Coraline book club blog post

Anna Sikorski                                                                                                                        808
                                                              Coraline

In modern society kids might feel like they are neglected or not loved by their parents. The book Coraline by Neil Gaiman is a book about a young girl named Coraline who doesn’t really feel much loved by her parents. Coraline’s parents decide to move into an old house that includes other tenants. Coraline’s tenants include Mr. Bobo a retired circus performer living above Coraline  and Miss April Spink and Miss Miriam Forcible, a pair of retired actresses who live below Coraline.             On a rainy day Coraline is bored because her parents are busy with work relates things so she decided to explore the house. Once Coraline reaches the living room she discovers a tiny door in the wall, she goes to see what’s behind it but realizes it’s locked so she gets frustrated. She soon asks her mother to open the door because she has all the keys of the house but once the door is unlocked Coraline and her mother are stuck with just a brick wall behind the door. Coraline’s mom seems to be very busy and doesn’t seem to care much about what she does, an example from the book states, “I don’t really mind you do”, said Coraline’s mother “as long as you don’t make a mess”. Another line from the book that shows you Coraline’s parents don’t really have time for her is, “Coraline’s father was home. Both of her parents worked, doing things on computers, which meant that they were home a lot of the time. Each of them had their own study.” One night Coraline wakes up and something leads her to the door again, she goes to check it out and it’s already open. She looks in to find a strange path and she crawls through it. She gets to the other side but it looks exactly like her house so she gets confused, but she then smells something delicious in the kitchen. She walks in to what seems to be her mother but with button eyes! Coraline asks who she is and the woman states that she is Coraline’s “other mother”. Coraline has now realized she is in another world of her own, but everything is better now. In this other world Coraline is noticed more, gets good food that is cooked, and she seems to like everything a lot better in the other world. Coraline soon says she should leave but her “other mother” and “other father” insists on her staying, so she does.  Once Coraline falls asleep she wakes back up in her old house and she finds it a little strange. Coraline keeps returning and returning until one night her “other mother” talks about removing her eyes and replacing them with buttons.          Coraline now starts to realize everything gets strange with her “other mother” and she meets a group of ghost kids who tell her how they were in her place and their “other mother” took their body’s. Coraline tries to escape and a lot goes on because her “other mother” doesn’t want her to leave at all. A black cat soon helps Coraline escape and once she is back home she regrets ever hating her parents, she is now happy for everything that she has.           All in all kids don’t respect their parents enough nowadays, some kids might feel neglected or sad because their parents are too busy with work but really your parents are doing all of this to benefit you. They work for your food, clothes, toys, and other things you might want or need. Sometimes kids don’t realize how important their parents are until they are gone, and that’s what happened to Coraline, she realized she loved her parents once it was hard to go back to the real world.  

