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The importance of reading and writing
The importance of reading and writing
Importance of writing and reading
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I still remember vividly the day my mom, sister, and I found out my dad had passed away. The day was May 28th, 2009. Our local policeman pulled into our driveway and asked to see my mom and me. He then went on to tell us it would be best if we sat down and he spilled the news about my dad. After my father’s passing, I struggled in school. I struggled to understand the point in school and why I needed to learn the things that teachers were trying to teach me. I was fortunate enough to have a very understanding English teacher that just so happened to be my teacher for three years straight from seventh grade into my freshman year of high school. Mrs. Irwin inserted the importance of reading and writing into my life. In Mrs. Irwin’s class, I was able to connect with the book Gym Candy by Carl Deuker which led me to find my own personal tastes in literature. When my father passed I was in fifth grade, ten years old at the time. I was not old enough to fully understand the significance of something like that. With saying that, I had a great-fifth grade teacher that helped me to overcome the different complications I had during that time. These complications included built up anger and, of course, not wanting to do school …show more content…
The book is about a kid named Mick who is in high school playing football and trying to be just like his dad. His dad played college football and made it into the NFL. Mick was trying to follow in his father’s shoes and be even more successful then he was. Mick became his high school’s starting running back and at this point, he knew he needed to gain more muscle to be able to take more hits. He begins taking steroids without telling anyone. This initiated side effects that his friends and others started noticing. Mick attempted to commit suicide because he thought he ran out of chances and let his team down. He later was admitted to a rehabilitation center and was cured of the addiction to
I’m reading Gym Candy. It is a book about football. This book is about a young boy named Mick is and his dad was a pro football running back. Mick would always talk about his dad and brag about how good he was and how he stopped because he blew out his knee. Well the truth came out and his dad wasn’t taking it seriously. Well now Mick is in high school and is on varsity as a starting running back. The team had just got a new coach and is weight training in the off- season. Well Mick is not progressing and is wanting to go to a different gym. Well his dad is sponsoring a gym called Popeye's and can get him a membership. So now mick has been going there and isn’t progressing and his trainer told him about gym candy, and now he is progressing.
The historical information provides a background for the cultural impact. Dealing with loss is a part of the information. It is a hard thing to do, and the Welch children had to do that in their memoir. When dealing with loss, children need a stable environment because they might think what they have done caused the death ("When" 1). Children can be easily swayed, so they might formulate their own theory as to how their loved one died. Consequently, they might think of it to be their own fault; they have no one else to give the blame, so they drop it on themselves. Also, "children need help to cope with their grief when a parent dies" ("When" 1). Kids need someone to talk to about their loss. The person should have an understanding of children. Another part of this information is family. Family is necessary. Not just for the reproduction of mankind, but also for the physiological growth it develops (Lasch-Quinn 1). Being a part of today's family is more about providi...
The author and Wes Moore faced very similar environmental changes and challenges. The differences that resulted these two on opposite ends of the spectrum was their family’s influence upon their decisions. The actions of each Wes Moore’s mothers had a great effect in their lives. The author Wes’s mother, as well as his grandparents, played a key role in his success as an adult. The sacrifices of time and the minimal amount of extra money she made went towards the author and his other siblings which ensured him the best educational environment. Without his mother, Joy, a college graduate herself, who “raised all of her children together, and she worked multiple jobs to send all of her children to private school” Wes could not have aspired to be where he is today (Moore 48). She persisted with him by laying down her expectations for him to excel in ...
Despite the differences we share many similar diversions such as good quality time with our families. Arthur was known to spend countless hours reading and listening to music with his mom. Yet at the age of 6 Arthur had to face one of the most traumatic expierences of his life when he lost his mother, Matti Ashe, to a fatal case of toxemia while in labor. Similar to this experience I lost my grandfather at the age of five. Although I was impacted greatly it was not a loss as great as Arthurs loss of a loving mother. I Can recall the day it happened just as well as Arthur recalled the details of when he last saw his mother.
