Horatio Alger, “Who Shall Win, A Story of School Life” , gives an example of what it means to have very little sources, but with the help of friends, one can end up winning through the story of two schoolboys in a competition. The Principal of the Oakland Classical Academy encouraged his students in the field of English composition by holding an essay contest. The price would be honor and $10. Two students seemed to have chances of winning; Julian Holmes and Harry Carter. Julian comes from a prominent background; his father is a lawyer that allows for a comfortable living. Harry, on the other hand, comes from complicated background; living with his widowed mother causing him to working for the school in menial acts to pay for his tuition. These boys indeed are competitors. Besides the original price, additional offerings were made to both students. When they shared what they wrote for the competition, both knew who the clear winner of the essay competition was, Julian. Julian offers Harry the price money (assuming that it was all his only desired from the competition, since winning would mean that his father would get him a row-boat); however, Harry declined the offer as he shared what his real purpose of winning (win the $10 that could help his mother, but also to get a job). Julian deliberately dipped his pen in ink and dropped a large blot on his essay. The day in which they announced the winner of the essay competition, the judges revealed Harry as the winner. Harry then understood what had happened. As Julian went back home, his father was angered as the carelessness of Julian, but Julian shared with his father the reason why he was so “careless”. After hearing his reason of action, his father was so pleased; he offered to bu...
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...ans to be rich and selfless, as well as poor but having friends that can help you out when times are tough.
Now that we live in different times, we see different things within the school life and the workforce in comparison to the old America. Nowadays, scholarship and internship opportunities are presented to students; if they do not have money to pay for school necessities, they do have an opportunity to earn it through their merits and skills, just like Harry. There are also nonprofit groups, foundations, and clubs and organizations which main goal is to help assist students go further in their school career. Today, the working individual can be assured that their rights are protected, and if they have been violated, they can find a union that will fight and demand justice. If someone wants to go further in life, one can count on the help of good people/friends.
Success is the chance to go out there and use the resources available to take advantage of opportunities that most people do not. Usually, things happen in life and it can prevent the process of obtaining success. In the readings, “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara and “Horatio Alger” by Harlon L. Dalton conveys the message that success is not always an everyday thing and it takes opportunities for it to become part of life. In “The Lesson”, an angered girl named Sylvia is taken on a field trip to a toy store with Miss Moore to learn a valuable lesson. The lesson is to become successful in society because it is the only way to make it to the top. On the other hand, “Horatio Alger” shows more of a realistic viewpoint where success is not as easy
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper lee in 1960. The novel tells the story of Atticus Finch, a white lawyer, and Tom Robinson, a black servant, accused of raping a white female. Finch defends Robinson in court arguing lack of evidence as his main point. However, the judge and jury still believe the woman’s testimony and orders Robinson to be killed. The novel has been praised for its outstanding literature since its publication. However, it remains a banned book by the American Library Association for its use of racial slurs and profanity. Due to it being banned, many high schools have reconsidered the notion of teaching it to their students. Two prominent authors wrote articles pertaining to this piece of literature: Angela Shaw-Thornburg wrote an article on her re-reading of the novel and her opinions on it; while Malcom Gladwell wrote an article comparing Atticus Finch to a state governor liberalist, James Folsom, and the restraints of liberalism in the south. In addition, Rebecca Best contributes her thought on how the novel should be taught by introducing the idea of “the other.” Regardless of the modern day political arguments surrounding this piece of literature, this novel contains a large insight into the time period of the 1960s which is an influential topic that should be taught to young high school students.
In his work, “A Talk to Teachers,” James Baldwin poured out his point of view on how he believed American children should be taught. Throughout the essay, Baldwin focused on a specific race of school children: Negros. Perhaps this was because he himself was an African American, or even for the mere idea that Negros were the most vulnerable for never amounting to anything — according to what the American society thought during the twentieth century, specifically the 1960s when this piece was published. With the focus determined, the reader is able to begin analyzing Baldwin’s main appeal through the essay. At first glance one could argue that the essay has no credibility with Baldwin’s lack of not being a school teacher himself; however, when further evaluated one could state that whether or not he was a school teacher has nothing to do with the fact that he establishes his credibility, he appeals to morals, emotions with authority, and values, which thus outweighs the possible negativities associated with his argument.
How to get a better life in the future? Literally to get a better life one has to get through education. This process takes about sixteen years to complete, but when someone joins this process they have to follow the U.S. education system. Education in the United States has been following one idea that comes from a foreign region “The Prussians”. It has been evolving over the years and it has remained adjoining new ideas. Some of these new ideas involve many circumstances which have changed the concept of education. In “Entitlement Education” Daniel Bruno suggests that education has been overall cheating students, and that it is competitive to graduate and to get a job; also, in “What is Education?,” Petra Pepellashi states that education would have been better with Thomas Jefferson’s model of critical thinking rather than the Prussian model way of respecting authority. Above all, education remains competitive, and it continues cheating students because of the usage of the Prussian model rather than Thomas Jefferson’s vision.