The Gaokao

Anna Sikorski                                                                                                                        808
                The gaokao is an unfair test that millions of Chinese students take every June over several days. “The test is the only thing that matters for admission to Chinese universities”, Brook Larmer stated in the article, “China’s Cram Schools”. The gaokao offers the promise of a life that is beyond working in fields and factories, which means students study and practice for hours in class. I don’t think it’s fair that the students of China take just 1 test that matters for admission to Chinese universities.
                There are so many reasons on why the gaokao is unfair for Chinese students, one reason stated in the article is, “it’s a lot of pressure said Cao. My mother constantly reminds me that I have to study hard, because my father is out working construction far from home to pay my school fees”. It seems very tough because Cao’s father is working far from home to help him pay his school fees so if he does poorly on the gaokao then it will be very heartbreaking for his dad, who has worked very hard to pay school fees.                              Another reason why the gaokao is unfair is, “Its critics say it stifles creativity and puts excessive pressure on students. Teenage suicide rates tend to rise as the gaokao nears”. I think it’s just sad that students so young have killed themselves as the gaokao has neared. They are put through so much just studying and preparing for it and at some point they reach a breaking point when they can’t take it.
                A last reason why the gaokao is unfair is, “Many wealthy families are simply opting out of the system, placing their children in private international schools in china or sending them abroad for an education”. It’s just sad for the people who aren’t too wealthy, they have no choice but to take the gaokao and try their very best using all the knowledge they’ve learned in school. The article also stated that, “Rural students are at severe disadvantages. Villages like Yuejin, where Yang is from, have poor schools and few well trained teachers. Wealthy urban families can hire private tutors, pay for test prep courses or bribe their way into the best city schools. To me it seems like if your wealthy you will mosty likely score higher than the poor, which is most definitely unfair because the poor might not be able to have good teachers and practice for the gaokao.
                    All in all the gaokao is extremely unfair to the Chinese students, they are put under so much pressure, they practice a lot for it and it even causes suicide. It is probably the worst for the poor because they don’t get well trained teachers, while the wealthy get to hire tutors and even bribe schools! I think the gaokao shouldn’t be necessary to get into Chinese universities, why should one big test count on their future? I say the Chinese need to find other strategies for getting into Chinese universities because the gaokao is just a hassle for Chinese students. 

              

Alice in Wonderland book club book #1

Anna Sikorski                                                                                                                    808

                                                   Alice in Wonderland Essay
            In modern society it's not unusual for people to be judged based on social standing and or social class. The book Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is about a young girl named Alice who finds her self in "another world" known as wonderland. She finds herself struggling to fit in with all the different people she meets in her journey. She meets a wide range of characters like a white rabbit, Mad Hatter, and the Queen of Hearts. Mostly everyone finds Alice weird just because she is a little more sane and "normal" from the people in Wonderland.
            At first Alice is all alone in the story she soon finds the White Rabbit which ins't very helpful because he doesn't even stop to help her he just keeps running around. Then later on in the book the once the White Rabbit finally decides to talk to Alice, he mistakes Alice for his servant,he even said, "Why Mary Ann, What are you doing out here? Run home this moment, and fetch me a pair of gloves and a fan". This shows he is very judgmental on social class and he assumes she is a servant just by how she looks and what she is wearing.Alice even comes across a caterpillar sitting on top of a giant mushroom and smoking on a hookah pipe. The caterpillar gets very complicated while talking to Alice, she gets very annoyed with him so she quickly turns around to leave. The Caterpillar soon calls her back and recites a poem, Alice then needs help with changing her size. Right before the Caterpillar leaves he informs Alice to eat one side of the mushroom and he is then gone.
           Then Alice soon comes across The Queen of Hearts, the ruler of Wonderland. Alice finds her severely dominant, constantly screaming for her subjects to be beheaded.Alice gets a little frightened by The queen of Hearts because she isn't used to that type of dominant person. Even the queen turns out a little strange to Alice, she plays a ridiculous game of croquet, the ground is rigged, the croquet balls are live hedgehogs, and the mallets are live flamingos. Everything seems so strange and weird for Alice in Wonderland, people think she is weird for being less crazier than them, and The White Rabbit even judged her on her social class
           All in all I think you should just be yourself if it makes you happy because people are all different with different opinions so either way, people will judge you. Its terrible and cruel for a person to judge anybody on social class because people do have money problems and can be living in poverty, so others don't have rights to talk about it. Be yourself and be happy because that's the best thing you could do
           

Annas YA argument essay

Anna Sikorski                                                                                                                                                    808

                                             

