Student Work

The path is clear as she continues along. The day too is clear. The path, familiar and comforting, continues beyond the sight of any eye. Knowing no end she continues blindly but with full vision. The sun’s rays bring her into consciousness that she knows as her life. She can see that nothing obstructs her way and she is clear to proceed.

Farther down the path, the atmosphere changes. She is feeling uneasy, without known reason. Still, as the path is clear, she continues down the path. Suddenly, she trips over a rock in the path, but manages not to fall. Continuing on the path she ponders, “That wasn’t there before,” she thinks to herself. She feels more uneasy as she continues to ponder how she missed sight of the rock. She brushes it off as nothing. She doesn’t want anything to hold her back.

Looking into the previously clear sky, she sees clouds begin to roll in. They are not the mundane white and fluffy ones that she would normally daydream of. These clouds have personalities, and by their appearance they are not welcoming. As the clouds eliminate the distance the light starts to fade into gray. Eventually there is total cloud cover and the sun is no longer visible. The path, however, is still visible and the end is still not to be seen, so she continues.

She increases her pace as walks along the path. Her walk evolves into a trot. Trotting along she trips over another rock. Looking down, she sees another rock landing into her path off of the side. She trots over that. She looks up again; the path still has no end in sight. The clouds, now surrounding the sky, contract, squeezing the light out. Darkness begins to set. She trips again, over two rocks this time, and looks back to sight her roadblocks. Looking forward once more she trips, this time she falls. She vaults up again and evolves her trot into a run. She trips again and again as the rocks begin to litter the road now.

She falls again, this time a rock hits her as she is on the ground. “Where are these coming from!?” she says aloud. There is no answer, for no one is there. She springs up once more and begins to pant with her run. The horizon and her surroundings begin to darken once more. She tries to speed up her run. She falls once more. Now struggling to get up, the darkness begins to surround her. The only light is now in front of her. Now she runs as fast as she can towards the light. Everything else is now complete darkness.

The light ahead is starting to fade. She pushes herself as far as she can. The rock she trips over sends her forward into the ground, now unseen. The light fades to black and now there is nothing to be seen. She begins to whimper on the ground. The whimper turns into a cry, and the cry into a sob. Now the rocks begin to fly, this time they pelt her. She screams in pain. Wailing she fights her way to standing and begins to run to the way the light once was.  The rocks follow her everywhere she tries to run and hide. There is no escape.

Now she feels heat, coming from her side. She looks out and sees there is some light off into the distance. She is drawn towards it and she goes to it, acting almost as if her free will was gone. There is an edge up in front of her. She continues towards it.

She reaches the edge and peers over. The light is sourced by a fire; one that has no end. The fire is below her but stretches on for an eternity. The clouds begin to whisper, unintelligibly at first. The whispers begin to rise in volume, “It’s the only way out,” one says, “There’s no hope in darkness,” another one says. They begin to hiss and growl at her. The voices become twisted into her mind. A chant begins among the clouds, “Do it!” and again, “Do it!” and the chant continues. She is overcome by the voices, the hissing, and the growling. She begins to scream, the loudest she has ever done before. She is left broken down at the side of the edge.

Finally she succumbs to her surroundings. A voice from her mind says,
“Do it,” and everything is quiet. She stands perched on the edge of the ravine of fire. She leans over and lets the rest take over. Her heart finally filled by warmth.

Timothy Breen

AP English-Lambert

September 20, 2012

Nafisat Salman                                                                                                            9/30/12           

Ms. Lambert

AP Language and Composition

Declaration to end child trafficking and modern day slavery

We are the sons and daughters of living mothers. We are the living fresh of another human being. We are the leaders and the Heroes of tomorrow. We are the uneducated students with powerful minds. We are brother and sisters with the same Dreams. Our struggle is our everyday fight to live, to be free, and to be happy.  We work for hours, days, months and years begging for even the minimum wage. We have been blinded from society, and deafened by lies.  We have been beaten with words, stick, belt and wires. We are not Object and should not be treated like one. We are living lives that needs to be respected. We have been hidden from society, education, and our rights. We are living in danger, diseases.

Let us not give up our body for others sexual pleasure.  Let us come together and remind the world that we are their forgotten sisters, brothers, sons, daughter and friends. Lets us remind them that we are the 1.2 million possible heroes and leaders of tomorrow. Let us overcome our fear and untie the blindfold that our oppressors have covered our eyes with.  Let us come together and conquer this crime. The crime against humanity!

We are important! We are not slaves, animals and living objects! We are not just numbers or letter without any meaning. We are powerful living forces that contribute to our world. We are going to be history of child trafficking and modern day slavery. History! History, I tell you my brothers and sisters. We shall be free, and free the other unheard crying souls.  