The critics who perceived this book's central theme to be teen-age angst miss the deep underlying theme of grief and bereavement. Ambrosio asks the question, "Is silence for a writer tantamount to suicide? Why does the wr...
I always looked at death as such a sad thing that is eventually going to occur to everyone. However, after reading this book, it made me realize death can actually be a beautiful thing. Death allows a person to go to a next life, one where they will be loved and others will be there for them. It was interesting to be able to read about stories that these hospice care workers witnessed themselves. I have experienced a few deaths within my life and I never coped with them very well. After reading this book, I honestly believe I will be able to look at the positive side of death and be able to deal with my emotions better. I can also help others surrounding me deal with a death that they are experiencing. This book was filled with information that I loved learning. For example, I never knew that a dying person can choose a time to die. The thought of this never occurred to me before. I always thought that when it was someone’s time to go, they had no choice. But, a dying person can “put off” passing on until they see a certain person or event that has great significance in their life. Nevertheless, there are still people who will wait to die until they’re all alone in the room. This book makes you think of real life situations and think what you would do in them. Taken as a whole, it was a very in depth book that changes the way you would naturally perceive
Carl Deuker’s Swagger is a powerful follow-up to the book Gym Candy also written by Dueker. This unpredictable, emotional book follows the protagonist Jonas Dolan who moves across the country to Seattle, Washington. Shortly after he moves, he befriends a childlike student named Levi Rawdon who “won’t even say the word ‘damn’” (261). Both are high school seniors trying to earn a scholarship to play basketball in college. Even though Levi’s game is good, his grades don’t keep up to the same high standard even though he tries extremely hard. Coach Hartwell—assistant basketball coach at the highschool—offers to tutor Levy to help bring up his poor grades. After a trip to the nearby mountains with Coach Hartwell, Levy’s entire persona changes, and he turns into a stoic, emotionless person. Shortly after, Levy tells Jonas that he was sexually assaulted by Coach Hartwell. Jonas has to decide whether he is going to tell the truth about Coach Hartwell (even though Levy doesn’t want him to) and risk his career as a college basketball player or keep the secret to himself.
The first thing that comes to him is depression. The book says “I feel like I am falling through an endless black hole”. Everytime he has to stop taking the steroids he gets depressed because he has to fall back a step. The steroids make him anxious and nervous because he scared about someone finding out. But when his good friend Drew finds out Mick does not know what to do so he tries to shoot himself. The next thing that happens is he wakes up in the hospital with his mom and dad in the room with him. They ask how he's feeling and talk about anything but steroids because they don’t want to remind him of it even though he was already thinking about it. In the very last part of the book Mick is laying in bed in the mental hospital thinking about what he wants to with his life when he gets out. He hears another kid down the hall screaming and crying. He says “the walls muffle the noise and I feel like the screams are coming from inside me. Then Mick starts to think it might be his dad's fault because he pushed him so hard and thinks about how his friend Drew was ratting him out. Then he realizes it was all his fault because no one made him take the steroids and no one made him cheat. Then he says “now the kid down the hall is screaming again and in my head i’m screaming
The Novel “Gym Candy” is a novel written by Carl Deuker. This Novel Highlights the pressures of being a teenager, and how it can drive you to extreme measures. Mick is different from a lot of teenagers. Ever since he was born he was born with an abnormal amount of pressure to be as good as his father. This novel also shows how growing up isn’t as great as advertised.
