid Suns, its supposed to be amazing!

Take care,

Mrs. Severson

Final Essay

Well, you made it through the year! You all worked so hard and progressed tremendously. I am very proud of you! I hope you realize all that you have learned over the year, and how many new books you not only read, but analyzed, discussed, and wrote about. The level of your work always impressed me, and I am excited about working with some of you over the summer!

Please post your final essay in the comments section here. Daniel read Kevin's essay, Kevin read Tyler's essay, Tyler read Daniel's essay.

I know you are all excited about this being your last essay, but I have to admit I'm sad about it. I am going to miss seeing them pop into my inbox every two weeks. I always thoroughly enjoy reading them. If you happen to write anything else, send it my way:)

Good luck with this final essay! Enjoy the process. Please let me know if you have any questions.

This is a picture of the Willamette River which runs through the Willamette Valley where I now live in Oregon. If you come and visit Jimmy and I will take you out on the boat!

Essay Question

For our last essay of the year, you will be able to choose from the different SAT Essay prompts below. Read through them all carefully and then make your choice. You will need to use examples from TWO of the books we have read this year as well as an example from your life.

Kevin and Daniel, you will need to write the essay in 25 minutes.

Please let me know if you have questions or if I can help in any way. I hope you enjoy this challenge! Your essay is due by midnight on Friday. Have fun!

Here are the four different prompts you may choose from.

Prompt 1

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

Many people believe that our government should do more to solve our problems. After all, how can one individual create more jobs or make roads safer or improve the schools or help to provide any of the other benefits that we have come to enjoy? And yet expecting that the government—rather than individuals—should always come up with the solutions to society's ills may have made us less self-reliant, undermining our independence and self-sufficiency.

Assignment:

Should people take more responsibility for solving problems that affect their communities or the nation in general? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Prompt 2

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.
Most human beings spend their lives doing work they hate and work that the world does not need. It is of prime importance that you learn early what you want to do and whether or not the world needs this service. The return from your work must be the satisfaction that work brings you and the world's need of that work. Income is not money, it is satisfaction; it is creation; it is beauty.
Adapted from W.E.B. Du Bois, The Autobiography of W.E.B. Du Bois: A Soliloquy on Viewing My Life from the Last Decade of Its First Century

Assignment:

Is it more important to do work that one finds fulfilling or work that pays well? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Prompt 3

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

The education people receive does not occur primarily in school. Young people are formed by their experiences with parents, teachers, peers, and even strangers on the street, and by the sports teams they play for, the shopping malls they frequent, the songs they hear, and the shows they watch. Schools, while certainly important, constitute only a relatively small part of education.
Adapted from Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, "Education for the Twenty-First Century"

Assignment:

Is education primarily the result of influences other than school? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Prompt 4

Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.

If we are dissatisfied with our circumstances, we think about changing them. But the most important and effective changes—in our attitude—hardly occur to us. In other words, we should worry not about how to alter the world around us for the better but about how to change ourselves in order to fit into that world.
Adapted from Michael Hymers, "Wittgenstein, Pessimism and Politics"

Assignment:

Is it better to change one's attitude than to change one's circumstances? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Essay

I really enjoyed seeing you all this week! Great job discussing Kite Runner and reviewing all the books we have read so far.

Please post your Kite Runner essay here in the comments section. Tyler, please read Kevin's essay, and Kevin read Daniel's essay, and Daniel read Tyler's essay. Of course keep in mind that Kevin and Daniel had only 25 minutes to write their essays!

See you there?

Well, today is my last day in Chicago! Tomorrow I head to Pennsylvania and then will be in San Luis Obispo! Your moms are working out a time for us to all meet and discuss Kite Runner and your overall experience this year. I am really excited about having a "live" discussion with you and getting caught up.

In preparation for this Tuesday I want you to come up with your question for me about Kite Runner as well as the essay question you want to answer for your essay. Remember, for this essay, you are writing your own question. Come to the meeting with your essay question written down, and I will give you my feedback regarding it. We will finalize each of your essay questions during our meeting, and then you will e-mail me your essay like always.

