Glimpses

Written Jan. 24th 2009

True Love as described in an in-class essay by a 14-year-old Freshman girl, who is currently dating an 8th grade boy:

Last but not least, true love. Have you ever had that feeling that you'd love to be with someone everyday all day? That feeling you get when you like someone alot and everytime they're around you get huge butterflies and you can't stop thinking about how much you want to kiss the person? That my dear, is love... (Actually, love cannot be defined, but that's how I felt...) This person is most likely "The One," meaning you'd love to spend the rest of your life with them. The only person that makes you feel a certain happiness... A happiness you get and it just makes you feel so good and so right. It's amazing.

So in conclusion, without love, our world would be completely dull and retarted, because you wouldn't have the happiness you get from all the love.

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Another student's thesis, responding to the prompt, "Is television a good thing, or would we be better off without it? Choose a side to argue and use specific examples to support your argument."

Although TV isn't terrific, it also isn't totally terrible. All in all, TV could be considered hardly better than neutral.

We've been working on creating arguable theses...

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One kid responded to the prompt: "If you could make one change in your life, what would it be? Why would you choose to change that one thing? Use specific examples to explain why that change would be important."

He wrote that, if he could change anything about his life, he would choose to live somewhere else; he said that his neighborhood had between 5 and 7 gangs, and that he couldn't count how many times he's almost been robbed or shot. He described how noisy it got at night, with the sirens and yelling and gun-shots. "In the day its not so bad but at night you wish you didn't have ears."

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January 8, 2009
Dear Greta,

I would like to thank you for helping me in dance class. You have been a great partner and have been patient when I have made mistakes. It is nice to have a non-judgmental partner in such an environment where one is vulnerable such as when one dances with another.

I would also like to thank you for helping me deal with those that think it is okay to pass me up in the partnering line. That kind of incident makes me feel lower than dirt and you helped me get back on my feet and to come back strong.

I am truly glad to have you as a dance partner and as a teacher. May your future career in academics bring you good fortune and good times.

Sincerely,

B----- W.F. H----- Esq. The XLVIII