Declaration of Independence Class Notes

1. Diction Group= Cheyenne, Daisy, Stephanie, Kadidiatou
-The word “Creator” is used instead of God because God is a word most closely associated with Christianity, so using “Creator” acknowledges other religions.
-“All men are created equal…” – The quote is funny in a sense because at the time this was written saying this was a lie! People were still enslaved while this was written and in the country that wanted “freedom”. So basically this meant all white men were created equal and all other races below were below them hehe.
-Many words that aren’t normally capitalized are, to add emphasis. I.E.: Creator, Rights, Life, Liberty, Happiness, Men, Government, People, Safety, Prudence, Despotism, Object, Guards, Tyranny and Facts.
-“Governments are instituted among Men”- the emphasis on “men” draws attention to the fact that it should be taken literally, as in WOMEN have no business in the government = sexist.
-The harder / sophisticated words or language used implies that it is for only the “educated” to read
-  Safety and Happiness - Capitalization
      The words are capitalized to suggest to the reader that the safety and happiness of the people are important, the reason why the declarations was created.
-       Government – Repetition
   The word government implies that this is the main subject of attention because it is repeated throughout the reading. 
2. Details
Facts:
·      Nothing in this text sounds like facts
·      There are no numbers
·      Author is stating his ideals, what he beliefs the government should be and its duty to the people
·      Uses history of the king of England as a way to back up his argument.
Arguments
·      All men are created equal
·      They have the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
·      The government should protect this right
·      Describes previous failing government (facts?)
·      Describes the colonies as a land that Britain has fail in its ruled over it
·      Uses the history of the king of Great Britain to back this up (facts?)
Concludes with establishing that when a government fails its people they have the right to revolt.
Deductive REASONING
The Britain fails to protect the right of the colonist
The colonist suffered because of it so they have the right to revolt
Therefore we are revolting
3. Language
Declaration of Independence
Standard Written English: shows understanding of correct usage of grammar, spelling and punctuation as well as using sophisticated vocabulary, which brings ideas together. If the authors have mastered this technique, it proves that they posses the ability and authority to manipulate the English language.
·      Example: “the history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States.”
Ø  The authors constructed a coherent sentence, however their punctuation may be a bit faulty.
4. Syntax: Tyresha, Tia, Kris, Genesis, Timmy
·      Length of the sentences vary
·      The paragraph is uniformed
·      The facts are toward the end
·      The sentence length is effective because when they run on for a long period of time, you lose interest.
·      The author literally wrote his thoughts without caring much about punctuation, etc or the fact that his sentences were running.
·      Dashes = interruption of thought and starting a new one.
·      The capitalization is to emphasize the level of importance the words have to the paragraph.
·      There are only 5 sentences.
·      Commas continue the thoughts

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

Long sentences

Capitalization to put emphasis on words

Double dash

Semi-Colon

Religious and moral

Pattern of people being society

Double dash to show important

Semicolon equal thoughts

Capitalization more than one

Course Syllabus

Bronx Leadership Academy II

Advanced Placement Language & Composition Course Syllabus

Teacher:                     Ms. Lambert                                                                           Room 210

                                   elambert@bla2hs.org
Class Blog site:           http://lambertap.blogspot.com/

Office Hours: Mondays 3:30-4:30; Tuesdays & Fridays Lunch and by appointment

Course Description:

Citizen Rhetoric[1]: This course serves as an introduction to college composition, attempting to prepare students for the kind of reading and writing they will need to do in college, in many jobs, and as citizens. The course focuses on the theme of how students can use literacy to influence change.

By the end of the year, students will be able to synthesize sources; utilize logical, emotional, and ethical appeals; and carefully choose diction and syntax in order to answer the course’s essential questions.

Curriculum:

After an introduction to rhetoric, the course is organized into thematic units, called conversations: education, politics, community, gender, nature, and language. After the AP test in May, students will spend the remainder of the year utilizing all the skills they’ve garnered over the year to create their own documentary films.

In each unit, students will examine fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visuals in order to learn how to use and analyze rhetoric effectively.

Generally, students will have a 1-3 page essay (in class or take home) due each week and a 3-5 page essay or project due at the end of each unit of study. Students will have nightly reading assessments. Students can expect to have weekly grammar and vocabulary quizzes, as well.

Formatting and Academic Integrity:

Papers should be formatted as follows:

·      Typed                        

·      Double-spaced

·      12-point font

·      Times New Roman or Arial

·      1-inch margins

·      Paginated

All students should do their own work and cite their sources using MLA or APA format. Students who fail to do this will be subject to severe grade penalties. Plagiarism is a serious offense and could lead to expulsion from most colleges and universities.

Professionalism:

Students are expected to adhere to BLA II’s mission and rules, including the prohibited use of cell phones, iPods and other electronic devices. Additionally, students are expected to dress professionally and in accordance with the school’s dress code.

As this is a college preparation course, students are expected to act professionally, arrive to class each day and on time and to complete all assignments in a timely manner. Students must maintain a high level of respect for themselves and their community, by maintaining a tolerant and open mind.

Supplies:

·      Notebook or notebook-section dedicated to English (reading, vocabulary, grammar & class notes)

·      Folder or binder (or binder section) for organizing handouts

·      Folder or binder (or binder section) to house returned work

·      A variety of writing utensils and USB flash drive

·      Post-Its and highlighters

·      A Gmail account to access class blog

Grading:

In this class, we will be using the College Board AP Lang & Comp rubric for grading in order to prepare students for both the test and college. Grades of Highly Proficient (HP), Proficient (P), Approaching Proficient (AP), and Not Yet (NY) will be awarded to students according to their performance in and out of class.

The following super outcomes will be used for each unit throughout the year:

Super Outcome: Homework 

Your timely, neat and complete reading notes, responses and annotations show an understanding of the central ideas of a text to provide a complex analysis of text.

Super Outcome: Class Participation 

You arrive in a punctual and prepared manner such that you are able to present information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a clear and distinct perspective, so that listeners can follow the line of reasoning, alternative or opposing perspectives are addressed, and the organization, development, substance, and style are appropriate to purpose, audience, and a range of formal and informal tasks.

Super Outcome: Multimedia/Projects 

Gather relevant information from multiple sources (print, visual, audio) and integrate information into the project selectively to maintain the flow of ideas.

Super Outcome: Essays/Practice Exams 

-Develop a position that identifies the key issues in the prompt

-Effectively respond to and utilize the appropriate number of sources

-Demonstrate control of language and style

-Demonstrate effective use of writing mechanics

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[1] Citizen: An inhabitant of a city or (often) of a town; esp. one possessing civic rights and privileges.

Rhetoric: The art of using language so as to persuade or influence others; the body of rules to be observed by a speaker or writer in order that s/he may express himself [or herself] with eloquence. (Oxford English Dictionary)