Mrs. Plot, one of the hardest English teachers in Murray County High School, was my teacher that year. She was a very determined and driven teacher that did not tolerate her students to fail her class, even if they were lazy. I had heard horror stories from her former students, but she was nothing like they said she was. She was the only teacher that I have connected with all throughout school. I looked forward to her class every morning because she always made learning fun. Mrs. Plot gave out good advice about English, but she also gave me personal advice and was more of a friend to me. She always knew what to say to me when I had problems. She motivated me to do better with my writing; we went to a journalism class together every week that year. Mrs. Plot deepened my love for reading and writing. Without her, I would not be the kind of student I am today. On every assignment in her class, I got the most feedback and it helped me out a lot. It took me a long time to become a decent writer, but with her help she sped up the process. I put all of my effort in every single paper I have written, especially for her
As we arrived, my stomach started to turn inside out, and I wasn’t sure why, but I knew when that happens I turn into a nervous wreck. They sat me in the hallway as they chattered about me I was assuming. On our bumpy car ride home, my parents stopped through an ice cream shop, knowing that’s a way to cheer their little boy. They sat me down and told me about how the teacher is concerned with my low-level reading and writing skills. It bothered me very much, that the teacher had never said anything to me one on one. My parents told me that I might be held back, and to stay positive and don’t let this bring you down. This caused so much confusion and discouragement for a seven year old boy. I was still in discomfort after the day reading because of how the kids laughed when I read my
The ride home had been the most excruciating car ride of my life. Grasping this all new information, coping with grief and guilt had been extremely grueling. As my stepfather brought my sister and I home, nothing was to be said, no words were leaving my mouth.Our different home, we all limped our ways to our beds, and cried ourselves to sleep with nothing but silence remaining. Death had surprised me once
I went to school and worked diligently to keep my grades up so my parents wouldn’t need to worry about my future. My father’s health declined. He became explosively angry, lost part of his hearing, speech, and sense of touch and couldn’t remember everyday things. I remember being yelled at when we were working on the old blue Chevy truck together and I put a wrench in his left hand. He thought I was being slow to get it from the toolbox, but he couldn’t feel it resting in his palm. When things became increasingly serious with my father’s situation, my mother informed the school and I strongly remember their support in and out of the classroom from my peers and teachers. I missed the last two weeks of school due to my father’s death. I was 10 and my mother was 29. The school sent flowers and froze my grades.
I was anxious to start my journey as an improved reader. My sister and I walked home together from school. I kicked some pine cones and started to ponder on Mrs. Wright's words. Unexpectedly, I felt discouraged. I knew I wanted to improve, but I didn’t know how. At that time, my parents worked so much so I wouldn't see them very often after school. Rushing up to my room, I began to cry. Frustration had taken over my soul and it wouldn't let up. My tears blurred my vision and warmed my small face. The more I thought about it, the more I cried. I had broke down because I felt helpless and trapped. In the midst of my despair, I felt something tell me "You have my love and you can overcome any obstacle." I believe it was God who reminded me that He has not abandon me, even through that tough time, He was faithful to me. These words built up my courage and faith. No longer would I feel helpless and trapped. I got out my notebook and wrote what was my objective for the next day. In my notebook I slowly and carefully wrote " Get help." I knew I couldn’t do this alone, so I seeked for someone to point me to the right direction. That next day, I got up an hour early just so I can accomplish my first goal. My mother was up and said, " You are kind of early today aren't you?" I answered, " Yes, I am. I need some help with school so I decided to go early." She smiled and gave me a kiss on my forehead. Her kisses always made my days better. I
When I was younger, I had friends, but I was the person who did not want to dance at birthday parties. I was someone who enjoyed talking to the lunch moms instead of playing on the playground. I was shy and my mom handled everything for me. Until now, I did not know how much work went into raising me. I never knew that there were deadlines to paying bills or that appointments had to be made in advance, but everything changed one morning when I woke up to the blaring sound of my mom’s alarm. I was confused because she was a light sleeper, and I became anxious. I ran into her room, and immediately I knew something was wrong. The death of my mother during the first month of my eighth grade year, as a single event, did not instantly mark my transition to adulthood, but it did change my life forever. My mother died before she was able to watch me graduate middle school, before she was able to teach me how to drive, and before she was able to share all of her wisdom. Her death was the most painful experience I have ever encountered, but I was lucky enough