            Teen fiction can be a little “too much” for some teens, but it lets others know they aren't alone. It can be a little “too much” for some teens because some teens may not be ready to be reading about rape, self harm, sexual harassment, kidnap, and so much more. The thing is that other teens have been through those things so if they read about it they can feel like its ok, things happen, and they are not alone. Teen fiction is helpful in so many ways. “Reading is the best way to relax and even six minutes can be enough to reduce the stress levels by more than two thirds, according to new research”, The Telegraph stated. Teen fiction can really help teens cope and feel better about the things that have happened to them.                                               We, the student body, find that some teen fiction can be a little dark at times but it could help teens feel like they aren't alone. In the article, “Yes, teen fiction can be dark- but it shows teenagers they aren't alone”, By Maureen Johnson states that, “if subjects like these are in YA books, it’s to show that they are real, they have happened to others, and they can be survived. I agree with these people are always saying how dark these books are but it’s simply just the truth. Maureen Johnson also stated that, “For teenagers, there is sometimes no message more critical than: you are not alone”. I think this is very true because sometimes teenagers don’t have anyone to talk to about their problems and books can be a really helpful resource for them. Lastly Maureen Johnson states that, “There isn't a YA writer alive who is writing books to corrupt youth. No one writing about self-harm is teaching how to self-harm. No one writing about rape is providing instructions on how to rape or how to be raped”. People are just trying to comfort teens by letting them know that if something has happened to you, you aren't alone and books are ways to get help as well as many other possibilities.

            Even if teens haven’t been going through bad situations they could still read YA books to reduce stress or even for enjoyment.  In the article, “A teenage guide to stress” by Nicola Morgan she states that there are many ways a teen can reduce their stress. One way a teen could reduce stress is by reading for pleasure. Nicola Morgan, the author of, “A teenage guide to stress” states, “People who read books for pleasure report that it relaxes them and allows them to switch off their worries”. This is great because YA books can help teens reduce stress and feel more comforted. Nicola Morgan also states, “We also know that there’s a strong link between reading every day for pleasure and higher grades in exams”. This is great because some teens could be stressed with school and their grades so reading could reduce stress and help with their test scores. The last quote that I strongly agree with is from, “Yes, Teen Fiction Can Be Dark- but It Shows Teenagers They Aren't Alone” By Maureen Johnson, she stated, “There isn't a YA writer alive who is out writing books to corrupt the youth. No one writing about self-harm is teaching how to self harm. It’s all for helping out teens” This is the truth people may think YA books can be teaching kids on how to do things like rape or self-harm, but it’s not it’s just helping teens know that they aren't the only ones and if they’re to scared to talk about it reading these books can help them out.                                                                                   People think that books shouldn't be banned, however others think their kids shouldn’t be reading YA books and are doing all they can to ban books in their school libraries. In the article, “Darkness too visible” by Meghan Cox Gurdon states that, “ contemporary fiction for teens is so dark that kidnapping and pederasty and incest and brutal beatings are now just a part of the run of things in novels directed, broadly speaking at children from the ages of 12 to 18”. I strongly disagree with this and think a teenager should choose for themselves if they are ready to read YA books like these. Things like self-harm, rape, kidnap, and rape are happening everyday so I think it’s just the truth of what happens to some people, some teens want to read about things like rape and kidnap and some teens just want to so they feel like they aren't alone. In the article, “has young adult fiction become too dark?” by Mary Elizabeth Williams she states, “Contemporary literature has too much sex and violence, and our kids need to be protected from its “depravity”. I feel that it’s the child that should choose if they are ready to read about things such as sex and violence because it will make them more responsible and independent for future situations. Meghan Cox Gurdon lastly states, “That “adult” aspect of reading is scary for many of us. It’s our job as parents to protect our kids”. I think they’re going to have to learn to do things and grow up sooner or later and teen years are a perfect time to try new things and try to be independent. Some Parents should trust their kids to make the right decisions about picking out the right YA books.

            It’s a terrible thing for people to try to ban books because teens need these books for so many reasons, they can like reading about these topics or they can read YA books to feel like they aren't alone. Teens use them for reducing stress and feeling like they belong and like they aren't alone. Some teens could be scared to speak up about the problems in their life so by reading YA books they can also understand that it’s ok they aren’t alone and they might need to get help. Those books that are so terribly dark and dismissing to some people may be a book that could change or even save another person’s life.