great sense of pride and determination to make the best out of one’s surroundings, and the
Throughout the ages, men and women have been at the heart of myths and legends, evolving into tragic heroes in large part due to the embellishment bestowed upon them over the ages. From Odysseus and Achilles to Brutus, Hamlet, and King Lear, epic poems have revolved around the tragic hero. Pat Tillman was a man of many aptitudes and virtues, never satisfied by the mediocre, striving for more adventure, more meaning, in his tragically short time on Earth, and personifying the phrase carpe diem. Even Pat Tillman had tragic flaws; his unwillingness to be typical, his undying loyalty to family and country, and his curiously concrete set of morals amalgamated to set in motion Tillman’s eventual death. These, whatever the outcome might have been, are not by any means, the archetypical tragic flaws. They are, as Jon Krakauer later described, “tragic virtues.” Where Men Win Glory is not solely a tribute to Pat Tillman. What makes it truly unique is its exhaustively comprehensive history preceding Tillman’s death, and equally essential, the events that transpired following his death, including the cover-ups, scandals, corruption, falsified documents, indignities, and lies that facilitated, also, in emphasizing the core themes, of which Tillman was the epitome. Tillman’s fidelity and devotion to the people whom he loved, the use of misinformation and cants surrounding his death, and others’ responses to what Tillman considered paramount in his life all played a key role in the tragedy of a man who won glory.
If one needs a secure future, he/she has to attend college and attain a college degree to do so. College is doing a great job in educating the students about the particular subject, but is not doing so well to get them ready for their future jobs. To be able to sustain themselves in their field of work, students have to learn with more hands on activities, which will help them develop faster ways to be able to perform tasks, and make the least amount of mistakes. If the students do make mistakes, then they should learn from them rather than think negatively about making mistakes. Colleges should prepare students to deal intellectually with their future jobs by helping them providing with internships, and talking to them about importance of volunteering in our society, so students want to volunteer rather than forced to do so. Doing so will help improve our society’s condition because we will see more people helping each other rather than being selfish. Colleges should inform students about fraudulent cases that take place in the world on a daily basis, so the students could be better consumers. Colleges need to build programs for students which helps students with their critical thinking, and so that students could surround themselves with people who want to achieve similar goals in life. This will help students build a team, and help them be creators in life with their innovations. Doing so will
people go to school to get an education and get a well paying job. Many
America is a very self-fulfilling economy and class matters after all in this so called “American Dream.” When did teenagers become any different. Last time I checked we were all equal. John M. Bridgeland in First, Help Today’s Struggling Youth. states that yet every year in America more than one million youth drop out of high school, crippling their chance at the American Dream.” John also states; “Nearly one in six, between the ages of sixteen to twenty four years old, is disconnected from the two structures that offer hope for their future.” These are school and work. This is where we need to promote growth and provide teens with any tools necessary to achieve. We need to be open to any ideas that this generation foresees in the future. John is a strong believer in the Youth Build program. In the third paragraph of First, Help Today’s Struggling Youth., he says that with a track record of success, Youth Build offers a holistic program of education, job training, personal counseling, community service, leadership development, placement in college or jobs, and follow-up support afte...
Education is a big factor in life and for someone who is trying to recover from a rough past, it’s a need. In Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story, Liz had the chance to go to school as a child but as she grew up, she rarely went. She stayed home with her parents and went only to take her final test to pass the grade. As she realized that school was her only way to get anywhere in the future, she began to take things more seriously. Liz asserts, “I'm smart. I know I can succeed. I just need a chance. A chance to climb out of this place I've born in. Everyone I know are angry and tired. They're trying to survive. But I know that there is a world out there that is better, that's better developed. And I want to live in it,” (Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story). She worked hard trying to get back into school and she took extra classes to make up for t...
...ness. We should just “love our life, poor as it is” as poor people would yield “the most sugar and the most starch.” Therefore, we should be unique and should never care about money in this material world.
We look up to the rich and the successful people and think that they are smart and everything and want to be like them, but in reality, they’re just like us, humans. They have struggled through many challenges until they reached the position that they are in today and they built these three character traits so they can fight for what they want. To be successful in life, you have to show these three character traits every day in your life in order to achieve your goals. These characteristics define who we are as a person.
... open mind to every being. One thing is for sure I will not let myself be taken for granted. Also I will not let myself be awarded less than I have earned. Good things do not come easy unless you work for it.
...l not be determined enough to continue on with their education and cultivate their knowledge if they already have a high-income occupation. This goes on to prove that teenagers do not need the funds of an adult worker, as they have parents who take care of most of their personal financial needs.
It can be said that Richard Sheridan was a man who was far ahead of his time, not only in ideals but in humor as well. The way that Sheridan chose to expose his insight on the world that lay before him was through the literary medium, The Rivals. In it, Sheridan uses various allegorical characters to display faults that he observes in human nature as a product of 18th century society. Some of the traits that Sheridan is attempting to illustrate to his readers are ignorance in women, neuroticism and captious attitudes in couples, and pride. Sheridan creates a satirical masterpiece in his play and clearly displays some of the many absurd characteristics that were prevalent among the individuals that made up his own culture.