Bring Kite Runner to the discussion, just in case you need to reference it during our chat. I am looking forward to seeing you all again, and know that we will have a great discussion about this wonderful book!

See you Tuesday!

Comprehension Questions

The picture is of children in Afghanistan flying a kite.

The Kite Runner

I am really looking forward to hearing what you have to say about this book! It is very different from the books we have read so far for many reasons, not the least of which is that is was written just a few years ago. This is the first book we have read by an author that is still alive! The story includes events that have happened during your lifetimes, including the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Not only does the book tell an amazing story, but includes the history of Afghanistan over the past 40 years. I think the history will fascinate you as much as the plot touches you.

Enjoy reading this book, you have two entire weeks to go through its 370 pages, so take your time and savor it. I’m looking forward to discussing it with you. Don’t forget to fill out your reading journal!

Chapters 1, 2, 3
1. What does Amir’s teacher say about Shi’a Muslims? Do Hassan or his father, Ali, fulfill this stereotype?
2. What type of a man is Baba? How does he view the world?
3. What is Baba’s definition of sin? Do you agree with him?
4. Baba worries that Amir is a coward. He says, “A boy who won’t stand up for himself becomes a man who can’t stand up to anything.” Is this true about Amir? Do you agree or disagree with Baba’s statement?

Chapters 4, 5, 6
5. Compare and contrast Ali and Hassan to Baba and Amir.
6. What character qualities do we see in Hassan? Which do we see in Amir?

Chapters 7, 8, 9
7. What motivates Amir to do well in the kite tournament?
8. What does Amir do when he sees Hassan in the alley?
9. How does Amir’s inaction affect the way he feels about Hassan? Why do you think it has this affect?
10. Amir decides that something must be done to get rid of Hassan. What does he do? What is Baba’s response?
11. What are your thoughts about Amir and Hassan?

Chapters 10, 11, 12
12. How has Kabul changed?
13. How does Baba respond to the idea of a woman being raped? How does this contrast to Amir?
14. What happens to Baba’s memories in America? What happens to Amir’s memories?
15. Baba makes an observation about Soraya, saying, “It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime, Amir.” How does Amir know that is true?
16. Soraya reveals her past to Amir, why do you think he still withholds his from her?

Chapters 13, 14, 15
17. Compare and contrast the General and Baba. Who do you respect more?
18. Rahim Khan says to Amir, “Come. There is a way to be good again.” How is going to Pakistan the first step in Amir’s redemption?

Chapters 16, 17, 18
19. We encounter Hassan again as an adult. What kind of man has he become?
20. Why does it so surprise Amir when he looks in the photo and sees “a man who thought the world had been good to him”?
21. What does Amir learn about Hassan?

Chapters 19, 20, 21
22. How will Amir be redeemed?
23. Why is planting the money under the mattress symbolic of how Amir has changed?
24. What horrible situation is the orphanage director living under?
25. What have the Taliban done to the country?

Chapters 22, 23, 24, 25
26. What do they witness at the soccer match?
27. Who is the evil sociopath?
28. Why is getting beaten cathartic for Amir?
29. How do the events in the room mirror Amir’s childhood?
30. Rahim Kahn says that, “A man who has no conscience, no goodness, does not suffer.” Is that true?
31. Do you think Baba and Amir are similar now?
32. “True redemption is when guilt leads to good.” Is that true?
33. How is Hassan’s character summed up in the lesson he taught Sohrab, “Father used to say it’s wrong to hurt even bad people. Because they don’t know any better, and because bad people sometimes become good”?
34. Hassan used to run kites for Amir, and now Amir is running kites for Sohrab. In what other ways have we seen the plot come full circle?

I want you to choose 12 questions to answer. Any twelve, your choice. This is our last book for the year, and I want to give you the opportunity to answer the questions you want. You will also be writing your own essay question, so keep that in mind as you read! More about the essay later:)

The Kite Runner

I am really excited about our next book, The Kite Runner. We have two weeks to read this book, with your essay due on May 16th. So take your time and enjoy it! I will post the questions on Monday. Have a good weekend.